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The best laid plans...

 

Ten years in business, numerous best selling titles and staff whom are keen to rejoin the company, well that speaks for itself. Especially in the midst of an economic downturn, where numerous contracts were cancelled and desperate situations arose. Obsidian have survived where Titans have fallen, and sometimes a canny businessman has to play it by ear in a turbulent market.

 

Edit: This is not to say that i don't have valid criticisms of Poe, but they are minor and I feel that my purchase was all in all worthwhile. I cannot say the same for many AAA+ games I have purchased whose budgets dwarfed Jim Sterling's lunch bill!

Edited by Nonek
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Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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The only problem of obsidian is the apparently lack of any kind of mid-long term plans.

 

How exactly does one long-term project what orders they might get from publishers...?

Not to mention several of said orders where terminated prematurely (Alien RPG for example) or the funders went down under (South Park).

^

 

 

I agree that that is such a stupid idiotic pathetic garbage hateful retarded scumbag evil satanic nazi like term ever created. At least top 5.

 

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Formerly known as BattleWookiee/BattleCookiee

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Hi! I'm a massive fan of Black Isle / Troika / Obsidian as well as a student majoring in Computer Science, a game hobbyist and an amateur game developer. (Disclaimer)

 

So, my question for today is a very profound one, and one that carries a lot of meaning to me, personally, and especially from a game developer studio perspective: What's wrong with Obsidian?

 

Everything starts with Black Isle and Fallout, which (if you're aware of the story around the production) was a general huge mother****ing mess. After Black Isle was shot down, the general messiness seemed to follow with Troika games, who made a couple of brilliant yet very flawed games. After that, the legacy, thanks to a few key individuals and their ideals, was transferred into what is today Obsidian.

 

Now, as a disclaimer, I have to say, I love everything created by these guys: Black Isle Studios, Troika and Obsidian. BI's slogan: "By gamers, for gamers" is still something I keep as an inspiration very close to my heart every single day (as an unknown amateur developer), and what they created is simply beautiful. However, everything created by this troupe and their derivatives has always been somehow fundamentally wrong: bugged as hell, imbalanced as foobar, illogical as hell.

 

My question is: WTF is wrong with Obsidian? Why can't they make solid products? I know there's a lot of tension between publisher - developer relations, that's always a handful and something for an entirely different discussion, but my presumption here today is that:

There is something wrong with the communication between the designers and the coders in Obsidian?

 

Because at many times it seems I'm playing a game with a beautifully designed world with lots of content and shreds of the designers souls visibly poured into every single detail, yet at other times I'm stumbling upon the very simplistic, childish even, mistakes that could be repaired with some simple programming with a little bit of forethought. Are you guys talking? Is there something between, even though this time (PoE) you were independently funded, and no publisher has a **** to say about yoru game? What's the problem?

 

Now, I'm not blaming anyone, I'm simply tryng to inquire some details about your methods into developing games, and whether there'd be something to improve. No doubt I'm going to get a generic response of "yes, we're constantly improving our methods and processes in all areas", but what I'm really interested in is the actual schizms between the programmers and the designers, since that's what I think is the main reason for this outcome.

 

Anyway, while any perspectives are welcome, obviously I'd rather take on some pov's from the crew.

 

Did you like POE?

Having trouble with the games combat on POTD, Trial of Iron?

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Despite what I may post, I'm a huge fan of Pillars of Eternity, it's one of my favorite RPG's.

Anita Sarkeesian keeps Bioware's balls in a jar on her shelf.

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All they had to do with the memorial was review submission, type it in file, press "save" and double checking final results.  I'm sure they totally could have solved 5-6 critical bugs in that time.  Such a waste of their resources...

 

Not to mention the completely inane assumption that the person who worked on changing the limerick would have worked on fixing some other bug instead. 

Wait, are people actually saying thi -

 

Of course they are.

 

 

The best laid plans...

 

Ten years in business, numerous best selling titles and staff whom are keen to rejoin the company, well that speaks for itself. Especially in the midst of an economic downturn, where numerous contracts were cancelled and desperate situations arose. Obsidian have survived where Titans have fallen, and sometimes a canny businessman has to play it by ear in a turbulent market.

 

Edit: This is not to say that i don't have valid criticisms of Poe, but they are minor and I feel that my purchase was all in all worthwhile. I cannot say the same for many AAA+ games I have purchased whose budgets dwarfed Jim Sterling's lunch bill!

Yeeeeeeah. Obsidian's been doing this forever. It's not like, say, a certain company up north from me that has been running on duct tape and chewing gum.

Edited by Bryy
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It's brittle and, like flint, it's not easy to get a proper knife/arrowhead out of. It also has a fairly small effective length. 

 

But it's necessary in the fight against the Others. \o/

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No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

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Anyone else read that as 'the fight against the Otters'?

 

Those sly creatures.

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^

 

 

I agree that that is such a stupid idiotic pathetic garbage hateful retarded scumbag evil satanic nazi like term ever created. At least top 5.

 

TSLRCM Official Forum || TSLRCM Moddb || My other KOTOR2 mods || TSLRCM (English version) on Steam || [M4-78EP on Steam

Formerly known as BattleWookiee/BattleCookiee

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I hear a lot of times on forums that u can always expect an Obsidian game and a Bethesda game to be shipped with bugs. While obsidian maybe known for shipping games with bugs, lately they become a lot better at squashing them. I mean FONV was released very buggy, but unlike Bethesda games, by the time they get done with their patches the games are usually pretty solid. Like FONV by the time all the patches came through, it was more stable than oblivion and fallout 3, the game they took most of their stuff from.

