A Special Announcement From Obsidian

[Hassat Hunter]

everything to do with the fact that they were going to have to fold if they didn't have something happen.

Are we going to collectively forget that was because MICROSOFT shafted them over? But yeah, while KS existed for a while, KS for Video-games revolved solely around things publishers don't want to publish, and not having to go around and hear no everywhere. Several corporations like, again, Larian did make quite a winning to prevent being subjegated to Publishers.

[Boeroer]

Ahhh thanks for the correction. I'm glad you liked the video, it's fun to fall asleep to a video

 

It may have been in the Q&A as you suggested.

I watched the rest of it today and actually nobody says anything like "we don't like consoles".

 

What makes me sad though is that only 1.5% of PoE players used Linux and that it wasn't worthwhile to develop PoE for Linux although Unity supports it natively.

[GetMagnaCarter]

I've been waiting for the PS4 version of Deadfire (which I suspect may now be doomed)

 

Regardless of the impact on me, I offer my best wishes to Obsidian and all their employees and hope they do well

[Chairchucker]

Are we going to collectively forget that was because MICROSOFT shafted them over? But yeah, while KS existed for a while, KS for Video-games revolved solely around things publishers don't want to publish, and not having to go around and hear no everywhere. Several corporations like, again, Larian did make quite a winning to prevent being subjegated to Publishers.

 

There were a bunch of events leading up to Obsidian's financial woes of which MS cancelling Stormlands or whatever that one was called was only one.

 

And there is a huge difference between 'I want to make this game and can't get funding from publishers so will see if crowd sourcing works' and 'I don't want to work with publishers'.

[Archaven]

It smells sci-fi to me. Unfortunately not that interested. Magic and fantasy mostly my preference.

[anastiel]

Steam page - https://store.steampowered.com/app/578650/The_Outer_Worlds/

[LittleRose]

That's it. I've got an old RPG character that's going to fit in The Outer Worlds perfectly. At least according to the trailer. I can't wait to play her there. See you guys on the hype train.

[Terror K]

 

Fable Legends, Project Spark, Scalebound, Phantom Dust remake...

 

Not to mention all support for their first-party GFWL titles like Halo 2, Gears of War, Fable III, etc. At least some others like Capcom, Rocksteady, Codemasters, 2k, etc. had the decency to convert their titles to Steamworks.

Like I said, those were the exceptional titles canceled under extreme conditions. And looking at the amazing tittles that nobody wants to mention like:

Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Minecraft, Forza Horizon series, State Of Decay, ReCore, Ori and The Blind Forest, Alan Wake, Max... the list literally goes on.

In order

 

Quantum Break = Meh, and Steam version ran far better and didn't arbitrarily restrict OS and DX

Sunset Overdrive = Meh, only came to Steam recently thanks to THQ Nordic

Minecraft = Not originally made by Microsoft and acquired later. MS have shown clear favoritism to the XBox version since (price keeps rising on Sony's platform)

Forza Horizon series = The one exception to the rule, actually a really good series, but restricted and tethered to terrible Windows Store and UWP so unmoddable.

State of Decay = Meh, always on Steam because it predated Microsoft forcing Windows Store crap.

ReCore = Meh, and Steam version ran far better and didn't arbitrarily restrict OS and DX.

Ori = Great but always on Steam because it predated Microsoft forcing Windows Store crap.

Alan Wake = Meh, and PC version was actually canceled by Microsoft (despite apparently being 90% done) until Remedy decided to publish it on Steam themselves later.

Max = Curse of the Brotherhood I assume? Okay'ish game and always on Steam because it predated Microsoft forcing Windows Store crap.

 

 

I'm not sure why Steamworks support matters, we are lucky to get Xbox exclusives like Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break on Steam to begin with but the games aren't broken or anything? And optimization for Microsoft's ported Xbox games have always been great. Do you just want mod support?

 

The support matters moreso because it shows how little Microsoft cares about both their back catalogue and support for PC gamers in general outside the now. Like so many other big AAA companies all they really care about is what you're giving them money for now and what you're going to give them money for in the future. They don't care about good customer service and keeping you being able to play their old titles when a service is down or no longer supported. There are quite a few GFWL titles who can only function thanks to modders. And that shouldn't be. How can we trust a company to keep its games alive on the Windows Store when it can't even be bothered to keep its games alive from its last failed PC platform? Microsoft keep harping on about wanting us to believe they've changed and really care about PC gamers, but the complete lack of support for the last-gen PC titles in and of itself proves that they actually don't. Right now we're really just being used as a crutch because their console this gen is straight up losing to Sony and has been since this gen started, and even the Switch is on its way to selling more units in less than half the time than the XBone has in its entire lifespan.

 

Also, I don't know what planet you're living on, but almost all of Microsoft's first-party ports of their XBox One titles to PC have been terribly optimized. Despite the lies about DX12 being God's gift to PC gamers by supposedly being far more efficient with hardware and minimizing bottlenecking, etc. almost all of the titles that Microsoft produced in-house had minimum requirements that read more like the recommended requirements for equivalent DX11 AAA games at the time. Quantum Break, Gears of War Remastered and Gears of War 4 all had terrible optimization and shaky launches, and even only the most recent Forza Horizon finally had a decent port. In pretty much every case where a MS exclusive has also gone to Steam and dropped its arbitrary Win10/DX12 restriction those versions have just straight up been better.

