Ganrich

https://youtu.be/d3p3DBZ4CvU

I haven't gotten the sense at all that Obsidian is currently working on a Bloodlines game. Seems to me that there's just been this **** tease thrown around a few times to see how interested people are in a sequel, but that's as far as it's gone currently.An Arcanum successor seems more likely right now. I'd welcome it, as it'll be in UE4 and surely more interesting than nearly anything else in the industry, but am the opposite of you in wishing it over a Bloodlines sequel. Well, there was really convenient timing when Boyarsky left Blizzard for Obsidian and Paradox retained the rights to White Wolf. It was shortly after that Feargus said Cain and Boyarsky were working on their own project with UE4. Vampire is also a much more widely known IP compared to Arcanum, and Vampires are still popular in mainstream culture (as long as they don't sparkle in the sun). It is an easier sell than Arcanum, IMHO. That said, I would prefer something akin to Arcanum vs Vampire, myself. I'll play either, but I will straight up get passionately excited (HYPE TRAIN!!! ALL ABOARD!!!) for an open world steampunk RPG very similar to Arcanum. The genre needs more unique settings. On the note of Gamebryo/Creation/whatever... I have no issues with the engine, nor many games built with it. However, it needs a big overhaul, or Bethesda needs to build a new one from scratch. They of course should do either an overhaul or replacement with modding in mind. If anything has stagnated the RPG genre it is companies avoiding less traditional settings. It's medieval or bust, and that's stagnation at its finest. Where in the mid 90s to early 2000s we got Fallout, Arcanum, PST, etc. that broke out of the typical fantasy setting. When I argue for an Arcanum sequel I expect a small handful of things: its steampunk, it's open world, it's world is fleshed out, it's got atmosphere, the music should be string heavy if not entirely string instruments, it has open class design focusing on magic vs tech, and I prefer it Turn Based but could deal with something else. I would be fine with Dieselpunk, Space Opera, hard sci-fi, modern setting, Wild West, Wild West steampunk, etc, etc genre too. As long as the game steers away from medieval fantasy. Arcanum and PST are games that the world building and/or story telling strengths far outweigh the bad combat. At least for me they do. That is the diamond that is shining through the rough. That is why they are cult classics and not full blown classics.

Dear God NOOOOOOO! I have no qualms with an Arcanum sequel/reboot/reimagining being first person, even with action-oriented combat, but keep it as far away from anything Bethesda as possible. Yeah, CryEngine or UE4, please. I'm pretty sure it was stated by Feargus (IIRC) that Mr Cain and Mr Boyarsky are working on a project using UE4. An incredible engine suited to doing either a Vampire, an Arcanum sequel/successor, or something new entirely. So, I wouldn't worry too much that whatever they are doing will involve Gamebryo/Creation/whatever-Bethesda-is-calling-it-today. It almost certainly won't.

I wholeheartedly agree... with 2 caveats. Make the combat not suck (pick turn-based or real-time and stick with it, don't try a hybrid again) and find at least some balance between magic and technology (to say Arcanum was unbalanced in this regard would be the understatement of the century). No argument here. They need another way to make tech work other than crafting/dumpster diving for gunpowder like Arcanum's equivalent to a hobo. They had good ideas with things like the Tesla gun, but needed more time to balance it. Nerf Harm spell. TB vs RTwP... I would go TB, but if it is as combat filled as Arcanum... there needs to be a way to quickly resolve trash fights. I dunno. I agree one or the other, though. Definitely not the two crammed together like Frankenstein's RPG-monster. Interesting, in the interview, Leonard talks about his love for Arcanum, his preference for working on games that are his own IP (not something like Vampire, Star Wars, etc), and says he is working on his dream game. God... it gets me too hopeful. I know it isn't likely, but I would flip out. Vampire makes more sense to be the current project. Activision owns Arcanum, and it isnt likely. However, a pitch like "Bioshock meets Elder Scrolls" might get Obsidian's foot in the door, and I'm sure Leonard knows people. It's probably Vampire, though. It's an easier situation.

Leonard, please make that Arcanum sequel/spiritual successor/whatever. I know you guys are probably working on a Vampire game, and I'm all for it, but Arcanum needs love too. If there was ever a Kickstarter I would throw money at..... Interesting point of fact, as a side note, Arcanum just hit Steam a little over a week ago. It gave my cold dead heart a glimmer of hope.

Steampunk? Arcanum spiritual successor?

@Gorgon - Ironically, 25% of InXile kickstarters have seen full releases.

@Hurlshot - Yeah, Bards Tale is the 3rd. That's about the only silver lining. Torment isn't Vaporware. However, it's early access incarnation isn't exactly a full game. I just think releasing it prior to this would build up some good faith. Particularly after the console announcement that gave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't fund TTON for a consolized PST spiritual successor. I may have still backed it, regardless. However, be up front about it, and don't tack it on 80% of the way through development. At least wait for the game to ship first, and then port it.

