NeoTokyo

[Argh]

New HL2 mod.

Interesting gameplay, but it still feels really rough in various ways- it's the most beautiful thing I've played that I just can't quite enjoy.

I think it's one of the most visually interesting FPS mods I've played in quite awhile, so I thought I'd give it a shout out. With a bit of polish here and there, it will probably become a classic game, and the level designs are absolutely superb.

[Spawn_Retard]

Dystopia is a far superior free mod for HL2 engine.


http://www.dystopia-game.com/media/main.php

[Sleksa]

nice post, but where's the dl link ~~

[Pxtl]

New HL2 mod.

Interesting gameplay, but it still feels really rough in various ways- it's the most beautiful thing I've played that I just can't quite enjoy.

I think it's one of the most visually interesting FPS mods I've played in quite awhile, so I thought I'd give it a shout out. With a bit of polish here and there, it will probably become a classic game, and the level designs are absolutely superb.

And here's where it all falls apart. Every time I've seen a cool mod or oss-project or other free game that I think "hmm, with a bit of polish this would be top-tier awesome", that polish never comes. No free project ever hits more than 70% complete, and if it does it's only when it is woefully out-of-date.

[PicassoCT]

But it is Ghost in the Shell Atmosphere destillated & playable... don┬┤t you dare raise a word against that..

Dystopia is Shadowrun.. there is a diffrence, even recognisable for non-scifi-freaks..

[SeanHeron]

@Pxtl: Uh... have you never played counter-strike or DoTA ? With Free/Open Source projects I might agree with you, but there are examples of polished Mods out there.

Edit: Just watched the Video - the question that comes to me when I see projects like this (they apparently swiched engines!), is howcome they don't try to go for an Open Source engine - I guess the answer is that being an open source project is not what they're looking to be...
2nd Edit: Or there is no engine that has the capabilities they're looking for + ease of content creation.

[Sleksa]

oh my i guess i need glasses for missing the link in op ~_~

[Pxtl]

@Pxtl: Uh... have you never played counter-strike or DoTA ? With Free/Open Source projects I might agree with you, but there are examples of polished Mods out there.
Edit: Just watched the Video - the question that comes to me when I see projects like this (they apparently swiched engines!), is howcome they don't try to go for an Open Source engine - I guess the answer is that being an open source project is not what they're looking to be...

I played CS and DOTA, but I never played those games at a state where I said "this is 70%". I guess my point is less about mods in general, but that I never trust any mod or free game that I come upon in an unfinished state. Projects that are bound for completion get through that 70-90% done state quickly. Projects that are in permanent "almost there"... well, they languish forever.

I remember being a huge fan of Transformers Quake 2 back in the day - they had complete transforming models and maps and everything. Apparently nobody thought that a game in which some guys turn into cars and some guys turn into fighter jets, but have otherwise the same stats, would have balance problems.

Apparently, they're still working on it. It's still in a permanent state of "almost there".

[Argh]

You guys are so cynical, lol. I remember playing CS back in the early days (I played it when it was still beta, when it was just starting to become popular).

The graphics were terrible. The level designs were bad. The gun skins were half-assed. The gun balance was hilariously bad.

All it had going for it was gameplay- and back then, that was because it was a novel concept. What? A FPS where you shoot people and they actually die? Heresy! A FPS where if you die, you have to wait, sometimes for 3-4 minutes? Heresy!

NeoTokyo is extremely polished, visually. I really haven't seen a lot better, for a first release- they went to extreme lengths to make the levels glow.

Gameplay-wise, I think they made a few mistakes. Their "reward the living and those who fragged" system misses one of the fundamental strengths of CS, which was that you could die a few rounds and save up for an AWP or full kit and a M4 / AK.

Their "aim" system shuts off if you run, which makes it really irritating- you have to constantly turn it back on. I don't mind a game with a "run" mode, ala DoD, but it needs to work better.

And the whole "getting shot by invisible people in the dark" thing gets ultra-lame, fast.

Those are all pretty easy things to correct, frankly. I expect they'll either fix them, or mitigate them (for example, giving one XP to the losers, even if they didn't frag, the aim system's probably just a matter of reverting to stock HL2 behavior, and the levels can be re-lit). None of it's rocket science, it's just basic game-design stuff.

[Neddie]

CS is as bad as you described it as all that time ago. Pick a better example.

[Argh]

LOL, true enough. Personally, I thought it reached its peak balance around 1.1 (old CS, let alone the crappy lag-fest that is CS:S).

[Pxtl]

I guess I'm just too used to having my heart broken. For example, I remember when Team Orbit stopped updating NeoCairo (no announcement - their final update was "yay, we're having a big release LAN party").

NeoCairo was a BF1942-style game for UT 2 years before BF1942 existed. Being able to pilot mechs and jetfighters and hovertanks in a CTF or Assault game was the coolest thing imaginable... but they released a handful of freakishly buggy unbalanced betas, and then vanished.

After seeing it happen with so many projects (gee, this never happens to Spring mods, does it?) I tend to assume "development will stop tomorrow" with every project.

[Gota]

Seems like another CS clone.