Lower Graphics for Bigger Game?

[septembervirgin]

Would you want a Project Eternity that could be played on the same systems that can use Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition? How about other graphical levels?

[Ieo]

Would you want a Project Eternity that could be played on the same systems that can use Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition? How about other graphical levels?

 

Oh, is this a cleverly disguised request to add Android/iOS/etc. tablet support?

 

No. PE is PC only. Obsidian has reiterated this.

 

As for older machines--dude, I have absolutely no doubts that if PE were to be released yesterday, all our systems could play it. In 2014, the question is moot. For more content? They're already skipping stupid cinematics and 3D cut-scenes talking heads and MP and full VA. What they're going for should be good.

 

The ONLY real concern is scaling up pre-rendered backgrounds for much higher screen resolutions.

[Shadowless]

I don't mind ASCII, but realisticly that wouldn't sell well. I think they could get away with BG2 (the backdrops were amazing IMO) people need to remember this will be more about the story, shades of grey etc and not looking amazing but with how far graphics have come I honestly would be very very suprised if it is not vastly superior to TOEE (suprised not disappointed) For example look at what Wasteland 2 has out, using the same engine will probably have a very similar budget and alpha screenshots look great.

Edited September 29, 2012 by Shadowless

[Uomoz]

I'd go with at least partial 3d so that dynamic lightning (spells should never be uninteresting to see in a game) can be achieved.

[JWestfall]

"Lower graphics" =/= "Bigger Game"

 

Graphics will no doubt be targeted to modern systems, but Unity3D (the engine they are using) is backward compatible to a large extent.

 

BG/BG2 level graphics were great in it's time, and it still doesn't look too bad - but on current large HD monitors, you either need to put up with the monitor up-scaling the **** out of the pixels (which means trying to read terribly rendered text) or crank up the resolution (which means trying to read tiny text). Either way, reading text on those older games sucks.

[Knott]

The ONLY real concern is scaling up pre-rendered backgrounds for much higher screen resolutions.

 

And that shouldn't really be a problem either. Many games today already leave textures at a moderate/reasonable scale and then provide Hi-Res Textures as an optional download for interested parties that can handle it.

[Piccolo]

For Project Eternity, i'm hoping for something along the same lines as ToEE.

 

For cRPGs in general though, i'm really not overly fussed about graphics, as long as there's some nice artwork. I still find games like Darklands incredibly immersive and enjoyable... and most of that game is text + illustrations.

[BSoda]

Graphics are often kind of...scoffed at by the hardcore cRPG crowd...but they are important. You know, for immersion and stuff.

[tox1c5lug]

Graphics are often kind of...scoffed at by the hardcore cRPG crowd...but they are important. You know, for immersion and stuff.

 

It is also important if Obsidian wants to sell Eternity to people other than its Kickstarter backers.

 

PS. I know I am going to get a lot of hate for this...

Edited September 29, 2012 by tox1c5lug

[septembervirgin]

Oh, is this a cleverly disguised request to add Android/iOS/etc. tablet support?

 

I don't own a tablet. I have a PC. I also already paid for this game.

 

My request is merely to understand if others want a sophisticated low-end approach to this game, the poll including some humor. I hope the humor of a rogue-like version of Project Eternity was not beyond you? I also hope that you *do* enjoy Project Eternity. And that there are sleestak in the game.

[zlarm]

As much as I still enjoy playing BG and IWD etc.. and I'm fine with their graphics it would be nice to see what they can do today with the 2d backgrounds given that we're 10 years past the IE games.

[LoneWolfPT]

I think that Baldurs Gate 2 has aged quite well and I certainly wouldn't mind similar graphics for this game ( with support for larger resolutions of course )

[Aedelric]

Lower graphics does not make a bigger game.

 

As for systems PC only, I do not want design choices for other systems compromising the core of Project Eternity.

 

Like with what consoles have been doing to PC RPG's for years.

[nikolokolus]

Where's the option for a text based Zork clone?

[Kaldurenik]

Kinda pointless... In most cases the people doing the "art" are not the same people doing the content.

[Shadowless]

Kinda pointless... In most cases the people doing the "art" are not the same people doing the content.

 

Although partially true, the people doing art need to do work for the people doing the content whether it be new locations, npc's etc.

[anek]

While I think the InfinityEngine look of the late 90's / early 00's would still be acceptable, I hope that Obsidian will really use the technological possibilities of this decade to the fullest extent possible to give us the most stunning pre-rendered backgrounds ever used in a video game.

 

The bar is really not that high, seeing as the big-budget games all go with live rendered 3D just because it's considered "cool".

[Zeckul]

No. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 were great games and well-received, in part because they looked spectacular for their time. PE cannot look 15 years old on launch date. It has to be very high-resolution, and it is not much more work to produce high-resolution art that looks good than to produce low-resolution art that looks good. Making stuff look good is hard either way.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Zeckul

[Azrayel]

I agree with this in theory but honestly I think they've already got a "rendering method," if you'll excuse my euphemism, that'll achieve this goal-- they have high quality artists and having extremely detailed 2D and small-scale 3D art isn't a matter of raising the price really.

 

Also, I didn't play Lionheart but from Google Imaging it the screens of a guy standing in front of a cathedral and in some sort of cell looked a bit nicer than Arcanum and waaaaay nicer than Elemental Evil where the characters are far too small for my liking and things seem a bit fuzzy. Maybe I'm wrong though, would have t'play t'game.

[TEODEX]

It should be ASCII

[nikolokolus]

It should be ASCII

 

Lookin' good

 

Edited September 30, 2012 by nikolokolus

[Luckmann]

lol lionheart

[dlux]

It should be ASCII

Or even better, make Project Eternity a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. ^^

[descalabro]

I don't think this is very important nowadays. It's 2012, 2014 when they release the game; they don't need to cut on disk space or resources to have better graphics than all of those games (regardless of the graphic style)

[WDeranged]

I really don't have great expectations with the graphical quality, as long as style and artistry isn't too heavily compromised I'll be happy, even so I do think the game will be very nice looking, you don't see many bad looking games now, graphics and audio software these days is very powerful.