The Outer Worlds - Interview with Obsidian’s Brian Heins

Wccftech interviewed Brian Heins about the gameplay and roleplaying in The Outer Worlds, Microsoft buyout and more.

How many larger settlements can we expect to see in the game?

On each world, there's at least one major settlement. A big example is Monarch, we showed it at a press playthrough in July. There is Stellar Bay, which is the primary capital of the world. But there are also areas like Amber Heights and Fallbrook that are also two other hubs in the world as well. So that alone has three big settlements you can explore and find quests in. And then the world of Terra 2, which is more segregated, the corporations control it more heavily, so each area is more restricted and travel between them isn't allowed. Each of those has its own set of NPCs and quest dealers.

And how long has it been in development for?

Tim and Leonard first started working on it, just the two of them, probably around almost three years ago now. And it was just them for many, many months while they were figuring out what the IP was. And then they got a few people to start working on stuff and then got more and more people. So I think it was a small team for probably the first year or more, and then kind of ramped up and has been in production for about two years. And now we're kind of ramping down to getting ready to ship it out the door.

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Thanks Farflame!

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Just wound up prepurchasing this via greenmangaming - there's a 15% discount on there for VIP (pre-existing) customer as well as an available voucher for new customers.

There's so much blind hatred for Epic Games in that review thread that it's a bit sad. It's the same sentiment presented in other Epic Game exclusives (Satisfactory, Operencia, etc) and, while I hate having to install another launcher (especially one with TenCent involvement), the sad truth of the matter is that it's here to stay.

I'm not sure it's here to stay yet. And, regardless, there's always a choice. Mine is not to bother with Epic's store until they give me a reason to do so, outside of twisting my arm with exclusives. I don't like it when people twist my arm. Offer me something of value.

Well you could say the same about Uplay, Origin, Battle.net, etc.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Epic, but I've used it when I had to, and there's nothing terrible about it.

I'm still undecided about The Outer Worlds. I said I wasn't going to purchase it right away, but it's starting to tempt me.

Today, yes. I have a couple games on UPlay. I have since decided Assassin's Creed games aren't worth my time, though I have no regrets regarding Driver: San Francisco. My Uplay experience has helped inform my decision regarding Epic today. I've never bothered with Origin. Also, Ubisoft has never done any exclusives I'm aware of, and I know for sure I've never participated.

Only a week until release. Well that's cool. So… maybe it's fully patched up by next summer? Not sure I can hold off that long.

One week is too long

Originally Posted by Drithius
There's so much blind hatred for Epic Games in that review thread that it's a bit sad. It's the same sentiment presented in other Epic Game exclusives (Satisfactory, Operencia, etc) and, while I hate having to install another launcher (especially one with TenCent involvement), the sad truth of the matter is that it's here to stay.

What bothers me the most is that it's not a review of the game, in any form or fashion. I wish people would stop complaining, in reviews, about things that have nothing to do with the quality or value of the game in question.

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face
Offer me something of value.

You mean like the over 100 dollars worth of free games they given to all users? And decent good games like Thimbleweed Park and Mutant Year Zero, not the crap most give away.

Sure, that's a good start. Not good enough for me, though.

There is nothing wrong with another digital distribution client in general. I have quite few of them installed already. All of them were mainly introduced to save on publishing in-house games by publishers or developers. But building up market share MAINLY through customers bribery and via buying exclusives instead of building the platform that would be able to compete with services and at the same time pretending its for greater good. Well, that I will not support.

I have a crazy idea: Take all that Fortnite money that you pour into bribing developers and pick a few big releases to work with…..you know, like the exclusives they've already identified. Use your exclusive money to subsidize a lower price at launch, say, $10. If you're feeling bold, you could make it $15 or $20. Now, that would make a real splash. Gamers are cheap as hell. You'd break into the market with a bunch of goodwill in the bank, rather than whatever it is they have now.