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Wasteland 3 announced (co-op, base, Tides writers, PC/XB1/PS4, $2.75M Fig funding)

I really really really wanted to love Wasteland 2 but... I didn't. At all.

That said, this actually looks pretty good. The winter deserts are always much more interesting to me than sandy deserts (I probably playing Icewind Dale at too young an age) and the focus one a more centered plot of your main base sounds cool. I just hope fig doesn't completely ruin the crowd funding chances.

Most importantly... MORE CRPGS!

edit: PS those screenshots of Cayne and Beautiful Desolation are straight up crazy.
 

Tworak

Member
the second one was mediocre at best. third one developed alongside the console version does not give me confidence it will be any better. I will definitely wait for reviews.
 

Purkake4

Banned
Looks like they're going the Divinity route and focusing on their strengths. Will keep an eye on it. Wasn't terribly impressed with WL2.

I'm mostly happy to see more competent indies step into the cRPG scene, stuff like Underrail.
 

Labadal

Member
I'm interested. Wasteland 2 was flawed, but I sank a lot of time into it. Brotherhood Games giving a helping hand is also cool. The writing needs to be improved, that's why it would be great if the TToN writers cooked up something good.

People surprised by this being on FIG: Obsidian will also use FIG. There's also one more unannounced indie game campaign coming. Can't say when.
 
the second one was mediocre at best. third one developed alongside the console version does not give me confidence it will be any better. I will definitely wait for reviews.

Honestly, it might be for the better. Here's hoping that it forces them to drop all of the useless crap that w2 had, like considerable chances to fail (and even critical fail) cracking a safe even after you've maxed the skill. All that design like that promotes is savescumming. Or having separate skills for safecracking and lockpicking. And then another separate skill for trap disarming. Gods. And i think they had an animal charmer skill?

Also those social skills... yikes.
 
Will they ditch Unity?

Glad they are using a new setting this time though but I doubt I will pledge. Wasteland 2 wasn't really my cup of tea.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man

Fig's outcome includes backers AND investors who get equity. They only made $98,000 in pledges; and to get those, they had to offer discounts to previous pledgers from the KS. KS raised ~$148k in pledges. The question is not whether Fig will bring them more money from pledgers. It certainly will not. The question is whether Fig's additional opportunity to attract investors was a better move for them than pursuing external investors and lowering their KS budget to begin with.
 

Takuan

Member
Still disappointed in them pursuing tactical movement for every battle. Nothing more tedious than moving units for the simplest encounters. I wish they would adapt the first game's approach and make discrete tactical unit orders an option while offering a simpler set of commands when you didn't care or the situation didn't demand micromanagement. I miss the simplicity of grinding out phase-based combat from the original and wish they'd have considered a WeGo-like system for tactical maneuvers that require all of the individual ordering.

tumblr_mgqn2xw3c91r5lifu9w.gif


No half-measures. All tactical, all the time.
 

Tworak

Member
Honestly, it might be for the better. Here's hoping that it forces them to drop all of the useless crap that w2 had, like considerable chances to fail (and even critical fail) cracking a safe even after you've maxed the skill. All that design like that promotes is savescumming. Or having separate skills for safecracking and lockpicking. And then another separate skill for trap disarming. Gods. And i think they had an animal charmer skill?

Also those social skills... yikes.
a "streamlined" version might actually improve the quality in a lot of areas, yeah.
 

Dr.Acula

Banned
I'm passing this time. Not because I don't have faith in Brian and his team, but because I've got a bit of fatigue in this genre. I still have to finish going through Shadowrun Dragonfall and Hong Kong, Divinity: OS, Pillars of Eternity, AND Wasteland 2 before I have the bandwidth for this. Ugh, just thinking about it is giving me a headache.

How are you fatigued from the KS CRPG scene when you haven't played any of them? ;)

I beat all the Shadowruns, Wasteland 2, dropped D:OS after 20 hours (couldn't get into it) and am slogging through Pillars (60 hours). Torment:ToN is hopefully less combat driven, because that's what's killing me the most in these CRPGs.

I'm interested in WL3 however, because of all these games, I enjoyed WL2 the most by far.

They've got a lot on their plate. They've got Bard's Tale, Torment, and now Wasteland 2 going? We'll see.

They addressed this during their Torment pitch. Basically, they don't want to lay off their staff when they finish a game to rehire them when they make their next game.

Once you hit the last phase of making your game, the art, music, writing, etc. is all set, you're just optimising, balancing, fleshing out features etc. A lot of the concept artists, character designers, writers, etc. are done. So for them to srart pre-production on a new game while the programmers are in the final few months before launch shouldn't affect the schedule.
 
