Eternity Avowed - Obsidian's first person action-RPG in the Pillars of Eternity setting - coming February 18th

[Beans00]

Honestly if the developers down to the rank and file, are not excited about the game, why should the player be?

More common than you think. Asked around the office of one certain game dev studio that makes FPS titles, whether they play their games themselves. Answer of about 90% of the devs: "No, never, I don't like FPS games. I enjoy RPGs/adventure games."

Yeah, I'm not surprised at all. But in such cases, that's where the project management comes in. You give those devs who "don't like FPS games" a well defined and strictly written roadmap of what features need to be in and how those features need to work. In the end it won't ooze "passion", but if the management did a good job, will be a solid and consistently good experience for the player.

Obsidian are the worst of both worlds - the passionless attitude of the corporation with the lenient management of the indie dev studio. And I bet if someone tries to establish a more disciplined development process there will be grumbling among the employees, because that's how they've been trained, to sip lattes and wait for the handout from their corpo-daddy.

Infinitron gave me the shitposter tag because of my posts in this thread lol.

 

[scytheavatar]

Avowed at the beginning of the project, when it looked like Obsidian's version of Skyrim.

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging Roguey I guess.)

You can see for yourself what the initial trailer looked like, vs what we got.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Avowed at the beginning of the project, when it looked like Obsidian's version of Skyrim.

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging Roguey I guess.)

You can see for yourself what the initial trailer looked like, vs what we got.

Hmm, maybe it was originally supposed to be set in Aedyr? Otherwise though, that trailer in itself doesn't necessarily imply that it would've been more of a Bethesda style open world.

 

[Harthwain]

Avowed at the beginning of the project, when it looked like Obsidian's version of Skyrim.

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging Roguey I guess.)

You can see for yourself what the initial trailer looked like, vs what we got.

Huh, that actually looked interesting.

 

[Old Hans]

Hmm, maybe it was originally supposed to be set in Aedyr? Otherwise though, that trailer in itself doesn't necessarily imply that it would've been more of a Bethesda style open world.

I would be a lot of people saw the trailer and watched the arrow fly through the crack, into the deep cavern, and they said "OH MY GOD THIS GAME HAS NO LOADING SCREENS!!! its gonna be open world!!"

I would also bet that trailer was made by some contractor animation company who had no idea what the game was about

 

[scytheavatar]

Avowed at the beginning of the project, when it looked like Obsidian's version of Skyrim.

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging Roguey I guess.)

You can see for yourself what the initial trailer looked like, vs what we got.

Hmm, maybe it was originally supposed to be set in Aedyr? Otherwise though, that trailer in itself doesn't necessarily imply that it would've been more of a Bethesda style open world.

The tone of the initial trailer suggested we were going to get a game with a tone closer to an Elder Scrolls game. Rather than being a fruity loop game in the style of The Outer Worlds.

Obsidian was never going to give us an "Bethesda style open world" but that's ok if they at least gave us a game aiming to be their version of New Vegas.

 

[Butter]

Obsidian was never going to give us an "Bethesda style open world" but that's ok if they at least gave us a game aiming to be their version of New Vegas.

Obsidian's takeaway from the success of New Vegas was

1) People like skill checks.
2) People like really easy games.
3) People like main quests where you pick a faction.

 

[Camel]

After spending plenty of time in Veilguard thread, suddenly this game does look so much better. Thanks, BioWare!

Infinitron and Roguey: Avowed can't be worse than Veilguard. Right?! Right?!

 

[kapisi]

I mean, does MS need a reason to lay off some people? Not to mention that Avowed's performance is largely irrelevant for them financially, but at least they can get some bragging rights if it performs and/or reviews well.

Whatever your views are on Pillars and Pentiment, while not big sellers, they have good scores and good rep with the general public. Outer Worlds, on the other hand, while generally considered mediocre, sold much better.

Grounded is probably the most successful of them all, but do they really need to scrap all other projects to make a sequel?

So, this whole situation doesn't make sense to me.

Edit - I also think it's likely that Obsidian will be tasked with the next Fallout rather than being closed or downsized. With Bethesda working on Elder Scrolls 6 and TV show's popularity there's ain't no way MS is willing to let it rest until the 2030s

 

[Roguey]

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging @Roguey I guess.)

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ting-coming-february-18th.134122/post-8265160
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ting-coming-february-18th.134122/post-8520409

 

[Azdul]

Honestly if the developers down to the rank and file, are not excited about the game, why should the player be?

More common than you think. Asked around the office of one certain game dev studio that makes FPS titles, whether they play their games themselves. Answer of about 90% of the devs: "No, never, I don't like FPS games. I enjoy RPGs/adventure games."

