Preview Tyranny GDC 2016 Previews

[Trashos]

Lowering the number of party members you can control is practically mandatory when you significantly increase the amount of micromanagement required for each (I think very few people would want to play an IE-style game with six spellcasters where combat is tuned so all of them have to cast spells in every fight). It's not necessarily something that could be considered dumbing down.

True. But are you suggesting that micromanagement in Tyranny will be unusually intensive? Because if that's not the case, then they are just dumbing it down.

 

[Thonius]

(This is why I have some sympathy for Feargus: slam dunks aren't a luxury, he needs the South Parks and Armoured Warfares for Obsidian to even continue existing, whereas Troika was lucky to even make three games the way they did things. Of course, one might argue it's better to do that and die out. I'd prefer to see them become smaller and work with small/mid-budget RPGs like POE and Tyranny, and really focus on making them better.)

That'd be p. cool, except for the 100-something people losing their jobs I guess.

They just need to move from California. Eastern Europe is a nice place I heard.

 

[Roguey]

True. But are you suggesting that micromanagement in Tyranny will be unusually intensive? Because if that's not the case, then they are just dumbing it down.

We already know it's classless and focusing on over-the-top abilities limited only by cooldowns.

 

[Tigranes]

Lowering the number of party members you can control is practically mandatory when you significantly increase the amount of micromanagement required for each (I think very few people would want to play an IE-style game with six spellcasters where combat is tuned so all of them have to cast spells in every fight). It's not necessarily something that could be considered dumbing down.

True. But are you suggesting that micromanagement in Tyranny will be unusually intensive? Because if that's not the case, then they are just dumbing it down.

The combo shit could be. Or it could be dumbed down, though Pillars was fairly complex by modern standards and I don't think less party members always mean dumbed down. Who knows at this point? They better put up with some proper gameplay runthroughs/videos/etc soon.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Maybe they are going for something like guild wars 2, a small number of active skills, that you can choose as load outs and a set number of passive skills that can be used as buffs.

Then just watch the players spam those skills and do blackflips while firing 50 fire arrows.

 

[curry]

Combat seems more dynamic than Pilllars, with stuff like combo moves that can make companions shoot up in the air and fire arrows at the enemy.

 

[Shevek]

I bet it was MCA's love of Chronotrigger that inspired those combo moves.

 

[Prime Junta]

I do not approve of cooldowns and combos.

 

[Lurker King]

In general, just want to comment I've gotten a bit tired of "gray" morality in RPGs. It's fantasy and escapism, I think it's totally fine to have clearly defined good and evil and not have to deal with moral ambiguity.

Fuck you! Go play Bethesda games, popamole lover!

It's telling that you left out the rest of my comment... "I'm not saying no games should be like that, they can be quite fun, just saying after a couple of decades of it I would enjoy a good old old fashioned clearly defined good vs evil in my fantasy."

Some people just like to watch themselves burn...

Not good enough. The way “good” and “bad” are used in the traditional fashion should be banished from cRPG, because it’s stupid and nonsensical. They can be great for a kid who just want mindless entertainment with swords, but is insulting and boring for any one with above average intelligence.

 

[Lurker King]

I bet it was MCA's love of Chronotrigger that inspired those combo moves.

The combos in Chronotrigger are good, but the combat is turn-based. Obsidian will create an abomination using combos and RtwP.

 

[Lurker King]

Feargus will NEVER, under any circumstance EVER allow Obsidian to fund and develop a turn based game, they just don't sell.

Last time I checked, Divinity:Original Sin or Firaxis' XCOM were doing pretty fine sales-wise (proving TB combat systems don't necessarily scare away potential customers), but what do I know...

Of course, it's the way you implement things. If the combat in these games were hard, they would sell shit.

 

[Lurker King]

This is why I have some sympathy for Feargus: slam dunks aren't a luxury, he needs the South Parks and Armoured Warfares for Obsidian to even continue existing, whereas Troika was lucky to even make three games the way they did things. Of course, one might argue it's better to do that and die out. I'd prefer to see them become smaller and work with small/mid-budget RPGs like POE and Tyranny, and really focus on making them better.)

Or maybe they should admit they can't make good games due to the fear that they won't maintain a huge payroll and decide to become a smaller studio. Obsidian delivering MMOs, card games and a bunch of pretty, but superficial, isometric games just to make ends meet is not making the games we want to play, or that are worth to remember.

 

[Thonius]

This is why I have some sympathy for Feargus: slam dunks aren't a luxury, he needs the South Parks and Armoured Warfares for Obsidian to even continue existing, whereas Troika was lucky to even make three games the way they did things. Of course, one might argue it's better to do that and die out. I'd prefer to see them become smaller and work with small/mid-budget RPGs like POE and Tyranny, and really focus on making them better.)

Or maybe they should admit they can't make good games due to the fear that they won't maintain a huge payroll and decide to become a smaller studio. Obsidian delivering MMOs, card games and a bunch of pretty, but superficial, isometric games just to make ends meet is not making the games we want to play, or that are worth to remember.

I blame taxes and their hipstery Californian life style.

 

[Kem0sabe]

I look at what styg managed to do, building an engine from scratch, having a deep combat and character progression systems, an actual useful and varied crafting system, along with nice graphics and sound design... Then I look at what a multi-million dollar team manages to push out at obsidian.

What it looks like is a massive lack of ideas, of inspiration, of reliance on bullet point design and too much fussing around with minutiae that has little baring in the end result being a fun or a good rpg.

Obsidian needs to either scale down significantly or grow a pair of balls and actually make a good rpg instead of all these half assed attempts.

