Editor's Note: DIY

[Crunchy English]

I'm not finished with Obsidian yet, I actually quite liked Alpha Protocol. Let it be said however, They fucked up KOTOR 2 and New Vegas was a slap in the face to Fallout fans. In both cases, because it was more promises than anything else.

Obsidian isn't a wacky author, constantly leaving projects half done. He's an inventor who only wants to work on the interesting theory problems, and only grudgingly ever makes something.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Poor obsidian. They squandered all the capital they saved up from the Black Isle days. I'm still of the yahtzee school of thought that an ambitious failure is something that is more desirable than a timid, committee-generated success.

And though Kotor 2 didn't have an ending Peragus was the best opening level ever made.

 

[Jenx]

Personally I don't get all the anger towards them. To me, there's just sadness. Think about it for a second - this is Black Isle we're talking about. Yes sure, they have a few limbs missing and had some prosthetics put in their place, but most of it's still there, right?

However that only makes you remember. Makes you remember Planescape. Makes you remember Fallout 1 and 2. Makes you remember Icewind Dale. Heck, even Baldur's Gate, even if they just published it.

I still play these games. Sure, mostly it's because my shitty PC can't run anything released after 2005, but it's mostly because of another thing - They are good. Hell, the worst of these games is good. The best is some of the best computer RPGs ever made!

And then you come back and look at what's going on now. Seriously, maybe I'm just turning emo these days, but this just makes me sad, almost as sad as when I think of Troika Games.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I recall giving Obsidian a chance with New Vegas. After completing the game despite the constant freezes (one every other hour) and experiencing for myself Obsidian's asshattery, I walked away embittered with a venomous vow to never buy another one of their products, past or future. I learned the hard way they are incapable of learning from their mistakes.

 

[MrJoyless]

Amen

I have been saying this exact thing from time to time on these forums, but obsidian lost me just after new vegas was released and i had to wear a hat when entering a zone to keep my game from hard crashing my x box.

How do games like these keep getting released, New Vegas has reminded me of my WORST gaming burn ever, Hellgate London. Such potential, so awesomely hyped up with cool trailers (HGL) and promises of awesome exploration and customization (NV) and released just short of the level of unplayability. Its like someone very high up had everyone on the playtesting team screaming NOOOOO and they just said...fuck it.

Seriously what piece of shit company has its game patched almost a full month faster by the fucking PC mod community than the makers of the game (big props to the mod community btw 3 days to fix a game wowser). How sad is it that people who do this in the spare time are better at their hobby than Obsidians PAID employees are at their JOB...

*rant over*

 

[JDKJ]

The best editorial this site has ever carried. Great stuff, love the whole breakup letter vibe, all the points were quite accurate and eloquently put.

Well, except your letting Neverwinter Nights 2 off the hook so easily. Even now, with all the expansions, it's a ridiculous bug riddled mess that I hold in higher contempt than New Vegas. NV seems an improvement to me, however minute.

The "break-up letter" vibe is old hat. Mr. Pitts is an veteran at that. After all, his claim to internet fame is using the term "eagle semen" in a resignation letter written as if by a jilted lover. Breaking up, contrary to Niel Sedaka's lyrics, ain't all that hard to do.

 

[GonzoGamer]

People do know that its Bethesda who handled the testing and is handling the patching of New Vegas, right?

And didn't they do the dlc too?
Yea, I think Bethesda is just as responsible for this mess as Obsidian.After paying $60 and waiting for half a year for them to fix it, I officially gave up on that game. From what I saw of it, it wasn?t as interesting as other fallouts anyway: I enjoyed exploring DC a lot more and it wasn?t just because I could occasionally explore it for more than a half hour without a complete crash.
It seems to me that a lot of the best devs seem to be phoning it in this gen and depending on their fanboys to bring them big profits anyway. I hope they?re mistaken. R* pissed me off most recently with their three way denial that there?s anything wrong with LA Noir, or the consoles it?s breaking.
They can?t even be bothered to lie to us the way Obsidian/Bethesda do and tell us that they?re working on it.

But back to the point, we should also be holding Bethesda responsible. Even if I am mistaken and they didn?t have anything to do with the patches or dlc, they were still the publisher and should?ve helped Obsidian iron out the big problems BEFORE launch.

 

[talideon]

I'm saving my ire for them for however Dungeon Siege 3 turns out. After all, this time they're well financed (IIRC), it's their own engine, and they're not being forced to rush the game out the door.

