Avowed Extended Gameplay Breakdown with Obsidian

[the_dog_days]

 

* Swimming confirmed

*Glowing interactable (annoying)

*Guns look to be still only useful for single volley and then swapping weapons

*Companions only look mildly more useful than they were in the Outer Worlds

*Limited interactivity with elemental abilities and environments

*Said they took abilities from the classes and dissociated them from classes

*Implied companions are tied to factions like Deadfire (which everyone bypassed 'cause they went it solo in the end)

*Taunt is a thing (boo)

*A lot more verticality than the Outer Worlds

 

At first I thought abilities must be tied to equipment, thus the weird emphasize on a feature that's been a staple in RPGs for 30 years (weapon swapping). Now I think you can only have a few abilities equipped at a time like Mass Effect Andromeda and they focused on swapping loadouts 'cause you're also swapping ability hot bars. The player character never indicated to the companions what to do so there's either very limited or no control over them. Honestly, the combat sounds exactly like Mass Effect Andromeda to me, whose combat I remember for creating solutions worse than the problems they were supposed to fix.

Edited January 22 by the_dog_days

[Wormerine]

Cool! Thanks for sharing.

58 minutes ago, the_dog_days said:

*Implied companions are tied to factions like Deadfire (which everyone bypassed 'cause they went it solo in the end)

Oh come on, I haven't done a fanction-less runthrough so far. I thought those were really well done - so far I didn't have a character who wouldn't naturally lean toward one side.

59 minutes ago, the_dog_days said:

At first I thought abilities must be tied to equipment, thus the weird emphasize on a feature that's been a staple in RPGs for 30 years (weapon swapping). Now I think you can only have a few abilities equipped at a time like Mass Effect Andromeda and they focused on swapping loadouts 'cause you're also swapping ability hot bars. The player character never indicated to the companions what to do so there's either very limited or no control over them.

It would be nice to see the UI - it is difficulty to say at the moment how exactly it will work. There are skilltrees (which remix skills from PoEs to some extend), so yes, it does seem that abilities are seperate from the equipment. I didn't play the Andromeda, but I have rough ideas how it worked.

I am not sure, if it would work well, if for example someone wants to go heavy into spellcasting, but I still struggle to figure out how the game plays (is there any stamina meter? are skills on cooldowns? etc.) The presentation from the DD, makes distinction between abilities and special attacks - not sure what is the exact distinction between the two. It being a singleplayer action game, opposed to class based tactical RPGs, I don't have issue with them changing things around, and will need to see more before voicing any concerns. At this point, I just have questions.

Companions do seem rather inconsequential. It would be cool, if they could be called to use their abilities to aid you in what you are doing - maybe something similar to original Mass Effects.

On a positive side, I was intrigued with all that was told about world and the story. Outside the presence of an archmage, it nothing unexpected, but still feels like a genuine Eora adventure.

[the_dog_days]

I think one key is they made sure to call weapon swapping loadout swapping. My guess is they work like the combat profiles of Adromeda.

[Morrydwen]

This game actually looks amazing in my opinion; a game I would love to play.
The inner-connected area system brings me back to Might and Magic 6.

Amazing art direction of environments.
Amazingly designed unique environments.
Top notch art direction for npc and monsters.
Great attack animations from monsters.

On hit combat between monsters and you is not super great but good enough for me.
It would be cool though if we got to the level of dark messiah might and magic.

Of course if you approach these game mechanics as a POE continuation, I guess it is disappointing. Personally I see it more as a somewhat simplified first person rpg akin to Skyrim.

Only sad I won't see it on GOG for quite some time. I am ok for Obsidian to first make profits by selling it on Microsoft's platform.
I'll pay for the game once it arrives on GOG.

And please don't dump real life politics and woke stuff in this game. It is a fantasy game, keep it like that.