 

[Tigranes]

This is why I have some sympathy for Feargus: slam dunks aren't a luxury, he needs the South Parks and Armoured Warfares for Obsidian to even continue existing, whereas Troika was lucky to even make three games the way they did things. Of course, one might argue it's better to do that and die out. I'd prefer to see them become smaller and work with small/mid-budget RPGs like POE and Tyranny, and really focus on making them better.)

Or maybe they should admit they can't make good games due to the fear that they won't maintain a huge payroll and decide to become a smaller studio. Obsidian delivering MMOs, card games and a bunch of pretty, but superficial, isometric games just to make ends meet is not making the games we want to play, or that are worth to remember.

If only somebody said the exact same thing in... oh, there he is! In those quote boxes!

 

[sstacks]

In general, just want to comment I've gotten a bit tired of "gray" morality in RPGs. It's fantasy and escapism, I think it's totally fine to have clearly defined good and evil and not have to deal with moral ambiguity.

Fuck you! Go play Bethesda games, popamole lover!

It's telling that you left out the rest of my comment... "I'm not saying no games should be like that, they can be quite fun, just saying after a couple of decades of it I would enjoy a good old old fashioned clearly defined good vs evil in my fantasy."

Some people just like to watch themselves burn...

Not good enough. The way “good” and “bad” are used in the traditional fashion should be banished from cRPG, because it’s stupid and nonsensical. They can be great for a kid who just want mindless entertainment with swords, but is insulting and boring for any one with above average intelligence.

You're right. Escapism from the real world should be as realistic as possible.

 

[m_s0]

My main question about this is whether Pillars is over as a franchise.

If by 'over' you mean it's just beginning then yes, it is.

It sold, got rave reviews all across the board, they own it, or at least get a fair chunk of the profit depending on the Paradox deal. Why wouldn't it continue?

 

[ArchAngel]

In general, just want to comment I've gotten a bit tired of "gray" morality in RPGs. It's fantasy and escapism, I think it's totally fine to have clearly defined good and evil and not have to deal with moral ambiguity.

Fuck you! Go play Bethesda games, popamole lover!

It's telling that you left out the rest of my comment... "I'm not saying no games should be like that, they can be quite fun, just saying after a couple of decades of it I would enjoy a good old old fashioned clearly defined good vs evil in my fantasy."

Some people just like to watch themselves burn...

Not good enough. The way “good” and “bad” are used in the traditional fashion should be banished from cRPG, because it’s stupid and nonsensical. They can be great for a kid who just want mindless entertainment with swords, but is insulting and boring for any one with above average intelligence.

You're right. Escapism from the real world should be as realistic as possible.

You are right. Fuck realism, all rpgs should be fun like SCL and Fallout 4. I am sure you 100% agree.

Spoiler

 

[sstacks]

In general, just want to comment I've gotten a bit tired of "gray" morality in RPGs. It's fantasy and escapism, I think it's totally fine to have clearly defined good and evil and not have to deal with moral ambiguity.

Fuck you! Go play Bethesda games, popamole lover!

It's telling that you left out the rest of my comment... "I'm not saying no games should be like that, they can be quite fun, just saying after a couple of decades of it I would enjoy a good old old fashioned clearly defined good vs evil in my fantasy."

Some people just like to watch themselves burn...

Not good enough. The way “good” and “bad” are used in the traditional fashion should be banished from cRPG, because it’s stupid and nonsensical. They can be great for a kid who just want mindless entertainment with swords, but is insulting and boring for any one with above average intelligence.

You're right. Escapism from the real world should be as realistic as possible.

You are right. Fuck realism, all rpgs should be fun like SCL and Fallout 4. I am sure you 100% agree.

Spoiler

I 100% agree that you don't like SCL or Fallout 4, I humbly apologize for having a mind and opinions of my own. Now, when you need help getting off of your high horse I'm sure we can find you a ladder.

 

[Lurker King]

This is why I have some sympathy for Feargus: slam dunks aren't a luxury, he needs the South Parks and Armoured Warfares for Obsidian to even continue existing, whereas Troika was lucky to even make three games the way they did things. Of course, one might argue it's better to do that and die out. I'd prefer to see them become smaller and work with small/mid-budget RPGs like POE and Tyranny, and really focus on making them better.)

Or maybe they should admit they can't make good games due to the fear that they won't maintain a huge payroll and decide to become a smaller studio. Obsidian delivering MMOs, card games and a bunch of pretty, but superficial, isometric games just to make ends meet is not making the games we want to play, or that are worth to remember.

If only somebody said the exact same thing in... oh, there he is! In those quote boxes!

I dont prefer to see them become smaller to make uninspired games like POE.

 

[Lurker King]

You're right. Escapism from the real world should be as realistic as possible.

Only a simpleton would assume that fiction, and especially cRPGs, should be escapism from the real world. Let’s concede that for a moment. What you really want it’s escapism for dumbfucks.

 

[sstacks]

You're right. Escapism from the real world should be as realistic as possible.

Only a simpleton would assume that fiction, and especially cRPGs, should be escapism from the real world. Let’s concede that for a moment. What you really want it’s escapism for dumbfucks.

So, I've already said that gray morality in games is fine and can be fun, but that every now and then I don't mind a different level of escapism.

If you're going to walk around with your nose held so high, make sure to pay attention. This is why you keep running into things.

 

[Prime Junta]

I dont prefer to see them become smaller to make uninspired games like POE.

So what do you suggest then? Pack it in and retire?

The Codex would never survive that. Tumbleweed would blow through empty forums, as a few grizzled oldfags gather around Prosperland reminiscing about the good old days when Obsidian threads used to run into the four digits.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Tumbleweed would blow through empty forums

A bleak picture indeed...

 

[Prime Junta]

Tumbleweed would blow through empty forums

A bleak picture indeed...

They're still around? I didn't know.