OMG! This gaem looks outdated!

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.actiontrip.com/rei/comments_ ... d=060208_5

Alpha Protocol, the company's upcoming spy-themed RPG. Visually, they could also make a better effort, because right now -- judging from the latest screenshots -- the game looks a wee bit outdated.

What the fuck is with this "dated" concept and how did it manage to crawl into the gaming industry and pretty much ruin it? I mean who cares about dialogue stances or the RPG qualities of the game. The main concern is it looks outdated. Would I be able to play it? Would my eyes be able to process the last year's graphics?

Some comments:

Looks like a budget title. Totally unappealing.

heh, I was jut about to bitch about this whole argument about how everyone is just focusing on graphics these days.....

....and then I saw the screens... YUCK!

Yeah, it looks pretty bad for something that's not even out yet and still won't be for almost a year.

I understand when people bitch about AoD, but Jesus Fucking Christ, AP looks pretty damn good, if not great.

 

[Chefe]

You know what the problem is? Not enough bloom.

 

[Fat Dragon]

This article was written by a journalist whose website header says "What we lack in quality, we make up for in stupidity." That explains a lot.

 

[MetalCraze]

the lack of bloom - it hurts my eyes!

 

[JarlFrank]

I can't even find words to express the reaction my mind had towards this. What. The. Fuck. When I look at those screens I think "Hey those graphics look awesome!", and it is completely beyond me how anyone could call this an "outdated budget title". What is wrong with this world?

 

[spiwak]

Other comments:

But regardless, a spy-themed RPG set in a modern-day setting is already an intriguing change of pace, so I'm pretty interested in the game, dated visuals or not.

With that said, I have no problems what kind of graphics provided that it has that great gameplay and good replay value.

Yeah, it looks pretty bad for something that's not even out yet and still won't be for almost a year. That said, graphics don't mean everything. As long as the gameplay's fun and the story is good, it's a win.

FUCK GRAPHICS, this game comes from the mind of Chris Avellone, mind behind Torment and Fallout 2 (and Kotor 2). That alone sells the game for me.

Damn graphic whores. The game looks just fine to me. And if it will follow MOTB's example (that game easily rivals Planetscape in terms of storyline) , it should become one of the best RPG's out there.

 

[Micmu]

Haha; soon, the developers won't have to make an effort about the graphics. Just make shitty art, shitty models and shitty textures, all slapped together in two days, then apply as much post-processing filters to it as possible and set HDR to 11.
One worry less!

P.S.: I assume this is the case, because the lack of blinding bloom pollution is the only difference between AP and other similar titles.

 

[MetalCraze]

bloom is often used to cover graphics issues and the lack of graphical quality. there's no other point in it - it even doesn't look realistic.
some devs take it to extremes - too bad you don't know what is Lada Racing Club.

f.e. disable bloom in Mass Effect through *.ini file and it will look even worse than AP.
the games use the same engine.

 

[Hamster]

too bad you don't know what is Lada Racing Club.

But we can show them:
http://www.ag.ru/screenshots/lada_racing_club/160129

As for AP, it may not look dated, but it do look pretty boring and unoriginal.

 

[MountainWest]

To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced by the screen shots either (for the record, I'm having a blast playing Pool of Radiance right now). It's not the polygon count that's the problem, it's what they convey.

A twenty-something guy who looks like an MTV-presenter out hunting da evil terrorists and spouting cheesy lines. Yawn. I hate those dumb fucking b-grade series when I see them on TV and I sure as hell wouldn't want to act in one.

Take "24" instead. A haggard alcoholic man who'd slit your throat for the greater good. He's a guy who seriously consider blowing himself up and leaving his daughter to cry instead of dealing with his problems. That's fucking DRAMA. That's something I can watch without feeling I have to put on make-up and become metrosexual.

When I'm looking at the screen shot below I know what will happen. The guy will kill the terrorist and he'll get his cheerleader girlfriend to fuck him at prom night. No mystery, no thought. He's the hero of the 'Pink shirts really do accent the blue in my eyes'-generation.

 

[Texas Red]

To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced by the screen shots either (for the record, I'm having a blast playing Pool of Radiance right now). It's not the polygon count that's the problem, it's what they convey.

A twenty-something guy who looks like an MTV-presenter out hunting da evil terrorists and spouting cheesy lines. Yawn. I hate those dumb fucking b-grade series when I see them on TV and I sure as hell wouldn't want to act in one.

Take "24" instead. A haggard alcoholic man who'd slit your throat for the greater good. He's a guy who seriously consider blowing himself up and leaving his daughter to cry instead of dealing with his problems. That's fucking DRAMA. That's something I can watch without feeling I have to put on make-up and become metrosexual.

