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Tyranny + Bastard's Wound Expansion Thread

Ezrite

Learned
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
205
you're drunk

Okay.

It's ironic that Paradox the publisher in 2017 has become everything that was hated by Paradox the developer in 2000.
Is it worth playing this? I Bought it but haven't started yet. Tyranny was not bad, not good, just felt empty.

It is very ironic how it ended up. But I guess when you become the "boss" yourself you start to do what you hated.
 

ilitarist

Learned
Illiterate Village Idiot
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Messages
857
I played their games since Svea Rike and EU1/2. Today they are like a Nordic EA but holy shit their fans are loyal buying a horde of DLC for their games.

They've embraced sort of subscription system for flagship titles. You get patches adding new content and accompanying DLC add weigth to those new mechanics. Plus you can get lot of cosmetic DLCs. It's bad as it forces devs to make disjointed DLCs with flagship features that will not be integrated into a game.

Their games are still good, EU4 is a great strategy game even if it suffers from feature creep.

Note though they do not force this on all of developers. Pillars had real meaty expansions, the only cosmetic crap was in initial "editions" (i.e. pay twice the price for soundtrack, special in-game cosmetic item, wallpapers etc) which is sort of for collectors.
 

Ezrite

Learned
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
205
They've embraced sort of subscription system for flagship titles. You get patches adding new content and accompanying DLC add weigth to those new mechanics. Plus you can get lot of cosmetic DLCs. It's bad as it forces devs to make disjointed DLCs with flagship features that will not be integrated into a game.

Their games are still good, EU4 is a great strategy game even if it suffers from feature creep.

Note though they do not force this on all of developers. Pillars had real meaty expansions, the only cosmetic crap was in initial "editions" (i.e. pay twice the price for soundtrack, special in-game cosmetic item, wallpapers etc) which is sort of for collectors.

Well true.

I just hope they do not go megalomaniac fully now since they are counted as a AA developer these days. The thing that ticks me off is t hat EU4 vanilla at release and EU4 now at expansion 9 or wtf it is, is two different games (You buy a truck but suddenly it is a scooter). And when they finally release EU5, the circle continues. They stopped building on what they had. Knowing if they release a game with 25% of the mechanics f rom the game before, they can release DLC for 5-8 years. They are one of few companies where a season pass would be seen as a investment. Which is pretty fucked up. Atleast they are a decent publisher as you point out. Imagine if Obsidian got freaking EA, Bethesda or Ubisoft...
 

ilitarist

Learned
Illiterate Village Idiot
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Messages
857
I just hope they do not go megalomaniac fully now since they are counted as a AA developer these days. The thing that ticks me off is t hat EU4 vanilla at release and EU4 now at expansion 9 or wtf it is, is two different games (You buy a truck but suddenly it is a scooter). And when they finally release EU5, the circle continues. They stopped building on what they had. Knowing if they release a game with 25% of the mechanics f rom the game before, they can release DLC for 5-8 years. They are one of few companies where a season pass would be seen as a investment. Which is pretty fucked up. Atleast they are a decent publisher as you point out. Imagine if Obsidian got freaking EA, Bethesda or Ubisoft...

I don't think the part about 25% of the mechanics is true. They even dragged some mechanics that felt like expansion features (like adding Chinese factions instead of creating a system that would hit China especially hard). They are changing the core game all the time and there is that problem of them adding new mechanics instead of refining old ones. They added autonomy and then added corruption that is functionally the same thing but on the global level and thematically doesn't fit at all. They have stability, prestige, reputation, power projection, legitimacy, unity and god knows what else - and all of this stuff is interchangeable and thematically pointless (imagine a country with great stability but without legitimacy, or with low prestige but high power projection and reputation). But even the bigger problem I see is that all the mechanics added in DLCs are either solitaires for specific countries (You don't care about Aztec DOOM or republican factions or revolutionary factions or Prussian monarchy or Ottoman monarchy or Coptic reforms or Indian religions etc unless you play as those specific factions) or are disjointed things that add some rare effects (Estates, Parliaments) that do not have an affect on other stuff - because you can't have a really important feature as a DLC and still mantain core game even remotely balanced.

Still even with all of that EU4 may be my most beloved game ever, even if I have doubts whether release patched version was worse than the current version would be if you turn off DLCs. They used similar policy with Cities Skylines and there it worked much better AFAIK.

