Crysis Demo

[Venkman]

I feel like the Demo did something of a similar disservice that prompted folks here to recommended the Beta of HG:L over that demo. I keep hearing some tech issues with the Crysis demo, of course of a different variety, that I just haven't experienced in the multiplayer beta they had on Fileplanet. That game, even with its one map, is pure money. I'm not even on some super high-end rig (C2D 6600, 2gb RAM, single 8800GTS for now, XP of course) and it not only runs like butter, it looks fantastic, particularly with the blurring-when-turning, plants that move out of your way (and therefore show others), the water (commenting on it these days is becoming somewhat cliche though damned it's awesome here, particularly swimming), and the explosions.

The other thing I don't understand though is complaints about the AI in the non-Delta mode. Does AI really sell an FPS game these days? I'm actually surprised they still make a lot of effort in that area. I wasn't surprised when UT and Quake 3 Arena both launched without campaign mode, and that was almost nine years ago. Is the resurgence of campaing mode because people don't go online as much these days as they didn't back then? Or is it because more and more FPS games are going console, of which a less percentage are connected?

My one gripe is the silly "future proofing" nonsense. How do you know if it's going to look awesome if you yourself can't test it because the "hardware doesn't exist yet"? Come on. That noise might work for an MMO which could get better looking over time. But for an FPS game the only players you'll have in a year or three are the type that down-sets everything so they can maximize performance. And no, I don't think it's a good idea for MMOs either.

[Chenghiz]

Crysis was touted as having good enemy AI,and it does (in my opinion). I can't speak for Q3 but the UT games have always had pretty great AI as well.

A lot of you seem unimpressed at Crysis in comparison to other games like CoD 4, and I'm not really sure why? Did CoD add something to the shooter formula that made it a better game than Crysis?

[Venkman]

Some of the hype of CoD4 imho is its departure from WWII (finally). I don't consider the AI any better or worse than any others though, mostly because I couldn't care any less about it. Same question in my mind: are most people still playing these games in offline mode?

[geldonyetich2]

Never played CoD4 so I can't comment on it.  (I hear it hasn't changed much from the original CoD roots, though.)

When it come to AI in FPS, it's not just about challenging the player, it's actually another major platform in which the suspension of disbelief is tested.  When you've got AI that just rushes at the player, discerning gamers will often realize the futility of the thing.

It's not really specific to FPS, though.  It's rarely exciting when the player comes under the realize that their opponent is a lifeless computer program.  Convincing AI emerges as such a necessity it's not even funny.

[Azazel]

Caveat - Haven't played or got Crysis yet, but based on it being Far Cry v2.0:

Chenghiz - SP CoD4 is (mostly) a great experience but I strongly doubt it's nearly as good a game as Crysis is. CoD4 feels much more scripted than CoD1 was, not to mention the original MoH games that these guys worked on when they were with EA.

Darniaq - there'd be no point in buying more than a couple of FPS games if we didn't play the SP campaign, would there? May as well just keep playing the latest Battlefield 2 and TF2 and CS:S until the world ends. MP gives some of them longevity, but there's only a select few FPS games I'm interested in playing MP after I finish the SP campaign. I hadn't even considered playing Crysis online.

[rk47]

Korean sailors have amazing vision in this game. It's pretty much the only shit bugging me in game. And wtf is up with helicopters that just stick at you even though you are invisible, how the hell?

[Venkman]

Darniaq - there'd be no point in buying more than a couple of FPS games if we didn't play the SP campaign, would there? May as well just keep playing the latest Battlefield 2 and TF2 and CS:S until the world ends. MP gives some of them longevity, but there's only a select few FPS games I'm interested in playing MP after I finish the SP campaign. I hadn't even considered playing Crysis online.

I dunno man. I am definitely no export on FPS games. Well heck, I'm no expert on anything, but even less so of FPS :) But even while some may assume the only purpose for the genre is to push ATI and nVidia R&D spend, these games have definitely evolved. I can't see how anyone would think Crysis = TF2 = CoD2/4 = UT4 = Halo, and that's even just considering the multiplayer side. Maybe I'm just a recent convert, or maybe things have changed, dunno. And I don't want to discredit the AI work that has been done over the years. Maybe I'm just biased. I'm as interested in Crysis AI as I am in playing offline RPGs in general.

[geldonyetich2]

The AI may not be something you deliberately look for in a FPS, but it's something you miss when it's gone.

[Sky]

The other thing I don't understand though is complaints about the AI in the non-Delta mode. Does AI really sell an FPS game these days? I'm actually surprised they still make a lot of effort in that area. I wasn't surprised when UT and Quake 3 Arena both launched without campaign mode, and that was almost nine years ago. Is the resurgence of campaing mode because people don't go online as much these days as they didn't back then? Or is it because more and more FPS games are going console, of which a less percentage are connected?

