Abe HD Ideas

[Sekto Springs]

Ah yes, I forgot just how flexible Oddworld's canon tends to be.
As for it not being a "water planet", I guess that's the only way to rationalize it's 10x surface area. Could a planet lacking that much water sustain as much life as it does?

[Wil]

You wouldn't need any less water for a planet to have ten times the surface area, although it would help if you were just counting land surface area. Maybe that's what Lorne's doing but he hasn't worded it well.

[DesertBuzzard]

That version of the map is old... Paramonia is farther away from Rupture Farms on the map in the art book.

[Connell]

I never got the impression that Abe was teleported anywhere, I presumed monsaic lines was relatively close to the free-fire zone. As much as I like the idea that Rupture Farms was built on top of Mudokon territory we don't know that for sure, although that would be a cool thing to implement into the game. I like the idea of Abe's re-entry being a bit more grand, and more of a transition from Rocks to factory. It would make a heck of a load more sense in my head if that happened. He could re-enter through one of those 'condemned' doors or something after making his way back in, rather than just turning off an electric door thing.

Golly all this brainstorming is making me excited about the re-release of my favorite blue guy!

Also the boardroom should be much much harder. It is relatively easy to complete, even for a player that isn't that good at Abe.

[Sekto Springs]

It is relatively easy to complete, even for a player that isn't that good at Abe.

Says you. That area was murder on me the first time I played it. Especially without Quicksave.

[Crashpunk]

The return to RF is by miles the hardest bit of Oddysee. I get so stressed out when I play it.

I still find AO and AE really hard to complete, There is always parts where I get stuck on, no matter how good I've gotten at the games

[Havoc]

I gotta say, I've been playing AE again lately (Thanks Crashpunk) and I had to redo extremely little up until now. I rushed trough Necrum and the vaults in record time and I hate those levels. The only part that fucked me up good a couple dozen times were the falling boxes in the Bonewerkz and the Glukkon run there.

[Spooce-aholic]

That would cut out the return through the Free-Fire Zone, which was a pretty memorable challenge.

To be honest, I thought it was a plot hole as well, and just tried to rationalize it as intentional. I do love that screen so.

What if the cave entrance was at the end of the Stockyards? This could make returning to Rupture Farms slightly longer or much longer depending on how long we want it.

[Connell]

Says you. That area was murder on me the first time I played it. Especially without Quicksave.

Compared to other area's of the game, e.g Stockyard Return, it's not that bad at all.

[Michael]

I too always got the impression that Big Face teleported Abe away from the stockyards, in the same way that he suddenly teleports to where Abe is being held captive by Molluck at the end of the game (good ending).

I imagine Rupturefarms being a bit isolated in terms of its surroundings. Glukkons love to monopolise, so I think if there were any other factories/villages/Mudokon caves directly outside the RF walls, Molluck would have bought them out, destroyed them, or sent out sligs to capture the natives and put them to work in RF.

I just can't imagine Molluck happy to leave Mudokons to go about their business so close to his empire. He wouldn't want anyone interfering with his business plans. You could of course say that maybe the caves are unknown to him, but that would eliminate being able to have the cave connect directly to the factory. Surely it would have been investigated for potential threats if this were the case?

[Crashpunk]

Aren't all the Cartel's companies in the middle of nowhere? Nobody is meant to venture outside (Especally the Mudokons) That's why they have FeeCo trains going to and from.

I'll love to see a secret where you can see the FeeCo platform for Rupture Farms and a train stationed there.

[Manco]

Aren't all the Cartel's companies in the middle of nowhere? Nobody is meant to venture outside (Especally the Mudokons) That's why they have FeeCo trains going to and from.

The explanation for Rupturefarms being out in the middle of nowhere was that, in the grand scheme of things, that particular factory was little more than a third world outpost. Molluck was a big shot compared to the rest of the local businesses, but was a small fry in the bigger picture.

I imagine all the industrial buildings in AE are surrounded by desert for similar reasons.

[Goresplatter]

I always assumed that Rupture Farm's viscinity to the Monsaic Lines and Paramonia/Scrabania was due to them having to get their livestock from there, so they forcefully made a patch of land their own. Probably for storytelling purposes as well; literally encroaching more and more on the native's lands with each passing day, hence the Sligs in the lands and the temples.

I also thought that SoulStorm Brewery was build there due to its viscinity to Necrum, with everything else just following suit. FeeCo is probably in a central location, which might happen to be in the middle of a desert. Was always the way I saw it, anyway.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, but yes, it seemed like Abe's return should have been more grand. I remember first playing, seeing the Shrykull cutscene and being like, "YEAH! THE POWER TO FIGHT BACK!" - but then having to use it while still in the Monsaic Lines, and never getting to use it in the Stockyards... and very little in Rupture Farms for that matter. Basically, more of a 'the saviour has come!' mood might have been expected?

[Havoc]

The explanation for Rupturefarms being out in the middle of nowhere was that, in the grand scheme of things, that particular factory was little more than a third world outpost.

Rupture Farms was the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld. How did we get from that to it being nothing more than a third world outpost?

[Phylum]

It's big. That doesn't mean it's good.

Alternately, Abe could be misinformed and/or ignorant.

[Havoc]

Now you're just twisting things to match the theory. Canon established well enough that RF was the biggest meat factory on Oddworld. There's little room for speculation there. But let's untangle a few things just to be sure.



