How will be the future of Oddworld ?

[Shade667]

Okay, I guess I see where u guys are coming from. Its cuz I dont care about tone and stories and character development etc. in games as long as the gameplay is solid, cuz thats the most important part to me. Those things come second, third, fourth etc.

And the gameplay was enough to have me finish it 200 times.

[Nate]

What are these so called "different intentions"? As far as I could tell the only goal was to adapt Abe's Oddysee for a newer audience and modern systems.

Yes, exactly. Different audience means different tastes and different approach.

On the contrary, Oddworld fans are very easy to please, just make a good Oddworld game, that would please us very much.

I know you were joking, but I'll respond seriously and ask 'Who's standard of good?'

[Varrok]

Yes, exactly. Different audience means different tastes and different approach.

I finally get it now. Modern people are just shittier. OK

[Crashpunk]

Well... you guys completely shat on my argument. literally everything I said was made redundant. You all make some serious great points. So touché.

Anyway. I do hope they take what we've all said in consideration when making AE and future Oddworld titles.

[Vlam]

Sorry but Nnt's controls are a disaster (remember that we are talking about a remake) : when you press the "jump" button it's like playing lotery.

The question is : can JAW Handle the (heavy) task of real new oddworld games ? Some fans are like "whatever the final result as long as we have some new games".

Crashpunk, JAW shouldn't care about our posts (because if not it shows they need help and that they don't know what to do which isn't a good sign). For example, did OWI needed OWF to make AO, AE, Munch and Stranger ?

[Nepsotic]

I know you were joking, but I'll respond seriously and ask 'Who's standard of good?'

It's safe to assume I'm always speaking relative to Abe's Oddysee. I don't think that game's ever been topped, though I still have yet to play Stranger.

Crashpunk, JAW shouldn't care about our posts (because if not it shows they need help and that they don't know what to do which isn't a good sign). For example, did OWI needed OWF to make AO, AE, Munch and Stranger ?

OWF are not JAW. They could use the advice and criticism.

[JennyGenesis]

It's safe to assume I'm always speaking relative to Abe's Oddysee. I don't think that game's ever been topped.

I thought Abe's Exoddus was better.

[Varrok]

Sorry but Nnt's controls are a disaster (remember that we are talking about a remake): when you press the "disarm mine" button it's like playing a lotery.

Fixed.

[Nepsotic]

Rolling under fast meat grinders was also a pain in the arse.

I thought Abe's Exoddus was better.

I didn't.

[Crashpunk]

Ooh boy. Another AO vs AE battle.

You all know what I think. and if not. AE is the better game and is my favorite game of all time

[Vlam]

Don't you guys have the feeling that Lanning is bored by Oddworld since the cold shower (MO) ? Without fuzzle and Vykkers, Stranger's wrath is hardly Oddworld related. Also, he still wants to make Fangus. It's like he knows that he isn't capable of making a great new game worth playing it (because of lack of good ideas). I mean, how is it possible for JAW to make a great game if the brain (Owi-Lanning) already give up 13 Years ago ?

[JennyGenesis]

It's been very well explained what the future of Oddworld is countless times, Fangus may come in time, but, heck you have all read it a million times.

[Nepsotic]

I doubt Fangus is coming, and I don't care either way. I've come to realise that I don't really care that much about Oddworld, I just like the first two games and NnT.

[JennyGenesis]

I'd like the see the quintology finished.

[STM]

I'd like it if it didn't lag.

NnT is one of the only games I own that is almost unplayable because of how laggy it was. It was fine until halfway through RF though. Weird.

Also Wil when will we be able to turn down bloom? Scrabania made me go blind.

Am I doing OWF right yet?

[Varrok]

I believe there's a button for disabling bloom, but it's so hidden under it that you'll never ever find it.

[Jordan]

It's so easy to get carried away with adding bloom. Glowy things are fucking addictive. The more damage done to your eyes the better.

[V_O_T]

I enjoyed the game. Some little things that I personally loved in the original didn't make it into NnT unfortunately, but the good out weighed the bad for me.

My nip picks are:

-Game felt too fast, couldn't truly sink in the scenery.
-Original scrab sounds (except the howl) were replaced. That bummed me out because they sounded so scary in the original and I love me scrabs.
-too much bloom at times. Oddworld is a rave planet at night.
-I too miss the dark atmosphere of the world at times, but at the same time respect their design decisions due to technical boundaries, i.e. smokes zones/shadows being difficult to design.

