Alien: Isolation... Is a GOOD Alien game possible? (leaked screens)

This game is going to be so sweet when I play it on my plasma. Better get my surround setup ready.
 
Ok, read this first: http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/alien-isolation-hands-on-pc-gamer-vs-the-monster/

Then, ask yourself: "Do I still want Oculus Rift support?" Muwahaha!

(I surely do because after reading that article, it'll make the game even more immersive and terrifying.)
In case you're unfamiliar with what Creative Assembly is up to, here, Alien Isolation is the tonal opposite of Colonial Marines, putting much of its stock in the idea of contending with a single alien life form in a world crafted entirely around the context of the 1979 movie – the rest of the lore be damned. What I learned in this one scenario is that the alien CA have created is both reactive and random, and that no methodology can ever be a sure bet for circumventing the monster's behaviour.
The alien stops. The motion tracker falls silent. For me, this is the scariest moment in the demo. I know the alien is sifting through a complex series of overlapping AI priorities, but the effect is unnerving. It's pausing to think. How many videogame enemies do that? My mind fills those silent, agonising moments with a series of paranoid thoughts. Has it heard the bleep of the tracker? Has it seen the green light of the tracker's screen? The urge to use the peak button to take a look at the alien is almost overwhelming, but I resist.
 
This game has a lot going for it, HOWEVER, the game's success or failure will entirely depend on whether or not the AI of the xenomorph behaves as advertised.
Now remember this is Creative Assembly we are talking about here and the idea of them coding AI that even functions at all, let alone delivering a potentially revolutionary behavior model, is laughable at best.

I really, really want this to work.
 
It doesn't have to be complex AI to be good, IMO... you can be clever in game/level design to not have to rely so much on deep coding skills to make a game good... and I think this is what people are referring to more with this game... it's design being clever
 
And so far the AI looks to be pretty good. The Xenomorph is thinking, and that is just scary to think about.

The game and level design that was mentioned in that PC Gamer article combined with the AI of the Alien makes it sound like this game is going to be good out the gate. I'm having hopes that this will be good. I haven't played a good Alien game in a long while, and looking forward to this.
 
So basically they are designing the world for the AI as oppose to designing the AI for the world.

That is clever, if a little vague and abstract.

We'll just have to see it for ourselves because I must reiterate that nothing Creative Assembly shows in videos should ever by taking for face value, especially now. And for the long term, I, as someone who has played Total War games for almost 15 years now can attest to the fact that Creative Assembly, though they have had their successes, they are simply not good at programming AI. Not a single one of their Total War franchise offerings has come to market without the need of an extensive AI overhaul provided by modders. I'm just not ready to trust them again.
 
Considering CA only has to get one AI entity right for this game, I think they can probably put enough resources into making that happen.
 
Wait, there's only a single alien in the game that will be stalking you? Sounds like it will get old quick...
 
Wait, there's only a single alien in the game that will be stalking you? Sounds like it will get old quick...

Yeah, until your colleague which you thought was human tries to kill you with a magazine so that it can contain the creature for someone else's personal gain......
 
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/alien...t-multiple-cpu-cores-mantle-support-possible/
  • May include AMD Mantle support.
  • In-house engine.
  • Will not support PhysX.
  • Game will support multiple CPU cores at launch.
“We created our own engine for Alien: isolation. This allowed us to do focus on making the game as there was no info about next-gen consoles at that time. We knew the quality bar we wanted to achieve, the gameplay features and the visual fidelity. Thus we built an engine that could deliver in those areas.”
 
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/04/17/a...ly-scientific-vhs-mangling-visual-techniques/

Pity the user interface elements of Alien: Isolation, for they have been through a terrible ordeal. Pristine, unblemished versions of the game's icons were printed onto VHS tapes, scratched, shoved into an old player, and played on an old CRT telly while the cable input was twisted. The tortured images were then ported back into the game, producing imagery suitably distorted enough to fit with the low technology of the Alien films. You can watch the results of the process in the latest developer diary, which explains some of the other techniques the Creative Assembly have used to try to capture Ridley Scott's vision of a future made out of big '70s pocket calculators.

