What improvements do we want in Soulstorm over New 'n Tasty?

[MeechCrunchies]

I personally just want the overall speed of every animation slowed down, the sound effects of Slogs, Scrabs and Paramites restored (Is it even possible at this point? ), the volume balancing issues fixed, better music cues and the tension through atmospheric sound restored ( Like when you can hear an enemy but can't see them then the way the game uncomfortably clears its own throat as if telling you some shits about to go down.) I also loved how pants shittingly tense the music got right before something such as a slog chase or Scrab sections where you put yourself in danger. And please for the love of Odd, if Soulstorm is going to be as dark as we've seen, can there just please be less talking from Sligs and Mudokons? You can somewhat restore the tension from the originals by turning voice volume down but it really breaks the flow when you can no longer hear gamespeak because of it. Could it be possible to turn idle chatter off? Would it ever be possible to have an improved control scheme or configurable one on consoles?

What do you guys think could be improved?

[OWI_Alex]

You do realise Soulstorm is a different game than New 'n' Tasty, right?

[MeechCrunchies]

Well, of course, but unless the game has switched engines, it's fair to assume that it would be running the same software just much improved. These are the issues that for me, and I believe some of us here on the forum as well, personally really kind of took away from the immersion of NnT, and I honestly hope they're not present in Soulstorm. I'm going to play it regardless, but I just hope that as a whole our two cents can at least reach the right ears, and even if it doesn't happen, we still love that you guys take the time to listen to your fans.

[Varrok]

I approve of MeechCrunchies's suggestions

[Connell]

I do also. Every point, but I'm pretty sure they've seen them before and (hopefully) taken them on board by this point though.

[Vlam]

You do realise Soulstorm is a different game than New 'n' Tasty, right?

Soulstorm will still be using Unity, right?

[Havoc]

You do realise Soulstorm is a different game than New 'n' Tasty, right?

Well, we don't have a lot of information about the game engine yet so that's how speculation happens. Right now we're all assuming it's going to run on the same engine as NnT. But please, by all means prove us wrong

[JayDee]

I'm unsure how much of New N Tasty's engine belongs to JAW, if any, so I've always been skeptical of it running on the same one as NnT. But yeah, we only know about Soulstorm the things we've been told so far, so I can understand people being unsure how exactly the two games are related developmently and engine-wise.

[Manco]

Can we clarify what everyone means by “engine”? Because I feel like some people are using it to mean Unity while others are talking about the mechanics of NNT that are built on Unity.

If Soulstorm is built on NNT’s code, then I can think of a fair few improvements that OWI could make to that to make the game better, most of which were listed by the OP. If it’s a clean slate, then it’s difficult to say until we see what’s new and how much is based on the previous games.

[kjjcarpenter]

What do you guys think could be improved?

The only thing I wanted from New 'n' Tasty was more story. Soulstorm is delivering. I am content.

[Gunnr]

The only thing I wanted from New 'n' Tasty was more story. Soulstorm is delivering. I am content.

x2

[Fischkopf]

I would love for tile-based movement to return and it really needs some better animations. Also I would like a more dark and gritty atmosphere because New N Tasty was way too bright and colorful, but the screenshots and interviews already suggest it's gonna have a more dark tone anyway, both story and gameplay-wise which is great. And they need to cut down on the silliness factor.

[V_O_T]

Everything mentioned in this thread.


I personally would like more of this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyov...Kmw3W0uLu8IXlj

That minimalist ambience with just abes foot steps only being heard in a thick desolate jungle. Its like ASMR to me when this type of music plays in the right setting.


No one makes soundtracks like OWI does.

[HOMINIX]

I think if they're going to keep it gridless, which is probably pretty likely, they should stay away from the grid based puzzles. AO and AE's pits and landmine obstacles made it easy to judge if you'd make a jump based on the grid. I think now that they've liberated themselves from being 100% faithful to the original game, they will make puzzles with spacing that can be more easily judged by eye and timed based on the new non-grid layout. That has the potential to make the game that much better.

Basically I think some of the puzzles in New n Tasty came out a bit frustrating because they were designed for the reliability of the grid based movement and didn't fit well with the new system.

[Vlam]

Basically I think some of the puzzles in New n Tasty came out a bit frustrating because they were designed for the reliability of the grid based movement and didn't fit well with the new system.

I think it is only partly true. Although totally new, Alf's Escape has the same flaws as NnT.

