![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Batman Arkham Asylum Demo Released...
- Thread starter Z(+)DIAC
- Start date
he's pretty much the best joker voice. the laugh is what's really killer.
ultimatequix
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2006
- Messages
- 195
Played the PS3 demo and I really like what they've done with the game. Its got that gritty feel to it and Batman sounds decent for once. The only minor complaint I had was the over-the-shoulder viewing angle that it had. At some points it was kind of difficult to see what was going on around me.
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 4,416
Actually just finished running through the demo for the PC. Grabbed it through Steam.
Love it is all I can say. Games runs well with everything maxed out. Hopefully the rest of the game is as nice.
Also, I hope the final version gives more control over things like controller setup. The defaults for my Logitech gamepad were iffy due to the demo mapping it like it was an Xbox 360 controller. So I ended up using the keyboard and mouse setup which all things considered wasn't bad.
Love it is all I can say. Games runs well with everything maxed out. Hopefully the rest of the game is as nice.
Also, I hope the final version gives more control over things like controller setup. The defaults for my Logitech gamepad were iffy due to the demo mapping it like it was an Xbox 360 controller. So I ended up using the keyboard and mouse setup which all things considered wasn't bad.
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 4,416
The whole battle system is pretty slick. Enjoyed it quite a bit. Will probably go through the demo a few more times just to try stuff out. Pissed off that the PC version doesn't hit till September though.
-=WooDWorKeR420=-
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2006
- Messages
- 392
I noticed this too, and thought it was a nice touch. A good omage to the old series, which was one of the better batman cartoons out there.
Demo was fun, but way too short as usuall.
TheResidentEvil
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2009
- Messages
- 1,943
i think the physx effects are taken out of the games because nvidia probably pays or has incentives for developers to do that. It is not because the developers cant make it work for both. With that said, the fog is super cool as well as the other effects. I ran on physx high with no issues with 8600GT ded physx and GTX 275 @ 1680x1050.
Also, i saw a commercial last night that said you can play as the joker but only on the PS3 version. lame.
Also, i saw a commercial last night that said you can play as the joker but only on the PS3 version. lame.
Cape stun, cape stun, attack, attack, throw.
I tore through the demo w/ this formula!
It's a big time button masher but it's a lot of fun. I'm kinda irked over the nVidia specific features (you're telling me that my 4870 can't use the game's AA filter??) but it ultimately doesn't matter b/c the game looks pretty slick on UE3. I just don't think that I could pay full price for a game like this. Batman Arkham Asylum is looking like a $30 or less pickup for me.
I tore through the demo w/ this formula!
It's a big time button masher but it's a lot of fun. I'm kinda irked over the nVidia specific features (you're telling me that my 4870 can't use the game's AA filter??) but it ultimately doesn't matter b/c the game looks pretty slick on UE3. I just don't think that I could pay full price for a game like this. Batman Arkham Asylum is looking like a $30 or less pickup for me.
TomGreen321
Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
- Messages
- 901
It's only a few challenge maps. Not much to be missed out on.
sizzlemeister
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2007
- Messages
- 165
I was hoping for it be a bit more sandbox style, and it may very well be seeing as the demo is so short. Speaking of, what a huge download for such a short demo.
I actually was a bit put off the first time through because it seemed so linear. The second time through, especially the last challenge taking out the armed guards, I appreciated what they were trying to do with the game - which is to force you to think out an initial strategy sort of like playing chess.
I hope in the retail version they allow you to change the view; I agree that the off-to-the-side shoulder view isn't ideal.
Otherwise, it's beautiful to look and listen to.
I actually was a bit put off the first time through because it seemed so linear. The second time through, especially the last challenge taking out the armed guards, I appreciated what they were trying to do with the game - which is to force you to think out an initial strategy sort of like playing chess.
I hope in the retail version they allow you to change the view; I agree that the off-to-the-side shoulder view isn't ideal.
Otherwise, it's beautiful to look and listen to.
