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DoomUK
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DooM_RO said:
Id Software recently said that the overused darkness was there because of the technical limitations

There's your answer. Before it was nonsensically butchered, Colonial Marines was prettier because of newer technology and better hardware. Case closed.

I think there's more than enough things that are wrong with CM to bitch about in this thread, without getting into another discussion about Doom 3 and its failings.
Old Post 02-16-13 09:04 #
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geo
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Blaming the PS3 hardware... yet somehow Skyrim manages to be a quality game. And they were in production about the same time >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o921p4TIzH4

But yes quite a few devs have said PS3 is a bitch to work on. I keep hearing that PS3 was meant to do complex calculations for physics... that games just get diverted to graphics. (I'm just parroting and I don't know if this is actually true or not).

Last edited by geo on 02-16-13 at 13:22
Old Post 02-16-13 13:13 #
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DooM_RO
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geo said:
Blaming the PS3 hardware... yet somehow Skyrim manages to be a quality game. And they were in production about the same time >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o921p4TIzH4

But yes quite a few devs have said PS3 is a bitch to work on. I keep hearing that PS3 was meant to do complex calculations for physics... that games just get diverted to graphics. (I'm just parroting and I don't know if this is actually true or not).


And the PS3 port is the worst.
Old Post 02-16-13 13:26 #
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geo
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Is it? I couldn't really tell, but I haven't played PS3 version of Skyrim especially when I can pick up the PC version for so cheap. *cough* paypal TF2 keys for games on winter sale *cough* = $13.40

Anyway they could have always made a good version of X-Box & PC then made a version for PS3 that would have been 'unique'. The cut scenes though stand out as glaringly bad and low quality. Maybe they had 0 space left on the disc?
Old Post 02-16-13 13:35 #
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kristus
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geo said:
Blaming the PS3 hardware... yet somehow Skyrim manages to be a quality game. And they were in production about the same time >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o921p4TIzH4

ACM wasn't really worked on for 6 or 7 years. It was in "production" for that long. But GearBox just had it on the backburner for the better part of those years. While Bethesda focused and put care into makign Skyrim a good game. Gearbox seem to have just pretended to give a shit and use it as a PR tool. Like building an actual gun that looked like a pulse rifle. (it was just an assualt rifle decked out like a pulse rifle, but so were the ones in the movie as well)
Old Post 02-16-13 14:01 #
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geo
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It just seems like a cash grab and TimeGate is a scape goat. If it went well then all hail Gearbox. If it sucked... well we outsource to TimeGate.

That company also did 3 FEAR expansions >>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfGbZC_l0Y
Perseus Mandate >>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-k0qdoZYQI
I like how the AI gets complimented ^^^

and the FPS Section 8 >> http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews...ection-8-review
Section 8 Prejudice >> http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews...rejudice-review
^^^ insults the enemy AI that just stand there while you shoot them.

And as for the pulse rifle... I think in the movies they always say short controlled bursts because if you didn't keep it short and sweet the gun would go all over the place. You are too accurate with weapons even at long distances that it makes the smart gun virtually useless.

Last edited by geo on 02-16-13 at 15:00
Old Post 02-16-13 14:29 #
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BlackFish
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Section 8 Prejudice was good though. Too bad the game never fully picked up. (GFWL kind of ruined things too)
Old Post 02-16-13 14:43 #
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Scuba Steve


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Kaiser said:
I have nothing to say only that I did my job and did what I was told to do. Nothing more.

People were still hung at Nuremberg despite that argument!
Old Post 02-16-13 15:04 #
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bkt
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Scuba Steve said:

People were still hung at Nuremberg despite that argument!
Work in game development for a while, you'll understand that in order to keep your job, sometimes you need take it on the chin and work on a crap project. Even seriously promising projects like ACM can be ruined by poor management at no fault of the grunts on the floor doing the heavy lifting.
Old Post 02-16-13 16:02 #
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geo
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I worked for a design company in the late 90s that had client contracts for $100,000 per year (lowest contracts were for $40,000 per year). Then they'd outsource (sub contract) to people that work from home for like $5,000 - $10,000 per year. Some how some way a company with giant clients paying them hundreds of thousands a year went bankrupt.

Usually in the design field people want what everyone else has and don't you dare go outside the box. Then there are cases of working for 7 bosses. Then they all override each other and nothing gets done. 1 captain steers the ship not 7.
Old Post 02-16-13 16:16 #
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kristus
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geo said:
And as for the pulse rifle... I think in the movies they always say short controlled bursts because if you didn't keep it short and sweet the gun would go all over the place. You are too accurate with weapons even at long distances that it makes the smart gun virtually useless.
No. Hicks say that at the end at control where they are making a stand against the Aliens.

