Metro Exodus: общее обсуждение |
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Metro Exodus: общее обсуждение |
12.06.2017, 03:02
Сообщение
#1281
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You're never too young to have a plan. © Репутация: 2131 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 14955 Регистрация: 20.02.2009 |
ЭкшнШутерСтелсПостапокалипсисПесочницаОткрытый мирАтмосферная
Цитата «Метро: Исход» – новый сюжетный шутер от компании 4A Games, в котором открытый бой и стелс сочетаются с выживанием и исследованием одного из самых атмосферных игровых миров в истории. Исследуйте просторы постапокалиптической России на обширных нелинейных уровнях в рамках увлекательного сюжета, проводящего вас через весну, лето, осень и зиму опустошенного ядерной войной мира. Игра Метро: Исход, вдохновленная романами Дмитрия Глуховского, рассказывает историю величайшего приключения Артема.
Видео Сообщение отредактировал OlegatoR - 15.02.2019, 17:18 -------------------- Форум, это место где люди выслушивают аргументы друг друга, а не только высказывают свое мнение. |
 
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05.09.2018, 23:04
Сообщение
#1282
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Почти Мастер Репутация: 624 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1033 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 24.11.2005 |
Конечно утешаешь, ведь до релиза полгода осталось, где это видано, чтобы за 180 дней что-то там оптимизировали или улучшили. Рейтрейсинг в риалтайме это не новая фича, отработанная старая технология, разработчики уже все до блеска отполировали и улучшений не может быть. -------------------- |
 
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05.09.2018, 23:30
Сообщение
#1283
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Игровой Бог первой степени Репутация: 432 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 8787 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 21.03.2013 |
Я считаю, что RTX на вырост. Типа для переизданий на PS5 и всякое такое.
Зато через лет так 10 в 2030 году, будет забавно запустить metro exodus в 8K с RTX в 450fps Сегодня на работе в голове воображал-вспоминал сцену, типа Адам из Deus Ex HR ведёт дискуссию с боссом о графене... Мол им не остановить нас, им не остановить наступление будущего, а вместо рук у Адама две видяхи 2080 и он ими так забавно машет, что ваш этот кодзимовский миталгир культяпками Сообщение отредактировал Ruw - 05.09.2018, 23:49 -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 10:38
Сообщение
#1284
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Высший Игровой Бог Репутация: 1747 Группа: Супермодератор Сообщений: 12594 Награды: 15 Регистрация: 05.11.2009 |
Бери на консоль. Геймплейно игра окупиться На самом деле все субъективно. Я так и не смог заставить себя перепройти улучшенные версии метра на консоли. Очень сильно отличается геймплей. Если на ПК я без проблем разглядывал текстурки и исследовали все уголки (а патроны никогда лишними не бывают, особенно потому что в метро это валюта), то на консоли все превращается в неспешное приключение мешка с картошкой, из-за чего геймплей становится ну очень медленный и нудный. Если на ПК входя в коридор я могу быстро проверить пол на битое стекло, стены и потолок на растяжки и на всякий случай оглянутся назад, то на консоли я успеваю максимум повернуть камеру в одну сторону (попутно задевая все ловушки т.к. я привык с ПК что могу двигаться и смотреть в разные стороны). Иногда идешь такой, видишь ничку и думаешь - а ну её, не буду я вокруг неё скакать пять минут реального времени, когда на ПК я достал бы её секунд за десять. В Overwatch, кстати, я тоже не смог играть на консоли. Если скорость игры на ПК приравнять к 1, то на консоли игра играется на скорости 0.25-0.5. Получается что даже одна и та же игра на разных платформах может давать совершенно другой user experience. -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 11:50
Сообщение
#1285
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TECHNOSLAV 80 уровня Репутация: 379 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 5758 Награды: 6 Регистрация: 26.01.2014 |
Конечно утешаешь, ведь до релиза полгода осталось, где это видано, чтобы за 180 дней что-то там оптимизировали или улучшили. Рейтрейсинг в риалтайме это не новая фича, отработанная старая технология, разработчики уже все до блеска отполировали и улучшений не может быть. Ага, DirectX обновление с поддержкой RayTracing (DXR) ещё даже не выкатили (она доступна только в бете), а фича уже мааксимальнаа аааптимизирована. Логика 120го уровня. -------------------- Ryzen 3700X
Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Duo 16GB DDR4 3600MHz Strix GTX 1080 TI |
 
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06.09.2018, 12:20
