Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon was revealed during The Game Awards, with a trailer announcing that the game will release on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC...developed by From Software and published by Bandai Namco, the sixth installment marks the first new Armored Core game in more than a decade, the last being Armored Core V back in 2012

coming in 2023...

 
I am interested. I hope it is more story based and less about grinding for parts, never played an Armored Core game before.
 
I don't know how they could turn this genre into a story based game. Anything is possible though.
 
I never played any of the Armored Core games so I'm looking forward to this (my From Software obsession started with Dark Souls 1 on PC)...I'm happy they are moving away from the dark, medieval fantasy setting and going back to their sci-fi roots...Hidetaka Miyazaki started as the Game Director on this new AC game but after the initial development he handed over the reins to Masaru Yamamura (lead designer on Sekiro)...usually games without Miyazaki at the helm suffer a slight dip in quality (DS2), so hopefully that's not the case here

for the people that have played the AC games, are they basically Souls games with mechs?...or is it completely different?
 
I never played any of the Armored Core games so I'm looking forward to this (my From Software obsession started with Dark Souls 1 on PC)...I'm happy they are moving away from the dark, medieval fantasy setting and going back to their sci-fi roots...Hidetaka Miyazaki started as the Game Director on this new AC game but after the initial development he handed over the reins to Masaru Yamamura (lead designer on Sekiro)...usually games without Miyazaki at the helm suffer a slight dip in quality (DS2), so hopefully that's not the case here

for the people that have played the AC games, are they basically Souls games with mechs?...or is it completely different?

AC is nothing like Souls. The AC games were pretty fast paced action games, very arcade-y. I have a feeling this one will end up being more akin to a Souls game though. I can't see them trying to do super-fast arcade mech action with the tone it looks like they're going for (at least based on the trailer). King's Field is really the only pre-Souls games from FS that are somewhat Souls-like, there is pretty much a direct line from KF to Demon's Souls.

The game was utter garbage, but Front Mission: Evolve is kind of like what AC was, just AC was about a thousand times more fun. Or, maybe, a more arcade-y Mech Warrior, but a bit more depth than Mech Assault.

I imagine they'll keep some of the core of AC with this. So we'll see super customizable mechs. The trailer already showed a bunch of different styles from bi-pedal, hovering, quad walkers, tank treads. Those have all been "leg" options in previous games. Those helicopter mechs were enemies in previous games (at least, my memory is telling me they were). Old AC games drew a lot of inspiration from Battletech in terms of it's world and the mechs themselves. So much so that you're playing as part of a group of mercs.
 
Tears of absolute joy. It looks like they're taking the highly customisable 'build' aspects of souls games and leaning hard into it.
 
AC is nothing like Souls. The AC games were pretty fast paced action games, very arcade-y. I have a feeling this one will end up being more akin to a Souls game though. I can't see them trying to do super-fast arcade mech action with the tone it looks like they're going for (at least based on the trailer). King's Field is really the only pre-Souls games from FS that are somewhat Souls-like, there is pretty much a direct line from KF to Demon's Souls...

did the AC series have the same multiplayer aspects as the Soulsborne games- players leaving messages, pvp, co-op etc?...does the single plyer somewhat compare to Titanfall?
 
did the AC series have the same multiplayer aspects as the Soulsborne games- players leaving messages, pvp, co-op etc?...does the single plyer somewhat compare to Titanfall?
No. The Armored Core series shares nothing with the Souls games. The last AC entry in the series had 5v5 team PvP. Co-op is just the PvP mode with players vs. bots.
I’m all in for a souls-like mech game, sounds awesome!
There is nothing "Souls-like" about the Armored Core series. If you've ever seen or played the MechAssault series on Xbox then that is what Armored Core is like. Zone of the Enders shares a lot of similarities with the AC series, as well.
 
is this really going to be released in 2023?...first time I can remember From Software releasing new games in consecutive years...I'm guessing the B team is working on Armored Core (Miyazaki is confirmed as not being the lead director) while the A team is working on the Elden Ring expansion
 
is this really going to be released in 2023?...first time I can remember From Software releasing new games in consecutive years...I'm guessing the B team is working on Armored Core (Miyazaki is confirmed as not being the lead director) while the A team is working on the Elden Ring expansion
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Looks cool as far as cinematics go, PC is sorely lacking in decent anime mecha games so hopefully this one is good.
 
