Pillars of Eternity II coming to consoles!

[Infinitron]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/02/06/pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire-coming-to-consoles.aspx?

 

 

 

Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Coming To Consoles

 

 

 

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is nearing completion for PC, Mac, and Linux, with a release planned for April 3. For players without a dedicated gaming PC, you can still look forward to a chance to try out this sequel, as Game Informer has learned that Deadfire is set to come to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch during the holiday season of 2018.

 

While Obsidian heads up primary development duties for Pillars II on PC, the game is being ported to consoles by developer Red Cerberus. Versus Evil and Obsidian are working together to publish the game.

 

For more on Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, check out our four-page feature in the latest issue of Game Informer, releasing today.

 

Our Take

The original Pillars of Eternity was a fantastic isometric role-playing game, and there’s good reason to believe that its sequel will continue the tradition of excellence. The original game released last summer for Xbox One and PlayStation 4; it’s good news that console players won’t have to wait quite so long for the sequel. Undoubtedly, Nintendo enthusiasts should also be excited to see the game heading to the Switch, a platform that is still establishing its cred as a role-playing game destination. 

 

Josh Sawyer in today's TheSixthAxis preview: http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2018/02/06/taking-to-the-high-seas-in-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/

 

 

 

For those on console, looking to continue their journey from the first game, it might be a long wait, if it happens at all. The first game’s port was created by a team at Paradox Interactive, but Obsidian have partnered with a different publisher for the sequel. Even so, Josh said, “I think there’s the possibility for it, but what I’ve said, and this is honest, is that everything we focus on for this game is about PC, Mac and Linux. Clearly Paradox Arctic showed you can port this style of game to console, and to their credit it seems like the people that bought it on console really seemed to enjoy it. Whether or not the audience is there, I don’t know because I don’t have the sales figures, so I would say nothing would prohibit the game being on console, but the main platforms are PC, Mac and Linux.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Infinitron

[CottonWolf]

Makes a lot of sense. A couple of my friends played the original on console, apparently it was a good port. I'm surprised that it sold well enough to warrent bringing the next over though.

[injurai]

Awesome, good for Obsidian. This is great news, and a further step to them becoming an increasingly independent company!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

How would Deadfire play on a handheld?

[Revan91]

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

[bonarbill]

Looks like I'll be doubling dipping and getting this on the PC and switch.

[draego]

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

 

Your an idiot, they are not making a console game. Obsidian is making a pc game and console build is being ported by another dev team. I am not sure what is so hard to understand. Obsidian is focused on the pc game.

Edited February 6, 2018 by draego

[CottonWolf]

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

 

If you look at the UI of this game and think it's been somehow compromised for consoles, I literally don't know what to say.

Edited February 6, 2018 by CottonWolf

[Revan91]

 

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

 

Your an idiot, they are not making a console game. Obsidian is making a pc game and console build is being ported by another dev team. I am not sure what is so hard to understand.

 

Yeah sure, big man, that's why they've been dumbing the game from what we had with PoE1: because they wanted to make a true PC game, not to make it easier for console peasants.

One PC less in the party, no more camp supplies, no health/resistance anymore, basically no more vancian magic with everything being per encounter plus empower. All for us PC gamers backers, sure.

The game isn't even out and the porting has already been announced, with PoE3 I guess it'll be multi-platform from the start, and probably even more casualized to chase (and fail at that) the console market that typically don't care about these more in depth rpgs. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Revan91

[rjshae]

I'd much rather have a PC game ported to consoles than vice versa. As long as our available choices aren't reduced, it's no skin off my back.

[injurai]

 

 

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

 

Your an idiot, they are not making a console game. Obsidian is making a pc game and console build is being ported by another dev team. I am not sure what is so hard to understand.

 

Yeah sure, big man, that's why they've been dumbing the game from what we had with PoE1: because they wanted to make a true PC game, not to make it easier for console peasants.

One PC less in the party, no more camp supplies, no health/resistance anymore, basically no more vancian magic with everything being per encounter plus empower. All for us PC gamers backers, sure.

The game isn't even out and the porting has already been announced, with PoE3 I guess it'll be multi-platform from the start, and probably even more casualized to chase (and fail at that) the console market that typically don't care about these more in depth rpgs. 

 

 

If you actually followed the development of the last game and this, these changes are to do with player feedback. The change in party size is maybe the only thing you can point to, but Tyranny worked well with 4, and you can't claim that the change was done on account of making a console title.

 

Already you can have many pets in your party, so it's not like the game is getting that much more simple. They did it for other reasons to do with the flow and design of combat instances, which makes a lot more sense.

