Couchpotato's Random RPG News

Redglyph · May 3, 2021

I'd rather see a Morrowind remake with radiant-enabled NPCs.

AFAIC, if they had to remake Oblivion, they may as well take the map and start the rest from scratch. Remove all those map pointers, drastically reduce the number of repeating gates to close, hire more voice actors, remake the guild quests (except assassin, and maybe thief IIRC), review the simplified stats, remove the silly speechcraft mini-game and use stats, make armies of believable size, fix the monster difficulty level instead of scaling them to the player's, ...

But they must keep the NPC radiant system. The Oblivion's radiant system, not Skyrim's.

I'm skeptical they would go in that direction anyway, they have shown the opposite trend so far: each game is targeting a wider audience by dumbing down the game, removing lore, removing stats, adding pointers, adding loot, adding generated fetch quests, and so on. It's not necessarily bad, it's just for another public.

wolfgrimdark · May 3, 2021

I seem to be in the minority around here who has ZERO interest in remakes. Really old games I prefer to keep as romantic memories of the past. Most games don't age that well. I really have no interest in going backwards to play some game I already played. I really enjoyed many old games including KOTOR and ME but have no desire to have them remade to play again.

Morrowind was my favorite of all the TES games. In some ways, even though I have thousands of hours in Skyrim, and still play it, more than Skyrim as I prefer the more unique setting and mechanics. But I still have no desire what-so-ever to have the game remade. Not really keen on living in the past. Much rather see TES6.

I have mixed feelings on the DAI article from Eurogamer. Admittedly I like to escape to games to make my own character - usually someone powerful and handsome because its a fantasy. I could deal with a missing arm if I could get a cool cyborg arm or its magical equivalent though. EDIT: And realized my main Skyrim character, Wulver is blind in one eye, kind of - it was replaced with an artifact that can see through the planes and illusions which is both a blessing and a curse.

In real life I think the physical aspects are somewhat less important as often we are a more "mental" focused society (well in some places). But in games, especially action packed one, being able to fight well is important. But I wouldn't care if a limb was magical or metal or the like. In some ways that could be pretty cool. A lot would depend on how it was done.

I agree with the general idea of the article as JFarrell71 pointed out.

henriquejr · May 3, 2021

Redglyph said:
I'd rather see a Morrowind remake with radiant-enabled NPCs.

AFAIC, if they had to remake Oblivion, they may as well take the map and start the rest from scratch. Remove all those map pointers, drastically reduce the number of repeating gates to close, hire more voice actors, remake the guild quests (except assassin, and maybe thief IIRC), review the simplified stats, remove the silly speechcraft mini-game and use stats, make armies of believable size, fix the monster difficulty level instead of scaling them to the player's, …

But they must keep the NPC radiant system. The Oblivion's radiant system, not Skyrim's.

I'm skeptical they would go in that direction anyway, they have shown the opposite trend so far: each game is targeting a wider audience by dumbing down the game, removing lore, removing stats, adding pointers, adding loot, adding generated fetch quests, and so on. It's not necessarily bad, it's just for another public.

I agree to all points you raised except by one: the removal of map pointers. On a map of that size, you need to know at least the general directions you should go in order to complete any given quest. If they're to be removed then replace them for, at the very least, a good, decent description of the place to be reached *or* a more or less precise depiction of whom we should talk to in order to progress in the quest, otherwise we'll end up wasting a lot of time wandering around on the map. Please, don't come with "There is a witch in the North who is terrorizing people". North of what? Near what?

JFarrell71 · May 3, 2021

wolfgrimdark said:
I seem to be in the minority around here who has ZERO interest in remakes.

I'm also firmly in that minority. Remaking any older Elder Scrolls game holds zero appeal. It would be counterproductive in the case of Morrowind because I only still play that game because of things like Tamriel Rebuilt, and none of them would work. The degree to which I'd prefer a new Elder Scrolls to a remake of Oblivion can't be measured by human instruments. Remaster, remake, whatever you want to call it, they get made because the income to expense ratio is so high... and that should tell you something about the value we're getting from them.

FFVII is/was an exception for me, largely because of how completely reshaped it is. Far moreso than virtually any other remake/remaster I can think of.

JDR13 · May 3, 2021

I can't picture Bethesda ever doing a remake anyways. That's not their thing. Maybe a remaster with minimal changes, like Skyrim: SE, but not a remake.

As far as the next Dragon Age is concerned, I don't have any issues with what that article suggested, but what it really needs imo is to be smaller and more focused. DA:I was far too bloated.