Developer diary - Lo-fi, Sci-fi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icpR-R1ZOa4

Developer diary - The Sound of Alien: Isolation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlomhS7VmZo

So. Looking. Forward. To. This. Game. ... more than ever!
 
Just remember how much the devs on Aliens: CM gushed about the revolutionary gameplay and all that crap before release... I would never trust these kinds of videos, EVER
 
"Just remember how someone else gushed about something that wasn't any good before you go acknowledging the possibility that someone is making something better."

I can understand some level of pessimism here, but damn. Hell hath no fury like a gamer scorned, I guess.
 
He's just stating that in the past we have seen gameplay videos/screenshots that ended up being total BS in the end. Not just with A:CM but many other titles as well.

Until we actually get the game in-hand or read some reviews/watch some videos of the release copy, I don't see any reason to get overly excited.

For me personally, whenever companies talk about "super advanced AI" or something similar, it makes me immediately skeptical, because every time I've heard this phrase in the past I've been pretty disappointed.
 
Just remember how much the devs on Aliens: CM gushed about the revolutionary gameplay and all that crap before release...

yup, I remember being really excited for A:CM when they talked about the game being canon with the Alien movies and all these cool gameplay features...then the game was released :mad:

I'm still looking forward to Isolation and hoping for a great Aliens game but will temper my enthusiasm until more solid info is released closer to release...until then I will rewatch the first 3 movies and play the underrated Aliens vs Predator (2010) game for my Aliens gaming fix
 
Trying my best not to get excited over this game. It happened to me with Colonial Marines (a game I never even played) and I don't want it to happen with this game but these videos make it so damn difficult!
 
really liking the older sci tech used in the game, reminds me of that steam greenlit first person game in space that I can't remember the name of which has yet to come out. But yea after CM, i'm trying to avoid getting overly excited for this
 
Gameplay videos: http://kotaku.com/the-best-last-hope-for-a-good-alien-game-1567077960

After seeing this, the game looks to separate itself from the heavy military sci-fi action of previous Alien game(s) and more towards the same feeling of the first (and second) films in the series.

To me, that sounds like a good thing-- it's more of a survival horror/suspense sci-fi game than a military shooter. And, we've just about had enough military shooter versus alien games already.
 
I totally need to do this to my wife. This is hilarious!


Side note: Am I the only one that misses the simplicity of the Half-Life games? I feel like games now have little sequences they take away control like the blow torch or the transition to ladders and such. I feel like it takes away from the flow of play
 
Side note: Am I the only one that misses the simplicity of the Half-Life games? I feel like games now have little sequences they take away control like the blow torch or the transition to ladders and such. I feel like it takes away from the flow of play
Paradoxically, suspension of disbelief becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve as visual fidelity increases. A lot of developers who really try to focus on player immersion are very apprehensive about having things that happen instantaneously or don't have believable physics attached to them, because when you break that immersion in an otherwise fairly convincing world, it's like falling off a sheer cliff. Half-Life didn't really have that problem, as picking up a gun by running over it or pressing buttons with invisible arms doesn't really break immersion in an unconvincing world.

So, you either have a Trespasser-like system where the player actually gets to control those interactions on a very fine scale or you briefly remove control from the player so the game can play physically-correct animations for those interactions. If you've ever played Trespasser, the latter option seems a lot more reasonable.
 
Paradoxically, suspension of disbelief becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve as visual fidelity increases. A lot of developers who really try to focus on player immersion are very apprehensive about having things that happen instantaneously or don't have believable physics attached to them, because when you break that immersion in an otherwise fairly convincing world, it's like falling off a sheer cliff. Half-Life didn't really have that problem, as picking up a gun by running over it or pressing buttons with invisible arms doesn't really break immersion in an unconvincing world.

So, you either have a Trespasser-like system where the player actually gets to control those interactions on a very fine scale or you briefly remove control from the player so the game can play physically-correct animations for those interactions. If you've ever played Trespasser, the latter option seems a lot more reasonable.