I really don't give a shit about online play anymore. Too many years of too many public servers. I just want to get in and play a game for a while, not deal with people who would rather fuck around or cause trouble. When I get Crysis, I won't take it online. For me, it's all about the SP campaign and the freeform emergent stuff.

AI is critically important. Not the cheaty supreme difficulty aimbot style, that's easy to code in. Rather, the realistic kind of AI that uses lots of tactics and can make mistakes in a somewhat realistic manner.

I've ALWAYS championed better AI, and though I've been playing games since the mid-70s, the AI still sucks. You get some improvement now and again, but it's still garbage for the most part. It's HARD.

This is why I don't like the MoH/CoD franchise to this day (AI and my other peeve, shooter on rails). I've posted it before, but the short version is the British commando you are to escort in MoH:AA and shooting me in the back when I stand in a doorway to kill the nazis outside. I move out of the way so he doesn't kill me, he charges out into the yard to get cut down in the crossfire. Either die or fail the mission. That's why AI is so important, I still cringe whenever I get an escort mission (though the escort mission thing goes waaay back to at least Syndicate when I uttered the quote "Don't make me babysit your drooling AI" or something to that effect).

Offline RPGs? Have you played the Witcher yet? It embarasses most RPG and I wouldn't degrade it by putting it into the same class as crappy mmo. Mmo is a great time-killer, but it's hardly good gaming.

[Venkman]

Ok, I can see that (on the FPS AI thing). I haven't really checked back in a number of years on it. I just don't get much into games that don't have an online component. I think it's mostly because I never finish games. There's nothing driving me to beyond self-motivation, which I don't have much of unless there's other people either cheering me on or trying to stop me.

I should spread my wings a bit maybe

[Sky]

If by 'spread your wings' you mean download the International version of the Witcher, I agree! :)

[Sky]

For my post in the new geforce thread, I linked to a site with dx9/10 comparison shots of the crysis demo. They also included some shots of the hacked dx9 demo that allow a lot of supposed dx10-only stuff. It's pretty sickening that this stuff is artificially removed from the game to pimp fucking Vista.

Hacking in those effects makes a noticable difference, very nice. Just played around for a bit with them enabled.

[Azazel]

Yeah, I saw that based on the demo. So the gfx settings are fully hackable in the retail version as well then?

[Sky]

Dunno, haven't bought it yet. Fucking GH3 blew my budget. Wanna buy it? :P Hell, I'll trade GH3 for Crysis + shipping for both :)

[Rasix]

Dunno, haven't bought it yet. Fucking GH3 blew my budget. Wanna buy it? :P Hell, I'll trade GH3 for Crysis + shipping for both :)

Heh, I'd buy GHIII if it was for the 360.  That goddamn thing is sold out everywhere.  Damn Christmas rush makes stuff impossible to buy.  Well, I suppose I'm part of the problem, considering I'm buying it as a gift.

[Nija]

I pre-ordered for $99, sold on clist after getting tired of playing all the shitty songs, a week later, for $90. I'd say I got my moneys worth.

[Azazel]

Dunno, haven't bought it yet. Fucking GH3 blew my budget. Wanna buy it? :P Hell, I'll trade GH3 for Crysis + shipping for both :)

Already got it (GH3). The wife loves it. Shipping might have been a bit much anyway, though.

[Krakrok]

The best part of the demo is blowing the fuck out of all of the palm trees and watching them fall. Oh and optimized for Quad Core? Bullshit. It's all graphics based. It uses hardly any CPU even with physics at very high. The shaders and water at very high in DX10 are awesome looking too.

[Sky]

Krakrok, how is it better in comparison to a hacked dx9? Seems all the features they're touting except maybe the underwater effects are in the very high settings under dx9. I've been having a blast (heh) with the demo after setting up the haxxorz.

I'm appalled there's not been more outrage at the intentional gimping of Crysis to make it seem like a lot of those shader effects (and high-res textures and view distance!) are somehow tied to dx10.

[Krakrok]

Probably nothing. The screen shot of hacked DX9 looked pretty much the same as the DX10 one (with the god rays). The underwater effects are pretty cool looking (light filtering down into the water). Do you get the shader of the water wicking away from the view screen when you come up out of the water? What about the ripples when you shoot the water? Or the rainbow effect up through the water?

[Sky]

Yup, all that stuff. My fiancee rolls my eyes as I ooh and ahh. She's on to me, she actually muttered "graphics whore".

But that's why I kinda see this as a Big Deal, like...why isn't this front page news. Why aren't people upset that somehow Crytek was compromised to gimp their game to sell copies of Vista? Herro?

[Krakrok]

Your fiancee rolled your eyes? Are you a sock puppet?

[Sky]

Err...


Yes.