Redglyph · May 3, 2021

I'm almost neutral w/r to remakes and remasters. I'd rather see a good new game than an old game which has been rebaked and revamped, but in some rare cases I'd enjoy the chance to live or live again the experience with today's standards, especially if I couldn't play the original game, or if I have the feeling I could benefit from a replay (with other choices, for ex).

Then there are special cases, I'm thinking about Black Mesa, where many issues were addressed including a whole chapter that has been heavily changed to improve the original Half-Life experience. I've never played FF VII, that @JFarrell71; mentions, but I suspect it's the same motive.

henriquejr said:
If they're to be removed then replace them for, at the very least, a good, decent description of the place to be reached *or* a more or less precise depiction of whom we should talk to in order to progress in the quest

Yes, of course

It should be an option because not everyone likes that, I would even say that only a minority enjoys maps without a quest pointer (the days people had to draw their own map and enjoyed it are long gone). And the quests should give a good description, for sure, it wasn't the case in Oblivion. Or, like Morrowind, the player should be able to ask around and have a good chance that an NPC points in the right direction.

JDR13 · May 3, 2021

Redglyph said:
Then there are special cases, I'm thinking about Black Mesa, where many issues were addressed including a whole chapter that has been heavily changed to improve the original Half-Life experience. I've never played FF VII, that @JFarrell71; mentions, but I suspect it's the same motive.

I haven't played the FF7 remake yet, but Black Mesa is great.. maybe the best remake I've ever played. Those were also very old games though that were popular enough that a remake was justified. Although I don't know how I feel about the episodic nature of FF7 Remake.

Age is definitely a factor in whether or not I think a game should be remade or remastered. Mass Effect: LE, for example, is nothing more than a cash grab at this point and totally unnecessary. The Bioshock remasters are another example like that.

Couchpotato · May 8, 2021

Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous LetsPlay Video

Pathfinder Wratch of the Righteous Gameplay with splat! Let's Play Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous and check out a game where you'll create a character and join on an epic quest to save the world from evil.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Small Preview Roundup

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord - Campaign Intro

For 500 years, the Calradian Empire dominated the continent. Its armies scattered foes before them. The strongholds of proud tribes crumbled beneath its engines of war. From the forests of the north, to the wastes of the south. All was brought beneath the standard of their legions.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Look at the Art Style - PlayStation Blog

Before working on Dark Alliance the action RPG set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons I was a game cinematics director at a few major gaming studios. My time before Tuque taught me to not just care about the look of a world.

The and the characterization of a world is what brings it to life. That's what I'm here to talk about today with Dark Alliance. Plus, I want to share a lot of concept art from our artists Vincent, Stanimir, Victor, Dimitri, Fred, Jorge, and Even.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Promotional Content - BioWare

We're giving fans a chance to download content previously available in the Deluxe Editions of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, as well as the first Mass Effect soundtrack (including the new Legendary Edition Track: "Resynthesis").*

Mass Effect Trilogy Original Soundtrack

Enjoy the iconic music of the Mass Effect trilogy featuring tracks from all three OSTs plus a brand-new track exclusively available in Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Sit back, relax, and relive some of your favorite moments from this epic sci-fi saga.

Couchpotato · May 11, 2021

Beyond Mankind: The Awakening - Release Date Trailer

Beyond Mankind: The Awakening is an Action RPG taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. The game sports a mature and deep narrative, rich exploration, tense combat, and immersive RPG mechanics.

Coming to PC, MAC, and Linux on 31.08.2021

Diablo 2 Resurrected - A Closer Look at the Monster Models and Animations

We dig into the game files and take a look at the huge amount of detail that's been added to the new monster models in the remaster.

StarCrawlers: Chimera Coming to Kickstarter - Announcement

Here's a new video of the different features in StarCrawlers Chimera with gameplay and reveals of some new enemy types. Also - we're coming to Kickstarter!

DISCO ELYSIUM - Art stream with Kaspar & Rostov

Join Kaspar and Rostov for three quick sessions about concept and environment art.

DISCO ELYSIUM - Writing and directing with Helen & Jim

Join Helen and Jim as they discuss developing Disco Elysium - The Final Cut and answer some questions.

Biomutant New Gameplay

Biomutant, the long-awaited open-world RPG is nearly upon us and we're giving you an early look at the game's bizarre biomes and crazy combat on today's 4K edition of New Gameplay Today!

