Future projects for PoE

[juanval]

I'm optimist with PoE in the future, I'll tell you why:

 

One month ago, in a Obsidian devs reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9ndh6v/we_are_obsidian_entertainment_and_david_l/ , Addam Brennecke said that they have plans in the future for the PoE series, and this is said when Microsoft was talking with Obsidian for months.

 

Furhtermore, in this interview

 

 

in minute 4:30 Justin Britch, lead producer, says that obsidian has a complete world map of Eora and they are excited to share more stories with us in other regions.

 

Now let's hope Microsoft let Obsidian create new content for PoE 2 or a new PoE3.

[Archaven]

let's hope we are not going to get a 4 party character with UI designed for controllers. well nothing to hope for. at this point i think very much confirmed. microsoft has been interested in consoles for more than a decade. the downfall of pc gaming were due to microsoft more than a decade ago. now they see the success of steam, they are trying to make a u-turn.

[Marceror]

let's hope we are not going to get a 4 party character with UI designed for controllers. well nothing to hope for. at this point i think very much confirmed. microsoft has been interested in consoles for more than a decade. the downfall of pc gaming were due to microsoft more than a decade ago. now they see the success of steam, they are trying to make a u-turn.

I feel like at best a mouse and keyboard version, if it happens at all, will play second fiddle to the XBox version. According to the MS annoucement, this merger is all about making XBox exclusive games.

 

So, great for the folks at Obsidian who stand to profit. But the joke has always been that the games the CRPG fans really want are the games big publishers will never touch. So, most likely it's goodbye to Obs, like it was goodbye to Bioware.

 

EDIT: Goodbye not good by.

Edited November 12, 2018 by Marceror

[Guest Psychovampiric Shield]

let's hope we are not going to get a 4 party character with UI designed for controllers. well nothing to hope for. at this point i think very much confirmed. microsoft has been interested in consoles for more than a decade. the downfall of pc gaming were due to microsoft more than a decade ago. now they see the success of steam, they are trying to make a u-turn.

 

Be careful what you ask for. Their new corporate overlords could order them to produce Pillars of Eternity 3D with one character (over the shoulder view) instead of party of four and optimized for next-gen Xbox VR gizmo instead of controller.

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

That's why I'm always keen on indie titles. There are some games out there that have very interesting game mechanics, plus there are quite a few classics that also need to be considered. All in all I have to say that with Deadfire we have gotten somewhat of a visual treat, but considering the game wholesale, I know it's not exactly what I wanted. Yes, it still tries to cater to a core, more nichey audience, but that may quickly change in the future. Honestly, I am sceptical. I will keep an eye out, of course. 

[Lord Brunitius]

Deadfire is beautiful to see, i hope they'll keep the same isometric engine

[Moriendor]

I'm a pessimist. While Microsoft might let Obsidian make one more PoE with the Xbox as lead platform, of course, in order to have a broad as possible 1st party lineup for the Xbox Two (or whatever it will be called), it seems very unlikely to me that the series is going to have any kind of longevity under MS. At least not in this shape and form of a "real" RPG. Microsoft will not be happy with games that sell a couple 100K copies at most.

 

So, they will either exploit the franchise recognition to branch out into mobile or they will have Obsidian create shallow 3rd person action RPGs under the brand going forward. I definitely do not see MS supporting a "proper" PoE III, IV, V and so on. Not gonna happen. Obsidian has limited resources and talent. If MS can put the human resources to work on a game that might potentially sell millions instead of hundred(s) of thousand(s) then they will put them on the more profitable endeavors, of course.

 

It's business after all. MS want to beat Sony big time next gen. They are not going to screw around and experiment too much. They are going to want output and good output that shifts some serious units, i.e. games that sell consoles and subs. Does a PoE sell consoles and subs? Let's be honest: Nope. It doesn't.

 

And that's why PoE -at least as we know it- is doomed in my opinion... though I would love to be proven wrong.

