Random video game news... renewed!

[Sven_]

2 hours ago, Wormerine said:

2 hours ago, Wormerine said:

 

While Outer Worlds benefited from Bethesda creating a lot of goodwill for it with Fallout76, it seems K:CD2 created the opposite for Avowed. Which is a shame, A detailed, hardcore medieval adventure is kinda what first person PoE adaptation should be IMO. Fantastical powerfantasy, I think runs against the IP's nature. Alas Obsidian continues to pursue mainstream appeal with Outer Worlds and it seems, Avowed, producing simpler friction-free experiences.

Still, looking forward to it. Based on what I have heard I should enjoy the game well enough.

 

Well, as soon as they said The Outer Worlds is the reference point... at one point it was even supposed to be a multiplayer game. With a few exceptions (Witcher 3 maybe, as a simpler game than the original Witcher) European studios put more trust into players than American ones these days. They take more risk. And they seem rewarded -- as "streamlined" RPGs immediately move more towards more typical action-adventure kind of stuff. And that type of experience is all over the place ever since even Ubisoft implemented RPG elements post ca. Witcher 3. Even Square is struggling with their their plans to move much larger units by simply going more action into Final Fantasy -- they're losing what still makes FF distinct in their own way, even according to fans. I'm curious as to how many straight action and combat Avowed actually has, and how much of a focus is on that. I still don't know. Obviously, in terms of RPG mechanics, it's also not quite Pillars.

KCD2 is also "streamlined" from the first game -- usually industry euphemism for throwing everything out that's not as immediately approachable as a Big Mac. The combat system is simpler. There is more "happening" when you are traveling around (random encounters, etc.). And Henry levels up a good deal faster (and his skills really govern how hard everything is, from sneaking to fighting to getting women undressed). But they didn't suddenly turn it into an action game or anything and changed the core of the experience -- in 30-40 hours so far, I've encountered few scenarios where combat was mandatory to begin with. And the quests are as delightfully "mundane" as in the original. Rather than "go kill epic stuff" it's visiting a marriage, helping the local grave digger out (this gets real dirty), that sorta stuff, "authentic" to the setting. Avowed puts you into the role of an envoy. Lots of opportunity here as well, without going "hardcore medieval anything".



Gonna play Avowed... but PoE3, make it also happen. Doesn't need to have a huge budget, really. 


 

Edited Friday at 04:32 PM by Sven_

[kanisatha]

17 hours ago, Mamoulian War said:

The rights hell is all about Atari and WotC. A mix of awfulness which could be toppled by only a few

17 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

At this point I think it's safe to say it's Hasbro/ WOTC that's the root of the issue. One issue with games rights/ developers might be a coincidence but they've had issues with Interplay/ BIS, Bioware, Atari, Obsidian and Larian- just off the top of my head, limited to D&D and with me not paying much attention.

They just don't seem to be very good at all at anything computer game related and when there's a success it's despite them.

So does this mean Atari now has (finally) lost its rights to those old D&D videogames? I'm no fan of WotC, but I always hated Atari.

[Zoraptor]

Seems likely. Though if anything has changed recently NWN2 wise or they've just got around to progressing the EE enough for us to hear about it is an open question. Aspyr was doing a KOTOR remaster(?) so simply may not have had the ability to do NWN2 but not the time.

I don't think Atari have been listed as publisher on any D&D CRPG for a couple of years at least which implies they lost the rights then.

[Wormerine]

7 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

I can see what you are saying if you feel Avowed lacks the complexity of K:CD.

At the moment I don't think much as I am yet to play either. I just have seen a lot of K:CD2 being mentioned under various Avowed videos. Any impression I have at the moment is 3rd party accounts.  Will be diving into Avowed next week, and will probably finally start KC:D1 sometime after that.