The game was utter garbage, but Front Mission: Evolve is kind of like what AC was, just AC was about a thousand times more fun. Or, maybe, a more arcade-y Mech Warrior, but a bit more depth than Mech Assault.

Utter garbage is an understatement, I couldn't even force myself to finish FME because it was so terrible.
 
Utter garbage is an understatement, I couldn't even force myself to finish FME because it was so terrible.

The only reason I got through it is because I was writing a review for it. Otherwise I think I would have stopped within a couple missions. As a huge fan of both Front Mission and mech games the game was so disappointing.
 
Last front mission game I enjoyed was 3 on the playstation 1. Got 4 because I like the 3rd one so much, and it wasnt that good.
 
I never thought the AC games were really any good. They always felt like only partially developed ideas.

However, I have faith that Miyazaki and his team have evolved a lot and understand better, how to make a fun game which is worthwhile.
 
Armoured core stopped being good after the PS2 era. PS3 and after it tried too hard to 'generalise' for mainstream audiences with more lenient boost limits and faster overall movement, less meaningful customisation.

Let's hope that this game, souls-like or not, leans heavily into the idea of your build completely defining your play style, and facing the pros and cons of your build choices.
 
The only thing I can say about this right now is I hope this possibly has a HAWKEN type feel to it, because well HAWKEN was absolutely perfect mech play imo. Very technical gameplay. Sad to see that it died or got abducted by alien or whatever all those years ago, but yeah its gone. But seeing that trailer reminds me of it so much. If they go that style with it will def. be great, it will undoubtedly be good no matter what most likely. Needs some actual gameplay reveal though for sure.
 
Armoured core stopped being good after the PS2 era. PS3 and after it tried too hard to 'generalise' for mainstream audiences with more lenient boost limits and faster overall movement, less meaningful customisation.

Let's hope that this game, souls-like or not, leans heavily into the idea of your build completely defining your play style, and facing the pros and cons of your build choices.
Agreed. They've steadily declined since AC4 but I'm guessing that's why there hasn't been one in a decade. It's good for them to find success in other areas and come back to see things from a new or, at the very least, a more experienced perspective.

I certainly hope it's a return to form and I can't wait to see what awesome designs they come up with, both for what we get to use and also what we fight.
 
Agreed. They've steadily declined since AC4 but I'm guessing that's why there hasn't been one in a decade. It's good for them to find success in other areas and come back to see things from a new or, at the very least, a more experienced perspective.
The history is interesting. You can see the big gap where Dark Souls basically took over all of their development. Miyazaki joined the company in 2004, and then in 2014 became president (and bought his first seven-jet hottub to celebrate the occasion), right before Armored Core went dark for a decade. It's as if he sent out a polite memo on his finest stationary:

"Enough of this blank, uninspired, lesbian-haircut-like mech robot shit that is just not moving the needle. Did you guys breastfeed until you were fifteen? On my watch, we're putting out capital-b blockbusters. And only when they're ready. Back to fucking work. Theres a new sheriff in town, and he's here to save you." -H.M.

And based on the GOTY awards piling up in this guy's lap, I reckon AC6 is going to be tuned to maximum gaming crack cocaine, not unlike Souls (but not Souls-like). Back in June Miyazaki stated quote "The next title is nearing the end of development, now, get out and never darken my doorway again.", which sounds promising for having enough time to polish toy robots until release.

