poetic obsidian

Hello there. I was one of the first people to gush about the main menu theme back when the game was still in beta. However, in the final release of the game I notice some differences in the main menu music. They added more orchestration/instrumentation. For some reason, I prefer the older more bare-bones version of the menu music that we heard during the beta period. Maybe it's because I have a musical brain, so my brain associates the older main menu music with that awesome memory I had the first time I ran the beta and heard that stirring, poignant piece of music. So as an odd request, is there any way to get access to the older version of the main menu theme? Does Justin Bell still post ?

Now that GOG Galaxy is released, those of us with GOG versions of Pillars of Eternity have some questions: Does this mean we will no longer have to wait till a week later for updates compared to Steam? What about the delivery of hotfixes on GOG Galaxy? Will you implement a similar beta patch system as there is on the Steam versions? Unfortunately, Obsidian did NOT make it clear that non-Steam versions would have to wait much longer to get updates and hotfixes. I for one would not have chosen GOG if I was aware of these consequences before redeeming my key.

I think they should have been more upfront about the possibility of patch delays for non-steam versions. This is a big enough piece of informtion to influence whether or not people would choose gog or steam for their backer keys. 1. Some people have tight schedules and can only play weekends for example. Since this happens to be a holiday weekend, there is a possibility that gog won't even patch the game till tuesday. So some people might have to wait till next weekend before they get the chance to play the patched version of the game. 2.Obsidian could have factored this in and at least host the patch on their backer portal to help equalize things for those backers who chose non-steam versions and drm free disks.

Added a poll to see if there are any like-minded individuals out there.

Original Sin and Wasteland 2. No more physical tiers is pretty much where I'm at. This is pretty terrible for $140. Not even remotely worth it. I must say that I also felt a similar dissapointment with both Wasteland 2 and Divinity Original Sin physical goods. Especially the maps. Needless to say, I also will no longer pledge for physical reward tiers. Despite all the nostalgia they drum up, those days are simply over. For one thing, the physical discs will most likely be a steam install anyway, so they're not really necessary. For another thing, the publishers have to ship for too many people in too many different languages/geographic locations. The expenses are too much for them to invest the same amount of quality they did back in the days of ultima when they had to publish for a much smaller, more specialized fan base.

Forget about gameplay, and combat mechanics for a while. One of the best aspects of the Infinity Engine games for me was how the musical score, artwork, and lore combined to give each game a distinctive "feel" or atmosphere that made an indelible impression on my mind. Icewind Dale 1 for me was the most cohesive in this speciific sense. In IWD 1, I loved talking to NPC's, and reading through the weapon descriptions, and books I found because everything came together to fill out this canvas which painted a picture of adventure in the frozen north. I'm only a couple hours into Pillars of Eternity, but I will venture to say that Obsidian nailed it. I am intrigued by the lore. I want to talk to NPC's and flesh out more detials to fill out this canvas. Those hand-drawn custcene transitions combined with the text-adventure style choices help to give the game a distinctive "feel." The main musical theme with its subtle buildup to a climax sets the mood. Those ghosts/"soul echoes" that my character sees as I traverse the land help combine to give the game a distinctive Pillar-Of-Eternity-ness. Our language has many concepts that are hard to put into words even though they are quite real. Imagine trying to describe the color red to someone who has never seen color before. What is this redness that makes a red thing red? Obsidian managed to create a distinct POE-ness and I'm having a blast so far relishing in the tone/mood/atmosphere. Awesome job, guys.

I must agree with the OP and a few others in this thread that even if PoE turns out to be a bad game, the one thing it is bringing back is inspiratiion. Back in the olden days, games were made by basically computer geeks for other computer geeks. One thing geeks have is passion for their subject, and that passion is the element that is most missing in the formulaic, pop-out-one-sequel-after-another, dlc-nickel-and-diming AAA paradigm that we live in today. So kudos to Obsidian and the other old school RPG kickstarter devs for showing that there are still devs who are inspired and passionate about games.

