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Game News Tyranny Released

Rev

Arcane
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Feb 13, 2016
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Comparing Tranny to AoD in the review is just gonna make the entire thread be about that statement, I guess if that's what they want.

The "comparison" in question is a brief, by-the-way observation that in addition to their focus on choice & consequence, both games feature similar "pre-medieval" settings. That seems like a fairly noncontroversial statement to me, one that has been repeated by many. I don't know why those three gentlemen find it so alarming.

We have being talking about AoD being an obvious influence of Tyranny for a long time now. See the comments in this thread and some comparisons between the concept art of both games. Moreover, there are some positive reviews made by people outside the Codex that compared Tyranny with AoD regarding the setting, etc. For instance, game pressure said that

In this respect Tyranny resembles Age of Decadence, which also took some inspiration from Ancient Rome, because greater importance is attached to conversation and decisions than to exploration and discovering new kinds of monsters and treasures.

YOU DON'T NEED TO PLAY AGE OF DECADENCE TO KNOW THAT. Comments about the resemblances between both games pop up everywhere. See this thread on the Obsidian foruns. Really, they are not that hard to find. The real question is not whether the comparison is appropriate or not, but why some members of the staff are so upset that Vault Dweller's game is mentioned alongside an Obsidian game. The fact that someone would make such a petty manoeuvring about something so small and insignifcant is beyond me.

You know that's enough for the codex. As soon as Lurker King is summoned it's game over.

Let's get to the bottom of this. Lacrymas, you played both games. Do you think that they have anything in common regarding the setting?
That's not the point, the line specifically says that both games have good choices and consequences and world building but if he hasn't played AoD he can't know it for sure and therefore he shouldn't add it to the review. It would be different if he only said that both games were inspired by the Ancient ages instead of the usual generic Medieval fantasy, since that's something anyone could note without the need to play the game and just by looking at screenshots or watching a trailer (except that the Bronze Age inspiration for Tyranny turn out to be the inclusion of javelins as weapons and pretty much nothing else).
It's just like the PC Gamer review of Tyranny (also pointed out by Bubbles, iirc) where the author compare the game's great storyline to Torment, except later it turned out that he never played the latter after the initial hours. It was wrong there (more because that's a paid reviewer and supposedly a "journalist", while PJ is working on the review for free), it's wrong here, despite how well written the rest of the review could be which is not judgeable until it's released.
 
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Mortmal

Arcane
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Messages
9,158
I'm still not getting why what he said about AoD was so offensive. Can anyone explain? I don't see why you would delete a review simply for writing a throw away line like "more games should do choices and consequences like Tyranny and AoD."
He compares tyranny to AOD but never played AOD wich is quite not ethical to do in a serious review . But the true drama is the review is commissioned to one guy, the game is bought by the codex, with some of the large sums obisidian is giving them to cover and advertise their products. While on the other hand no one gives a flying fuck about dungeon rats review, no copy is bought and they are ok to give the review to the first drunken foreigner who wants to do it.Same thing happens for sits and likely other indies.

The moral of the story is if you want a quality review for your games contact infinitron , donate generously to his paypal , and you will get a premium review + advertisemnt + added to the steam curator list no matter the quality of the game.

Darth Roxor is doing the Dungeon Rats review.

Its even worse than i thought! if you pay you get a neutral positive review from prima junta but if you dont, an agry polish guy will review it instead, an angry pole who had a very bad day...
 

Rev

Arcane
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Messages
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What was the title?

"Review: Tyranny - An exciting, confident, and original cult classic"

It sounded too nice from the Codex, I was expecting it to be ironic.

Also, what have I done?!?
It's somewhat strange that Prime Junta doesn't seem to have liked the game too much, yet everything that was leaked and the comments from the staff seemed to indicate that the review will be mostly positive. Why the fuck is that?
If PJ thinks the game is not really enjoyable like he said in another private conversation leaked by Infinitron ( :M), shouldn't the review reflect that instead of claiming it to be "An exciting, confident, and original cult classic"?
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
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The "comparison" in question is a brief, by-the-way observation that in addition to their focus on choice & consequence, both games feature similar "pre-medieval" settings. That seems like a fairly noncontroversial statement to me, one that has been repeated by many. I don't know why those three gentlemen find it so alarming.
Age of Decadence features a post-apocalyptic setting in the ruins of a once-high-tech empire that was devastated by civil war, with the involvement of a foreign army and semi-Lovecraftian cosmic entities. The main culture is based on the Roman Empire with Arabian flavoring, but I wouldn't characterize it as a "pre-medieval" setting similar to that of Tyranny (to the extent this is even true of the latter game).

Though of course, I haven't played Tyranny myself. :M
 

Trias_Betrayed

Scholar
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Dec 24, 2015
Messages
138
I liked Tyranny quite a bit, yeah the SJW shit was thrown in but I actually thought the combat was more enjoyable than dragonspear because of the different talent trees and testing combinations.
 

