Zack Fair
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Posts posted by Zack Fair
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also ITT:
"I don't really know anything, so my expressed concerns are not based on fact!"
I'm browsing his comments, but I can't find this quote from MCA. Did he really say that?
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I would occasionally read comments saying “you were upper management” and “he must have gotten a big payout” and “he signed an NDA, got severance, etc.” and it made me realize most people didn’t know how that all shook out, so I answered it. It wasn’t a great time in my life to deal with all that bull**** with everything else going on, so when I hear something to the contrary, I correct it.
I’m not management, I got nothing, but that was ultimately a good thing for the freedom it allowed, it just took a little time to get there.
As for collateral damage, I might have said this before I don’t think defending Obsidian’s upper management translates into helping Obsidian employees, either financially or job security wise. Even if an employee is kicking ass at their job, they can still be yelled at, blamed, or let go for something that’s not their fault – but is often more the responsibility of the upper management that caused the issue (fighting with publishers, money problems, etc.). Hell, an employee may not even been aware they’ve been earmarked for being let go months before it happens (that’s hardly something that happens solely in the games industry, though).
It is symptomatic of some of these issues that Obsidian rarely can work with the same publisher twice, even if they’d like to – a number of publishers don’t want to deal with Obsidian’s upper management twice in a row. I do think this means that Obsidian’s increasing efforts to work to publishing things on their own is a good thing – it’s one of the only ways their process is going to work in the long-term.
And I’ve said this before: I like the Obsidian devs (although I don’t know many of the new ones, obviously), I still see many and talk with them, I work and help the ones who are still there when I can and the ones who left (even working with them again), and I like the games. If Obsidian does well, however, that often doesn’t trickle down to the employees. If I support bad management practices, I don’t think that helps anyone there.
I do think that if the issues are raised, there is a hope that management will course correct in the hopes to prove to everyone they aren’t like that in an effort to defend themselves – and by doing so, would be good for the employees overall.
That said, the performance and reception of a good game will help employees (esp. reputation and resume building), but that’s not the issue here – my issue is the management. I think they are disorganized and cause a lot of problems, and they are not responsible for what makes the company’s games good - in fact, they arguably do a number of things to damage the process (while I'm skeptical of Glassdoor reviews, I am less skeptical about the common points among all of them).
(Myself included, I’m not blameless – I’ve never claimed to be a good manager, and I wasn’t even a manager at Obsidian unless I took on a specific design role.)
Understanding the evil Avellone.
Actually what I read from this is that while Chris knew that this is legal, he feels that is was not the good way to run a business. And it is not. A CFO without accounting or financial qualifications? Family members on a payroll just because? I know there are companies like this out there, but it is still not a good way to run a business.
Where does it say that he lacks accounting and financial qualifications? Chris repeatedly mentioned that curtain, which I interpret as he doesn't know much at all about that.
Should I link Feargus' Linkdin profile (which he did himself) or you can find it yourself? He doesn't list any education regarding financies or accounting.
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A new statement from Chris Avellone:
To give a little more detail on the financial issues raised shortly before (and then after) the departure:
the financial issues amounted to:
- I asked about making the company’s finances more transparent, since those were often a mystery. This lack of clarity also interfered with the review process (in short, you can’t do reviews and give raises until finances are in order, and we always got held up on that as part of the process, sometimes for months, even if reviews had been written – this is apparently still the case).
- Feargus as CFO had total control over this part of the process. Unfortunately, it was hard to see behind the curtain, and that curtain was not only Feargus himself, but HR and also a number of long-time friends who worked offsite.
- The problem is when we did have a lot of money in the bank, Feargus tended to spend it freely and rarely checked with other owners before doing so.
- Strangely, this particular point is likely one of the big triggers for the de-ownering: I asked why family members who didn’t work at the studio were doing on our payroll – notably, Feargus’s wife
- I asked why the Fair Market Value of the company hadn’t been adjusted in 10 years (it was still sitting around what the company’s initial value was, which was almost nothing).
Any of these could have been a trigger for de-ownering, even the last one, but there were other issues brought up as well (non-financial) that continued to be discussed before or after I was no longer an employee. These weren’t resolved.
Surely, this is all basic stuff within the rights of Feargus as CFO? Question it you may, but he's running the company the way he sees fit.
And having one or two relatives on your payroll at some time or another in a firm isn't exactly unheard of.
As far as I know, Obsidian is one of the longest lasting mid-sized "indie" studios on the map.
I rather sense that Chris wanted more power over and in the company, but then slowly realizing that he wouldn't get any, and full of grandeur, he slowly festered, like a blister waiting to pop.