And if EA or Ubisoft had published Pillars of Eternity you'd have Eder as 1st day DLC (Follower of Dead God DLC, given for free with pre-order) and would have to find collectables all over big empty maps to unlock crafting recepies and books. With Bethesda it won't be any different but wouldn't properly work for several patches and have fun exploits left forever.
 

Ezrite

Learned
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
205
I don't think the part about 25% of the mechanics is true. They even dragged some mechanics that felt like expansion features (like adding Chinese factions instead of creating a system that would hit China especially hard). They are changing the core game all the time and there is that problem of them adding new mechanics instead of refining old ones. They added autonomy and then added corruption that is functionally the same thing but on the global level and thematically doesn't fit at all. They have stability, prestige, reputation, power projection, legitimacy, unity and god knows what else - and all of this stuff is interchangeable and thematically pointless (imagine a country with great stability but without legitimacy, or with low prestige but high power projection and reputation). But even the bigger problem I see is that all the mechanics added in DLCs are either solitaires for specific countries (You don't care about Aztec DOOM or republican factions or revolutionary factions or Prussian monarchy or Ottoman monarchy or Coptic reforms or Indian religions etc unless you play as those specific factions) or are disjointed things that add some rare effects (Estates, Parliaments) that do not have an affect on other stuff - because you can't have a really important feature as a DLC and still mantain core game even remotely balanced.

Still even with all of that EU4 may be my most beloved game ever, even if I have doubts whether release patched version was worse than the current version would be if you turn off DLCs. They used similar policy with Cities Skylines and there it worked much better AFAIK.

And if EA or Ubisoft had published Pillars of Eternity you'd have Eder as 1st day DLC (Follower of Dead God DLC, given for free with pre-order) and would have to find collectables all over big empty maps to unlock crafting recepies and books. With Bethesda it won't be any different but wouldn't properly work for several patches and have fun exploits left forever.

Got a hard time to accept Paradox but I have to say you are right about them. CK2 is my preference but EU4 can be fun. Just think they need to chill out with the mechanic changes or add ons.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,756
It's ironic that Paradox the publisher in 2017 has become everything that was hated by Paradox the developer in 2000.
Is it worth playing this? I Bought it but haven't started yet. Tyranny was not bad, not good, just felt empty.
I'm not clear what game you're referring to as "this". The last Paradox game I played was Victoria II in 2010. EU I/II and Victoria I/II were good games (and HoI and CK weren't bad, either, though Diplomacy was a disaster).

It is very ironic how it ended up. But I guess when you become the "boss" yourself you start to do what you hated.
Paradox's decline has been many years in the making.
 

Ezrite

Learned
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Nov 20, 2014
Messages
205
I'm not clear what game you're referring to as "this". The last Paradox game I played was Victoria II in 2010. EU I/II and Victoria I/II were good games (and HoI and CK weren't bad, either, though Diplomacy was a disaster).


Paradox's decline has been many years in the making.

For some reason, I thought I was in the Numenerra thread. This happens when one jump around threads via alert not keepin an eye open. My bad.
 

1eyedking

Erudite
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
3,591
Location
Argentina
Continuing my fortuitous visit to the cesspit of dumbfuckery and tastelessness that is the Codex, just came here to say that this game --as pretty much everything made by the literal hacks inhabiting inside Obsidian studios-- is yet another soulless gem coming out of Sawyer's ass that should either be:

a. Shoved back into the Pillar of Skulls (remember when these guys could actually write decent stuff?) so that it sinks into oblivion for all eternity and the world not reminded of the crap a studio filled with degenerates is capable of making.
b. Shoved right back up into Sawyer's ass so deeply that it comes out of his mouth.
c. Shoved into the fucking garbage bin because who really cares about this shitty game and it's where it belongs anyway.
d. All of the above.
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
35,653
Sawyer had nothing to do with Tyranny other than provide minor gameplay feedback.
 

vortex

Fabulous Optimist
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
4,221
Location
Temple of Alvilmelkedic
A Tyranny Postmortem Interview with Obsidian’s Matt MacLean
http://www.gamespace.com/featured/tyranny-postmortem-obsidian-interview/


We have not seen a blog post in a while, how are things going on updates with the game… hint hint?

Are you trying to get me to confirm or deny a sequel or expansion? Nice try, but you’ll never get me to discuss our “Adventures of Young Old Man Mua” expansion.

You created some epic companions to join in the dark quest, are there any plans to add more to the game?

