Eternity Avowed Pre-Release Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[rojay]

Man, I hate modern AAA gamedev interviews because they say absolutely nothing about nothing. Like I skimmed through the above and it's all shit like

But how exactly do companions work in Avowed?

"If you go into an encounter, they will follow you and they'll fight alongside you," Patel explains. "And they'll draw some of the aggro with you. But yes, you can absolutely make use of their specific abilities, which are all tied to their combat roles if you want to exercise a little more control."

It's like ChatGPT dialogue on "what does a companion do in RPGs?"

Why do they do those interviews?

“It shouldn’t be like ‘this is a wonderful sandbox, but I’m just building my own sandcastles here without a larger sense of purpose or identity.’ I think Avowed absolutely does fit the Obsidian ‘personality.’"

I do not actually care how they make the sausage. I just want good sausage. But even if I did care, this nonsense language that fills the page and says nothing is depressing.

 

[Tyranicon]

Why do they do those interviews?

Brand exposure/cheap marketing. It's nice and organic, plus, having the headline itself is valuable. Probably still playing that SEO game.

Why they gave the most bland and uninteresting answers, I dunno.

 

[rojay]

Why do they do those interviews?

Brand exposure/cheap marketing. It's nice and organic, plus, having the headline itself is valuable. Probably still playing that SEO game.

Why they gave the most bland and uninteresting answers, I dunno.

I think the question I should have asked is, who do they think the audience is? I get that sometimes you do interviews to justify the marketing budget, and that the people asking the questions are not there to ask hard-hitting questions. But who reads that and comes away thinking, "Fuck yeah, there's push and pull in the pacing and momentum!"

Seems like you'd just market the pew-pew shiny stuff if you're going for casual gamers. If they're trying to convince customers who might actually be interested in the mechanics behind the game, or the lore or some other esoteric shit, then they have failed. This probably wasn't going to be a game for me anyway, but their press for it has not done them any favors.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

One thing I'll note is that we've seen pistols but no muskets, bows or crossbows. Also no polearms so no spear polishing? Wonder if any of these are in.

 

[whydoibother]

One thing I'll note is that we've seen pistols but no muskets, bows or crossbows. Also no polearms so no spear polishing? Wonder if any of these are in.

Just occurred to me how cool a bayoneted musket(-ish rifle thingy) could be. Fire once, then go melee. If the battle permits it, try the slooooooooooooow reload, and fire again.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

That can't be quickly slapped into TOW movement and combat mechanics that they've used.

 

[Viata]

Can't have good things, mate. This is just an AA game.

 

[luj1]

What? Skyrim is classless. Did this person even play it?

During character creation you can select a "class" which is a selection of skills you're proficient in https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Character_Classes_(Skyrim)

Oh wait scratch that. In Skyrim, it's about race which determines what you're good at. That is sort of like a class.

What kind of savage uses Fandom instead of UESP?

The new age hipster cuck that is Roguey

 

[CyberWhale]

That can't be quickly slapped into TOW movement and combat mechanics that they've used.

It is as hard as adding a new item, LOL.

 

[scytheavatar]

Why do they do those interviews?

Brand exposure/cheap marketing. It's nice and organic, plus, having the headline itself is valuable. Probably still playing that SEO game.

Why they gave the most bland and uninteresting answers, I dunno.

I think the question I should have asked is, who do they think the audience is?

Patel mde it clear the target audience are the ones who asked for a medieval The Outer Worlds. Is that audience large enough to be worth targeting? Probably not. But that's the message Obsidian wants to get across.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

I'll pirate it. I've even pirated high on life to see how bad it was.

 

[Roguey]

Patel mde it clear the target audience are the ones who asked for a medieval The Outer Worlds. Is that audience large enough to be worth targeting? Probably not. But that's the message Obsidian wants to get across.

TOW sold 5 million and fantasy RPGs typically outsell sci-fi RPGs (Skyrim beat Fallout 3/4 and Starfield by a significant amount) so hypothetically it could do pretty well for itself.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.gamesradar.com/avowed-i...s-still-the-players-story-first-and-foremost/

Avowed is a fantasy RPG with open-zone maps, unique local conflicts, and companions to meet – but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Big in 2024 | Obsidian highlights Avowed's player-centered view on exploration and storytelling, including how companions factor in

Obsidian Entertainment is known for its beautiful video game environments and stories, but Avowed is poised to up the ante even more. We already know that the upcoming fantasy RPG is set in Eora, an embattled kingdom in its Pillars of Eternity universe. Despite this, you don't need to have played that game to understand Avowed's story, and in keeping with large segmented world maps as seen in The Outer Worlds, Obsidian is determined to maintain the player's ability to navigate the story however they choose.