Сообщение
#1286
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TECHNOSLAV 80 уровня Репутация: 379 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 5758 Награды: 6 Регистрация: 26.01.2014 |
Бери на консоль. Геймплейно игра окупиться На самом деле все субъективно. Я так и не смог заставить себя перепройти улучшенные версии метра на консоли. Очень сильно отличается геймплей. Если на ПК я без проблем разглядывал текстурки и исследовали все уголки (а патроны никогда лишними не бывают, особенно потому что в метро это валюта), то на консоли все превращается в неспешное приключение мешка с картошкой, из-за чего геймплей становится ну очень медленный и нудный. Если на ПК входя в коридор я могу быстро проверить пол на битое стекло, стены и потолок на растяжки и на всякий случай оглянутся назад, то на консоли я успеваю максимум повернуть камеру в одну сторону (попутно задевая все ловушки т.к. я привык с ПК что могу двигаться и смотреть в разные стороны). Иногда идешь такой, видишь ничку и думаешь - а ну её, не буду я вокруг неё скакать пять минут реального времени, когда на ПК я достал бы её секунд за десять. В Overwatch, кстати, я тоже не смог играть на консоли. Если скорость игры на ПК приравнять к 1, то на консоли игра играется на скорости 0.25-0.5. Получается что даже одна и та же игра на разных платформах может давать совершенно другой user experience. Ну поэтому я и играл в столкира на контроллере - стая собак представляет из себя не группу удобных мишеней, а весьма ощутимую проблему. Я сделал стик для обзора более чувствительным чтобы быстрее крутиться (минус точность), а на гироскоп забиндил более плавный обзор для точности (включается при лёгком нажатии на левый курок) - приходится шевелить контроллером чтобы смотреть по сторонам, весьма недурно преукрашает игровой процесс и улучшает погружение (этакий VR контроллер, но без VR). А вибрация в шутанах нафиг не сдалась. В рейсингах да, вибрация прикольная, а при стрельбе и взрывах напоминает китайские игрушечные пистолеты с погремушкой и дворовые игры. В купе с "картонной" стрельбой в "ААА проЭктах" складывается впечатление, что лучше действительно пойти пошпилить ностальжи каэску 1.6 или пострелять по банкам из воздушки. Aim assist в Metro таки вообще для инвалидов - магнитится на врагов. Я его на максималки выкрутил по приколу и стало вообще смешно - достаточно просто идти по коридору, игра сама целится на врагов. Не, если играть в шутаны на контроллере, то лучше настраивать эмуляцию мыши через гироскоп, ибо гироскоп - это самое интересное в Dualshock 4. Если наловчиться, то сингловые шутаны будут без проблем играться. В Battlefield 4 по сети я даже снайперил, но по сравнению с клавомышью это дно полное - что-то из разряда "целиться стрелочками на клавиатуре". Ощущегние, когда я смог сделать quickscope headshot со снайперки играя на контроллере, было как будто я смог завинтить крестовой винт лезвием ножа с 20ой попытки - очень сомнительное удовольствие. -------------------- Ryzen 3700X
Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Duo 16GB DDR4 3600MHz Strix GTX 1080 TI |
 
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06.09.2018, 16:11
Сообщение
#1287
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Продвинутый геймер Репутация: 38 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 392 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 11.04.2015 |
Ага, DirectX обновление с поддержкой RayTracing (DXR) ещё даже не выкатили (она доступна только в бете), а фича уже мааксимальнаа аааптимизирована. Логика 120го уровня. Неужели, не уловил в его посте тонкую (тончайшую(на кончиках пальцев)) нить сарказма? Жаль, чел ведь так старался. |
 
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06.09.2018, 17:41
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#1288
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TECHNOSLAV 80 уровня Репутация: 379 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 5758 Награды: 6 Регистрация: 26.01.2014 |
Неужели, не уловил в его посте тонкую (тончайшую(на кончиках пальцев)) нить сарказма? Жаль, чел ведь так старался. Не, я четвёртый день подряд не выспался, какие мне нити ловить в таком состоянии? -------------------- Ryzen 3700X
Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Duo 16GB DDR4 3600MHz Strix GTX 1080 TI |
 
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06.09.2018, 18:05
Сообщение
#1289
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Кандидат Игровых Наук Репутация: 546 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 3016 Награды: 8 Регистрация: 21.04.2010 |