But overall I couldn't put the controller down until I finished the game when it came out on PS4 and then again on PC.

[Nate]

Sorry but Nnt's controls are a disaster (remember that we are talking about a remake) : when you press the "jump" button it's like playing lotery.

I don't know who you're apologising to. No-one's defending NnT's controls. At least, no-one who doesn't work for JAW.

[Job McYossie]

Sorry but Nnt's controls are a disaster (remember that we are talking about a remake) : when you press the "jump" button it's like playing lotery.

This is like one of the only points that I'm on N'n'T's side for, I felt the controls, aside from how utterly horrid the meat grinder rolling parts were, were actually pretty alright. Not the precision grid AO was no, but the controls felt right for the game's pace.

Its cuz I dont care about tone and stories and character development etc.

I think the most of us do though.

-Original scrab sounds (except the howl) were replaced. That bummed me out because they sounded so scary in the original and I love me scrabs.

THIS

[Xavier]

So we are talking about a lack of skills. So, even if they had all the money they wanted, it isn't sure that they will know how to use it properly.

Isn't OWI just a empty shell today if basically it's just Lanning and his wife ?

Did you even read my reply to your post before? OWI is far from being an "empty shell".

Sorry but Nnt's controls are a disaster (remember that we are talking about a remake) : when you press the "jump" button it's like playing lotery.

The question is : can JAW Handle the (heavy) task of real new oddworld games ? Some fans are like "whatever the final result as long as we have some new games".

They are not a disaster, and they are certainly not a lottery. Should the controls behave in a non deterministic fashion, how would Shade667 be able to speedrun the game? I played the game multiple times and so did a couple of my friends and once we got used to it the controls were great. I admit I have some issues with the meat grinders and the UXB but after seeing a friend absolutely breezing trough them I can only blame myself.

Crashpunk, JAW shouldn't care about our posts (because if not it shows they need help and that they don't know what to do which isn't a good sign). For example, did OWI needed OWF to make AO, AE, Munch and Stranger ?

So basically what you are saying is that the best way to create a product is to ignore customer feedback?

Don't you guys have the feeling that Lanning is bored by Oddworld since the cold shower (MO) ? Without fuzzle and Vykkers, Stranger's wrath is hardly Oddworld related. Also, he still wants to make Fangus. It's like he knows that he isn't capable of making a great new game worth playing it (because of lack of good ideas). I mean, how is it possible for JAW to make a great game if the brain (Owi-Lanning) already give up 13 Years ago ?

You simply have no idea what you are talking about. You are complaining in the same couple of sentences that he has no new ideas because he's doing and trying new stuff. It sounds like you see Oddworld as just being AO's creatures and you're upset the creative mind behind oddworld actually had a larger vision for this world.

[OWI_Alex]

You simply have no idea what you are talking about.

[Vlam]

Yes, Xavier, I read jour posts. Almost everybody understand mine : I'm saying that OWI is just a word today because I am talking about the persons who were behind AO AE, MO and Stranger. What is left of OWI today ? Tell me then. Except Lanning, his wife, Will and two or Free guys.

If you say the controls aren't that bad, what can I say ? I am going to repeat : we are talking about the remake of a 2D game made more than fifteen years ago...


Again, OWI didn't need OWF to make good games. Also, did you read this forum one year ago ? Connell was pissed because his complaints weren't acknowledge. So the expectations of the forum will grow and JAW will still, at the end, disappoint.
JAW aren't targeting the Oddworld nerds but the people who remember they liked this little green Guy and don't really care about the rest (the game is perfect for them, which is understandable).

Again, you dont seem to understand about Lanning : I am talking about what he does. He didn't do anything since SW. I'm talking about real new games. Not imaginery projects like Oddmobb or Citizen Siege. But people are always cutting him so slack whereas it is still possible that he stops just after AE's remake ; before remaking AO's all over again in 20 years from now.

[Xavier]

Yes, Xavier, I read jour posts. Almost everybody understand mine : I'm saying that OWI is just a word today because I am talking about the persons who were behind AO AE, MO and Stranger. What is left of OWI today ? Tell me then. Except Lanning, his wife, Will and two or Free guys.

OWI's role now is about managing the Oddworld IP. This means having a roadmap of upcoming projects, overseeing the development of those projects and fostering the brand, for instance by interacting with its fans.

