Questions from a fan

[SecretAgentMan]

Hello. I'm a fan of obsidian games and i'd like to know if project eternity will be available for any console, and if you guys have any other project beeing planned for consoles. Hopefully PS3, wich is the console i own. Cheers.

[Gorth]

Moved to the tech section, since the question seems to be about platforms.

 

[Tale]

The answer is no. They, or rather Avellone specifically, said they don't want to design around console limitations for Project Eternity.

[Tamerlane]

Also: that **** costs money, yo.

[SecretAgentMan]

Thanks for the info. I kinda expected the no love for console, but that's ok. I've been a pc gamer for years. Since the bg/iwd era till nwn2, and then i got a ps3. I understand it's kind of an alien platform and requires investment to develop for, but damn, i've never ever needed upgrading/downgrading drivers, buying another pc piece when it burns out or needing maintence/buying another one since it's a sturdy piece of hardware. Obsidian made some of the best games i've played, and i could only dream of playing another obsidian (my favourites were (before obsidian) iwd2 and toee) game on a limited, but on the other hand flawless platform. That temple of elemental evil screenshot blew my mind. A bit hopeless for having to cope with stuff like skyrim and amalur here on my platform of choice nowadays, but happy you guys are still on and doing awesome stuff. Cheers.

 

EDIT: oh now i see project eternity was crowdfunded!!! That's awesome! Just adds up to my expectations. Can't wait.

Anyways, other than project eternity.... there isn't anything from you guys in the works for any console is there?

Edited November 23, 2012 by SecretAgentMan

[rftl]

I understand it's kind of an alien platform and requires investment to develop for,

 

It not really about Money. Yes they don't have enough money for a port. But that can change if it's a success on Pc .

 

The entire point of the game is to reproduce the Magic of the Infinity Engine games. Something that's not very compatible with a Joypad.

 

Maybe it possible to make a WiiU/iPad Port (because of the touch screen) but that's very unlikely.

 

Also there is a inert dislike of the Idea in the PC CRPG Fanbase.

That's because many typical PC Genres where massively dumbed down or even vanished because of their incompatibly with Console Controls.

[AwesomeOcelot]

i've never ever needed upgrading/downgrading drivers, buying another pc piece when it burns out or needing maintence/buying another one since it's a sturdy piece of hardware.

 

You have to upgrade drivers sometimes but only graphics drivers and it's just one click after a message comes up asking you, PS3 updates drivers in much the same way and seems to take ages doing so. The PS3 has existed for about 6 years, the PC parts I get don't tend to fail in 6 years.

[SecretAgentMan]

I understand it's kind of an alien platform and requires investment to develop for,

 

 

 

The entire point of the game is to reproduce the Magic of the Infinity Engine games. Something that's not very compatible with a Joypad.

 

 

Also there is a inert dislike of the Idea in the PC CRPG Fanbase.

That's because many typical PC Genres where massively dumbed down or even vanished because of their incompatibly with Console Controls.

 

I disagree. Companies that made their name with pc games don't usually put too much effort when making a console game. If you're talking about controls on an action rpg, dc universe is a great example of how you can use multiple abilities with a ps3 controller. In case of turn based, there's no limitation whatsoever.

Edited December 5, 2012 by SecretAgentMan

[SecretAgentMan]

i've never ever needed upgrading/downgrading drivers, buying another pc piece when it burns out or needing maintence/buying another one since it's a sturdy piece of hardware.

 

You have to upgrade drivers sometimes but only graphics drivers and it's just one click after a message comes up asking you, PS3 updates drivers in much the same way and seems to take ages doing so. The PS3 has existed for about 6 years, the PC parts I get don't tend to fail in 6 years.

 

That was one example. One click? What if you want to play a game that doesn't agree with certain graphic card driver, so you have to downgrade it to play it? Consoles (at least my ps3) never gave me any problem, with the exception of freeze on a few multiplat games. Taking ages doing updates? I've never experienced it, and they go automatic. Pc parts (graphic cards mostly, and they're expensive) running over 6 years? I've never bought the ultimate graphic card of a generation, but even if it lasted over 6 yeras, the multiple problems a gaming pc provide will still be there, for a much higher price.