Цитата В демоверсии Metro Exodus видеокарта RTX 2080 Ti смогла отрисовать максимум 40 FPS при разрешении Full HD В рамках презентации видеокарт линейки NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 был показан слайд, на котором представлены первые крупные игры с поддержкой технологии трассировки лучей в режиме реального времени (RTX). Среди них есть Metro Exodus от украинской студии 4A Games, выход которой намечен на 22 февраля 2019 года. Немецкому IT-порталу PC Games Hardware удалось заполучить демоверсию этой игры, а также топовую видеокарту NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Запустив Metro Exodus с очень высокими настройками графики, 16-кратным сглаживанием и технологиями RTX, HairWorks и Advanced PhysX, они получили максимум 40 FPS в разрешении Full HD. Игровой мир выглядел замечательно и весьма реалистично, но для комфортного прохождения игры жанра FPS такой скорости недостаточно. А вот в 4K Ultra HD на GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Metro Exodus обеспечила приятный и плавный фреймрейт (точные цифры не указаны), но без новомодной RTX. Источник: i2hard -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 18:16
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#1290
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Заслуженный Мастер Игры Репутация: 267 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1524 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 10.11.2013 |
Ребят, всё ещё нет инфы, будет ли кто-нибудь на Игромире от 4A? А то думаю пойти, но пока не уверен.
Сообщение отредактировал Cartoteka - 06.09.2018, 18:23 -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 19:34
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#1291
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Игровой Эксперт Репутация: 328 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 2399 Награды: 5 Регистрация: 09.11.2009 |
Что то вы зациклились на этом RTX. Ну поиграете без него, ничего страшного, графоний хуже не станет, все равно в массы технология пойдет дай бог на rtx 3060/4060 только.
Сообщение отредактировал zubr14 - 06.09.2018, 19:50 -------------------- Фотография - это единственный язык, который понятен в любой точке мира. (С)
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06.09.2018, 19:43
Сообщение
#1292
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Почти Мастер Репутация: 624 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1033 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 24.11.2005 |
Ребят, всё ещё нет инфы, будет ли кто-нибудь на Игромире от 4A? А то думаю пойти, но пока не уверен. Точно не скажу, но от 4А все заняты, прошу понять и простить. Каждый день на счету, нет времени на поездки. Будет Бука и наверно Глуховский, подробностей не знаю. -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 19:56
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#1293
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Заслуженный Мастер Игры Репутация: 267 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1524 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 10.11.2013 |
Точно не скажу, но от 4А все заняты, прошу понять и простить. Понял, спасибо. Жаль, конечно. Сообщение отредактировал Cartoteka - 06.09.2018, 19:56 -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 22:14
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#1294
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Заслуженный Мастер Игры Репутация: 267 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1524 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 10.11.2013 |
Ребят, rotate'ните эти бочки в углу
А то уже вас "наказывать" собрались Сообщение отредактировал Cartoteka - 06.09.2018, 22:15 -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 22:30
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#1295
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Игровое Воплощение Репутация: 1226 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 4609 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 10.11.2009 |
RedMagic, а я наоборот с удовольствием перепрошел metro redux. У каждого просто свой стиль игры, мне доставляет неспешный стиль (хоть и обожал мультиплеерные замесы на пк), а исследование локаций с аналоговым управлением играет на погружение.
-------------------- Только качая торрент понимаешь насколько ты зависим от других людей... (с)
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06.09.2018, 22:45
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#1296
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Игровой Бог первой степени Репутация: 432 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 8787 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 21.03.2013 |
Помню первое время после анонса многие восприняли наличие ног в кадре и тактильные взаимодействия с окружением как долгожданные нововведения, но на геймплейных кадрах можно заметить, что ног у ГГ нет.