That means although the game isn't a fully open roaming experience, we can expect opportunities for nuanced environmental storytelling and companion-specific decisions as we explore Eora. "Open zones allow us to create a strong sense of place in each of our environments," game director Carrie Patel tells us. "All of our regions have distinct aesthetics and atmospheres as well as unique local conflicts and narratives that build towards the larger, grander story that the player is at the center of. Building Avowed through separate regions allows us to balance that sense of distinctness with a feeling that the player is journeying through portions of a much larger world," says Patel, speaking to Avowed's championing of choice and consequence-driven gameplay – and its flexibility doesn't stop at its "classless" combat system.

Gather the troops​

Avowed's highly-reactive world contains myriad stories and subplots to explore, largely involving your companions. Patel describes these companions as "fellow travelers'' you meet on your journey, and "each have their own ties to the Living Lands, investment in its central conflicts, and personal demons, all of which shape their perspectives." While a romantic opportunity with any of these companions is seemingly off the cards, their stories have the potential to affect the player's own.

In Avowed, we can "influence how the companions tackle their respective personal struggles, and the companions in turn will try to nudge the player around the decisions and outcomes that they think are best…rightly or wrongly," says Patel. "Ultimately, though, companions are the player’s allies – and if you get to know them – friends, which means they’ll help the player out of sticky situations when they can, and they’ll share the expertise they have."

This sounds like Avowed's companions are somewhat optional rather than hard-written into any given playthrough. Their importance in the broader narrative seems essentially down to how players deal with respective quest lines, district conflicts, and other subplots.

Potentially "missable" content like this has been a huge draw for me in other RPGs, with the sheer breadth of choice on offer in the likes of Baldur's Gate 3 being but one reason many players (including myself) are finding such immense replay value in it. I'm keen to explore just how much Avowed's story can shift and branch out after making certain decisions. Obsidian has already commented on how players will never see 100% of everything in a single playthrough due to how much of it hinges on choice, so right now, it's sounding more than promising.

In terms of who these companions are and what they're capable of, Avowed is leaning toward a party-makeup system that can be shaped however you wish. "Each companion has a role in the party if the player wants them to," says gameplay director Gabe Paramo. He goes on to give two examples. "Kai is a tank and can taunt enemies, causing him to take aggro, or Giatta can heal the party when you want her to."

Still, companion choices are just one part of Avowed's overarching mission to facilitate the roleplaying fantasy. "Players will have extensive freedom to experiment with companions, class capabilities, and character progression in both combat and other aspects of the game," says Paramo, with Patel having said previously that Avowed's combat is more like a "fantasy Outer Worlds" despite the Skyrim comparisons.

The ultimate goal of Avowed is clear to me: it's our world to shape however we want, from whose stories we interact with to how we engage in battle. "The player is the main character of Avowed," Patel says in conclusion. "Companions have their own outlooks, goals, and visions for the future of the Living Lands, but this is the player’s story first and foremost, and it falls to the player to decide whose advice to heed."

 

[Gargaune]

Help me out, what's the difference between "open-zone" and "hub" maps? Or are we that desperate to tap into that "open-world" marketing that we're inventing new words for old shit?

 

[Viata]

but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Why are they pushing this?

 

[Infinitron]

Help me out, what's the difference between "open-zone" and "hub" maps? Or are we that desperate to tap into that "open-world" marketing that we're inventing new words for old shit?

If it's like Monarch from The Outer Worlds, the "open zone" is still big enough to have several towns, not just a single hub that you run quests in and out of.

 

[Rhobar121]

but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Why are they pushing this?

"Player's story" means nothing less than games in which the plot is completely non-existent and is only a not-so-sophisticated reason why the game exists when it might as well not exist.
Example? Every game Bethesda ever made.
Alternatively, there will be a game with multiple choices, each of which literally leads to the same result, with dialogue options such as: yes, no (but yes), sarcastic yes.
Of course, everything will have zero consequences.
Have you joined the warrior guild? No problem, you can also be an archmage, a dark assassin, or a leader of thieves and no one will care.

One game that came out in the last 2 years where such a term could be positive is BG3. I won't believe that Obisidian can provide even 10% of that to Larian.

 

[Hobo Elf]

One thing I'll note is that we've seen pistols but no muskets, bows or crossbows. Also no polearms so no spear polishing? Wonder if any of these are in.