[Hawke64]

22 hours ago, the_dog_days said:

*Glowing interactable (annoying)

Thank you for the summary. Could you elaborate, the interactive items (e.g. an apple or a sword) are highlighted or environmental objects (e.g. climbable ledges and explosive barrels) or foes and allies? (Would prefer all 3 in different colours and thick outlines).

[Wormerine]

22 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

Could you elaborate, the interactive items (e.g. an apple or a sword) are highlighted or environmental objects (e.g. climbable ledges and explosive barrels) or foes and allies?

In the video pickabale items and lootable opjects seem to have pretty unmissable shine to them. Personally, I don't see a good alternative solution. Unfortunately, as games became more visually busy, it became necessary to distinguish interactables from static decoration. Definitely doesn't look nice on screenshots or gameplay footage, but I generally don't notice them when I play. I would rather have those, that XRAY vision, that makes it difficult to enjoy the artstyle entirely. 

[kanisatha]

The deep-dive only made me more sad, because there was no mention of whether there would be a third-person option. So much of the interview was about gameplay. Surely the question would've been an obvious one to ask. But it was not asked, and the interviewees did not say anything about it, which makes me feel it must only be because it is confirmed the game will be exclusively first-person. And that in turn means I won't get to play the game.

So very sad.

[the_dog_days]

Sounds like I'm right: https://www.eurogamer.net/whats-going-on-in-avowed-we-quiz-obsidian-after-the-xbox-developer-direct

Quote

What I wasn't clear on, though, was how the player's innate magical abilities are used. We saw various examples of them in play - magical pulls, magical tree roots holding enemies in place, and that sort of thing - but there was no user-interface on the screen. How was the player doing that?

I ask gameplay director Gabe Paramo and he gives me a slightly mystifying answer; he says spells are "on their own button". "There's a single button to use an ability, in terms of the ones that you have on your talent tree." This immediately makes me think of the one-button approach Fable 2 used, but I don't know if that's what's going on here. We didn't see a UI, he tells me, because one hasn't been definitively decided on.

Avowed will also have companions to adventure with, and we got a glimpse of them in the presentation. There was the blue-skinned Kai, who I think looks a bit like Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy, and there was human-looking Giatta. They'll fight with you in combat, with Kai serving as a tanky character and Giatta as a healer, and you'll be able to command them in some way. "Yeah," says Paramo, "they have some active combat abilities; you can kind of see what they're doing in the video. Then there's more player-driven abilities that the player can access as well. And [they're] somewhat like an extension of the player in terms of how we wanted to present that - it's still tied to that singular ability button."

It's, again, a slightly unclear answer, and it's another mention of that intriguing singular ability button. Is it a context-sensitive thing? "Yeah, exactly," Paramo answers, but that's as much explanation as I get. "Just going to clarify," Carrie Patel adds: "[companions] will also follow you into combat, so you don't have to micromanage their every move. But as Gabe is saying, their abilities are there for you to deploy tactically." You'll be able to level-up your companions and choose where their skill points go, too.

This looks like they're using loadouts and more importantly all active abilities are tied to the same button and AI is gonna be used to decide what 'ability' gets used without player input. So the ability button is almost certainly on some kind of really slow cooldown otherwise you could jump into battle and just spam it.

Edited January 27 by the_dog_days

[Wormerine]

 Maybe. Considering that the presentation focused on combat, and yet they didn’t show how the combat works, suggests to me that they are still in the process of putting it all together. 

I can’t imagine how one button for skills would work, even with couple load outs, unless they go for Dark Souls like scrolling. Or command inputs like in fighting games.

Anyway he bit that interested me more was:

"The two storylines are very separate," she adds - as separate as the continents they take place on. "The process that Eothas sets in motion at the end of Deadfire is not an instantaneous state-change in the world," she explains. "It's something that is going to take place and slowly change the world over generations, not overnight, so that gives us a bit of breathing room to give the player some other adventures in the interim."