Actually what I read from this is that while Chris knew that this is legal, he feels that is was not the good way to run a business. And it is not. A CFO without accounting or financial qualifications? Family members on a payroll just because? I know there are companies like this out there, but it is still not a good way to run a business.
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Go read read some decent literature, video games are not the bastion of world class writing, and he is no where near a great author.
Umm, has anyone here said that, or has this anything to do with the hand at matter? And for the record, Chris was always humble about his writing, and contrary to other "writers" in the industry, he never tried to write a novel (cough cough, Dragon Age books anyone), probably because he knows his place. The most he did is some novellas for Kickstarter games. And if you don't think that his writing is pretty good in terms of videogame writing, you don't know what are you talking about. So thank for your insight, it meant a lot.
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If that actually happened he should be talking to a lawyer, not to RPG codex. So either it didn't happen, or Feargus is evil and Avellone is a drooling moron.
Law suits are expensive and can worsen all sides.
Also at the beginning of all of this he said that at the time of his departure he had a lot of family issues, the most serious his mother battling with cancer. I think the last thing he wanted is a lengthy legal battle. Chris said that instead he worked like a madman to save enough money to be fully free from debts and Obsidian's grasp.
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I don't appreciate the way the Codexians treat my good friend Volo, so I've always stayed pretty far away from it.
Whaaat? We love him, and tell your friend that we miss him very much!
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lol
I wonder, was it being called a racist or a Dunning-Kruger poster boy that triggered you such?
No, it was the total ignorence.
the inability to spell "ignorance" correctly is prestigious as ****
Meh. I'm sure you understood what I meant, so I couldn't give a **** about a typo.
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What is this RPG Codex anyway? The gossip magazine of rpgs?
It's basically 4chan but somehow even more racist and utterly convinced that the ability to play video games that are really old makes them an instant expert on any subject from literary theory to geopolitics.
You sure are an expert on the Codex. Although I doubt you ever checked that place.
lol
I wonder, was it being called a racist or a Dunning-Kruger poster boy that triggered you such?
No, it was the total ignorence.
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What is this RPG Codex anyway? The gossip magazine of rpgs?
It's basically 4chan but somehow even more racist and utterly convinced that the ability to play video games that are really old makes them an instant expert on any subject from literary theory to geopolitics.
You sure are an expert on the Codex. Although I doubt you ever checked that place.
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Ouch, this is getting more and more interesting each day.No, but good question.
Aside from making up what Obsidian chose to never pay me, I set aside a legal fund to deal with any repercussions, and I will fight anything they bring to the table, tooth and nail. I welcome it.
If confronted with evil (as categorized by existing employees who will soon resign - check back in a week or two for the latest round, even though one of them dropped yesterday), I will be prepared to fight it. I guarantee I have more in my bank account than Obsidian does, since they rarely think more than 2 months in advance - and unfortunately, their very, very expensive lawyer charges by the hour, which is unfortunate, but he knows, remora-like, what to attach himself to to get the most financial gain.
But it's all okay - Paradox has already been in touch, and they aren't too happy with how Obsidian handled the work they asked for. Future revelations will likely be much more fun than mine.
I mean it's hard enough to find good RPG's these days as it is, and it won't be easier with Obsidian gone.
I would never want Obsidian gone. But this is a great time for RPGs, it is easier than ever to find good RPGs. Just a few from the top of my head: Age of Decadence, Dungeon Rats. Underrail, Divinity Original Sin 1-2, Wasteland 2, Torment, Expedition: Conquistador and Vikings. And many more are coming.
What is this RPG Codex anyway? The gossip magazine of rpgs? lol
They interviewd Avellone about the Obsidian situation then came and post it here to make a fuss - rofl.
And expecting our minds to be blown as if they uncovered some worldwide conspiracy :D :D :D
What's more, that interview apparently happened two years ago and only now, when the sequel of the last game MCA worked on is about to be released, they decided to post it. How convenient
. But not unexpected from that site.You know f*ck all about how this interview went down, so keep the conspiracy theories to yourself.
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No, but good question.
Aside from making up what Obsidian chose to never pay me, I set aside a legal fund to deal with any repercussions, and I will fight anything they bring to the table, tooth and nail. I welcome it.
If confronted with evil (as categorized by existing employees who will soon resign - check back in a week or two for the latest round, even though one of them dropped yesterday), I will be prepared to fight it. I guarantee I have more in my bank account than Obsidian does, since they rarely think more than 2 months in advance - and unfortunately, their very, very expensive lawyer charges by the hour, which is unfortunate, but he knows, remora-like, what to attach himself to to get the most financial gain.
