Oddworld at E3 2014 -

DrewCameron · #31 06-03-2014, 08:10 AM

It's looking really sharp ; but since you benefit most from input - JAW must get a fix on the still-not-quite-there-character animations and that's about it from me!

(You cannot release a AAA game in which one of the few dozen boxed animations is hideously broken. (Pressing the UXB). It's simply unacceptable but I'm hoping its on your to-do list)

It would make me so, so happy if you guys got rid of the dust and shit on the screen throughout the game - it will date quickly. I can imagine the discussions that led to it (it looks gritty and real) but you might want to lead the trend away from this instead of following it. Who knows.

Other than that it is surely looking sharp, I am really excited and have more faith in it every day

Scrabaniac · #32 06-03-2014, 08:28 AM

Loving the visible checkpoint system, Very retro!

(I'm guessing the blue Mudokon face on that little screen was a checkpoint)
It's really coming together guys, Well done!

RyuuFox · #33 06-03-2014, 10:03 AM

God this game looks so pretty, New 'n' tasty certainly blown my previous expectations out the window!
Now we just need that release date

Please don't be 2015

Pirfsich · #34 06-03-2014, 10:40 AM

T-6 days.

Connell · #35 06-03-2014, 10:51 AM

Loving the Scrab in the cage passing by, although won't it kinda ruin that shadowy, mysterious presence they're given in the Stockyards? Agree about the UBX animation also, it sticks out a bit considering everything else around it looks rather flawless.

Not very keen on those boards that seem to change from a Glukkon to Abe as he walks past either. They're quite... Looney Tunes.

Any chance you could tell us what they're about?

Crashpunk · #36 06-03-2014, 11:07 AM

One thing I noticed in that small bit of footage was how quick Abe ran to the right.

Is the game running at 60fps? The game is looking a lot more fluid then it did previously.

Pirfsich · #37 06-03-2014, 11:15 AM

It's running in 60 fps, watch this video of the GDC trailer
(looks a lot more fluid than the youtube-version which is limited at 30fps): http://www.gamersyde.com/hqstream_od...-31786_en.html

SoulStorm64 · #38 06-03-2014, 12:23 PM

Welp i giffed all the parts that showed New n' Sexiness gameplay. no thanks are necessary... well actually they are

Some of them got cut off a little bit too early though.

***Xavier*** · #39 06-03-2014, 01:56 PM

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Loving the visible checkpoint system, Very retro!

I don't like it at all. It's reminds us we are in a video game, it breaks the immersion.

What could be the in universe justification for that?

Holy Sock · #40 06-03-2014, 01:56 PM

Is looking good. But I agree, that if this is the current build, some of the character animations look a bit quick and jerky.

Holy Sock · #41 06-03-2014, 02:00 PM

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I don't like it at all. It's reminds us we are in a video game, it breaks the immersion.

What could be the in universe justification for that?

Well, what's the in universe justification for the architecture to be based around platforming?

Why is every area built so perfectly for an athletic and acrobatic Mudokon rather than Sligs and everyday workers?

I mean, why is everywhere flat ground? Why's there a pullring above the Boardroom? Why is everything a 12 foot wide platform? Even in natural areas? Why are there LED screens giving Mudokons hints on how to escape?

Slog Bait · #42 06-03-2014, 02:46 PM

:

Why are there LED screens giving Mudokons hints on how to escape?

It was CLEARLY an oversight on the Glukkon's part.

Scrabaniac · #43 06-03-2014, 02:57 PM

The checkpoints could easily be Mudokon registration systems, if JAW and that make it like that. If it had to be activated like a directory it would make more sense rather than just walking past it.

MojoMan220 · #44 06-03-2014, 03:09 PM

I really want this game to succeed and it looks like it's so close to reaching its potential and more... but, as some others have pointed out, the animation isn't quite there yet.

V_O_T · #45 06-03-2014, 03:15 PM

Xavier has a solid point. The unseen checkpoints were better but I have a feeling JAW are trying to bring in a newer crowd, and for obvious reasons, this has to be put in to help the new players understand.

But! We have been promised a classic mode and these check points could be in a different difficulty setting so, I don't think we have anything to worry about.

If we have that classic game mode, then (I hope) it is nothing but classic. Regardless, what ever decisions are made, it's evident that they have good reason for it. All my faith <3 lol

Also, I love the jiggle bones in Abe's pony tail lol.

***Nate*** · #46 06-03-2014, 05:58 PM

I don't really see why people are complaining about the USB animation. It looks fine to me. On the other hand, the animation for Abe crouching down and standing up again just looks way too quick. He's in one position, then in the other, and there isn't enough movement in between.

STM · #47 06-03-2014, 06:03 PM

Same with sligs turning on the spot, it looks almost 2D.

But yeah everything else seems okay to me, including the 'USB'.

Un-Sploded Bomb.

Slog Bait · #48 06-03-2014, 09:45 PM

:

I don't really see why people are complaining about the USB animation. It looks fine to me. On the other hand, the animation for Abe crouching down and standing up again just looks way too quick. He's in one position, then in the other, and there isn't enough movement in between.

