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is outer worlds 2 a hand-holding thing between take-two and microsoft to be exclusive to them, or did microsoft buy the IP?
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Jun 14, 2021 15:55
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Cavauro posted:is outer worlds 2 a hand-holding thing between take-two and microsoft to be exclusive to them, or did microsoft buy the IP? The publishing deal with take two for the original was done before MS finished buying them (obsidian), so it was already slated for other platforms. This time since obsidian are a real live Xbox developer they’re keeping it to their own boxen. History Comes Inside! fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Jun 14, 2021 |
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Jun 14, 2021 15:58
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Oh ok. I assumed TT/Private Division owned the IP since Obsidian hadn't been in a super comfortable place until they got bought out. good job boys
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Jun 14, 2021 16:04
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Southpaugh posted:Outer worlds was poo poo, but maybe outer worlds 2 will be less poo poo? Who knows let's hope they drop the whedon humour. Even though Whedon's been cancelled, that sort of "I'm so smart!" snark/quippy style of writing has permanently infected nerd culture at large, so don't get your hopes up too high. I'd also argue that even the humor wasn't even the most dire part of Outer Worlds when you compare it to how bad the rest of the writing was.
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Jun 14, 2021 16:08
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I think TOW's biggest thing was just the lack of solid narrative, good gameplay, good characters, etc. It was just offensively bland. I'm a big fan of Obsidian entertainment but I couldn't even stand to finish it.
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Jun 14, 2021 16:18
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Cavauro posted:Oh ok. I assumed TT/Private Division owned the IP
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Jun 14, 2021 16:29
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Here's an interview with one of the senior designers:quote:"I've worked for EA, I've worked for Take-Two, Rockstar, now I work for Microsoft," he says. "I've worked for the 'big faceless evil corporations' and on the inside they're not faceless or evil. There's always reasons for why decisions are made. Not always ones that individual people agree with or understand because a lot of the times when a company makes a decision, they don't always communicate 'Here's all the reasons behind how we got to this point.'" quote:"Choices are interesting when they're hard, when both sides have equal weight to their argument and you have to decide which one to go with. That's much more interesting than if one side is clearly right, the other is clearly wrong and you don't have to think about the choice at all." Can't find them right now but there were similar interviews with Boyarksy/Cain where they talked about keeping things grey and doing a pass over the narrative to try and balance decisions. They should have really leaned into the evil corporate shenanigans but in the interest of keeping the moral choices "grey" they shoved in these eye-rolling gotchas. Sure, the corporation sent kill bots to murder everyone in the colony for the insurance money and the corporate boss is poisoning his entire community, but there are reasons for doing it, so who are we to judge? Seems like they couldn't put a pleasant face on the obvious end point of corporate exploitation of people so, drat, uh... I guess we'll say that Adelaide is a Nazi. That'll make the choice harder. And beyond the narrative pulling its punches because the guys ultimately responsible for it are themselves corporate suits, it doesn't help that core parts of the game's mechanics were obviously just thrown in with the hopes that they'd be able to fix them later (they did not fix them later). Perks and weapon upgrading are completely unbalanced and uninspired. Still remember stepping on a mine and getting the option to take less limb damage in exchange for permanent reduction in move speed. Yeah, no, I'll just keep a sharper eye out for minefields in the future, thanks. I won't be touching a sequel to this game unless I see a whole bunch lot of people who disliked the first one singing its praises. Which is depressing because I'm usually a day one for anything Obsidian puts out.
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Jun 14, 2021 16:58
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One of the early missions in TOW was the space station overheating and eventually going to kill everyone (or something of that ilken) and you, the random idiot who just got to the station and talked to the station caretaker within five minutes or whatever that they just met is exactly the person who needs to take care of this problem. Your solution to the problem is to shoot maybe 7 or so bad guys, or pay them like 500 space bucks for the part that you need. This is on a space station that has theoretically a lot of people, while being the major center of commerce with higher level guards in Spaceman armor and everything, and it's up to you, the seemingly only person other than Scientist man who have any sort of personal agency in the entire solar system, which gives it that Fallout 3 stink of "Player character is the only thing that matters" which makes the world)s) so much smaller. I understand the need for players to feel like they're doing something, or having some sort of effect on the places they visit, but it just kind of reeks when it's gone about that way.