Мне на самом деле пофиг, мне нравиться дизайн и прохоровский подход. -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 22:48
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#1297
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Кандидат Игровых Наук Репутация: 546 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 3016 Награды: 8 Регистрация: 21.04.2010 |
Цитата нравиться macron на тебя нет -------------------- |
 
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06.09.2018, 23:04
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#1298
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Почти Мастер Репутация: 624 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1033 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 24.11.2005 |
Понял, спасибо. Жаль, конечно. Постучи в личку, я что то придумаю с автографами). Благодарю. Ушел репорт в багу. Как раз это все на полировке. Хотя, скорее всего, это уже исправлено но на геймплейных кадрах можно заметить, что ног у ГГ нет. Ноги есть и убирать не собирались. Не знаю где в ролике это можно заметить. Может баг конечно Сообщение отредактировал CyLLlKA - 06.09.2018, 23:07 -------------------- |
 
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07.09.2018, 01:03
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#1299
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Игровой Бог Репутация: 1379 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 5863 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 07.12.2006 |
GamesMaster
Games™ (интересная статья, рекомендую) * текс для переводчика GamesTM The only time that you run out of chances is when you stop taking them. After a lifetime spent struggling to survive in the claustrophobic tunnels of Moscow’s Metro system, Artyom is only too aware that he is running out of chances to grasp a hold of. For the sake of his family, his friends and their future, he must lead an exodus out of the irradiated city he has always called home and head off to the East in search of a better tomorrow. Artyom is venturing out into the wastelands of the wider world to find life beyond the decay – he’ll die trying to prove it. This is an exodus of necessity; a last chance with no clear conclusion. It’s easy to draw a parallel between Artyom’s mission and the journey that developer 4A Games has embarked on to make it all possible. You might not realise it yet, but departures are a part of the studio’s past, its culture and its identity. This is a studio that is proud of its past and excited by its expanding culture, although we get the sense that it is concerned about its identity. This is especially pertinent as the two core teams – based out of Malta and Kiev – work tirelessly to wrap up development on a creative endeavour that isn’t just ambitious by its own lofty standards, but by any standard imaginable. After five years of development, this will ultimately represent a bold new beginning for Artyom, for the developers that fled a country in crisis and for a studio looking to rise above a spectre of expectation that is threatening to consume it. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Metro Exodus, a project that no other modem studio would ever have entertained, let alone pushed into active production. Long way from home Artyom is a long way from home. 5,722 kilometres outside of Moscow at this stage of the game; it’s clearly been a treacherous journey, one that has already driven Artyom and his caravan of followers through hell on earth in winter, spring and summer variations. Aboard the Aurora, a train hijacked from Moscow, the last of the Spartan Rangers have moved carefully across the country, recruiting new followers to their cause and gathering new information on what lies ahead of them as the seasons shift around them. Each of the areas preceding the one that we stand in today has presented a refreshing change of pace and challenge to those that were found in the depths of Moscow’s Metro, though perhaps none more so than this one. There is something about these new surroundings that doesn’t sit right at first. The unease is palpable, the autumn air suffocating. We are now strangers in a strange land, and there’s no telling how long it will take to adjust to the serenity. When all you have ever known has been cast under the long shadow of perpetual nuclear winter – when your life has been confined to an underground network of tunnels illuminated by flickering service lights – the absence of any immediate, obvious danger is arresting. It’s disconcerting to stand by, idly observing the world, drenched in rays of warm light, watching as amber leaves dance gently in the breeze towards some distant horizon. The open road is beckoning us onwards, dirt paths through nearby trees taunt us to direct our attention elsewhere. There is no clear way ahead; the freedom is intoxicating. The weight of the unknown is something that Artyom must carry on his shoulders and it’s one we sympathise with wholeheartedly, particularly as we are given the opportunity to play through this brand-new area of Exodus, tentatively entitled The Valley. Admittedly, much like Artyom, we are feeling a little far removed from our comfort zone. This isn’t your traditional Metro game by any stretch of the imagination. Truth be told, while this change in pace and level design is initially a little jarring, it’s one that we are ultimately elated to see 4A push towards. The studio feels much the same way. “We knew we wanted to do something new, as studios usually do when they set out to make a new game,” executive producer Jon Bloch tells us, explaining how after a decade spent exploring dank subterranean environments