One things for sure, it'll never be called 'HD' anything at any point in development.

I guess you could have some sort of cone of vision thing like the Sligs? Like a red spotlight on the ground that moves like the laser beams? Except it responds to movement?

Yeah, I know....

Something like this. But the spotlights aren't static.

http://i.imgur.com/ObkNygW.png

They could project a 2D "pane" of laser like they did in the original...
http://i.imgur.com/ssc9Wwn.png
Maybe with little blue arcing (non-harmful) electricity touching Abe (similar to the arcing electric look used when Abe has a Shrykull ring in NnT) to indicate when Abe is in in their laser field, in case there's any lack of clarity due to the 3D environments.

Whoops, didn't refresh my page before posting mine.
My only concern with that is the actual scan area is much bigger than the ones in Exoddus. Maybe just a horizontal line along the width of the path?

Could they? I thought that was the issue in NnT. That they didn't really work.

I assume that - because the vertical beams could be viewed from an angle in 3D - it was that you would have a hard time telling when you were in the beam's range, or the beam was right in front of you. The little electrical arcs were my proposed solution... just hammering home that you're being scanned then. The visual equivalent of the little "ssssssss" sound it made when you were in the beam in the originals. But that's just an idea.

Surely this encapsulates more what Matthew wanted from Rupture Farms in NnT (at least in Zulag 1)?

http://tombennettblog.files.wordpres...f_27.jpg?w=720

EDIT: I was just watching a stream of the Scrabanian Temple and fuck me it's looks really good. The glowiness only really became stark in one or two places (like entering the first Big Face door)

BUT whenever the game is paused the bloom filter and dirty filter(or whatever it actually is) seem to disappear. I wonder if it would be a good idea to make this an option on the PC version? Quite like how the noise filter could be turned off in The Lost and Damned (love that grain tho').

I do feel that calling NnT a "serious visual downgrade" a pretty big overreaction. But, at the same time, I sympathise with those who disliked the noise filter in The Lost and Damned. And perhaps the best thing is to just give the player more visual options? Just to gauge reactions if anything.

Usually you can turn off bloom in PC games which feature bloom. That's a standard. Nothing extravagant or wonderful.

The PC version gives me hope for a lot of reasons. Mainly because there really isn't a way to have analog movement on a keyboard, hopefully meaning there will be a dedicated run button. The possibility of further button mapping and bloom/effect options is exciting, but the controls are my main concern.

I'm not really well versed in graphical options because my PC is rather average. In that it's a laptop.

I watched Crashpunk's LP and I was impressed by the graphics. The new voices are good and the puzzles have been tweaked to match the new scrolling screen camera.

While it would have been nice to have a few more hints towards Exoddus it's a great game in it's own right. Shame there's no info about the release date but hopefully it will come out next month or the month after.

Well they had those brew bottles.

*later* I wanna add to the voices who think it's very good that people from JAW interact with the long-term community on a personal level. It's a shame more game developers don't do this.

I also want to say that at face value, N'n'T looks to be enjoyable and fun from what I've seen of it (a fair bit), and the majority of reviews and comments from people who've played it seem to have that opinion - Sure, some things may bug me a little as a long-term Oddworld fan, but if I've enjoyed it at the end (which I think I very much will - PC version, please!), then I'd say that's a good result. Nitpicking from hardcore fans can be valuable as feedback, but there comes a point where it gets a bit silly.

Also, the reason they didn't interact before, I would imagine, is the publisher model didn't allow it. I mean Lorne's talked a lot about how the direction of Munch to 3D and Stranger as a FPS hybrid were to do with changes in market and how big publishers like to control the level of information and interaction with the fanbase. And he's also talked about how he was surprised fans wanted to see a return to the old 2D platforming gameplay or even a remake of Abe.

So it seems like OWI's interaction with the fanbase, on a regular basis, was just something that wasn't really viable back then.

Also, since JAW is remaking an old classic it makes sense that fan interaction would be rather important.

But, to be fair, they did have Dear Alf!

That, and the fan club. :fuzsmile: They even took the trouble to mail Oddworld-themed birthday cards to the first few members of it for a couple of years, they got interesting when Stranger was about to be released. It's a shame I lost them. :fuzsad:

Still though, there aren't many game devs who are that generous.

I was literally just about to post:

1. "Promotion, here I come!" (Flying slig that spots Abe.)

2. "Yeah. Yeah. Blah. Blah. Blah." (Newscaster's reaction to Phleg's professional suicide.)

3. The slig snoozing on the keyboard when Phleg calls. And his subsequent, "Huh? What?" Then once Phleg clarifies that he must disarm the main gates, the slig simply responds with, "Oh."

4. "Yeah. Yeah. What d'ya want?" (While filing his nails.)

5. "Man, he is pissed."

6. "Uh-huh, I'm out of here!" (Newscaster then proceeds to flee.)

Not exactly what I'd call cold, merciless killers. More like over-worked cannon-fodder who do what they're told.

I don't have a problem with repetition of the same dialogue in games just as long it's not repeating way too much. In NnT, yes you heard the same lines but it's hardly anything to get annoyed about. Plus, you can have only so many lines before you hear the same ones again. That's in anything.

Also I don't know why he brought this up at all honestly. In AO and AE, all the dialogue in game was only a couple of sounds. The Sligs said "What?", "Freeze!" and their Gamespeak. So NnT. The characters have way more lines and yet he complains that he hears the same lines.

Fuck me...

Well, to be fair, there's a difference hearing the same idle dialogue over and over again and hearing the same dialogue every time you interact with another character.

I also think it's easier to digest the repetition of the same handful of words than lines of dialogue with specific tonal inflections.

The gamespeak dialogue doesn't really seem to be the issue though. Just too much repetition of the same idle dialogue - particularly since the player has no control over it.

The other issue is, if you make it so specific dialouge is heard at specific times, it becomes frustrating for a player to hear the same line of NPC dialogue everytime they die and restart. There's certainly a balance I think.

I agree with most of the guy's statements. Like Holy Sock said however, the regular Sligs in Exoddus were also wearing the aviator masks. Although I guess you could make the argument that the sligs in the cutscenes aren't assigned as security personal, so perhaps they didn't need the original visors.

Anyway, I just completed AO, and looking at it now, I can definitely agree that NnT falls short by comparison.

That doesn't mean J.A.W made a bad game however. There were just several missteps that dampened the overall experience. Overall, it was still a good game and a damn good attempt at remaking Abe's Oddysee.

I really like the room with the machine that chops up the Scrabs myself.

That literally brought by fiancé to tears, so much so I had to turn the console off for about an hour. It was definitely an intelligent and powerful addition.

To tears? That's sounds like some serious over-reacting over something happening in the background.

Did she explain why it impacted her so much?

Hardly an over-reaction to someone wither a tender heart, who loves animals. She doesn't approve of animal slaughter, simple as that, and needless loss of life makes her emotional. She's even forced me to figure out ways to play through the games without harming anything save sligs and glukkons, unless it is absolutely vital. Even slogs are to be spared.

It certainly adds a new depth of challenge to the games. There was this part in Soulstorm Brewery with slogs and electric gates, and although it took me the better part of an hour to rework the puzzle and perfect the timing, no slogs were harmed. I think I added a few more silver hairs to my head, though.

I bet you do a "kill everything" run during your alone time.

That is awesome! Good for you both. :fuzgrin: