E3 first impressions

[WorstUsernameEver]

We've actually found that just about half of the team plays in the top down camera, while the other half plays in the other camera. Don't worry, the level of detail suits both cameras.

 

Would be nice to see a screenshot though.

[Nathaniel Chapman]

I believe that view is not suitable for a party based hack'n slash. Imagine how would DS2 plays out with that view? Imagine how diablo plays out with that view? You be seeing and hacking monsters in front of you like you are playing TES: Oblivion and wouldn't be able to view all of your other party all in one view. Also, why would i be shooting myself on my foot if i think a first person view is not suitable for an action hack'n slash game?

 

The reason why Diablo has a locked topdown view is because players will be focusing in action hacking and slashing and not zooming in to a first person view looking onto how detail a monster look.

I'll add Borderlands to that mix, which was even more Diablo-like than Kotor. 1st person hacknslash with guns, haha.

It worked with 2-4 people quite well, although it WAS annoying at times not being able to see the other player except when they were right in front of you. They used dots on the mini-map to let you know where they were, but it isn't the same as actually being able to see them...you easily lost track.

 

Edit: Also, Summoner was 3rd person (with a very wide view) with a campaign party+MP & it worked most of the time (there were some camera issues in some areas).

 

That said, while other viewpoints can/do work, for this type of game I do definitely prefer the top-down type of view or at least a wide 3rd person view ala Kotor.

 

We have three camera zoom levels, from closest to furthest away:

 

1) Vanity Cam - This is very close, think of something like the character select screen in World of Warcraft. This is not intended for actually actively playing the game, instead it's for checking out your gear and looking at things up really close if you want to see the highest detail.

 

2) Medium Zoom - This is our default camera, and is like KotoR, but a little more pulled back, and wider (because of the 16:9 aspect ratio).

 

3) Far Zoom - This is our furthest zoomed out camera, and is the camera used in co-op (it is still selectable in SP, but is the only camera for co-op). This is closest to the classic BG:DA style camera.

[Oner]

3) Far Zoom - This is our furthest zoomed out camera, and is the camera used in co-op (it is still selectable in SP, but is the only camera for co-op). This is closest to the classic BG:DA style camera.

Oh, care to share the reason?

[Purkake]

So that when you're playing co-op on a single screen your characters can go further than ~3 meters from each other.

[Irrelevant]

Tactics.

[Tigranes]

Nobody encouraged you to use any particular angle in DA:O, there was no automatic shifting or whatever going on. People just used whatever camera they wanted, which is fine, and which is waht I expect will happen with DS3.

 

Don't see a problem.

[Spider]

Did DA:O have the top down camera on consoles?

[WorstUsernameEver]

Did DA:O have the top down camera on consoles?

 

Nope. They even had to take down the difficulty a notch to counter this limitation.

[SirPetrakus]

We've actually found that just about half of the team plays in the top down camera, while the other half plays in the other camera. Don't worry, the level of detail suits both cameras.

 

Would be nice to see a screenshot though.

Or footage? Loving, kind devs, any news from Squenix' PR department about when that is planned for? We've literally seen nothing! Well, unless you take into account the magic roots ...

[WorstUsernameEver]

We've actually found that just about half of the team plays in the top down camera, while the other half plays in the other camera. Don't worry, the level of detail suits both cameras.

 

Would be nice to see a screenshot though.

Or footage? Loving, kind devs, any news from Squenix' PR department about when that is planned for? We've literally seen nothing! Well, unless you take into account the magic roots ...

 

Blurry magic roots nonetheless!

Hopefully some behind-the-scenes footage will surface as with Deus Ex Human Revolution and Portal 2.. I doubt it though, those two were super anticipated titles.. Dungeon Siege III was at E3 to build its hype.

[Archaven]

I believe that view is not suitable for a party based hack'n slash. Imagine how would DS2 plays out with that view? Imagine how diablo plays out with that view? You be seeing and hacking monsters in front of you like you are playing TES: Oblivion and wouldn't be able to view all of your other party all in one view. Also, why would i be shooting myself on my foot if i think a first person view is not suitable for an action hack'n slash game?

 

The reason why Diablo has a locked topdown view is because players will be focusing in action hacking and slashing and not zooming in to a first person view looking onto how detail a monster look.

I'll add Borderlands to that mix, which was even more Diablo-like than Kotor. 1st person hacknslash with guns, haha.

It worked with 2-4 people quite well, although it WAS annoying at times not being able to see the other player except when they were right in front of you. They used dots on the mini-map to let you know where they were, but it isn't the same as actually being able to see them...you easily lost track.

 

Edit: Also, Summoner was 3rd person (with a very wide view) with a campaign party+MP & it worked most of the time (there were some camera issues in some areas).

 

That said, while other viewpoints can/do work, for this type of game I do definitely prefer the top-down type of view or at least a wide 3rd person view ala Kotor.

 

We have three camera zoom levels, from closest to furthest away:

 

1) Vanity Cam - This is very close, think of something like the character select screen in World of Warcraft. This is not intended for actually actively playing the game, instead it's for checking out your gear and looking at things up really close if you want to see the highest detail.

 

2) Medium Zoom - This is our default camera, and is like KotoR, but a little more pulled back, and wider (because of the 16:9 aspect ratio).

 

3) Far Zoom - This is our furthest zoomed out camera, and is the camera used in co-op (it is still selectable in SP, but is the only camera for co-op). This is closest to the classic BG:DA style camera.

 

I'm not nitpicking but overall i like what i'm hearing . Can we have free camera like the one in Sacred 2? That way, we can look through all angles, zoom in to the nearest just to view the character. I really like and often zoom in to view my characters when not in combat

[mkreku]

I really like and often zoom in to view my characters when not in combat

Yes! Do you also play a female character and try to find the right angle for that perfect crotch shot?