Yeah, I'm not surprised at all. But in such cases, that's where the project management comes in. You give those devs who "don't like FPS games" a well defined and strictly written roadmap of what features need to be in and how those features need to work. In the end it won't ooze "passion", but if the management did a good job, will be a solid and consistently good experience for the player.

Especially if your target audience are grandmas whose 11 year old grandsons may be mighty impressed with FQ3 FPS game (delievered on schedule and under budget).

Only bitter, senile 30+ year olds, who played every FPS under the sun will not appreciate the effort.

And that's their problem.

 

[Tyranicon]

Avowed at the beginning of the project, when it looked like Obsidian's version of Skyrim.

I didn't keep up with early development, so how ambitious was the project actually in the beginning? (Also paging Roguey I guess.)

You can see for yourself what the initial trailer looked like, vs what we got.

The aesthetic changes from the trailer to product are astounding. Just look at the difference in colors alone. It's like comparing DA Origins to Veilguard.

The announce trailer implies you'll be in a grimdarkish standard medieval fantasy world, but in the actual game you're in a colorful mystery land with catlady sex expert companions.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/m...obsidian-needed-the-time-theyll-use-the-time/

Microsoft's Phil Spencer denies Avowed was delayed because it's janky: 'We didn’t move it because Obsidian needed the time. They’ll use the time'​

"Maybe we could do a better job pacing with some of our third party friends."

Head of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer has been doing a few end-of-year interviews as 2024 draws to a close, and unsurprisingly the mood music is bullish. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion went through in October 2023, and in its first full year has seen an instant increase in the depth and strength of the publisher's lineup (though Spencer warns the PC-heavy makeup is "historical" and an "anomaly"), alongside a focus on pushing players towards Game Pass with titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

The company has such an embarrassment of riches, in fact, that Spencer says it's letting them take their time where it's needed. Obsidian's hotly anticipated Avowed, a fantasy RPG that it's desperate for people not to compare to Skyrim, was at one point scheduled for a fall 2024 release, but in August was delayed into February 2025. The reason? Microsoft said it was all about players! Giving us a chance to get through those backlogs, what kindness!

Speaking to GameFile's Stephen Totilo, Spencer re-iterates this rationale, and denies that it was down to the game being in bad shape. The latter is not some pie-in-the-sky suspicion, because Obsidian historically produces amazing RPGs that, like Alpha Protocol or New Vegas, have more than their fair share of bugs and jank.

"We can afford it when we have the Diablo expansion, then Black Ops, then Indy [-ana Jones and the Great Circle]," said Spencer. "We didn’t move it because Obsidian needed the time. They’ll use the time."

Hmmm. Spencer says that Microsoft internally is looking at the Game Pass slate, and how it's pacing out the larger releases. "Matt Booty and I, we plan it out, we talk with the Game Pass team. We say, 'Okay, what are the big launches coming in?' We also have Stalker, which isn’t even on that list [of 2024 releases], but obviously for us is a very meaningful launch. We said, ‘Okay, let's make sure we pace this out a little better."

Thing is, February 2025 might make sense when you're just looking at Game Pass in isolation. But in the wider context of the games industry February is jam-packed with big releases including Assassin's Creed Shadows, Civilization 7, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a new Yakuza game, and Monster Hunter Wilds. It ain't a quiet month, and I'd be more concerned about Avowed getting overshadowed by any of those games than Stalker 2.

"Maybe we could do a better job pacing with some of our third party friends," said Spencer. "Because we want them all to be successful."

Ah yes, the good ship Microsoft believes in the rising tide that lifts all boats… just as long as it's the biggest fleet on the waves. Either way the rationale behind Avowed's delay feels a little euphemistic. Games on this scale don't get delayed because Xbox executives are fretting about peoples' backlogs: They get delayed because they need more time in the oven, and the suits decide it's worth it. I can certainly see why, given the lukewarm reception to something like Starfield, Microsoft wants Avowed to launch in as good condition as is possible, because this is a game with hit potential, but there's equally a chance it could be a janky 6/10 cult classic.

The good news is that, even at the moment, Avowed shouldn't shy away from those Skyrim comparisons: As PC Gamer's Phil Savage found, "the similarities are obvious, but the differences make it compelling." As a card-carrying member of the Obsidian fan club, I'm both excited and glad that Microsoft's giving the game the time it needs. I also don't understand why they can't just say that.