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my fanboyism notwithstanding, I think From Software has cemented itself as the best developer in existence...Elden Ring was the final notch on its belt...they are no longer just the 'Dark Souls developer'...Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring and now a new AC

forget about what Armored Core used to be, think of it in terms of what From Software is today...when you see the From Software logo pop up in a reveal trailer it denotes a level of quality the likes of which we haven't seen since maybe BioWare's heyday...they can make whatever games they want to without any interference from publishers or other corporate entities...enjoy them while you can as everything good eventually goes away at some point- look at what happened with BioWare and EA
 
The history is interesting. You can see the big gap where Dark Souls basically took over all of their development. Miyazaki joined the company in 2004, and then in 2014 became president, right when Armored Core went dark for a decade. It's as if he sent out a polite memo "Enough of this corny, lesbian-like, mech robot shit. Did you guys breastfeed until you were fifteen? On my watch, we're putting out blockbusters. And only when they're ready. Now get back to work you f@cking f@jgwsts!"

And based on the GOTY awards that keep falling into this guy's lap, I reckon AC6 is going to be tuned for max addictiveness, not unlike Souls (but not "Souls-like" -- it'll be fast and frantic). Back in June 2022 Miyazaki stated "the next title is nearing the end of development", which sounds promising for having enough time to polish until release.

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I think it fell off because the genre itself was dying. Devs weren't sure how to advance the genre and no one was really willing to put AAA money towards them. The last few AC games sold pretty poorly and weren't exactly well received by fans due to them trying to copy the tone of "modern games". The mech genre was one of many genres that wasn't able to effectively make the generational transition.
 
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I see a lot of discussion around this announcement by old fans saying "I hope it's like the old games and not a souls-like" but as an actual OG fan (yes, OG: psX original, spent hours meticulously copying hentai JPEGs pixel by pixel on the emblem editor) my reaction is "hey hey wait a minute..."

ACs 1-4 we're never fast-paced action. They was slow, controlled worse than a tank, DID NOT FORGIVE and mission design was rarely linear or obvious.

Let me describe the Armored Core experience:

You spend ages scrounging together what pennies you have, selling some really nice weapons so you can afford those new legs that have a similar weight limit to your current ones, but have slightly higher movement speed. Making more choices and puting together a mech that seems 'hecka cool' but in reality is running off of a generator that can barely power it.

You drop into a mission with really vague description of 'destroy power core' and nothing else because the actual beifing is long and boring and your teenage ass just skipped it. You're mech is standing outside a big blast door and you enter, admiring your new legs that let you move around 5% faster, which is still dog-slow. You use your boosters to speed up and approach enemies, fire one shot out of your shoulder mounted energy cannon and immediately drain your energy output and stall your generator and are sitting there completely immobile while it restarts, enemies taking free shots at you. By the time the generator restarts and you boost away, you've lost half your armour (which can't be replaced or replenished mid-mission, by the way). You instead use your basic-bitch single-shot solid ammo rifle and slowly strafe around and take out the pissweak drones that nearly killed you earlier, using 25% of your ammo (which, you guessed it: can't be replaced or replenished mid mission!) and you realise you're at a dead end in an area that has no mission objectives. You open your 3D map, but because you couldn't afford a good head-unit with whole-mission mapping, your map only shows areas you've physically been, and cannot see the actual structure of the complex. You're lost.

Eventually, you fight your way though the maze like catacomb of a military station and find the power core.. with 10% remaining armour and no more ammo for your basic-bitch rifle.

Then a fucking FULLY equipped AC mech drops in, out of nowhere, the techno drum n bass kicks in as this completely undamaged and fully armed AC taunts you over coms, boosts circles around you and blows you to hell and back with a kerosawa laser rifle.

Mission failed. No retry option. Also you need to pay to repair your busted-ass AC and pay to refill the ammo you used on the mission.

You're now in debt, worth negative credits.


TELL ME THAT SHIT ISN'T SOULS-LIKE
 
I see a lot of discussion around this announcement by old fans saying "I hope it's like the old games and not a souls-like" but as an actual OG fan (yes, OG: psX original, spent hours meticulously copying hentai JPEGs pixel by pixel on the emblem editor) my reaction is "hey hey wait a minute..."

ACs 1-4 we're never fast-paced action. They was slow, controlled worse than a tank, DID NOT FORGIVE and mission design was rarely linear or obvious.