To me it always made sense that Rupture Farms was built in the direct vicinity of Paramonia and Scrabania. It's where they got their lifestock and the slig presence in both areas indicates that Rupture Farms has a firm grasp there. If RF is indeed in the middle of nowhere then the picture above has to show nothing but factory buildings attached to Rupture Farms. Those buildings go on for miles, it easily supports Abe's claim that it's the biggest factory on Oddworld.

[DarkHoodness]

Considering those buildings stretch on for miles, did anyone else think that while playing through the stockyard escape level, the transition from industrial land to natural (if heavily encroached-on and patrolled) land was a little too quick? It's smooth enough, but the actual "stockyards" seem to only be 6 screens across.

However maybe those 6 screens do their job to give you your first, terrifying glance at scrabs in the shadows, without being able to see them clearly, and before you really know what they are. I do feel that this area could be expanded upon though - Maybe an area where you have to cross some paramite pens too.

Also, I patched together the first 7 screens of Stockyards - Something I don't think has been done before (unless I'm mistaken). Wow, this game is pretty.

[Sekto Springs]

I always felt the stockyard portion of that level should have been much longer. However, I'm not really sure how you could lengthen it without it getting tedious. I suppose you could add a lengthy scrab or paramite run, or perhaps integrate the secret area into the main path as opposed to making it a secret.

[Phylum]

I always felt like I was out of the main industrial area once I hit the stockyards. I don't imagine anyone would want to live/work near scrabs. I just assumed the barrel ride took me a reasonably long way.

That stockyard montage is interesting to see. The background walkway and any kind of industrialisation just stops so abruptly. That should definitely be addressed.

[Nate]

Now you're just twisting things to match the theory. Canon established well enough that RF was the biggest meat factory on Oddworld. There's little room for speculation there. But let's untangle a few things just to be sure.

... Those buildings go on for miles, it easily supports Abe's claim that it's the biggest factory on Oddworld.

Biggest meat processing plant, not biggest factory. It's possible that meat processing plants don't generally get built very large; they would be built, wipe out the local wildlife, then shut down and move elsewhere. It's also likely that the largest meat processing plant would be built out in the middle of nowhere, but close to populations of scrab and paramite.

Frankly, I really doubt Abe's claims about it being the biggest meat processing plant on the planet. Given the size of Oddworld and the poor quality of the communication channels (especially for slaves), how on earth would he know about any factories outside his immediate region, let alone beyond Mudos?

In any case, we have it on Lorne's authority that the Abe games exist in the equivalent of the third world.

s.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=13123&stc=1&d=1324268231"]Also, I patched together the first 7 screens of Stockyards - Something I don't think has been done before (unless I'm mistaken). Wow, this game is pretty.[/URL]

I never noticed the rainbow pattern before. That is pretty.

[Jordan]

The Stockyards are so pretty! With the HD remake, there may be more room for a lengthier Stockyards section, such as seeing glimpses of other creatures, a few more hidden rooms etc. I think it would be nice if there was an area like a cave at the side of a cliff face, overlooking the Stockyards, with a billion or so stars, moons and planets shining in the distance. I think that could really emphasise the beauty of Oddworld's night sky.

[JennyGenesis]

I'm probably going to get complaints about saying this, but I would like the music in the Stockyards to be changed, I was never really fond of having the main menu theme playing.

[Jarrardo]

Pretty cool that a dev insider reaches out to us. Much appreciated.

Anyways I just would like to to add my 2 cents;

Don't fiddle with the classic gameplay engine! Just update the static 3d graphics to real-time dynamic lighting, and have high-definition 3d models using their classic animations, all with a smooth frame-rate in real-time. Halo Anniversary did this, and I loved every minute of it.

Nostalgia is wonderful for us gamers, and I think it's what makes a HD revisit appealing in the first place.

Anyways thanks for reaching out, that is very nice. Can't wait for Abe HD, Oddworld was an unforgettable part of my childhood. *sniff*

[Phylum]

I'm probably going to get complaints about saying this, but I would like the music in the Stockyards to be changed, I was never really fond of having the main menu theme playing.

Was that the menu theme? I really haven't played AO enough lately.

I thought the music was perfectly eerie. If anything, the menu music should be changed in this circumstance.

[Jordan]

Don't change the music for Stockyards! It adds to the atmosphere.

[Wil]

Jenny is the first person ever to not think the music in the Free-Fire zone isn't the best in the game.

[Jordan]

It's true though, it captures Abe's Oddysee's atmosphere the most out of any other music in the game. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

[JennyGenesis]

Jenny is the first person ever to not think the music in the Free-Fire zone isn't the best in the game.

I don't think it is personally, I'm not saying it's a bad piece of music either, It's just not my favourite. My favourite music is the chase music from the Scrabanian Nests.

[Glitch]

Pretty cool that a dev insider reaches out to us. Much appreciated.

Anyways I just would like to to add my 2 cents;

Don't fiddle with the classic gameplay engine! Just update the static 3d graphics to real-time dynamic lighting, and have high-definition 3d models using their classic animations, all with a smooth frame-rate in real-time. Halo Anniversary did this, and I loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately the original engine isn't 3D. It's pre-rendered images of 3D models. Everything you see in the original games exist as images, not 3D models on the game disk.

Obviously there are 3D models somewhere, but considering they were made in 1995 - 1997 I think we will be able to make them look a fair bit nicer.

[Andrelvis]

I don't think it is personally, I'm not saying it's a bad piece of music either, It's just not my favourite. My favourite music is the chase music from the Scrabanian Nests.

Yes. The Scrabanian Nests' music is in fact so good it doesn't even feel like music, but rather as... part of the environment itself.