the first person shooter game thread (eew fps)

[ST Dragon]

Basically, to put it plainly of why modern FPS shooters (Including Duke forever) suck so much, one only has to observe the following level design / layout:

[drauch]

That is a fair enough assumption, yeah, I won't argue with that. I prefer the days of DOS FPS up to Win 98 any day, but there are still some good modern games out there.

[ST Dragon]

No seriously, why have all modern day FPS ditched the complicated, non-linear maps, exploration & secrets and incorporated the super linear levels design? It's like watching an interactive movie!
Have the gamers gotten more lazy all of a sudden and don't want to explore any more?
To my knowledge Doom 3 was the last modern FPS to feature some multiple paths, secrets and some hiddem areas, but even that pailed compared to the 90's & early 2000's FPS.

[ColonelFatso]

To tell the truth, I prefer Tribes and its almost completely open map design (and good enough skiing can get you practically anywhere from anywhere else in seconds flat) over all of them.

But the more I learn about Ascend, the more convinced I am that it's going to be a pile of shit.

[tinotormed]

No seriously, why have all modern day FPS ditched the complicated, non-linear maps, exploration & secrets and incorporated the super linear levels design? It's like watching an interactive movie!
Have the gamers gotten more lazy all of a sudden and don't want to explore any more?
To my knowledge Doom 3 was the last modern FPS to feature some multiple paths, secrets and some hidden areas, but even that pailed compared to the 90's & early 2000's FPS.

I do not agree on how modern FPS-es today made such less complex creations in terms of designs and detail (even though my favs are Left 4 Dead and Return to Castle Wolfenstein). Plus, how could they ditch the insane difficult and long maps for boring ones? (Call of Duty and Medal of Honor is no exception here) For me, as a Doomer, they make no sense to me as the spirit of these kinds of map details and elements remain in the release of such WADs that I knew of (since I am also a Doom fan):

- Community Chest series (notable for having innovative object action and emplacements, including new elements that came from the other PWADs and games, requires PrBoom though.)
- Hell Revealed and Scythe series ( Scythe 2 is notable for having maps being arranged according to difficulty, design, and background such as the Egyptian and Gothic episodes; Hell Revealed is notable for having some of the most difficult maps ever.)
- TNT: Evilution ( stand-alone IWAD that is notable for some exploration and easy-to-find secrets. This is one of my favorite WADs.)
- Plutonia (another stand-alone IWAD that is also known for it's fast-paced difficulty, design, and detail, with the most-inspired being the difficult Go 2 It (map32). It also got the later sequels in '08 and '11, Plutonia 2, and the latest, Plutonia Revisited.)

[worstplayer]

ArmA2 is now free.
http://www.arma2.com/free

[ST Dragon]

No seriously, why have all modern day FPS ditched the complicated, non-linear maps, exploration & secrets and incorporated the super linear levels design? It's like watching an interactive movie!
Have the gamers gotten more lazy all of a sudden and don't want to explore any more?
To my knowledge Doom 3 was the last modern FPS to feature some multiple paths, secrets and some hidden areas, but even that pailed compared to the 90's & early 2000's FPS.

I do not agree on how modern FPS-es today made such less complex creations in terms of designs and detail (even though my favs are Left 4 Dead and Return to Castle Wolfenstein). Plus, how could they ditch the insane difficult and long maps for boring ones? (Call of Duty and Medal of Honor is no exception here) For me, as a Doomer, they make no sense to me as the spirit of these kinds of map details and elements remain in the release of such WADs that I knew of (since I am also a Doom fan):

- Community Chest series (notable for having innovative object action and emplacements, including new elements that came from the other PWADs and games, requires PrBoom though.)
- Hell Revealed and Scythe series ( Scythe 2 is notable for having maps being arranged according to difficulty, design, and background such as the Egyptian and Gothic episodes; Hell Revealed is notable for having some of the most difficult maps ever.)
- TNT: Evilution ( stand-alone IWAD that is notable for some exploration and easy-to-find secrets. This is one of my favorite WADs.)
- Plutonia (another stand-alone IWAD that is also known for it's fast-paced difficulty, design, and detail, with the most-inspired being the difficult Go 2 It (map32). It also got the later sequels in '08 and '11, Plutonia 2, and the latest, Plutonia Revisited.)