Actually, I wasn't expecting there to be much replay value with this title, but recently discovered all the different side missions, unlockables, and the fact that you can revisit every area you've already discovered.
Notice Zsasz's jail cell near where you take him down? Once you've found the explosives weapon unlock, you can revisit this area and blow the wall out to investigate.
I'm really pumped for this...
Just for reference, I'm running the game using Geforce GTX 280's in 3-Way SLI (minus one for PhysX) and my machine had no trouble maxing out the game at 2560x1600 and giving me smooth frame rates and a very good gaming experience. The game seems to work very nicely on the PC in general.
Yes they are. Well at least some of them are. The important ones are anyway. Kevin Conroy is Batman/Bruce Wayne, Mark Hamill is the Joker, and her name escapes me at the moment, but the woman who voices Harley Quinn is the same as in Batman the Animated Series as well. The writer for the game worked on many of the DC Animated Universe productions up until 2004.
Paul Dini was involved with the following shows:
Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)
The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999)
The New Batman/Superman Adventures (1997-2000)
Batman Beyond (1999-2001)
Static Shock (2000-2004)
The Zeta Project (2001-2002)
Justice League (2001-2004)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
Most of those films are pretty good (especially Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker), but the series I listed above are all excellent excluding Static Shock and The Zeta Project both of which were spin-offs of Batman Beyond.
If you are a fan of Batman and any other DC Universe characters and haven't seen these shows you really need to. Everything since Justice League: Unlimited has been dumbed down and is much less intelligent and is more focused toward younger viewers. These shows were ok for children to watch for the most part but they are certainly geared toward an older audience as well.
PhysX actually offers breakable tiles, glass and smoke/steam effects. Yes much of this could be done in software but at a much greater performance hit.
Agreed.
He is really quite excellent as the Joker. I've always thought so since he started doing Joker's voice on Batman the Animated Series.
Not at all. I thought the controls worked very well.
I've played through the game a dozen times and while the earlier part goes about the same for me every time the large room with the four or five guys plays out very differently every time. I really think there is quite a bit of replay value in the game the way they've done it.
Yes they are. Well at least some of them are. The important ones are anyway. Kevin Conroy is Batman/Bruce Wayne, Mark Hamill is the Joker, and her name escapes me at the moment, but the woman who voices Harley Quinn is the same as in Batman the Animated Series as well. The writer for the game worked on many of the DC Animated Universe productions up until 2004.
Paul Dini was involved with the following shows:
Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)
The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999)
The New Batman/Superman Adventures (1997-2000)
Batman Beyond (1999-2001)
Static Shock (2000-2004)
The Zeta Project (2001-2002)
Justice League (2001-2004)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
Most of those films are pretty good (especially Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker), but the series I listed above are all excellent excluding Static Shock and The Zeta Project both of which were spin-offs of Batman Beyond.
If you are a fan of Batman and any other DC Universe characters and haven't seen these shows you really need to. Everything since Justice League: Unlimited has been dumbed down and is much less intelligent and is more focused toward younger viewers. These shows were ok for children to watch for the most part but they are certainly geared toward an older audience as well.
PhysX actually offers breakable tiles, glass and smoke/steam effects. Yes much of this could be done in software but at a much greater performance hit.
Agreed.
He is really quite excellent as the Joker. I've always thought so since he started doing Joker's voice on Batman the Animated Series.
Not at all. I thought the controls worked very well.
I've played through the game a dozen times and while the earlier part goes about the same for me every time the large room with the four or five guys plays out very differently every time. I really think there is quite a bit of replay value in the game the way they've done it.
Arleen Sorkin did Harely's voice in the animated series. People should also read some of the comics that Dini wrote, especially stuff with Harely. He is currently doing a comic staring Harely, Catwoma, and Posion Ivy. Just based on the first issue, its brilliant.
People should also look into the stuff Bruce Tim has done, especially the DC animated movies like Green Lantern: First Flight and the upcming Superman and Batman: Public Enemies.
