What are the chance's of a console version?

[cooperb21]

Divinity Original Sin and Wasteland 2 recently both just released on console. Showing that is a market and way to get these pc designed games onto the console without ruining the experience. Im wondering is is possible for the same to be done for Pillars of Eternity. If not why not if other games that are quite similar had no problem doing so. 

[Eliteseraph]

Man...I can't even imagine the level of join pain from trying to play this game on a console with a controller.  The level of micro needed is already excessive on the PC with a mouse and KB.       

[White Phoenix]

They would need to change POE combat system to turn based as Divinty:OS (and Wasteland 2) has one.

[Elerond]

Changes for console version are very close to zero. 

 

Reason for that are:

 

First game uses Unity 4.x as engine and to port it to Xbox One and/or PS4 they would need to port game first to Unity 5, as Unity 4.x don't support those platforms.

Game's UI and control patterns that game uses are not gamepad friendly, which means that there would be need for heavy modifications in those sectors to make game pleasant to play on consoles.

Game is writing heavy with much smaller amount of VO that W2DC(all important parts), D:OS EE (100%) have, and reading isn't something that is commonly found as pleasant experience on TV screen (because of usually relatively slow resolution compared to screen size and longer view distance compared to PC screen or other screens that are more commonly used for reading), which means that amount of VO should be increased or they should find better way to represent text for players to keep their experience pleasant

W2DC and D:OS EE use turn based combat that gives lot of leeway in how fast player needs to input their commands, where RTwP system that PoE uses also gives in theory that same leeway, in reality it has high change to make combat feel to hectic or too disjointed to actually be pleasant experience for most of the players. Meaning that combat spacing would need some sort overhaul to make it actually work on consoles.

 

Also Obsidian has said they don't have spare resources to do such ports.

[Fenixp]

I play just about everything I can on a controller, but I can't imagine Pillars of Eternity functioning without a massive amount of modifications. Which wouldn't preclude a console version per se I suppose, but it's damn unlikely.

[anameforobsidian]

There's also the problem that Wasteland 2 didn't exactly light up the console charts.

[SkySlam]

Luckily, 0% chance.

Death to consoles! 

 

Honestly, Pillars would look horrible on console and almost unplayable there. D:OS is a very different game, despite the isometric/RPGesque tags. Pillars of Eternity requires a lot more reading and micromanaging, it would need a total rework... a lot of resources would be spent in vain (since it wouldn't shine on consoles' market anyway) that could instead be used for PoE2. Now that's something I want to see!

[Karkarov]

I can give you a numerical representation of the odds that Eternity will release on consoles right now.

 

0%

Edited January 17, 2016 by Karkarov

[Ganrich]

I have a steam controller, and even with the track pads it's overwhelming at times for the reasons listed above. Although, I am getting use to it. Controlling the mouse cursor without those trackpads would be a deal breaker i think.

[Osvir]

Don't know about the Xbox controller but the PS4 controller does have the touchpad thing. It's really uncomfortable though and I don't think it'd do much...

But motion control in the controller itself! "Flower" (thatgamecompany, "Journey", "fl0w") style control, could work for moving a mouse pointer. Although, I bet Sony would rather want you to get other accessories than just using the controller (Keyboard & Mouse, or their motion sticks).

It would probably work fine on consoles, in theory, but would anyone not familiar with the type of game have the patience to learn how to play it, in practice?

Haven't tried Diablo 3 on PS4 (Eager to get it though, even though I have it on PC ) but it has been given lots of praise. Albeit, you only control one character, and it is an action RPG, something like that could also work (Camera focus on main character, move with the left stick and use the right stick for targeting, switch characters on R2 or L2).

Just like previous threads like this, I'm not condoning it, just simply curious thinking and pondering on how could it work "if" a console would adapt a RTwP singleplay RPG? (Didn't work well with Baldur's Gate, but technology has gone far since then) I also think that the biggest problem isn't actually "if it would work" (Because I'm of the belief that it would work), the biggest problem is "How do you translate and give clarity to Players unfamiliar to a PC game like this, and how do you make the controls easy and understandable?".

Edited January 17, 2016 by Osvir

[cooperb21]

There's also the problem that Wasteland 2 didn't exactly light up the console charts.

I understand that. I have played XCOM Enemy Unknown, XCOM: Enemy Within, Divinity Original Sin and Wasteland 2 all on my ps3 and ps4, but i guess console has a small market for these games. 

[Ganrich]

Technology "has" gone far since Baldur's Gate, but controllers have been fairly stagnant since the PS1 introducing analog sticks. Valve's controller is the most forward looking controller in 20 years, and even still the game would have to fundamentally change to accommodate any other controller. If you change the game to accommodate the controller then the game changes, and not necessarily for the better. I much prefer PoE to its controller friendly brother Dragon Age: Origins, but that is personal preference.

