I'm unsure about it, to tell the truth. I followed closely the progress of PoE and played it. But the more I played it, the more I felt it wasn't the game I had thought it would be. So I can't look at the new game from Obsidian without that PoE aftertaste.
Story-wise, I felt that PoE wanted to be both Epic fantasy, like BG, and literary and thought-provoking, like PST, but fell just short of being either.
It also was short on both humour AND grit.
Gameplay-wise, the rules used simply weren't as good as D&D.
The game use the same engine as PoE but it's not the same team. The mechanics and the writing are different so people may like it even if they don't like PoE.
They did change some of the mechanics though. I.e. there is no (optional) friendly fire in Tyranny, from what I've seen.
I'm unsure about it, to tell the truth. I followed closely the progress of PoE and played it. But the more I played it, the more I felt it wasn't the game I had thought it would be. So I can't look at the new game from Obsidian without that PoE aftertaste.
What did fail your expectations in PoE?
Overall, it didn't become a game I can return to from time to time.
It didn't offer many variables so that I felt the need to start again.
Fights didn't offer the same diversity BG boasts.
I tried but couldn't like their stat and skill systems - it looked like D&D and yet it wasn't D&D.
Compared to the BG series I think with Pillars Obsidian handled class uniqueness and spells much better than the D&D games I've played. When it comes to Pillars I would have three main criticisms (these are based on the base game - I have not yet played the expansions).
1. The writing gets pretty boring once you get to the elven areas. 2. The dialog in the critical path of the game is too lore heavy. I think the game would have been better if it had it's required dialog (this is different than dialog in which you ask a character for more information) focused less on lore building and more on creating unique, compelling NPCs. 3. There isn't enough variety when it comes to enemies (especially in crypts - where it is very easy to just put your party in a doorway and hold off enemies since many don't have a ranged attack). To counter this they introduce shades not quite midway into the game, but I found them to be more of an annoyance than something that was specifically challenging.
That all said I'm really looking forward to Tyranny.
I early checked the promo material, and was left with the following impression: this game is meant to have a cruel gameworld, and gameplay of black n white choices.
This is not the issue at all. Rather, if this game is liable to exclude a gameplay preference - say old school "chaotic good" - tell early, and tell clear.
I get the feeling that there is more of a Lawful vs. Chaotic main conflict rather than Good vs. Evil going on. Given that "Evil" already runs the whole economics of that world. In a sense, going down the old school good route would pretty much make the protagonist a terrorist. But who knows, the game may even offer such turnouts for the players as Obsidian apparently focused on replayability this time.
I get the feeling that there is more of a Lawful vs. Chaotic main conflict rather than Good vs. Evil going on. Given that "Evil" already runs the whole economics of that world. In a sense, going down the old school good route would pretty much make the protagonist a terrorist.
Heart of hearts, you are not just saying because you love Obsidian, Kamigoroshi?
I do love - NWN2 being my unapologetic and enduring love confession - but never could I flip over to take on Anders of DA2, terrorism epitomized.
Far from it. The last game I really enjoyed from Obsidian was the SoZ expansion for NwN2. Neither Fallout New Vegas, nor PoE was the thing for me. Didn't even manage three complete playthroughts of either games.
The impression I got for Tyranny's plot was mainly due to the DEV diary entries on their blog and the released short stories. Other than that there were some hints dropped on their forums as well.
I do love - NWN2 being my unapologetic and enduring love confession - but never could I flip over to take on Anders of DA2, terrorism epitomized.
I don't want to knock the thread off-topic, but I did want to register my dismay at your calling him that. Not as a moral issue, but an issue of syntax - what he did wasn't terrorism in any meaningful sense. Of course, it's pretty obvious Bioware also intended that interpretation, so meh.
On-topic, I really wish I was more excited about Tyranny than I am. Mainstream games that have (intentional) villain protagonists are rare, ones that are actually trying to do seriously instead of Deadpool or Saint's Row-style over-the-topness even more so.
Moral ambiguity and tough choices are compelling if done right.
And yet... I just can't get interested in it. The dev diaries don't give me any real feel for the world, no real flavour. Same for the companion NPCs, whose descriptions were dry and full of references to organisations and places I don't know. They clearly expect me to have played PoE (I haven't), so I barely even have a notion as to what the gameplay is. It may be some of the video stuff is better, but watching video is a giant pain in Nowheresville Lackinternet, Australia.
I want to care, and yet there's nothing there that grabs me enough to care about. Alas.
Apart from the actual upcoming game, I loathe the 'editions' approach which we already saw from PoE. I mean, how could anyone even care in the slightest about ringtones, forum avatars, special badges and whatnot? They should just sell the OST, guide book and novellas separately for those who want them and otherwise offer the game as is.
An pre-order discount would also be more appealing than two enchanted items at the very start of the game.
What's you guys take on Tyranny's main quest timer?
Given that I even take over 4 ingame years for a Baldurs Gate Saga playthrough, it's suffice to say that I will be on the lookout for mods that will disable that aspect of the game. Or at least extent the deadline to some extent. Not a fan of hectic in games. Et al.
I imagine they'll just use PoE's cooldown system and so the need for constant resting wont really be there. Since it's "short" for an Obsidian RPG I'd also wager there aren't that many separate "hub" locations to travel back and forth to, to suck up in-game time.