[rjshae]

let's hope we are not going to get a 4 party character with UI designed for controllers.

 

Agreed. Combat seems much more chaotic now compared to PoE. Limiting parties to 4 characters will make it even worse.

[Marceror]

 

let's hope we are not going to get a 4 party character with UI designed for controllers.

 

 

Agreed. Combat seems much more chaotic now compared to PoE. Limiting parties to 4 characters will make it even worse.

Don’t worry, your first person perspective experience without a cumbersome party to manage will reduce a lot of that chaos. Just click and win!

[bringingyouthefuture]

Hmm - combat is much more playable in Deadfire - slow which I like and playable - I do wish sometimes for an extra companion - its is hard to choose between all the NPCs

 

Maybe Microsoft with their next console is thinking outside the box completely - maybe with them adding keyboard and mouse support (https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/25/17903312/microsoft-xbox-one-keyboard-mouse-support-razer-features) - their next console will be even more accessible as a computer, so they want to capture the Steam market which already offers both controller and mouse/keyboard.  So Obsidian and InExile in way can offer both markets to them. 

 

If they steal some of the Steam market they beat Sony on that front, and if they have their own dedicated games they compete with them on that front.  So maybe we get a more controller friendly Pillars 3, that keeps the core keyboard and mouse-style play.  In a perfect world of course.

[InsaneCommander]

Maybe Microsoft with their next console is thinking outside the box completely...

 

You mean... outside the Xbox?

[Purudaya]

MS did just announce that keyboard and mouse support will be coming to the box natively and that any developer will be able to implement it, so they could be looking more toward bridging the gap between their console and PC platforms rather than ignoring the latter. Also, the fact that they acquired inXile at the same time as Obsidian suggests that the commonality between them - old school RPGs with a focus on rich storytelling - might have had something to do with the decision.

 

Just like Coke didn't buy Zico Coconut Water/Gold Peak Tea to add caramel coloring and force them to become soft drinks, MS might be looking to add some niche markets to diversify its portfolio rather than forcing Obsidian/inXile to produce something far outside of their respective wheelhouses. If they wanted to make shallow shoulder-cam action co-op RPGs, it seems like there would be better ways of going about it than acquiring the folks who made Tides of Numenara.

 

Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but it makes more sense that Microsoft bought these studios because it saw promise in what they were doing rather than in how it could hollow them out.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Purudaya

[bugarup]

Even if MS allows Obsidian to do its own thing for some time at least, there still is high probability of caging new games in their abomination of the store. And I wouldn't even be able to pirate them, because sorry, Obs, but I love my Win7 moar than I love you. 

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

count me among those cats whod like to see a fun ending to the watcher saga - then after that obs/microsoft can do whatever tf they like.

 

if they pivot to making stuff that aint my bag ill be on my merry way with no hard feelings. nothing is forever. nothing should be forever.

 

though i suspect theyll keep me interested for a while yet.

 

i hope they dont freeze out loyal followers through game store shenanigens tho. that would be sad.

[bronzepoem]

Deadfire is beautiful to see, i hope they'll keep the same isometric engine

No more loading screen，thx.

[protopersona]

 

Deadfire is beautiful to see, i hope they'll keep the same isometric engine

No more loading screen，thx.

 

I'm not sure you could make this kind of game feel as large in scope without them.

[juanval]

I'd like to see a new game with the same mechanics and setting but with a different title and a new main character, starting from level one and knowing more from Eora universe.

 

And PoE3 with the watcher too, of course ;D.

 

At first, let's see if there are any plans for PoE2 in 2019 after the third DLC.

[InsaneCommander]

At first, let's see if there are any plans for PoE2 in 2019 after the third DLC.

 

Their picture implies that Ondra's and Wael's challenges as well as 4.0 will come in 2019. And there is also that "more to come" in the lower right.

[protopersona]

 

At first, let's see if there are any plans for PoE2 in 2019 after the third DLC.