But it's all okay - Paradox has already been in touch, and they aren't too happy with how Obsidian handled the work they asked for. Future revelations will likely be much more fun than mine.
Ouch, this is getting more and more interesting each day.
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Okay, one word to the ones believing Chris to be a totally innocent victim:
All those years, he's been just dropping hints about feeling treated badly. Now he suddenly puts this on the table, just days before the release of Deadfire. Now, what other game with a similare gameplay is scheduled for late summer? Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Who did a major part of the writing for it? Chris Avellone!
Basically, he's making these accusations now, years(!) after he quit, because he wants to make sure that people buy Kingmaker instead of Pathfinder. He could have told us years ago, but he's doing it right now. Right now that his new RPG is about to compete with the first major Obsidian RPG he hasn't been working on.
He's doing something that could keep so many people from buying this game for ethical reasons, it could destroy the company. It could put how many employees on the streets? Just for his petty revenge on the management and his business benefits, he's putting the jobs of secretaries, game designers, programmers, janitors and others at stake. Many of those have families and would lose their health insurance, too.
If the RPG Codex interview hadn't gone up now, Chris would probably never had this kind of venting, so I don't believe that it was intentional on his part to do this right before the Pillars 2 release. Also, his response which dropped the bomb was triggered by a Codexian question, which also means that it was not planned, it was just a response to a question.
I think he just had enough of keeping this for himself, and it felt good to let it off from his chest. The timing is undeniably bad, but it probably wasn't intentional. And even though Chris has bad feelings towards Obsidian, somehow I have a hard time believing that he wants Pillars 2 to fail.
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Probably something that's already been mentioned in the thread, but on top of what I've mentioned previously I would like:
Random number generator (RNG) items in chests, with those RNG items available from a late game vendor anyway or in fixed locations (I know some are available from fixed locations, but not all). I think the current system of fixed items on fixed days encourages meta-gaming but is also a bit of a punishment for those looking to play the game organically as they can often end up with crummy items. By having an RNG system and those items available from a late game vendor (these items aren't unique and are in multiple chests, so it makes sense a salesman would have got their hands on one) I think people would be happier sticking with what they have.
Currently because I want certain items and there aren't fixed locations for them, and I don't want to cheat, I just use the loot lists. However, I would rather just do locations naturally as I come to them. A recent example is that I just took the sacrificial pit on Endless Paths level 2 to get to level 5 in time to get Gauntlets of Accuracy which don't have a fixed location, as far as I know aren't sold by vendors and also are pretty rare on the loot lists on the first place - however ordinarily I would just proceed down the levels as normal. They are valid even for end game on certain builds (probably on my current build I'll be using them from now on), so it's a little odd how tricky they are to get ahold of.
While the current system is hardly terrible, I think it could be made a touch nicer on the player.
By the same dint the Azzuro system also sucks a little, I think it could be improved by having the current system in place - but you can also pay inflated prices for "special stock". I would rather pay 25k gold for a certain item (Hiro's Mantle, mainly) than spam rest at the stronghold. Again, it's not implemented in a rewarding way for the player.
Please, God, no RNG loot! That is like one of the worst ideas in RPGs. When you are grinding your teeth in a difficult dungeon, and you get a ****ty sword in the chest of a powerful wizard. Like, why would he keep that stuff there? The only way that might work if you have hand picked loot table, and you get loot from that table randomly.
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Looks like a curve heavy on the 20's and 30's range, which is younger than I'd have guessed. I thought the 50's and 60's range would be larger than it is above, given various factors (PC game instead of console or mobile, gameplay inspired by older games, fixed ortho, etc).
I found a few web sources claiming that around 29% of all video game players are over 50. (Who knows what "video games" actually means in that context). I have quite a few over-50 friends who are still active PC gamers, so it doesn't seem like that group has simply stopped playing.
It is understandable that 60's are a minority. They were born around 1955, it means that they were already 43 years old when games like this came out (like Baldur's Gate). And 1998 was a different time, gaming was much more of a kid's hobby. There were much less adults playing videogames.
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Here is my wish list for PoE 2. (It will be re-posted on PoE 2 official forums when the game is officially announced)
- All the talents need to be revamped...no more useless talents or talents that don't noticeably change gameplay. In summary get rid of trash talents
- Developers need to play and tune the game on the highest PoTD difficulty. This is to ensure no challenges are impossible to overcome. (I could not kill Adra Dragon on PoTD)
- No more random addition of immunities that unbalance the game. If you are going to give immunities please balance the other talents in the game to accommodate them,
- Reduce the number of party members to four
- Per rest attribute bonuses are immersion breaking and frustrating. No one should have to trace their way out of a dungeon to reinstate attribute bonuses
- Let us customize companions from the start of the game. Do not give us random stat distribution NPCs to salvage from their miserable attributes (Sorry Pallegina...)