[Bixer]

Basically abandon what they tried with New 'n' Tasty and go back to the incredible atmosphere that made Oddysee and Exoddus so great.

[Crashpunk]

The only thing I can think of is a more dark, gritty atmosphere and style. Just like in the first ever Abe HD trailer.

By the looks of it. SoulStorm seems to be already going down that route. So I'm excited to see some of the actual game.

[Connell]

Better shades of green.

[Nicky Ali]

I think a lot of good points were brought up in the "Hopes for Soulstorm?" thread, but I'll just go over some of the main things I'd like to see this time around:

- Better sound mixing: OG Oddworld had great sound design, so it was a shame to see them neglect this in New 'n' Tasty. Certain sound clips wouldn't even play at times.
- Better falling physics: The biggest buzzkiller for me was how sloppy Abe felt when you ran off of a ledge in NnT. He dropped at a 90 degree angle and it just felt so awkward. I would've enjoyed NnT a lot more if the control was just a bit smoother.
- Abe's old chant particles back: did anyone else think it was a bit weird that Abe had the "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" logo around him when he chanted? Seriously, I wish I could unsee this.

All of that being said though, New 'n' Tasty did quite a few things well that I think they could take to the next step:

- New 'n' Tasty made Oddworld more accessible: Password segments in NnT now have visual cues to go along with them:


To be honest, these do look out of place visually, but they're a good addition for players who may have hearing impairments. My older brother is hearing impaired and has been playing games for ages but he's often said that the Password locks in OG Oddworld are almost impossible for him without putting in the cheatcode to skip them. Adding visual cues is a good way to solve that issue, but there should be an option to turn it on and off just for people that don't want it. I think they could take this even further by adding subtitles for all gamespeak and in-game flavour dialogue.

- New 'n' Tasty provided more control options: granted this was due to public outcry, but it was a nice touch. I think they should take this further by adding fully customisable button mapping (Every game should have this tbh ).

Anyway, I just wrote a goddamn thesis for a game we haven't even seen footage of yet :/

[Havoc]

Oh, that brings me to a good point. Involving the fan community for voicing some of the Mudokons was an interesting idea. And I have laughed so hard when I encountered German Mudokon saying "HALT!". But please, don't do that again.

[OWI_Alex]

- New 'n' Tasty provided more control options: granted this was due to public outcry, but it was a nice touch. I think they should take this further by adding fully customisable button mapping (Every game should have this tbh ).

Controls are fully remappable on the PC version, FWIW.

[Nicky Ali]

Controls are fully remappable on the PC version, FWIW.

That's good, I didn't know that 👍

[Varrok]

I, for once, don't blame Abe for wanting to become a millionaire, but I wish he stopped telling us about it, especially while trying to rescue Mudokons.

We really want to believe you're doing it selflessly, Abe. Please maintain the status quo.

[Connell]

[Nicky Ali]

Slumdog Glockstar

[kapteeni13]

Abe use 50/50! (unless you used your last help haha)

Also thread: Normal speed for drills. Not too soft or too Mudokon POP!

Also kap is not so ARG as he is still little sick.

[Fischkopf]

- Better falling physics: The biggest buzzkiller for me was how sloppy Abe felt when you ran off of a ledge in NnT. He dropped at a 90 degree angle and it just felt so awkward. I would've enjoyed NnT a lot more if the control was just a bit smoother.
- Abe's old chant particles back: did anyone else think it was a bit weird that Abe had the "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" logo around him when he chanted? Seriously, I wish I could unsee this.

Absolutely this.

[EVP_Glukkon]

I agree with the chant and physics. The game felt 'uncomfortable' to me right off the bat, while the original felt solid and I felt in complete control of Abe.

IMO I think Lorne has cranked up the satire for his own characters, and that is what's causing problems now. It's going from Odd to ridiculous if it doesn't tone down to the more darker vibe. Time and a place for humour, but for the love of Odd his got to throw in some serious elements here or the whole thing becomes a loony tunes affair.

[Vince]

Just a small question:

Is Soulstorm confirmed to be a side-scrolling [2.5D] platformer?

[Michael]

Just a small question:

Is Soulstorm confirmed to be a side-scrolling [2.5D] platformer?

Assumed, but not confirmed as far as I am aware. It's a direct sequel to NNT so it's expected to expand on the previous game's formula. Though personally, I'd love it if some sections did offer full 3D gameplay