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Jun 14, 2021 17:20
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Wicked Them Beats posted:Can't find them right now but there were similar interviews with Boyarksy/Cain where they talked about keeping things grey and doing a pass over the narrative to try and balance decisions. Yeah, they made it very clear that it wasn't going to be a politically charged game. If that was a conscious choice because they didn't want to get buried under culture-war bullshit, I can sort of respect that. But then they should not have made a setting that's all about the unethical absurdity of late-stage capitalism. The less charitable option is that Cain & Boyarsky really didn't see anything wrong with going full "maybe both sides have valid points", in which case both of them can gently caress off.
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Jun 14, 2021 17:21
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Wicked Them Beats posted:Here's an interview with one of the senior designers: They kind of missed the point completely in Monarch by giving you two options, either side with the company man or the rebel leader who's killing people to use as fertilizer. It wasn't really much of a choice especially when you dig into it and find said rebel leader isn't a socialist or anything, she's just having a tantrum because when her son got sick she expected special treatment from the company for being such a good manager, and didn't get it.
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Jun 14, 2021 17:22
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Octopus Magic posted:One of the early missions in TOW was the space station overheating and eventually going to kill everyone (or something of that ilken) and you, the random idiot who just got to the station and talked to the station caretaker within five minutes or whatever that they just met is exactly the person who needs to take care of this problem. Your solution to the problem is to shoot maybe 7 or so bad guys, or pay them like 500 space bucks for the part that you need. You do understand that outer worlds is a video game right?
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Jun 14, 2021 18:06
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I just can't believe that guard expects 'me' the player to pick up that soda can in half life 2.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:13
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pentyne posted:They kind of missed the point completely in Monarch by giving you two options, either side with the company man or the rebel leader who's killing people to use as fertilizer. It wasn't really much of a choice especially when you dig into it and find said rebel leader isn't a socialist or anything, she's just having a tantrum because when her son got sick she expected special treatment from the company for being such a good manager, and didn't get it. She wasn't killing people she was graverobbing, and if you tell company man what she was doing he goes "wow that's genius and a really efficient use of company property!"
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Jun 14, 2021 18:15
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Tenzarin posted:You do understand that outer worlds is a video game right? The problem is the scale. The people holding the parts hostage are probably ~80~ steps away and can be appeased with essentially $20. It didn't exactly break immersion for me because it is a video game but it certainly is a "why is this a problem again?" For instance the starting planet you have to travel way out in the boonies and deal with all sides of an issue with the cannery, where that has a bit more weight on it.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:15
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pentyne posted:They kind of missed the point completely in Monarch by giving you two options, either side with the company man or the rebel leader who's killing people to use as fertilizer. It wasn't really much of a choice especially when you dig into it and find said rebel leader isn't a socialist or anything, she's just having a tantrum because when her son got sick she expected special treatment from the company for being such a good manager, and didn't get it. There's 3 choices actually, you can expose the rebel leader causing the animals to escape. Then you out him and you place his second in command as the leader which gives up on the previous indoctrination stuff and focuses on keeping people alive.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:15
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Nelson Mandingo posted:The problem is the scale. The people holding the parts hostage are probably ~80~ steps away and can be appeased with essentially $20. It didn't exactly break immersion for me because it is a video game but it certainly is a "why is this a problem again?" It's prob would be best if you just temper your expectations.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:18
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Oh I guess there are more than 3 ways to finish monarch. I always forget about the board.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:26
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Tenzarin posted:You do understand that outer worlds is a video game right? Something that is literally going to cause the death of all the people on the space station, and no one has done jack and poo poo until you show up. Not the gangs, not the corporate stooges, not one the "humble good people" of the station is apparently equipped to deal with a few idiots who are hanging out in the middle of what amounts to be the most crucial part of the environmental controls of a space station. Maybe I'm asking too much from the Obsidian B-team, maybe I liked Fallout New Vegas too much, but this kind of stuff really kicks me out of engaging with the game. edit: The game also plays all of this extremely straight. Octopus Magic fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Jun 14, 2021 |
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Jun 14, 2021 18:29