 

..or is that just me?

[LadyCrimson]

@Nathaniel Chapman -- I also like multiple options, so this sounds good to me!

[Sannom]

I don't think this one has been posted (well, it is from today after all), E3 preview from Atomic Gamer :

 

http://www.atomicgamer.com/articles/1069/e...dungeon-siege-3

 

Confirmation that the game was indeed presented on a PC. Even if I won't play it in coop, I hope too that the drop-in/drop-out system will be enabled on PC.

[WorstUsernameEver]

I don't think this one has been posted (well, it is from today after all), E3 preview from Atomic Gamer :

 

http://www.atomicgamer.com/articles/1069/e...dungeon-siege-3

 

Confirmation that the game was indeed presented on a PC. Even if I won't play it in coop, I hope too that the drop-in/drop-out system will be enabled on PC.

 

It's looking good. Hopefully the quest structure and plot are good, and the action is varied enough to keep the game entertaining even after hours.

It also looks like this time Obsidian isn't going overboard with ambition, though I hope it doesn't backfire and that the game doesn't suffer from a lack of ambition.

[HoonDing]

I'd like more plot details. Is the game an actual remake of DS 1, or does the game's plot take place after DS2: Broken World?

 

If it indeed takes place after Broken World, there's room to create a new spell system & include whole new monsters while remaining true to the lore (Broken World -> stars shift, new era begins).

[Sannom]

If it's beautiful, fun, with good enough characters and a coop mode that works well, it will be a success I think. Of course, with Diablo 3 being released soon, it will be a little rough, but there is potential. Especially on the coop mode : if Diablo 3 is anything like Diablo 2, it will have multiplayer but no "coop".

[WorstUsernameEver]

If it's beautiful, fun, with good enough characters and a coop mode that works well, it will be a success I think. Of course, with Diablo 3 being released soon, it will be a little rough, but there is potential. Especially on the coop mode : if Diablo 3 is anything like Diablo 2, it will have multiplayer but no "coop".

 

Soon.. how soon?

Considering it's Blizzard we're talking about, Dungeon Siege III may even come out before Diablo III.

[funcroc]

Dungeon Siege 3 Fan-Powered Q&A with Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart at the E3 Virtual Booth

 

How did the partnership between Square Enix and Obsidian come about for the development of this game?

 

Feargus Urquhart: Square Enix wanted to expand into western-developed products and they determined that a great place to do that was in the role-playing market. With Obsidian's long history of developing these types of games, Square Enix purchased the IP and it

Edited June 21, 2010 by funcroc

[funcroc]

GameFocus preview

[WorstUsernameEver]

Multiplayer.it describes the demo played in more detail.

Apparently it begins in some woods where the presenters fought some spiders, then they went in a dungeon populated by skeleton and in the end fought a sort of samurai-skeleton with a blue aura called Drakomir (wtf?).

For now they say that we don't know much about the content, but the lighting and engine were particularly impressive.

Their fear is that the game will be much less interesting if played in single player (and from the look of it, I agree, that's one of my fears too).

They also mentions that every class has its peculiar animations, and the ones they saw were all well done (no more Alpha Protocol crouch walking? looks like it).

Oh, they also mention that apparently the Archon doesn't only have fire spells (blue fire, apparently) but also healing spells, that were used during the boss fight while the Guardian was busy beating the crap out of Drakomir.

[funcroc]

msxbox-world.com preview

Streamlined, is an excellent word for Dungeon Siege in its current form. Obsidian has stripped out some of the more confusing elements from RPGs and is apparently still evaluating with some systems. Crafting, for instance, is not guaranteed until Obsidian can devise a simple system that will not detract from their core combat focus. Damage types such as "fire" damage or "ice" damage aren't confirmed either. Obsidian was concerned with alienating more relaxed players who weren't keen on graphing out dozens of "damage" charts, etc. This is by no means a bad thing, but it may upset dedicated RPG fans. Although side-quests are available, Obsidian was quite steadfast in their desire to deliver a linear story, free from player involvement. Although this is disappointing in an RPG, its also reasonable for the style of game.

 

Unfortunately, at this point, details are very difficult to come by. The game is still in incredibly early development, with major decisions still unmade. Online capabilities are still unexplored, and although drop-in, drop-out co-op is confirmed,the number of simultaneous players is not. The number of classes is unconfirmed, as is the ability to play any class as either gender, or any other races.

 

Narrative control is promised to the player somewhat, but specific examples or consequences were not given. On the matter of consequences in the game, Obsidian said that they wanted players to make different choices, but that no choice would be the "wrong" one. Punishing players for diplomatic or tactical choices is apparently not on the agenda.

 

Dungeon Siege 3 is so early in development it almost seems as though showing it at E3, even behind closed doors, was a mistake. There's little to be done or said at this point but wait. If Obsidian can deliver a great dungeon-crawler with good co-op capabilities and their new Onyx engine then we'll play it and love it. If in future builds they have over-simplified the games systems or somehow crippled the cooperative features then this will just be a missed opportunity.

 

4players.de (German) preview

[WorstUsernameEver]

Wow, that last preview just made the game sound really bad.

Hopefully it will not be as streamlined as they make it sound.

And.. important decision are still to be taken? Really? When the release date is apparently set in early 2011?

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

[Morgoth]

Dungeon Siege and streamlined are synonymous. So don't be surprised if DS3 is just an extended screensaver.

[Flouride]

Dungeon Siege and streamlined are synonymous. So don't be surprised if DS3 is just an extended screensaver.

 

You are such a posivite guy that you must be a motivational speaker irl.