Evolve, new shooter from Left 4 Dead devs - now F2P, still dead

[Wirdschowerdn]

It took you 1.5 hours to find out that it's boring?

 

[kingcomrade]

Yes, I give games a chance.

 

[Infinitron]

Steam pre-order is up: http://store.steampowered.com/app/273350/

 

[Metro]

For whatever reason it started updating/downloading because I was in closed beta. Disabled it.

 

[sser]

Those prices. Goddamn. And they're already broadcasting the DLC. $15 for something that's almost certainly already finished. Some goddam bullshit.

 

[Metro]

It's a big cash cow. The funny part is they're giving away copies of L4D with a preorder and L4D is the superior game in every aspect except Graphixxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

 

[Infinitron]

Those prices. Goddamn. And they're already broadcasting the DLC. $15 for something that's almost certainly already finished. Some goddam bullshit.

It's a big cash cow. The funny part is they're giving away copies of L4D with a preorder and L4D is the superior game in every aspect except Graphixxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

DLC drama: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/01/15/evolve-dlc-pc/

Turtle Rock Defend Evolve’s DLC Shenanigans

Turtle Rock and 2K are currently on the receiving end of an Internet Frown due to their approach to DLC and pre-order gubbins in their impending humans vs monsters multiplayer shooter Evolve. They’d pared some pretty major stuff, including playable monsters, off into bonus payments, and as well as their various editions and DLC being simply confusing, there’s been concern that the game experience might be harmed by such bestial partitioning.

Turtle Rock now claim otherwise, and that this isn’t them cynically holding back finished content in the name of extra moolah.

Said Turtle Rock co-founder Phil Robb upon wading into a concerned forum thread:

“A lot of folks seem to be under the impression that we’ve got all this content done and we shave off a hunk to sell separately. That just isn’t the case. When Evolve hits the shelves, none of the DLC will be done. Behemoth won’t be done. None of the planned DLC hunters or monsters will be done. The only exception to this might be some skins that were working on now while we wait for all the final stages of packaging, manufacturing etc. to finish.”

This may well be the case, though it’s difficult to imagine that the business strategy for a big game from a major publisher wasn’t planned for some time in advance, despite an assertion that “As we got closer to finishing Evolve we ended up with designs for a bunch of monster and hunters that we just didn’t have the time and money to make. Instead of throw them all out, why not put together a budget to make them as DLC?”

I wonder if they’d have gotten away with it if they simply hadn’t announced massive new monster the Behemoth until post-release, and included something less apparently significant/amazeballs in the pre-order/special edition bonus content.

The other contentious issue is pricing. For instance, for those who don’t pre-order or drop extra on mega-packs, the Behemoth will cost $15 as a separate release (once it’s finished). That’s not pocket change. Of that, Robb argues that £Hunters and monsters are a pretty big undertaking, they cost a lot of money and time to make. We’re hoping that once people see how much new hunters and monsters bring to the game that they’ll feel like they got their money’s worth.” Time will tell, as will whether enough people enjoy the base game enough to spend more on it.

The other concern Turtle Rock are at pains to dismiss is that all this perceived nickel and diming might split the community. Apparently, while playable characters will get locked into DLC, maps and modes will not, plus people who don’t own a particular character will be able to play with/against those who do. “You may not want to buy it, but your original purchase of the game will be enhanced by it anyway because you can still get into games with people who wanted to buy them. Hell, you can even set the DLC characters and monsters up as opponents in solo games.”

They also promise that DLC characters won’t be “overpowered.” Robb also notes that business realities have changed since their days working with Valve, a firm who basically got to do whatever they wanted. There’s some between-the-lines reading to be done about what working with a big publisher entails whether a studio wants it or not there, but he tries to reassure Turtle Rock’s community that their own mindset hasn’t changed, and that all the DLC stuff is about choice rather than pressure.

I don’t know. I don’t know! I don’t like that a cool-looking game looks like it’s being split off into sections, but at the same time it isn’t doing anything that isn’t increasingly common in big-publisher games already. Has it just become a easy-to-hit whipping boy for long-brewing discontent towards the DLC cynicism of Battlefield, COD and that lot, or has it genuinely gone too far?

The proof will be in the big, scaley pudding, and we’re only a month away from finding out now – Evolve is released on Feb 10th. The PC beta starts tomorrow though, and I’ll bring you some thoughts on that a little while later.

 

[Metro]

I'll bring you some thoughts now: game is mediocre to poor. Not sure why that guy expects anything significant to have changed from the alpha to the closed beta. It's amazing this is all these guys have come up with since L4D.

 

[sser]

I'm actually very interested in Evolve, but I gotta admit, I'd love for the game to crash and burn on the hill of DLC. Nothing would make me happier than a blow to these price gouging methods. But the game has like zero competition, especially from AAA-types, so I suspect it'll do just fine.

 

[Metro]

Very interested? Well I suppose it's a fun 'party' game to play with 'IRL' friends in-person. Over the internet/standard multiplayer? Meh.

 

[sser]

Currently playing the beta.