Biomutant Character Creator Breakdown

Excited about Biomutant's imminent release on May 25? Join us for our 4K breakdown of the game's in-depth character creator and learn about all the different looks, classes, and customizable options for your new furry friend.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Interview - GamingBolt

We recently got the chance to send across several of our questions about the game to its developers at GSC Game World to learn more about the shooter and what to expect from it, and learned quite a bit in the process. You can read our conversation with GSC Game World PR manager Zakhar Bocharov below.

The Ascent Interview - WCCFTech

With the game scheduled to launch later this year on PC and Xbox consoles, we got in touch with Neon Giant's co-founders Arcade Berg (Game Director) and Tor Frick (Art Director) to offer you some exclusive info on one of the most exciting indie games in development.

Remnant: From the Ashes Next-Gen Upgrade - Announced

We're incredibly excited to announce that on Thursday, May 13, Remnant: From the Ashes will receive a free major upgrade patch that will add the option to run the game at 4K resolution at 30fps the PlayStationÃ‚Â®5 and Xbox Series X, or 1080p resolution at 60fps on both the PlayStationÃ‚Â®5 and Xbox Series X/S!

Also on May 13, Remnant: From the Ashes will be available on the Microsoft Store App and the Xbox App for Windows 10, or accessed as part of the Xbox Game Pass for PC program -- each of which will have cross-play support with Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S players.

@HiddenX; @Silver;

Couchpotato · May 13, 2021

Dungeons of Edera to Launch This Year - Steam

Monster Tooth Studios is excited to announce a milestone Early Access update to our rogue-lite action RPG Dungeons of Edera ahead of its full 1.0 launch in Q4 2021! Current owners of the game now have access to the first two chapters of the campaign along with the endless dungeon mode.

Dungeons of Edera is a dungeon crawler featuring procedurally generated levels, each packed with challenging enemies, bosses, and lots of loot for the aspiring adventurer -- battle through hordes of monsters, unite factions, and leave your legacy as you restore Edera to its former glory!

Lightforge Games A New Studio to Work on Innovative RPGs - VentureBeat

Longtime Epic Games and Blizzard Entertainment developers have united to create Lightforge Games, and they're on a quest to change how RPGs are played. The team is developing a new cross-platform, social video game where players have the power to create worlds and tell stories with unprecedented freedom.

"We all love highly social, creative games, and we particularly love games where players drive the narrative," CEO Matt Schembari said. "We are looking to combine elements from Minecraft or Roblox with tabletop RPGs to form a new way to play roleplaying games. Given our backgrounds, making a game that looks to revolutionize RPGs was an obvious choice."

Lightforge recently raised $5 million with investments from Galaxy Interactive, NetEase Games, Dreamhaven, Maveron, 1UP Ventures, and angel investors from the gaming and tech industries.

"Lightforge is creating a game in a new space that has a ton of potential," said Dreamhaven CEO Mike Morhaime. "The team is full of veteran developers, and I'm excited about their vision."

New Comparison screenshots for Mass Effect Legendary Edition - DSO

It appears that some users have gotten their hands on early copies of Mass Effect Legendary Edition and shared some screenshots from it. Alongside these leaked screenshots, you can also find some comparison screenshots between the remastered and the vanilla versions of Mass Effect.

More THQ Nordic Acquisitions - BlueNews

Shopaholic company THQ Nordic seems to have realized it has been letting its normally hyperactive shopping cart sit idle for too long. That would explain the news of the acquisition of three different companies in one combined announcement. Here's word on the new members of the extended family:

Couchpotato · May 14, 2021

Remnant: From the Ashes Next-Gen Upgrade Now Live

The Next-Gen Upgrade for Remnant: From the Ashes is now available for free on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Survive the post-apocalyptic universe at 4K resolution at 30fps on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, or 1080p resolution at 60fps on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S!

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Wrath of the Druids Launch Trailer

Journey to 9th century Ireland and face a force greater than kingdoms as a grim tide begin to stir. Wrath of the Druids, the first Assassin's Creed Valhalla expansion, is available with the the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Season Pass.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Released - EA Website

We wanted to take a moment to celebrate all the incredible fans who make up the Mass Effect community. This video is for you your passion, your creativity, and your loyalty. From everyone working to bring the Mass Effect Legendary Edition to life we/d just like to say, thank you.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Coming to Xbox Game Pass

I am thrilled to announce that Dark Alliance will be available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows 10 PC, and phones and tablets via Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Xbox Game Pass on Day One, June 22! The game will also support PC and console cross play at launch!