 

And while I do want mod support, one of the other issues is that with the closed environment of UWP and the Windows Store is that it severely hampers this. Only Microsoft approved mods can even be possible in a restricted, Microsoft-controlled manner (if there's mod support at all) so the idea of these games being able to be kept alive over time is slim to none. When Microsoft's services expire or their store is pulled, these games will all be dead. You can't even get things like Durante fixing Dark Souls to actually be decent on PC when the original devs can't be bothered to put in the effort with Microsoft's platform because it doesn't let you access the root game directory. So not only can you not mod in any serious manner, but you can't even make simple .ini file edits.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Terror K

[SonicMage117]

@TerrorK

 

Uhhh What?

 

So basically you're making excuses for every single Microsoft published game that cane to Steam. Better yet, Do you have proof of all these excuses? Thatwould be fair, at least but you're probably going to tell me "It's common sense" and I should allegedly take your word for it.

 

 

I wonder what excuses you will come up with after more Microsoft published games come to Steam.... So say Obsidian games own by Microsoft go on Steam, what will you say them? I'm genuinely curious. I'm not looking for the "It won't happen" answer because you obviously don't know that, I'm askimg realistically what would you say then?

 

 

 

 

Also, I'm not sure optimization is the issue. Seeing that the games I mentioned get good reviews by the gamers/playerbase. I'm living on the planet that exist, the one that's real. If you want to prove me wrong, I would love some evidence. Of course, you are always welcome to tell me that I'm not worth it to - which is a common excuse on any forum. Maybe you're talking about isolated issues with people having hardware issues and blame the game. I personally have all the games listed, haven't had an issue with any, it's not like they are badly coded or made through a cheap engine lol

 

But yeah, if you're going to try to convince me that Microsoft won't put their first party games on Steam from now on just because Windows Store exists, then I'd just say: What makes you think they won't follow suit of Epic Games and CDPR?

 

 

And more importantly, you focused only on the titles I mentioned, Microsoft still published more games and brang them unto Steam, just a few months ago fyi. If what you were saying was true, this wouldn'tbe happening.

Edited December 8, 2018 by SonicMage117

[Dryden]

All I know is that games for windows live was really terrible,and MS hasnt done enough to gain back my trust yet. Hopefully they will, together with Obsidian

[Dryden]

All I know is that games for windows live was really terrible,and MS hasnt done enough to gain back my trust yet. Hopefully they will, together with Obsidian

[Terror K]

@TerrorK

 

Uhhh What?

 

So basically you're making excuses for every single Microsoft published game that cane to Steam. Better yet, Do you have proof of all these excuses? Thatwould be fair, at least but you're probably going to tell me "It's common sense" and I should allegedly take your word for it.

 

 

I wonder what excuses you will come up with after more Microsoft published games come to Steam.... So say Obsidian games own by Microsoft go on Steam, what will you say them? I'm genuinely curious. I'm not looking for the "It won't happen" answer because you obviously don't know that, I'm askimg realistically what would you say then?

 

 

 

 

Also, I'm not sure optimization is the issue. Seeing that the games I mentioned get good reviews by the gamers/playerbase. I'm living on the planet that exist, the one that's real. If you want to prove me wrong, I would love some evidence. Of course, you are always welcome to tell me that I'm not worth it to - which is a common excuse on any forum. Maybe you're talking about isolated issues with people having hardware issues and blame the game. I personally have all the games listed, haven't had an issue with any, it's not like they are badly coded or made through a cheap engine lol

 

But yeah, if you're going to try to convince me that Microsoft won't put their first party games on Steam from now on just because Windows Store exists, then I'd just say: What makes you think they won't follow suit of Epic Games and CDPR?

 

 

And more importantly, you focused only on the titles I mentioned, Microsoft still published more games and brang them unto Steam, just a few months ago fyi. If what you were saying was true, this wouldn'tbe happening.

 

Okay, for starters, which proof are you after exactly? Because I listed a lot of issues from a lot of sources over the years, as well as some personal experiences on my own as well as those of others I've read over the years.

 

Regarding Alan Wake for example you can find the rundown of the PC version being canceled by Microsoft and then Remedy deciding to self-publish it later on the game's wiki page, though I'm not sure where the article is any more that revealed it was around 90% done at the time. I just remember that from back in the day.

 

When it comes to Microsoft's first-party titles being poorly optimized I'm guessing I don't need to link you to the articles that were around just prior to Windows 10 and DX12's release that was claiming it and UWP were going to be so much better for gamers and used hardware like GPUs far more efficiently? I will post the results of this though:

 

Gears of War 4, released 2016. Here are it's minimum requirements at the time (remember, this is over two years ago):

• OS: Windows 10, 64-bit
• CPU: AMD FX-6300 / i5 3470 @ 3.0 GHz
• GPU: R7 260X / GTX 750 Ti
• VRAM: 8 GB
• RAM: 8 GB

So did Forza Horizon 3:

• OS: Windows 10, 64-bit
• CPU: i7 3820 @ 3.6GHz.
• GPU: R9 290X or RX 48 / GTX 970 or GTX 1060.
• VRAM: 4GB.
• RAM: 12GB.

Now let's look at some other major titles that came out that year:

 

Dishonored 2

• OS:Windows 7, 64-bit
• CPU: i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better.
• GPU: Radeon HD 7970 / GTX 660
• VRAM: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB RAM.

XCOM 2

• OS: Windows® 7, 64-bit.
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 2.6 GHz or AMD Phenom 9950 Quad Core 2.6 GHz.
• GPU: Radeon HD 5770 / GTX 460.
• VRAM: 1 GB
• RAM: 4 GB RAM.

DOOM

• OS: Windows® 7, 64-bit.
• CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 or better / AMD FX-8320 or better.
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7870 / GTX 670.
• VRAM: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB

Overwatch

• OS: Windows 7, 64-bit.
• CPU: Intel Core i3 or equivalent.
• GPU: GTX 460
• VRAM: 1 GB
• RAM: 4 GB

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

• OS: Windows 7, 64-bit.
• CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent.
• GPU: Radeon HD 7870 / GTX 660
• VRAM: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB

Watch_Dogs 2

• OS: Windows 7, 64-bit.
• CPU: Intel Core i5 2400s @ 2.5 GHz, AMD FX 6120 @ 3.5 GHz or better.
• GPU: Radeon HD 7870 / GTX 660
• VRAM: 2 GB
• RAM: 6 GB

Take particular note of the graphics cards and VRAM that Microsoft's titles needed back then. For that era that was insane for minimum requirements. And if DX12 really was the miracle maker they claimed, then why did their DX12 exclusive games need far better hardware to run than the other major DX11 equivalent games?

Edited December 9, 2018 by Terror K

[Boeroer]

Whoa! Hold on! You're coming up with real factual data? Now that's going to cause confusion.  

[M4xw0lf]

System recommendations are not a good basis for this argument.

[Boeroer]

Better than imagination and strong opinions I guess.

[SonicMage117]

System recommendations are not a good basis for this argument.

Exactly, especially when user reviews state the exact opposite (they seem to find the optimization good).

 

I fear this may be more a case of "I'll find a few negative reviews that complain about optimization and place that as a vast majority". That's just not how things work. Or maybe they personally had bad experiences, who knows.

 

That's exactly why I rule out any argument with system requirements, pc's can be touchy and you never know what dirtyness someone has on their pc that could affect other apps (anti-virus, xxx, virus, etc). All this renders the negotiable usless with a strong manner of debris.

 

Aside from that, isolated issues are often blown to proportion, there's never been widespread optimization issues, and none that created a bad launch.

 

 

Then there's the fact that first party Microsoft games are still being put on Steam, this isn't any different from CDPR choosing Steam over GoG. And if we want to speak "fact", factually all the games have good to great reviews by the users on Steam, I'm not going to copy & paste but anyone is welcome to search the user reviews on Steam which is a simple process.

Edited December 9, 2018 by SonicMage117

[Chairchucker]

Now that's going to cause confusion.

 

Mind if we make it Bruce just to keep it clear?

[SonicMage117]

 

Now that's going to cause confusion.

Mind if we make it Bruce just to keep it clear?

Boeoer is Volorun, I am BruceVC. You are Oby.

 

Everyone is Nazi!!!

Edited December 10, 2018 by SonicMage117

[Chairchucker]

I dunno what any of that means but HOWDAREU

[ShadySands]

I could do a Shadowrun game from Obsidian

[Zafar1981]

I had recently played Tyranny and my god its an awesome game. I wish if you guy still going to make sequels for this game. Hope the sequel will be third person open world story driven single player not a game as services. 

[SonicMage117]

HAPPY LATE HOLIDAYS!

[jonathan_bau]

I hope they will let Obsidian do great old school games on PC.

It seems that the partnership between Microsoft and InXile is a good thing for "Wasteland 3".  

[Janmanden]

This is good news, even though it's pretty old already, and it can't get any worse - and even if it did it wouldn't make any difference to me. The last Obsidian game I enjoyed whole heartedly was the Fallout: New Vegas Old World Blues expansion and that's almost ten years ago. All the games they have produced since has been a huge disappointment to me and especially PoE, which was the final act of complete alienation and total indifference, which is also why I didn't see this news before, because this board is as alien to me as the company and that makes me a little sad, because I long to belong somewhere, gamewise. 

Would be nice if Micrsoft would be able to round up all of the former Troika members and add them too and put them all together, InXile, Troika and Obsidian. It could be amaaaazing!!! 
 

 

[Infinitron]

2 hours ago, Janmanden said:

Would be nice if Micrsoft would be able to round up all of the former Troika members and add them too and put them all together, InXile, Troika and Obsidian. It could be amaaaazing!!! 
 

All three Troika founders currently work for Obsidian and inXile.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Infinitron