Wasteland 3? A crowdfunding campaign with 1 game(previously crowdfunded) in the oven is one thing, but with two? Couldn't they have waited until Torment was out? If anything will cause "Crowdfunding fatigue" it is doing it this frequently. HBS gave us a product and then started the next campaign, and they have 3 games and another in the works. Obsidian did a single campaign, released the game and an Xpac (in two parts), and may crowdfund something after Tyranny releases. InXile has done 3 campaigns (now on their 4th), and only released a single product. I'm getting a bit dubious. I hate siding with the Codex, but it's becoming easy.

This isn't a AAA game. They don't need to give themselves 5 months to hype and market the game. PC gamers don't need time to build a new rig just to be able to run it. It isn't the new Battlefield or Wing Commander X. They could announce today that it's coming in November and it will be fine. They need enough time to make Obsidian, Paradox, and maybe some Bioware PC fans aware it's coming, and build off of that. It won't have much competition in the cRPG market this year. There is almost no reason they need to push it unless the game is unfinished.

So, a Sega Nomad with a Nintendo badge?

These guys broke up today, and I'm bummed. All four of their albums rock, and I'm glad I got to see them 3 times. Oh well. Hope someone enjoys them like I do. https://youtu.be/QpURYgyecHk https://youtu.be/WY5QYhOtROM https://youtu.be/-bHeMBavXpI

This is a chicken and egg thing - did customers lose interest because everything is the same or is everything the same because the customers lost interest or aren't numerous enough to warrant niche development at current costs. What I'm sure of is that there was tangible excitement in the PSX, PS2 era. For the PS3 it was a little less and the PS4 was basically met with a sigh, even before it became clear what the console would actually offer. Of course, the advancement was tangible as well, PSX and PS2 were worlds apart. The PS3 was better than PS2 but the PS4 was the barest of upgrades over the PS3. As much as publishers now talk about 4k gaming, its decidedly unimpressive, nothing but a resolution boost. While I will agree that gameplay was really more varied in the PSX, PS2 era - its important that this was something that can be assessed only after the fact. It was not the promise of variety that sold these consoles but the technological leap that spurred sales, which spurred development, which resulted in variety. Variety and quality are on the end of the process - if you were to assume what the PS2 would become on the basis of its launch titles, you would think the thing would certainly fail. I don't disagree, really, but I actually think it's an issue of escalation. 10+ years ago they released a plethora of games and some succeeded while others flopped. The cost was as such that a failed game didn't kill the publishers bottom line or tank their stocks. A single success could pay for a few luke warm games. They have escalated graphics and the cinematic elements to the point it is less profitable. These days they all have a few franchises with extreme recognition to milk, and want to maximize profits so they funnel all their money into those titles. They specifically focus on Graphics, Voice acting, multiplayer, and marketing. Now they have been moving to systems to increase post launch profits like DLC, premium passes, micro transactions, etc. Anything else has fallen to the wayside. They have escalated to the point that all they can do is try to find other ways to pay for the expense and continue to drive off the cliff. This escalation would be fine if it didn't tie the publisher's hands to the point they have to play it safe and stick to successful franchises and not rock the boat too much. I remember an interview with Raph Koster (systems designer for Ultima Online and SWG where he made the crafting system) talking about there use to be periodic resets to the cost of game development. An example he gave was when companies started selling Engines like Unreal it caused the price of making 3D games to come down because they didn't have to build the engine in house now. It's been a while, and I can't remember specifics, but he then goes on to say that the industry hasn't see a reset like that in many years. The price of everything has gone up, but they can't get away with an increase in the game's launch price because the consumers would likely not buy it in the same numbers. So, they play it safe, churn out sequels, enforce multiplayer, get top of the line Voice Actors, and throw nearly double the game's budget at marketing. It's also why EA and Activision (I'm sure other publishers too, but I'm less familiar so I don't want to speak out of turn) has been focusing on mobile so much in order to get some sort of safety net up in case they have a franchise fail. Is it these publisher's faults? That's really the chicken and the egg. They were just doing what the consumers were voting for with their wallets, but by doing that they have hemorrhaged smaller groups of people over time. Eventually, these franchises will diminish, and they will have nothing. If I were to blame anything it is games with huge followings like CoD and WoW that caused everyone else in the publisher world to say "I want some of that money, too!" I would also say that these big companies eating all the mid-level developers has been a huge issue, too. We now have an industry with indies and AAA, and almost no one in between. At least that's how it feels. I do remember the PS2 launch. It had Tekken Tag Tournament and Dynasty Warriors 2(I think it was 2), and that's all I needed. Particularly, Tekken, but me and my friends at the time played it together as a weekly routine. However, it was pretty meh to be sure. Any platform, whether console A, B, C, or PC is what the developers and consumers make of it. This whole industry with its faults and greatness is on both the publishers and consumers shoulders.

