Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity [BETA RELEASED, GO TO THE NEW THREAD]

[GarfunkeL]

That's what I'm afraid of as well. That years of pandering to console-players and sucking up to publishers have irredeemably tainted them.

 

[uaciaut]

That's what I'm afraid of as well. That years of pandering to console-players and sucking up to publishers have irredeemably tainted them.

Ehh, i think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective. I mean sure it's possible that the aforementioned people have grown tired with the constant harassment from publishers over the years, especially with the ammount of projects they invested themselves in only for said projects to be cancelled or sell poorly. Or maybe they're simply not the young people going into an emerging gaming industry that was so unexplored a few years ago.

But at the end of the day i'm still expecting good games from said people and i think their reputation is well earned and even when they do "bad" i still think their games will be enjoyable. And it's not like i'm expecting them to not have their own equivalent of writer's block or for every game MCA touches to be as good as Planescape was.

 

[imweasel]

Well so far, it seems to be turning out to have a number of Darkland's mechanics so it so far sounds pretty good.

Project Eternity is more of a spiritual successor to Darklands, because dumbfag Sawyer hates Baldur's Gate.

I bet none of the backers saw that coming. The butthurt will be epic too.

 

[Duraframe300]

In all seriousness, they're really not in their creative top anymore.

Which would be a point if this was actually the case. Sawyer only really did F:NV and he had to work there with a shit system (Which he still made somewhat playable). Dead Money belongs to the best things Avellone has done (narritivly) and while Old World Blues is questionable for some, its certainly "creative". Tim Cain only did an (unreleased) MMO for several years, but still seems on top in the kickstarter videos.

They were certainly involved in debatable games, but their ability seems remarkably stable.

 

[MicoSelva]

I bet none of the backers saw that coming. The butthurt will be epic too.

I'm a huge BG fan (in before seven times, it was probably more than that) and never played Darklands, but I don't mind. BG had a lot of room for improvement. If they use that room, all the better.

 

[1eyedking]

That's what I'm afraid of as well. That years of pandering to console-players and sucking up to publishers have irredeemably tainted them.

They got tainted outside the gaming industry, and that carried into their work. They're no longer the nerds they used to be, life fucked them up pretty good.

Not that I can blame them, the entertainment industry must really bring you down in terms of personal creativity and vigor, particularly if you're the introvert nerd who takes shit very personally, but that doesn't change the fact that they're no longer at their prime. Perhaps they were more innocent back then, perhaps they hadn't fully embraced the liberal lifestyle, perhaps it was the fatal combination of peer pressure and want of approval, but whatever it is that happened they went full decline.

I still hold Tim Cain and Chris Avellone in very high regards, though, but I'm fully aware it's because of what they did in the past and definitely not because of what they're doing in the present.

 

[Roguey]

Tim Cain is now a passive gay bear, and eats a lot of chocolate

I'm really impressed with how well you've been able to e-stalk Tim Cain. Gettin' the scoop on his being gay before he was married and now this.

 

[Dhralei]

Someone managed to out-e-stalk you Roguey? Say it ain't so!

 

[Duraframe300]

Tim Cain is now a passive gay bear, and eats a lot of chocolate

I'm really impressed with how well you've been able to e-stalk Tim Cain. Gettin' the scoop on his being gay before he was married and now this.

I thought that site was common knowdlege for a while? He also constantly posts about chocolate on his facebook.

 

[Roguey]

I don't follow him on facebook, why would I do that?

 

[Infinitron]

of Roguey

Anyway just wait for the demo video. From what I've heard, the guys at Obsidian were very impressed by the Wasteland 2 demo and I think they're going to ensure that their own demo measures up at least in terms of visual quality.

 

[Turisas]

I thought that site was common knowdlege for a while? He also constantly posts about chocolate on his facebook.

Chocolate is awesome, anyone who says otherwise is a goddamn commie.

 

[Roguey]

Why would anyone be impressed with Wasteland 2's video? Eternity already looked better months ago.

 

[Infinitron]

Why would anyone be impressed with Wasteland 2's video? Eternity already looked better months ago.

Visuals aren't everything, you know. But feel free to ask somebody at Obsidian why. I'm just reporting what I heard.

 

[Zed]

Is that chocolate blog Cain's?
He eats a suger-free chocolate from Guylian and then swears to never eat anything from Guylian again? Does he even know about their seashell chocolate?

It is awesome.

 

[imweasel]

Why would anyone be impressed with Wasteland 2's video? Eternity already looked better months ago.

Good thing that it is just a concept scene, because it looks like shit.

Not that graphics are really that important or anything, but that had to be said.

 

[Cosmo]

This is not "graphics", but a color sketch on a black background. That's how those things look, and by the way nothing like the final result.
Just a color test people, you can move on...

 

[imweasel]

Didn't I just write that it is a concept scene?

 

[Cosmo]

Didn't I just write that it is a concept scene?

But then you said "Not that graphics are really that important". You say you know it's not to be judged as is but immediately proceed to do it. Be consistant is what i mean.

Anyway, to say clearly what i think about this piece : there's no point in any moment to talk about artitic quality : the sole reason for the thing is to broadly test wall/ground colors and comparative lightning of each scenery element. That's why we see blobs of color, and that's also precisely why it looks like shit (quite litteraly in fact, because it's mostly brown on black). That had to be said too.

 

[Ulminati]

Get rid of Fretty, 1ek returns. Fucking cosmic balance.

And they post from IP addresses within one days drive of each other too!

 

[1eyedking]

Sorry guise, but this looks generic as fuck. It's NWN2 all over again.

There's no atmosphere statement whatsoever. Compare to The Witcher's early concept art:

That last one is a Caspar David Friedrich painting, you know.

Yeah, those poles had no idea what they were doing, getting inspired by perhaps the most atmospheric painter in the history of mankind. Clueless fuckers.

So that said, enjoy your +1 generic fantasy RPG. The Codex. The Codex never changes...

PS: Who's Fretty?

 

[Shadenuat]

Tim Cain is now a passive gay bear, and eats a lot of chocolate

Well, that explains that mage in Sensorium allright.

 

[Aeschylus]

So that said, enjoy your +1 generic fantasy RPG. The Codex. The Codex never changes...

I enjoyed The Witcher, but it was a pretty generic fantasy RPG. TW2 moreso. There's no particular rule that says generic fantasy can't make for a fun game.

 

[Kirtai]

Why would anyone be impressed with Wasteland 2's video? Eternity already looked better months ago.

Isn't all we've seen of Eternity just pretty pictures so far? Compared to actual gameplay from W2

 

[Baron]

Stick a hex base beneath warrior and I'd play that without textures... it looks just like a very elaborate miniature setup. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't get coathangered by a plastic goblin and a cheating DM.

I also don't mind the concept artwork for the dungeon (with the pools of water and sconces) above. It's only a combat tunnel, who cares if you cross a stream, walk down some stairs, pass some stalactites, stare into a bottonless ravine... it's still more interesting than 98% of other dungeons I've punched beholders in. My only complaint is that it looks pretty linear, with one possible avenue to change paths. Although, it's not like 99% of players won't methodically kill/loot everything in the dungeon.... although it's always nice to have a different path for the replay value. If they were building a Classic, they'd aim for the replay value.