Just occurred to me how cool a bayoneted musket(-ish rifle thingy) could be. Fire once, then go melee. If the battle permits it, try the slooooooooooooow reload, and fire again.

But then you wouldn't need to interact with their highly innovative weapon switching system. One weapon that does it all would be cheating the good designers who worked hard on that feature.

 

[Hagashager]

One thing I'll note is that we've seen pistols but no muskets, bows or crossbows. Also no polearms so no spear polishing? Wonder if any of these are in.

The PoE setting plays very fast and loose with its guns, which is surprising considering Sawyer is a gun-person (or was at least).

Technically, PoE is mid-Renaissance: for fire-arms that means matchlock arquebus and wheellock pistols which are both referenced in the PoE games.

However, both of them function like flintlocks. That may seem like I'm splitting hairs here because most people assume everything prior to cartridrige breach-loading guns were the same, but they really weren't.

The wheellock is a substantial step up from the matchlock, which was so cumbersome to use you almost never saw it outside of a warfare context. The flintlock, likewise, cut the wheellock's typically multi-minute reload speed down to half a minute if you were fast. None of this is represented in-game.

Same goes for most weapons. The Estoc Kana Rua carries, for example, was a highly specialized blade for thrusting and would not have made a good self-defense weapon for a casual wanderer like him.

Also, and this is arguably the dumbest part of the setting, apparently the printing press isn't a thing. This is so stupidly ignorant it boggles my mind.

The Printing Peess is what allowed the Renaissance to take place. You don't just handwave the Printing Press not being used en-masse. That's not how that works.

 

[AwesomeButton]

but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Why are they pushing this?

They have nothing else to push.

 

[Quillon]

Also, and this is arguably the dumbest part of the setting, apparently the printing press isn't a thing. This is so stupidly ignorant it boggles my mind.

The Printing Peess is what allowed the Renaissance to take place. You don't just handwave the Printing Press not being used en-masse. That's not how that works.

its said that Thaos/Leaden Key is the reason there is no printing press in Eora

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

One thing I'll note is that we've seen pistols but no muskets, bows or crossbows. Also no polearms so no spear polishing? Wonder if any of these are in.

The PoE setting plays very fast and loose with its guns, which is surprising considering Sawyer is a gun-person (or was at least).

Technically, PoE is mid-Renaissance: for fire-arms that means matchlock arquebus and wheellock pistols which are both referenced in the PoE games.

However, both of them function like flintlocks. That may seem like I'm splitting hairs here because most people assume everything prior to cartridrige breach-loading guns were the same, but they really weren't.

The wheellock is a substantial step up from the matchlock, which was so cumbersome to use you almost never saw it outside of a warfare context. The flintlock, likewise, cut the wheellock's typically multi-minute reload speed down to half a minute if you were fast. None of this is represented in-game.

Honestly I've assumed both the arquebuses and pistols were matchlock in game even though they look like flintlocks(can't see match from any orientation etc.).

 

[jackofshadows]

but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Why are they pushing this?

They have nothing else to push.

What about each other's shit?

 

[Gargaune]

but it's still "the player's story first and foremost"​

Why are they pushing this?

It seems to be "the in thing" in videogame marketing of late, trying to particularise the product to the player on a personal level. BG3 was quite bullish on the player "seeing" themselves in the chargen, Obsidian keeps repeating the "your world, you story" line with Avowed (which is odd, since it should read "our world, your story"), "you are V" in Cyberpunk... It's not resonating with me because I feel it's almost like misreading the genre, I'm all for player agency in RPGs, but I see it as co-authoring a character in a shared fiction, not personally identifying with them.

Help me out, what's the difference between "open-zone" and "hub" maps? Or are we that desperate to tap into that "open-world" marketing that we're inventing new words for old shit?

If it's like Monarch from The Outer Worlds, the "open zone" is still big enough to have several towns, not just a single hub that you run quests in and out of.

I see, thanks. I haven't played The Outer Worlds, but I get the picture. I guess BG3's first area would hit the same mark, dunno about later on.

 

[Infinitron]

More cope interviews, now at IGN.

https://www.ign.com/articles/obsidian-explains-why-avowed-wont-let-you-romance-your-companions

Obsidian Explains Why Avowed Won't Let You Romance Your Companions​

The developers wanted to focus on "thoughtful relationships" with companions.​

With games like Starfield and Baldur's Gate 3 last year having players wax poetic about which of their video game besties they most want to smooch, it can sometimes feel like romance systems are becoming a staple of AAA party-based RPGs. But that's not going to be the case with Avowed, which is opting to forego a dedicated romance system for a focus on "building thoughtful relationships" with companions instead.