When I'm looking at the screen shot below I know what will happen. The guy will kill the terrorist and he'll get his cheerleader girlfriend to fuck him at prom night. No mystery, no thought. He's the hero of the 'Pink shirts really do accent the blue in my eyes'-generation.

Win.

 

[Starwars]

It's one thing to moan about the visual design (which I might agree with), and another to moan about the pure technicalities. I'm sorry, but anyone who feels moved enough to comment on that Alpha Protocols visuals look dated in the technical sense (which is what they mean I would guess)... Well, score another one for the gaming industry?

Never in my mind could I have guessed that people would be pointing out something like that based on those screens, but I guess some people are even more braindead than I thought.

 

[Micmu]

I fully agree with MW (the reason one, besides being a console run&gun game, why I don't give much damn about AP) except that they were talking about "dated graphics", not the setting and story. It's long known that unoriginal story isn't a problem anymore once you convince them with hawt, visceral action and clever usage of next-gen GPU features.

 

[MountainWest]

I fully agree with MW (the reason one why I don't give a fuck about AP) except that they were talking about "dated graphics", not the setting and story.

Yes, of course. I just took the chance to ramble a little. It's the Codex way.

 

[Relayer71]

THAT looks dated?
Lol.

 

[Kingston]

The problem is that there is no distinct art style. They are aiming for a realistic look and for that they need great gfx. Looks fine to me, but I can understand if someone complains about it. The fact that they pay more attention to the graphics than gameplay is worrying.

Take "24" instead. A haggard alcoholic man who'd slit your throat for the greater good. He's a guy who seriously consider blowing himself up and leaving his daughter to cry instead of dealing with his problems. That's fucking DRAMA. That's something I can watch without feeling I have to put on make-up and become metrosexual.

DEEP.

I can't stand 24. The leaps of logic are so glaring they make my brain hurt. CTU is the most retarded organisation ever. Everything annoys me, because its all so retarded.

 

[Relayer71]

Not sure about that site - they have a list of Top 10 most influential RPGs...

"7. Planescape: Torment
Black Isle Studios' brilliant accomplishment, Planescape: Torment. The game hit stores in 1999 and quickly became a classic, selling over 400,000 copies. Its different and somewhat darker setting wasn't exactly welcomed by some critics. Nonetheless, thanks to talented game-creators like Chris Avellone (more like story writer extraordinaire), lead designer of Planescape, it still ranks as one of the best CRPGs of our time."

PT QUICKLY sold over 400K copies????????????? That's news to me!

And #4.:

" Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic In this case, Bioware didn't just win us over with traditional RPG goodness and a powerful franchise. "

And #1:

"1. World of Warcraft "

How the fuck has WoW been influential to RPGs?

 

[Texas Red]

Dark story wasn't accepted by critics? See, here is how publishers get their ideas, by people taking a liberty to suppose. The last time I saw PS:T had a metacritic of about 9.3, to which a few points should be added due to score inflation. Shit dawg, even Gamespot gave them the Editor's pick. It was an extremely well accepted game.

Can you actually imagine somebody playing around in Hive and going "Golly gee, this game is a bit too mature and serious for my tastes!"

 

[racofer]

Looking outdated is the reason Starcraft ruined Blizzard and killed future titles. Oh wait....

 

[MetalCraze]

The problem is that there is no distinct art style. They are aiming for a realistic look and for that they need great gfx. Looks fine to me, but I can understand if someone complains about it. The fact that they pay more attention to the graphics than gameplay is worrying.

this game is hyped as the one for the retarded casual crowd by Obsidian themselves.
I don't think it's a big mystery that casual crowd cares only about graphics as they will eat any PoS gameplay - so they don't care about it.

 

[MountainWest]

Take "24" instead. A haggard alcoholic man who'd slit your throat for the greater good. He's a guy who seriously consider blowing himself up and leaving his daughter to cry instead of dealing with his problems. That's fucking DRAMA. That's something I can watch without feeling I have to put on make-up and become metrosexual.

DEEP.

What can I say, man? You're a fin. When it comes to depression and tragedy no-one will ever impress you :wink:

The leaps of logic are so glaring they make my brain hurt. CTU is the most retarded organisation ever.

Well, I can't argue with you there. But that's were Bauer and his no-love attitude comes in and saves the day. Granted, I stopped watching after a couple of seasons when they had milked the cow dry.

 

[Gnidrologist]

What the fuck is with this "dated" concept and how did it manage to crawl into the gaming industry and pretty much ruin it?

Shift of paradigm. You don't have to like it to accept it.

 

[bat_boro]

And #1:

"1. World of Warcraft "

How the fuck has WoW been influential to RPGs?

It prints money, you know

 

[JarlFrank]

too bad you don't know what is Lada Racing Club.

But we can show them:
http://www.ag.ru/screenshots/lada_racing_club/160129

WTF is that it actually made me go lol

 

[Jaime Lannister]