[LadyCrimson]

I have no clue on gameplay, which is arguably the most important thing, but in terms of art aesthetics, I would much prefer romping around in KCD2 then Avowed, from what I've seen. I mean, I like fantasy, and sci-fi, but lately there is too much over-garrish color palettes and over-bright color tones/lighting conditions in some games. It hurts my eyes. Not saying everything has to look like a dank dungeon or be dark and stormy all the time, but eh. And before anyone says anything - yes, No Man's Sky does this too. But at least in NMS I don't have to stare at the crayola colored space station NPC's for more than 2 seconds, and if I don't like the aesthetics of some planet, and I can just leave and find another one.

Also, re: fantasy/sci-fi rpg/games, I also long for non-humanoid companions to be regular thing. I feel like we're still getting the simple Star Trek method of stick some funky prosthetics/tattoos on the face of a humanoid figure type of thing. At this point I would rather have an actual space hamster (who wears a tiny space helmet!) who sits on my shoulder during gameplay and is, say, a psychic-mage who chitters to me inside my head and demands cheese. Or a party companion (not a deco pet) made of geometric triangles and circles, or is a walking pillar. Anything.

Edited Saturday at 02:14 AM by LadyCrimson

[Sven_]

What I totally dig visually for sure re Avowed: 

Its (box) cover art. Could almost see that as the artwork of a Converge record. Which rules. 


Germany's GameStar made an interesting comparison: oldschool Dungeon Crawlers (including Westwood's Lands Of Lore and Wiz7, games with an overworld..). Their chief editor was reminded of 'em. Reasons:

- primary focus on exploration and discovery 
- similar sense of accomplishment when having finally uncovered the last "square" of a "map"
- comparably "static" world (like in most oldschool games, NPCs not reacting to theft, etc.)
- combat


The guy means that in a positive way though. They all like the game and say the level design focused on all of this would be fantastic and unlike anything they'd seen from Obsidian. I mean, there is even vertical exploration, almost Dishonored-style, which is unusual for the type in general, isn't it. They argue too though that there would be quite a bit of filler combat. Probably not the kind of game that is gonna draw Deadfire's kind of feedback . I personally liked that -- Deadfire may be comparably tame in terms of the overall amount of combat -- FOR ITS TYPE OF GAME. But as it collects stats, by the end of the game you're gonna check and see that you were still a bloody murder hobo, having slain hundreds.

 

Edited Saturday at 06:13 AM by Sven_

[Lexx]

Since I'm currently replaying Deadfire, I'd say the Avowed color palette is pretty much exactly the same. All those outworldish elements are in that game as well- huge mushrooms, bright colors, etc. From what I can tell it's exactly the same, just in first person.

The one thing I hate in videos and screenshots is that the hud feels so cluttered. There is so much crap going on, which I really hate and makes me think of MMO stuff.

[Wormerine]

2 hours ago, Lexx said:

The one thing I hate in videos and screenshots is that the hud feels so cluttered. There is so much crap going on, which I really hate and makes me think of MMO stuff.

According to Mort, though, the hud is very scalable and customisable - how far one can remove it without impacting actual gamey, though, we will see.

[Sven_]

Yeah, you can turn the HUD off entirely (GameStar says also). Question of course is: Was the game designed that way? 

I mean, you can do all that in Witcher 3 too. And then you don't know anymore what to do right in the tutorial already, as the clearly mandatory text prompts are missing what to do next. E.g. Vesemir is just standing and idling his animation there, not shouting anything, just expecting you to say, throw a bomb at him.  And the quests that follow would be much the same...


That aside: Looking Glass Studios died for all of your future sins, Gaming Industry!  

Thief, 1998.

vs

 

 

Edited Saturday at 12:59 PM by Sven_

[Lexx]

Funny thing about the hud in very old games is that our screen resolution was very low and we just couldn't display a lot of information due to a lack of available pixels. When playing old games today with super high resolutions, the hud now tends to be very small and minimalist, while back then it was also filling half the screen.