A lot of the 90's & early 2000's FPS were released on consoles as well and they did retain the non-linear environment for the most part with some cuts and in some cases, the story line was even enhanced compared to the original PC version. A prime example would be Hexen on the PS-1, the FMV cut-scenes and intros were epic!
I've also read that Unreal 1 (1998) which featured one of the most non-linear and huge level designs to date, was also planned for the PS-1 back in the day...

So I have no doubt that modern day FPS could remain their old-school complexity / non-linearity and also be released on consoles at the same time.
I think one more reason is that game developers have lost their creativity and are lazy, while younger gamers today don't want too complicated FPS, as they prefer mindless shooting in never ending multi-player sessions.

Also I remember Far Cry 1 in 2003, while the levels were linear, it allowed a great deal of exploration in each level, but sadly without purpose as there were no secret items or hidden areas to discover. It basically acted as a graphical show-case for the 3D engine and to view the cool land-scape of the island from multiple angles. So we have a no go here too...

[ST Dragon]

On a side note.
I just saw these new videos of the upcoming RAGE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgLGW7R7_Ug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJUK5QozKl0

It looks great, but is there any chance this will be a good non-linear FPS with a hub level system like Hexen, without irritating scripted game-play and boring story line / plot & hopefully it will feature re visitable levels?

I just hope it won't be like Shadow of Chernobyl. That game bored the hell out of me and just after 2 hours of play I ditched it.
Or like the Super linear Duke Nukem Forever & last year's Aliens Vs Predator 3 by SEGA, they were such disappointments.

[KBZ]

Been playing Alliance of Valiant Arms now that it's on steam. I wrote it off as another crappy Korean F2P CS clone like crossfire. But I'm actually really impressed with it. Game has a nice flow, plenty of server, many different interesting game modes, and interesting mmo style upgrades. I'll still play CSS, but it's nice to see someone try to pump some life into the CS world while valve sort of abandons it.

I just hope it won't be like Shadow of Chernobyl. That game bored the hell out of me and just after 2 hours of play I ditched it.

Giver it another try, seriously.

[drauch]

I sense some hard to please people here.

[saucykobold]

Slowly working my way through the original Deus Ex. This game seems to have its fair share of clumsy elements and bugs. My character once boasted that he "cleaned out" Castle Clinton when he didn't harm or alert anyone. On another occasion, I had to talk to Gunther to finish a level, but he got into a protracted fight with some rooftop snipers. Despite these sorts of annoyances, I'm having a pretty good time, mainly on the strength of the atmosphere and writing.

[tinotormed]

Going back to Doom lately. I am playing the PWAD called Prayers of Armageddon, which dosen't have a doomworld link until I discovered it in YouTube. It requires zDoom unfortunately since other source ports do not work on it. I've been working on doing some UV-Max runs for this mapset and planning on submitting them to DSDA.

[ST Dragon]

Well since Black Mesa is taking so long to be released, I made my own Half-Life adventure in Agrigento Sicily Magna Graecia, at the Valey of the Greek temples! Featuring the infamous crowbar of course!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bput3fmpSDY

However, the Combine were no where to be seen!

[Obiwanshinobi]

[drauch]

dude yes.

[Daigohji]

I felt like playing Doom 3 and Quake 4 again. I got annoyed by Doom 3 pretty quickly, as usually happens, but I'm halfway through the Q4 campaign. I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've played through it. No fancy gimmicks, just solid old school blasting.

[drauch]

I'm pretty sure Halo has always been super easy to play, which is kinda why everyone is so obsessed with it. Game runs slow as molasses and every jump is like one on the moon.

[Ed Oscuro]

I had to talk to Gunther to finish a level, but he got into a protracted fight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXu23oD40gU

[Obiwanshinobi]

Been wondering why the bossfights in Metroid Prime are so... You KNOW. Which reminds me...
Why good bosses in first person shooters are such a rare breed? Remember H-L2? Beefy endgame, then... You KNOW. Painkiller is the only semi-recent FPS I played that at least tried.