That's my favourite part and they better not change it or I will be very sad )':

***Nate*** · #49 06-03-2014, 10:17 PM

Your favourite part is a crouching animation? That is... surprisingly specific.

Slog Bait · #50 06-03-2014, 10:19 PM

You underestimate my love for quick crouching animations like that.

Nepsotic · #51 06-03-2014, 11:25 PM

God, Rupture Farms looks so fucking cool, I just want to have its babies.

:

Well, what's the in universe justification for the architecture to be based around platforming?

Why is every area built so perfectly for an athletic and acrobatic Mudokon rather than Sligs and everyday workers?

I mean, why is everywhere flat ground? Why's there a pullring above the Boardroom? Why is everything a 12 foot wide platform? Even in natural areas? Why are there LED screens giving Mudokons hints on how to escape?

None of these things break immersion, though.

El Dango AGAIN · #52 06-04-2014, 12:31 AM

I hope JAW isn't taking note of any of these things, because then this game is never going to come out.

:

I don't like it at all. It's reminds us we are in a video game, it breaks the immersion.

If I ever played a video game and actually forgot that this was what I was doing, I'd be very worried about my sanity. Like, is this seriously a thing? Is it common for some people to get so invested in a game's world that they literally forget themselves?

OWI_Alex · #53 06-04-2014, 01:34 AM

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I hope JAW isn't taking note of any of these things, because then this game is never going to come out.

We're a little busy over here.

***Xavier*** · #54 06-04-2014, 02:45 AM

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If I ever played a video game and actually forgot that this was what I was doing, I'd be very worried about my sanity. Like, is this seriously a thing? Is it common for some people to get so invested in a game's world that they literally forget themselves?

What I meant is that there has been a lot of work in making oddworld a believable place. Most of the gameplay elements and mechanisms are cleverly merged in the world so it's not disturbing.

This on the other hand screams "checkpoint"

Holy Sock · #55 06-04-2014, 05:23 AM

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What I meant is that there has been a lot of work in making oddworld a believable place. Most of the gameplay elements and mechanisms are cleverly merged in the world so it's not disturbing.

This on the other hand screams "checkpoint"

Well I'm sure it can be explained away somehow through the "story stones". Like since Monsaic Lines, Scrabania & Paramonia are tests then the "checkpoints" are like checkpoints for trials to mark their progress? Or ancient beacons that Abe is activating with his new found powers.

The ones in RuptureFarms could be something like dispensers, or "clocking in" points or something.

El Dango AGAIN · #56 06-04-2014, 05:51 AM

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We're a little busy over here.

Don't forget to eat fruit.

:

What I meant is that there has been a lot of work in making oddworld a believable place. Most of the gameplay elements and mechanisms are cleverly merged in the world so it's not disturbing.

This on the other hand screams "checkpoint"

I see your point, but strong visual feedback is important. That's why what we know as 'video game logic' is always going to be around. Even in something like Oddworld, good design is a priority over immersion. Now, making checkpoints like this was more simple back in the original, as the environments were all flat images, so the slightest moving object would be instantly noticable. In NnT, however, the environments are all 3D, much more dynamic, much more busy, and differently lit. That's probably why JAW chose something that would stand out, like the changing sign.

DrewCameron · #57 06-04-2014, 08:40 AM

Xavier; you raise really interesting point now about the in game mecahnics...it's such a fine line between what is immersive and what is disruptive.

But I'm curious - this isn't in anyway a sarcastic remark - but did you really examine the UXB animation? His arm goes through itself and snaps back instantly ; is it something that most people didnt notice ?

I really hope JAW don't share the viewpoint that the character animations are done - they are, in my opinion, shoddy at points.

I can't understand why basic character animations seem incomplete at this stage? How many years has this been worked on? How can some of the handful of boxed animations not be complete yet? Why are some of the animations lightning quick, to the point of lunacy, while others seem strangely slow (the movement of the grenade isnt an animation but its a good example of this inconsistency).

DrewCameron · #58 06-04-2014, 08:42 AM

Another example;

The sligs get up instantly. In the GDC trailer, the time it takes for the slig to go from standing to shooting is instant - even quicker than the 2D game.

When the slig is asleep on the ground, its head goes through the ground as it wriggles around in it's sleep. Why was a a ground plain not used when creating this boxed animation to assess how the animation would look against the ground?

Grrrr.

OANST · #59 06-04-2014, 08:48 AM

Oddworld fans are by far the worst fans I have ever seen in my life. Keep up the good work, basement dwellers!

DrewCameron · #60 06-04-2014, 08:56 AM

I come from game development; the criticisms are legitimate, the issues important (broken character animations are not trivial) and this is the time and probably the place to raise them as a passionate fan.

I can't help but laugh at myself for getting so worked up about it though, you're right, but I feel JAW must be held accountable after their poor track record of HD ports that don't work, etc. I don't - yet- hold them in high esteem, based on a batting average of 2 products that I bought which didn't even work.