Tyranny Pre-Release Thread

[Roguey]

When I started my book a year & a half ago, I was really encouraged by a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert w/out even knowing who she was. "I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write."

Uh huh.

Unsurprisingly, Paradox's purple haired communications manager claims to have liked it.

 

[Infinitron]

Missed this: http://wccftech.com/tyranny-hands-on-preview-crafting-spells-and-dominating-the-ignorant-masses/

Tyranny Hands-On Preview: Crafting Spells And Dominating The Ignorant Masses

If there’s something that role playing games rarely do is to allow players to play as the bad guys right from the beginning, and this is quite surprising, considering any RPG enthusiast might have wondered about being able to do so at least once. Obsidian’s Tyranny will finally allow players to do so by letting them take on the role of a Fatebinder, one of the high ranked officers of the Overlord Kyros who has overtaken the land by force and subjugated its people.

This has been a concept in the works at Obsidian for quite some time, and after the success of Pillars of Eternity the team was finally able to refine it into a proper game with the help of publisher Paradox Interactive. What’s even more interesting is that players will still be able to do “good”, but the cost of such actions will be much higher than in the usual RPG and you will quickly make many enemies.

Fascinated by this premise, I was quite happy to have the chance to try out Tyranny during Gamescom 2016. While I wasn’t able to delve into any of the story related features, I did manage to experience some dungeon exploration and battling, which did leave me quite impressed.

At its core, Tyranny doesn’t feel much different from Pillars of Eternity (also developed by Obsidian) with its isometric view, hectic battle system and dungeon exploration, which involves completing some simple puzzles to proceed. There are, however, a couple of features that vastly differentiate the new game from the older one, the ability to craft magic spells chief among them.

In Tyranny, players will be able to craft spells at any time during the game by picking a core, which dictates the element, and the expression, which dictates the form of the spell, such as its range and more. Once the basic features of the spell have been decided, players can customize it further with accents, which can alter power, range, stun duration and more. Adding accents comes with a cost, however, as the lore required for equipping the spell will increase.

While spell crafting may not sound like a big deal, it’s actually a big game changer for a few reasons, as it allows players to adapt to a situation on the fly, making combat preparations more dynamic. It also adds an interesting degree of customization that allows players to actually a pick a play style depending on spells’ features. To just make an example, it’s possible to make a character who only fights from afar with long range spells or a more hard hitting character who can deal more damage up close with both weapons and spells. With enemies coming with different elemental resistances, using the same strategy over and over is definitely not a viable option in Tyranny, so being ready for a variety of situations is incredibly important.

At the end of my short hands-on session with Tyranny, I was also able to fight against a boss. Things got chaotic quite quickly, with the boss summoning a variety of minions and multiple spells flying around, but I was able to make it through also thanks to the ability to pause the flow of action at any time during battle. At the end, the boss was soundly defeated, and I was left hungering for more.

In terms of RPG mechanics, it’s important to note that the game will be classless. A skill based system will be used instead, increasing the effectiveness of skills by how frequently they’re used, in a similar fashion to Elder Scrolls.

Tyranny may not revolutionize the genre, but the tweaks added to the Pillers of Eternity formula will surely make it an addictive and engaging experience when it launches later this year on PC.

 

[Sentinel]

Missed this: http://wccftech.com/tyranny-hands-on-preview-crafting-spells-and-dominating-the-ignorant-masses/

To just make an example, it’s possible to make a character who only fights from afar with long range spells or a more hard hitting character who can deal more damage up close with both weapons and spells.

Wow, truly unique. Looks like the spell crafting system revolutionizes RPG combat.

 

[Infinitron]

Missed this: http://wccftech.com/tyranny-hands-on-preview-crafting-spells-and-dominating-the-ignorant-masses/

To just make an example, it’s possible to make a character who only fights from afar with long range spells or a more hard hitting character who can deal more damage up close with both weapons and spells.

