Aliens; Colonial Marines a Sci/Fi L4D ?

MaZa said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGX2WE4QUw8

Joe's take on the game. "You fucked it up!" 4/10. Would have been lower if it werent for the multiplayer which he thought was actually fun.
Click to expand...

Spot on. The MP has potential but it's going to have a short life because of the epically horrible word of mouth going out about this game. It's a goner.



MavericK96 said:
Well, Gearbox has a pretty good history of after-release support, so I seriously hope we'll see something out of them other than tiny non-essential patches like the first two that came out.

I'd be a little surprised if they didn't do something about it, TBH. At that point all respect I have for them would be lost. I think everyone agrees that DNF wasn't that good, but at least they supported it after launch.
Click to expand...

Even good support...there's enough missing/lacking here that by all rights the game needed at least another six months in the cooker. The game was not ready to be released.

I'm not sure how much can honestly be patched in after the fact to fix this thing.


Speaking of DNF, I would say the graphics from A:CM are about on-par with those...everyone talking about how it looks like a PS2 game needs to seriously go look at some PS2 screenshots. It's not even close. Not that the graphics are on-par for a 2012 or even a 2010 game, but they're not even close to PS2. Rampant exaggeration on that.
Click to expand...

I'd put DNF's graphics at close to PS2 levels or first gen Xbox 360 levels myself.


This? A little better but it looks like something from about 5 years ago give or take.
 
One thing I find funny is that everyone rips on that .gif of the alien wandering past the player, when actually that's an explained, intentional part of the game. In Angry Joe's review he actually describes that section as one of the decent parts of the game.

I admit that .gif does seem a bit ridiculous, especially moreso if you don't know what's going on in the game.
 
I'm going to throw an idea out there... assuming the following,
A- ball was dropped and game sucked
B- Largely because it seems like it was rushed and there were too many cooks in the kitchen and a lot of feet-dragging by various entities

BUT

What if, and I say this after having seen it play on an Xbox, what if those issues were exacerbated by the oldness of current gen consoles? I mean, let's be honest, the 2011 E3 trailer was bad ass, but maybe it was TOO badass. Maybe all that work that Timegate did was TOO good, and Gearbox had to start over because it was too high res, too much volumetric lighting, too much fog and was too integrated into the code such that they had to essentially reinvent the wheel?
It runs like ass on the 360 NOW, based on what I saw, with wildly swinging framerates and tearing, and that's even after the apparent lobotomy it received.

Look at the games Timegate touts on their website:
Section 8- crappy game, but visually pretty darn good, with an awesome trailer, and if you look at some of the gameplay, much of the color palette and even some of the gemoetry looks familiar from A:CM. http://youtu.be/i8lgEepc2VM?t=1m56s

Fear:EP and Fear:pM- ALso not awesome games, but definitely good looking, visually.

Anyway, my point is not that the issues regarding development leadership, consistency etc are not valid, but it almost feels like Timegate was given the reins and no one thought to keep tabs on them, and then they made this awesome looking trailer, and then Gearbox took a look at what they had and realized a studio known for mediocre-playing games made a mediocre game with a graphics fidelity that no modern console could dream of running, and they shat themselves, took the game back, and had to perform some serious triage, resulting in the botched abortion that shipped.
 
Q-BZ said:
I'd put DNF's graphics at close to PS2 levels or first gen Xbox 360 levels myself.
Click to expand...

Ehhh....Gotta disagree on this.

DNF:

http://cdn.steampowered.com/v/gfx/a...624c9ee7f83d64ab79.1920x1080.jpg?t=1340143080

MGS3 (one of the better-looking PS2 games):

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7000000/MGS-metal-gear-solid-3-7054450-1024-768.jpg

Not to mention that "first-gen X360" games had better graphics than the original Xbox, which had better graphics than the PS2...

I do agree with you that A:CM seems slightly better than DNF. Not much, but a little.
 
Modred189 said:
I'm going to throw an idea out there... assuming the following,
A- ball was dropped and game sucked
B- Largely because it seems like it was rushed and there were too many cooks in the kitchen and a lot of feet-dragging by various entities

BUT

What if, and I say this after having seen it play on an Xbox, what if those issues were exacerbated by the oldness of current gen consoles? I mean, let's be honest, the 2011 E3 trailer was bad ass, but maybe it was TOO badass. Maybe all that work that Timegate did was TOO good, and Gearbox had to start over because it was too high res, too much volumetric lighting, too much fog and was too integrated into the code such that they had to essentially reinvent the wheel?
It runs like ass on the 360 NOW, based on what I saw, with wildly swinging framerates and tearing, and that's even after the apparent lobotomy it received.

Look at the games Timegate touts on their website:
Section 8- crappy game, but visually pretty darn good, with an awesome trailer, and if you look at some of the gameplay, much of the color palette and even some of the gemoetry looks familiar from A:CM. http://youtu.be/i8lgEepc2VM?t=1m56s

Fear:EP and Fear:pM- ALso not awesome games, but definitely good looking, visually.