I'll repost this here. The opening theme is subtle. Very subtle. It uses the standard technique of building tension and then releasing it with a subdued yet effective climax. da-da-da-da-DAA-da-da-DAA-da-da...and so on. I like it. It's sweet on the surface, but in that climax, I detect an element of foreboding. It promises that there is something not so normal beneath the fabric. The music here is effective, but oh so subtle, and oh so safe. Perhaps too safe. The composer went for the traditonal route here, and while it's understandable, it's a bit of a shame. One of the best parts of the Infinity Engine games for me is the music. But in those games, the composer didn't play it so safe. The notes from Kuldahar's theme in Icewind Dale 1 make you shiver as you feel the cold, you smell the fire, you hear the murmur of the townfolk. The music transports you inside the town and feeds such vivid images into your brain. That pounding theme as Targos is attacked in Icewind Dale 2, is a veritable military march. With those drums becoming an incessant, heart pounding command of a military officer urging you onwards! onwards! to battle! For me though, the absolute best opening music has to be from NWN Hordes of the Underdark. "Waterdeep..." the narrator begins and the musical score underneath builds slowly unto a stirring epic climax that promisies adventure in the mysterious depths of the underdark! My point here: Music was an important part of the Infinity Engine experience, and while the music here is effective, I wonder if perhaps it's too subtle.

The opening theme is subtle. Very subtle. It uses the standard technique of building tension and then releasing it with a subdued yet effective climax. da-da-da-da-DAA-da-da-DAA-da-da...and so on. I like it. It's sweet on the surface, but in that climax, I detect an element of foreboding. It promises that there is something not so normal beneath the fabric. The music here is effective, but oh so subtle, and oh so safe. Perhaps too safe. The composer went for the traditonal route here, and while it's understandable, it's a bit of a shame. One of the best parts of the Infinity Engine games for me is the music. But in those games, the composer didn't play it so safe. The notes from Kuldahar's theme in Icewind Dale 1 make you shiver as you feel the cold, you smell the fire, you hear the murmur of the townfolk. The music transports you inside the town and feeds such vivid images into your brain. That pounding theme as Targos is attacked in Icewind Dale 2, is a veritable military march. With those drums becoming an incessant, heart pounding command of a military officer urging you onwards! onwards! to battle! For me though, the absolute best opening music has to be from NWN Hordes of the Underdark. "Waterdeep..." the narrator begins and the musical score underneath builds slowly unto a stirring epic climax that promisies adventure in the mysterious depths of the underdark! My point here: Music was an important part of the Infinity Engine experience, and while the music here is effective, I wonder if perhaps it's too subtle.

I was particularly struck by the sound and ambience in that video. Please don't underestimate the power of music / sound in conveying the mood/atmosphere of a game. The icewind dale games had some of the best music and I hope obsidian continues that heritage in Project eternity.

^That kind of trophy would actually make sense within the context of Project Eternity. Something that you can hang over your fireplace in your stronghold is good. This is not how modern games handle trophies though. Trophies are usually either: -- trinkets (aka junk) that you collect or -- a rating ( e.g. Bronze trophy for killing 1000 bandits. Silver trophy for 2000).

^Indeed, that's my main concern. If they implement achievements (and it seems that they would in the Steam version), I hope they give us the option to disable them completely. Or make them non-intrusive for players who choose to ignore them. A recent example that did this wrong is the new Tomb Raider. Even if you ignore the trophy hunting, there are intrusive popups everywhere. I keep accidentally collecting trophies I didn't intend to just by playing the game and interacting with the world.

One modern trend in gaming I'm not particularly fond of is achievements, trophy hunting etc. popping up as I'm playing a game. "Congratulations, you've earned the 'Button Presser' achievement for succesfully using the W-A-S-D keys to navigate !" or suddenly a popup comes on screen and says " 1/ 15 Big toes collected ! " I understand some people need this to keep them motivate to play a game or to add "replay value" Personally I find them distracting or immersion breaking. What will there presence be like in Project Eternity ?

Obsidian, like Troika and Looking Glass Studios before, is the kind of company to attract the more discerning gamers. Unfortunately for them, production isn't fueled by the passion of a relatively small number of devoted fans, but on $$money$$. If they can't get enough people to buy their games, there won't be any more creative risks like Alpha Protocol. End of story.

Question to anyone out there who is familiar with game development: Is this kind of developmental flux really such an unusual thing? I've got a feeling that games are even worse than food when it comes to the difference between what goes on in the kitchen and what you see at the table. In the kitchen, it's chaos, with bits of blood and guts everywhere, but by the the time the food reaches the table, everything is pristine over a white tablecloth. Perhaps making games is the same way, but I could be wrong.

