Hand of Odd: the Speculation Thread

[Sydney]

Hand of Odd is Oddworld Inhabitant's multiplayer game, currently without a release date. One day in the distant future we'll see this title, what do you think it will be like, and what features would you like to see included with it?

[Xavier]

well I heard it will be based on the Munch's Oddysee (A.L.I.V.E.2) engine

some sources says it will be a munch bonus game
others says it will be a habitaeles opus...

I have an interview about a oddworld multiplayer game I will post it ASAP

It will be a realy complex game and probably Xbox eXclusive


Edit: I found the video
the beginning is in french but the interview in english
http://video.agoride.com:8282/real/g.../xbox/X-17.ram
I realy think it's about Hand of Odd

[MojoMan220]

Whatis with the bees? They were on the old MO title aswell, could it be some kind of hint of what's to come, or is it of no signifigance.

I hope the gameplay is much like command and counquer, but with an oddworld twist.

[oddguy 999]

I heard that the gameplay for "Hand of Odd" is ment to be a cross between a RTS and a Platform-adventure. I think that means its like a RTS but you make the comands on-feild and can do stuff yourself if you want to. I've also heard that it might be all run by some sort of highly advanced gamespeak system that could be controled by your own voice comands.

[Lampion]

there is a lot of features I''d like to see in a game like Hand of Odd. Lorne Lanning onces said, refering to HOO concept: think of Age of Empires, but instead of your mouse, you have GAMESPEAK to control the game. so, I try to imagine several scenarios involving GAMESPEAK interaction.

First of all, it seems to be impossible to control simultaneous and instantly a huge mass of diferent characters (or units). In Age of Empires games, the player can be viewed as a kind of GOD, controling all the moves of his civilization in a real time way. In a game like Myth: The Fallen Lords, the player is more like a general, playing in the battle field, directly giving orders to change formations, movements, attack and defense tactics, but every unit is still simultaneous and instantly controled, via the mouse.

In an Oddworld game like the HOO idea, I believe that the player should feel just like a single person, hovering around the battle fields and villagess, giving direct orders to builders, militias, shamans, or small groups of units. THe AI of the game would have to be extremely powerfull, so that things could happen naturally if we choose to take a rest for a while, or just watch the unfolding happenings by their own.

Basic concepts:
1. As the player, you should be able to create several playable characters, the "leaders" of your community. These playable units could have unique status and species features. the player could then use them, one at a time (like we do switching from Abe to Munch) to accomplish several tasks to achieve our goals (deploy an environment, restablish the balance of a particular area, fight an enemy community, develop some sceintifical research, the list goes on).

2. The playable characters should interact to diferent NPCs, to give them specific orders. so a general could say to a militar unit: "Patrol this area!", and the NPC would make his job by his own (with a complex AI system). If the unit sights an enemy, he could run to the leader and tell something like: "Sir, I saw something...", depending of his personality, or he could choose to fight the enemy, or call for help, or stand stiil, all would depend on the AI system.

3. THe playable characters, while not at the player control, should have an active behavior, based on the AI system, and not just stand still until we return to them. For instance, A general who was training soldiers in a barracks should keep doing that even if the player stops to order that, and doesn't give an specific order to stop that.

4. The characters and the environment should have a very well stablished life cycle and defined behavior, complex enough to keep developing by their own if we choose not to interact with them.

5. The GAMESPEAK set of sentences should be expanded to dozens of diferents sentences, and a dynamic sentence creator should be sorted out, so that the actual set of sentences could be stretched up to thousands of diferent combinations.

6... I can't think of anything else... Maybe later...

Any coments? Any idea you want me to elaborate in depth?

[MudokonOddball]

Originally posted by Lampion
First of all, it seems to be impossible to control simultaneous and instantly a huge mass of diferent characters (or units).......The GAMESPEAK set of sentences should be expanded to dozens of diferents sentences, and a dynamic sentence creator should be sorted out, so that the actual set of sentences could be stretched up to thousands of diferent combinations.

I think that there ought to be a voice-recognition system like maybe (emphasis on MAYBE) Seaman. Although Seaman was generally just choosing from a central bank of responses cued by specific key-words said to it, I think that it would be appropriate for an overview-style Oddworld game. And if not, I think that instead of single-button commands, that we could type in full sentences to command them using a keyboard peripheral. "Type query here: Everybody fart in T-minus 5!" 4...3....2...THBPBPTHTHBP! I think that it could work very well. but if it's using the same engine as MO, then maybe there ought to be double and triple and maybe even quadrupal taps for gamespeak to accomodate for the immense amount of gamespeak necessary for a game with the suggested scenario of Tree-Huggers v Land-Muggers; however, the gamespeak then might outstretch beyond comprehension for the average gamer, and even prove too complicated for an Oddworld fan.