While it's good that the team is learning a lot of lessons from Divinity: Original Sin, I dunno that I actually trust them to do right by that inspiration. Wasteland 2 checked a lot of boxes too, but in the end it felt really mediocre because of a lot of half-implemented ideas; like XCOM-style combat without the weight or consequence, which turns it into huge busywork overall. Like, if they wildly design something like environmental effects it will just feel like a cheap gimmick, rather than a core part of the game.

And FIG. I dunno about that.
I'm interested. Wasteland 2 was flawed, but I sank a lot of time into it. Brotherhood Games giving a helping hand is also cool. The writing needs to be improved, that's why it would be great if the TToN writers cooked up something good.

People surprised by this being on FIG: Obsidian will also use FIG. There's also one more unannounced indie game campaign coming. Can't say when.

But every time they sell their soul to get a game made they end up getting burned somehow...

Don't do it, Obsidian!
 

Labadal

Member
While it's good that the team is learning a lot of lessons from Divinity: Original Sin, I dunno that I actually trust them to do right by that inspiration. Wasteland 2 checked a lot of boxes too, but in the end it felt really mediocre because of a lot of half-implemented ideas; like XCOM-style combat without the weight or consequence, which turns it into huge busywork overall. Like, if they wildly design something like environmental effects it will just feel like a cheap gimmick, rather than a core part of the game.

And FIG. I dunno about that.


But every time they sell their soul to get a game made they end up getting burned somehow...

Don't do it, Obsidian!
They already said they would not use Kickstarter. FIG, it is.
 

borborygmus

Member
Backed Wasteland 2 and would support a new game.

But FIG?

Nah, son.

I'm in the same boat. Fig seemed really shady and their policies have been controversial and arguably anti-consumer from the get-go.

I think Fig ended up being an overreach. Bypassing Kickstarter in order to make more profit isn't necessarily a bad idea in itself, but the way they did it is totally out of touch and even a bit arrogant.

As for those screenshots, I really like them but there's something just a tiny bit off about the art style that I hope they iron out. I can't really place it. Looks promising though. Hate the focus on co-op.
 

Arulan

Member
The CRPG renaissance continues on!

InXile acquired the rights to Van Buren last year, which is what I was expecting Wasteland 3 to be, but perhaps it's still too early.

Nevertheless, it looks promising. I hope console co-development doesn't lead to any design compromises though.

The moment I saw their prototype screenshots I knew they were working with Brotherhood Games. They have a very distinct style, which is great, because it looks fantastic.

Co-op is interesting, but there is always the risk it'll serve as a detriment to single-player. I hope it's executed well.

It's interesting to see how the developers who shaped the beginning of the CRPG renaissance bring that experience into their subsequent titles and sequels. Harebrained Schemes made significant improvements with Shadowrun: Dragonfall. Almost Human expanded with Legend of Grimrock II, and it appears Larian Studios and InXile Entertainment are on that path as well (Divinity: Original Sin II and Torment: Tides of Numenera).

I'll back it.
 
I liked Wasteland 2. It was rough around the edges and lacked something in the way of inspiration (with neither the writing, nor the combat, nor the art, music, or rule set aiming for better than "good enough"), but it all added up to a solid RPG. Plus, you know, *so many* skill checks.
 

Shengar

Member
What's the problem? I thought they already cleared their legal problem as per of Stump's post:

They've basically solved the issue -- before each game was its own company and there was an additional regulatory hurdle associated with that. Now all investment will into a working capital pool for Fig which will disburse to developers accordingly. IIRC this is what everyone was telling them to do to avoid the headache to begin with.

Also if the rumor of Obsidian coming to FIG is true, then my suspicion of these devs avoiding KS because their share of the cut and the delay in payment turned out to be true.


Wasteland 2 is far from masterpiece. It's good, not great, but memorable. Individually many of its story pieces are interesting on their own but on the bigger picture it's shame that they don't create any thread of thematic coherence. Despite all of Wasteland 2 flaws (I don't mind the jankiness really), I believe that Brian Fargo and his team will be able to deliver Wasteland 3, especially now they have experience with Wasteland 2 and now Numenera development. Nothing would be more joyful than seeing Wasteland 3 comes to realization.
 
I want to believe....but this is going to be uphill for them.

-I can't put my finger on it, but something tells me that Fargo's ambitions would've been more easily grasped at with a new generation of consoles in tow---that extra edge of new machines, new* funding platform drive, biggest ask yet....all would've helped.

-They HAVE to overhaul, if not outright scrap, the ultimately terrible and overly fiddly to the extreme stats/skills system, save for the perks/quirks which were actually onto something at the tail end after all the damage had been done. Between the likes of that and party building woes, the entire lot of it falls apart after a few hours/LONG before the actual end game and all too many "dead level ups" absolutely suck the fun out of character development and party growth. I know this, and many other things, Fargo alluded to being part of the onus of the first Wasteland game in terms of expectations and trapped in that old shadow---but there's no way they can get away with essentially the same system as W2 with a fresh coat of U/I and some minor rejiggering. This has to be a best foot forward line in the sand for them else all the surface bits won't be enough to carry it---nostalgia no more, now's the time for wild ambition.