If they screw up Dungeon Siege 3, *then* then deserve this kind of anger, but not before.

 

[Jumwa]

The "break-up letter" vibe is old hat. Mr. Pitts is an veteran at that. After all, his claim to internet fame is using the term "eagle semen" in a resignation letter written as if by a jilted lover. Breaking up, contrary to Niel Sedaka's lyrics, ain't all that hard to do.

Everything under the sun (or the glow of a monitor) is old hat. Therefore it's all a matter of implementation. And I found he melded the facts into the format pretty well.

 

[godofallu]

Wow Russ is a really good writer.

Not only did he manage to critique Obsidian in a very well thought out way, but he made it interesting and unique.

I feel exactly the same way. Maybe in my youth I was ready to take on such a needy game. Working long hours to patch things up was worth all those good times. Now I just need a game which works immediately. I just can't deal with Obsidian's issues anymore. I need someone who is self reliant, and doesn't need me to fix everything.

If only Bethesda were here. She might be a bit more plain but the times I had with her were still magical. I see that more clearly now. I was using New Vegas in order to reignite the love I have for Fallout 3, when I should have just called up Fallout 3 from the start.

 

[plugav]

Well written, Mr. Pitts.

But, er, is the incompleteness of this issue part of the statement?

 

[koroem]

The sad part is Obsidian is only the first of many to come that are openly terrible at it. Other devs are getting there, but not quite as quick to throw their hands up in defeat and ignore game breaking bugs.

Development cycles are speeding up, and Q&A is reduced to next to nothing. All to favor faster releases to bring in the cash for publishers and investors. Most have undeniably started using the players as the Q&A team to find and report bugs that should have been found and fixed during development.

If the bug isn't fixed in the first two patches, it is likely to never be fixed before the dev team is either laid off or transferred to a new product.

This is the future of gaming and its already upon us. Get used to it or find a new hobby. Best we can do is hope people vote with their wallets, but that is wishful thinking thanks to all the corrupt reviews and metacritic bullshit telling us there is nothing to worry about when in fact there is. Plus all the people who can't wait for true feedback on a game and its problems because that 60 bucks is burning a hole in their pocket and they have no self control.

I've gotten in the habit of waiting 6 months to a year after release dates to pick up games just for this reason. Either problems are mostly fixed, or the price is significantly lowered so I don't feel burned for my purchase.

 

[itf cho]

You've got to admit... releasing patches that break the game is pretty messed up. And I find it quite interesting that it was only the 360 version that was messed up. After hearing so many studios tell us that developing for PC is too hard (Rockstar!) due to all the possible hardware/software configurations, Obsidian manages to release a patch that breaks xbox systems with a completely stable configuration, but ticks along just fine on the pc.

 

[carpathic]

I have said these self-same things numerous times - including Obsidian's douchy behaviour leading up the release of New Vegas and I will admit, it feels pretty awesome to have someone else state agreement with me, rather than just flaming me.

So "here-here!"

Obsidian you've broken my heart too!

 

[LogicNProportion]

...Agreed...

...

...But Russ, dude, your signature looks like it reads as "Puss Pitts." : I

 

[The Wykydtron]

Can someone please tell me why there's so much hate? I've seen no major bugs in any Obsidian game i've ever played.

And guys at least they're trying unlike some devs... No names mentioned here of course

 

[Rorschach_pln]

Very interesting article. I've felt that way a few times, so I've adjusted my expectations of their games accordingly. You know, I could never finish NWN2, because of game breaking bugs ( and I've tried 3 times ), so that right there is their biggest sin in my eyes.
And I think they should fire their QA team and hire random people off the street, they couldn't do a worse job, right ?

 

[Tulks]

Russ, you've excelled yourself.

I may have to plaigarise bits of this in the near future.

 

[JDKJ]

...Agreed...

...

...But Russ, dude, your signature looks like it reads as "Puss Pitts." : I

Careful, now. The last poster who made fun of Mr. Pitts' signature was perma-banned by Mr. Pitts. I suspect Mr. Pitts sees no humor in jokes based on his signature.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Editor's Note: DIY

You've burned your last bit of goodwill, Obsidian.

Read Full Article

I think whatever editor ends a nice letter, packed with memories, adventure and betrayal, with the phrase "And seriously, fuck you." is one I would have no qualms in working for.

It does have special kind of charm all its own, I must admit.