PS: Dini is working on an adaption of Gatchaman. That'll either be interesting or suck massively.
meatfestival
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,767
Is that possible in the demo?
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 4,416
Yeah Bruce Tim and Paul Dini are geniuses when it comes to the DC comics world. I wish they done more Batman Beyond. Was nice how they tied some of it into JLU later on.
Can't wait to see what Dini has in store for us in the game.
Oh and IMO Mark Hamill's best Joker laugh is at the end of the JL episode "Injustice for All" Part 1. I remember reading years ago when Batman: TAS first started that Hamill created 14 different laughs for Joker.
Batman Beyond sadly never got the respect it deserved. It had a mixed reception from fans. I didn't get into it much until after it ended. It came out a time when I wasn't watching cartoons a lot.
seems like Mark Hamill has re-invented himself nicely since Star Wars...will most people remember him now for his work on the original Star Wars trilogy or as the voice of the Joker?...I still say Star Wars only because a lot of people still probably do not even know he voices the Joker due to his face not being in front of the camera
unrealsword
Gawd
- Joined
- May 8, 2008
- Messages
- 825
I don't agree about doing physics with a performance hit. Look at the ghostbusters game and star wars: both have great physics and work fine even on consoles.
I saw it when it first came out and then I just didn't have much time for TV. I caught the rest of the series after it was already cancelled. I enjoyed the series. It had a darker tone than all the other DC Animated Universe material did. It was nice to see the after math of some of the stories that had been done in the previous series'. I also thought that it was a good story for the elderly Bruce Wayne and a nice way to continue his legacy.
Few Updates regarding BAA (taken directly from the official forums):
* There will be free-roaming after things are finished and there will also be no respawning of enemies after you've beaten them. After the game is finished, all power-ups and whatnot will not carry over to a new game (no New Game+).
* The game will be roughly 12 - 15 hours in length.
* There will be 240 Riddles left by The Riddler that are scattered around the island.
* The game will support 720p.
* The PS3 will require about 1.2GB of space to install B:AA.
* The 360 will require about 60KB of space to install B:AA.
* The Batarang included in the Collector's Edition is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a type of plastic. It is the same type of plastic that LEGOs are made out of.
* The PC versions will be enhanced for multi-core processors.
PS3 Features:
* Able to play as The Joker in eight Challenge Map which will be released as downloadable content on August 25th on the PlayStation Network. This DLC will be free.
* There will be a "Batman Arkham Asylum Batcave Outpost Apartment". Apparently, this will be only for PlayStation Home. It will contain items such as the Batsuit, Batmobile, and Batwing, along with various Bat-gadgets. This content on PlayStation Home will be free.
* The comic book "The Road to Arkham" will be given to PSP owners via download on the PlayStation Network. This comic will be free but will most likely NOT be able to be read by your PS3.
* The PlayStation 3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum will use some elements of SIXAXIS Motion Control.
Downloadable Content
* It has been confirmed by Sefton Hill of Rocksteady that we will get downloadable content on 360 and on the PS3.
* The exclusive Challenge Maps from the GameStop / Play.co.uk preorder and the Collectors Edition will possibly be up for download 30 days after the release of the video game.
* There will also be downloadable content on the PC as confirmed by jaycw2309, Moderator from Eidos.
Xbox 360 Achievements: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/batman-arkham-asylum/achievements
More Info (videos, podcasts, screenshots, etc.) here: http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=91193
* There will be free-roaming after things are finished and there will also be no respawning of enemies after you've beaten them. After the game is finished, all power-ups and whatnot will not carry over to a new game (no New Game+).
* The game will be roughly 12 - 15 hours in length.
* There will be 240 Riddles left by The Riddler that are scattered around the island.
* The game will support 720p.
* The PS3 will require about 1.2GB of space to install B:AA.
* The 360 will require about 60KB of space to install B:AA.
* The Batarang included in the Collector's Edition is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a type of plastic. It is the same type of plastic that LEGOs are made out of.
* The PC versions will be enhanced for multi-core processors.