well it will be more flashy, but I really doubt, many of the games will play at 60 FPS. "Cinematic" 30 FPS is the new trend of the industry. I half expect publishers to push graphics to the point that they are still swimming in the 30FPS range. That is unless Sony really enforces this. Or they will have huge frame drops when things get heavy. Once you become accustomed to 60+FPS then anything less is a travesty. This is doubly true in any multiplayer environment. It's pretty much why I am a PC Master Race guy... I cannot tolerate those low frames when I am trying to track a guy in an FPS. It is infuriating. I stay on a 1080p 144hz monitor because I want those frames without 3 graphics cards. Things are finally starting to get to where a 2550x1440p monitor is getting enticing. Heck, I miss out on a few console exclusives that I would otherwise play because of this. I just can't take it.

If you look at the type of games that the AAA market keeps pumping out then you will see the trend of FPS, 3rd Person action game, etc covering the landscape. It doesn't surprise me to see the AAA market shrinking when their portfolio has done the same thing. lets look at the games they make, and then some of the IPs they own. Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Tom Clancy shooters, etc. Many of their titles use the same mechanics of Open world, tower climbing to unlock map which makes their titles a bit too mind numbing anymore. We will see how South Park pans out, but I am a bit miffed Obsidian isn't at the helm. Where is Beyond Good and Evil 2? Why not try another Dark Messiah game? Might and Magic? EA: Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront, Titanfall, EA Sports, Bioware (too few and far between and mostly just action games with RPG elements strapped on loosely). Wing Commander, Ultima, Kotor, and Jade Empire would like to see the light of day. R* : GTA, GTA, GTA, LA Noire, RDR, Max Payne, Bully. <( RDR, LA Noire, and GTA are very similar games and the first two are basically GTA with a new skin) I may be over generalizing. Bully is similar enough too. They don't have much else that I am aware of. Oh, Manhunt. Activision: CoD and Blizzard games, and Blizzard is still not enough to stop this trend. They have Arcanum, and don't use it. Need I say more? Bethesda: Elder scrolls, Fallout, whatever they let idsoft do (DOOM) or what they let someone do with an old idsoft shooter IP (Wolfenstein). They don't have much else. Konami seems to be digging their grave after the Metal Gear Debacle and Castlevania LOS2 was mediocre as a sequel. Doesn't matter. Capcom keeps pumping out street fighter games. Also doesn't matter because we need 8 versions of Street Fighter V over the next 5 years. Sega is in shambles. Anything they own that isn't Sonic... isn't Sonic so you won't see it. Nintendo isn't played by the largest subset of gamers because of console exclusivity. Take Two Interactive: They have a few, and their biggest FPS was Bioshock (hey look a remastered Bioshock trilogy!) :rollseyes: They make Xcom, though. So, kudos to them. Now let's look at MS and Sony themselves... MS has Forza, Halo, Gears of War, and I doubt we will see another Fable (who knows). MS is like EA and have a good many interesting IPs that go unused. Mech Warrior and Shadowrun (I think they still own it and Battletech but let HBS make those RPGs since they weren't going to do anything with it). Sony has Bloodborne and anything NaughtyDog (Uncharted and Last of Us). Just look at their first party PS2 list to see IPs languishing. Legend of Dragoon 2 will never happen. Go back ten years and there was a large amount of variability in AAA games. There was still a lot of FPS and action games, but there were more than the same one year after year. The PS2 had a lot of jRPGs, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, etc. The original XBox had Kotor 1 and 2, Psychonauts, odd games like Steel Battalion, etc. These days the 4-5 big publishers have a list of 3-5 games they release sequels to year in and year out. If you aren't a fan of their current lineup then I can't blame you for checking out. For the most part.. I have. Of the games currently being produced by these companies... Battlefield, Titanfall, and RDR are the only 3 I care enough about for a day one purchase (though I am likely to pick TF over BF this year unless I have some extra cash). The PC isn't much better. It seems everyone is jumping on the Moba bandwagon (even Epic games is making a Moba), and after learning that Titanfall will have a card game (like Hearthstone)... I expect that digital card games will be the next bandwagon. At least they have stopped trying to get that WoW money. The industry seems to just follow trends anymore to scavenge for whatever scraps the original product drops on the floor. It is kind of sad.