No. If there were plans to add more stuff (is that enough plausible deniability?), there’s plenty we’d do with the current cast of companions. The only thing I’d want to add is something nobody would really think the game needs – some sort of co-dependent mime that is dialogue-free and mimics your already-existing animation set but off by a half second and maybe with some motion blur to complete the absurdity of it all. So unless Paradox gets flooded with emails demanding a BattleMime™, safe to say the answer is no.
 
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Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
No but if you're a games "journalist" you have to fondle every developer's balls and inflate their ego at every point.
 

Sizzle

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,471
Tyranny had a pretty big launch, and seems to have earned quite a devoted following.

Did it?

I know quite a few people who really liked it. They even love the combat and consider it superior to PoE's.

Though, when I asked them what it is about Tyranny's combat that they specifically like, most of them said something like: "Uhm... you get combos!"
 

Gay-Lussac

Arcane
Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
7,563
Location
Your mom
Just did a playthrough of this game, my quick 2 cents:

Cons

- Ridiculously uneven difficulty curve (starts off hard and eventually tapers over into laughably easy)

- Throws way too much shit at you that you'll never bother using because the game is so easy (pretty much every consumable except for the ocasional healing pot)

- On that note, has way too many active skills as well. Coupled with the fact that a lot of them are cooldown based, as opposed to per rest or per encounter, it makes the combat feel a bit "frustrating". I get the feeling that they intended for you to just micro your PC and let the companions play themselves through AI, which would be fine if there was an AI system akin to the one in Dragon Age Origins, where you set conditions for when abilities are used, but no such thing is here (this is being implemented in PoE 2, apparently). Ideally I'd just like for them to cut down on the number of active skills, but barring that a new AI system that allows for some strategy in how you program your characters while leaving you to micro one or two more intensively is the way to go.

- Still on the note of the game throwing too much shit for you to do, managing the spires felt like too much for a game of such short scope.

- Combat still feels a bit too frantic, but turning on slow mode aleaviates that somewhat.

- You accumulate Favor and Wrath with different factions and characters way too fast and way too easily. Same for renown on artifacts.

- The story ends abruptly. I don't mind the game being short, but the way it ends feels like one third of it is missing.

Neutral

- Areas were short and there were few side quests. Honestly I'm ok with this because I have a compulsion to complete every side quest and this time I just wanted to go through the main path.

- The writing isn't exactly praiseworthy, but it does it's job. I do think there's a problem with voice acting, though.

Pros

- Great C&C. I was really surprised when I was given the choice to betray everyone and take the first spire for myself (also THIS IS SPARTA). I thought I was just going to be railroaded into following the Disfavored or the Scarlet Chorus, so being given the choice felt great. There's great opportunities for roleplaying in this game.

- The conquest part of the game was pretty fun, just a series of choices that get referenced down the line.

- Refreshing setting. I thought it was gonna be gimmicky, but it was well developed and quite original.

- Combo abilities and the spell system are two great features, sadly wasted on the game's mediocre combat.

- The game looks absolutely gorgeous and seems better optimized than PoE.



I'm definitely playing this again soon to check out the other paths, hope there's a sequel somewhere down the line.
 

Ezrite

Learned
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
205
That favor part is ture. I maxed i with the witch you get early by the convo you have at the time you meet her in an ambush.
 

Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
They're announcing DLC for Tranny in some Paradox conference/event that's happening in April most likely.

Shame. Time and money spent on a shit game.
 

Chris Avelltwo

Scholar
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Messages
678
They're suspiciously creating several new app ids for DLCs lately: https://steamdb.info/app/362960/history/

I foreseen this since the game came out. If you're familiar with Paradox and their games, you'll know they love to DLC the shit out of everything; so much so, in fact, that the DLCs have their own DLC.

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image.jpeg
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
I'm surprised Tyranny has the player base to make DLCs worthwhile, but I guess Paradox perfected the art of milking niche playerbases. Well, why not, nobody's forcing me to buy it - so let's see if it's going to be any good.
 

Chris Avelltwo

Scholar
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Messages
678
I'm surprised Tyranny has the player base to make DLCs worthwhile, but I guess Paradox perfected the art of milking niche playerbases. Well, why not, nobody's forcing me to buy it - so let's see if it's going to be any good.

Yeah they're not literally pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to buy DLC, but unless you're satisfied with an unfinished game that ends on a cliffhanger, then you kinda do need the DLC to get resolution. It all depends on what sort of DLC this is - are these just item packs, new side content, or will we finally get to face Kyros like we should have been able to in the Vanilla game? I consider it a dick move to require players to buy extra DLC just to get a complete game, but that's become a common practice these days.
 

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