Edited December 5, 2012 by SecretAgentMan

[AwesomeOcelot]

i've never ever needed upgrading/downgrading drivers, buying another pc piece when it burns out or needing maintence/buying another one since it's a sturdy piece of hardware.

 

You have to upgrade drivers sometimes but only graphics drivers and it's just one click after a message comes up asking you, PS3 updates drivers in much the same way and seems to take ages doing so. The PS3 has existed for about 6 years, the PC parts I get don't tend to fail in 6 years.

 

That was one example. One click? What if you want to play a game that doesn't agree with certain graphic card driver, so you have to downgrade it to play it? Consoles (at least my ps3) never gave me any problem, with the exception of freeze on a few multiplat games. Taking ages doing updates? I've never experienced it, and they go automatic. Pc parts (graphic cards mostly, and they're expensive) running over 6 years? I've never bought the ultimate graphic card of a generation, but even if it lasted over 6 yeras, the multiple problems a gaming pc provide will still be there, for a much higher price.

 

What are you doing with your graphics cards, do you ever clean the room your PC is in? Having to downgrade drivers rarely happens unless you use beta drivers, beta is beta. Is it a much higher price? You're probably going to want to have a PC anyway, so deduct that from the cost $300-400. You can get better deals on games for PC, due to more competition and less middle men, so you'll be spending less on those.

[Tigranes]

South Park: The Stick of Truth will be multiplatform, and there appears to be another multiplatform RPG in early production stages, though we are not 100% sure.

[SecretAgentMan]

South Park: The Stick of Truth will be multiplatform, and there appears to be another multiplatform RPG in early production stages, though we are not 100% sure.

 

Some good news. Thank you.

[SecretAgentMan]

i've never ever needed upgrading/downgrading drivers, buying another pc piece when it burns out or needing maintence/buying another one since it's a sturdy piece of hardware.

 

You have to upgrade drivers sometimes but only graphics drivers and it's just one click after a message comes up asking you, PS3 updates drivers in much the same way and seems to take ages doing so. The PS3 has existed for about 6 years, the PC parts I get don't tend to fail in 6 years.

 

That was one example. One click? What if you want to play a game that doesn't agree with certain graphic card driver, so you have to downgrade it to play it? Consoles (at least my ps3) never gave me any problem, with the exception of freeze on a few multiplat games. Taking ages doing updates? I've never experienced it, and they go automatic. Pc parts (graphic cards mostly, and they're expensive) running over 6 years? I've never bought the ultimate graphic card of a generation, but even if it lasted over 6 yeras, the multiple problems a gaming pc provide will still be there, for a much higher price.

 

What are you doing with your graphics cards, do you ever clean the room your PC is in? Having to downgrade drivers rarely happens unless you use beta drivers, beta is beta. Is it a much higher price? You're probably going to want to have a PC anyway, so deduct that from the cost $300-400. You can get better deals on games for PC, due to more competition and less middle men, so you'll be spending less on those.

 

i actually live very close to a beach, so electronic stuff tends to oxidate and break here very often. you can troll all you want. my ps3 actually stays in the more open room in my house, meaning it takes the most sea breeze, and it simply never gave me ANY problem, except for occasional freezes in a few multiplat games as i said. you may dislike consoles as much as you want, but this console is more reliable than any piece of equipment you ever bought for your pc, guaranteed. as i said, i've been a pc player for a very long time (my first one was a msx when i was a kid). it's amusing how a couple of pc gamers feel so sensitive about consoles. saying pc gives you better (less expensive) deals than consoles just shows you're not well informed, unless you're talking about piracy, perhaps. cheers.

[AwesomeOcelot]

Well I hope that whole denial thing works out. Anecdotes, n=1. Looks on Amazon, randomly picks three fairly recent games, oh look Dishonored, Far Cry 3, and Assassins Creed 3 are all cheaper on PC, and I've never seen console games get as fast or as deep sales as on Steam, but perhaps you don't know what Steam or Amazon are.