Wow, truly unique. Looks like the spell crafting system revolutionizes RPG combat.

Mmm hmm. The part about "enemies coming with different elemental resistances" is interesting though. I wonder if he saw that (and played through it), or was just told about it.

 

[Sentinel]

Missed this: http://wccftech.com/tyranny-hands-on-preview-crafting-spells-and-dominating-the-ignorant-masses/

To just make an example, it’s possible to make a character who only fights from afar with long range spells or a more hard hitting character who can deal more damage up close with both weapons and spells.

Wow, truly unique. Looks like the spell crafting system revolutionizes RPG combat.

Mmm hmm. The part about "enemies coming with different elemental resistances" is interesting though. I wonder if he saw that (and played through it), or was just told about it.

How is that interesting? Every single fantasy RPG in the last 15years has that. Even pillars had it. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here.

 

[Infinitron]

Mmm hmm. The part about "enemies coming with different elemental resistances" is interesting though. I wonder if he saw that (and played through it), or was just told about it.

How is that interesting? Every single fantasy RPG in the last 15years has that. Even pillars had it. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here.

Because of this part:

using the same strategy over and over is definitely not a viable option in Tyranny

Was he told that, or did he play it?

 

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

When I started my book a year & a half ago, I was really encouraged by a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert w/out even knowing who she was. "I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write."

Uh huh.

Unsurprisingly, Paradox's purple haired communications manager claims to have liked it.

Paradox has rainbow haired communication manager?

 

[Roguey]

Paradox has rainbow haired communication manager?

Yup https://twitter.com/Clownmat



Possibly an influence on Tyranny's writing.

 

[Sannom]

She's got pink hair, that's not a rainbow! That's not even a color of a rainbow!

 

[Sentinel]

What the actual fuck. What kind of name is "Kills-In-Shadow"? Who even came up with that?
It manages to be worse than Pallegina.

 

[veevoir]

What the actual fuck. What kind of name is "Kills-In-Shadow"? Who even came up with that?
It manages to be worse than Pallegina.

Kills-while-constipated

 

[DosBuster]

Christ, that whole story just reeks of someone who is writing fan fiction for their favorite PnP character; adjectives upon adjectives upon adjectives. There's even the weird inclusion of an out-of-nowhere sexual tension/flirtatious moment that just feels out of place and forced, if you want to communicate that two characters have some form of romantic relationship in a short story you'd be better off using playful banter with perhaps a slight hint of innuendo (if any at all).

 

[Spiral Jacobs]

That short story was absolute garbage. Incomprehensible, and perhaps most damning - really boring. Easily the worst short story that I've read in ages. Damn you, Obsidian, for blighting my eyes with that horseshit. I couldn't finish it, which is a blessing, I guess. "I wanted to play with the idea that even when people do bad things, that doesn’t mean they can’t be a good-looking..." Jesus Christ...Sounds like something from Zoolander.

 

[Sentinel]

would you hold the same opinion if the text wasn't written by a woman? sounds to me like you're just being a misogynist cis privileged white male scum
:trigglypuff:

 

[Sentinel]

This is what we lost MCA for.

Spoiler

Cainarsky, save us.

Don't worry, he's got your back.

Spoiler

I'LL LET MAGRAN'S FIRE BLESS THIS ONE

 

[Sannom]

would you hold the same opinion if the text wasn't written by a woman? sounds to me like you're just being a misogynist cis privileged white male scum

Just in case you're serious : there is a definite drop in quality from Paul Kirsch to Megan Starks, I really don't think that can be denied.

However, to say that it will translate into shit writing into the game itself is stupid. Carrie Patel was responsible for the highlight of PoE's writing (the Council of Stars) but her shorts stories ranged from bad (the Sagani story) to passable (the Aloth story).

