Has your opinion of Obsidian changed after Avellone’s revelations and Deadfire?

[Invictus]

I think most of the Codexers had this view that Obsidian was one of the last hopes for truly great writing and good RPGs, after all they did make KOTOR 2, Mask of the Betrayer, Southpark and Fallout New Vegas...

But given the last couple of years, with the very controversial release of Pillars of Eternity, the poor reception and sales of their most recent games like Tyranny and Deadfire and the frankly disgusting way that they have treated some of their best writers and project leads, like the well document case of Chris Avellone, and their less than stellar track record with publishers, I must say that I went from rooting for Obsidian to actually disliking the company quite a bit

As much as I wish the Tim Cain secret project to come out I actually don’t want it to succeed; Fergus is a piece of shit and most of his partners and croonies are really just as bad too.

Honestly I cannot still get over the whole deal of agreeing to design decisions one day and then pulling the “well, that is not the way I feel about it today” bullshit... that is NOT now you run even a fucking lemonade stand let alone a company

So, just wanted to check if I am the only one feeling like this or if I am a butthurt combatfag who is being dramatic... but honestly that is the way I feel

 

[Neanderthal]

Changed after Poe to be honest, mediocre, unimaginative and their last chance blown. Haven't bought one of their games since then. Don't really care about staff things cos I just want good games.

 

[Big Wrangle]

I never considered them that great, but I guess one can say the revelation kicked in after the colossal fuckup that was Dungeon Siege 3. The allegations just made me more cynical about the company's future.

 

[Lacrymas]

Combatfags don't have a reason to be butthurt, though, as combat is literally the only reason to play both titles. Whether I've changed my opinion of the company, it depends. I never liked the company, I liked the games. As Neanderthal pointed out, the games they churn out are important to us, not how they treat each other. The problem is how they treat each other is starting to affect their games in a major way, to the point of having dysfunctional development cycles because the owner is a pussy on a perpetual menstrual cycle and an idiot.

 

[Invictus]

Combatfags don't have a reason to be butthurt, though, as combat is literally the only reason to play both titles. Whether I've changed my opinion of the company, it depends. I never liked the company, I liked the games. As Neanderthal pointed out, the games they churn out are important to us, not how they treat each other. The problem is how they treat each other is starting to affect their games in a major way, to the point of having dysfunctional development cycles because the owner is a pussy on a perpetual menstrual cycle and an idiot.

I understand what you are saying and that is my point exactly; rather than coming out and saying I dislike them for what they did to Avellone personally I am pointing out that they have ultimately hurt their business by losing great talent like Gonzalez and Avellone and that is ultimately reflected in the quality of the games they have released since then

 

[ItsChon]

Haven't played KotOR 2 yet so I can't comment and Neverwinter Nights 2 had such a fucked camera, that I never finished the game or played MotB. What other games have they done that are supposed to be good? South Park, FO:NV? DS3? All garbage. I never got the Obsidian hype in the first place.

 

[Lurker47]

It always seemed like the upper-management was a bit incompetent.

 

[Lurker47]

South Park, FO:NV? DS3? All garbage.

 

[Lacrymas]

Neverwinter Nights 2 had such a fucked camera

It has one of the most versatile cameras in gaming (in a good way), what are people smoking? The engine itself is a bit shitty and has a weird MMO-like rubber banding where you revert back to a position you were before after walking a certain distance.

 

[Safav Hamon]

One more thought. I suspect if Deadfire was made by anyone else this site would be gushing over it.

 

[Big Wrangle]

The management will need to step their game up if all the talk about The Outer Worlds being an ambitious project is anything to go by. While nobody is denying the talent, Obsidian isn't exactly at a place where they can just half-ass the project management and just wait for the money to roll. Brand loyalty can only get them so far, and one of the possible reasons for PoE 2 not too stellar sales is the lack of marketing by Versus Evil. If the Outer Worlds is a colossal failure, they might be done for.

 

[ItsChon]

It has one of the most versatile cameras in gaming (in a good way), what are people smoking?

I plan on revisiting it eventually, and I did try it a year ago; but the camera was absolutely awful when I tried it.

 

[Lacrymas]

You have to play around with the camera options, not deal with the default and weird "over the shoulder" view.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

NWN2 camera is the stupidest shit ever. It took me 20 attempts to finish MoTB because I couldn't be bothered getting out of the prologue cave.

As for Obsidian, I think they improved a lot as a company in recent years and Avellone's opinions are a bit skewed after having suffered the trauma of 2008-2012 Great Cancellation Era.

 

[Safav Hamon]

NWN2 camera and AI almost made the game unplayable for me.

 

[santino27]

I don't really care about the company. I care about the product, and unfortunately, the last few products have been disappointments. MCA's revelations didn't really change that either way.

 

[Lacrymas]

You turn off AI and set up the camera to play it like an isometric game with marquee selection, but also rotation and zooming. It does have some oddities, but nothing earthshaking.

 

[ItsChon]

This seems like a silly topic though tbh. Did finding out that CD Projekt Red works their employees like little Chinese boys in a sweat shop change anyone's opinion of the Witcher series, or the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077? Doubt it.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

I'm a simple man. I see poor interface or wonky controls, I uninstall.

 

[Big Wrangle]

Did finding out that CD Projekt Red works their employees like little Chinese boys in a sweat shop change anyone's opinion of the Witcher series, or the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077?

It confirmed my suspicions about their PR compensating for something, but that's about it.

 

[Roguey]

You turn off AI and set up the camera to play it like an isometric game with marquee selection, but also rotation and zooming. It does have some oddities, but nothing earthshaking.

It works well enough when the terrain is mostly flat, but Absurdian kept putting in all this higher level terrain that makes seeing what's going on a pain

 

[CyberWhale]

I thought for quite some time that they were not only wasting their potential but missing obvious opportunities and going in the wrong direction on top of that. When MCA spilled the beans it just became clear why they were doing it.

 

[ItsChon]

Anyone want to link this MCA revelation people keep referencing?

 

[Big Wrangle]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...he-chris-avellone-may-of-rage-archive.121751/
Enjoy

 

[Lacrymas]

It works well enough when the terrain is mostly flat, but Absurdian kept putting in all this higher level terrain that makes seeing what's going on a pain

Don't give people excuses, I'm pretty sure most of them are trying to play it with the default over the shoulder view. Let them try the strategy cam.