Can we have a Kickstarter for an Aurora - based RPG?

[notker_biloba]

I really, really love PoE and have enjoyed my first foray into isometric gaming. Just wondering if there were any thoughts toward a 3d RPG, based in Aurora or such like.

[Oerwinde]

Aurora is an oooold engine. You could probably achieve the same with Unity.

[notker_biloba]

oh, I didn't know that. Whatever the latest and greatest is that would enable the same kind of zooming and panning we had on NWN2, etc. -- hopefully a little better graphics.

[Flouride]

Oh, hell no. That engine is just way too old for anything useful

[ShadySands]

Aurora is an oooold engine. You could probably achieve the same with Unity.

Pretty much this

[Marceror]

I liked the NWN nights games well enough and I'm pretty sure I played every installment more than once, to say nothing of fan made campaigns... but other than the ability to easily create new content there is very little about the actual engine that I have any particular desire to return to.

 

It was the stories and the characters that made NWN and NWN2 memorable for me. Not the engine. Not that it was bad per say, just not at all the thing about those games that resonated with me. It was more of a means to an end.

[ShadySands]

I think the OP wants a 3d game world with similar camera options like those older games but I don't want to speak for him

Edited March 18, 2016 by ShadySands

[RingMachine]

That engine is ****ing awful and is the reason for why I'm not playing any NWN games other than Mask of the Betrayer.

[ShadySands]

I thought it was decent for The Witcher

[Vaeliorin]

I liked the NWN nights games well enough and I'm pretty sure I played every installment more than once, to say nothing of fan made campaigns... but other than the ability to easily create new content there is very little about the actual engine that I have any particular desire to return to.

 

It was the stories and the characters that made NWN and NWN2 memorable for me. Not the engine. Not that it was bad per say, just not at all the thing about those games that resonated with me. It was more of a means to an end.

The engine for NWN2 was terrible.  Even on a machine built ~10 years after it was released, turning shadows all the way up caused my video card fans to turn into jet turbines.

[notker_biloba]

ShadySands is correct. Any 3d engine will do. I'm reminiscing on those games that had cool 3d effects AND a good story. I'm not that knowledgeable on which engines Obsidian has in its arsenal.

[Quillon]

I thought it was decent for The Witcher

 

They had to rewrite most of it tho.

 

That said, I prefer 3D also, 2D just don't cut it for me, not being able to pan is takes away from my immersion with the game(also I don't find hand-drawn beautiful maps THAT important for an RPG), just like I prefer RTwP over TB, cos I don't find TB realistic and takes away from my immersion also. But I endure them both for other features of the games which are 2D or TB.

[Marceror]

 

I liked the NWN nights games well enough and I'm pretty sure I played every installment more than once, to say nothing of fan made campaigns... but other than the ability to easily create new content there is very little about the actual engine that I have any particular desire to return to.

 

It was the stories and the characters that made NWN and NWN2 memorable for me. Not the engine. Not that it was bad per say, just not at all the thing about those games that resonated with me. It was more of a means to an end.

The engine for NWN2 was terrible.  Even on a machine built ~10 years after it was released, turning shadows all the way up caused my video card fans to turn into jet turbines.

 

 

The earlier versions of NWN2 ran like an absolute dog on my, at the time, brand new system that far exceeded the recommended minimums. And yeah, I've never had such a big problem with shadows on a game before or since. But, patching and yet another PC a few years later and it eventually ran reasonably well enough.

 

I thought it was decent for The Witcher

 

I only played the Witcher for a few hours, since the first person view and lack of party based combat just aren't my cup of tea, so that game doesn't really factor into my opinions on the Aurora Engine.

[Lychnidos]

I think the OP wants a 3d game world with similar camera options like those older games but I don't want to speak for him

 

Never thought I'd live to see people asking for a game with NWN 2's camera. 

[ShadySands]

It's been a long time since I played the first Witcher game but I recall playing it zoomed out pretty far and I thought NWN2's camera got much better with either some patches or one of the xpacs

 

Over the shoulder is probably my least favorite camera angle followed by first person view. Woe is me.

 

Edit- actually switch that, FPP is least favorite

Edited March 19, 2016 by ShadySands

[Quillon]

I played The Witcher with OTS cam, just cos I could see further.

 

And I never seen this many people in one place who can't handle camera in a 3D game with top down gameplay(Not speaking for this thread alone). And always the same reference; yeah we all had our share of bad experience with NWN2's cam(apparently OP handled it like a pro), but not all games' cams are/will certainly be like NWN2's or problematic in some way, except for having to use mouse/buttons to be controlled, - outrageous!

 

On a serious note, I don't think Obs will go for 3D for a party based RPG in the near future. Pillars formula is risk free: 5M$ budget + established company name = easily 500K games sold = lots of profit. With Tyranny I assume budget would have increased, familiar engine now, maybe same RPG system, more VO, more marketing etc... 1M in sales would be the goal. Obs could have also decided to make Tyranny by themselves, either through crowdfunding or with PoE profits or both but I guess they went with the safe, usual route... but they are managing a studio with 200+ developers, they must have their valid reasons.

 

My concern is, if we'll ever see Obs in the big leagues again; with games like AP & New Vegas to influence the industry with their RPG prowess(like CDPR doing atm)or will they continue playing "small" with RPGs and their big game will be the tank MMO.

[notker_biloba]

I didn't discover cRPG's until right around the time Storm of Zehir came out, so by the time I got to NWN it was probably all patched, and I had the latest hardware, etc. I had nothing to compare it to, so I thought it was super dreamy.

 

I'll be plenty happy if they keep the PoE's coming, but if there's enough interest and funding to create a 3D game in addition, I'd be doubly happy.

Edited March 19, 2016 by notker_biloba

[Bartimaeus]

Never thought I'd live to see people asking for a game with NWN 2's camera. 

Yeah, seriously: the camera and the floaty controls were like the worst part of that game. PoE's Unity Engine as well as the Infinity Engine literally any and every day over it, thank you.

[Quillon]

Just watched this 

 

Honestly it looks better than Pillars to me; dat atmosphere and pannable cam <3 : p and probably the game has 1/5 of Pillars budget at most(first expeditions game's budget was 80 thousand dollars if I'm not wrong). Maybe making 2D backgrounds is not that cheap after all. Only thing I'd change about it would be turning combat into RTwP but I can try to enjoy/endure turn based combat just as I gave the same chance to 2D style of PoE. 

[Elerond]

80 thousands is about enough to hire one developer for year in California. 

[Infinitron]

Honestly it looks better than Pillars to me; dat atmosphere and pannable cam <3 : p and probably the game has 1/5 of Pillars budget at most(first expeditions game's budget was 80 thousand dollars if I'm not wrong). Maybe making 2D backgrounds is not that cheap after all. Only thing I'd change about it would be turning combat into RTwP but I can try to enjoy/endure turn based combat just as I gave the same chance to 2D style of PoE. 

 

Conquistador's budget was larger than that. 80k was just from the Kickstarter, they had more.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Infinitron