the small development outfit finally felt the urge to surface for air. “Our designers wanted to branch out and flex their muscles. They wanted to do something different this time and the artists felt the same way.” Something different, but not necessarily unfamiliar; 4A is attempting to strike a careful balance here, one that benefits from the size and scope offered by an open-world sandbox shooter without diluting the power to be found in carefully authored, story-driven content. That isn’t easy to accomplish. In many respects, those two goals are the antithesis of one another. Maybe now you’re beginning to understand why Exodus has been in development for such a very long time. 4A may have always been associated with the Metro franchise, though the heart of the team has experience outside of it. It was an element of expertise that the studio was eager to take advantage of. “There is some open-world experience on this team, from back before 4A formed – from the days of GSC,” Bloch continues, referring to the team’s work on 2007’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl, a project where many of the core Metro developers would first meet and collaborate. “We figured that this was a good place for us to start. That we could kind of blend the two game experiences – S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro – together and try to find some interesting way of expanding on what we already had. It took us a while to get here, nearly two-and-a-half years to find the right formula.” The version of Metro Exodus that you see today has been overhauled extensively throughout its development. 4A Games knew that it wanted to push the envelope without diluting the core appeal of the series’ traditional play. This process looks bold and progressive now, though that wasn’t the case back at the outset of development. “When we first started we made a completely open level and we went completely in the wrong direction with it,” admits Bloch, explaining that any original intention to transition Metro’s considered action into a fully open world space would have to be quickly reigned in. It couldn’t capture the atmosphere and pacing that the Metro games have become so famous for cultivating. “We had to reel it back in… we had to go back in the other direction and see where the line was. Then we found ourselves removing too much of that open feel. It was a back and forth for so long, of us just iterating to try to figure out the right balance.” “At the end of the day, I think if we had gone completely open world that maybe there’s some formula that we could’ve found, eventually. But I certainly think that it would’ve been a larger shock to the system, for ourselves, and for our fans,” says Bloch. “With the formula that we have now, we found a way to contain a story arc and progression through these big open areas that is very well defined.” The Valley is a shining example of the compromise struck between design ideals. It’s an open-ended level bookended by more traditional, sometimes even claustrophobic, linear spaces. It’s a smartly designed area that subtly steers you towards points of interest and objectives without rushing you, giving you the freedom to explore the wide-open mass of land while still drawing you into authored moments or terror. It’s a smart blend that works to keep you on the edge of your seat at all times and it’s all handled in a nice, subtle way. “It’s not like we have a sign up on the screen that says go here, do this, fetch that,” says Bloch, noting that the game itself is almost entirely free of a HUD, while elements such as the map and objective notes act as physical objects in the world that you must handle to observe. “We still try to integrate everything naturally… there is all sorts of stuff that you can just come across naturally and explore for yourself rather than just being told to, like, go fetch ten of those things. We didn’t want to – and we don’t do – that kind of stuff.” We were a little taken aback by just how large this space would prove to be – and that’s something that The Valley and Volga, the level shown off back at E3 2018, have in common. Deep Silver’s global head of brand management Huw Beynon clued us in to the size and, truth be told, it sounds a little staggering. “We’re looking at a total playtime of both previous games combined. In terms of geographical footprint, as we have moved to these more open areas, we can fit pretty much the entirety of the first two games (in terms of footprint) into just one of our huge levels,” he says, expanding on this thought in a more digestible fashion: “The last two games came in at about 12GB each, and we’re struggling to fit Exodus onto a single Blu-ray. This is a massive step up for the studio.” We spent five hours crawling through The Valley finding every one of the notes and audiotapes that were strewn across it in an attempt to discern every single story detail. We fled from a field-of-view dwarfing mutated bear, hid from hungry wolves that left us quivering in fear – each of their night-sky-piercing screams sending shivers down the spine – and played a violent game of cat and mouse with a variety of highly intelligent forest-dwelling foes. We tore that level apart in search of every one of its secrets. Truth be told, we thought we had seen everything it had to offer. Until, that is, a developer would later unshackle the camera from Artyom with a dev command key and give us a quick flyover of the rest of the map that lay beyond the boundaries of the vertical slice we were able to play. We weren’t even a third of the way through it; it was staggering. And while we’d love to tell you what we saw beyond the cemetery