:( Sad that obsidian is making this game isometric...

[Gripshift22]

   Heard about this game recently and decided to make a forum account to get other peoples opinions about it.  im very dissapointed in the fact that they are making an "infinity engine style" game. i dont understand the logic behind this decision to take such a large step back in game design(cost i guess is the only reason i can think of).

 

   i think gaming is so far past this kind of game,that many players wont give it a second look.  im a long time obsidian fan and iv played many of their games and i would hate to see this project fail because of the antiquity of the design.  i dont think that there are many players in todays gaming landscape that will tolerate this outdated design,no matter how good the story/characters/world are.

 

  i just dont think the isometric view was one of the reasons people loved the baulders gate/planescape/nevewinter nights games,it was an aspect that was simply tolerated due to the technological limitations of the time,and now that we are so well advanced in that aspect,i think very few will want to go back.

 

  heres hoping this project has enough success to open the door for obsidian to create a more modern game,with this new world and lore as a base. i dont see this ever standing up to the mass effects and KOTOR's of the world. but i wish them the best of luck and hope for better in the future .

[Chaos Theory]

I guess first of all, the game isn't going to "fail" because of the design.  If they don't make a penny in retail, it's still pretty darn successful at $4+mil. 

 

That said, not having a rotating, tiltable camera is my single greatest peeve about older games, and this will be no different.  Unfortunately that requires 3D, so yes, the tech here is a step back.  But they've sold it from day 1 as a throwback to the golden years of iso-RPGs, so they were locked in.

 

Perhaps they'll revisit the idea with the inevitable sequel(s).

Edited October 30, 2013 by Chaos Theory

[lolaldanee]

if there is one thing on the earth that i don't want obsidian to do than to develop this kind of game in 3d

not because i don't like 3d, quite the opposite, it works very well in dragon age 1&2

BUT this game is being developed by obsidian, and if there is one thing that obsidian has proven time and time again than it's the fact that they just can't create a 3D game with working camera controls

neverwinter nights 2 and alpha protocol must be among games with the most horrible camera controls i have ever played, and add to that how extremely poorly optimized these games have been

 

i'm just glad they are doing it in 2D here

this way it will be cheaper -> more money for dialogs and game design!

it will run on every pc out there newer than 10 years, and still look very nice

 

furthermore, not every game needs to be 3D, everything being the same is just lame, let there be difference!

[GhoulishVisage]

Seriously?
Are we still doing this stuff? Even all these months later?

[Hiro Protagonist II]

i just dont think the isometric view was one of the reasons people loved the baulders gate/planescape/nevewinter nights games,it was an aspect that was simply tolerated due to the technological limitations of the time,and now that we are so well advanced in that aspect,i think very few will want to go back.

 

One of the main reasons I love the IE games is because of the isometric view. And it wasn't because we simply tolerated it at the time.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Hiro Protagonist II

[okkoko]

isomatrix is acturly a nice way of gaming you just need get use to it again magic words get use to it again try out bg 1 or 2

[Nonek]

I played Ultima Underworld 1&2 in 3d twenty years ago, and that game shames most modern 3d games in terms of features, reactivity and scale. Indeed most modern 3d games are either linear corridors or puddle deep in comparison, so factually I don't believe that we were restricted to isometric at that time. Rather I prefer this perspective, certainly the ten million plus sales of Diablo 3 would argue that many others do as well.

 

However I don't believe that every game must be restricted to first or third person view to be successful, it should cater to whatever its audience wants, and implying such meaningless restrictions to a medium is rather narrow minded. No insult intended of course, but i'm rather against stifling creativity for the sake of what is fashionable.

[sarkthas]

I think the environments age very well in IE games compared to NwN, which used a 3D engine. 

 

And I sincerely hope they keep with the Isometric design in future sequels. Considering the kickstarter was a massive success, then obviously the times haven't left it behind..

Edited October 30, 2013 by sarkthas

[Stun]

Heard about this game recently and decided to make a forum account to get other peoples opinions about it.  im very dissapointed in the fact that they are making an "infinity engine style" game. i dont understand the logic behind this decision to take such a large step back in game design(cost i guess is the only reason i can think of).

First off, your claim that this is some sort of "Huge Step Back" in game design is an opinion and not a tangeable fact at all. The FACT of the matter is that a 2d, Isometric, text-heavy, party based computer game happens to be a much better delivery system for an RPG in every conceivable way than the various models used today, save for maybe graphics (which was never a primary selling point for RPG fans anyway... ever.) If anything, the industry itself has been suffering from a decade-long degeneration. What you're seeing from Obsidian and IN-Xile today is an attempt to get things back up to the high it used to be.

 

 

Second, the reasons they're doing this game has absolutely nothing to do with logic. Even lower costs is simply a bonus and not a reason. It has everything to do with the Developers' artistic desires. While you may not want to play such a game, there is a sizable niche of gamers who do, and interestingly, a group of developers is among them... devs who actually dream about going back to their roots and making another one of these games.

 

 

 

i think gaming is so far past this kind of game,that many players wont give it a second look.  im a long time obsidian fan and iv played many of their games and i would hate to see this project fail because of the antiquity of the design.

You're a little late. It has already succeeded. They did not put up a single dime to fund the development of this game. We did. Therefore, every sale, every single dollar of actual post release revenue from this game will go to Obsidian as pure profit. You really can't ask for better. Well, I suppose you could ask for everything to be on a larger scale.... but we don't know what the future holds. It very well could get there eventually. Edited October 30, 2013 by Stun

[Labadal]

The game having an isometric view is part of why I'm excited for this game. Being inspiried by the IE games is the reason I pledged the amount I did.