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Octopus Magic posted:Something that is literally going to cause the death of all the people on the space station, and no one has done jack and poo poo until you show up. Not the gangs, not the corporate stooges, not one the "humble good people" of the station is apparently equipped to deal with a few idiots who are hanging out in the middle of what amounts to be the most crucial part of the environmental controls of a space station. Maybe I'm asking too much from the Obsidian B-team, maybe I liked Fallout New Vegas too much, but this kind of stuff really kicks me out of engaging with the game. I'm getting the impression that you still don't understand that this is a video game where things are for you to do.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:33
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Tenzarin posted:I'm getting the impression that your still don't understand that this is a video game where things are for you to do. I don't think you understand what good writing is.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:34
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Octopus Magic posted:I don't think you understand what good writing is. Good writing is a luxury you must agree to leave behind when entering the world of TOW
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Jun 14, 2021 18:40
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maybe the truth is in the middle and there is no such thing as good or bad writing. the only real constant in this crazy mixed up world is that there are bear asses which need collecting when the cannibal family quest popped up i was wondering if it would be subversive in some way but no, it was played completely straight and cliche. too bad i couldn't ask the guy being eaten what sins he had committed to deserve his fate. the game really railroaded me here into thinking the cannibals were bad guys
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Jun 14, 2021 18:45
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Yeah, TOW has a lot of 'the world is waiting for you, specifically, to come solve it's problems,' and is really really obvious about it. Compare this to New Vegas, where it's perfectly clear that every problem that you, the PC, 'solves,' would have been solved by somebody else in your absence. Also, TOW utterly failed to make the cleaning robot at all interesting. That guy should have been stealing scenes left, right and center.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:47
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there's a sassy AI on the ship, and a robot on the ship, and the robot just leaves the ship being super boring? we can't even make the sassy AI a companion by downloading her to the robot? jeez!
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Jun 14, 2021 18:49
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Tenzarin posted:I'm getting the impression that you still don't understand that this is a video game where things are for you to do. Imagine simping for this incredibly boring game's quest design lol
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Jun 14, 2021 18:57
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I mean that's the thing though, like I love XCOM 2:WoTC and the writing is pretty hammy as hell, but it has an excellent gameplay mechanic to back it up. Or Quake 1. I mean I'll give TOW that it didn't make me want to throw my computer into an industrial pig corpse shredder like some of the terrible dialogue that came out of Fallout 4, but I am definitely feeling completely maxed out on Gamebryo-esque gameplay at this point which that consists of NPCs staring into your soul conversations (my brain started to do the Homer Simpson disembodiment when I talked to Sanjar on Monarch who kept on going on and on) or text lore dumps.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:59
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Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:maybe the truth is in the middle and there is no such thing as good or bad nice job summarizing the game's writing
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Jun 14, 2021 19:11
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I was honestly surprised this is getting a sequel, but then I have to remind myself it probably performed decently well for a game of its budget. Again it's not the worst game I've played but I don't think I've ever been hit so hard by whiplash between the relatively strong start and the rapid, rapid descent in quality after the space station. Some of the writing was strong, a lot was hamfisted and "bothsidesy"...I'll probably give the sequel a shot, but not on day one and not for $60. Not to say it won't be worth it in advance, but the first game just didn't inspire confidence and cautious optimism is the best I can muster. Take less lazy shortcuts with the writing, make the choices more impactful, give me a reason to use anything other than rifles in combat, and I'll probably give it another shot.
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Jun 14, 2021 19:20
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Southpaugh posted:Outer worlds was poo poo, but maybe outer worlds 2 will be less poo poo? Who knows let's hope they drop the whedon humour. Unsure if I'd like them to adress the mediocre writing or the mediocre gameplay the most. Then again, Pillars 2 was a LOT better than Pillars 1 in both departments. I really hope they don't do something stupid like spending all their time re-working the engine.
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Jun 14, 2021 19:21
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I'd play a fun game with a poo poo story (Fallout 4) or a poo poo game with a great story (Alpha Protocol), it just needs to have one or the other
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Jun 14, 2021 19:31
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I seriously would've liked the game a lot more and passed the writing if they didn't go all out Gamebryo style combat and more in the lines of "action shooter" (eg if you shoot a guy in the head with a powerful rifle and he's not wearing a helmet, he just flat out dies dies, none of this "bonus critical hit" crap inherited from Fallout 3/NV or Borderlands). I'm from the school of thought that you can still have a shooting role-playing game without all the baggage that comes from D&D-lifted Shotgun Mk2 + 10 freeze damage. I just remember playing the opening scene and shooting the generic Marauders and thinking "Oh man, it's going to be one of those, isn't it."