They are overambitionist and cram as much as they can before it has to be released, thankfully they are getting a lot better with patching it later to a very stable game. Usually their gamble pays off as I was vastly amazed and impressed with FONV and SPsot.

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I hear a lot of times on forums that u can always expect an Obsidian game and a Bethesda game to be shipped with bugs.

 

I have received a game that was completely free of bugs. It was called chess. Apparently it's considered a classic now.

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"It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats."

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I hear a lot of times on forums that u can always expect an Obsidian game and a Bethesda game to be shipped with bugs.

 

I have received a game that was completely free of bugs. It was called chess. Apparently it's considered a classic now.

 

Yeah, who said nobody plays turn based games anymore???

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
 

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Chess is pretty buggy, there's a move you can do where you attack an empty space, but somehow your target gets hit anyway, I think it has some wonky hitbox detection.

 

I heard they made that bug a feature called peasant or ampersand or something*. See, because calling bugs with French terms kind of gives them this neat aura of legitimacy and us common people don't even know what it is about. Bloody France.

 

* Disclaimer: I know it's called en passant.

Edited by majestic
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No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

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Chess is pretty buggy, there's a move you can do where you attack an empty space, but somehow your target gets hit anyway, I think it has some wonky hitbox detection.

 

I heard they made that bug a feature called peasant or ampersand or something*. See, because calling bugs with French terms kind of gives them this neat aura of legitimacy and us common people don't even know what it is about. Bloody France.

 

* Disclaimer: I know it's called en passant.

 

 

They wouldn't needed this rule if pawns had engagement and became sticky.

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I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man

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Flashbacks to Betrayal at Krondor and discovering the En Passant move from the brothers at Sarth, so much nostalgia.

Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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I hear a lot of times on forums that u can always expect an Obsidian game and a Bethesda game to be shipped with bugs.

I have received a game that was completely free of bugs. It was called chess. Apparently it's considered a classic now.

Lucky you. I received a chess set from my grandpa and he had found it in the attic. Unfortuantly their were a few bugs in the game, but I got rid of them myself ;)

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two days into the game, and my entire party is so fatigued, and yet, game refuses to allow party to rest.  i mean really... who needs Camping supplies to lay on the ground and take a frigging nap to rest?

used priest spell to heal endurance. Nothing happened.

used potions, again, nothing happened.

 

 

if i cant rest my party, then they cant fight or defend themselves, and party is doomed to die.

 

boring ... and a waste of money to buy a game with these kinds of dumb bugs in it.

 

more bugs to be fixed Now!

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  • 4 weeks later...

yet at other times I'm stumbling upon the very simplistic, childish even, mistakes that could be repaired with some simple programming with a little bit of forethought.

 

Can you give some examples of this? I am a bit confused as to what you mean.

 

People are allowed to rant, but without context and being constructive it makes it nearly impossible to address someones concerns. How is Obsidian meant to know how to fix it if you do not tell them what you find wrong?

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Can you give some examples of this? I am a bit confused as to what you mean.

 

People are allowed to rant, but without context and being constructive it makes it nearly impossible to address someones concerns. How is Obsidian meant to know how to fix it if you do not tell them what you find wrong?

 

 

He can't. Just like every other computer science major who happend upon the forums in the past 15 years and complained about silly things not being fixed or parts missing that would have been oh so easy to create and would have made the game that much better. Being able to fix up some minor java program for your programming course at university simply gives one no perspective on how working a complex project really is and how easily a line of code is added and several seemingly unrelated modules broken in the weirdest way imaginable.

 

It's the lack of experience talking, doubly so when someone prefaces his post by listing his qualifications and actually lists currently studying computer science as a reason why what follows is a profund analysis and everyone better heed the conclusions.

 

To quote the ever awesome Tywin Lannister:

 

 

And any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king at all.

-- Tywin Lannister, A Storm of Swords

 

But the poster's been called out on it repeatedly and has apparently left the thread almost two months ago, kept alive only by good-natured fun and some trolling by even more obnoxious characters. :biggrin:

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No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

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wtf is wrong with obsidian?

 

armoured warfare

 

*shrug*

 

poe were the first game obsidian has developed in quite some time that we bothered to play.  not ds3 or ap or south park... and o' those three games, only ap had a chance to be a uniquely obsidian title.  

 

...

 

we get that obsidian gots bills to pay, but am fearing that armoured warfare were a trap.  the tank project is requiring inordinate resources and will necessarily prevent obsidian from taking on projects Gromnir would prefer to see from them.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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Amen to that, Gromnir. At least for Skyforge, it feels like they will get out of it eventually, but Armored Warfare? That's something that asks for a lot of involvement from the developer over a long period.

 

Really hoping that Pillars of Eternity won't be the only universe that Obsidian will work in that will excite me!

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To be fair, both Obsidian and Paizo implied that there would be a Pathfinder CRPG down the line after the tablet game.

 

Of course we haven't heard anything about it since then...

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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To be fair, both Obsidian and Paizo implied that there would be a Pathfinder CRPG down the line after the tablet game.

 

Of course we haven't heard anything about it since then...

kinda had this out on the boards already.  all we were told is that that there were an agreement 'tween obsidian and paizo for the card game... plus.  were a long-term agreement with no details whatsoever regarding the agreement.  am not even knowing what kinda games obsidian could make under the agreement beyond card games. am not knowing duration o' term... or any other terms for that matter.

 

and why imply? 

 

*shrug*

 

we didn't see any reason to be especially enthusiastic based on the announcement, and as you note, more than a year has passed since that time.

 

HA! Good Fun!

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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