Mortmal

Arcane
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
9,158
What was the title?

"Review: Tyranny - An exciting, confident, and original cult classic"

It sounded too nice from the Codex, I was expecting it to be ironic.

Also, what have I done?!?
It's somewhat strange that Prime Junta doesn't seem to have liked the game too much, yet everything that was leaked and the comments from the staff seemed to indicate that the review will be mostly positive. Why the fuck is that?
If PJ thinks the game is not really enjoyable like he said in another private conversation leaked by Infinitron ( :M), shouldn't the review reflect that instead of claiming it to be "An exciting, confident, and original cult classic"?
He was commisionned to write a postiive review, that doesnt mean he likes it.. hey he probably dont like poe either in fact , prima junta is a bro finally.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
If PJ thinks the game is not really enjoyable like he said in another private conversation leaked by Infinitron ( :M), shouldn't the review reflect that instead of claiming it to be "An exciting, confident, and original cult classic"?

The review reflects it. Bubbles' editorializing, not so much.
 

Azarkon

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I'm still not getting why what he said about AoD was so offensive. Can anyone explain? I don't see why you would delete a review simply for writing a throw away line like "more games should do choices and consequences like Tyranny and AoD."
He compares tyranny to AOD but never played AOD wich is quite not ethical to do in a serious review .

But details about AoD are widely available online, and unless the review was decidedly wrong about AoD, in which case we can criticize the reviewer for bad research, there should not be a problem with using third party sources. I get that having first hand experience is better and more professional, but the review isn't about AoD. Are people actually going to say that you can't write a history of CRPGs unless you've played every CRPG ever? That would be a ridiculous requirement by any standard.

I guess I fail to see how we've come to hate third party sources so much. I get that the field has been completely ruined by bad journalism, and that you probably shouldn't ever quote any review article as an authority. But facts, like whether AoD has significant choices and consequences, whether it's inspired by bronze age settings, etc. should not be off limits for use simply because you haven't played the game.
 

SausageInYourFace

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Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit. Pathfinder: Wrath
lol you sperglords. if theorists and critics actually read every book they mention in passing - addressing publicly easily available information - no literary essay or review would ever get written. A reviewer should play a game and he should have played games he compares in detail. But a simple sentence about a games most basic and commonly available and verifiable features? Thats called research, for fucks sake.

Nonsense drama caused by people with an unduly (mis)understanding of journalistic integrity.
 
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Lacrymas

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Lurker King, if I'm understanding correctly you want me to compare AoD's and Tyranny's settings? Until the point I've played to in Tyranny I'd say the similarities are only on a surface level. It's kinda hard to explain so bear with me. What AoD has is a somewhat realistic artistic imagining of ancient GREECE, because the different cities are city-states (like the poli in ancient Greece) with their own independent governance by the lords of the Houses. Maadoran is almost literally the CITY of Rome (there is no "ancient Roman Empire", that started 27 BC and, compared to Greece, that's yesterday; the Roman Republic is more ancient, but it expanded with conquest and diplomacy, something that Maadoran can't do because there is nothing to expand to), it has a quasi-"Senate" who are advisors and policy-makers along with the king, I don't remember if they were democratically elected in-game, but in real life they were. One of the political differences that accentuate the Roman influence is that not everyone (literally) is considered equal in terms of political power, while in the ancient Greek cities every man was, don't quote me on that though, it may only be Athens, I have to check. Teron has a militaristic regime similar to Sparta and Genezzar is a religiously affiliated city that considers its lord a divine prophet and/or Messiah (which is closer to Thrace or Egypt in real life).

The architecture of all three cities is different, due to their different circumstances, but Teron has the Villa where the lord is located and Maadoran in general have a Greco-Roman style. Genezzar is a bit different and looks more like a medieval feudal city than anything else, I might be wrong and there may be a city-state in Greece that looked like that in the past, but it's not any that I know of. The full armors are a mix of Roman centurions and Greek hoplites, the medium armors look more like gladiatorial attire (which was non-existent in Greece, they were an "invention" of the Roman Empire) and the leather armors look like Mongolian leathers (maybe? I don't recall seeing any Greek or Roman soldiers in leather, but I might be wrong). Magic is mostly forgotten and/or banned because of what caused the catastrophe in the first place. Economy is based on smelted coins and trade routes, with the Merchant Guild having almost non-restricted trading opportunities (at least in the beginning) and even enough influence and money to buy power. The ancient Greeks and, as far as I know, Romans didn't have a centralized institution where commerce took place or was organized, so that's a bit different. There is a law (the Lex Claudia) in Rome that restricts senators from owning big ships and there are some economic theorists and philosophers who advise in matters of commerce, but as far as I know that's it in terms of centrally organized trade.

All of this is based off of my picked-up knowledge and I'm not an expert, so I might be wrong on some stuff.