PS3 Features:
* Able to play as The Joker in eight Challenge Map which will be released as downloadable content on August 25th on the PlayStation Network. This DLC will be free.
* There will be a "Batman Arkham Asylum Batcave Outpost Apartment". Apparently, this will be only for PlayStation Home. It will contain items such as the Batsuit, Batmobile, and Batwing, along with various Bat-gadgets. This content on PlayStation Home will be free.
* The comic book "The Road to Arkham" will be given to PSP owners via download on the PlayStation Network. This comic will be free but will most likely NOT be able to be read by your PS3.
* The PlayStation 3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum will use some elements of SIXAXIS Motion Control.
Downloadable Content
* It has been confirmed by Sefton Hill of Rocksteady that we will get downloadable content on 360 and on the PS3.
* The exclusive Challenge Maps from the GameStop / Play.co.uk preorder and the Collectors Edition will possibly be up for download 30 days after the release of the video game.
* There will also be downloadable content on the PC as confirmed by jaycw2309, Moderator from Eidos.
Xbox 360 Achievements: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/batman-arkham-asylum/achievements
More Info (videos, podcasts, screenshots, etc.) here: http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=91193
240 riddles for the player to solve?...or 240 of those Riddler trophy bonus things to find?
Last edited:
PhysX has a performance hit due to running on the GPU with everything else. Velocity and Havok run off the CPU. Though GB didn't have that great physics. Sure as heck nowhere near what they hyped it up to be.
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 4,416
Impressive. Nice to know the game isn't 6 hours and then pfft nothing. Nice challenge to find all 240 riddles. Love how it's enhanced for multi-core processors. Now the question is how "enhanced" is it? Maybe the [H] can do a nice review on it's multi-core abilities.
There are riddles marked by the Riddler's signature 'Question Mark" throughout the Asylum. If you go to the final area of the demo (Predator Room) and turn on your "Detective Vision" on in the center room (with glass ceiling) you'll notice a large Question Mark smeered in black light paint on one of the windows. The demo doesn't allow you to access this feature, but it will be available in the game.
PrincessFrosty
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 5,905
This is maybe the first title i've seen that make a half decent argument for Physx, although I can't help but thinking that a lot of the effects are probably downplayed without Physx. That comparison video was very good thanks whoever made that.
But did anyone notice that things like the sparks, paper, and steam/smoke could probably run on a quad core CPU without too much problem, the only thing that looked even remotely taxing was the larger sections of cloth.
Back in the days of Cell factor it turned out that even mid range dual cores had little problem dealing with the physics at decent frame rates with the exception of cloth and liquid physics, which of course had no effect to the actual game logic (and therefore gameplay)
it seems like the developers + Nvidia are pulling a bit of a fast one with some of these effects, I'd be very interested in seeing someone emulating physx on to the cpu with multicore support, and also someone reporting on the general use of cores (how many specifically) for the game in general.
But did anyone notice that things like the sparks, paper, and steam/smoke could probably run on a quad core CPU without too much problem, the only thing that looked even remotely taxing was the larger sections of cloth.
Back in the days of Cell factor it turned out that even mid range dual cores had little problem dealing with the physics at decent frame rates with the exception of cloth and liquid physics, which of course had no effect to the actual game logic (and therefore gameplay)
it seems like the developers + Nvidia are pulling a bit of a fast one with some of these effects, I'd be very interested in seeing someone emulating physx on to the cpu with multicore support, and also someone reporting on the general use of cores (how many specifically) for the game in general.
cannondale06
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 16,180
youre just mad because you have an ATI card.
yeah those effects just dont look all that great and its hard to imagine that it really takes all that power just to run them. it seems like many games do effects almost as good without requiring physx.
