Hl2 time

[Varsity]

BTW, not that much of a spoiler, but still... if you saw the scans you can safely look.

You know, it might have been helpful if you said *which* scans.

 

[CR0M]

Games like Morrowind and even URU had perpetual 24hr time cycles. These are games in which the player is free roaming and has a chance to see the transition from hour to hour. Way back, Black and white was the same with the inclusion of real world local weather. Stalker, like Lobster said, will have the same 24 hr solar cycle with dynamic lighting and imo will set the mould for fps game environments.

Sadly, Halflife 2, along with most other fps's still being released, just don't fit that format cos they're stuck in the old school linear A->B way of thinking - regardless of how stunning they are in every other way. But like the progression from 2D to 3D, scripted to AI, and lately animation to physics, hopefully linear will become a thing of the past pretty soon. With the technology now developers should be utilising every ounce of ability they have instead of sticking with conventional game formats to include a more enlightened representation of reality in games, especially as now there is no excuse not to.

level->boss->level->boss is wrinkly and it smells like an old folks home.

Roll on reality gaming...

 

[Varsity]

What do you want, a complete offline simulation of Morrowind?

 

[Naveed]

All this rising hype, déjà vu anyone? Reminds of last year, same days, even more hype, and then..... Let's hope it is not repeated this year!

 

[PvtRyan]

I don't agree with CR0M that a non-linear world is always better than a linear one.
Linearity can give you much more structure in your game, and allows you to tell a story far better and can really add to the immersiveness of the game.
You can guide the player where to go, and build up the game much better than in a non-linear game. Would be pretty f*cked up if you could just say at the start of HL 'f*ck this, I'm not riding this train, I'll do my own thingy'.
The game mustn't be linear too obviously, HL did this well, you never had the feeling you were just walking through a pre-planned network of hallways.
It wasn't 'find key A to open door B where you will find key C to open door D'.

 

[CR0M]

Varsity - what I want are games that are not limited by the usual corporate red tape and conventionalist 40 hour gameplay, 25 level bs.

Naveed - I'm just a designer. Halflife grabs me cos I respect the quality of work gone into it. Any enthusiasm I had for playing the game tho died last september, I'll play it when it's released the same way i'll play duke nukem forever when it's released. And If it has real time day/night cycles, I'll lick it's feet.

 

[Rupertvdb]

It wasn't 'find key A to open door B where you will find key C to open door D'.

I disagree, it was totally about that formula, but all games essentially are, there's a guy who wrote a book about gaming psychology and it's development that i'll dig out, i think it was called trigger happy or something. Anyways the point wasn't the formula, it was how that formula was translated to the player.

In the silo with the tentacles it basically consisted of pressing buttons set distances form each other with various reaction, timing and spcial awareness tests on route, what made it fun was that a very delicate 'story' or series of events was maintained that kept you on your toes, rather than just some platform to jump across it was a broken grill smashed by falling wreckage, you weren't told by an objective database to kill the tentacle to progress you learned fairly fast through a series of scientists and a barney. You were given hints on how to avoid it's tentacles i.e. using the grenades to distract it (soz if that's a spoiler...not) and you worked it out. The key to HL is its immersive capability.

Soooo on this whole day/night issue i think the linear preset environment has far more scope to impress, for those who know the scans i conclude here, for those without i'll make some lies up,

Spoiler

In the cemetry where that awesome looking beastie is jumping at you in the screens, during the day that would be freaky...at night that will scare the living bejeesus out of me, even though i know that kind of thing shall happen i'm sure valve have enough ability to suprise us. So screw the open plan because i want my balls to be shrivelling in fear, not my mouth whining that it should be light out.

Ummm in non spoiler terms, i am sure HL2 shall have some mean and moody sections and in those mean and moody sections they shall want to be scaring us, why let some stupid sunlight spoil an atmosphere when they can really et our pulses going their own way.

 

[Styloid]

I'll stop enjoying linear games when robots write stories better than humans.

 

[Reaperman]

Ultima Online and Everquest had a day/night cycle, too.

pfft..

legend of zelda: The ocharina of time

Nintendo 64 had day/night cycles!

 

[RoguePsi]

pfft..

legend of zelda: The ocharina of time

Nintendo 64 had day/night cycles!

I remember that! Good game altho not my cuppa.

 

[Darkknighttt]

Zelda Ocarina Of Time Is The Best Game Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tied In The Lead With Half-Life 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!