The setting also features Lovecraftian god-like beings whose summoning destroyed most of civilization. There are also a Mongolian-like other people, but they aren't explored much and how they cope with the "apocalypse" is a mystery. The music is closer to the music back then, but not really, kinda hard to explain, you'd kill yourself if you had to listen to those musics for 12 hours though.

Tyranny ...has nothing like that. Like, at all. The political system is based around Kyros and its subordinates (the Archons), with Kyros seemingly having no idea how to run an empire, at least I haven't come across any lore that suggests how the empire is run. The two main armies (the Scarlet Chorus and the Disfavored) aren't like anything, really. Maaaybe the Disfavored are like a Legion with a central commander, while I have no idea if the Scarlet Chorus has a real-world counterpart, maybe they do but I haven't heard about it. What they remind me of is the practice of the Ottoman Empire to offer pay to any man willing to fight for their cause, but the only similarity is that they didn't pick and choose who to be in their armies in terms of nationality. The architecture is all over the place, it's just a mishmash of styles and eras with a hint of "mystery" (the walls) surrounding some things. They have advanced trade laws that people in the Bronze Age didn't have. Magic is obviously abundant, Kyros is basically a god of destruction. There doesn't seem to be any philosophy or art whatsoever, only the statue weeping blood comes close. The armors are wtf-worthy, some Chorus helmets look like Centurion helmets, but are made of leather so wtf. Music is just terrible, I can't fathom how anyone, let alone a composer, can be so unmusical. There isn't much more to say really, at least up until the part I've played, but there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. It's trying to be Age of Decadence-lite (so the comparisons don't come out of nowhere), but it isn't even close, it's like a child's interpretation of what AoD would be like.
 
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Self-Ejected

Lurker King

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That's not the point, the line specifically says that both games have good choices and consequences and world building but if he hasn't played AoD he can't know it for sure and therefore he shouldn't add it to the review.

You can attest the reactivity of AoD by reading updates, reviews, players’ discussions or threads listing a big chunk of the reactivity involved. In fact, saying that you need to play AoD in order to know that it has C&C is like saying that you need to play Diablo to know that you have trash mobs, or that you need to play Invisible, Inc to know that you have stealth, or that you have to play Neo Scavenger to know you have resource management. It is insulting to people’s intelligence because these features are advertised as one of the main selling points in trailers, developers’ interviews, LP’s, etc. This is a known fact. This become obvious when you consider that even the most rabid haters never denied that the game has reactivity.

PJ is working on the review for free), it's wrong here, despite how well written the rest of the review could be which is not judgeable until it's released.

The only wrong thing here is using ridiculous excuses to avoid the reviewer to say positive things about AoD in a review about an Obsidian game.
 
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Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
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Holy shit this is some weapons grade autism over a completely insignificant issue. rpg forums.txt

Prima Junta's still being a big baby about leaving forever though.
 

oneself

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I've completed my first playthrough (Disfavored - then betrayed everyone at the end), and I'm already several hours into my second playthrough where I am trying to help the Tiersmen.

Word of advice - the stuff at the start where you make choices in the conquest is really important for determining how the rest of the game pans out. If you really screw someone over it is likely you won't be able to get their help at all later in the game.
Is it a direct consequence? You receive a huge boost on relations with certain factions depending on the choices you made but can't you make it up by kissing their ass with more dedication?

Some choices are available to you depending on [conquest]. For example sending School of Tides elder to Voices of Nerat will give you a core sigil when you are first summoned to Tunon's Court, on top of influencing Eb's fear, and perhaps willingness for her to teach you the terranus grave sigil.

So I hear Kyros also goes by "she, her". Thank you Obsidian for acknowledging a full year of my insults towards this game calling it "Tranny", I truly feel like i've accomplished something in life now.

IIRC some people use "he" when referring to Kyros. So you don't really know.

I don't really get the complaint about writing. The writing itself was fine, the style itself quite different from say, AoD with a lot of flourish and less noir vibe.
 
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Immortal

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DarkUnderlord, please eject me. I'm done with this site.

23:50 - PrimeJunta: oh just fuck the whole codex
23:50 - PrimeJunta: seriously
23:51 - PrimeJunta: (1) tyranny was not a particularly enjoyable game
23:51 - PrimeJunta: (2) I played way more of it than I would have otherwise, to be fair to it
23:51 - PrimeJunta: and (3) I took writing that review as seriously as I do any of my writing, which is pretty seriously
23:51 - PrimeJunta: while I know what to expect from the horde
23:52 - PrimeJunta: I do *not* appreciate that kind of bullshit from the staff

Nothing left to do but to respect PrimeJunta's final wishes, then. The sentence stays.


Laughing-Face-Meme-06.jpg





PrimeJunta Leaked Review Self-Ejection Counter:
counter.gif
:positive:
 
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RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
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*presses F to pay respects*
 

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