 

Ironically, the gamer community clamor for innovation, but when it comes (steam controller for example) they tend to cry about "if it isn't broke don't fix it." If console gamers want games that are mouse driven they need to ask the console makers to push controls beyond analog sticks and reach beyond their comfort zone.

 

Edit: And yes they PS4's touch pad is in an abnoxious location, and I would personally think it would be too much so to play the game. I can get by on the steam controller, but if I can use my mouse and keyboard... PoE is better for it.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Ganrich

[anameforobsidian]

Technology "has" gone far since Baldur's Gate, but controllers have been fairly stagnant since the PS1 introducing analog sticks. Valve's controller is the most forward looking controller in 20 years, and even still the game would have to fundamentally change to accommodate any other controller. If you change the game to accommodate the controller then the game changes, and not necessarily for the better. I much prefer PoE to its controller friendly brother Dragon Age: Origins, but that is personal preference.

 

Ironically, the gamer community clamor for innovation, but when it comes (steam controller for example) they tend to cry about "if it isn't broke don't fix it." If console gamers want games that are mouse driven they need to ask the console makers to push controls beyond analog sticks and reach beyond their comfort zone.

 

Edit: And yes they PS4's touch pad is in an abnoxious location, and I would personally think it would be too much so to play the game. I can get by on the steam controller, but if I can use my mouse and keyboard... PoE is better for it.

 

I don't quite agree with the whole technology has been stagnant line.  Nintendo at least has tried changing its controllers every generation.  For example, the wii controller has much more pointer fidelity than a controller.  You can even use it relatively easily in a simple RTS, like Dawn of Discovery.  That style still has a ton of work to do to get it to the pointer fidelity of a mouse, but it hasn't been stagnant.  PS Move and Kinect come across as me toos, but at least there was some experimentation in the last generation.

[Ganrich]

 

Technology "has" gone far since Baldur's Gate, but controllers have been fairly stagnant since the PS1 introducing analog sticks. Valve's controller is the most forward looking controller in 20 years, and even still the game would have to fundamentally change to accommodate any other controller. If you change the game to accommodate the controller then the game changes, and not necessarily for the better. I much prefer PoE to its controller friendly brother Dragon Age: Origins, but that is personal preference.

Ironically, the gamer community clamor for innovation, but when it comes (steam controller for example) they tend to cry about "if it isn't broke don't fix it." If console gamers want games that are mouse driven they need to ask the console makers to push controls beyond analog sticks and reach beyond their comfort zone.

Edit: And yes they PS4's touch pad is in an abnoxious location, and I would personally think it would be too much so to play the game. I can get by on the steam controller, but if I can use my mouse and keyboard... PoE is better for it.

 

I don't quite agree with the whole technology has been stagnant line. Nintendo at least has tried changing its controllers every generation. For example, the wii controller has much more pointer fidelity than a controller. You can even use it relatively easily in a simple RTS, like Dawn of Discovery. That style still has a ton of work to do to get it to the pointer fidelity of a mouse, but it hasn't been stagnant. PS Move and Kinect come across as me toos, but at least there was some experimentation in the last generation.

Although, you are correct... None of those control mechanisms have come close to replacing the old paradigm on consoles. The Wii being the odd duck because they were aiming at a different demographic. There has been zero effort to make the standard controllers better. Perhaps they use higher quality parts than they did in 1998 (or whatever year), but analog sticks are as inaccurate today as they were 20 years ago. When did analog sticks come out on PS controllers? I know it was after the initial launch. Either way, the only changes have been slapped on after thoughts. Such as motion controls and a touchpad.

 

Now, I would say those improvements would have come if the consoles weren't so locked down, but with Sony and MS holding the reigns on what controllers are used it won't happen as anything but a "us too" move. That's why you are seeing it on the open environment of the PC with the new Valve controller. The land of 3D mice, full hotas controls, sim panels, sim steering wheels, sim pits, gameboards like the g13, standard controllers, joysticks, even motion controls, and soon to be VR headsets, etc. Honestly, if anything will change what controls are in games it is likely to be VR, but we will see.

 

In the end, only Nintendo really tried, and it didn't dissuade gamers from the standard controller. So, why not make the controller more accurate with touch pads? Because Sony and Microsoft are risk averse by nature and didn't want to lose sales footing to the other because of a failed bet. Also, the 3rd party controller makers have to follow those standard designs. It takes a $200 device to use mouse and keyboard on some consoles, because the hardware makers don't want that variable (balance wise) on the system. Also, why would they? They don't care about the kinds of games that are mouse driven. They only want shooters, beatem ups, and other controller friendly games because those tend to sell the best. The current console paradigm inhibits innovation by its very nature. Same with a lot of closed systems in electronics.