I'm definitely interested and got a lot of enjoyment out of PoE. There's a certain nostalgia attached to the older Interplay titles that PoE can't compete with yet, but I definitely got my monies worth several times over and had a lot of fun. Was it a masterpiece? No. But it was damn good all things considered.
I also think their edition set-up is kind of funny - but ultimately if you just want the game there's nothing stopping you from avoiding the extra content - it's just a tactic to try to entice you to pay more for extra little content, but not in the form of a DLC.
I was honestly hoping this thread was going to be a conspiracy theory about Paradox's recent claim of the WW Masquerade IP and the fact that Boyarsky has come to Obsidian lol.
What's you guys take on Tyranny's main quest timer?
Given that I even take over 4 ingame years for a Baldurs Gate Saga playthrough, it's suffice to say that I will be on the lookout for mods that will disable that aspect of the game. Or at least extent the deadline to some extent. Not a fan of hectic in games. Et al.
That's just for the early phase of the game. There is more game without a timer once you resolve the early Edict.
I'm unsure about it, to tell the truth. I followed closely the progress of PoE and played it. But the more I played it, the more I felt it wasn't the game I had thought it would be. So I can't look at the new game from Obsidian without that PoE aftertaste.
Same. While I enjoyed Pillars it had so many problems that put me off ever playing it again. I was really excited with the kickstarter but soon as I started playing it I got a very uneasy feeling that this was not going to be the game I was expecting.
I have a question regarding Forgotten Realm world, if you could get rights to that world would you make a sequel to Baldur's Gate or make an entirely new game in Faerun?
Feargus Urquhart replied That's a tough one. I'd enjoy doing either. However, if there was one sequel I think it would be cool to do, it would be to revisit Undermountain, but with more of a Waterdeep. Maybe make it a more story driven dungeon crawl.
Comments
It also was short on both humour AND grit.
Gameplay-wise, the rules used simply weren't as good as D&D.
It didn't offer many variables so that I felt the need to start again.
Fights didn't offer the same diversity BG boasts.
I tried but couldn't like their stat and skill systems - it looked like D&D and yet it wasn't D&D.
1. The writing gets pretty boring once you get to the elven areas.
2. The dialog in the critical path of the game is too lore heavy. I think the game would have been better if it had it's required dialog (this is different than dialog in which you ask a character for more information) focused less on lore building and more on creating unique, compelling NPCs.
3. There isn't enough variety when it comes to enemies (especially in crypts - where it is very easy to just put your party in a doorway and hold off enemies since many don't have a ranged attack). To counter this they introduce shades not quite midway into the game, but I found them to be more of an annoyance than something that was specifically challenging.
That all said I'm really looking forward to Tyranny.
This is not the issue at all. Rather, if this game is liable to exclude a gameplay preference - say old school "chaotic good" - tell early, and tell clear.
I do love - NWN2 being my unapologetic and enduring love confession - but never could I flip over to take on Anders of DA2, terrorism epitomized.
The impression I got for Tyranny's plot was mainly due to the DEV diary entries on their blog and the released short stories. Other than that there were some hints dropped on their forums as well.
On-topic, I really wish I was more excited about Tyranny than I am. Mainstream games that have (intentional) villain protagonists are rare, ones that are actually trying to do seriously instead of Deadpool or Saint's Row-style over-the-topness even more so.
Moral ambiguity and tough choices are compelling if done right.
And yet... I just can't get interested in it. The dev diaries don't give me any real feel for the world, no real flavour. Same for the companion NPCs, whose descriptions were dry and full of references to organisations and places I don't know. They clearly expect me to have played PoE (I haven't), so I barely even have a notion as to what the gameplay is. It may be some of the video stuff is better, but watching video is a giant pain in Nowheresville Lackinternet, Australia.
I want to care, and yet there's nothing there that grabs me enough to care about. Alas.
I mean, how could anyone even care in the slightest about ringtones, forum avatars, special badges and whatnot? They should just sell the OST, guide book and novellas separately for those who want them and otherwise offer the game as is.
An pre-order discount would also be more appealing than two enchanted items at the very start of the game.
http://www.pcgamer.com/some-of-tyrannys-biggest-decisions-are-in-its-first-10-minutes/
Overall, the character creation looks very nice.
Given that I even take over 4 ingame years for a Baldurs Gate Saga playthrough, it's suffice to say that I will be on the lookout for mods that will disable that aspect of the game. Or at least extent the deadline to some extent. Not a fan of hectic in games. Et al.
I'm definitely interested and got a lot of enjoyment out of PoE. There's a certain nostalgia attached to the older Interplay titles that PoE can't compete with yet, but I definitely got my monies worth several times over and had a lot of fun. Was it a masterpiece? No. But it was damn good all things considered.
I also think their edition set-up is kind of funny - but ultimately if you just want the game there's nothing stopping you from avoiding the extra content - it's just a tactic to try to entice you to pay more for extra little content, but not in the form of a DLC.
I was honestly hoping this thread was going to be a conspiracy theory about Paradox's recent claim of the WW Masquerade IP and the fact that Boyarsky has come to Obsidian lol.
https://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive/v/98233982
Feargus Urquhart replied
That's a tough one. I'd enjoy doing either. However, if there was one sequel I think it would be cool to do, it would be to revisit Undermountain, but with more of a Waterdeep. Maybe make it a more story driven dungeon crawl.