- Take advantage of Amazon's free game engine to give us some better graphics. I want to see the armor I put on my toon, heck I want to see their face
- Please figure out how I can spend my money as it accumulates. 200,000 pands and nothing to spend it on is insane.
- All classes should have natural regeneration of health, even if some classes have more than others. Natural regeneration should be upgrade-able with talents
- Be brave...let us experience some Divine level or epic gameplay. (Motb did just fine)
- Plan for expansions from the start including the maximum level cap and talents. Scaling an area up because the player's level is too high breaks the flow of the game and really is an odd way to implement an expansion
- Players should be rewarded for designing good character builds. Remove the over dependence of classes on gear to be viable. (Forgemaster Gloves I am looking at you)
- After a trap is detected, there is no reason for companions to run into them. Bonus against traps should increase upon detection
Please do these if you want to make a ****ty game.
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Vault Dweller and Grunker's review will be more positive. Vault Dweller hates Baldur's Gate and his main priorities are C&C and reactivity, so as far as he's concerned pretty much anything is better than the BG games. He's also a developer so he's kinda bound by 'professional courtesy' as well. Grunker is a BG2 guy and I think he enjoyed the game but he thought that encounter design and itemization were absolutely terrible among other things.
VD has shredded games in the past, both before starting AOD and during. I don't really see how you can be 'predicting' how other people are going to review the games - but I guess it's a very thinly disguised way of saying "hey if you read those positive reviews keep in mind one guy's a shill and another guy well at least he realises how some of the game sucks."
Maybe he (us) knows how VD will review the game because we were speaking with thim and asked his opinion about PoE.
And just for the record, half of the Codex hates Darth Roxor's review, so don't hate all of us.
Everybody has his own opinion. -
I'd like to request the option to disable night and day.
I don`t know whether there are quests that trigger only at night, but hopefully not. You know, my adventurers like to adventure during the day and sleep during the night like normal folks. I hate to run around in the dark. The game looks quite good and I miss all that because it's always dark.
Ha, you almost got me. April's fool. Wait what? Are you serious?
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While a small part of me dies inside by saying this, yes you can get rid of the combat music if you really want to, but I wouldn't delete or rename the files. Instead, replace them with a silent ogg of equal length that uses the same conversion settings.
If you rename/delete, you WILL have music bugs.
Justin, I was critical about the first samples you produced for the game, but I will say it fair and square: you did a fantastic job with the music (exploration, battle, ambiant music is stellar). The battle music is so much like in Baldur's Gate, but it is different at the same time.
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The game is amazing, but I encountered 2 small bugs at the beginning.
1) I traded with the guy at the starting camp, and the sword/armor/potion etc tabs haven't listed the appropriate items to the beginning of the item list. No matter of reloading solved this after it happened.
2) After killing the first 2 bandits at the river, the combat music started to loop forever. This can be solved be reloading.
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Your loss guys.
No, it really wasn't
Since you are a backer, it was obviously not aimed at you.
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GOG only, if I can help it. I'm fed up with Steam when it comes to sharing games. Sure, you can share your library, but you can't play with others with the same game, at the same time. With GOG, I can "lend" the game to my brother, just like in the CD-no DRM times.
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Your loss guys.
No, it really wasn't
Since you are a backer, it was obviously not aimed at you.
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Well to be fair, I think most people here already bought it anyway.
Sure, no biggie. I thought maybe a non backer might be interested in it.
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You asked for it:
Deal is off by the way. The keys were scooped up by 2 fellow Codexers. Your loss guys.
Can someone cite me the rules for something like this. There's got to be something in the backer agreement.
So you can close this thread. I know that's what you want to do.
. But not unexpected from that site.
Everybody has his own opinion.
Chris Avellone: The Final Frontier
in Computer and Console
Posted
Not entirely true:
Based on these steps, I wouldn’t do a purge – and I also wouldn’t want some of the owners to go, either – but they would need bosses. I'd even consider working with Feargus if he had someone watching him (production-wise and accounting-wise, I wouldn't let him near finances).I also wouldn’t want to be a GM, I’d want Cain (and Boyarsky) to do whatever they’d like and support them because I believe based on their track record, that would pay off in the end – for everyone, including them.
But, before you think I’m being overly kind, the poorly-performing nepotism hires would, yes, all be let go. They are evident even to the folks still at Obsidian, and it causes problems to this day to see some underperformers getting special treatment for no other reason than, well, "the owner knows them and drinks beer with them."
It doesn't seem to me that he hates him entirely, just some of his ways doing business.