[Mannock]

Yeah sure, big man, that's why they've been dumbing the game from what we had with PoE1: because they wanted to make a true PC game, not to make it easier for console peasants.

One PC less in the party, no more camp supplies, no health/resistance anymore, basically no more vancian magic with everything being per encounter plus empower. All for us PC gamers backers, sure.

The game isn't even out and the porting has already been announced, with PoE3 I guess it'll be multi-platform from the start, and probably even more casualized to chase (and fail at that) the console market that typically don't care about these more in depth rpgs.

Just because there is change, it doesn't automatically mean dumbing anyhting,

 

Some changes are subjectively good and some are subjectively bad. It has nothing to do with intelligence though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Revan91]

 

 

 

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

 

Your an idiot, they are not making a console game. Obsidian is making a pc game and console build is being ported by another dev team. I am not sure what is so hard to understand.

 

Yeah sure, big man, that's why they've been dumbing the game from what we had with PoE1: because they wanted to make a true PC game, not to make it easier for console peasants.

One PC less in the party, no more camp supplies, no health/resistance anymore, basically no more vancian magic with everything being per encounter plus empower. All for us PC gamers backers, sure.

The game isn't even out and the porting has already been announced, with PoE3 I guess it'll be multi-platform from the start, and probably even more casualized to chase (and fail at that) the console market that typically don't care about these more in depth rpgs. 

 

 

If you actually followed the development of the last game and this, these changes are to do with player feedback. The change in party size is maybe the only thing you can point to, but Tyranny worked well with 4, and you can't claim that the change was done on account of making a console title.

 

Already you can have many pets in your party, so it's not like the game is getting that much more simple. They did it for other reasons to do with the flow and design of combat instances, which makes a lot more sense.

 

 

Yeah sure, big man, that's why they've been dumbing the game from what we had with PoE1: because they wanted to make a true PC game, not to make it easier for console peasants.

One PC less in the party, no more camp supplies, no health/resistance anymore, basically no more vancian magic with everything being per encounter plus empower. All for us PC gamers backers, sure.

The game isn't even out and the porting has already been announced, with PoE3 I guess it'll be multi-platform from the start, and probably even more casualized to chase (and fail at that) the console market that typically don't care about these more in depth rpgs.

Just because there is change, it doesn't automatically mean dumbing anyhting,

 

Some changes are subjectively good and some are subjectively bad. It has nothing to do with intelligence though.

 

I liked PoE 1.0 and liked it even more with 3.0, I don't recall that many people wanting health/resistance bar or supply camps to be gone. 

I know some people played the game poorly and rested after every fight or so and then complained about the rest limitations, but I don't think it's wise to accomodate those player feedbacks, since it makes the game worse and go in a different direction than the one promised in the initial pitch (the heir of BG thing). 

Changing party size from 6 to 5 isn't a big problem to me, honestly, I may even like it more, but sure as hell it also makes it more console-friendly, and since it's not the only decision which goes in that direction it's not exactly a coincidence. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Revan91

[injurai]

The injury system change did throw people for a loop, but it's basically the same as the health/endurance system. It was done to better convey penalties which people found hard to identify previously. The camp supply thing was changed because camp spamming was a thing. Either for health reasons, or to reset dailies. So you had two orthogonal concerns both tempting the player to spam a rest through a hazardous area.

[Infinitron]

Just because there is change, it doesn't automatically mean dumbing anyhting,

 

More importantly I think, just because there's dumbing down doesn't mean it's dumbing down for consoles. There's plenty of room to dumb down for PC too.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Infinitron

[Baramos]

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance. 

It's a port of the PC game to consoles. Not the other way around. Look up the beta videos. There's no way with a straight face you can call that a console experience.

 

Though I do find it strange they announced it so early. Would've been smarter for them to release the PC version first and then announce it later down the line.

[Mannock]

 

Just because there is change, it doesn't automatically mean dumbing anyhting,

 

More importantly I think, just because there's dumbing down doesn't mean it's dumbing down for consoles. There's plenty of room to dumb down for PC too.

 

 

I'm against the issue of 'dumbing down' as a concept. Change is happening all the time and it has little to do with the intelligence of the players (regardless of prefered platform),

[algroth]

 

 

Just because there is change, it doesn't automatically mean dumbing anyhting,

 

More importantly I think, just because there's dumbing down doesn't mean it's dumbing down for consoles. There's plenty of room to dumb down for PC too.

 

 

I'm against the issue of 'dumbing down' as a concept. Change is happening all the time and it has little to do with the intelligence of the players (regardless of prefered platform),

 

 

It's the first rule in videogame fandom that any change invariably means the game is being dumbed down. It always applies. Always.