[moy85]

would it be on pc

[Xavier]

would be on pc ?

Lampion you have a lot of good ideas, but I don't want a too complex game

and it must stay oddworld to

I hope OWI will do something BIG

[benssj]

have any of you heard of a game called stronghold.
its like age of empires but you have a leader in game.

[MojoMan220]

Maybe it will be like Sacrafice.

[•[cyrus]•]

Wow Mojomann!

I didn't think anyone else liked sacrifice on the forums. Maybe it will be like sacrifice because the only news on it is that you will have to choose your hero: A Mudokon Tribe Leader or A Moolah Hungrey Glukkon.

But it may be like a 3d Starcraft too. where you whatch over your units and stuff. Starcraft was 2d, I mean a 3d vision. Sorta like the Sacrifice Map Editor for Scampax.


Mudokon101....

[Danny]

I thought I'd point out that HOO has been described as having "No Heroes, No Battles, No Revolutions, just the day-to-day life of Oddworld." Therefore, it would be wrong to describe it as a military strategy game the way most of you seem to be doing.

[•[cyrus]•]

Danny, In the description it says you choose your side or something (hero, sides ..... same thing), And then you have to (if your a glukkon) Destroy land and corrupt it. And if your a tribe leader, you have'ta save the land (or restore it if its already been corrupted.

I'm not argueing but, these opositions may lead to a mudokons Gather vs. slig armies conflict.


Mudokon101...

[MojoMan220]

Either way I'm sure it will rock. BTW what comes first, HOO or SO?

[Oddsville]

Hmmmmm...what would I like to see in HOO, I guess what I would really like to see is alot of different combonations, for example- Say you where gathering firewood alone and on the opposite side of the trees is a great wide plain. When you look up you notice a whole heard of Scrabs heading your way. In a panic you run back and can...(A)Screw your pals, and not tell them of the upcomming danger as you run for shelter. (B)Commit Suicide by trying to take on all the Scrabs by your self...or (C) Tell your friends of whats comming there way and get the heck outta there.

Ok, lets say you chose "C". As everyone heres your cries of trouble they all run to safty, in the panic they knock down an elderly Mudokon and don't bother to help. You could ethier...(A)Screw him and save your own but. (B) Kill him and end his misery. (C)Pick him up and hide behind a couple of trees (even though you know they'll find you)...or (D)Pick him up and run him to the next safe house, after that is up to you.

I have other ideas and wants but Im to tired to describe them right now, mabye some other time, hope you like my thoughts.

[MojoMan220]

Originally posted by Oddsville
Hmmmmm...what would I like to see in HOO, I guess what I would really like to see is alot of different combonations, for example- Say you where gathering firewood alone and on the opposite side of the trees is a great wide plain. When you look up you notice a whole heard of Scrabs heading your way. In a panic you run back and can...(A)Screw your pals, and not tell them of the upcomming danger as you run for shelter. (B)Commit Suicide by trying to take on all the Scrabs by your self...or (C) Tell your friends of whats comming there way and get the heck outta there.

Ok, lets say you chose "C". As everyone heres your cries of trouble they all run to safty, in the panic they knock down an elderly Mudokon and don't bother to help. You could ethier...(A)Screw him and save your own but. (B) Kill him and end his misery. (C)Pick him up and hide behind a couple of trees (even though you know they'll find you)...or (D)Pick him up and run him to the next safe house, after that is up to you.

I have other ideas and wants but Im to tired to describe them right now, mabye some other time, hope you like my thoughts.

That's a cool idea oddsville, I dout it will be that deep though, be sweet if it is. got any other ideas?

[Lampion]

By Danny: I thought I'd point out that HOO has been described as having "No Heroes, No Battles, No Revolutions, just the day-to-day life of Oddworld." Therefore, it would be wrong to describe it as a military strategy game the way most of you seem to be doing.

I think that what you're describing here is the former planned habitales series, Danny, from which HOO is not explicitly part of. As Mudokon101 said, battles, heroes and revolutions are likely to happen when you have military characters, like armored sligs and mudokon warriors. However, the day-to-day life is something I'd like to see in a game like HOO. The best word to define it would be "simulation", rather than "strategy" game.

By Xavier: Lampion you have a lot of good ideas, but I don't want a too complex game

Well, I expect to see a very complex game, Xav, a big and as Oddworldish as it can be. However, I expect a very simple gameplay, with a very intuitive and natural interface, so that the player can't be never confused.

