[The E]

There's no need to worry about S42, it's looking really good:

[Black_Yoshi1230]

Gamedevelopement is ~magic. It doesn't matter how every other dev or industry does it, CIG are doing it RIGHT. Nobody's ever tried to make a game "this complex" before. After 5 years they've already got bare-bones mechanics, 1 star system, and a handful of flyable ships. Doesn't a scope as huge as that justify all the bugs? I mean, the fact that someone promised they'll have 100 star systems eventually automatically makes the code more prone to bugs, you just can't help it:

I think I'm just going to step back and watch the Making of Deus Ex: Human Revolution video again...

[Firesteel]

Yeah, these people's answers to art is "Art is getting better because of Moore's Law", and that kind of sentence is not even wrong.

It's also a symptom of a complex of inferiority towards cinema and TV, the high fidelity push with FMV in the 90s and with polygons in the last ten years can be seen as a way to close the gap by people with that inferiority complex or even a push from marketing departments that don't quite understand how videogames work. I wouldn't be surprised if the cinematic fixations of the last 15 years in the triple A environment might be a product of marketing departments who feel comfortable in selling only movie-like experiences and developers who don't consider the new medium a full form of art of its own but rather than something you do when you can't get to hollywood.

And Chris Roberts probably produced the first AAA game with Wing Commander, now it's come full circle, once he had (relatively) limited budgets and publishers keeping him in check, now he is the master of himself and nobody is able to keep him concentrated in making the damn game and he won't be able to stop until people keep buying his JPEGs.

Is that inferiority complex still around? (in general I mean) I feel like most AAA companies have been moving away from purely emulating movies, though I don't pay attention to everything. I've been playing Rise of the Tomb Raider after upgrading my graphics card and while it definitely has its big set piece action sequences, they haven't felt overbearing so far and for me, the highlights of the game are the optional tombs, as with the 2013 game.

It could just be what I've been playing, but outside of some scripted sequences, games have gone back to being happy with being gamey, though some of this I think has to do with open world games being the current trend and it's much harder to make a "cinematic" experience when you've told players they can do whatever they want.

As for Chris Roberts, art often comes from adversity and constraints. I've avoided Star Citizen news after I realized that backing it turned out to be a mistake given their progress and I agree that the ludicrous money he's continued to make hasn't helped get the game significantly closer to its goal. I'm sure there's a positive feedback loop inside CIG that's used to consuming a large amount of money on a regular basis and must get regular injections or bad things will happen.

[Luis Dias]

I do agree with you it's getting better, but there are still a lot of signs of the disease all over the place, and Star Citizen is a great example of this.

Watch that Call of Duty trailer above, it's filled with "cinematic experiences". Neatly integrated with gaming, but still it's obvious where the focus lies.

And I'll even give a prediction: given how VR is set to make a splash entrance in the next years, games will probably even be *more* cinematic than even movies ever were. At least for a while.

[Phantom Hoover]

In this specific case it's also that Chris Roberts watched Star Wars and decided his life goal was to mantle George Lucas.

[Det. Bullock]

In this specific case it's also that Chris Roberts watched Star Wars and decided his life goal was to mantle George Lucas.

Only he sometimes makes the out of touch Lucas that made the prequels seem like the greatest storyteller ever.

[NGTM-1R]

There's no need to worry about S42, it's looking really good:

Jokes aside, this is the first CoD I've ever really wanted to play. Here's hoping it's easily available on PC.

Of course, this near-future thing also forces me to make this reference.

[Mammothtank]

I could sense this coming NGTM-1R

Jokes aside, this is the first CoD I've ever really wanted to play. Here's hoping it's easily available on PC.

Of course, this near-future thing also forces me to make this reference.

I was kinda hyped for it's space ships and stuff. But the whole you can only get remastered Cod4 if you buy it with this turned me off. I know they had to find a way to sell copies of something they invested in. But, eh. It made my Lemon a shade browner. If it turns out that its a breath of fresh air. I'll probably pick it up.


So uh, I guess the general consensus is that I shouldn't invest in SC and should go invest elsewhere: Under the Dog or the new Armoured Core Board game anyone? (I actually used a colon! Yay me!) But I doubt SC is beyond saving right? I would invest if they admitted they were handling it poorly and then took steps to actually put more work into the game and step up their effort. I actually really liked Chris Roberts allot before SC... even though I knew next to nothing about him, admittedly. Other than the nuances of the Wing Commander games, that is. I want to believe his team can make it. But I'm doubting more and more each time I hear about Star Citizen's progress.

[Spoon]

That's no way to get ahead in life, commando's

[Spoon]

Meanwhile, the immersion ladders are getting a rework
https://fat.gfycat.com/MetallicSelfishFrillneckedlizard.mp4
Because I understand gamedevelopment, I can tell you that this is important. The fact that the rest of the game is a loving mess isn't that important, still pre-alpha after all. Gotta get them ladder animations right though.

[Phantom Hoover]

What truly warms my heart is the thought that somewhere in one of the CIG studios there are a bunch of carpenters making wooden mockups of their ship models for recording ladder mocap.

[Spoon]

The 'verse is not a fair place, some commando's only get a head, others only get a body.

[Axem]

Meanwhile, the immersion ladders are getting a rework
https://fat.gfycat.com/MetallicSelfishFrillneckedlizard.mp4
Because I understand gamedevelopment, I can tell you that this is important. The fact that the rest of the game is a loving mess isn't that important, still pre-alpha after all. Gotta get them ladder animations right though.

I think we should be able to choose which way we go up the ladder. If, for instance, I am just going into my fighter for a leisurely stroll, the first animation would be more immersive. But if I am under attack by Vanduul attack reaper cloak fighters on the edges of civilized UEE space and are attacking a colony of 1,000 players, then the second one would be a lot more immersive. Here's hoping they could that feature as well as more ones that would enhance my immersion.

Hidden Text: Show

I've been reading too many CIG forum and reddit posts...

[Luis Dias]

at least you still got 'em eyes

[666maslo666]

What bothers me is that everything is a canned animation, even things that dont have to be. Going up and down a ladder, standing on that little platform, those are actions that should be performed by the player character directly. After all, the most immersive action is the one you perform yourself, and not only look at.

[FrikgFeek]

Yes, but CIG aren't making a game. They're trying really hard to make a film while convincing everyone it's a game.

[Phantom Hoover]

What bothers me is that everything is a canned animation, even things that dont have to be.

Because they committed to mocapping all character movements and as a result still haven't got walking on a flat surface to work right.

[Luis Dias]

What bothers me is that everything is a canned animation, even things that dont have to be. Going up and down a ladder, standing on that little platform, those are actions that should be performed by the player character directly. After all, the most immersive action is the one you perform yourself, and not only look at.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Rest assured, time will come when games will give us the ultimate experience of personally simulating climbing stairs ourselves.

[Firesteel]

If you don't properly place your feet, you'll slip and need to try and keep your balance. Failing that have a tumble down where you have to try and break your fall an every individual step. It'll sell like hotcakes!

[Firesteel]

As far as the new COD goes, it might be the first one I am interested in since Modern Warfare 2 killed my interest in the franchise. If we're talking near-ish future, Titanfall 2 will be coming out around the same time as well. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out and what Titanfall's campaign is like in comparison.

The more I see of current SC though, the more I'd agree that Chris is trying to recapture the glory of Star Wars literally and not just the "I want to give people amazing things to do in spaaaace" way I remember the kickstarter video was talking about.