UrbaNebula

Yeah, I agree that there is a lot more to this game and a lot more aspects than what we were shown in the reveal trailer. Hopefully we will see a more in depth gameplay presentation this year, prior to release. I have more faith in Obsidian than I do a lot of other studios out there right now, but after putting The Outer Worlds down after the second play through (which I forced on myself in order to experience the DLC) I'm a little wary.

As we roll into 2024, full of festive chocolate and stodgy fruit pudding, I find myself wondering more and more about Avowed. We've heard barely a peep about the game and its development since the Xbox showcase back in June 2023. The game's release date is currently listed as the ever so vague "2024" and I would assume, so long as the project is still on track, we will be looking at a Q4 release. That puts us somewhere between nine and twelve months from getting our hands on it, likely with a more detailed look at the gameplay around the midpoint of the year. So, how are we feeling? I've noticed the forums here are fairly quiet and I can only assume that is down to the lack of any real, solid information about the game. After spending most of 2023 stating that I was "cautiously optimistic" about Starfield, I was VERY badly burned when September came around. Thankfully, Baldur's Gate 3 delivered the goods in my opinion. A reactive RPG and well presented world that only occasionally came apart at the seams, mainly in Act 3. However, I am still itching for a solid first person RPG with some real depth to it. Could that be Avowed? I'm certainly hoping so.

Coming back to this thread two months after Starfield's release, I have to say: Yes, I certainly DO hope this game is the opposite of Starfield AKA not utter ****. Give me the smaller playable spaces of TOW1 but with more reactivity and a proper sense of a living world.

Whilst I'm sure there are lore implications that explain why we can only be a human or elf, I can only assume that the main factor is a case of the other races being a little more challenging for a first person title. Aumaua and Orlans vary greatly in height compared to Humans and Elves and would require a bunch of animation variants if we see any first person interactions with the world space at any point. Level design in a first person game you are constantly mindful of scale, making sure that the dimensions of environments and assets make sense. I can only imagine the nightmare that would be trying to get this right while also factoring in different camera heights. Shorter players would be able to fit into smaller gaps. Larger players could surmount obstacles that other races shouldn't. You'd be tripling the QA team's work.

Well yeah, I've played it a number of times with one or two other players and we DID have a blast. Just don't ask me (or them) to recount any story beats or name any characters. We skimmed the dialogue and basically fast tracked to the fights or just murdered everyone we encountered.

Honestly I'm not unhappy with what I heard in the interview. However, what I do NOT want is The Outer Worlds with swords and magic. I hope that the playable spaces at least offer the occasional random encounter or have some interesting places to explore off the beaten path. I'd like the world to feel more dynamic, with NPC schedules and some intermingling/infighting amongst the enemies. Not the bizarre sub-MMO style we had with TOW.

The online multiplayer developer could have been a new position on the Grounded team to be fair, since they also had a position for first and third person combat animator, which could also be Grounded. Also, I note the co-op RPGs you mentioned are mainly top down, tabletop style games. I don't deny that those are suited to co-op play, but it seems obvious given their D&D roots. A more action oriented, story driven, first person RPG would not benefit from co-op in my eyes. Even though I've enjoyed myself, I've never been invested in the story of any co-op game since my mates are always there to pull me out of the experience by generally dicking around.

Something definitely looks off in the trailer. The opening shots look fine, but something about the areas with the mushrooms and the purple sky. I suspect that there's something going on with the mushrooms and plants all acting as a light source, but it makes everything look completely flat. Those still images from the xbox site look MUCH better, but every single shot looks to be at twilight. I wouldn't say that it looks "cartoony" as some people say, but it does look oversaturated and lacking depth. I will remain optimistic about the game itself and I hope to see the aesthetic getting some more attention before we see more.

Vapourware until proven software.

Allegedly being the key word, yeah. Apparently everything shown last year was scheduled for release within the next twelve months, but Starfield at least has slipped back to September. Really hoping it does come soon though. There's not a lot on my radar right now, but Silksong definitely is. As for Avowed, if there is still no news at this years Meh-3, then I'm pushing it back to 2025 in my mind and finding something else to be excited about for a bit. I don't expect Starfield to have any real degree of depth as it widens its play space to ridiculous levels, but it might at least tide me over for a few months with it's various systems if it actually lands in September... Baldur's Gate 3 lands around the end of August too, and that's my online co-op game covered for a nice long while.

To be fair to Larian, you don't HAVE to play their games in Co-op. Although I actually had a Hell of a good time with my friends in Divinity, but it's a very different gameplay loop to a first person action RPG.

OK, I dunno why my text isn't appearing in my post:

Currently playing a number of things on different days: Disco Elysium Pillars of Eternity 2 Skyrim (Seriously though, fighting dragons in this game after Elden Ring...? Yeesh) Civilization VI with friends Phantom Fury technically, but that's very much for work more than play

Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking... Of course it's a completely different engine.