BREAKING NEWS: ALPHA PROTOCOL - OBSIDIAN MMORPG

[racofer]

Poor Sega, it will get all the blame now for "pushing the release date" when this game is released and is as bug ridden/unfinished as Obsidian's previous titles.

Edited March 11, 2008 by racofer

[Zoma]

The last title by Obsidian is anything but unfinished and to a degree, severely bug ridden.

 

Its called Mask of the Betrayer.

[Gorgon]

I thought all new releases were bug ridden and unfinished by default. Usually you have to wait at least a couple of months for a patch to fix the worst of it, and maybe a year for one that will adress all of them.

[Nick_i_am]

Yeah, it's not like any first-party sega games have been abortive messes.

 

wait....

[walkerguy]

haha, this thread is like a forum intelligence test.

 

Guess who loses.

 

I do! Wait... thats a bad thing....

[Enoch]

The whole idea with using static HP to represent damage taken is obsolete in todays computer games. The system used in Gears of War, Mass Effect or CoD4 is much smoother. No more medkits, no resting in the middle of a level and no more dying frrom a flybite because a previous encounter took 95% of your health bar.

I have played none of those games, but I think I agree. Hit Points are not representative of your character's actual health, they are representative of your character's action-hero mojo. Especially in a modern setting where 1 bullet would realistically mean incapacatation or death, the health bar makes little sense. If John McClane can fall six stories and get punched in the teeth a dozen times with nothing to show for it but a dust-covered sheen of sweat and an attractive scratch on his left cheekbone, why shouldn't our RPG characters?

Edited March 11, 2008 by Enoch

[Xard]

Jesus ****ing christ, that sounds like truly stupid ****

 

phail

[Enoch]

Also, I agree with whoever it was who posted that non-combat solutions should be emphasized. If I wanted a game that's all about strafing, cover, and grenades, I'd go buy one of the bajillion WWII re-enactment games out there. Gunplay should be a rare event.

[thepixiesrock]

What the crap is wrong with this thread? Oh wait, I know, all of you.

[thepixiesrock]

Also, I've been waiting for a game like this for a long time.

[SteveThaiBinh]

I'll be interested to know how far they're going down the James Bond light comedy/action route, and how far they're going to address serious issues like use of torture to get information, and paying informants who are still active terrorists. If you want a game with tough moral choices, this setting is ideal.

[Gorth]

I'll be interested to know how far they're going down the James Bond light comedy/action route, and how far they're going to address serious issues like use of torture to get information, and paying informants who are still active terrorists. If you want a game with tough moral choices, this setting is ideal.

Getting some wicked ideas for new mini games... water boarding, electrocuting, drug injections (oblivion persuation mini game, go home)...

[Tale]

If John McClane can fall six stories and get punched in the teeth a dozen times with nothing to show for it but a dust-covered sheen of sweat and an attractive scratch on his left cheekbone, why shouldn't our RPG characters?

 

Because games have failstates.

[Enoch]

If John McClane can fall six stories and get punched in the teeth a dozen times with nothing to show for it but a dust-covered sheen of sweat and an attractive scratch on his left cheekbone, why shouldn't our RPG characters?

 

Because games have failstates.

Well, sure. The film, of course, is of the final runthrough after you've reloaded six time figuring out how to do it correctly. But the central premise that all non-fatal injuries can be "walked off" is, I think, an improvement over the "medkits that instantly heal bullet holes" mechanic. Both are unrealistic, but so is taking on the hoards of machine-gun-weilding generic badguys that both games and movies throw at their heroes. It's part of the fantasy.

[Big Bottom]

Will I be able to shoot elves?

[Tale]

But the central premise that all non-fatal injuries can be "walked off" is, I think, an improvement over the "medkits that instantly heal bullet holes" mechanic. Both are unrealistic, but so is taking on the hoards of machine-gun-weilding generic badguys that both games and movies throw at their heroes. It's part of the fantasy.

Realism has jack to do with it. It's not an improvement, it's just different. They're not interchangeable. It's like saying first person view is an improvement over third person view. Or over-the should look aim is preferrable to auto-targetting. They do different things. Try throwing a regeneration mechanic into any Half-Life game, the game would become a joke. It all depends on what they're going for.