[SecretAgentMan]

Well I hope that whole denial thing works out. Anecdotes, n=1. Looks on Amazon, randomly picks three fairly recent games, oh look Dishonored, Far Cry 3, and Assassins Creed 3 are all cheaper on PC, and I've never seen console games get as fast or as deep sales as on Steam, but perhaps you don't know what Steam or Amazon are.

 

Hey buddy. Ever heard of playstation plus membership? Ever heard of psn account sharing between friends? Failure n=3. Googles Playstation Plus and the games it gives you for free. Googles psn account sharing. Checks ebay for new and used ps3 games. Processes used pc games value =0, delay 9000. Facepalm delay = 9000. Checks ps3 exclusive game library. Goes back to the swamp while *this = true.

Edited December 12, 2012 by SecretAgentMan

[rjshae]

I'm wondering if they will draw upon the experiences of the BGEE iOS port for a future release of PE to that platform, since that now seems eminently do-able?

[AwesomeOcelot]

Well I hope that whole denial thing works out. Anecdotes, n=1. Looks on Amazon, randomly picks three fairly recent games, oh look Dishonored, Far Cry 3, and Assassins Creed 3 are all cheaper on PC, and I've never seen console games get as fast or as deep sales as on Steam, but perhaps you don't know what Steam or Amazon are.

 

Hey buddy. Ever heard of playstation plus membership? Ever heard of psn account sharing between friends? Failure n=3. Googles Playstation Plus and the games it gives you for free. Googles psn account sharing. Checks ebay for new and used ps3 games. Processes used pc games value =0, delay 9000. Facepalm delay = 9000. Checks ps3 exclusive game library. Shuts up while *this = true.

 

If you buy used games you might as well pirate, because the developer gets no money either way. Pretty sure PSN account sharing isn't legit either, and again, might as well pirate if you do it.

 

Playstation Plus is a subscription service with a limited selection of games, it gives you games like Arkham City ($5 on Steam a few weeks ago) for "free" if you pay £50/€50/$50 a year.

[rjshae]

If you buy used games you might as well pirate, because the developer gets no money either way. Pretty sure PSN account sharing isn't legit either, and again, might as well pirate if you do it.

By the time games are sold as used, they're usually available in the bargain bin and the developer ain't getting much anyway.

Edited December 12, 2012 by rjshae

[Tigranes]

Keep it cool, you two. I don't even think there's a reason for handbags here...

[SecretAgentMan]

Well I hope that whole denial thing works out. Anecdotes, n=1. Looks on Amazon, randomly picks three fairly recent games, oh look Dishonored, Far Cry 3, and Assassins Creed 3 are all cheaper on PC, and I've never seen console games get as fast or as deep sales as on Steam, but perhaps you don't know what Steam or Amazon are.

 

Hey buddy. Ever heard of playstation plus membership? Ever heard of psn account sharing between friends? Failure n=3. Googles Playstation Plus and the games it gives you for free. Googles psn account sharing. Checks ebay for new and used ps3 games. Processes used pc games value =0, delay 9000. Facepalm delay = 9000. Checks ps3 exclusive game library. Shuts up while *this = true.

 

If you buy used games you might as well pirate, because the developer gets no money either way. Pretty sure PSN account sharing isn't legit either, and again, might as well pirate if you do it.

 

Playstation Plus is a subscription service with a limited selection of games, it gives you games like Arkham City ($5 on Steam a few weeks ago) for "free" if you pay £50/€50/$50 a year.

 

You didn't go through the process i posted above, so you just scored your fail no. 4. This so reminds me of the times when Bill Gates was the most hated man among the pseudointelectuals in the 90's, and now everyone loves microsoft because... it's american? Gaming industry could be better than you think.

 

Used games are good for everyone. It means when you're buying a brand new game it will still hold value after a while. Definetly an incentive for me, and i'm sure the developers wouldn't mind it. Steam is on ps3, wich also reminds me of the times when everyone was counter-striking, while i was playing Battlefield vietnam/Battlefield 2. Back in the days, it was a very rare thing finding games like The Temple of Elemental Evil and Icewind Dale 2 on store shelves around here, and i wish it was different. Your hate for the "middlemen" or the japanese people or whatever it is doesn't help any developer or gamer. Get with the times.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Not gonna exactly go into the PC vs. PS3 debate, because I have both. I have some comments though.