 

Edit: just wanted to add that Nintendo is the only one in the position to try to innovate because they have been 3rd in most console gamers hearts since MS stepped into the ring. When your company doesn't have much to lose... You try new things. If the Wii had been a failure would we count it as progress? Look at the Wii U. MS and Sony can't risk a flop in sales like the Wii U has been, and this is from someone that owns and enjoys the Wii U when a solid game comes out. Still want a Metroid game, though. Even now Nintendo is working on a new console to get back into the game. It may not replace the Wii U, but they can't afford to try and salvage the system any more.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Ganrich

[HawkSoft]

At the risk of dragging this thread completely off topic, what's the Steam Controller like to use please?

[boffmoffet]

I think PC Gamer was on to something giving this title "Spirit of the PC" award. It belongs on a PC in a way few titles do. Now can the plebeians stop asking for story modes and console ports? Everything costs money in game development, and in a title like Pillars asking for these silly things may give the developers the horrible idea that they should be implemented and given time and money at the company. Its to late for story mode, lets not start the console talk and worry  instead about the sequel. 

 

"But BoffMoffet, I wanna dual wield guns in POE and the combat is hard!! I cant sit in my recliner and play with a controller!"

*slap*

[Ganrich]

At the risk of dragging this thread completely off topic, what's the Steam Controller like to use please?

Bit of a learning curve to it. Especially with shooters. However, once you get use to it... It works better than analog sticks IMHO. It works great for Shadows of Mordor, and I would expect the same for similar titles.

 

If there isn't a decent profile for the game... It takes time. Some games are even still problematic. I tried Torchlight 2, and I dunno if I can get it working well. I need to fiddle more, but the top profiles are... Yuck. However, I have little desire to play it anymore so I likely won't bother. I was really just experimenting.

 

Games like PoE, Wasteland 2, Shadowrun, DOS, etc are all fine. Platformers work great. FTL plays well enough. I tried a little of Tex Murphy Tesla effect and it worked fine. I imagine point and click adventures will be great in general. I haven't tried any 4x, RTS, or builder type games like Cities Skylines or Sim City though.

 

I got it mostly to play PC only mouse driven games on the TV, and built a little steam machine to go in the living room as well. works great.

 

Honestly, the trackpads work much like a track ball in most cases. You slide your thumb quickly and the cursor goes for a bit still even after you lift your thumb. However, these things are changeable in the settings. The settings are insane, and that is a good thing. You can really get nitty gritty with it. The paddle buttons on the back of the controller are ingenious. They rock for Shift buttons in games that have a lot of commands, and in PoE my profile uses them to change the speed from slow motion to Benny hill running. If you have any specific questions shoot me a PM, though. I will answer to the best of my knowledge when I have time.

[Fenixp]

...

Yes.

 

Story mode implementation has absolutely taken *months* away from development time.

[Cyseal]

I think JS said that they won't be rebuilding it with Unity 5. Console version is very likely for PoE2 because Sword Coast Legends (U5) will be getting it this year also.

[scottii]

dont go to console, but one obstacle is licensing agreements where sales are shared with the publisher.

[Zenbane]

I imagine that with Story Mode enabled, the Console version becomes very viable. Not that I would ever suggest playing either in Story Mode nor on a Console, but I can see it happening. I really can't imagine the harm in it, since the end result would be more revenue for OBS, thus more funding to give PoE expansions, updates, and sequels more visibility and impact.

[Karkarov]

At the risk of dragging this thread completely off topic, what's the Steam Controller like to use please?

It is all about the user.  There are no sticks, they are touch pads.  Some people can get used to that and be okay, technically the touch pads do offer superior control.  Others (like me) want the tactile feel of a stick and the steam controller just doesn't feel right and is uncomfortable to use as a result.  My controller of choice on PC is the Xbone controller.

[danielkx]

I have been using steam controller for a month or so now...I don't play games too often like I use to but I have played it with MGS 5 and DA:I, controller works quite well with both games.

Now I have always been a mouse and keyboard person, and I have always disliked gamepads for the majority of games except for sport games and fighting games.

 

The main thing with steam controller is that it can take quite a bit of time to configure for each game so that can discourage some people from having to go through the effort of trial and error for each game. However, once you get the configuration the way you like it the controller becomes quite comfortable and enjoyable to use. Now remember that is coming from someone that has never liked traditional gamepads so if you actually like to use regular gamepads you may feel different than I do.

 

I have not used it for this game however but with DA:I the controller is very good (even if the game isn't lol).

Edited January 19, 2016 by danielkx

[Tigranes]

Elerond basically covered why it's harder to port POE.

 

I imagine controllers aren't a huge problem for games like MGS5 or DAI because they were released on consoles in the first place.

[danielkx]

Elerond basically covered why it's harder to port POE.

 

I imagine controllers aren't a huge problem for games like MGS5 or DAI because they were released on consoles in the first place.

Well I use the steam controller as mouse and keyboard setup. With PoE no doubt it would be more of a challenge to use with steam controller, I will mess around with it in a couple of months once they release the rest of the expansion and patch it a couple more times after.