Why does the graphics look so outdated?

[neuronfly]

Feels like I am playing a game from 1999, Why does the graphics look so outdated? What is the reason behind this?

[oldrocker99]

For we people who Kickstarted this game ("Project Eternity") back in 2013, the character sprites against prerendered backgrounds was a wanted feature. Until this past decade, games of that nature had been few and far between.

[neuronfly]

Originally posted by oldrocker99:

For we people who Kickstarted this game ("Project Eternity") back in 2013, the character sprites against prerendered backgrounds was a wanted feature. Until this past decade, games of that nature had been few and far between.

And why is the combat in this game so bad?

[SSerponi76]

Originally posted by neuronfly:

And why is the combat in this game so bad?

Explain what you mean with "bad".

[neuronfly]

Originally posted by SSerponi76:

Originally posted by neuronfly:

And why is the combat in this game so bad?

Explain what you mean with "bad".

Very clunky like something from 1999-2001 era. Doesn't feel like an RPG of this era.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by neuronfly:

Very clunky like something from 1999-2001 era. Doesn't feel like an RPG of this era.

What games do you compare with? There are only very few games of this genre!

[Armanz]

Pretty sure dudes a troll.

[oldrocker99]

Originally posted by Armanz:

Pretty sure dudes a troll.

'Spossible...

[Dixon Sider]

I am interested to hear of a game that has better combat than this. I have been looking for like 5 years. OP please enlighten me.

[Kiodin]

3d models are outdated, but fine. Pre-rendered models are quite beautiful. In general, visuals are a bit behind Divnity 2 and even Pillars 2, but decent and it's not really a problem for cRPG's. The combat has it's flaws but it's far from being bad.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Wilson Santos:

visuals are a bit behind Divnity 2 and even Pillars 2,

Graphics in those two games are washed out too much, giving a cartoonish look. In PoE, the graphics and added 2D animations (lighting, particle effects, water tide) are more well-balanced. Sword Coast Legends looked good in some areas, too, but tried to offer camera rotation/movement which lead to problems.

[Kiodin]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Wilson Santos:

visuals are a bit behind Divnity 2 and even Pillars 2,

Graphics in those two games are washed out too much, giving a cartoonish look. In PoE, the graphics and added 2D animations (lighting, particle effects, water tide) are more well-balanced. Sword Coast Legends looked good in some areas, too, but tried to offer camera rotation/movement which lead to problems.

I see your point, but I like Pillars 2 visuals over Pillars 1.

[Rad-Icarus]

Is this a serious topic?

It's a game using the Infinity engine that was used in a lot of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate I and II and Planescape Torment.

The graphics are the best part of this. A bit nostalgic, but also very detailed.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Rad-Icarus:

Is this a serious topic?

It's a game using the Infinity engine that was used in a lot of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate I and II and Planescape Torment.

Not true. It doesn't use the Infinity engine, but is based on the Unity engine.

[oldrocker99]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Rad-Icarus:

Is this a serious topic?

It's a game using the Infinity engine that was used in a lot of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate I and II and Planescape Torment.

Not true. It doesn't use the Infinity engine, but is based on the Unity engine.

The devs used the general-purpose Unity game engine to make their PoE engine, which works well enough that it was used for Torment:Tides of Numenera, and was credited as the PoE engine.

[LooksLikeDaniel]

Originally posted by neuronfly:

Feels like I am playing a game from 1999, Why does the graphics look so outdated? What is the reason behind this?

From what I understand, Obsidian's goal in creating this game was to make an isometric rpg in the style and spirit of classic D&D games like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dales.

And that's what they did. They used D&D 5e as their mechanics architecture (for lack of a better term) just as Baldur's gate and it's ilk used 2e. (or 2.5e. Whatever it was) They made the graphics look outdated and the controls clunky like the old games and when you clicked on an npc, you were greeted with paragraphs of text.

They even put in the flashing x thing form Baldur's Gate when you click where you want to move.

What they may not have taken into account is that while Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights are great games, not everything about them has necessarily aged well. Hence, the sharper, more modern graphics and cleaner combat and other quality of life improvements they put into PoE2 while still maintaining the spirit of the old games.