gates of the dilapidated church where our session came to a close, we wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say, however, it looked pretty damned impressive. Not that we should be so surprised, because that’s exactly what Exodus is, damned impressive. That speaks to the love and care that has gone into these carefully crafted spaces, to the feel of the weapons and the level of customisation you are granted over each of them, to the fact that no matter how large the spaces become they are always finding clever ways to funnel you to the next point of interest with a variety of audio and visual cues. It’s impressive level construction melding with the gorgeous set design. It’s the kind of design you see in games that have gone through years of painstaking iteration and refinement, as Bloch is quick to confirm. “Iteration is really ingrained in our process here. Just because something sounds good on paper at the beginning doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gonna actually be fun at the end of the day. We prototype a lot – we put stuff into the game, we try it out and we test it. If it works, we keep it; if it doesn’t, well, we’re not afraid of scrapping an idea.” After spending more than a few hours with the game now – having played the Volga area earlier in the year too – we’ve been surprised at just how many of the original ideas from 2033 and Last Light have made the transition. Naturally, you’d expect some changes to core mechanics and systems to be found in an effort to create more functionality and fluidity across the larger spaces, but that’s not necessarily a compromise 4A has had to make here. “In every case, we wanted to make sure that we weren’t getting rid of any system that had been there in the past,” says Bloch, noting that the only major change players should expect to find is to do with the economy system. Bullets were a currency in the civilisation established in the Metro system, although that certainly isn’t universal to Russia. As you move across the country you’ll encounter different functioning societies, and each one of them has its own way of living and surviving. “Otherwise, all the features that have always been there, that have always made Metro what it is, are in there. Some of them have been expanded in order to better work with the open environments – and the gameplay that comes along with that – while there are others we wanted to expand on, elements like the weapons system and customisation. “Exodus is still a story-driven game. It still has a linear arc binding the entire experience together. But we wanted to figure out a way to do something that was respectful to what made the series what it is today and to what our fans know and expect, and still do something that is new, interesting and has new gameplay mechanics,” says Bloch, eager to note that 4A has been careful to ensure that it has kept the spirit of Metro alive even while trying to merge some of the larger open-environment feel of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games where the team draws so much of its inspiration and history from. “We’ve been doing the same thing for so long now. When you’re branching out and doing something different, especially when compared with what we’ve always been doing, even in areas where we have prior experience, of course there are going to be challenges that come along with that. I think that’s why it has taken us a little while to figure out how we wanted to do this.” Trust us, it’s been worth the wait. Trust beginnings It’s taken 4A time to get Exodus to where it is today. In many respects, that road has been long and difficult. You might be familiar with the following aphorism, that ‘new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings’. We pick up just a hint of that in the story of 4A and the construction of this labour of love, though there is something else there too, simmering just beneath the surface. While we may often resent change, it’s so often at the heart of growth and expansion. New beginnings can lead to great new things – that’s evident in the case of Exodus – even if the road to accomplishing them is paved with hardships. We mentioned right at the outset of this feature that 4A Games is a company that is only too familiar with departures. The first, as you might have gathered by now, came as the founders of 4A led an exodus out of GSC, as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. continued to stumble through a famously tumultuous development cycle, and fought to establish their own independent studio back in 2004. The second migration would come a decade later as roughly 85 developers working out of 4A’s Ukrainian headquarters packed up their belongings and fled 3,391 kilometres to Malta – an archipelago in the Mediterranean ocean with a population of fewer than 450,000 people – just two months after the annexation of the Crimea. 4A now operates out of two locations, with the Malta office working as the central headquarters while Kiev continues to chip away at the game out of the spotlight, maintaining patches of public radio silence depending on the condition of the country around it. Dean Sharpe, CEO of 4A Malta, recalls how important this move was for many of the team, the studio itself and for the development of Metro Exodus. 