Anyway, my point is not that the issues regarding development leadership, consistency etc are not valid, but it almost feels like Timegate was given the reins and no one thought to keep tabs on them, and then they made this awesome looking trailer, and then Gearbox took a look at what they had and realized a studio known for mediocre-playing games made a mediocre game with a graphics fidelity that no modern console could dream of running, and they shat themselves, took the game back, and had to perform some serious triage, resulting in the botched abortion that shipped.
Click to expand...


Did they develop FEAREP&PM??? Because I was literally thinking the enemies and Enemy Soldier AI reminded me of a poor mans FEAR.
 
Youn said:
I'm guessing their response would be:

"Those were work-in-progress videos, and we were still tweaking light levels and narrowing down other game-play elements for a more focused experience."
Click to expand...

PS: Thanks for buying our Beta.
 
piscian18 said:
Weird honestly the whole thing reminded me a lot of those except unpolished. That must have been the engine they used. No wonder it looked so old. So now the only question is who made the gameplay Demo.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, Gearbox made the gameplay demo and the mutliplayer content. They offloaded the single player content onto another team that fucked it all up. I can understand that, to an extent. However, the whole time Gearbox has been leading people on knowing that the single player content was going to be a disaster. That's not cool.
 
In my mind only one of three things can make this right.

1) Release FULL development tools / SDK so the fans can fix it themselves. This alone wouldn't really be a complete solution, but it would be a start. Frankly, they should do this anyway as a BARE MINIMUM.

2) Fix the game, whether it be with massive patches, an entirely new version that is free for current buyers...whatever it takes. There are a lot of things that should be relatively easy to fix, but several things they need to go back to the drawing board for.

3) Offer full refunds for ANYONE who bought the game, regardless of where.
 
SilverSliver said:
From what I understand, Gearbox made the gameplay demo and the mutliplayer content. They offloaded the single player content onto another team that fucked it all up. I can understand that, to an extent. However, the whole time Gearbox has been leading people on knowing that the single player content was going to be a disaster. That's not cool.
Click to expand...

Well the thing is, Gearbox has constantly talked about how much they loved the Alien franchise and how it was their "dream project". Clearly that was a load of shit, because they handed over the game to a company with basically no proven track record of producing good content, let alone AAA content.

Even if Gearbox didn't develop most of it, okay, but it's still their fault.
 
I had such high hopes. The demo footage was great, but after seeing the comparisons in that video.... I'll pass. I was so looking forward to this game. But, graphically and the AI faults - I can't spend more than $10 on it.

If a patch can bring it back up to acceptable levels, great. If not, what a shit game.
 
This game needs mist. We've had convincing mist/smoke in games since COD2 so what's up.

I think a full SDK release would be a good idea. I'd love to see an ACM: ALIENS mod where you play through the events of the movie.
 
SilverSliver said:
From what I understand, Gearbox made the gameplay demo and the mutliplayer content. They offloaded the single player content onto another team that fucked it all up. I can understand that, to an extent. However, the whole time Gearbox has been leading people on knowing that the single player content was going to be a disaster. That's not cool.
Click to expand...

I personally think that the E3 Demo WAS the game but Gearbox waited to long to start optimizing the game for consoles (PS3, Xbox 360). Once SEGA threatened litigation Gearbox just started stripping the game down until it ran good enough then pushed it out the door. It just shows total disrespect for the Aliens IP from beginning to end.
 
mtbush said:
Sterling breaking down the development controversy

http://www.destructoid.com/so-who-the-hell-did-make-aliens-colonial-marines--244939.phtml

Wii U port has been put on ice, indfefinitely...

Gaming industry is beginning to call Pitchford out all his bullshit...

http://www.destructoid.com/gearbox-lied-about-aliens-from-e3-demo-to-retail-product-244966.phtml
Click to expand...

Good. This is the kind of reaction I've been waiting for. I'm going the gaming press shines a big bright light all over this thing and has a field day with it.






MavericK96 said:
It's more like 4/10 campaign, 6/10 MP
Click to expand...

That's fair.
 
The industry is a truly sad state of affairs right now. There are so many bad business practices, lies, deceptive marketing and other forms of complete bullshit being used and abused as everyone chases those big, big numbers that COD brings in every November with so little effort.

It's no wonder gamers like myself are utterly jaded and are perceived to "hate" everything in gaming these days; so much that comes out is either a basic turd, a polished turd, or a ripe, steaming turd disguised with smoke and mirrors.
 
yes at least the reviews are echoing what gamers are saying... it really takes a big turd to do that these days...
 