 

[AwesomeButton]

This article is exactly this gag:


Microsoft, love it or loathe it, it's here to stay. Obsidian, can't abide them, can't avowid them.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Especially if your target audience are grandmas whose 11 year old grandsons may be mighty impressed with FQ3 FPS game (delievered on schedule and under budget).

Only bitter, senile 30+ year olds, who played every FPS under the sun will not appreciate the effort.

I meant the actual CoDs there, not the knockoffs.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/m...obsidian-needed-the-time-theyll-use-the-time/

Microsoft's Phil Spencer denies Avowed was delayed because it's janky: 'We didn’t move it because Obsidian needed the time. They’ll use the time'​

We delayed it because it's not janky, guys))

 

[AwesomeButton]

Why? It's still as delusional and self-seeking.

No, that's your mom.

I once spent two full weeks trying to put together a mod for Cyberpunk 2077 that allows me to keep a chambered bullet while reloading. Just because I really wanted that feature. No one was paying me. I had to do what's practically the same as my work, but for free, with a worse IDE and with very cryptic documentation, having to hunt down more experienced people on Discord, and feeling really really sleepy most of the time, and do all this instead of playing because that's my free time at the end of the day. But I just wanted to try that one more last thing and maybe it would work. Eventually I got tired with it. I recently saw someone made that mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/cyberpunk2077/mods/9194 2.5k downloads. That's boutique numbers for this game. But someone made it and it was worth it

 

[Tyranicon]

I thought they delayed it so it wouldn't compete with Veilguard.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Come to think of it, I probably would be excited to work on Avowed, and this would last about a month. Then Carrie would call me up and give me a good old managerial go-over Or, more accurately, from Tim Cain's likely experience, she is more on the passive aggressive side of approaches.

Hey, at least now Josh can release a PnP PoE campaign parallel with the game and we can have our own Avowed the way we want it, right?

Iirc you did some modding back then. You already did your part.

I did a very basic cosmetic mod for PoE. I replaced the buttons' textures with others, some of which (the more unique ones) were hand drawn by my girlfriend (later wife): https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity/mods/8

It took us about half a work day to draw the buttons on paper, take picture with a cellphone, and do some photoshop work. I can't help but wonder if it's so easy for two enthusiasts like us to do it, why didn't the professionals ever do it better? On a sidenote, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that we can easily judge RPGs by their GUI graphics. The GUI is a feature which has the greatest payoff in terms of invested effort vs exposure it gets. Every player will use the GUI and will look at it as long as he is playing. And you, the developer only have to produce it once. So why would you do anything but your very best? Can you think of a good RPG with bad GUI graphics?

For Deadfire, they said they've improved moddability by externalizing much of the data about the RPG system. This got me inspired and I hacked together a json editor, adapted to their game files, as an angular app which I hosted on a domain I bought. It took me about a week. I bet a senior developer at Obsidian could have provided that for the same amount of time, or less, and with better quality. I was mostly happy with the initial version but I eventually put it down because I couldn't support it as the patches started coming in, I just didn't have time for it. I remember TT1 actually donated to the patreon I set up for it and to this day I feel a bit sorry for taking it down. You didn't have to do it buddy!

 

[thesecret1]

Can you think of a good RPG with bad GUI graphics?

Anything by Vogel

 

[AwesomeButton]

Can you think of a good RPG with bad GUI graphics?

Anything by Vogel

And wasn't he the one famous for his very low-budget works?

 

[Morgoth]

Having watched a recent gameplay video, I'm getting away with a very sobering conclusion: It's Skyrim with colors, but with slightly better writing and slightly worse combat.

Good job, Feargus, you fat incompetent retard.

 

[Berengar]

If I can turn off all the hud crap and just explore I'll be satisfied, on sale of course.

 

[Pathfinder: WoTR]

Russia - $22.64
China - $48.13
Japan - $62.08
USA - $69.99
Ukraine - $72.75
Europe - $73.82
UK - $76.11
Israel - $79.95
Poland - $85.14

To be fair, while steam didn't leave russia, the payment systems that worked with it did. The bank apps still provide a way to top up your steam wallet, but you have to pay an extra currency conversion fee and you can't properly refund them (steam refunds return money to your steam wallet, not your bank account). I don't have the statistics, but I assume the already low number of paying steam users in russia has dwindled even more because of that inconvenience. Might as well give it away for $5, there's like three people here who are still using steam and also play obsidian games (not me)

 

[mediocrepoet]

It's odd they even decided to sell it in Russia at all. The TA for this kind of slop virtually moved to other regions long time ago and the rest don't care naturally.

Obsidian's trying to get in good with the Trump administration so they don't get rounded up during the woke purges.