Gather your party, choose your adventurer, and get ready to set out on an epic brawl through Icewind Dale on June 22 with Xbox Game Pass. Forget character sheets and math for the night, Dark Alliance is a third-person action brawler that drops you and your friends into the unforgiving frozen hellscape of Icewind Dale to take on iconic Dungeons & Dragons monsters and collect epic loot. You can venture on your own, but with the addition of cross play on PC and Xbox featuring up to 4-player co-op, why would you?

World of Darkness Bundle Available on GOG - GOG

Become one of the powerful beings that have brought fear to the hearts of mankind for ages. The latest Special Sale on GOG.COM is dedicated to thrilling titles from the World of Darkness, a famous tabletop RPG universe where vampires clash with werewolves in an everlasting struggle. Play games like Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York (-55%) and Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest (-35%) before the sale ends on 20th May 2021, 1 PM UTC.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Review Roundup

Redglyph · May 15, 2021

I like Rock Paper Shotgun's review on ME which is obsessed with the options and basically stops there, apparently they didn't have the time to get very far. :roll:

Here's another video, it seems he liked it

Sounds an honest one though.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Review Impressions: 100% Worth it

Couchpotato · May 16, 2021

More Biomutant Gameplay Footage

Our PC footage runs 4k @ 60FPS (the PC version will not be capped framerate-wise, except for your monitor's refresh rate and hardware)
Xbox One Base runs 1080p @ 30FPS with Dynamic Resolution
PlayStation 4 Base runs 1080p @ 30FPS with Dynamic Resolution
Xbox One X runs 1080p @ 60FPS with Dynamic Resolution
PlayStation 4 Pro runs 1080p @ 60FPS with Dynamic Resolution

Lost Eidolons May 2021 Dev Update

May development preview with Creative Director of Lost Eidolons, Jin Sang.

Starfield a PC and Xbox Exclusive? - Twitter

Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Period. This is me confirming that.

I had a bunch of messages and superchats about Starfield today where people were saying that @JeffGrubb said that it wasn't exclusive or whatever. so I figured I tweet this out and have Jeff clear the air since it seems what he says gets twisted by people lol

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Multiplayer Still Possible - CNET

Is there any possibility of the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode (which isn't in the Legendary Edition) coming back in some form? I got super into it back then because you could try all the different abilities and just zip around as an Asari or one of the other races.

Walters: I would never say no to that -- we want to see what kind of reception the Legendary Edition gets and what the demand for the multiplayer is. And then we'll ask ourselves if we have the resources and time to bring it up to the quality level we and fans want.

Couchpotato · May 18, 2021

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Core Gameplay Reveal

DeeJay Knight leads us on a full play through of Dark Alliance's Companions Act 1 this week, playing alongside Josh Morris from Wizards of the Coast with game devs JFC and Jackie from Tuque Games. This episode they explore base camp, mission structure and the difficulty system as well as answering questions from the community.

Dying Light 2 Community Q&A, Part 2

Our latest Dev AMA is here! We are answering another nine of your questions! Join us to learn about more Aiden's character development, rebuilding civilization in the Modern Dark Ages, the GRE, and more!

Call of Saregnar Demo & Dev Commentary

Here is a FULL playthrough of the currently distributed demo for Call of Saregnar available to supporters on Patreon, Subscribestar, etc w/ popular Twitch streamer BogusMeatFactory & lead dev Damjan Mozetic!

Pladio · May 18, 2021

Is BioMutant only combat ? I haven't seen anything but combat gameplay...

Couchpotato · May 19, 2021

Outer Worlds Late Review - Gamebanshee

In the end, The Outer Worlds can be seen as a case of shooting for the moon but ending up face-down in a pile of dirt. The game's basic premise could have been great, but its weak writing, lacking exploration, and bland character design make it very hard to care about anything.

Pair that with a subpar roleplaying system, and the only thing The Outer Worlds has going for it are its pretty decent DLC. But with how incoherent it is as a complete package, it can easily be crowned as The Room of RPGs. Play it only if you're desperate for a hub-based title that's somewhat similar to New Vegas. Otherwise, I advise you give it a wide berth.

Happy 10th Anniversary Witcher 2 Sale - GOG

To honor the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and the 6th anniversary of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we're slashing the price of all Witcher games up to 85%! There's no time more fitting to complete or start building your monster-slaying collection!