[marelooke]

On 2/14/2025 at 1:20 PM, Lexx said:

Seems there's only two kind of reviews for Avowed: "Super awesome!!" and "worst game ever" -- will probably play it via GamePass once it is out.

Eh, I've seen a few that are far more neutral and they're like "Meh", here's one:

Game seems to have turned out kind of how I expected. Will probably play it, but for 70EUR it's definitely on the "wait for a discount"-list.

Edited Saturday at 01:44 PM by marelooke

[uuuhhii]

much prefer the colorful deadfire then dull brown and grey of poe1

the problem is close up camara to npc face

it doesn't seem as rubbery as veilguard

but still not much better than outer world

compare to the quality of other visual aspect it is lacking

[Sven_]

1 hour ago, Lexx said:

Funny thing about the hud in very old games is that our screen resolution was very low and we just couldn't display a lot of information due to a lack of available pixels. When playing old games today with super high resolutions, the hud now tends to be very small and minimalist, while back then it was also filling half the screen.

Thief was always minimalist on purpose. These guys approached VR from a software perspective -- including rudimentary physics, (guard) AI states communicated entirelly by audio alone etc. (Maybe somebody remembers the ill-fated Jurassic Park Trespasser, where Looking Glass alumni took it all a step further, including no ammo or health bars to speak of).

Btw, it's funny how graphics are getting ever more realistic -- and then a thousand blinking arrows are there to remind you that you're just playing a damn game either way.  

Edited Saturday at 02:32 PM by Sven_

[HoonDing]

Still think Avowed looks like a mobile game, but without cute anime girls and worse combat.

[LadyCrimson]

Re: color/lighting - of course it's all very subjective. And I don't mean just Avowed. Dragon Age Veilguard, Outer Worlds, even some aspects of Baldur's Gate 3, a lot of farm/other sims. something just bothers my eyes. It's not as bad in wide view isometric, and ofc I'm sure all of them have places it's more mellow. It's not only palette but lighting on top they do for "bold and colorful" emphasis or something - everything is so god rays bright/glare-y, or glossy/shiny. and in day scenes I get literal eyestrain if I stare at it too long. I mean Torchlight didn't bother me back when. I guess the more "realistic/hi-def" they try to make chrs and environments, the less I like such (imo) OTP colors.

But I'll give any game extra credits if you can make chrs. like these.    When I saw WAB's video, I burst out laughing when he showed his chr. Fantastic.

Edited Saturday at 03:59 PM by LadyCrimson

[Hurlshort]

The combat in Avowed seems greatly improved from Outer Worlds. 

[ShadySands]

On 1/24/2025 at 5:31 AM, Humanoid said:

I'll always opt for GOG if possible. And if not, I'll often just skip any game that isn't one of my very few must-haves.

This is me as well. 

If it isn't on GOG or DRM-free elsewhere then I'm passing on the game. I used to occasionally buy sports games but I refuse to give EA or 2k any money these days.

[Malcador]

Wrong thread

Edited Monday at 04:26 PM by Malcador

[MrBrown]

I think the color palette in Avowed is fine. There's lots of colors, but they're a bit drab, so it's not the psychedelic environment of Outer Worlds.

[Sven_]

If only they'd made a live service game.
Or a Diablo / God Of War / Whatever Action's Currently Hot clone.
Or a buggy mess that tanks even the most expensive gaming rigs out there.

ANYTHING but a proper RPG, optimized for RPG'ing. They'd have totally smashed it for sure. Silly Czech mates!*

*Beware, internet. There be irony.

Edited Monday at 07:08 PM by Sven_

[Wormerine]

3 hours ago, Sven_ said:

If only they'd made a live service game.
Or a Diablo / God Of War / Whatever Action's Currently Hot clone.
Or a buggy mess that tanks even the most expensive gaming rigs out there.

ANYTHING but a proper RPG, optimized for RPG'ing. They'd have totally smashed it for sure. Silly Czech mates!*

*Beware, internet. There be irony.

