General Gaming The Outer Worlds - Information Thread, update - "Spacer's Choice Edition" announced for $60 ($10 if you already own base game + both DLC expansions)

[Paperclyp]

I don’t disagree with much of what @Xbob42 said, except I think the writing and character work is pretty darn good. It has made me chuckle a few times already early on in the game. 

 

And despite what I find to be accurate criticisms otherwise, the game clicks with me pretty well. I do miss the vast open world ala a bethesda game, but generally I think this will likely be one of my favorite games of the year.

[Bacon]

22 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

 another hour of "brilliant" writing that's just over-the-top anti-corporate satire hitting you in the face so fucking hard it's determined to break your jaw.

 

The writing is simplistic and sophomoric, and the idea of anyone calling it brilliant really rubs me the wrong way. Unless it really turns around at some later point in the game, it's just blunt and lacks anything resembling depth. I've made no meaningful decisions since starting the game and not a single character has made a case for why I should give a shit about these cartoonish morons.

Agreed 100% and I don't think the writing really gets better. 

 

From the start I hated how in your face the "Corporation BAD!" shit was. It is weird how much people actually like this shit. People complained about Persona 5's "Adults BAD!" but this shit is next level. Like, yeah, corporations can do some fucked up shit IRL. I get. No one likes'em. BUT MAN this game doesn't let it fucking go. 

 

Edit: I'd say the writing is on par with the fallout games except for when it comes to humor and crazy outta this world type of shit. I don't find much in the game to be funny. A few things but not much. And there are no fucking absurd shenanigans going on. Like, you could encounter some crazy shit in fallout. But each world in TOW is so barren and dull outside of the towns. There is nothing happening at all. Hell, even in the towns there really ain't much going on. The Moonman shop guy is like the only character that gives me that wacky fallout vibe. 

[Xbob42]

1 minute ago, Paperclyp said:

I don’t disagree with much of what @Xbob42 said, except I think the writing and character work is pretty darn good. It has made me chuckle a few times already early on in the game. 

As I said, I think this part in particular was absolutely ruined by me playing Disco Elysium first. I already beat that game and was playing through it against last night using cheats to pass every stat check while butt naked. I've had some full-on belly laughs playing that game, it's fucking hilarious. Outer Worlds on the other hand just kind of makes me think of a tamer Borderlands, which is the opposite of funny to me.

[Bacon]

23 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Outer Worlds on the other hand just kind of makes me think of a tamer Borderlands, which is the opposite of funny to me.

Exactly this. I have actually be waiting for a Marauder to ask me to shoot him in the face this whole time. But then I remember marauder's can't fucking speak. 

[Paperclyp]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

As I said, I think this part in particular was absolutely ruined by me playing Disco Elysium first. I already beat that game and was playing through it against last night using cheats to pass every stat check while butt naked. I've had some full-on belly laughs playing that game, it's fucking hilarious. Outer Worlds on the other hand just kind of makes me think of a tamer Borderlands, which is the opposite of funny to me.

I might have to check out Disco. Heard nothing but great things.

[Xbob42]

3 minutes ago, Paperclyp said:

I might have to check out Disco. Heard nothing but great things.

It's really, really good. I hate to keep bringing it up in a thread about a completely different game, but I feel like they're similar enough at a conceptual level (RPGs about story, world building and characters) that it warrants discussion, and I'm really afraid that a lot of people are just not going to try it. I can feel myself getting pre-annoyed at this year's Giant Bomb GOTY coverage, I can already hear Abby arguing with Vinny (who will be the only one on GB staff to play it, I'm sure) about how it's sexist and the writing is bad because she picked a 1 intelligence high physical character while Vinny tries desperately to convince everyone that it's actually the game with not just the best writing this year, but maybe ever.

And I usually don't give a fuck about these kinds of discussions on GB, I just have fun listening to them make a case for their games. But that conversation will suck to listen to because it will echo exactly what's going to happen on the larger scale with Disco Elysium and Outer Worlds. And that's just a bummer. People who love high quality writing should absolutely play Disco Elysium. It hooked me hard enough to not just beat it, but immediately start a second playthrough (Ask me how many big ass RPGs I've played through twice, the answer is 0) because I NEEDED to see more of the writing, the things I missed.