That game was borderline annoying with that mechanic. It works for games like Surgeon Simulator (or whatever it's called), because it can be comical. Doesn't work for FPS.
 
Not saying anything negative towards the game, it looks incredible.

But I have already noticed a screw up. There would not be dead corpses lying about. The Xenomorph would have gathered them up by nature for impregnation & the continuation of its species. (Like Dallas was in Alien)

Anyway, just an observation. Can't wait to play this game! I think we all as Alien fans need this to be good. To wash that bad Colonial Marines taste out of our mouths. I hope those screenshots above remain true upon release.
 
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Not saying anything negative towards the game, it looks incredible.

But I have already noticed a screw up.

There would not be dead corpses lying about. The Xenomorph would have gathered them up by nature for impregnation & the continuation of its species. (Like Dallas was in Alien)

Anyway, just an observation.

IIRC a lot of the humanoids in the game are actually synthetics.
 
Not saying anything negative towards the game, it looks incredible.

But I have already noticed a screw up. There would not be dead corpses lying about. The Xenomorph would have gathered them up by nature for impregnation & the continuation of its species. (Like Dallas was in Alien)
I'm fairly sure only live organisms can be hosts to Xeno offspring, and there are other people (and androids) on the ship in this game who can kill each other.
 
I'm fairly sure only live organisms can be hosts to Xeno offspring, and there are other people (and androids) on the ship in this game who can kill each other.

Hmm, Yeah, I guess that would explain the slash marks on the first body she found.
 
Sigourney Weaver and members of the original Alien cast are lending their voices and likenesses to Sega and Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation - though only in two missions which are pre-order bonuses...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...riginal-alien-cast-to-star-in-alien-isolation

very cool news for an Alien geek like me :D ...sucks that it's only part of a pre-order bonus but at least there's some value in this compared to most other pre-order exclusives
 
Sigourney Weaver and members of the original Alien cast are lending their voices and likenesses to Sega and Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation - though only in two missions which are pre-order bonuses...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...riginal-alien-cast-to-star-in-alien-isolation

very cool news for an Alien geek like me :D ...sucks that it's only part of a pre-order bonus but at least there's some value in this compared to most other pre-order exclusives

Very cool, but this also made me not want to buy this game.
What a low blow imo.
Day one dlc!?

So unless we pre order, we have to pay extra for two missions that should be in the base game?

So yes, its an incentive to pre order.
Pay for a game that is not yet out, otherwise you have to pay more for the full game when it is released.
 
Yeah, thats not going to end well... Already rustling feathers.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/10/5887425/aliens-isolation-ripley-preorder-exclusive-no

...Sega doesn’t want you to wait for reviews, it wants your money now. It doesn’t want to risk you thinking critically or hearing from friends that the game isn’t great, it wants your money and commitment right away. So it’s going to set up a nice piece of bonus content, and say that you can only have it if you promise to purchase the game before we know more about it.

That’s not marketing, that’s consumer hostility. That’s a steak place saying you can only have potatoes if you show up and order before you see a picture of the food or hear from anyone else who has eaten it. We wouldn’t tolerate it in any other business, and we need to tell publishers who attempt this bullshit to get lost. This move should make you more skeptical of the game, not more excited.
 

Really more of an indictment of preordering digitally delivered games in general than a criticism of Alien Isolation.

Its funny, on one hand people (rightly) bitch that there's no point in preordering because there are never any incentives. And on the other hand here's a title with a preorder incentive and people bitch about that too.

I agree that preordering is pointless, but at the same time the sense of entitlement is a little off the charts these days.
 
I'd say its quite justified in this case. The add-on is arguably higher quality than the regular game, considering the exclusive voice overs and whatnot. These things are usually early unlocks or weapons, this is... different...

Somebody post that Mona Lisa pic about expansions and DLC.
 
really liking the older sci tech used in the game, reminds me of that steam greenlit first person game in space that I can't remember the name of which has yet to come out. But yea after CM, i'm trying to avoid getting overly excited for this

Routine.