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Jun 14, 2021 19:40
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Octopus Magic posted:I seriously would've liked the game a lot more and passed the writing if they didn't go all out Gamebryo style combat and more in the lines of "action shooter" (eg if you shoot a guy in the head with a powerful rifle and he's not wearing a helmet, he just flat out dies dies, none of this "bonus critical hit" crap inherited from Fallout 3/NV or Borderlands). Press F in chat to pay respect to Ropekid for getting hunting-rifle type weapon into the game.
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Jun 14, 2021 19:43
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Octopus Magic posted:eg if you shoot a guy in the head with a powerful rifle and he's not wearing a helmet, he just flat out dies dies Any game that can't grasp this simple thing can gently caress right off. Really, can we just retire the concept of levels and enemy scaling, devs I beg you. Gothic had this poo poo figured 20 years ago
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Jun 14, 2021 19:49
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Deified Data posted:I'd play a fun game with a poo poo story (Fallout 4) or a poo poo game with a great story (Alpha Protocol), it just needs to have one or the other Yeah, as dumb as Fallout 4 is, it was way more fun to play moment to moment than The Outer Worlds. Plus at least Fallout 4 didn't just recolor 1 light armor model for everything from level 1-100, I mean come the gently caress on. poo poo, I had more fun with Cyberpunk and that game was a hot mess right from the jump lol
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Jun 14, 2021 19:55
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TheCenturion posted:Press F in chat to pay respect to Ropekid for getting hunting-rifle type weapon into the game. F grate deceiver posted:Any game that can't grasp this simple thing can gently caress right off. Really, can we just retire the concept of levels and enemy scaling, devs I beg you. Gothic had this poo poo figured 20 years ago This would be nice, yes
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Jun 14, 2021 23:36
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Tenzarin posted:I'm getting the impression that you still don't understand that this is a video game where things are for you to do. I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to defend here? Like, is this some emotional reaction to Obsidian or something? Because I'm a tremendous, insanely deep fan of OE. They've made some of the best games I've ever played. I've done at least 10 playthroughs of Fallout New Vegas at this point. But this shouldn't make them immune to criticism. Video game logic exists? Yeah. I think we're all aware that in a game like this all the problems exist for the player to solve. But Obsidian has in the past and present shown significantly more attention to small details, logic, and really focused on characters, story, etc. So when you have a game that defies all conventions they've held in the past and puts itself in a way that outright suspends disbelief, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm fine with needing the player to solve the problem, and the guards not doing their jobs. But in this case the people holding the parts hostage are basically within shouting distance, and can be bribed with what's essentially $20 or one of the guards to blast the 7 low level enemies. There are no stakes. The stakes don't exist. And problems like that pop up in the game all the time. It's just not fun. It's not what I want as a consumer of CRPGs of all stripes. Edit: And it's less about the guards level, it's just that I remember the station being full of them. Like, had this been a "dungeon" where you have to go through a part of the station that is filled with enemies. Large enough to explore around. Or you could talk and bribe your way without firing a shot it'd have been fine. It would be internally consistent. You don't have to suspend complete disbelief to follow through. Nelson Mandingo fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jun 15, 2021 |
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Jun 15, 2021 01:38
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The bad guys are in the lower decks. You step off the elevator and your greeted by a guy with a flamethrower, makes sense why the guards arn't just going down there.
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Jun 15, 2021 01:53
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1.) Marker telling me where there are guys to shoot 2.) Numbers went up after shoot 3.) Loot dropped I dunno, sounds like all the elements of a quality RPG to me. GOTY 10/10
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Jun 15, 2021 02:23
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Volte posted:If it's still the same guys directing then I don't have a lot of hope though. Somewhat surprisingly this doesn’t seem to be the case. Brandon Adler, who I recognize from doing design work on PoE and I think helping direct the DLCs, but who also apparently worked on Avowed for a year, lists himself as game director on OW2. Unclear if that means it’s a solo job or if it’s a co-position with Cain and/or Boyarsky. Megan Starks, who was a narrative designer on the first game and directed the second DLC, also appears to be back for game 2.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:27
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Oh drat, Brandon Adler was the DLC lead on Deadfire. Those DLCs were super dope, that's got me interested all on its own
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Jun 15, 2021 03:52
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