 

Their picture implies that Ondra's and Wael's challenges as well as 4.0 will come in 2019. And there is also that "more to come" in the lower right.

 

The lines for both of those things curves into Dec 2018 though.

[InsaneCommander]

 

 

At first, let's see if there are any plans for PoE2 in 2019 after the third DLC.

 

Their picture implies that Ondra's and Wael's challenges as well as 4.0 will come in 2019. And there is also that "more to come" in the lower right.

 

The lines for both of those things curves into Dec 2018 though.

 

True. I keep forgetting about these lines, they are really thin.

 

But the dashed line towards 2019 is there too.

[daven]

I'm kind of done with this universe to be honest, i've enjoyed the games but they feel more of an experiment to me. Bring on a SCI FI rpg in this style... has it been done before? Or at least put them on a back burner for a few years, make something else then maybe come back to this when they have a good idea for it.

[SonicMage117]

Okay, now now... Let's be honedt here.

 

Pillars 1 was very focused, Tyranny and Deadfire on the other hand are very experimental. Deadfire feels as different to Pillars 1 as Pillars 1 does to Tyranny.

 

I'm with Daven, I'd really like to see something of a new IP. Something we wouldn't expect from Obsidian. I'm not talking space sim or anything old school either, I'd like to see something modern like an rpg racing game or something Idk.

[xzar_monty]

Okay, now now... Let's be honedt here.

 

Pillars 1 was very focused, Tyranny and Deadfire on the other hand are very experimental. Deadfire feels as different to Pillars 1 as Pillars 1 does to Tyranny.

 

In what way is Deadfire very experimental? I'm genuinely curious and would really like to hear your answer, the more detailed the better. I, for one, cannot see much of experimentation in the game. The only way it differs from a run-of-the-mill fantasy role-playing game is the coastal setting, and the fact that it has firearms. That's it.

 

Calling that experimental can be justified, but you would have to have a fairly strict frame of reference to do that. It's like saying that Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi is an experimental song because there's one bar of 3/4 in a song otherwise in 4/4 time.

 

And to make it clear: I think Deadfire is a good game. I like it. But I can't see how it's experimental.

[SonicMage117]

In what way is Deadfire very experimental? I'm genuinely curious and would really like to hear your answer, the more detailed the better.

 

And to make it clear: I think Deadfire is a good game. I like it. But I can't see how it's experimental.

Well since Deadfire kept changing during development, it really never was focused in the way Pillars 1 was. When Pillars 1 was just another Baldurs Gate, Deadfire kept changing to feel something more of a hybrid of two games rather.

 

-So, featuring dual class in the Pillars ruleset system and the naming of the classes.

 

-Ships as a mobile stronghold.

 

-Environmental refactoring in combat. In a way similar to Divinity: Original Sin 2 allowing you to use the environement to your advantage in such a way.

 

 

There are alot of nuances and things Deadfire seems to do in Crpg genre that haven't really been done before ajd while there are about 20 (or 30?) well known indie Crpg's that released this year, every one of them bringing their own thing to the table, Deadfire seems to stand out by being unfocused in it's direction and ambitious. When Pillars 1 was much like a new BG, Deadfire feels more like a Planescape Torment.

Calling that experimental can be justified, but you would have to have a fairly strict frame of reference to do that. It's like saying that Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi is an experimental song because there's one bar of 3/4 in a song otherwise in 4/4 time.

 

As a musician I can say, this isn't jreally true. Games are somewhat of a different beast since there are so much more variables. Even though new music is neing created every day, almost everything has pretty much been done unless you try to invent some instrument or effects pedal that has never been heard before in which case it is truly experimental. In most cases, the "experimental" genre is redundant.

 

 

 

 

"Had the Beatles had a fifth member, they would have done rather well..."

Edited November 19, 2018 by SonicMage117

[InsaneCommander]

I'd like to see something modern like an rpg racing game or something Idk.

 

Maybe Josh's bike rpg.