Any one of the PhysX effects could be done on the CPU without too much of a hit I suspect. However when taken into account all at once I can see it being an issue. You have sparks, smoke/steam (quite a bit in at least one area), destructable tiles and glass, as well as the cloth effects. Oh and lets not forget all the paperwork on the floor that gets kicked up and flies around while you walk over it or fight. These are just the PhysX enabled effects seen in the demo. Who knows what the full version has in store for us? (Fire, water effects?) Ultimately it could have been done on the CPU but I suspect it could be done more frequently and done better off the GPU.
Jesus, people bitch that PhysX has never really been used much in games and now bitch because they didn't do it all on the CPU's.
cannondale06
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 16,180
I doubt they will get too crazy with the full version if those extra effects require even more processing power. people that have ran the demo will already have expectations on how the game should run on their hardware.Any one of the PhysX effects could be done on the CPU without too much of a hit I suspect. However when taken into account all at once I can see it being an issue. You have sparks, smoke/steam (quite a bit in at least one area), destructable tiles and glass, as well as the cloth effects. Oh and lets not forget all the paperwork on the floor that gets kicked up and flies around while you walk over it or fight. These are just the PhysX enabled effects seen in the demo. Who knows what the full version has in store for us? (Fire, water effects?) Ultimately it could have been done on the CPU but I suspect it could be done more frequently and done better off the GPU.
Jesus, people bitch that PhysX has never really been used much in games and now bitch because they didn't do it all on the CPU's.
I'm just saying there could be additional effects in the game we haven't seen yet. I've noticed that the areas of the game that have these effects don't tend to do too many of them at one given point. Destructable tiles were by themselves while steam and spark effects were used at the same time. Breakable glass only was found where the cloth banners were. So I wouldn't expect to see breaking tiles, water effects, smoke and fire effects being used all at the same time, but we may still see more effects some of which may require slightly more processing power than what we've seen thus far. It probably won't cause you to have to reduce settings or anything over what your computer ran the demo well at, but it may drag performance down slightly. Probably just a few FPS here or there.
PrincessFrosty
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 5,905
Any one of the PhysX effects could be done on the CPU without too much of a hit I suspect. However when taken into account all at once I can see it being an issue. You have sparks, smoke/steam (quite a bit in at least one area), destructable tiles and glass, as well as the cloth effects. Oh and lets not forget all the paperwork on the floor that gets kicked up and flies around while you walk over it or fight. These are just the PhysX enabled effects seen in the demo. Who knows what the full version has in store for us? (Fire, water effects?) Ultimately it could have been done on the CPU but I suspect it could be done more frequently and done better off the GPU.
Jesus, people bitch that PhysX has never really been used much in games and now bitch because they didn't do it all on the CPU's.
I dont see a modern quad core having any trouble handling the levels of smoke, floor paper, tiles and sparks we saw in the demo. Again maybe the cloth physics are probably the GPUs strong point and would need to be disabled.
But this whole "all or nothing argument" doesn't make any sense, lets calculate what we can with the spare CPU power we have, then move anything else thats more taxing on to the GPU/PPU.
I'm not a huge fan of using graphics accelerators for physics calculations anyway but if they want to make an argument for it they have to make an honest one, and that includes letting us test to see how well this runs on modern CPUs, I really hope this is possible via command line like it was in cell factor, I think the results would surprise a lot of you.
cannondale06
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 16,180
nobody is stopping you from running physx on the cpu but do you really want 5-10 fps?
PrincessFrosty
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 5,905
You clearly don't understand what I've been saying. A lot of these effects simply aren't taxing enough to cause a modern day quad core drop to 5-10fps.
Some of them might, such as the cloth, however things like sparks and smoke which have traditionally been done on the CPU are perfectly do-able in games like this, especially small scale particle physics like sparks the fact they scaled them back down is laughable, it's such an obvious attempt at trying to make the physx hardware more attractive than it really is.
cannondale06
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 16,180
okay I see what you are saying now. yeah I have been saying the same thing for quite a while too as these effects just dont seem like they should be taking this much power to run.
Yeah, its just the way PhysX is coded that causes that. UE3 games can actually use software PhysX that runs entirely off the CPU. The software PhysX can likely do everything that the hardware based one can.