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microwave casserole posted:I don't think we're in a permanent downhill slope at all, we're just in an uncomfortable transition period between polygons and voxels. I haven't done extensive research on this, but it was an interesting thing I saw a few weeks ago and it doesn't appear to have been proven BS yet, although people are obviously skeptical of its practical applications: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gAbgBu8R4 Their refusal to provide a detailed explanation of what makes this better than any other voxel renderer is either because they're lying or because they're protecting their trade secrets until they get official funding, depending on who you want to believe.
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Aug 22, 2011 19:35
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Doing a Brutal Doom run and I'm up to the ending of E4M2. Is the Cyberdemon supposed to be able to walk over the small wall in front of him? The obvious telefrag opportunity seems nearly impossible to pull off. I think I've only played this level once before, so I don't quite remember how it is in regular Doom.
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Sep 3, 2011 19:48
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I can't imagine playing Descent with a mouse; for the reasons already mentioned, it feels like an unnatural way to control ship movement. It works for "human" FPSes because it's analogous to the nearly instantaneous action of actually looking at stuff. I feel that joystick is really the way to go, even though it's inconvenient; but even a dual-anlog pad would "feel" better than a mouse even though there are obviously some issues with the number of buttons. Just my two cents.
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Sep 6, 2011 17:50
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Zeether posted:Okay, gently caress E4M2 in Thy Flesh Consumed. Can't beat it in Brutal Doom because I keep getting my rear end kicked by the invisible pinky demons and the lost souls. I made it to the end, but it's impossible to do the end properly because the Cyberdemon, who's supposed to stay in one place so you can telefrag him, no longer stays in place. So I just had to reload a million attempts to run past him and somehow carve through the pack of cacodemons and get to the exit. Which is possible, I discovered.
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Sep 19, 2011 19:28
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For the longest time, I stuck with arrow keys, R-Ctrl to crouch, R-Shift to run, Numpad-1 to jump (in Dark Forces), and I think Numpad-0 for any other function that the game needed. And a flight simulator joystick in my right hand. I dunno, I was a weird kid. I still have my quirks these days, though. You can pry F=Use from my cold, dead hands.
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Dec 13, 2011 21:33
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abagofcheetos posted:Yeah Romero and Carmack basically need each other, but for some reason haven't figured that out yet. Clearly we need to stage some sort of wacky surprise reunion scenario!
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Feb 1, 2012 20:07
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The Thief games really are just plain incredible. I don't even think they really need a lot of graphical enhancement other than widescreen. Obviously the models are awful, but the excellent use of lighting and smartly designed architecture make it easy to overlook the flaws. They also have some of the best sound design ever. No other game quite captures that feeling of exploring a building and learning all of its little nooks and crannies, all while trying not to get caught. I think that's the real reason it's so engaging: it taps into something that a lot of us used to want to do as kids, and now, virtually, we can finally carry it through to its logical conclusion. The level design is deceptively brilliant, as the architecture is both realistic and memorable, despite looking somewhat mundane on the surface. This is the main area where other attempts at "stealth gaming" have failed. (NOTE: If you get to the first zombie mission in Thief 1 and hate it, don't worry. It's really the only part of the game that people are split on.)
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Feb 9, 2012 18:42
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The Kins posted:Yeah, this is what bugs me about modern "classic FPS revival" games, none of them attempt to capture the nonsensical maze-like design of the maps in those games. Same here. Serious Sam was cool and all, in its own way, but the level design was pretty unremarkable for the most part. It was still very much done in that Unreal-inspired style where there's continuity to everything (but not as good as Unreal). That's fine for what it is, but I really want someone to make a flat-out arcadey FPS with "levels" that exist solely to be cool in and of themselves.
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Feb 12, 2012 17:06
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Manboy No 5 posted:A wad designed for vanilla monster and item behaviour on UV For the record, I wanted to say that this post is brilliant.
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Jun 8, 2012 17:48
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I too wish UT3 were more popular, as it really has a lot going for it, including what I think is the best take on the whole Domination/Assault team-based thing they were always trying to refine throughout the franchise. Honestly I think the main thing working against it was art direction. If you took the same exact game and gave it the more simple and colorful aesthetic of UT99 I legitimately believe it would be a lot more fun to play. The characters and maps are actually so detailed that you feel like you're going to break something if you have too much fun. Not to mention the fact that the character designs are so cluttered that they have to put blue & red glows around them in team modes because otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell what colors they are.