[Ed Oscuro]

Strangely enough, Deus Ex: Human Revolution tries for the more classic variations on bosses. I've only seen two so far, though. One was a straight-up damage slugfest, while the second is considerably more varied, with some of the traditional staples of boss tricks + environmental boss stunning.

[Mortificator]

I'm pretty sure Halo has always been super easy to play, which is kinda why everyone is so obsessed with it.

The original Halo is one of the best FPS games, and pretty damn tough on Legendary.

Halo 2's campaign wasn't as good, though, with too much emphasis on scripted sequences and vehicle rides. I haven't completed the later games yet.

[Acid_Rain]

Thought about creating a dedicated Halo 4 topic, but decided against it. Why? Because Halo 4 sucks.

Would not say it sucks completely. But…

_my shot feels off
_not getting knocked out of zoom sucks
_snipe feels wobbly
_individual skill seems irrelevant (who-sees-who-first-wins, CoD)
_join in progress annoys me
_killcam prevents teebaging

I'm not as good as you for sure, but if you want to play some halo pm me.

[Acid_Rain]

Strangely enough, Deus Ex: Human Revolution tries for the more classic variations on bosses. I've only seen two so far, though. One was a straight-up damage slugfest, while the second is considerably more varied, with some of the traditional staples of boss tricks + environmental boss stunning.

I really dislike the bossfights in DE:RE. I heard they where designed by a different studio than the main game. No sneaky/clever/… way to approach the bosses.

[drauch]

Yeah, I mean, most things do get pretty hard on the hardest difficulty. Halo 1 single player is a worthwhile experience, although it's heavily flawed by silly enemies, an awful protagonist and a forgettable story. Gameplay is certainly fine, but it's just sooooo slow. I just don't understand the legion of fans.

[Ed Oscuro]

Strangely enough, Deus Ex: Human Revolution tries for the more classic variations on bosses. I've only seen two so far, though. One was a straight-up damage slugfest, while the second is considerably more varied, with some of the traditional staples of boss tricks + environmental boss stunning.

I really dislike the bossfights in DE:RE. I heard they where designed by a different studio than the main game. No sneaky/clever/… way to approach the bosses.

Yeah, they definitely feel out of place alongside the rest of the game, but the game itself is much more like a Splinter Cell type of linear, focused game than the original game.

[Mortificator]

Yeah, I mean, most things do get pretty hard on the hardest difficulty. Halo 1 single player is a worthwhile experience, although it's heavily flawed by silly enemies, an awful protagonist and a forgettable story. Gameplay is certainly fine, but it's just sooooo slow. I just don't understand the legion of fans.

The Covenant enemies look stupid, but they're fun to fight. Their distinctive attributes mean a designer can create a large variety of tactical situations just by different combinations of the four basic types. Legendary doesn't only bump up the enemy HP and damage, it pits you against more challenging enemy formations.

The Flood are boring opponents, though.

I think the story, as presented in Halo 1, worked well. It just got stupid after the fetishistic fanlove for the Master Chief (who I certainly won't argue against being a shitty protagonist) made him into the savior of the universe. The Covenant was dumbed-down as well when they began speaking to each other in English.

Why'd it get so popular? I think the main factors are:
* The solid single-player mode.
* The online integration, which for many non-PC players was their first exposure to playing over the internet.
* The heavy marketing. I may not think the Halo 2 story is good, but stuff like ilovebees did get people to buy into it.

[mesh control]

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ ... collection

All the nostalgia is rushing back.

(I still won't sign it)

[dave4shmups]

Far Cry 3 REALLY has me interested, but I'd like to know how much sexual content is in the game before I buy it.

[Mortificator]

Intermittent boobs throughout the game, but I think the only sex scene is in the evil ending.

[Ed Oscuro]

Intermittent boobs throughout the game, but I think the only sex scene is in the evil ending.

That just strikes me as hilarious, sorry.

It'll be great if it's like Streets of Rage. (Or what everybody imagined an evil ending of Final Fight might've been like... ) "You became the bad! Everybody get down!"