4A had always planned on opening a new office, long before the danger of being in Ukraine came to a head, in an effort to bring in new talent and energy to the company – the type of personnel you need in-house to build something of the scope of Exodus. This, Sharpe believes, would have been near impossible had the team opted to forgo establishing a second studio far from Ukraine. “Nobody was speaking English there. So, unless you spoke Russian, you’d have to be completely insane like I was to go over and work there,” laughs Sharpe, the Californian native that took up residence in the country for close to a decade, first working at GSC before later moving to work on the Metro series. “I just didn’t believe most people were going to do that. And, because of the quality of the projects that we were working on, it isn’t like we could just bring in some junior staff. We were bringing in people that are well-established in the industry, some will likely have kids and families… they are not going to just pick up and move to Ukraine. It just wasn’t going to happen. “That’s when we started talking about the idea of creating another studio. So when everything happened in Ukraine we’d already been talking about it and I had already been looking [at locations]. That just kind of sped things up; it was like, ‘okay, it seems like the right time to get something going’,” says Sharpe. “I told the owners, ‘if you guys want to do this I’ll find a place. I’ll set it up and I’ll get everything going’ and, at the time, I really didn’t want to stay in Ukraine. It was my time to move on anyway.” Thankfully, for Sharpe and for 4A, the opportunity to move to Malta presented itself and the transition was put into motion. Looking back, it’s clear that this was the right step for everybody involved. Still, there has always been a fear shared internally that Metro is only what it is because it was created in Ukraine. That its tone and its feel, the superstition and the dread that pervades through the entire experience, has only been made possible because of the culture that informed the people working behind the polygons. “We would talk about this before we even came to Malta, of whether the move would reflect in the game,” Sharpe tells us. “Because I used to always say in interviews, back when we were in Ukraine, that the game could only be made there because we lived it every day. “I don’t really think that living here has changed the game,” Sharpe maintains, even as we suggest that the decision to move seems at least coincidentally tied to the decision to take Metro in a more ambitious direction, with a story bound by hope rather than despair fuelling the cross-country journey. “I think what’s changed the game, or a lot of the change that you see, is just a question of us trying to push the envelope and do something a little bit different. It’s not necessarily because our views are getting any different. The core group still has all the same fundamental beliefs. Metro is still driven by all of the crazy superstitions and all of the luggage that goes with that. You know, there is this old saying, and I joke about this with my wife all the time; you can take the Ukrainian out of Ukraine, but you can’t take the Ukraine out of the Ukrainian.” Many of you might be frustrated with the time it has taken for Exodus to move through development, it now delayed until February 2019, but hearing Sharpe recount the chaos involved with the move leads us to wonder whether we are lucky to be receiving this game at all. “When we first came out here I chartered a plane. It was an Airbus, it wasn’t like a little jet – it was a full Airbus. And because we chartered it, we were basically able to bring whatever we wanted to,” begins Sharpe, who excitedly recounts moving day as the workforce bundled into the plane with their families, personal belongings and work computers. “They had just opened the new wing of the Boryspil [International Airport] and so they actually put us in the old terminal that wasn’t being used, so we literally had our own terminal. It was really freaking cool.” The set-up may have been cool to Sharpe, although when asked about the mood on that flight, he makes it sound a little uncomfortable. “Well, the funny thing is, you know, Ukrainians are not the most emotional people – unless you fill them full of booze or something,” he says, laughing. “I mean, I was having a great time. I can tell you that. I was just kind of trying to play it off as… remember the movie Con Air? I’m like, ‘Con Air flight, we’re taking off, man!’ I even got the pilots to let me go on the mic and be like, ‘This is your captain speaking; we’ll level off at 35,000 feet and I’m going to go ahead and turn the seatbelt sign off.’ I know I was having a good time.” For the rest of the staff, Sharpe continues, it was a mixture of excitement and apprehension. “I can’t speak for everybody else… but I was already living in another country without my family or my friends, so I’m sure it was bittersweet for people. Obviously it’s exciting to go and see somewhere new, but it’s also sad to be leaving your home, your friends and your family.” Sharpe struggles to remember the exact number of 4A employees that made the move as it was an Airbus that also included many families – a gigantic undertaking in retrospect. In fact, when you consider the hardships that went into making this all possible perhaps it’s no surprise that everybody felt the desire to try something new with Exodus. Here’s Sharpe again, recalling his days out in Malta trying to build some stability for a workforce, many of whom had never left Ukraine before this endeavour. “The hardest part was actually finding apartments for everybody. It was miserable, just horrible because we were supposed to be here in June [2013] and we didn’t end up getting here until August. And August is the shutdown month in Malta – nobody freakin’ works, nobody does anything. Not to mention the fact that we’re trying to get all of these short-term apartments. I was at the point where I was trying