Obsidian gets no royalties from Bethesda after missing the target Metacritic score by 1 point

[krellen]

Played Fallout 2 for the first time about 2 months ago, and Fallout 3 about a month ago for the first time so 100$ please.

So when did you have time to play NV?

 

[irishda]

Maybe this will teach companies not to rush games to meet deadlines and send out a horde of buggy games. I don't care about these designers reputations, Obsidian still released content clearly unsuited for release. Alpha Protocol is really the only playable game (for PS3) they've got, but all the other ones are absolute messes.

Even their stories are pretty bland and predictable. But I think that's more of a video game issue overall than just Obsidian's fault. Either way this company got away with too many tarnishes in their games, and I'm glad a AAA company can finally be held accountable for it.

 

[krellen]

Played Fallout 2 for the first time about 2 months ago, and Fallout 3 about a month ago for the first time so 100$ please.

So when did you have time to play NV?

Playing it atm. Im currently at the end of the Legion questline

And did you finish Fallout 2? Did you like Fallout 2?

And what "Legion questline"? There isn't a single quest line for the Legion, unless you're currently taking Hoover Dam for Caesar.

 

[Irridium]

The South Park RPG and a game adaptation of the Wheel in Time books. Though the latter is still in the very early stages.

I'd be willing to bet the recent layoffs are linked to the WoT deal falling through.

I don't think so. The cancelled project is rumored to be a next-gen xbox game, while the WoT deal is for current-gen consoles.

 

[krellen]

Also Im curious as to what makes you think NV is more akin to the orginals. I mean, I know marcus is in it, but other than that not so sure. One thing that is unquestionably better in NV is the music. It definitely reminds me of FO2.

It's the same setting, rather than a transplant to a new setting. A civilisation that makes sense to exist 200 years after the bombs, instead of some strangely stagnant place inexplicably unchanged after two centuries. Better dialogue. And it has the NCR, which has always been more the soul of Fallout to me than the Brotherhood.

And NV was written by the same guy that wrote FO2 (the aforementioned Chris Avellone.)

Also, Mark Morgan's music. FO3 didn't use it. NV did (the music in NV shouldn't just "remind" you of FO2. In many cases, it's exactly the same track.)

... Actually, how can you not think NV is more like the originals than FO3? How was FO3 anything like the originals? Does the presence of Nuka Cola and Corvega create similarity for you?

OT: According to figures posted on Wikipedia, New Vegas outsold Fallout 3. A world in which this does not garner the developer a bonus is a bullshit world.

 

[krellen]

Btw, doesnt the actual strip feel like a gimmick to you? I mean, its barren. Theres almost nothing to do

That's how I felt about almost the entirety of Fallout 3, actually. Especially the Mall. Oh god, the Mall. I HATED the Mall.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Tough loss for them but they signed the contract. It's their fault alone.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I loved F:NV. Best game of last year. (Old World Blues rocked). Especially because of it's analogue (not binary) moral choice system. Every game these days is seen in GOOD or BAD terms. I much preferred F:NV's sliding scaleS.

Also what bugs? I didn't have a single bug when playing. But then my PC cost upwards of $3k.

 

[Kirshbia]

Also Im curious as to what makes you think NV is more akin to the orginals. I mean, I know marcus is in it, but other than that not so sure. One thing that is unquestionably better in NV is the music. It definitely reminds me of FO2.

It's the same setting, rather than a transplant to a new setting. A civilisation that makes sense to exist 200 years after the bombs, instead of some strangely stagnant place inexplicably unchanged after two centuries. Better dialogue. And it has the NCR, which has always been more the soul of Fallout to me than the Brotherhood.

And NV was written by the same guy that wrote FO2 (the aforementioned Chris Avellone.)

Also, Mark Morgan's music. FO3 didn't use it. NV did (the music in NV shouldn't just "remind" you of FO2. In many cases, it's exactly the same track.)

... Actually, how can you not think NV is more like the originals than FO3? How was FO3 anything like the originals? Does the presence of Nuka Cola and Corvega create similarity for you?

OT: According to figures posted on Wikipedia, New Vegas outsold Fallout 3. A world in which this does not garner the developer a bonus is a bullshit world.

Well you live in it. In all seriousness, a little bit more talking at the table before they signed the contract could of avoided this. But they didn't and they lost out on the bonus.

 

[krellen]

Well you live in it. In all seriousness, a little bit more talking at the table before they signed the contract could of avoided this. But they didn't and they lost out on the bonus.

It should be illegal for a third party to deprive a creator of a share of the profits for their creation. This isn't a matter of poor negotiations; this is a matter of bullshit laws allowing entities that aren't even people to own things created by others.

How anyone can sit idly by and be fine with a developer not seeing any share of the profit from their massively successful game boggles my mind. Have we really raised such a soulless generation?

 

[Kirshbia]

Well you live in it. In all seriousness, a little bit more talking at the table before they signed the contract could of avoided this. But they didn't and they lost out on the bonus.

It should be illegal for a third party to deprive a creator of a share of the profits for their creation. This isn't a matter of poor negotiations; this is a matter of bullshit laws allowing entities that aren't even people to own things created by others.

