The first gameplay reveal was met with overwhelming positivity
What? The reception was such that I felt really bad for Larian, that they got trashed so hard. I'm not saying there was no positivity, but there was a lot of negativity too.
Go to any video of the PAX gameplay reveal on YouTube and you will see significantly more likes than dislikes. I’m not sure where you saw any reception that was encourage pity for Larian. Despite some vocal opposition here and there, there hasn’t been much for them to complain about.
Well, more likes than dislikes on youtube doesn't really say much... And I watched the reveal live, and looked at many different places around that time. Yes, it was a vocal minority, but it was very vocal, and there was indeed a lot of hate towards Larian. There was even a thread on reddit along the lines of "I feel bad for Larian" that was exactly about that.
And whether there "wasn't much to complain about"... One thing is that people will always find something to complain about and the other that they had some of the same material to complain about that we have now. And people, like yours truly, certainly do complain a lot now. Of course we have a lot more material courtesy of EA, but the preview was a glimpse. Turn-based, for one thing. Origins, for another. Systems they've actually changed based on feedback.