This comes from an interview IGN did with Avowed game director Carrie Patel, where she confirmed Avowed would not feature romance options, and why:

"We are building thoughtful relationships with our companion characters," she said. "Ultimately, I personally am a fan of making that an option, but I feel like if you're going to do it, you really, really have to commit and make sure that you're giving all to fulfilling that in a way that feels both true to the character, but also creates an engaging player experience. So not something we're doing for Avowed, but I wouldn't say never."

Patel points out that having a dedicated romance system in a story-focused game is a ton of work: you need options for both a fulfilling romance as well as a regular friendship for those who don't want to go down that path. In addition, players generally expect multiple romance options, and expectations around the depth of such relationships only seem to be climbing higher and higher with each new Karlach and Shadowheart video games introduce. It's a big ask, and also not a necessary one if the story of the game doesn't lend itself to romance in the first place.

Later in our interview, Patel further hinted at the ways in which Avowed's non-romantic companion relationships could possibly manifest. Thus far, the studio has given multiple nods to how player choices will impact the world around them, most notably showing this off during a quest in the latest Xbox Developer Direct. Patel and I chatted a bit about this in the context of games like Avowed letting players shape their character's moral compass via character actions and reactions. Avowed is not a game with a morality meter, she said, but characters will certainly have feelings about the actions you take, and won't be shy about expressing them.

"One of the fun challenges with design, particularly around consequences or even sometimes around player options that are reactive to either the kind of character you've built or choices you've made earlier in the game is over the years I've learned that that stuff is always a lot less obvious to the player than to the designer," Patel said. "And so I think sometimes you have to be a bit more direct in tying those options and those consequences to content that's come before, because if it feels too natural and too understated, it feels like a thing that's happening, not a thing that's happening because of what you did."

In short: prepare for characters, possibly including your companions, to let you know if you're behaving like a little jerkwad.

Avowed is steadily nearing its 2024 release, having first been revealed back in 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase and getting a deeper look at a 2023 Xbox showcase. It's set in Eora, the world of Pillars of Eternity, which incidentally just got an update earlier this month despite the game being nine years old.

https://www.ign.com/articles/obsidian-explains-why-avowed-only-lets-you-pick-human-or-elf

Obsidian Explains Why Avowed Only Lets You Pick Human or Elf​

Eora may be diverse, but Aedyr is less-so.​

Upcoming Obsidian RPG Avowed takes place in Eora, which in the fictional universe of Pillars of Eternity, is pretty diverse. But after Pillars let players choose from a number of different character races, fans have been wondering for some time now why Avowed is only letting them pick human or elf when customizing a player character.

We've learned that Avowed player character creation is limited to making either a human or an elf in previous game reveals - no dwarves, no aumauas, and definitely no godlikes. While this has been a disappointment to some fans, Avowed game director Carrie Patel has made it clear that the reasons for this limitation are twofold: it's both a story choice and a development decision.

On the story side, Patel explains in an interview with IGN, it's because the player in Avowed is a representative from the Aedyr Empire, which is predominantly made up of humans and elves. Those familiar with Pillars of Eternity lore will recognize that this is indeed established canon, and has shaped a lot of the region's particular culture.

Still, that might be cold comfort to those hoping to recreate their aumaua OC from Pillars in Avowed. For those folks, Patel offers some additional context that helps things make a bit more sense from the development side:

"We want to make sure that whatever experience we're offering is smooth and natural and well paced to the player," she says. "And one of the things about the species of Pillars that I think is a lot easier to account for in an isometric game is just the variation in sizes. You have aumaua and then you have humans and elves who are at roughly the same scale, and then you have orlans and dwarves who are quite a bit smaller. And for each of those, especially in first person, you're adjusting the height of the player character's capsule and sort of where their weapons are relative to enemies and how their hits land and how hits land on them. And it's obviously not that any of these things are impossible to solve, but you're always making choices and choosing your priorities and development."

Patel declined to comment further on the character creator in Avowed, which we haven't seen much of yet, but it's also important to remember that Avowed is a game that largely or entirely takes place in the first-person. While it's a bummer not to be able to be a dwarf, realistically, the only part of yourself you'll be seeing for most of the game is your hands.

Avowed got a 2024 release window recently, after first being teased back in 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase and getting a more complete reveal at a 2023 Xbox showcase. We also spoke to Patel last week about why Avowed is foregoing romances to focus on different kinds of companion relationships.