 

John Mclane would have probably used medkits, in honesty. Games with regenerating health typically have some kind of formal or informal safety mechanic (cover being common, whether it's press a button to flush against a wall or simply press duck behind it) to fall back on while the health regenerates. Games that use medkits are often more flexible, sometimes allowing gung-ho maneuvers (though Halo does include more allowance for this than some others with regenerating health) because they can allow you to take more damage, but you have to ration it. A regenerating health mechanic can't allow that unless they're opting for near invincibility because they drop any real rationing. What this would come down to is if they want the player to hide behind a wall while firing, moving forward then pulling back constantly, or just wade straight in and go for broke.

 

Though I will admit regenerating has to be easier from a development POV. Designers never have to worry about player rationing of health, how to set up encounters to allow for gung-ho approach and then give them downtime afterwards to compensate for low health, or anything of that nature.

 

Aside that Halo/CoD2 level regenerating health would pretty much prevent the appearance of a health based skill. Which I think would be a good customization allowance for an RPG.

 

Edit: That would be an interesting character trait style option. Walk-it-off: Character can recover from most damage very quickly, however has a lower threshold. Or conversely, Soak-it-up: Character can take much more damage, but recovers from damage much slower.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Tale

[Dragon Lord Jones]

Can someone make like a finger or some type of electrode plug in so we can actually feel the pain the character feels when being tortured or shot, etc.

That would be so cool.

[Enoch]

Can someone make like a finger or some type of electrode plug in so we can actually feel the pain the character feels when being tortured or shot, etc.

That would be so cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painstation

[Amentep]

The whole idea with using static HP to represent damage taken is obsolete in todays computer games. The system used in Gears of War, Mass Effect or CoD4 is much smoother. No more medkits, no resting in the middle of a level and no more dying frrom a flybite because a previous encounter took 95% of your health bar.

I have played none of those games, but I think I agree. Hit Points are not representative of your character's actual health, they are representative of your character's action-hero mojo. Especially in a modern setting where 1 bullet would realistically mean incapacatation or death, the health bar makes little sense. If John McClane can fall six stories and get punched in the teeth a dozen times with nothing to show for it but a dust-covered sheen of sweat and an attractive scratch on his left cheekbone, why shouldn't our RPG characters?

 

I'm reminded of a set up used by some RPG or another I read some time or another in some dim and hazy past that suggested that the "HP" (they didn't call it that) was really the PC's ability to *avoid* injury.

 

IIRC they had a double mechanic, if someone attacked you and scored a "hit", you lost some of your "avoid damage points". When the ADP were used up then a hit actually DID damage your HP, leaving you severely injured (and in the P&P world, looking at recouperation time).

 

So if someone shot at you, rolled a hit, and you had enough ADP to cover the "damage" you'd take, your were able to avoid being shot. If not you got shot in a body part, possibly fatally. If you jumped from a second story floor and had ADP to cover it, you did an action-movie land and roll. If not you broke something. And so on or some such.

[Sand]

Given that you don't even know if you can customise your characters apperance you're being Hades a bit early on this occasion.

 

And we can't help it if you're gender confused.

 

We will probably have as much control to customize the appearance of the developers' character as we did with the Nameless One in PS:T. However there is no confusion here about gender. I like looking at attractive females. If you don't... Well, that is a personal matter go into here.

 

Edited March 11, 2008 by Sand

[Junai]

More Splinter Cell stuff uh..

Zzzz...

 

Any new BG2 mods out there?

 

J.

[Nick_i_am]

We will probably have as much control to customize the appearance of the developers' character as we did with the Nameless One in PS:T.

 

I wish I were old and grumpy so I could have knee-jerk reactions to everything.

 

And dude, don't worry, nobody is going to judge you.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Nick_i_am

[Tale]

I now have an idea for an anti-Sand system. Screenshots of male butts. I think Metal Gear Solid would be a good choice. Snake's is practically a trademark.

[Nick_i_am]

Id Mass Effects camera even angled to show the butt during normal gameplay?

[Sand]

HA!

 

What is really bad was the one Bok, I think it was him, who was running Crysis in third person.