Basic Chunnel posted:

Their "three angles of approach" video touched on reputation. I guess it was cool enough but I was a little leery that they showed variant styles in play and not variant consequences of play, which is what makes AP the rough gem it is. It's still dazzling that your ability to kill Marburg is largely decided by what you chose as Thorton's motivation at the beginning of the game.

Basic Chunnel posted:

Their "three angles of approach" video touched on reputation. I guess it was cool enough but I was a little leery that they showed variant styles in play and not variant consequences of play, which is what makes AP the rough gem it is. It's still dazzling that your ability to kill Marburg is largely decided by what you chose as Thorton's motivation at the beginning of the game.

Fair Bear Maiden posted:

It's not like Alpha Protocol's pre-release stuff showed that well either. SEGA made a valiant effort, to be fair, IIRC they even asked reviewers to play the game more than once to get the "intended" experience, but Alpha Protocol looked and felt like a rougher, jankier version of Mass Effect and was always fighting an uphill battle in that respect.

bongwizzard posted:

I loved AP but never finished it, there was some bit at the end with some dude in a helicopter chasing me and I could never figure out how to get past him.

SolidSnakesBandana posted:

Have there been other examples of games having the design goal of being beatable by a level 1 character?

Darkhold posted:

You run from it for a bit then you get into an area packed with rocket ammo and you can just blow it up. Really was annoying to be forced into that when you were playing a pure stealth run.

The best part was you could encounter a bug (that I think was patched out) if you reload a save the helicopter would despawn and the door to proceed would never open.

quote:

Dev Diary #6 – Barik
13 July, 2016 Author by Brian Heins.

Hello, everyone! In our last dev update, I talked a bit about combat mechanics for Tyranny. For today’s update, I wanted to introduce you to one of the Companions who can join you on your adventures in the world of Terratus – Barik of the Stone Shields.



Barik is the quintessential Disfavored soldier. He embodies all of the rigid and uncompromising values that Graven Ashe’s iron legion holds dear. He’s polite, respectful of authority, and doggedly intolerant of anyone born outside of the Overlord’s long shadow.

He began his career with the Disfavored in the phalanx – his size and strength made him a perfect addition to the shield wall. His strong nerve and unwavering obedience quickly drew the eye of his superiors. Barik received several battlefield promotions before drawing the eye of Archon Graven Ashe, leader of the Disfavored. Once the Great General knew his name, Barik quickly ascended to the ranks of the Iron Guard – Ashe’s select group of advisors and lieutenants.

It was one desperate mission that led to Barik’s undoing. During the war against the Tiers, Barik did not retreat with the rest of the Disfavored when word came that the Overlord Kyros was about to proclaim an Edict upon the realm of Stalwart. Instead, he joined a select group that embarked on a daring rescue mission to the heart of Sentinel Stand Keep. When the Edict struck and ruined any chance of success, Barik faced a harsher punishment than disgrace. Unlike the rest of his squad, he survived to witness Kyros’ judgment on Stalwart.

As Kyros’ Edict of Storms swept across the land, Barik was caught in the magical winds – winds that bore the weapons and armor of Barik’s phalanx and the enemies they fought. When the initial onslaught of the Edict subsided, Barik was found still alive, but trapped in a prison of twisted blades. To this day, Barik wears his armor of fused iron and bronze – durable protection, yet an unyielding mark of his failure. No one has been able to free him from the armor he was sealed into by Kyros’ Edict.

Combat Role

We designed Barik to serve as a much-needed shield to protect the party from danger. Barik stands in the front line, engaging enemies, taunting them into attacking him, and being a damage sink to keep the rest of the party alive.

When designing his talent trees, we looked at a couple of different themes that players could use to specialize him. His ‘Sentinel’ tree focuses on allowing him to maintain control on the battlefield while increasing the amount of damage he can absorb. His ‘Punisher’ tree transforms him into a warrior of retribution, excelling at slaying foes that dare to stand against him.

A few of his notable abilities:

Striking Iron: A strong slashing attack that deals increased damage if the target is actively engaging Barik in combat.

Stance: Phalanx: Barik ‘hunkers down’ into a defensive stance, hiding his body behind his shield. While in this stance, Barik gains a bonus to Armor making him significantly more capable of weathering damage from enemy attacks.

Engagement Attack: A passive ability that grants Barik a free attack on any enemy who engages him.

Defender’s Charge: Barik leaps to an ally’s side, taunting nearby enemies into attacking him.

Blade’s Embrace: As Barik adventures with the Fatebinder, he gains control over the bronze and iron prison that confines him. With this ability, Barik is able to command the weapons in his armor to strike out at nearby targets, dealing increased damage to anyone who is activately engaging him.

We wanted players to see Barik as a protector in battle, but also as a tactical asset. Barik’s Defender’s Charge and Striking Iron abilities are powerful, but they excel the most when players find the right moment to take action. Striking Iron incentivizes standing toe-to-toe with enemy melee units, but isn’t as effective when targeting an enemy archer or spellcaster. Defender’s Charge can move Barik to any ally on the battlefield, effectively saving them, but his relocation may leave his previous position unprotected.

By making strong choices and careful tactical decisions, players can use Barik as a powerful commanding presence, emphasizing his strengths to shift the tide of battle.

I hope you enjoyed this first look at one of Tyranny’s companion characters. Stay tuned for our next update, where we reveal our next companion: Verse!

SNAKES N CAKES posted:

Octo1 posted:

how does he poop?

Megazver posted:

Oh hey, the guy who wrote the Imperial Agent storyline for the Old Republic (it's the best one) is writing for Tyranny. That's cool.

Magical Zero posted:

I still haven't actually finished PoE because for whatever reason I find the base game to be insanely boring after a while. It's pretty much the only Obsidian game I haven't played to completion. The expansions were great though, so hopefully that bodes well for Tyranny. The game being shorter and more focused on reactivity sounds like a good idea.

Vargs posted:

The reason you found PoE to be insanely boring is because it was insanely boring. I think that even the vanilla NWN2 campaign is more interesting than PoE.

Savy Saracen salad posted:

I agree, it is the only game from Obsidian I could not stomach to finish. The philosophical diatribes and the constant gods/souls/dreams chit chat coupled with the extremely weird terminologies shoved down your throat during the first minute of the game really pulled me off.

Furism posted:

The Dyrwood and The White March are Not-Sword Coast and Not-Icewind Dale because of the Infinity Engine homage thing. Had they not done this RPG Codex types would still be in a coma from the shock. I'm sure in the future we'll see more exotic places.

SolidSnakesBandana posted:

Are you saying the Infinity Engine style is ugly? Or that it's incapable of creating exotic locales?

SolidSnakesBandana posted:

Are you saying the Infinity Engine style is ugly? Or that it's incapable of creating exotic locales?

dangerdoom volvo posted:

why did the nameless one suddenly stop forgetting everything when he died?

CharlieFoxtrot posted:

Noted safe Infinity Engine setting of Planescape

Leinadi posted:

People on the Codex tend to criticize games for not going more crazy with their settings so I have no idea where people get the idea that codexers would want more vanilla fantasy settings.

Fuligin posted:

e: also all the middle english and welsh terms were great, gently caress the haters.

Leinadi posted:

People on the Codex tend to criticize games for not going more crazy with their settings so I have no idea where people get the idea that codexers would want more vanilla fantasy settings.