The reason he says it is because they are running low on ammo after losing almost all the ammo in the atmospheric processing plant and from Ferro crashing with the lander. He says "-Remember, short controlled bursts." Just before the Aliens are expected to attack to remind his fellow marines to conserve the limited ammo and use it to do the most damage.
Old Post 02-16-13 17:55 #
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geo
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What you say does make sense :-) In this game there is no need for short controlled bursts.
Old Post 02-16-13 18:02 #
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Sergeant_Mark_IV
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I finished the game on hardened difficulty and there were not even a single moment where I needed to use "Short controlled bursts". I went trigger-happy all the way, and when my pulse rifle went out of ammo, I just had to use the shotgun for a while. Didn't used the pistol on the entire game.
Old Post 02-16-13 20:06 #
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DoomUK
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It never says much about a game when you have to force yourself to play it, as if it's a chore and not an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. That's what I'm experiencing with this.
Old Post 02-17-13 10:59 #
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Doom Marine
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With co-op and Aliens, Colonial Marines was one of my top anticipated games... After hearing universally disappointed feedbacks, I'm just going to pick it up on $5 Steam Sales.

... And how did they make the final product worse than the demo?

Check out the comparison between demo and final product:


How did GearBox, maker of my ATF Borderlands 2, fuck this up so badly?
Old Post 02-17-13 11:37 #
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kristus
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From what I've gathered. Timegate made the demo.
Old Post 02-17-13 12:04 #
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geo
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Was that demo on PS3 or was it on a PC? I missed where they said. Was the demo actually playable? But I guess they're wondering. And I'm pretty sure judging from TimeGate's previous games I'm sure this is a TimeGate game. Gearbox could have done the AI and then had TimeGate do the maps like how they did Fear. Just used the current engine and AI and made the maps.

I'd say the demo was made after the game was complete. Just like the Duke demo.
Old Post 02-17-13 14:10 #
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kristus
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The Demo is from 2011 when Timegate was still working on the game. And the information that has come out was that it was running poorly on the PS3. Gearbox is the ones who worked on the game from late 2011 to "completion". If you look at games that Timegate made themselves. This game is not indicative of the kind of quality they put out. (Like Section 8 Prejudice.)

In the case of Fear, Timegate only made expansion packs. It's not their job to reinvent the wheel in an expansion pack. Fear was a shit game to begin with so, what do you expect should come out from polishing a turd?
Old Post 02-17-13 14:29 #
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geo
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Not that I've played Prejudice, but the review said AI that lets you put bullets into them while they stand there does sound like Aliens. And yep they made expansion packs so I'm saying they work with what they're given. Bad AI is bad AI. A good way to make sure you don't break the AI is by having straight forward combat. When I flanked the AI they were clueless about what to do.

Plus in areas that have to be dark and atmospheric its really best to keep you moving forward, because if you have to go backward that means you could get lost. Getting lost is bad.

If PS3 had performance problems then take out the fog and dynamic lighting for the PS3 version but leave it in other games :-) Or make the enemies stupid. :-)

The alien AI should really see a cone of your vision and go to where you don't see unless they're within a range that they can hit you before they die. Or even move and stay frozen so there's no motion on your tracker. That way you can think wtf there was movement now there's nothing... time to go check. Surprise! There should also constantly be tunnels for them so they don't always hide around corners. But I guess with aliens which corner would they be in? On the floor or the ceiling? Having them drop in on you would be good too like they do in the movies. People hate looking at the ceilings in FPS though.

Having acid actually hurt coupled with the need for shoving the aliens away like AvP before you shoot them would be useful too.

Maybe then the plentiful ammo and armor would be needed.

In the 3 hours I played I only fought: aliens, soldiers, face huggers. I saw that as a bad thing yet when playing Uncharted 1 the game literally just had the same goon for the first 6+ hours before the goons had better weapons. Oddly enough I had no problem with that, because the enemies took cover and sprang out in weird positions. They all managed to avoid my line of sight, take cover and try to flank me... all while trying to shoot me. Like an advanced shooting gallery. They'd also attack 10 at a time leading me to fall back or make use of cover. It made things intense. All of that coupled with dynamic lighting and swaying trees.

Oh well what's done is done. Gearbox made money to make more games. Hmmm... will Terminator be next? How about Evil Dead?
Old Post 02-17-13 15:27 #
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kristus
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Prejudice was a very good Multiplayer title. I've only played a few hours into the campaign, but I've not had issues with glitchy AI in it, so from my experience it's not that big an issue. Though FWIW I have that a lot in Skyrim.
Old Post 02-17-13 15:57 #
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Mr. Chris
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Has anyone seen this alleged QA tester posting juicy bits on Reddit Gaming section?