[neo6874]

.... save for maybe graphics (which was never a primary selling point for RPG fans anyway... ever.)

 

SHHH... some wise guy at Obsidian might just send everyone a pencil and packet of graph paper.

[Sensuki]

Isometric style = best style. For RPG and RTS.

[Pshaw]

Personally I love when a game goes back to an older display type. Wether it's pixelated, 2D animated, cell shaded 3D, isometric and so on. I feel like at some point developers felt like a game couldn't be a game without cutting edge graphics and games started to suffer for it. Consistantly every year it's games with intentionally stylized or throwback graphics that tend to be the ones I enjoy the most. This isn't to say I don't enjoy games with great graphics but I'm still playing FTL, mark of the ninja and bastion but not skyrim, farcry, or metro last light.

I'm glad they've got a simple art direction and running with it. It means they can focus more of their developement time on gameplay which is what really makes a game worth playing.

 

[bonarbill]

OT: The be honest with you, I didn't really enjoy BG, IWD, or PST for the isometric style, 2d backgrounds, or the combat (I really don't find real time with pause combat tactical or enjoyable).  However, what I did like about the games was the party system, atmosphere, story, and sense of adventure.  As long as those four aspects are intact, I will enjoy the game no matter what.

Edited October 31, 2013 by LadyCrimson
removed a quote for some minor thread clean up.

[Keyrock]

Isometric was one of the core elements of the pitch/promise during the Kickstarter campaign so an isometric game it will be.

 

[Hassat Hunter]

$4 million disagrees with the OP...

[Elerond]

Most important reason why Project Eternity uses isometric perspective and prerendered backgrounds is because Obsidian wanted to make game that uses isometric perspective and prerendered backgrounds. And they also had inkling that their idea would be hard to sell for publisher which was reason why they crowd funded it, which should also tell you that they don't aim this game to compete with mass market games, but instead they try and already have succeeded to sell this game for much niche market segment. 

Edited October 31, 2013 by Elerond

[Malekith]

I donated exactly because the game was 2D isomertic. Even if i like Obsidian, I wouldn't have gave a single dollar for a FS/TP game like New Vegas.

[Junker]

Only reason I'm interested in the game. If it's 3D you want then check out the rest of the gaming industry...

[rjshae]

Isometric style = best style. For RPG and RTS.

 

It's probably the better style for a squad-based game. But it also worked pretty well for the Torchlight series, which did quite nicely in the market place.

[Kjaamor]

Always preferred Isometric to rotatable camera for the simple reason that isometric games were designed for you to be able to see what was going on. On NWN and DS you spent half your life adjusting the camera to get a view of what was going on, and enemies could still sneak up through your camera blind-spots.

 

To a certain extent, though, I agree with the OP. P:E isn't going to sell loads, because it uses an antiquitated graphical system. I would just point out that P:E is a cult game, responding to the needs of a small (although not inconsiderable, as the backing shows) market. It is not battling with the AAA titles for lowest common denominator fans, which, aside from the isometric camera, is the other reason I'm so intrigued by it.

[Larkaloke]

The isometric style certainly is a fairly large part of what I like about games such as Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale, and it's only been very recently that I've even considered 3d to be getting up to the same level in graphics. For a long time the backgrounds in those games were a large amount more visually pleasing than any 3d games around, and still I find that for roleplaying games I prefer it. And, while 3d works quite well in a game like Skyrim or even Dragon Age, it doesn't work very well in party based games. It's much easier to control the whole party from an isometric view.

[Mabec]

I don't necessary dislike the isometric view. I loved the two first Fallout games. But, the feeling i felt after going from Fallout to BG was that the whole world, the camera angle i guess felt like it was a hanging painting and that everything would fall of it if the physics would get removed from the game engine. So keeping it a 3D-view like Wasteland 2 does wouln't have been a bad idea. Just my 5 cents on the subject. 

[Messier-31]

Sad that obsidian is making this game isometric...

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA *snort* AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

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And as for the rest of the thread:

 

 

 

[BruceVC]

   Heard about this game recently and decided to make a forum account to get other peoples opinions about it.  im very dissapointed in the fact that they are making an "infinity engine style" game. i dont understand the logic behind this decision to take such a large step back in game design(cost i guess is the only reason i can think of).

 

   i think gaming is so far past this kind of game,that many players wont give it a second look.  im a long time obsidian fan and iv played many of their games and i would hate to see this project fail because of the antiquity of the design.  i dont think that there are many players in todays gaming landscape that will tolerate this outdated design,no matter how good the story/characters/world are.

 

  i just dont think the isometric view was one of the reasons people loved the baulders gate/planescape/nevewinter nights games,it was an aspect that was simply tolerated due to the technological limitations of the time,and now that we are so well advanced in that aspect,i think very few will want to go back.

 

  heres hoping this project has enough success to open the door for obsidian to create a more modern game,with this new world and lore as a base. i dont see this ever standing up to the mass effects and KOTOR's of the world. but i wish them the best of luck and hope for better in the future .

 

Op I think most of my views have been echoed by others in response to your post. The reality is the fans who funded this game want and believe in an Isometric view, but I can also understand why this may not appeal to you. And that's fine, you don't have to support this game and I'm confident you will find other games more suited to your personal tastes