Back in the days, it was a very rare thing finding games like The Temple of Elemental Evil and Icewind Dale 2 on store shelves around here, and i wish it was different. Your hate for the "middlemen" or the japanese people or whatever it is doesn't help any developer or gamer. Get with the times.

 

... made no sense to me. Middlemen serve an ever decreasing purpose since the invention of internet. Y'see the problem you're describing was indeed an issue in the early 2000s. Nowadays we have internet.

 

Indeed, those driver update issues you mention remind me of my older brother cursing how horrible Voodoo graphics cards were. He never did manage to install PS:T due to graphics card problems. My brother currently owns my 6 year old computer which cost me about 1200 euros back then. I have never done anything to it, other than maybe three driver updates. It's starting to show its age, though it can still run Shogun 2 on medium graphics. However, he could pay 200 euros max and he could double its performance.

 

And regarding PC game prices, I paid 70 euros or so on steam summer sale this summer. I bought:

Bioshock 1

Bioshock 2

Dead Space 1

Dead Space 2

Crusader Kings II

Galactic Civilizations II

Dear Esther

Trine II

Warlock - Master of the Arcane

Civilizations V

Alan Wake + expansion and DLC

Witcher 2

Vampire: The Bloodlines

 

Last year I bought from Gamestop Crysis 2, Metro 2033 and Alpha Protocol for 20 euros (3 games for 20 euros deal, they have it constantly where I live which is Finland). Today THQ was handing out free copies of Metro 2033, so all my friends with the PC for it got it for free.

And then there are deals like this a few days ago: http://www.humblebundle.com/ <--- Pay what you want

 

 

PC gaming is a bit pricier than PS3, but the variety in games is so much larger I find it worth it just for that and after the initial investment it's very cheap. The only exclusives consoles have gamewise over PC is a few action adventure games, FPS, japanese stuff and fighting games. And even then most of them show up to the PC sooner or later. While consoles sacrifice entire genres, which is the case in old-school cRPGs, RTS, MOBAs, MMOs and grand strategy. And a ton of free to play games, latest big hit being Planetside 2 which is really fun, and I haven't paid a dime for it.

 

Anyway, Avellone's statement to your original question: "Those [console] limitations affect RPG mechanics and content more than players may realize (especially for players who've never played a PC RPG and realize what's been lost over the years), and often doesn't add to the RPG experience."

 

And I find the PS3 updates way more annoying than PC updates. They're too bloody frequent. I've turned off the automatic updates and haven't gone online on my PS3 for a while because of that reason. That said, PS3 is an excellent home media center. And I the co-op option is the consoles greatest trump card, that in my opinion should be in every console game. Not including it makes no sense to me. Then again, that would be easy to do on a PC nowadays aswell if anyone would bother.

 

And in todays market there is absolutely no sense in buying a PS3 since even the most basic gaming PCs can run the multiplatform games as good or better than the PS3. It's either wait for the next console generation or buy a PC now. And if the next generation of consoles doesn't include SSD drives I will be extremely disappointed. They're becoming more and more popular and even I've been considering saving up for one, because the benefits are no loading times or PC startup time.

 

Oh, and mods. An insane amount of free content. Stuff like making the old Infinity games work with modern computers and resolutions. On my PC I can play games from the 90s with little effort, and earlier with effort.

 

This post became way longer than I expected and I apologize.

Edited December 13, 2012 by Lord of Lost Socks

[SecretAgentMan]

Not gonna exactly go into the PC vs. PS3 debate, because I have both. I have some comments though.

Back in the days, it was a very rare thing finding games like The Temple of Elemental Evil and Icewind Dale 2 on store shelves around here, and i wish it was different. Your hate for the "middlemen" or the japanese people or whatever it is doesn't help any developer or gamer. Get with the times.

 

... made no sense to me. Middlemen serve an ever decreasing purpose since the invention of internet. Y'see the problem you're describing was indeed an issue in the early 2000s. Nowadays we have internet.