Edited January 28 by Wormerine

[the_dog_days]

I've heard every excuse but simply put, they said that all abilities are tied to one button, yours and companions. When you hit the button an algorithm choses which ability gets used. That's expressly what they said and everyone's pretending they didn't. 

[Wormerine]

1 hour ago, the_dog_days said:

That's expressly what they said and everyone's pretending they didn't. 

Yup.

[Hawke64]

On 1/28/2024 at 7:12 PM, the_dog_days said:

I've heard every excuse but simply put, they said that all abilities are tied to one button, yours and companions. When you hit the button an algorithm choses which ability gets used. That's expressly what they said and everyone's pretending they didn't. 

Could be context dependent, like, if (target==enemy) and (distance to the target>5 m) and (weapon type==melee), then (charge); or even something more simple. Not a new thing*, but if it is possible to program the conditions for the actions to be used, like it was in Dragon Age and PoE, it would be convenient.

*I remember in Vampyr, teleportation, picking up items, and talking to people used the same key.

[the_dog_days]

12 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

Could be context dependent, like, if (target==enemy) and (distance to the target>5 m) and (weapon type==melee), then (charge); or even something more simple. Not a new thing*, but if it is possible to program the conditions for the actions to be used, like it was in Dragon Age and PoE, it would be convenient.

*I remember in Vampyr, teleportation, picking up items, and talking to people used the same key.

That's the way they described it, but it still sounds like **** to me. IE games worked 'cause they automated the boring part of the game: basic attacks. While still letting you strategize with positioning and the use of abilities. I can't imagine why they think it's a good idea to take the fun part of combat (selecting and using powers) away. And it's like they know that the idea sucks 'cause they even say in that interview that the combat's subject to change given feedback--the only 'change' I think they'd make is making one ability equipped with each loadout to activate when you hit the button which still sucks 'cause it limits your options.

[Hawke64]

10 hours ago, the_dog_days said:

That's the way they described it, but it still sounds like **** to me. IE games worked 'cause they automated the boring part of the game: basic attacks. While still letting you strategize with positioning and the use of abilities. I can't imagine why they think it's a good idea to take the fun part of combat (selecting and using powers) away. And it's like they know that the idea sucks 'cause they even say in that interview that the combat's subject to change given feedback--the only 'change' I think they'd make is making one ability equipped with each loadout to activate when you hit the button which still sucks 'cause it limits your options.

Agreed. I'd blame the lack of keys on controllers. On the other hand, Dragon's Dogma (originally a PS3 game) on PC allowed to use several abilities as combinations of keys, while Dark Souls, as mentioned above, allowed to scroll through spells (it was not convenient). Also, I think, in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the number of active abilities was 8. So, it can be done and, hopefully, will change before release.

[erik malkavian]

I come hear looking for more information about "Avowed" but sadly nothing yet.

As to my reaction on the Gameplay.... It was just too short.  I personally felt the graphics are a bit plastic but I believe this is due to build and that its not polished nor in 4K.

 

Looking forward to seeing more in the coming months before release.

[Silvaren]

Looks great:
https://youtu.be/bfEdLugnpuo?si=Q6_mrZEth0gjWg4_

 

[Wormerine]

On 6/10/2024 at 7:45 PM, Silvaren said:

Looks great:
https://youtu.be/bfEdLugnpuo?si=Q6_mrZEth0gjWg4_

Yeah, watched it earler today. Definitely makes me more hopeful than the trailer. Skill tree looks anemic, but we will see how it will play. I didn't analyse systems much, but I do like that they remind me of PoEs, at least on a surface level. Keeping my fingers crossed.

For those who cared, it seems third person will be an option (though while they show a bit of it, it the video still mostly uses 1st person - I would guess that the 3rd person still needs some work).

[Ordo!]

It was the best showing of the game for me. Happy to see the attributes, dexterity could be very fun.

