Why haven't I posted about Futuremark Games Studio's self-published, FPS-in-space Shattered Horizon?
That's a damn good question, really. As a lover of Dead Space and all things similar in nature to that game, I'm required by law to tell you about Shattered Horizon. Unbeknownst to me, it went up on Steam on Wednesday; apparently I am alone in this, because it's sitting in the top ten sellers section.
The main draw here is easily the zero gravity gameplay. Imagine a multiplayer session with 32 people in deep space. More specifically, on an asteroid. Bingo! Sounds sexy, huh? FGS shot us over a new video about Shattered Horizon's other neat feature called "silent running."
Yes, there is no sound in space. By default, your character's suit simulates audio to make the game more enjoyable. But with silent running, you can turn all audio cues off, meaning "a stealth advantage while sacrificing radar, HUD, and maneuverability."
I need a DirectX 10 graphics card, and I need this game.
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Also I'm under the impression that this game supports only Vista/Win7 so you'll need that as well - I would love to try this but I'm not upgrading my OS yet and I think this game will probably be dead in the water given its release time and strict requirements.
I'll be getting MW2 on my 360, but I still want to give this game a go on my PC.
As one of you said however, its quite a bad release date, even if I get the game for its low price, I'll probably stop playing it once MW2 comes out (in a few days).
To all of you out there considering this game, PLEASE re-think buying it. I played in the beta (up until pre-release) and this game is not fun or intuitive. The (single) gun is very difficult to use and very inaccurate, even when scoped. The 360 degree gameplay means you can be shot from anywhere with little or no warning, leading to frustrating deaths, and it runs pretty badly even on low detail.
You can seriously tell it was made by a benchmark developer, not a games developer. I can elaborate if people want more info.
What's wrong with the trailer? The basic physics 101 failed. Under the thin veil of space shooter with freedom of movement, everything looks like a total failure (no reaction to the shooter when the projectile leaves the guns, sound of gun, etc.) I like to see a bit more reality based space shooter. That would be interesting.
Have you played the game, your post makes it sound like you haven't. I digress. Anyway, my PC can run Crysis on very high, 1920x1200, x2AA. Guess it sucks right? I would not have complained about the poor performance had it not been obvious that the game was poorly optimised, given it's quite bland detail.
Additionally, to your other points, I 'suck' with the gun for the reason that the gun itself is counter-intuitive. The game rewards you for unscoped blanket fire, being able to kill somebody in five or less shots, and punishes you for taking the time to aim, as the only scoped fire mode (burst) is beyond inaccurate. This is completely counter to pretty much any other FPS.
Finally, my other complaint about 'getting mad about being shot' is validated by the above reason, again, rushing in guns firing wildly is the way to play. The 'silent running' seen in the trailer is useless, as nobody will stay still that long. People will jet around everywhere, the map design can range from straightforward to warren-like in complexity, and you cannot possibly keep an eye on all routes at once, making the 'control point' mode rediculous.
I realise that my original post may come off as whiny purely for the sake of it, but I did beta this game for a number of weeks, as gameplay improvements were being made, and as it was about to go retail, I saw no clear change in the base mechanics that would suggest that Futuremark were interested in making a more accessable and 'fun' game. This is a shooter purely for those who like to be mercilessly challenged both by their guns, environment, and the other players.
The game is more demanding due to things such as it's open environments. In a game like L4D, you may be approaching a building, but the engine won't render what is inside until you actually get there, cutting down on rendering time by simply not rendering what you can't see yet. In a game like Shattered Horizon, the gigantic open areas do not allow for optimization techniques such as that.
As for the DX10 only thing, as the first game for the studio, it makes sense. DX10 is much easier to work with than 9 is, with fewer instructions needed to perform the same functions. DX10 not only adds more to the potential visuals, but allows developers do more with less.
That, and it's the first game made by a company that creates PC benchmarking software, so that may have something to do with it as well.
Personally, having played the RELEASE game, I think it is really good, all the features such as silent running, and the different grenades are really well implemented and fun.
we need to support development like this to keep the PC scene healthy. games like this are done by developers that are fiecre enough to be different. this is the kinda of think that is rarely seen on american developed console games. the jap console games are a bit better, but still love to play up on bad sequels.
Well said, Locke. From their behavior in the beta, it sounds like Futuremark is very dedicated to this game and it's players.