[Keyser_Soze]

7 hours ago, TwinIon said:

Then there are the technological limitations that felt so arbitrary. So many loading screens between areas, many of which weren't particularly large. In an age of endless wilderness in RDR2, having to load a tiny laboratory interior feels backwards. Even the large outdoor spaces felt small and isolated, and the cities and towns felt tiny and empty. Companion AI and pathfinding are straight out of the early days of 3D. The questing system is serviceable, but also incredibly limited. Only being able to handle a single quest at a time, it made dealing with multiple quests in the same area a chore of manual discovery rather than simply placing markers on a map. A map which, on my Xbox One X, was incredibly slow to load. There were times that I think it might have been faster to run to my destination than to open the map screen, wait for the map, and load my destination in fast travel. The inventory screen is serviceable, but again, feels out of an older time we should have long passed. Does anyone enjoy dealing with weight limits and juggling weapon and armor durability? Does anyone want to figure out which random bit of food is ideal to load into my healing vape for any given encounter?

 

Maybe it's a limitation limited by the crappy consoles you're playing on.

What do you mean being able to handle one quest at a time? You can get a waypoint for one quest at a time but you can do whatever quest you want, if you have it, at any time.

Menus load right away on PC and fast travel and saves are like under a second.

[Keyser_Soze]

2 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

The writing is simplistic and sophomoric, and the idea of anyone calling it brilliant really rubs me the wrong way. Unless it really turns around at some later point in the game, it's just blunt and lacks anything resembling depth. I've made no meaningful decisions since starting the game and not a single character has made a case for why I should give a shit about these cartoonish morons.

 

I've seen you complain about the writing time and time again comparing it to Borderlands but maybe you haven't played Borderlands in a while. The humor there is mostly raunchy and cheesy edgelord humor and completely misses the mark. This game is mostly clever to me. I think there are some incorrect interpretations, for instance Bacon saying "Corporations bad" but the game isn't making a statement about corporations it's setting up the world where it's the norm to basically have employees be slaves (at least on the first planet). But it's the player's mind who would say, "man this is bad."

Personally my biggest problem about the first area is that you have no chance to make peace with the marauders, you have to kill them. I would have enjoyed one of the early quests where you have to get their fingers if you could have resolved the issue peacefully because these marauders were actually former citizens of Edgewood. So they should have some semblance of humanity.

[Xbob42]

15 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I've seen you complain about the writing time and time again comparing it to Borderlands but maybe you haven't played Borderlands in a while. The humor there is mostly raunchy and cheesy edgelord humor and completely misses the mark. This game is mostly clever to me. I think there are some incorrect interpretations, for instance Bacon saying "Corporations bad" but the game isn't making a statement about corporations it's setting up the world where it's the norm to basically have employees be slaves (at least on the first planet). But it's the player's mind who would say, "man this is bad."

Personally my biggest problem about the first area is that you have no chance to make peace with the marauders, you have to kill them. I would have enjoyed one of the early quests where you have to get their fingers if you could have resolved the issue peacefully because these marauders were actually former citizens of Edgewood. So they should have some semblance of humanity.

Uh, maybe you haven't played Borderlands in a while? The game at this point is just corporations at (literal) war using their employees as slaves/soldiers with super-hilarious jokes about pay docked for this or that or no insurance for dying in combat and other mind-blowing bits of humor like that. Borderlands 3 is strikingly similar to Outer Worlds in a lot of ways. People talking about how this ham-fisted shit is setting up the world would be fine and all if it wasn't so over-the-top cartoony and ridiculous. It shot past satire and parody and went straight into wacky joke town. Haha, when it's time to pay your grave rental fees, they're inherited by your closest relative, except that's not family, it means closest person relative to you when you died! Har har! Boy howdy we sure have fun here in Wackytown.

[Keyser_Soze]

6 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Uh, maybe you haven't played Borderlands in a while? The game at this point is just corporations at (literal) war using their employees as slaves/soldiers with super-hilarious jokes about pay docked for this or that or no insurance for dying in combat and other mind-blowing bits of humor like that. Borderlands 3 is strikingly similar to Outer Worlds in a lot of ways. People talking about how this ham-fisted shit is setting up the world would be fine and all if it wasn't so over-the-top cartoony and ridiculous. It shot past satire and parody and went straight into wacky joke town. Haha, when it's time to pay your grave rental fees, they're inherited by your closest relative, except that's not short for family, it means closest persona relative to you when you died! Har har! Boy howdy we sure have fun here in Wackytown.

 

It's brilliant writing. Shame you don't enjoy it.

[Bacon]

10 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

What do you mean being able to handle one quest at a time? You can get a waypoint for one quest at a time but you can do whatever quest you want, if you have it, at any time.

He means, that you can have more than one quest active at one time. You an only have the Waypoints for one quest active. As in, there are quests A and B. If you set Quest A as your active quest the waypoints for it appears on your map and shows you how far the waypoints are. If you want the waypoints for Quest B to show up you need to set Quest B to active thus making Quest A no longer active and the waypoints for Quest are A no longer shown. 