With MO, the interface with the player was enhanced a little, to give the player more information. I'm talking about the halo, the number and the birds above Abe and Munch's head. This could be enhanced a little more, with a set of icons representing the character behavior or actions. We could set the mood of the character, by cycling through several icons, for instance, and that could be expanded to allow more flexibilty in the playable characters' features. that would directly influence the way they would interact with the NPCs. The icons could represent the thoughts of the characters, and we would switch from one to another until we found the right one, which would trigger a particular behavior.

[Mojo]

Mudokon 101, do yoou play starcraft?? me too!

[•[cyrus]•]

I also play starcraft (although I don't have Brood War)

Anyway, back to the topic:

Who thinks its going to be for pc? It probably will because in abe babe's review of it, it'll be the first stratagy and online game for their prosess (which means that this is going to be their first stratagy and online game)

>>>>hmmm> I'm echoeing ain't I


Mudokon101...

[MojoMan220]

I just remembered another game, Black & White. I sure hope it is like that.

[•[cyrus]•]

Mojoman220!

We've got to be alike! Yesmaybe like B&W but with more control over stuff. In B&W its awfly difficult to figure out how to move around and which botton does what (blah blah blah!)


Mudokon101...

[Oddsville]

Thanks Mojoman, Im glad you like my idea. Another one of my wants is...Say you where a Slig living in some type of SligBaracks. Your dream is to raise your self to the rank of either BigBro or Sligvallet. After a long day on the job you come back to the tent, but on this particular day lets say you where robbed by a fellow slig (hey thats life in the SligBaracks) and now all the money you've saved up to accomplish your dream is gone! You could either...(A)Forget about it and start saving money again. (B)Report this to your manager (which probably won't do anything about it)...or (C)Go on a shooting spree to find the bastard the robbed you.

Choose whatever you want, but thats what I would really like to see. Mabye I'll post some of my ideas that are nothing like this later.

[Al the Vykker]

Also included will be the new ability, originally for Munch's Oddysee, to manipulate the environment. Also sources say through the XBOX ethernet port you can download new units to update your existing one, so that you never are bored, and the environment presented to you will always be fresh. One last thing I think is the best is that you can be the industrialists, and the natives, definently worth your money $$.

[Xavier]

oh yeah is that thing already said?
there will be 3 sides
probably:
industrialist
willdlife
native

[Oddsville]

Thats a good idea, I never really thought of playing as the Wildlife in HOO. That would be cool, imagine being a Scrab, running with the herd, hunting a stray Mudokon...

[Xavier]

yeah with an alfa scrab and a devlopped GameSpeak you can do a lot of things...
don't forget the Raisin is wildlife too

[Dequibenzo]

I really don't care what the gameplay contains, as long as it's complex enough to be interesting but not so much that it's cumbersome. What I REALLY want to see, though, is more exploration. Oddworld is so diverse and beautiful, think how cool it would be to have massive levels that take real-time hours to travel across as a mudokon. Kind of like Everquest, but without loading times, and actually good-looking. So, more like the Jak and Daxter big map, but imagine it fifty times the size. That'd be very cool.
Say, for example, you're playing as the natives, and your job is to take a hunting expidition to the scrab plains. Unfortunately, that's about thirteen miles away, and you're in the forest. So, you start out controlling one guy in the village, have to round up a hunting party, arm them, organize them, and head out. Not only is it going to take you a LONG time to get there, you're going to have to fend off a lot of wild creatures, not get lost, and find a place to sleep when it turns to night (that would also be cool, having actual day and night cycles like the N64 zelda games). Of course, you'd have help- out in the woods, there'd be other mudokon tribes, and ratz that you could show a pendant or something that the raisin gave you so they'd guide you to something. Of course, a couple members of your party may kick the bucket or get hopelessly lost, but you can't be held responsible for that, now can you?
Finally, once you've gotten out of the forest, maybe three or four days later (in the game), maybe cross a ravine or two (I'm talking MASSIVE oddworld topography here), you crest the hill above the scrab planes, and either-
A- spot a small herd, grab a sick one, and drag it all the way back home for something or other
B- Realize that, oh, that's a LOT of scrabs. Like, six or seven hundred of them. And it's mating season, so the males are extra feisty. And they can all smell you. Then you look behind you and see that the rest of the party has already run like hell back into the forest, and you're on your own. Good luck, guido, you're going to need it.
See, by the time you're done with this, a few real time hours have passed, and you've only explored a tiny part of the map. I love games with a lot of escapism in them, almost like you're in a real world, one with all the fanciful things Oddworld offers us, but with closer to real exploration ability. Of course, for something like this to work, you would need three or four DVD's, maybe more. It'd be cool, though.