Also, gee, how strange to see that people hate this game with a fiery passion, love this game with, well, a fiery passion, and also complain that their computer won't run this game. It's almost like people have different opinions on stuff! And are cheap!
I think this game is extremely fun, yes there ARE recoil reactions but only when your suit electronics are off (which is explained in the video, thanks for watching). The suit compensates for recoil, and generates sounds to orientate the combatant. Also, until you've played it, you can't understand how awesome the atmosphere (har har) is... Everything is eerie with no sound in silent running, you fire a frag grenade and get blown clean out of the asteroid... You drift a bit while your suit electronics come back up and see a huge arc of asteroids orbiting a gigantonormous and beautiful Earth...
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Contest:
11:30 PM on 11.06.2009
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It's PC only so I'm pretty sure it's safe from MW2.
Yes it looks bad but its $19.99 and it probably has at least the option for dedicated servers so you never know.
But this game features 16 v 16 matches. Also outer space.
There is a possibility of a singleplayer campaign to go along with this game but that is not anywhere in the near future.
I'll be getting MW2 on my 360, but I still want to give this game a go on my PC.
As one of you said however, its quite a bad release date, even if I get the game for its low price, I'll probably stop playing it once MW2 comes out (in a few days).
You can seriously tell it was made by a benchmark developer, not a games developer. I can elaborate if people want more info.
Sooo.. your complaint is that you suck with the gun, your mad because you keep getting shot from all directions, and your computer sucks?
Hmm...
Anyhow, I'm sold now. Just...may be a little while before I get it...
I really wish that system requirements info was the first sentence of the review of a "PC" only game.
My Athlon 3200 may be at the end of it's life for running games - but it runs the L4D2 demo fine.
But this game is somehow more demanding?
Have you played the game, your post makes it sound like you haven't. I digress. Anyway, my PC can run Crysis on very high, 1920x1200, x2AA. Guess it sucks right? I would not have complained about the poor performance had it not been obvious that the game was poorly optimised, given it's quite bland detail.
Additionally, to your other points, I 'suck' with the gun for the reason that the gun itself is counter-intuitive. The game rewards you for unscoped blanket fire, being able to kill somebody in five or less shots, and punishes you for taking the time to aim, as the only scoped fire mode (burst) is beyond inaccurate. This is completely counter to pretty much any other FPS.
Finally, my other complaint about 'getting mad about being shot' is validated by the above reason, again, rushing in guns firing wildly is the way to play. The 'silent running' seen in the trailer is useless, as nobody will stay still that long. People will jet around everywhere, the map design can range from straightforward to warren-like in complexity, and you cannot possibly keep an eye on all routes at once, making the 'control point' mode rediculous.
I realise that my original post may come off as whiny purely for the sake of it, but I did beta this game for a number of weeks, as gameplay improvements were being made, and as it was about to go retail, I saw no clear change in the base mechanics that would suggest that Futuremark were interested in making a more accessable and 'fun' game. This is a shooter purely for those who like to be mercilessly challenged both by their guns, environment, and the other players.
The game is more demanding due to things such as it's open environments. In a game like L4D, you may be approaching a building, but the engine won't render what is inside until you actually get there, cutting down on rendering time by simply not rendering what you can't see yet. In a game like Shattered Horizon, the gigantic open areas do not allow for optimization techniques such as that.
As for the DX10 only thing, as the first game for the studio, it makes sense. DX10 is much easier to work with than 9 is, with fewer instructions needed to perform the same functions. DX10 not only adds more to the potential visuals, but allows developers do more with less.
That, and it's the first game made by a company that creates PC benchmarking software, so that may have something to do with it as well.
Also, gee, how strange to see that people hate this game with a fiery passion, love this game with, well, a fiery passion, and also complain that their computer won't run this game. It's almost like people have different opinions on stuff! And are cheap!
I think this game is extremely fun, yes there ARE recoil reactions but only when your suit electronics are off (which is explained in the video, thanks for watching). The suit compensates for recoil, and generates sounds to orientate the combatant. Also, until you've played it, you can't understand how awesome the atmosphere (har har) is... Everything is eerie with no sound in silent running, you fire a frag grenade and get blown clean out of the asteroid... You drift a bit while your suit electronics come back up and see a huge arc of asteroids orbiting a gigantonormous and beautiful Earth...
This game is neat, haters.