I'm not fully convinced by the skill trees, I like that each abilities seem impactful but I need to see if the ranks are not only vertical progression. And even with that the number of abilities seems pretty low honestly but we'll see.

 

Also curious about itemization, is the upgrade system similar to POE2 with little trees ? And are unique items as interesting.

 

The combat looks great though, appreciate the different animations.

[Wormerine]

On 6/10/2024 at 7:45 PM, Silvaren said:

Looks great:
https://youtu.be/bfEdLugnpuo?si=Q6_mrZEth0gjWg4_

Around 4:45 mark, Carrie confirms that the Inquisitor from the trailer is indeed Lödwyn - a returning character from PoE2.

However, she is very much alive, while our encounter with her in Deadfire can result in her being very much dead.

Does that mean, that there is no save import for Avowed, and the game continues with pre-determined continuity? Or did Obsidian pull of some narrative trick, like that conversation happening before the events of the Deadfire? Now when I am thinking of it - has Avowed timeline been confirmed? Is it pre or post Deadfire?

[Ordo!]

It's set shortly after Deadfire but pretty disconnected from the events of POE2 (confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer).

As for Lodwyn it could be the new agent of Woedica ? Or even a deathguard (the eye of fire) ?

[kanisatha]

15 hours ago, Ordo! said:

It's set shortly after Deadfire but pretty disconnected from the events of POE2 (confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer).

^This.

Seems like Obsidian is doing what WotC has done with D&D's FR setting. Lore is consistent only within a specific game series, and not the entire franchise. So, if there is ever a PoE3, we can expect it will honor lore/events from the first two games. But any other series of games, games that are set in Eora but NOT PoE games, won't necessarily honor what happened in the PoE games.

[Silvaren]

23 hours ago, Wormerine said:

Around 4:45 mark, Carrie confirms that the Inquisitor from the trailer is indeed Lödwyn - a returning character from PoE2.

However, she is very much alive, while our encounter with her in Deadfire can result in her being very much dead.

Does that mean, that there is no save import for Avowed, and the game continues with pre-determined continuity? Or did Obsidian pull of some narrative trick, like that conversation happening before the events of the Deadfire? Now when I am thinking of it - has Avowed timeline been confirmed? Is it pre or post Deadfire?

Someone put this in the chat during PoE1 stream today:
"However, while Avowed will, apparently, take place shortly after the events of Deadfire, Patel says it won't narratively be connected to it. "The two storylines are very separate," she adds - as separate as the continents they take place on. "The process that Eothas sets in motion at the end of Deadfire is not an instantaneous state-change in the world," she explains. "It's something that is going to take place and slowly change the world over generations, not overnight"

[Wormerine]

On 6/13/2024 at 11:06 PM, Silvaren said:

"However, while Avowed will, apparently, take place shortly after the events of Deadfire, Patel says it won't narratively be connected to it. "The two storylines are very separate," she adds - as separate as the continents they take place on.

Yes, but I read it as “it is not a sequel to Pillars of Eternity, and is a seperate story. Doesn’t necessarily mean lack of continuity as far as returning characters are concerned, though naturally doing something like save import would make much, much less sense here. 

Still, it would be an odd choice to have returning characters and not align them with their previous apperances. Surely, the very point of having those characters back, is that returning players will recognise them. I do think that something like Lowyn’s potential death could be written around, though. 

[kozzy]

I can't wait for this game, looks fun as hell, graphics look nice, bring on another Obsidian RPG

Pentiment was different, but I ended up loving it to bits, can't wait for Avowed next, loved Pillars 2 so stoked this is in the same universe as Pillars 1/2. Also excited its not a 100 hour rpg and glad that it is not a coop game. Over all the years I have enjoyed Obsidian's singleplayer rpgs a ton

 

Good luck to all the devs on release later this year.

[Proficiency]

I cannot wait for this game.

The moment I hear that "click" when picking dialogue options - yeah, I'm buying this day one, baby. 

Good luck for all the devs!