-Fig....they've got their work cut out for them and not much time to crack on at it, as if this goes south, that'll be a hell of a setback to try and rebound from. They could always turn the wheel on history and do a KS for a W3 Tabletop P&P game at the same time as that segment of KS is still monstrously strong~
 

corin7

Neo Member
Not sure I will have the $ in October to throw at them. PS VR + like 2 must have games a week is destroying the budget but damn I am excited for this. And as somebody who grew up in Denver, they nailed Union Station. This looks hype as hell.

http://unionstationindenver.com/
 
Interesting. If this is one is succesful, they will have three ongoing kickstarter projects, with campaigns from March 2013, June 2015 and October 2016.

Not many other devs that would be able to do that without a lot of criticism coming their way.
 

Gurish

Member
Wow those screens are incredible, if it will look like this it will definitely be the most impressive RTS I've seen.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Looks dope. I'm in.

I wish they used KS, since I already have an account there, but I guess it shouldn't be a big problem to try another platform.
 

Lucifon

Junior Member
Awesome news! But why fig? Never even heard of it. If we can back with a console version tier then I'm absolutely in though.
 

Sasie

Member
InXile should actually release some of their games before starting another crowd founding in my opinion. When this campaign starts up next week they will have four games they kickstarted/fig funded and only one game released. Bard's tale doesn't even have a steam page yet.

Personally I think it's time to show they can deliver before asking for even more money. Part of me can't just help but wonder if they are running out of steam or if their development method is sustainable when they run so many games at once. On top of that the announcement for this reads to me like they are trying to cash in on what worked for other studios, aka Divinity Original Sin, rather then developing their own style that works for them.

Might just be that I'm sceptical because I disliked Wasteland 2 but I don't have much faith in them at the moment compared to other crowd founding RPG companies.
 

Chaser324

Banned
I feel like Divinity: Original Sin and Pillars of Eternity greatly diminished my opinion of Wasteland 2. It was a solid game, but Divinity:OS and PoE were really at another level.

I'm curious to see Wasteland 3, but I already backed Bard's Tale and I think one outstanding crowdfuded project per company is probably my personal limit.
 
InXile should actually release some of their games before starting another crowd founding in my opinion. When this campaign starts up next week they will have four games they kickstarted/fig funded and only one game released. Bard's tale doesn't even have a steam page yet.

Personally I think it's time to show they can deliver before asking for even more money. Part of me can't just help but wonder if they are running out of steam or if their development method is sustainable when they run so many games at once. On top of that the announcement for this reads to me like they are trying to cash in on what worked for other studios, aka Divinity Original Sin, rather then developing their own style that works for them.

Might just be that I'm sceptical because I disliked Wasteland 2 but I don't have much faith in them at the moment compared to other crowd founding RPG companies.

I think Bard's Tale was probably a mistake in retrospect and may be a drain on their resources. Yeah, it cleared their goal but I suspect they thought it would be another out of the park KS hit like WS2 and Torment. Instead they barely funded it while promising state of the art 3D graphics. That's gotta be a tough order to fill. Now with WS3 they have significantly upped the minimum funding requirement from their first 3 crowdfunded games.

Personally, I will wait and see on the Fig presentation before making a decision. I enjoyed WS2 af first but it got stale for me pretty quickly. I do hear it gets much better when you get to LA and, to be fair, I haven't given the director's cut a whirl either.

Kind of doubt I will contribute unless they can produce a major new hire for the development staff that's not Avellone contributing a small piece of writing or something.
 

NoWayOut

Member
Still haven't got around to play W2, but unless they include full VO in W3, which I doubt, I will get this on PC. Having to read walls of text and dialogues on a TV screen is torture.
 

draetenth

Member
Hmm, I'm interested, but I need to hear more before I would back and honestly, I would rather hear about what they are doing to improve what was wrong with the second game (better balance of weapon + social skills off the top of my head) before they try doing new things like COOP in the chase of doing what everyone else is.
 

Durante

Member
While it's good that the team is learning a lot of lessons from Divinity: Original Sin, I dunno that I actually trust them to do right by that inspiration. Wasteland 2 checked a lot of boxes too, but in the end it felt really mediocre because of a lot of half-implemented ideas; like XCOM-style combat without the weight or consequence, which turns it into huge busywork overall. Like, if they wildly design something like environmental effects it will just feel like a cheap gimmick, rather than a core part of the game.
Yeah, I share that concern.

To be fair, I didn't even trust Larian to pull off Divinity:OS' battle system and environmental interactions nearly as well as they did. And I'm probably the biggest pre-OS Larian fan on this board!

before they try doing new things like COOP in the chase of doing what everyone else is.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but isn't Larian the only company doing coop CRPGs?
 
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