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Jun 19, 2012 19:28
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Portal's biggest accomplishments were conceptual, not technological. It's cool enough to be able to walk into a room that looks like it's not actually there or whatever, but making portals portable, and using them to connect a room to itself, and doing physics through them, is a whole other thing.
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Aug 1, 2012 17:38
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SparkTR posted:What soundtrack should I use for Descent 2? The midi and CD versions are completely different and from what I can gather there's several different CD versions. The MIDI soundtrack was considered low-priority because they were much more excited about the CD soundtrack, and for good reason -- it's one of my favorite game soundtracks ever. The MIDI songs are actually really cool too, but they only bothered making enough of them to cover the 4-level demo. There's a list of the different CD soundtracks here: http://www.descent2.com/goodies/music/d2_tracklist.shtml In summary, there's the original 12-song soundtrack. (13 tracks because track 1 is the data track; and the title/credits music is split into 2 tracks.) Then there are two alternate soundtracks from re-releases and add-on packs. Each of these has a few extended versions and a few new songs. In most cases, the extended versions are exactly that -- the original songs, but just longer. (This even includes Type O Negative's "Haunted" instrumental, whose structure now more closely resembles that of the original song, although it's still not a full 10 minutes!) The exception is the song "Ratzez", where each version has some stuff that isn't in the other version. So if possible, the ideal would be to take the stuff from the 2 alternate CDs and put them all together. I forget how much freedom the source ports give you in that regard. But if you have to choose from just one of the CDs, go with the original for sure. It's great. Sir Lemming fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Aug 12, 2012 |
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Aug 12, 2012 13:53
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"Retro" is in these days (kind of a paradox, I know) and there is no better franchise to retrofy than UT. I really hope they reboot it some day. Like many others have said, I've been pretty much perfectly fine with the way the franchise has evolved except for the aesthetics and a few other ideas that didn't quite pan out. (To be fair, UT99 has some modes that aren't all that great too.) I'd love a new UT that looks more like UT99 with a higher polycount, focuses on having a lot of maps instead of a few ridiculously detailed ones, brings back the energetic music, and incorporates all of the good ideas from the past few games (including vehicles). And some terribly-implemented new mode just for tradition's sake. Something I would also like is a really robust MMO-style character creator, so that there's some element of persistence to go along with the inevitable social media integration and all that stuff. Seems like it would be easy enough to ignore if you wanted to, but a nice bonus if you care.
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Sep 8, 2012 19:11
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I like level design where you backtrack over the same areas a little because, basically, it mirrors what we do in real life. We go back and forth to the same few places for a while, have new and evolving experiences, and eventually, in some sense, "conquer" those places. Or at least it's what we want to do. There's something innately satisfying about that. And so it makes for a satisfying game, too. Each level (or "area" in a more Half-Life style game) you complete is a little victory, building up to the big victory at the end of the game. In 100% linear games, you don't really get that sense of victory until the very end, and even when you do, you almost feel like you stumbled into it. It's harder to look back and remember how you got there. In order for level design to be memorable, we need a chance to actually memorize it.
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Mar 2, 2013 06:26
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I remember getting to the last level of Doom 2 and basically not being able to beat it until we got a RAM upgrade. We shrank the window size all the way down with the - key but it still chugged.
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Mar 19, 2013 21:14
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Mak0rz posted:EDIT: I've never played Descent, but all this talk reminds me of the demo for Hellbender that came with my Windows 95 disc. The drat thing was near impossible to play without a 43-axis controller, but I remember having fun with it. Has anyone else played it?  The Windows 95 era is still my favorite era for video game music by a mile. I guess it was just that perfect storm of improving technology and a lot of creative freedom.Which ties perfectly into DescentChat, because seriously, that Descent 2 soundtrack is such a masterpiece. I remember for some reason I used to only give it half credit because I was under the impression that it was all licensed music. Then I discovered that the heavily-advertised Type O Negative / Ogre involvement made up about 2 tracks, and the rest was just extremely inventive and well-produced in-house stuff. (Then later I discovered that Type O Negative is awesome anyway.) I know it's a tired sentiment in this thread, but I really want game studios to take themselves less seriously again. It shows in the soundtracks as well as everything else. Every game has the same dramatic orchestral soundtrack.