How anyone can sit idly by and be fine with a developer not seeing any share of the profit from their massively successful game boggles my mind. Have we really raised such a soulless generation?

Yep, in truth. I find the business practice to be distasteful. But in reality, Obisdian did have the ability to try and get better terms, and they made the deal with what they got. They did get compensated for their work. Although, I personally wished they had seen the bonus.

We live in a world like this. Rarely you can make the terms, but once you accept a contract you've accepted it. Little to be done after that but try to make the bonus, they didn't make it and I am shocked they put themselves to that agreement. It's their own fault for doing it.

 

[zehydra]

That's okay, I have yet to play a decent Obsidian game.

 

[Hobonicus]

Fallout 3 has great definition of the protagonist, you have a backstory and then find out more as you play. In New Vegas they just give you a gun and kick you out in the world with "go kill some people"

That was exactly one of Fallout 3's problems. Backstories are for RPGs like The Witcher, where the main character has a predetermined persona. Fallout 3 gives you a backstory, ties you to your father, then sets you loose, only to tether you back to the main story.

Fallout 3 was a non-linear game with a linear story. It didn't work. You can't honestly think Fallout 3 had a well written protagonist. The protagonist was no better than the one in New Vegas, the difference is that for some reason Fallout 3's protagonist was bound by arbitrary restrictions that confined the protagonist's actual character.

So you end up with this weird main character who you're told is a blank slate, but still seems to think outside your authority. In New Vegas you can learn more about your character's backstory while still being able to control their personality and behavior.

 

[zehydra]

Well you live in it. In all seriousness, a little bit more talking at the table before they signed the contract could of avoided this. But they didn't and they lost out on the bonus.

It should be illegal for a third party to deprive a creator of a share of the profits for their creation. This isn't a matter of poor negotiations; this is a matter of bullshit laws allowing entities that aren't even people to own things created by others.

How anyone can sit idly by and be fine with a developer not seeing any share of the profit from their massively successful game boggles my mind. Have we really raised such a soulless generation?

The idea is that the developers of the actual content got paid already via wages and contracts, whereas the producer (the distributor) reels in the profits made from selling.

 

[zehydra]

Fallout 3 has great definition of the protagonist, you have a backstory and then find out more as you play. In New Vegas they just give you a gun and kick you out in the world with "go kill some people"

That was exactly one of Fallout 3's problems. Backstories are for RPGs like The Witcher, where the main character has a predetermined persona. Fallout 3 gives you a backstory, ties you to your father, then sets you loose, only to tether you back to the main story.

Fallout 3 was a non-linear game with a linear story. It didn't work. You can't honestly think Fallout 3 had a well written protagonist. The protagonist was no better than the one in New Vegas, the difference is that for some reason Fallout 3's protagonist was bound by arbitrary restrictions that confined the protagonist's actual character.

So you end up with this weird main character who you're told is a blank slate, but still seems to think outside your authority. In New Vegas you can learn more about your character's backstory while still being able to control their personality and behavior.

I still think it would be wrong to say that "Fallout 3 had a main story". Fallout 3 had a main quest, but Main Quest != Main Story. Obviously for people who like elaborate, long prescripted main stories in games, Fallout 3 is not for you.

 

[launchpadmcqwak]

As part of the "audiences," I found New Vegas to basically be Fallout 3: Good Edition.

dude this has NOTHING to do with the thread, but every time i read your posts i read them in Jules's voice...

OT: how did this thread turn into a Fallout3 Vs New Vegas flame war?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Honestly, I really want to post why I think Obsidian needs to stay, but j-e-f-f-e-r-s is doing that far better than I ever could.

If Obsidian goes under, gaming will be worse for it. They're the only ones who seem to actually try creating interesting, deep stories and characters with interesting motivations. KOTOR 2 gave Star Wars a new amount of depth it sorely needed. The Neverwinter Nights 2 expansions were far better than the main games. Alpha Protocol made damn-near every choice have some sort of consequence. New Vegas did away with the "good/bad" karma stuff and instead used the main factions to show what your choices do.

Are the results perfect? Hell no. But at least they fucking try to do interesting and new things story-wise. Try to make us look at old properties a different way. Try to have actual moral dilemmas and ambiguity instead of plain "good" and "bad".

It would be a worse world with them gone.

I've loved every obsidian game I've ever played (NWN2, especially MotB, KOTOR2, FO:NV are the only ones I remember though); I'd really be quite sad to see them go if they ever did.

Hey, does anyone know what Obsidian is working on nowadays?

The South Park RPG and a game adaptation of the Wheel in Time books. Though the latter is still in the very early stages.

I think Obsidian needs to move towards a more grounded work station. They're a mercenary developer, working on a contract given by a publisher with a fixed price and development cycle. This more than anything is the reason for their bug problems and financial troubles. They don't lose money if a game does poorly, but they also don't get paid anything if it is a success.

With that business model, it is easy to see why they would sign into such an asinine contract based on aggregate scores. The more cash they can make the better. While it's a shame that they didn't make the bonus cut, they didn't stand to lose anything if New Vegas flopped either.

If Kickstarter begins making it more viable for developers to raise their own budgets, I'm all for Obsidian leading the charge for a new development style.