The game is solid. Good mechanics. Super amazing sound design. Seriously. All the voice work and sound effects probably constitute a great deal of its monstrous download (took me all day to get it). Graphics are decent. Not at all a big fan of the unlocks and other bullshit. Skirmish mode is pretty bland when you only have 5-things to choose from (4chars, 1monster). I could actually see this being a good competitive game. The evacuation mode is the only thing that actually sounds like it'd have some replayability, but I'm not sure. One of the draws of L4D was the effort to push through a campaign as a team. This game doesn't seem like it can have that seem feel due to the 4v1 setup. I haven't played the monster yet, but it almost seems stressful, especially early on. $60 is way overpriced, and is overpriced for any game, especially in the price-competitive PC market. I think if I can find it on GMG or some other 'site' for cheap I'll pick it up. It did make me want to reinstall Natural Selection, Payday, L4D etc. I've always found the co-op type multiplayer games to be a lot of fun.

 

[Black]

Seems like another jewish scheme by 2k from the looks of thing. DLCs and different "editions" out of ass even before release.

 

[sser]

"Jimquisition", a popular YouTuber of sorts, did a video on the game's DLC.

 

[Metro]

Yes, but what does TotalBiscuit think?

 

[Infinitron]

Impressions: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-09-evolve-thrills-but-for-how-long

Still, even while hamstrung by the lack of competitors, it's hard to shake the feeling I've already seen almost all of Evolve's best tricks. Some matches see the hunters take out the monster in seconds. Others are a real struggle as the monster clatters through its evolutionary stages and comes snarling and clawing for the power relay. The best, obviously, are a classic WWE-style back and forth, with the hunters gaining an upper hand early, the big bad monster taking control and storming towards the finish before the heroes rally and launch a stirring late comeback, snatching victory from the rather large jaws of defeat.

Great matches are there to be had, then, but there's something about Evolve's core combat that feels a little hollow. The spectacle of taking on the beast is thrilling, but the battles themselves lack feedback. The game offers a variety box of tools for each class, but the way to use them together to take down the monster is seemingly identical each time. The trapper locks it in place using the big blue biodome, the support drops missiles and buffs the assault, shields himself and deals damage, all while the medic heals everyone up and tags the beast with tranq darts and sniper fire.

As limited as it appears to an outsider, a game like Destiny keeps players locked into its loops through more than numerical withcraft - the physical chain that starts in the trigger finger and ends in the fizzing pop of a exploded alien head remains compelling thanks to an inscrutable army of small design choices that Bungie has spent over a decade refining. Evolve doesn't have this - it rarely surprises, and when the excitement of seeing, outwitting and eventually defeating its monsters subsides, it feels like it lacks the gimmicks to keep you in suspense. It may even be as facile as the fact the monster doesn't really react under fire.

This is all based on the fleeting few hours on live servers (and many more with the competent but predictable bots), of course. Evolve may not need flamboyant physics to keep you on its hooked claws if truly advanced tactics begin to unfold. As it stands, most monster players (including myself) stuck to a routine, with varying degrees of success. Evolve's long term future relies on its player-base discovering new ways to adapt and control the battlefield, and the game allowing for these new tactics to blossom. This is where time on the live servers will be of significant benefit, where we see communicative teams and experienced monster players go toe to toe.

Left 4 Dead's replayability was obvious even during the first run through of every level - the way it toyed with players and how its systems crafted drama with alarming regularity. Evolve maintains some of these qualities - especially when you're surprised by marauding wildlife - but its best ideas are already repeating themselves.

 

[Infinitron]

Released: http://store.steampowered.com/app/273350/

 

[Black]

The buttpain of tards over people hating 2k's jewish methods is quite

 

[Echo Mirage]

I just can't tell if the posts on the steam forums are real or just all troll posts anymore.

You bloody fools. You realise what will happen if this game fails, right?
You don't get it. This game failing will not send the message "this game had too much DLC and was overpriced" to developers and publishers if it is not successful

What it sends, is:

"Well, they tried their buck on an experimental game in development for 5 years worked on painstakingly and to be made as good as possible and it failed, Better start hashing out a cod copy every month now and only doing those and zombie games. No innovation or anything new, right guys?"

You KILL gaming by this game failing

It's disgusting. You think you're doing justice, but you're killing your hobby.

You really should be ashamed of yourself.

But ofcourse, COD kids won't care. they'll just enjoy their rehashed game with one pixel changed.

Utterly disgusting. You say you want to save the industry, here comes a game that does what you want, and you want it destroyed and gone.

You aren't the cure

You're the disease.

Must either be a shill or someone trying very hard to justify their purchase in the face of mounting buyers remorse.

 

[Black]

:munch:

 

[Metro]

Dunno why people are wigging out about it now. Game has had numerous alphas, betas, whatever for people to see what shit gameplay it has combined with cashgrab of skins.

 

[Echo Mirage]

:munch:

I see this now popping up in that thread. Everything is spiraling out of control.

 

[Black]

Dunno why people are wigging out about it now. Game has had numerous alphas, betas, whatever for people to see what shit gameplay it has combined with cashgrab of skins.

It probably won't stop you from begging for it, huh

 

[Metro]

The fact that it's terrible will.

 

[Menckenstein]

I have more fun watching bad games fail than I do playing good ones.

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

I wouldn't pay a cent for the game, but I do have dickhead friends who actually paid for it and since I am unwilling to do so, I'll take Metro's illustrious begging spot this time around: Wanna give it to me, give it to me... and watch me suffer.