[Wormerine]

This is a ****ing betrayal of your player base, Obsidian.

Next time you go to crowdfunding make sure to say it before that you're making a ****ing console game, instead of a more hardcore RPG made for PC. Also, you can do without my money in advance.

 

Oh no, a wider player base will be able to enjoy the same game I do on a later date. How it completely ruins my enjoyment! Jeez, it’s like a console war in here.

 

Glad to hear they will be porting this to consoles again. Let them know how good RPGs look like .

Edited February 6, 2018 by Wormerine

[Wormerine]

I'm against the issue of 'dumbing down' as a concept. Change is happening all the time and it has little to do with the intelligence of the players (regardless of prefered platform),

There is a concept of dumbing down in regards to controls - through the years a lot of genres suffered by being designed to work on pad, removing useful utility designs like shortcuts, better UI or lowering variety in gameplay to support pads. Keyboard&mouse vs pad vs joystick have different advantages and sometimes favoured control method isn’t best suited to game’s genre. What’s more, an act of playing game on a cauch, possible in a distracting environment vs in a corner, with headphones and a private PC can also influence design. That said I really haven’t seen an example of sabotaging a good PC title for console use in years. And how could anyone look at Deadfire and say: “yeah, that was designed with consoles in mind!” is beyond me.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Wormerine

[MortyTheGobbo]

Obsidian is running a business. If porting to consoles lets them reach out to a broader audience and earn more money, they can use it to make more, better games. That's a win in my book. As long as it doesn't negatively impact the PC version, which we know it hasn't.

Edited February 6, 2018 by MortyTheGobbo

[Mannock]

 

I'm against the issue of 'dumbing down' as a concept. Change is happening all the time and it has little to do with the intelligence of the players (regardless of prefered platform),

There is a concept of dumbing down in regards to controls - through the years a lot of genres suffered by being designed to work on pad, removing useful utility designs like shortcuts, better UI or lowering variety in gameplay to support pads. Keyboard&mouse vs pad vs joystick have different advantages and sometimes favoured control method isn’t best suited to game’s genre. What’s more, an act of playing game on a cauch, possible in a distracting environment vs in a corner, with headphones and a private PC can also influence design. That said I really haven’t seen an example of sabotaging a good PC title for console use in years. And how could anyone look at Deadfire and say: “yeah, that was designed with consoles in mind!” is beyond me.

 

 

But controls have nothing to do with intelligence. The movement of games/genres to consoles in some respects are mostly done from a business perspective. They have made the assumption that console games or versions will generate more revenue. It's a business decision and have nothing to do with intelligence.

[HoonDing]

b-b-but muh hardcoer arrpeegee

[Gilthas]

Hi, first time poster here.

 

I'm a huge fan of the PC Baldur's Gate games. Loved the gameplay and it introduced me to the Forgotten Realms setting. But after PT, IWD and IWD2 were released I was disappointed that the genre seemed to disappear.

 

I played the beta of Sword Coast Legends, but the game really disappointed me. I had heard of PoE before, but between the disappointment of SCL and my weak laptop, I didn't even try it. Still, I kept hearing good things about the game.

 

Then last summer the game was released for the PS4 and I bought it to try it out. Long story short: I loved the game. It wasn't exactly like BG, but it was close enough and the differences made it stand out. Can't say that everything in the game was perfect (companion storylines seemed less developed than I hoped for), but it has kept me lurking on these forums looking forward to the sequel.

 

Though the UI was functional for the PS4 version, I have to say that I really hate how so many companies use radial menus. They have never felt right to me. Moreover, I could never figure out a way to select groups of my PCs. I could only select all at once, or one at a time, which made combat very cumbersome at times.

 

I know that Obsidian is not responsible for the console ports, and I have no idea if they will even have any contact with the company doing the port, but there are two things that would greatly improve the console versions:

 

1. Dramatically decrease the loading times.

 

I have no idea how bad loading times were on the PC version, but they were a plague in the PS4 version. At later points in the game it really killed my enjoyment. Resting at Brighthollow involved going through 4 long loading screens to get to my room and back outside. I don't really see a reason for loading times to be so ridiculously bad.

 

2. Offer the PC UI as an option on the console versions.

 

Obviously, Red Cerberus has to focus on making a good controller UI, but it would be great if they kept the PC UI in the game as an option. Some of us do have a mouse and keyboard to use with their PS4, and I really think that a mouse is the best way to control characters in a game like this.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Gilthas

[WotanAnubis]

I don't think I'll be downloading this if it's digital only for the Switch (unless... perhaps... the size is not too big).

 

 

But if the game'll have a physical release, depending on how well the port turns out, I'll probably double dip. I like my Switch, what can I say?