Yup, same here. I was planning on going to Charlotte Sunday to see a band, but... if things haven't settled down then those plans are shot. I've seen them a few times anyways. So, it isn't a huge loss. It's been a while since I paid the Queen City a visit, and was hoping to catch up with a few people. It's all I can do to make sure my friends are safe and sound, but I don't live in the city because of reasons like this. I will stick to the hills and mountains.

So, it seems Vega 20 is on the road map for 2019. http://wccftech.com/amd-zen-vega-20-navi-7nm-finfet-globalfoundries/ I take anything I read on wccftech with buckets of salt, but 2019 is much more believable. Three years is much more doable to move from 14nm to 7nm. So, I am just going to get Vega 10, 11, or whatever. My 780 is aging by the minute, and I don't think 2019 is in the cards.

I'm waiting on Vega, myself. I plan on a full AMD rig with Zen and Vega. I am definitely not sold on the 7nm part being real. They JUST hit 14nm with Polaris and will do it with CPUs/APUs with Zen... I highly doubt they would be able to move that fast to 7nm. It just isn't feasible. They need to make a few bucks on the 14nm process before moving on. I'm always ready to eat my words, though. If it is true and at an even remotely affordable price point... Consider it bought.

As someone that has kept a close eye on SC, I would recommend you not get your hopes up. They haven't hit a deadline, yet. I expect mid-next year, myself.

They could/would still retain control. Let's say they make hardware based on X86 architecture just like Xbone and PS4, then build an OS using Linux like the PS3, and then built an online store like EA's origin, and they can tell devs if your porting to Linux then all we require is controller support (which many AAA games have anyway). Nintendo could not allow downloads of their store and obfuscate the code, and require the user to buy their hardware to get access to their titles. All the while they would be leveraging Valve's work with getting games ported to Linux to get themselves more third party support. Their titles would still remain on their hardware, but other Linux titles would be easier to port to theirs. This would shore up Nintendo's third party support and shore up Valve's potential for Linux ports by increasing numbers of Linux users. It's not like building an OS on the Linux Kernal immediately makes all your software transparent... Nintendo could still have their locked down box while reaping benefits of already ported third party games.

Nintendo > Open. Are you daft? As much as I'd love for your pipe dream to come true, I'd also love to annex my own tropical island and rule it as a "benevolent" dictator (El Presidente Keyrock has a nice ring to it), but that ain't happening either. I would have said the same thing prior to their foyer into smart phones. This shows some changes in their thinking. Nintendo has had one major problem since the SNES, and that's their party support. Building a system that leverages Valve's Linux titles would fix a good bit of that. Like I said, I doubt it's the case, but man would it be a danger to the MS/Sony systems if it were.

I've wondered if the "NX" designation was a cute joke from Nintendo. Where many would see it as N = Nintendo and X = the Roman numeral for 10... Some may see it as a short hand for nix. Many refer to unix/linux systems as *nix. It's made me cross my fingers that Nintendo is going to make a more open console using Linux and get it's third party support via Valve's steam machines. It's not likely, but interesting. I keep thinking of an Alienware article I read where they claimed that some big things were coming to the Linux initiative. Which is why they have a second iteration of their steam machine. I expect Nintendo would have their own store, a disc drive, but still support steam on the console. It would be a game changer, if true. I doubt it is, and is likely just me hoping for Valve's Linux initiative to pick up "steam."

The goal is to stay faithful to the original Morrowind, especially mechanically. Buut it's an open sourced project so there's nothing that prevents people from implementing these features (altho especially co-op would be rather tricky to properly implement into an engine which is not built for multiplayer from the ground up) I believe OpenMW will have coop support baked into the engine. How that will work I am unsure. However, OpenMW is trying to stay true to Morrowind mechanically. If someone was wanting that stuff to be overhauled then Skywind is probably the project to look into. I'm of the mind that if you change the leveling system and combat that you will lose what made Morrowind great, but to each their own.

There are like 3 Morrowind projects at the moment. OpenMW which is replacing the old gamebryo engine for Morrowind and letting players import all necessary assets from their Morrowind install to play it in the new engine, Skywind is morrowind built in Skyrim's engine with Skyrim's graphics and combat, and Morrowind Rebirth is a complete graphical overhaul of Morrowind. OpenMW is the more interesting and impressive IMHO. They are aiming for it being compatible with all Morrowind mods while replacing the engine and upgrading sections to more modern standards. It should allow modders to make Morrowind look nearly as good as Skyrim while retaining all of Morrowind's gameplay. I believe the graphics and animation capabilities are two areas they are improving, but my memory is foggy.

I figured out what to say... "So shines a good deed in a weary world..." - Willy Wonka I feel that every film I've seen him in was him performing a good deed. Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are my two favorite Mel Brooks films. Willy Wonka will never be played nearly as well as Gene played him. Stir Crazy and See no Evil, Hear no Evil are wonderful. The Producers... The man was just gold...