 

Indeed, those driver update issues you mention remind me of my older brother cursing how horrible Voodoo graphics cards were. He never did manage to install PS:T due to graphics card problems. My brother currently owns my 6 year old computer which cost me about 1200 euros back then. I have never done anything to it, other than maybe three driver updates. It's starting to show its age, though it can still run Shogun 2 on medium graphics. However, he could pay 200 euros max and he could double its performance.

 

And regarding PC game prices, I paid 70 euros or so on steam summer sale this summer. I bought:

Bioshock 1

Bioshock 2

Dead Space 1

Dead Space 2

Crusader Kings II

Galactic Civilizations II

Dear Esther

Trine II

Warlock - Master of the Arcane

Civilizations V

Alan Wake + expansion and DLC

Witcher 2

Vampire: The Bloodlines

 

Last year I bought from Gamestop Crysis 2, Metro 2033 and Alpha Protocol for 20 euros (3 games for 20 euros deal, they have it constantly where I live which is Finland). Today THQ was handing out free copies of Metro 2033, so all my friends with the PC for it got it for free.

And then there are deals like this a few days ago: http://www.humblebundle.com/ <--- Pay what you want

 

 

PC gaming is a bit pricier than PS3, but the variety in games is so much larger I find it worth it just for that and after the initial investment it's very cheap. The only exclusives consoles have gamewise over PC is a few action adventure games, FPS, japanese stuff and fighting games. And even then most of them show up to the PC sooner or later. While consoles sacrifice entire genres, which is the case in old-school cRPGs, RTS, MOBAs, MMOs and grand strategy. And a ton of free to play games, latest big hit being Planetside 2 which is really fun, and I haven't paid a dime for it.

 

Anyway, Avellone's statement to your original question: "Those [console] limitations affect RPG mechanics and content more than players may realize (especially for players who've never played a PC RPG and realize what's been lost over the years), and often doesn't add to the RPG experience."

 

And I find the PS3 updates way more annoying than PC updates. They're too bloody frequent. I've turned off the automatic updates and haven't gone online on my PS3 for a while because of that reason. That said, PS3 is an excellent home media center. And I the co-op option is the consoles greatest trump card, that in my opinion should be in every console game. Not including it makes no sense to me. Then again, that would be easy to do on a PC nowadays aswell if anyone would bother.

 

And in todays market there is absolutely no sense in buying a PS3 since even the most basic gaming PCs can run the multiplatform games as good or better than the PS3. It's either wait for the next console generation or buy a PC now. And if the next generation of consoles doesn't include SSD drives I will be extremely disappointed. They're becoming more and more popular and even I've been considering saving up for one, because the benefits are no loading times or PC startup time.

 

Oh, and mods. An insane amount of free content. Stuff like making the old Infinity games work with modern computers and resolutions. On my PC I can play games from the 90s with little effort, and earlier with effort.

 

This post became way longer than I expected and I apologize.

 

 

PS3 game updates can be lenghty, depending on the game. As lenghty as any pc game update. Psn updates don't happen too often (and i'm pretty sure they're faster and don't happen almost every week like windows update for example), so i don't understand what's the problem about it.

 

In today's market you won't be able to play any ps3 exclusive, at all. And trust me, there's some pretty good stuff. More on the way. Gaming pcs are much pricier than a ps3 since slim came out. Even more nowadays.

 

Regarding console limitation part, a few examples come to mind. Let me take chrono trigger. It was a huge beautiful 3 mb rpg game running on the snes. Created from a major company specifically for a closed platform system. So about Avelone's statement, that's not completely true.

 

Agreed, pc has been around for a while and has many more titles, and a few mods are interesting (from my experience). You can make your own stuff in Little big planets and Infamous 2. There's nothing stopping developers from making user created content tho.

 

I didn't get a list of games from psn plus subscription, but i know you get borderlands 2, bioshock 2, infamouses, uncharteds, burnout paradise and starhawk for 50 dollars at any time of the year. And they occasionally release new titles for free, on a monthly basis or something like that. Nevermind other games i'm not aware of from the membership.

 

Concluding my responses, you're not paying less for playing on your pc, you're not fighting the evil illuminati when you're spreading ignorance to console gamers like the other fellow tried to, and it's a pitty a few good developers choose not to deliver good products for a broader public.