 

It really sucks. It doesn't matter if you can still do them, the issue is that there is no longer any indicator where that quest is now. It is annoying to go through the menu anytime you want to change your active objective. I have already complained about this before. 

 

2 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I think there are some incorrect interpretations, for instance Bacon saying "Corporations bad" but the game isn't making a statement about corporations it's setting up the world where it's the norm to basically have employees be slaves (at least on the first planet). But it's the player's mind who would say, "man this is bad."

That sounds a lot like you are saying "Corporations BAD!" No shit there is more to it. Just like Persona isn't JUST "adults bad". But the shit isn't that deep. "Everyone is a corporate wage salve, but at least we got food and are safe behind our walls!" Then the characters are either, "The Board sucks! Down with the Board!"Or they are like, "The Board sucks, but there ain't nothing to be done and at least I am taken care of." I don't get the difference you are trying to point out. I don't get how this "corporations bad".  No one in the game seems to like the board unless they work for the Board. No one seems to like the Corporations unless they work for the Corporations. 

[Xbob42]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

It's brilliant writing. Shame you don't enjoy it.

Well if you think this writing is brilliant, I strongly encourage you to play Disco Elysium. I really wish I thought the Outer Worlds had brilliant writing.

[Biggie]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

I hate to keep bringing it up in a thread about a completely different game

Then stop? 
 

Wanna talk about poor writing? How about what you write about every new release. Save time and just copy and paste. 

[Xbob42]

8 minutes ago, Biggie said:

Then stop? 
 

Wanna talk about poor writing? How about what you write about every new release. Save time and just copy and paste. 

If it gets a reaction of you it was all worth it, sweetheart! 

[best3444]

Xbob is the most negative person on these boards. Stop playing Outer Worlds and jerk off to Disco Elysium for fucks sake. Jesus you get annoying.

[Xbob42]

34 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Xbob is the most negative person on these boards. Stop playing Outer Worlds and jerk off to Disco Elysium for fucks sake. Jesus you get annoying.

I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your generic, glassy-eyed circle jerk for the latest hot release, I know it's mighty inconvenient for you to see posts that you don't like, but that's just the way it goes I'm afraid.

[Bacon]

Back to an older subject, I don't care about banging the companions. I had already said I'd prefer the companions to be less important, like fallout. That said, it is a real damn shame you can't charm anyone into bed to advance quests. I feel like the Charm stat is just super wasted. There are hardly any Charm checks, unlike perception and intelligence checks, and any Charm check is just flirting so the other person gives you more money. 

[Keyser_Soze]

The thing about banging someone is they generally have to be attractive enough on a physical level if not on a personality level which I haven’t gotten from any of these companions. Not that I ever thought it was on the table for this type of game.

[Bacon]

2 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

The thing about banging someone is they generally have to be attractive enough on a physical level if not on a personality level which I haven’t gotten from any of these companions. Not that I ever thought it was on the table for this type of game.

I don't even want to bang the companions. I just want the literally charm the pants off NPCs. Like, let's say there is one of those hard ass bad bitch type of character who won't give you the information or item you need to progress the quest. It seems like you can't progress without killing her and taking what you need from her corpse. But then all of a sudden there is a charm check and then the next thing you know your character is in her bed and you now have the item and info you need.

 

Ok, that is a bit cliche, but you get what I mean. This is a space adventure game dammit! Let me RP as Han Solo or Star-Lord! 

[Mr.Vic20]

12 hours ago, Paperclyp said:

I might have to check out Disco. Heard nothing but great things.

Definitely should. 

[Mr.Vic20]

39 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

The thing about banging someone is they generally have to be attractive enough on a physical level if not on a personality level which I haven’t gotten from any of these companions. Not that I ever thought it was on the table for this type of game.

Then you CLEARLY haven't recruited SAM yet! 

[Bacon]

I wish the companions had more niche rolls as well. Like ME. I can't see any reason to not dress every companion in the heaviest of armors and equip them with the highest DPS weapon in the game, the mini-gun. The only reason not to is the RP element and that isn't really a valid option on harder modes. I'd actually prefer the companions to be uncustomizable except for perks. And even then, I wouldn't really care if I couldn't pick that either. In ME I had auto-level on for every character that wasn't Shepard. 

[legend]

I finished DE and now have started my run through this.

 

I've decided to play a smooth talking compulsive liar that begrudgingly cares just enough to not be a psychopath. It's going pretty well so far!

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

I don't even want to bang the companions. I just want the literally charm the pants off NPCs. Like, let's say there is one of those hard ass bad bitch type of character who won't give you the information or item you need to progress the quest. It seems like you can't progress without killing her and taking what you need from her corpse. But then all of a sudden there is a charm check and then the next thing you know your character is in her bed and you now have the item and info you need.