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Apr 19, 2013 16:55
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I'm thinking it might be difficult to market a fantasy FPS today, because you would have to really drive home the fact that "it's not Oblivion, but you should still play it".
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May 28, 2013 15:58
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The first FEAR is the only one in the series that grabbed me. Granted I've only played demos of the other ones, but they just didn't seem to have the same viscerally satisfying tactical combat that made the first one so great.
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Jun 25, 2013 23:44
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closeted republican posted:Almost every major FPS released in 1998 and 1999 has aged very well. Unreal 1 and Half-Life 1 are still some of the best single-player FPS games out there, SiN is basically the true sequel to Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament 99 are the apex of the Quake-style multiplayer FPS, and Team Fortress Classic is a blast to play. Aside from the low-poly character models, UT99 is still a legitimately good-looking game.
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Sep 25, 2013 15:29
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BoredMarc posted:drat, Scorge of Armagons music is cheesy as gently caress =( It sounds like what people expected Quake's music to sound like when they heard that Nine Inch Nails Man was doing it.
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Nov 16, 2013 01:53
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This is why you should never, ever make jokes about resurrecting a hated derail, because guess what will happen? On another topic, I was starting to go through CyRaptor's 20th Anniversary Doom stream thing, but the videos seem to have disappeared. Is there a 1-week limit or something?
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Dec 29, 2013 05:08
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UT3 had so much going for it (more than 2K4 IMO) but the weird "Space China" aesthetic and even higher level of clutter in the maps really hindered it.
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Mar 13, 2014 21:10
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Yeah, 2K4 was clearly an apology for 2K3, and quite a good one. Calling the next one Unreal Tournament 3 was yet another way of saying 2K3 never happened.
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Mar 14, 2014 19:09
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I actually would prefer a UT4 announcement to any sort of UT99 "revival" because it's already playable in HD with virtually no modification needed (and it still looks surprisingly good), and it's also so cheap and DRM-free that it might as well be free-to-play. I know they could still do something browser-based and do some cool new stuff with matchmaking and all that. But it's probably the game that needs it least. A new UT game would definitely interest me more, even if it turns out bad. I'm hoping they've learned their lesson from UT3, which was basically a victim of their own hubris. Every time someone on the development team says the word "cinematic", somebody else should loudly play tracker music (on a player with proper looping) until that person leaves the room in shame.
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May 3, 2014 14:19
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Of course a lot of it is just surface stuff, but that stuff is still kind of important. The look and feel of a game are a pretty big part of what makes it memorable, even if it's obviously not the core of it. Plus it's all we can comment on at the moment. The mission statement of Doom 4 seems to be the exact opposite of Doom 3's, which is a good sign to me. Whereas Doom 3 sought to update the franchise to be more like the FPS games around it (a completely reasonable goal at the time) Doom 4 seems to be an attempt to ditch whatever is bad about modern FPSes, while (hopefully) still moving forward and not just playing it safe in the opposite direction. I still don't like that it's just called "Doom" but that's my biggest problem with it so far, which is encouraging.
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Jul 18, 2014 16:14
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Game Informer posted their own detailed write-up of the Doom 4 demo: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/07/17/a-lenghty-look-at-id-software_2700_s-new-doom.aspx
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Jul 18, 2014 20:53
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Brackhar posted:I don't get the appeal of Brutal Doom. Is it something you can only understand by playing it? To me, the appeal is that it adds a little extra flair to Doom without changing the overall style. Naturally some people feel that it still changes too much (and to be fair, they do update it more than they probably should). But it sort of feels to me like what Doom 2 could've been if they had decided (and/or been able) to differentiate it more from the original. I don't mean that as a slight against Doom 2, really -- it's just an interesting alternative.
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Jul 21, 2014 18:58
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I know it's still early, but that footage really does look promising. I like how the map design seems to focus on smaller rooms with distinct architecture, rather than wide open areas with lots of random clutter that looks pretty but doesn't really serve any functional purpose. Of course, they'll be adding SOME clutter later, but it looks to me like these levels have a stronger skeleton than the ones in UT3. Unless the whole demo is actually just showing me Deck17 again and I'm not recognizing it. (I know there's one shot of Deck17 though; I'd recognize that slanted wall with a crate next to it anywhere!)