Let me describe the Armored Core experience:

You spend ages scrounging together what pennies you have, selling some really nice weapons so you can afford those new legs that have a similar weight limit to your current ones, but have slightly higher movement speed. Making more choices and puting together a mech that seems 'hecka cool' but in reality is running off of a generator that can barely power it.

You drop into a mission with really vague description of 'destroy power core' and nothing else because the actual beifing is long and boring and your teenage ass just skipped it. You're mech is standing outside a big blast door and you enter, admiring your new legs that let you move around 5% faster, which is still dog-slow. You use your boosters to speed up and approach enemies, fire one shot out of your shoulder mounted energy cannon and immediately drain your energy output and stall your generator and are sitting there completely immobile while it restarts, enemies taking free shots at you. By the time the generator restarts and you boost away, you've lost half your armour (which can't be replaced or replenished mid-mission, by the way). You instead use your basic-bitch single-shot solid ammo rifle and slowly strafe around and take out the pissweak drones that nearly killed you earlier, using 25% of your ammo (which, you guessed it: can't be replaced or replenished mid mission!) and you realise you're at a dead end in an area that has no mission objectives. You open your 3D map, but because you couldn't afford a good head-unit with whole-mission mapping, your map only shows areas you've physically been, and cannot see the actual structure of the complex. You're lost.

Eventually, you fight your way though the maze like catacomb of a military station and find the power core.. with 10% remaining armour and no more ammo for your basic-bitch rifle.

Then a fucking FULLY equipped AC mech drops in, out of nowhere, the techno drum n bass kicks in as this completely undamaged and fully armed AC taunts you over coms, boosts circles around you and blows you to hell and back with a kerosawa laser rifle.

Mission failed. No retry option. Also you need to pay to repair your busted-ass AC and pay to refill the ammo you used on the mission.

You're now in debt, worth negative credits.


TELL ME THAT SHIT ISN'T SOULS-LIKE

Later ones moved a little faster, at least I recall them doing so. Though, that might also have been due to the frame-rates being better. I really want to replay some of the PS1 and PS2 titles again, but it's not easy (or cheap) to find copies these days.

I recently learned that AC1 (and maybe later ones?) have an amazing "fail state" when you completely run out of money to afford repairs and new parts. I would always erase my save file and restart from the beginning if I couldn't afford to move on. I really hope that makes a return for this one.

I think when people mean Souls-like they're talking more about things like the moment-to-moment gameplay. I'd be down with them leaning a bit into modern Souls-like design and mechanics, but I really hope they keep the mission-based structure of the older games and don't make it a big, explorable, open-world.

For people still wondering what early AC is like here is (long) video going into a ton of detail on the first game:
 
Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon will be the first entry in the series by From Software to get released after the Souls series achieved massive success, but fans of the Japanese studio shouldn't expect the game to have many elements lifted from the series, according to a well-known insider

in a new message shared on the ResetEra forums, Omnipotent, who correctly revealed information about several From Software titles, including Elden Ring, provided an interesting clarification on whether the next entry in the series will be influenced by the Souls series...in their explanation, Omnipotent highlighted that Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon may have elements from the Souls games, but only because they existed in the franchise before and are a core part of From Software's design philosophy...at the same time, the game will have elements that will be a radical departure from the Souls game when it comes to the gameplay loop, structure, and more...

https://www.resetera.com/threads/ar...one-series-steam.662791/page-24#post-98022754
 
IGN interview with the man, himself.

https://www.ign.com/articles/armored-core-6-interview

IGN: Is it fair to say that Armored Core VI will be closer to the Soulsborne games than the series has been in the past?

Hidetaka Miyazaki: No, we've not been making a conscious effort to try to direct it towards more Soulsborne type gameplay. First of all, let me just make that clear.

The essential direction of [Armored Core VI] was to go back and take a good look at the core concept of Armored Core and what made that series special. So we wanted to take the assembly aspect, assembling and customizing your own mech — your AC — and then being able to exact a high level of control over the assembled mech. So we wanted to take those two core concepts and reexamine those in our modern environment.