I and many here are glad that Obsidian is just about the only non-indie American game company left that would dare to try something as "old school" as creativity in their game. People like the guy who wrote that opinion piece forget that a market's taste can be manipulated by....money. The so-called new-school western RPG's (mass effect and fallout 3) have all benefitted from huge production values and marketing and add campaigns to make consumers believe that that was where the future was. Those who bought into the marketing and hype were taken in hook, line, and sinker. Only to be further exploited by this new micro-DLC business model that encourages developers to include in-game advertisements without any qualms about old-school concepts such as immersion. So while it might make them"old," Obsidian is just about the only one left. European and indie developers are the ones now who have that old school enthusiasm and approach to making games, and would be willing to take creative risks in a new game.

He actually reviewed the game as an RPG and focused on...wait for it... RPG features. That alone puts his review above the rest of the others. Yet so many of the straight ahead reviews that we're supposed to take seriously couldn't grasp this basic fact.

kirrotu and Serrano: Thanks for erecting and dismantling those straw men that have nothing to do with why I started the thread. Where on earth did I say that devs are required to post out of a sense of entitlement? Posts like those two remind me why I cut down on forum usage, and is probably the real reason why the devs stay away from forums.

Since the game came out there have been a lot of support sent Obsidian's way. Many of these were written by the more discerning, and intelligent fans who truly appreciate the RPG genre. However, I've seen little written by the devs themselves regarding the game in the post release period(aside from that infamous anonymous rant by an ex-employee) Even the Bioware devs post more frequently, and they are supposed to be the big, impersonal corporate entity (and they act like that in many ways especially when it comes to patches). So, what's going on? I understand the usual excuse that they have a lot of things baking in the oven right now, but that still shouldn't prevent them from a little blurb somewhere about their reaction to the game's reception. Wasn't Matt supposed to submit pictures of the beard-shaving process and mail out clippings to lucky fans ? Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough? I wouldn't mind if someone pointed me to some more dev responses in the post-release period. Or is it the case that AP is a game that they would rather forget about sooner rather than later? That would be a shame considering all the goodwill they've been getting from their more discerning fans.

Deadly Nightshade: I share your sentiments but unfortunately, there is an aspect of this that goes well beyond the realm of gaming. Games like Alpha Protocol will always only be fully appreciated by a select crowd. In the western society we live in, people would prefer something that is easy-to-digest and flashy, over something that has more substance but takes more effort to swallow. We're even trained to think like this from since we're young. The unhealthy, sugary cereal boxes are as bright and colorful as the cereals inside. Movies like Avatar will always be huge box-office hits even though the unoriginal story itself has been covered many times in the past. Yet many people say that Avatar made them more environmentally conscious for the first time in their life. So we're only willing to listen to a message if it's presented in a fancy, eye-pleasing way?

Ghostofanakin: One thing that's consistent in the Alpha Protocol negative reviews is that for some reason, people are letting the minuses influence their score the most. Every game has its pluses and minuses, but in AP's case, people are letting the shortcomings influence the score more than the positives. In a way, maybe Obsidian could turn this into a compliment. People are saying, "gee the pluses are so amazing, that it is such a huge shame that it was marred by the minuses." Kindof like if someone defecates on a Picasso or Salvador Dali painting, the faeces will look more worse than if it was on a painting done by a no-name artist. Think about it (er...)

Famous last words.

MarteenDee, you brought up some good points. Does anyone remember Omikron:The Nomad Soul ? Like Alpha Protocol, that game was panned by reviewers for similar reasons. Instead of taking the game on its own terms, it got a lot of unfavorable comparisons. . Omikron was a game where your choices actually had meaningful consequences (and not just on the ending). Hmm...what game does that remind me of? It's on the tip of my tongue... People who expected a shooter were disappointed. However, if you took the game on its own terms and accepted it for what it was...a unique combination of adventure game, shooter, fighting game and rpg...you would get a more favorable impression. Personally, I found the game to be very atmospheric and immersive in a way that modern games no longer strive to be because in those days, they depended on sound, music, and sparse but effective iconic graphics to convey atmosphere.

I found this interesting. Seems like the rift between American and European was also noticed by the Spanish reviewers: Click Here

So that last reviewer played the game as a "typical third person shooter" and one of his major issues was that your facial customization bears no impact on gameplay. Charming. I hope this isn't the level we should come to expect from the typical game reviewer.