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Jul 30, 2014 11:18
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Segmentation Fault posted:Am I the only one who liked UT3? I legit think it's better than 2K3 or 2K4, but its aesthetic seems designed to actively prevent people from enjoying it. It doesn't "feel" fun.
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Jul 30, 2014 13:19
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unpacked robinhood posted:The maps feel warmer That's actually CRT radiation.
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Sep 30, 2014 12:00
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Prey was really good except for the actual feel of the combat, which was clunky in that typical mid-2000s way. Still a memorable experience with lots of great set pieces, though.
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Nov 13, 2014 21:19
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haveblue posted:Descent 2 wins because it was done by Type O Negative and one of the guys from Skinny Puppy. Actually, only one song was by Type O Negative -- a shortened instrumental of their preexisting song "Haunted" -- and maybe two at most were by Ogre. The rest were done by the same in-house music team that did Descent 1's soundtrack, surprisingly enough. I feel like the PSX version of Decent 1 was a rest run for them to do a Redbook audio soundtrack; the production doesn't sound quite as polished. But they got it right when Decent 2 came out. Another techno/industrial/metal soundtrack in this same vein is the one for Sierra's weird 2D deathmatch platformer Hunter/Hunted. Also in-house as far as I can tell.
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Jan 4, 2015 14:10
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Don't think I saw this posted yet. Unreal Tournament: The New One has its first fully-textured map up and running, and it looks fantastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4tNU2jgTZU Still cutting-edge graphics with a big fancy skybox, but the overall aesthetic is closer to Mirror's Edge than Gears of War. Clean, crisp, easy to tell what the hell you're actually running around in. I have high hopes! You can download the latest pre-alpha from the sidebar at http://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/ with a free registration. It's got an actual full-blown installer and all that, very easy to set up. Oh, and apparently Unreal Engine 4 is 100% free now as well, no developer's subscription or anything.
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Mar 3, 2015 23:45
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Jblade posted:Also the new UT looks great but that map seems to overuse the hell out of shiny floors. I mean it's great they're back in but still, it's actually kind of distracting. I thought so when I watched the video, but during actual gameplay you barely notice it. Even with no enemies. Or maybe my video card just doesn't do the shiny. I skimmed through some of the other unfinished maps that ship with the alpha and some of them have massive potential. I can't check right now but I think one called Cannon had a lot of cool jump pad stuff, and another one was very reminiscent of that awesome mountaintop castle map from UT99. But with a cavey skybox.
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Mar 4, 2015 20:36
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DM-Peak was indeed the level I was talking about from UT99. The one in the new UT that reminds me of it is called DM-Cannon. Even untextured, it's already a thing of beauty and exactly the reason I play UT games: 
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Mar 5, 2015 12:49
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It's like an Impact Hammer but with a little bit of range. Fully charged, it's quite deadly. I've always been a fan.
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Mar 5, 2015 20:22
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Zaphod42 posted:Quake is weird. Everything about it on paper sounds like it should look horrible. Its a brown and black mess. Its low resolution, low polygon, and everything's like hardcore gothic. I think the level design still holds up. It's still pretty abstract and makes better use of verticality than most FPSes that came after that era. There was still a sense of "holy crap look what we can do now!"
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Jun 11, 2015 17:22
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Amethyst posted:It rules that all of the people in this thread who complained that brutal doom would ruin the game forever turned out to be 100% correct. Yeah it's kind of hilarious how this game is shaping up to provide ammunition to both sides of the Brutal Doom argument. The "makers" of Doom are agreeing that Doom needs more gore and fatalities. It's the ultimate validation. Personally I agree that the enemies look too bland at the moment. I don't get why they're all gray. And it looks like they kind of just run at the player so he can shoot/tear them, rather than the intriguing balance of hitscan and projectile attacks with the occasional pinky demon to keep you on your toes. Hopefully the full game will remedy that.
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Jun 15, 2015 16:25
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I feel that both HL games represent, to differing extents, the best way to do a story-driven FPS. Whether you actually like story-driven FPSes is personal preference. But I feel that Valve gave a masterclass (or five) on how to balance story with interactivity. There are so many things the HL and Portal games do well that every developer continually tries and fails to imitate, even beyond the scope of just first-person games. I don't think many other games have struck that same balance, even though there are plenty with better shooting action.
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Jul 16, 2015 16:12
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RAGE v0.3 discovered
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Aug 6, 2015 02:23
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