In general, it seems that Paul Kirsch is much better at the short story exercise than the other writers at Obsidian, both from the writing and marketing standpoints. He has a knack for introducing us to the characters and factions we will meet in this world. It was already the case for his PoE short story now that I think about it.

 

[Infinitron]

Notice that they're letting her write the companion that speaks in broken caveman English.

 

[Spiral Jacobs]

However, to say that it will translate into shit writing into the game itself is stupid. Carrie Patel was responsible for the highlight of PoE's writing (the Council of Stars) but her shorts stories ranged from bad (the Sagani story) to passable (the Aloth story).

I agree. Writing a good short story is a different skill to writing some game dialog, and much, much more difficult in my opinion.
Still, there's no excuse for putting this trash up. It's legitimately awful. Within paragraphs the claws are sabers and then they're scythes. We're told the claws are black twice - got it the first time.

“Do you hear it?” Layla asks, eyes closed as she listens, and the men fall quiet as well, panting and straining to hear over the rushing of their blood in their ears.

Rademos is the first to speak. “No.”

“I didn’t either,” Layla says. She reaches for her hip, fingers fumbling for the dagger that isn’t there. “But that’s the trick, isn’t it? Not to feel it first.”

In the moment before the Beast struck, she’d been laughing deeply, abs bunching beneath taut, bronzed skin, water swirling her navel. Then her drink sloshed as she pitched forward, face twisted in confusion and pain, and his arms outstretched to catch hers, grasping desperately to hold on."

I don't even understand what is going on here. Does anyone? She didn't, or doesn't hear it? Feel what? Aren't they listening? Do you pant and strain when you try to hear, or do you fall silent? I guess they were straining to hear over the sound of their own panting. When did she start laughing? Why was she laughing? Why the tight focus on her abs when she's laughing, and why is her navel filled with water that is swirling? Is she laying on her back? What drink? It's the first and only time a drink is mentioned. Is there just massive amounts of text missing from the story?

 

[Sentinel]

would you hold the same opinion if the text wasn't written by a woman? sounds to me like you're just being a misogynist cis privileged white male scum

Just in case you're serious : there is a definite drop in quality from Paul Kirsch to Megan Starks, I really don't think that can be denied.

However, to say that it will translate into shit writing into the game itself is stupid. Carrie Patel was responsible for the highlight of PoE's writing (the Council of Stars) but her shorts stories ranged from bad (the Sagani story) to passable (the Aloth story).

In general, it seems that Paul Kirsch is much better at the short story exercise than the other writers at Obsidian, both from the writing and marketing standpoints. He has a knack for introducing us to the characters and factions we will meet in this world. It was already the case for his PoE short story now that I think about it.

I wasn't. But I appreciate your post.

 

[Zombra]

Wow, I didn't read the thing, but using modern slang like "abs" doesn't give me confidence in quality writing.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Short story writing may require a different skillset, but poor craft isn't the biggest issue here. The biggest issue is poor taste, and there's no fix for that. The entire concept is so corny it barely lifts above the level of fanfic porn.

 

[Hobo Elf]

All I wanted was a historicool RPG set in a bronze age (or faux bronze age) setting. I asked for none of this shit. I can't even begin to comprehend how awful that short story was. I wanted Herodotus, not this.

 

[Sentinel]

All I wanted was a historicool RPG set in a bronze age (or faux bronze age) setting. I asked for none of this shit. I can't even begin to comprehend how awful that short story was. I wanted Herodotus, not this.

If it serves as any consolation, she's only writing the beasts and one companion. Matt "The Beard" MacLean is in charge of story with Kirsch IIRC.

 

[Fry]

MacLean is lead writer. The others are his minions.

I don't recall seeing much specific info on who's writing exactly what.

 

[Alienman]

That short story was a painful read. Must everything be explained in elaborate adjectives? Is she the lead writer for the game?

And Paradox having a rainbow colored community manager is hilarious. They are drawn like flies to that position. If a company has a community manager there is a 50% chance she will be one of them people