Here you are being upset because OWI is not in charge of the actual game development as they don't have in house developers, animators, audio engineers, etc. It's true OWI decided to outsource this to JAW but Lorne and co kept a very close eye on what JAW was doing with Lorne being on site to help the team out.

Additionally OWI contracted some of their former employees to do some additional art (Raymond Swanland), music (Michael Bross) and animation (Monkey Brain Studios). Also keep in mind that they re-used a lot of the original concepts and design, so not a lot of new work was required in those areas. So while OWI does not have their former staff working a full time job for them (what would Michael Bross do as full time OWI staff anyway?) they have them close at hand when they need them for a new project. And really, with the budget OWI now has they are working in the smartest way possible.

If you say the controls aren't that bad, what can I say ? I am going to repeat : we are talking about the remake of a 2D game made more than fifteen years ago...

So? You wanted it to play like a fifteen years old game?

Again, OWI didn't need OWF to make good games. Also, did you read this forum one year ago ? Connell was pissed because his complaints weren't acknowledge. So the expectations of the forum will grow and JAW will still, at the end, disappoint.
JAW aren't targeting the Oddworld nerds but the people who remember they liked this little green Guy and don't really care about the rest (the game is perfect for them, which is understandable).

OWI did listen to fan advice before their hiatus in 2005, you can ask Wil if you don't take my word for it.

Also OWI is doing the targeting, not JAW, and they were trying to please everybody with NnT: the hardcore fans, the casual fans and even people completely unfamiliar with the games. That's very hard to do and while they pleased most of the casual fans and the newcomers (just look at the reviews) some hardcore fans were disappointed in the end. C'est la vie.

Again, you dont seem to understand about Lanning : I am talking about what he does. He didn't do anything since SW. I'm talking about real new games. Not imaginery projects like Oddmobb or Citizen Siege. But people are always cutting him so slack whereas it is still possible that he stops just after AE's remake ; before remaking AO's all over again in 20 years from now.

Since SW Lorne did quite some things, including a failed attempt at a social video sharing platform which was a lot of things but not "imaginary". He felt disgusted with the state of the gaming industry after SW and that's why he put OWI on hold at that time. But now with digital distribution things are vastly different. After the Xmobb failure he's been working his ass off to bring Oddworld back via Steam and various other ports trough digital distribution, those things don't just magically happen. It took a long time for OWI to get decent funding and to initiate a new project such as NnT but the ball is finally rolling again.

[Varrok]

So? You wanted it to play like a fifteen years old game?

Original AO controls *were* vastly superior to ones in NnT. There's nothing wrong with expecting the controls of the remake not to be worse than the original, which were made almost 2 decades ago.

[Phylum]

He felt disgusted with the state of the gaming industry after SW and that's why he put OWI on hold at that time.

Is that a nicer way of saying that he got pissed EA didn't advertise his game well?

AO's controls weren't amazing. They're precise, but clunky. A common complaint is about the UXB pressing delay in NNT, but the original game had some similar problems. Sometimes in AO Abe would just hold off of jumping for a fraction of a second while he struggled to enter the animation. This wasn't a consistent problem like NNT, but it could get pretty frustrating in the whistling sections when he just wouldn't do what you wanted.

I agree the controls needed more refining though, and I hope JAW took notes from some of the recurring critisisms here. I think the idea of moving into a more natural or dynamic world is good, with everything being more smooth and streamlined.

[Job McYossie]

A common complaint is about the UXB pressing delay in NNT, but the original game had some similar problems.

In AO you had to hit the button on the keyboard (or playstation controller if you're a pleb) a little before you wanted abe to hit the xmb, because the animation took a little bit. I never really minded it but that was probably child me that had nothing better to do just getting used to it.

I'm talking about real new games. Not imaginery projects like...

tbh I still really want Hand of Odd

What is left of OWI today ?

There's plenty left, that's what. It doesn't take a huge team of people to overview how another huge team of people are doing and say "yeah doing good" or "nah doing bad, fix it"

You're talking about N'n'T like it failed. I think the game is mostly an unenjoyable experience for me, but on the whole was successful.

[Nepsotic]

At least it's better than MO.

[Manco]

Original AO controls *were* vastly superior to ones in NnT.

lol can i have what you’re smoking

[Vlam]

Another thing : how will JAW manage to make great 3D controls since they have already a hard time with 2D ? Are they going to copy MO ?