To be fair, by most AAA publishers standards, 2 million would likely be considered a disappointment. Good on your Czech mates and I hope they will continue delivering bangers. Looking forward to adding my copy to the 2 million once it releases on GOG.

[Sven_]

2 hours ago, Wormerine said:

To be fair, by most AAA publishers standards, 2 million would likely be considered a disappointment. Good on your Czech mates and I hope they will continue delivering bangers. Looking forward to adding my copy to the 2 million once it releases on GOG.

That's two million in two weeks. Even Ubisoft would have been pretty happy with that on some of their more recent underperformers. Doubly so if they had the comparably modest budget of KCD II...  Embracer aren't minors either, after all.

As said, to me this only confirms what's been happening for the past+ decade. The model of ever infusing more simple action into RPGs and simplifying RPG elements down has been pushed to its limits -- the Bioware/Bethesda school, basically. By now these games are competing with all the action/adventure type of games that have been including RPG-lite elements since The Witcher 3 hit it big. That doesn't mean similar projects are destined to underperform. That only means you need an absolutely stellar game and/or a wholly unique take on the form to still stand out from the crowd. Bluntly put, Veilguard would have had it even harder had it neither had a Bioware nor a Dragon Age logo attached. 

Meanwhile, studios such as FromSoft, Larian or Warhorse first thrived in their own niches. The games they started making were considered too risky for any of the industry players. "We're an industry about instant gratification", they would have told FromSoftware. "Well there's dungeons, kinda. But where are the dragons?" That's what they would have asked Warhorse. "Turn-based tactical combat? Table-top simulations? In the 2000s? Go make this more like Diablo",  they'd actually told Larian since their early days. "All of you guys don't fit in, sorry."

Then all of these grew, both in studio size and target audiences. In parts because there's far more people playing video games now than ever, which also means a broader range in taste. And then they all could offer experiences that, on their levels of production, see no direct competition whatsoever. (Well, Soulslikes are a thing, mind you. But From are still considered the "Originals". And what better promotion is it to have an entire genre tag named after your own product? Jackpot, baby!) 
 

Edited yesterday at 01:03 AM by Sven_

[Wormerine]

12 hours ago, Sven_ said:

As said, to me this only confirms what's been happening for the past+ decade. The model of ever infusing more simple action into RPGs and simplifying RPG elements down has been pushed to its limits -- the Bioware/Bethesda school, basically. By now these games are competing with all the action/adventure type of games that have been including RPG-lite elements since The Witcher 3 hit it big. That doesn't mean similar projects are destined to underperform. That only means you need an absolutely stellar game and/or a wholly unique take on the form to still stand out from the crowd. Bluntly put, Veilguard would have had it even harder had it neither had a Bioware nor a Dragon Age logo attached.

Also what is fashionable and what isn't is in constant flux - that's why chasing trends with a multiyear production cycle is dangerous in itself.

I remember when it was difficult to come by a game that offered any challenge to the player. Console manufacturers were aiming at "casual audience" (aka. newcomers) and titles were designed to not dare to challenge your progress. Than stuff like Demon/Dark Souls and Super Meat Boy came out, and it turns out there was a sizable audience hungry for such titles, and the taste for it spread.

I remember about 10 years ago, when IO was saying how tricky audience testing was for Hitman2016 - as players were so used to be lead by the hand, that most didn't know how to engage with systemic sandbox. I think a recent success of Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate3 and now KC:D2 show that general audience is more open to a more player driven experiences. Now of course, those are three rather good games, so it is no easy way to success. But I think those three studios prove a value of specialized, slowly developing studios. Very much different mindset than AAA's pick the marketable thing to do, buy/make/hire a studio with no experience to make it, and fire everyone when it underperforms.

[Azdeus]

Viktor Antonov that worked on HL2 and Dishonoured has passed away  

https://www.eurogamer.net/half-life-2-and-dishonored-art-lead-viktor-antonov-dies-aged-just-52

 

[Malcador]

The decline of Relic