Plague_Injected said:
The industry is a truly sad state of affairs right now. There are so many bad business practices, lies, deceptive marketing and other forms of complete bullshit being used and abused as everyone chases those big, big numbers that COD brings in every November with so little effort.

It's no wonder gamers like myself are utterly jaded and are perceived to "hate" everything in gaming these days; so much that comes out is either a basic turd, a polished turd, or a ripe, steaming turd disguised with smoke and mirrors.
Click to expand...

I thunk its got to do with the effect of most people rushing out and buying it on a whim. That and theres no reliable way to see how a game is since reviewers are mostly crap.

We need a try it option these days top keep developers honest.
 
Plague_Injected said:
The industry is a truly sad state of affairs right now. There are so many bad business practices, lies, deceptive marketing and other forms of complete bullshit being used and abused as everyone chases those big, big numbers that COD brings in every November with so little effort.

It's no wonder gamers like myself are utterly jaded and are perceived to "hate" everything in gaming these days; so much that comes out is either a basic turd, a polished turd, or a ripe, steaming turd disguised with smoke and mirrors.
Click to expand...

Indeed it is. People have been talking about another videogame crash, but some have theorized its already here and its happening NOW at this moment. I saw this video earlier but this Colonial Marines fiasco made me really consider that maybe this really is more than theory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1M4OSMZFwU&feature=youtu.be
 
RW2112 said:
Some improvements to the graphics are available:

PC Gamer Graphic mod article
Click to expand...

I wouldnt say SweetFX is much of an improvement judging from the screenshots. It causes black crush and burned out whites on all colors. Perceived contrast is increased but its fake because lots of details are lost on both extremes. Same thing has been done a lot of games ever since FXAA injector came to be and always I ask myself how is this better than original. *edit* I mean if applied very lightly it could help to make dull contrast and colors more vibrant (like DarkD3 for Diablo 3) but as it is now its simply way too much.
 
Last edited:
MaZa said:
I wouldnt say SweetFX is much of an improvement judging from the screenshots. It causes black crush and burned out whites on all colors. Perceived contrast is increased but its fake because lots of details are lost on both extremes. Same thing has been done a lot of games ever since FXAA injector came to be and always I ask myself how is this better than original. *edit* I mean if applied very lightly it could help to make dull contrast and colors (like DarkD3 for Diablo 3) but as it is now its simply way too much.
Click to expand...

Better than nothing IMO.
 
polonyc2 said:
excellent video by TotalBiscuit on the subject of pre-ordering videogames and the business behind the system, following the critical panning of Aliens: Colonial Marines

main point: there is no benefit to pre-ordering games...none...getting an extra skin or MP map is worthless...wait for the game to be released and then decide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y
Click to expand...

While I don't disagree with some of what he is saying, I'm sick of the attitude of "anyone who pre-orders is a chump". I pre-order quite a few games and guess what? I rarely ever get a game I don't like. Anyone with half a brain can spot the warning signs a mile away. This game had so many warning signs that it's shocking anyone thought it would end up being good. It being complete shit comes as no surprise to me. Also, he ignores that people don't just pre-order for the crap that comes with the pre-orders. They're occasionally nice extras, but I like having games I really want on release. I work when games come out. I don't have time to come home from work, read reviews, read a bunch of news, read forums, etc and then buy the game and wait for it to download. Whats the point of doing all that when 99% of the time my feelings about a game prior to release end up being right?
 
So Randy Pitchford is back on Twitter with a response to the tune of "hay guyz stahp ripping on me ill ban u lolol"

He needs to fucking ANSWER for this, not post useless bullshit like that. No doubt he is getting a lot of flak, and rightfully so.
 
MavericK96 said:
So Randy Pitchford is back on Twitter with a response to the tune of "hay guyz stahp ripping on me ill ban u lolol"

He needs to fucking ANSWER for this, not post useless bullshit like that. No doubt he is getting a lot of flak, and rightfully so.
Click to expand...

Randy Pitchford ‏@DuvalMagic
@Raheed6 I am not blocking critique. I am blocking insults, threats and extreme rudeness.
Click to expand...

and you'll be blocking them for a long time you lying SOB
 
Derangel said:
While I don't disagree with some of what he is saying, I'm sick of the attitude of "anyone who pre-orders is a chump". I pre-order quite a few games and guess what? I rarely ever get a game I don't like. Anyone with half a brain can spot the warning signs a mile away. This game had so many warning signs that it's shocking anyone thought it would end up being good. It being complete shit comes as no surprise to me. Also, he ignores that people don't just pre-order for the crap that comes with the pre-orders. They're occasionally nice extras, but I like having games I really want on release. I work when games come out. I don't have time to come home from work, read reviews, read a bunch of news, read forums, etc and then buy the game and wait for it to download. Whats the point of doing all that when 99% of the time my feelings about a game prior to release end up being right?
Click to expand...

I don't see how you being some sort of Gamestradamus is relevant to that topic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top