Verified
Q and A

__________________
Chris's uploads - Link
Doom videos 1 - 2
Old Post 02-17-13 17:06 #
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geo
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Word on the street is the Colonial Marines has sold 200,000 - 300,000 copies via pre-order. That should make Sega about $500,000 - $1 million for their cut depending if Gearbox gets a cut (license royalty, store, platform and distributor get cuts). Chances are they will since it was always Gearbox pushing the product and not Sega. After first week sales everything always goes down from there, unless its some indie game with 0 publicity but word of mouth.

According to Wikipedia TimeGate has 50 - 60 employees and churns out 1 game per 2 or 3 years. That might put wages somewhere around $1 million per year if they're some second hand outsourced programming. For 2 years. $2 million on the low end. So I'd think Gearbox was probably paid at least $3 million? Or a few million per year or a bigger percentage of game sales?

Then there's all of the publicity and commercials...

Chances are Colonial Marines might make Sega $2 - $3 million at the most in the lifespan of the game. This won't cover other expenses.

Maybe my math is off but how do these companies stay in business? Especially Sega. A year ago Sega announced it would be publishing less games and cutting jobs to make more money / save more money.

I know that with book deals authors are given advancements of money that the publishers pay the author to keep the authors motivated. Then there are stipulations in the contract that if the author fails to meet the sales so the publisher can make back its author they're entitled to get the money back or they sue for it.

Last edited by geo on 02-17-13 at 20:15
Old Post 02-17-13 19:40 #
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bkt
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Mr. Chris said:
Has anyone seen this alleged QA tester posting juicy bits on Reddit Gaming section?

Verified
Q and A
I'm going to go ahead and suggest that the 'tester' is full of shit. From the replies he made in the comments it's pretty clear that if he is for real, then he doesn't have a clue about the actual development process.
Old Post 02-18-13 01:53 #
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Nems
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DoomUK said:
Honestly, the last respectable Aliens-related game was AvP 2. And there's not a lot of competition.


Sadly, any time I've installed AvP2 on my PC - even with specs that are able to run it and beyond - it somehow bricks it. I can't recall what kind of DRM it uses (I've read somewhere that it uses SecuROM, and somewhere else mentions it uses Starforce), but that's about the only thing I can think of that would make it brick my PC. Of course, I'm only semi-literate when it comes to PC stuff. :\

That was part of the reason I was really looking forward to Aliens: Colonial Marines, only to find out about all of this crap. Good thing I didn't open up my copy. I'm gonna send it back to Amazon, get my money back, and get AvP2010.
Old Post 02-18-13 03:14 #
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Satyr000
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Nems said:
That was part of the reason I was really looking forward to Aliens: Colonial Marines, only to find out about all of this crap. Good thing I didn't open up my copy. I'm gonna send it back to Amazon, get my money back, and get AvP2010.


AVP 2000: Classic is five bucks on Steam. Grab a copy and look up some of the enhancement mods for it. AVP 2010 was good, but AVP 2000 is the better of the two. Especially when you compare the Marine campaigns of the two.
Old Post 02-18-13 07:06 #
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Jodwin
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geo said:
That should make Sega about $500,000 - $1 million for their cut depending if Gearbox gets a cut (license royalty, store, platform and distributor get cuts). Chances are they will since it was always Gearbox pushing the product and not Sega.

Source? From what I had heard, Sega was pissed off at Gearbox for sitting on the game for years with zero interest of making it and as a result Sega forced Gearbox to get the game made ASAP.
Old Post 02-18-13 11:24 #
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geo
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bkt said:
I'm going to go ahead and suggest that the 'tester' is full of shit. From the replies he made in the comments it's pretty clear that if he is for real, then he doesn't have a clue about the actual development process.


Yeah... some of the questions I was vague on whether he worked for Gearbox or Sega. At some point he made it seem like he worked for one... then the other.
Old Post 02-18-13 15:08 #
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geo
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Jodwin said:

Source? From what I had heard, Sega was pissed off at Gearbox for sitting on the game for years with zero interest of making it and as a result Sega forced Gearbox to get the game made ASAP.


Ha! You're right I was off... they'd make around $5 million - $10 million not 1 million. Didn't check how many zeros I had. They'll probably make $20 million on the life of the game. Now I don't feel as bad for Sega. But I still see this as a giant loss for them.... like all of their games.
Old Post 02-18-13 15:25 #
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Scuba Steve


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bkt said:
Work in game development for a while, you'll understand that in order to keep your job, sometimes you need take it on the chin and work on a crap project. Even seriously promising projects like ACM can be ruined by poor management at no fault of the grunts on the floor doing the heavy lifting.

Oh I am well aware of everything you said. But I still have to give Kaiser shit.
Old Post 02-18-13 16:22 #
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Kaiser
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Scuba Steve said:

Oh I am well aware of everything you said. But I still have to give Kaiser shit.


Its okay, I still love you.
Old Post 02-18-13 16:44 #
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