 

Ok, that is a bit cliche, but you get what I mean. This is a space adventure game dammit! Let me RP as Han Solo or Star-Lord! 

 

Well yeah I agree with this and I said it earlier about that quest with getting the fingers from the marauders. I thought it would be better if you could interact with them and maybe come out with a peaceful outcome. Like say, "Hey so and so has a bounty and we only need your finger as proof but I can let you live if so and so happens and I can say it's this person's finger or you cut off your own finger and you live" - or something like that.

[Bacon]

11 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Like say, "Hey so and so has a bounty and we only need your finger as proof but I can let you live if so and so happens and I can say it's this person's finger or you cut off your own finger and you live" - or something like that.

Bruh, I thought the exact same thing for that quest. But I am pretty sure marauders literally can't even talk according to the lore. Like, I think Parvati even mentions that all marauders have some sort of disease that forces them to act like that. Like, it wasn't even something you can ask her, she just said it one time after walking past some dead marauders. It is possible that I am misinterpreting that comment by taking it too literally. 

[best3444]

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your generic, glassy-eyed circle jerk for the latest hot release, I know it's mighty inconvenient for you to see posts that you don't like, but that's just the way it goes I'm afraid.

 

You're a fantastic poster and give great impressions. My apologies. 

[Keyser_Soze]

45 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Bruh, I thought the exact same thing for that quest. But I am pretty sure marauders literally can't even talk according to the lore. Like, I think Parvati even mentions that all marauders have some sort of disease that forces them to act like that. Like, it wasn't even something you can ask her, she just said it one time after walking past some dead marauders. It is possible that I am misinterpreting that comment by taking it too literally. 

 

I killed them all before she was in my party.

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I killed them all before she was in my party.

Oh, I didn't mean during the quest. Just randomly and on a different world too. Just said it as I walked by some marauders I killed. 

[Xbob42]

Last post, I swear: PC Gamer stole my line.

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-has-ruined-the-outer-worlds-for-me/

[TwinIon]

15 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Maybe it's a limitation limited by the crappy consoles you're playing on.

What do you mean being able to handle one quest at a time? You can get a waypoint for one quest at a time but you can do whatever quest you want, if you have it, at any time.

Menus load right away on PC and fast travel and saves are like under a second.

There can only be one active quest at a time. If I have a bunch of missions in a given zone, there's no way to see mission markers for them at the same time. So it's quite easy to be right next to a mission waypoint and not realize it. It's a minor thing, but it's also a quality of life issue that I feel like has been handled better by any number of other games.

 

I understand that the load times are going to be longer on a spinning disk, but even worse than the load times are that they exist at all. I can wander around a large outdoor area with a bunch of stuff happening, but for some reason a relatively small lab with only a couple rooms requires a loading transition? 

 

Besides, having better performance on the PC doesn't excuse poor performance on an 1X.

[Dodger]

I haven't time to play too much and it doesn't help I already restarted to respec, but I do find it funny this over the top corporations are evil story comes from a company that let one of the biggest corporations in the world buy them out. Corporations must not be evil when they present with you with a fat check. I get the point, the soulless evil megacorp I personally work for just made us all sign arbitration agreements so the company can fuck you over after they've been fucking you over or literally will force you to quit if you don't sign it. Still, this story works a little better optically before they "sold out". 

[Bacon]

30 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Last post, I swear: PC Gamer stole my line.

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-has-ruined-the-outer-worlds-for-me/

This made me want to check out that Tides of Numenera. It is only 11-ish bucks right now, but I have also yet to enjoy one of these new-era isometric RPGs. 

[Keyser_Soze]

17 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

Besides, having better performance on the PC doesn't excuse poor performance on an 1X.

 

Consoles are old and developers give no fucks, that's just the way it is.

[TwinIon]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Consoles are old and developers give no fucks, that's just the way it is.

I think the actual issue is that this is a developer that was very happy to take a well established game type and technology, quirks, failures and all, and to make another one of those games with their own spin. They put no effort into making something new from a gameplay or usability standpoint. It's obviously possible to do more within the constraints of the current systems, but they didn't want to push the envelope in any particular way.

[TwinIon]

54 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Last post, I swear: PC Gamer stole my line.

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-has-ruined-the-outer-worlds-for-me/

I guess I need to play Disco Elysium.

 

That article does bring up something that I'd kinda forgotten about, which is how little your decisions in Outer Worlds actually matter. I think that was one of the reasons that getting to the end surprised me the most. Yeah, I thought it was a longer game, but I also really expected my decisions to come back. I figured that how I resolved certain situations or my standing with different factions would matter, but it really never did. I guess I got some discounts a few times, but that was the extent of my impact.