And, of course, what that means is taking our know-how and experiences from game development in recent years, and applying that knowledge to the development of [Armored Core VI], and reexamining it together with those core concepts of Armored Core.

So the real impetus for this project, I think, or at least one of the real appeals for me comes from that aspect of assembly, and being able to really freely assemble and customize the mech, I think is what we really highly focus on in Armored Core. And having mechs or mecha as a theme, it's really about that high level of freedom that adjusting each individual part gives, and how that affects the gameplay and the properties of your mech actually in combat. We think it's a little bit more liberating than, say, just swapping out armor or equipment. There's actually a much higher degree of freedom here, and being able to see these effects both in game, and as part of the world building, and as part of your player choices, we feel like this is a very big part of what makes Armored Core special.


The gist of the interview is perfectly summed up by this comment:
1670869573929.png
 
IGN interview with the man, himself.

https://www.ign.com/articles/armored-core-6-interview

IGN: Is it fair to say that Armored Core VI will be closer to the Soulsborne games than the series has been in the past?

Hidetaka Miyazaki: No, we've not been making a conscious effort to try to direct it towards more Soulsborne type gameplay. First of all, let me just make that clear.

The essential direction of [Armored Core VI] was to go back and take a good look at the core concept of Armored Core and what made that series special. So we wanted to take the assembly aspect, assembling and customizing your own mech — your AC — and then being able to exact a high level of control over the assembled mech. So we wanted to take those two core concepts and reexamine those in our modern environment.

And, of course, what that means is taking our know-how and experiences from game development in recent years, and applying that knowledge to the development of [Armored Core VI], and reexamining it together with those core concepts of Armored Core.

So the real impetus for this project, I think, or at least one of the real appeals for me comes from that aspect of assembly, and being able to really freely assemble and customize the mech, I think is what we really highly focus on in Armored Core. And having mechs or mecha as a theme, it's really about that high level of freedom that adjusting each individual part gives, and how that affects the gameplay and the properties of your mech actually in combat. We think it's a little bit more liberating than, say, just swapping out armor or equipment. There's actually a much higher degree of freedom here, and being able to see these effects both in game, and as part of the world building, and as part of your player choices, we feel like this is a very big part of what makes Armored Core special.


The gist of the interview is perfectly summed up by this comment:
View attachment 533765

There's some good information in the interview but JFC the interviewer really was constantly asking "will it be like Soulsborn" in any variation they could think of.
 
Hard pass, but I'm glad they're not just making another Soulsborne game. I just never understood the point of big ass humanoid-looking robots and mechanized tanks.
 
I’ll be interested to see what their take on a modern mech game is. I never really got into the genre because they always felt too clunky but the anime fan in me loves the idea of them.
 
I’ll be interested to see what their take on a modern mech game is. I never really got into the genre because they always felt too clunky but the anime fan in me loves the idea of them.

it's From Software, it's going to be a good game at worst...until they actually fail at something I'm going to assume that they're going to continue their string of blockbusters...even with Miyazaki not being the lead Director on this I'm still expecting a good game...the fact that they are finally moving away from the Souls formula is also something to look forward to
 
Later ones moved a little faster, at least I recall them doing so. Though, that might also have been due to the frame-rates being better. I really want to replay some of the PS1 and PS2 titles again, but it's not easy (or cheap) to find copies these days.

I recently learned that AC1 (and maybe later ones?) have an amazing "fail state" when you completely run out of money to afford repairs and new parts. I would always erase my save file and restart from the beginning if I couldn't afford to move on. I really hope that makes a return for this one.

I think when people mean Souls-like they're talking more about things like the moment-to-moment gameplay. I'd be down with them leaning a bit into modern Souls-like design and mechanics, but I really hope they keep the mission-based structure of the older games and don't make it a big, explorable, open-world.

For people still wondering what early AC is like here is (long) video going into a ton of detail on the first game:

Those were the days. That failsafe also allowed you to unlock the 9-Ball AC features like laser blade projectiles and firing a grenade launcher while mobile.
 
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whatever it is going to be, I'm going to follow its development - that art direction in the trailer had talent behind it no doubt.
 
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