Bethesda is Working an "Unannounced Title" - Comicbook

This bit of information comes by way of a recent job listing for a server engineer position at Bethesda Game Studios. In the description of the role, it is said that, "Bethesda Game Studios is seeking a qualified Server Engineer to help create and improve systems for an unannounced title." No other hints related to the mystery game in question are given throughout the listing, unfortunately.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Changes Tali's Face Reveal - Screenrant

In the original Mass Effect 3, Tali's face caused consternation among fans who were disappointed that the picture was a simple edit of a real woman's stock photo. However, Reddit user Maxgoods has posted an image on the r/masseffect subreddit that shows Tali's new and improved portrait in Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Unlike the original picture, Tali's face in the remaster doesn't appear to be a simple stock photo. Below is the image of Tali's original face in ME 3, as well as Maxgoods' post of her new photo in ME Legendary Edition.

JFarrell71 · May 19, 2021

Bethesda is Working an "Unannounced Title"

Sheesh. Aren't two games that won't come out for 20 years enough for one studio?

Couchpotato · May 19, 2021

JFarrell71 said:
Bethesda is Working an "Unannounced Title"

Sheesh. Aren't two games that won't come out for 20 years enough for one studio?

Nah..Microsoft money my friend. I'm sure some of it will line a few pockets as well. :biggrin:

Starfield
Elder Scrolls 6
Unannounced Third Game ???

Couchpotato · May 19, 2021

The Ascent Releasing July 29th Trailer

COMING JULY 29th! Indents, get ready to rise up and fight for the survival of your district. The Ascent is a solo and up to four-player co-op Action-shooter RPG set in a vast cyberpunk world. The Ascent comes to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Xbox Game Pass, on July 29th.

The Forgotten City: 9-Minute Gameplay Walkthrough

The Forgotten City voice actor Steven Kelly walks you through nine minutes of gameplay from The Forgotten City, the Skyrim mod turned full game in which you try to solve an ancient Roman murder mystery while you're caught in a time loop.

Biomutant Explanation Trailer

Biomutant will release next week! We know everyone is excited but some people still might wonder how certain parts of Biomutant work, how crafting is done and what the Aura system all about.

Empire of Sin Free Expansion Plans

The Precinct, scheduled for later this year, expands and improves gameplay by allowing players to paint the map and control their empires while creating supply lines and a defensible perimeter, adds a new win condition and a new path to victory, and introduces mod support to take Empire of Sin to the next level.

Precinct Update Key Features:

Precincts: Precincts create a new management layer across neighborhoods, allowing for better synergy and control of numerous ways to streamline your criminal empire. However, turning your neighborhood into a massively integrated monopoly on illegal booze can have consequences - top precincts will garner more attention from the police. New empire management screens have been unified under a precinct screen as a means of streamlining gameplay mechanics and making it easier for the common criminal to break bad, at scale. Precincts and their rackets are controlled via a central building known as The Depot. Take the depot to win the precinct.

Moguls & Win Conditions: There's more than one way to the top of the Chicago mob scene. Players focused on building their empire can reach for the Chi-Town Mogul win condition. Alternatively, those focused on diplomacy can find a new path to victory with The Buyout. The more enterprising boss can now put down their guns and tell the competition to sleep with the fishes with business prowess - that's the way to run an empire!

Modsters: Players can create and play mods in Empire of Sin using Paradox Mods or Steam Workshop. Mods can be managed from the Paradox Launcher. Players can now experience prohibition-era Chicago's seedy criminal underground in new ways. Beginning with The Precinct, phase 1 of modding tools give the Empire of Sin community their first opportunity to alter the gameplay to their own liking. Further phases of modding will introduce even more ways to alter Empire of Sin.

Variety - The Spice of Life: Players can now sling their guns or their business savvy with rival gangs in additional racket interiors.
Balancing changes and additional fixes

crpgnut · May 19, 2021

Couchpotato said:
Nah..Microsoft money my friend. I'm sure some of it will line a few pockets as well.

Starfield

Elder Scrolls 6

Unannounced Third Game ???

Perhaps the tile is only unannounced for the job offer. In other words, come work for us but we don't want to mention that Starfield has MMO elements

Couchpotato's Random RPG News

Does Anyone Read This Thread for News?

Yes

No

SasqWatch

Follower of Fenris Wolf

Fluminense Football Club

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

Part-Time News-bot

Part-Time News-bot

Part-Time News-bot

Part-Time News-bot

SasqWatch

Part-Time News-bot

Part-Time News-bot

Guardian of Nonsense

Part-Time News-bot

SasqWatch

Part-Time News-bot

Part-Time News-bot

SasqWatch