Trimlock said:
I always thought a game based on the little girl in Aliens would of been great, a true survivor game with the aptitude of a little kid. Would make great for a short game.

You mean like Among the Sleep?

Dion said:
Hmmm Creative Assembly. I expect extremely buggy game and 20-30fps on Titans and 780Ti cards.

That is if its anything like there total war games.

Yeah, because these games share the exact same engine, right?


Well, that pretty much puts an end to the "there will be no weapons, only running and hiding" debate. I'm not saying it'll be a full-on shooter of course, but as Stiler said earlier, it appears that will be weapons that you can use to fight off or distract the alien with to buy yourself some time.

I admit that I was just a teeny bit skeptical of facing off against only one alien at first, but after watching some of those videos I think this will be splendid. There is something to be said for knowing you're all alone in that place, playing cat and mouse with one creepy badass motherfucker. I definitely felt some tension and I was watching a video during daylight hours...not actually playing the game solo at night. :eek:

This will certainly be a stark contrast from the previous AvP games where you had an arsenal of awesome weapons and mowed down multiple aliens. Don't get me wrong, those games were still tense because the aliens were fast and dangerous and you could easily get outnumbered and overpowered...but this has a more deliberate, less action-y feel and quite frankly it's right up my alley.

I loved the older games but I think there is definitely room for this type of game to co-exist with them; it will be a fresh change of pace for those who love the Alien franchise but enjoyed horror games like Amnesia and Outlast.

failwheeldrive said:
Looks like it has some real potential. I hope the devs can manage to keep the tension up throughout the experience, otherwise it'll end up getting boring quickly. I like the idea of not having any weapons while going toe to toe with a xenomorph.

By the looks of those videos, I don't think lack of tension will be a problem at all. No one honestly thought that the devs would have you walking around a well-lit space station with no enemy encounters did they?

And on a separate topic, for Pete's sake people, don't let the Colonial Marines debacle influence and sour your early impression of this game. Completely different devs, and if Sega didn't learn from that experience then I'd be highly surprised.

Sigourney Weaver and members of the original Alien cast are lending their voices and likenesses to Sega and Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation - though only in two missions which are pre-order bonuses...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...riginal-alien-cast-to-star-in-alien-isolation

very cool news for an Alien geek like me :D ...sucks that it's only part of a pre-order bonus but at least there's some value in this compared to most other pre-order exclusives

Well, I must say that it stinks that that stuff is only available as a pre-order bonus...but honestly, after reading this thread in its entirety and checking out the videos, this game has taken me from cautious "Wait and see; I might wait until it goes on sale" to seriously contemplating preordering it. And I never pre-order games. I know it's a big risk between the early pessimism about the story & gameplay and the skepticism behind the devs doing this game justice, but I just bumped this game to #2 on my Steam wishlist, right behind GTAV. And that's only because I feel I'll get more hours out of GTAV since I'll actually be able to play it for more than a few minutes at a time without pissing my pants and having cold sweats. This game looks like it will have me jumping out of my skin and enjoying every last minute of it.

Hopefully the pre-order content will be made available later for those who choose to wait. It has happened before, and I'd sure as hell hope for everyone's sake that it happens in this case.
 
Hopefully the pre-order content will be made available later for those who choose to wait. It has happened before, and I'd sure as hell hope for everyone's sake that it happens in this case.

Originally said to be only available as pre-order bonuses, Creative Assembly has now confirmed the missions will also be released at a later date

"So, I can confirm today that we do plan to release both Crew Expendable and Last Survivor at a later date and we'll have more details for you guys on that shortly."...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-07-11-alien-isolations-ripley-dlc-isnt-just-for-pre-orders
 
Even though the early stuff says this game will actually be good , I will wait to buy it until it is reviewed. I bought the last abomination thinking it was going to be playable.
 
after colonial marines I'm going to wait for this game to have reviews, i know its different companies but not gonna get burnt twice
 
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