Fixed isometric view?

[Alexjh]

 

Pardon my ignorance but does that mean no camera angle changing or zooming or anything? Seems pretty archaic to me if this is what you plan to spend $4M on... :/

 

Sorry for breaking this to you but in all honesty i'd always felt that Obsidian, inXile and Bioware are similar. They are just good storytellers and good in writing stories. They were never good in technology, visuals/art or game engine. Their mindset are still sticking to the 1990s on 2D, "tilesets" and the best at you can call "Infinity Engine". While the engine may be "ground-breaking" and state of the art during the 1990s but to them it's still state of the art and ground-breaking even as of today as we are speaking .

 

Bioware is exactly the same. With their used of old, rehashed game engine they could not come with a game that truly "immerse" you visually but best is at "immersing" you with their "text writing". In all seriousness, i'd feel they should stop making games and perhaps writing "books" could probably more successful.

 

Back in Dragon Age 2.. The graphics were already "dated" during launch. And when you compare it with an "Indie" developer CDPR (who license Infinity Engine for their 1st Witcher game). Witcher 2 and Dragon Age 2 are heaven hell. Both even visually and story-wise. Rotatable, top-down isometric 3D is no worst than 2D.

 

I honestly think Obsidian and inXile (which they went 3D with Wasteland2 is the right direction) should start thinking about going forward than going backward.  In all seriousness.. folks who think 2D is superior perhaps Crytek (Crysis 3) developer, CDPR (Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077), EA SimCity should all just design their games in 2D?

 

Is it not Obsidian?

 

Firstly - Witcher was made with the Aurora Engine, which was the one originally created for Neverwinter Nights. The Witcher was released 5 years after Neverwinter Nights, and thus had 5 years worth of graphical refinement.

 

Secondly, you are missing the point - we don't think 2D is superior in general, we just don't think 3D is superior either.  They are both stylistic choices for both visuals and gameplay reasons.  Comparing Crytek, whose entire thing has been creating high end graphical games, you know how much more Crysis 3 cost than PE?  $62 Million more, or, to put it another way 16.5x the budget of Project Eternity is also daft.  It's several magnitudes different a scale of development, but the difference in visual style means that those magnitudes are prety much flipped around in terms when it comes to game length; after a quick look on a speedrunning website, Crysis takes on Average under 6 hours to complete.  Icewind Dale 2 takes 44.  So for comparrison, as I can't find any exact figures for Infinity Engine budgets, lets use the P:E budget of $4million and conservatively estimate a length of 40 hours. 

 

Contrast:

Crysis 3 (approx): $11million/hour

PE (approx, estimated): $100 000/hour 

 

So Crysis 3 costs over 100x per gameplay hour more.  That is a perfectly good reason to make an isometric game in itself, especially in the context of making a game on a budget. Which isn't to say I begrude Crysis for existing or being 3D, or being graphically high end, but it's silly to make statements implying that all games should be alike.  In the case of Sim City it's a particularly odd statement to make as most of that franchise was 2D, or mixed 2D/3D (like PE) - and honestly for what is a 14 year old game, SimCity 3000 is a very nice looking thing which has aged far better than games far more recent.  Sure it doesn't have fancy lighting and shadows and whatnot, but it doesn't *need* it. SimCity (the new one) is certainly the prettier game, but whether the gameplay has improved in any significant way in 14 years is debatable, and the gameplay is what I'd rather they spent their money on...

 

Abbreviated version: 3D is expensive, 2D gives way more bang for your buck. Graphics don't make everything, improving gameplay and story is a better use of the money.  Not all games have to be the same, or have the same objectives.  PE is specifically a game to appeal to fans of 5 existing 2D games on a low-medium budget, therefore is 2D.

[Lord Lierdan Firkraag]

With enough resolution, with enough art skill; 2D background and 3D models beats modern RPGs, anytime, anywhere. Even 3D modeling is not a crucial element. It2s about good work, it always has been. Games like Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale or even Commandos are proof of it. So stop whining.

 

Fixed isometric camera doesn't mean "easy way out". If there is anyone with this idea crawling here, i can suggest an easy way out; logout.