to work out a deal with the government where we could put tents out by the airport because I just didn’t have anything else that I could do…” It didn’t come to that, thankfully. Last-minute deals were put in place, Sharpe spent an entire day signing contracts and before long the plane was in the air – the team had its monitors and PCs set up in the new offices within 24 hours of landing. Sharpe cares deeply for his staff. The camaraderie is clear as we walk around the studio as developers hunker behind monitors, tweaking the designs of maps and individual mechanisms that make up the weapons. Honestly, it’s such a contrast to what we had anticipated. Back in 2013 former THQ president and Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin was quick to pull the curtain back on the standards of the Kiev office, revealing at the time to Gameindustry International: “4A’s staff sat on folding wedding chairs, literally elbow to elbow at card tables in what looks more like a packed grade school cafeteria than a development studio,” he said, going on to explain that while he had attempted to get the team Aeron office chairs – something he considered to be a “fundamental human right in the west” – they wouldn’t fit in the office space. Well, that, and they would have to be smuggled into Kiev, as did new dev-kits, high-end PCs and other basic equipment the studio required. Much of this was corroborated at the time by Metro’s longtime creative director Andrew Prokhorov, who would also go on to confirm that Rubin’s claims such as “the budget of Last Light is less than some of its competitors spend on cutscenes” and “[Last Light] is built on a completely original and proprietary second-generation engine that competes with sequels that have stopped numbering themselves, with more engineers on their tech than 4A has on the entire project,” were also true. When you consider stories such as these, it’s a wonder how Metro 2033 and Last Light ever got completed, let alone to such an excellent standard. This is what we have always found so impressive and intriguing about the 4A Games story. It’s a studio with a clear ambition to be considered a frontrunner in the triple-A space, despite the fact that its budgets and staff numbers are minuscule when compared to the likes of Activision, Bethesda, EA or Ubisoft-owned studios that act as its direct competition in the market. That’s all part of what makes Exodus such an intoxicating proposition. That’s why 4A continues to fight, pushing the envelope to the point that fan expectation threatens to swallow it whole. If 2033 and Last Light were forged in such challenging conditions, what can this team possibly achieve when it is unburdened of such problems? Rising to the occasion f ever there was a map to prove that 4A deserves to take command of the triple-A shooter space it’s The Valley. As we would later discover, it was a prototype of this stage that was used to reveal Exodus at Microsoft’s E3 conference in 2017. Much has changed since that breathtaking moment, but it’s still pretty fun to think that it was this space that was used to introduce the world to so many elements that might (on the surface, at least) feel so foreign to the expected Metro experience. There were two questions Bloch had for us as we wrapped up our time with Exodus; two elements that are clearly weighing on his mind as the release window moves into sight. He wanted to know if we had picked up on the beats of the story that had been scattered across the level like breadcrumbs and whether we felt at all threatened in the larger, less-confined spaces. In many respects, these are the two biggest challenges facing the team – 4A knows how to build fantastic feeling weapons, it knows how to stress an engine to get the best results, but can it bridge its storytelling, AI and combat into the wider spaces without diluting what it is that makes Metro, well, Metro. “Each of the seasons brings its own challenge. [The Valley] had its own visual challenges,” Bloch continues of the autumn set map. “We’re introducing all of these bright landscapes, warm colours and pretty scenery, but how do you still make that dangerous? How do you still make that scary? How do you still make the player feel like they’re not just running through a paradise right now?” We get snippets of the ways 4A has grappled with this as we push through the forests and into smaller settlements, as we have our first encounters with the Children Of The Forest – kids that were stranded at a summer camp as the bombs dropped, taught to build a functioning society in the trees by a wellmeaning teacher clearly in over his head. It’s fascinating to see how their tale has been woven together indirectly through the game world. It’s picked up through audio books and notes, heard in whispers as you stalk through the long grass around enemy scouts talking among themselves. It’s an effective means of environmental storytelling, letting the history and temperament of a civilisation come to the fore before you wade into conflict. “It’s one of the things that we really wanted to take advantage of this time around, to be able to show all of these different kinds of places and cultures around the regions of Russia,” says Bloch. “You encounter completely different societies and different groups of people that have established themselves in different ways and for different reasons. And in this case, where it was obviously a group of kids with their teacher, how did they then turn into adults without any other influences? Without the internet, without any other adults around… how do they grow up to be a functioning society?” The answer, as you may probably expect, is poorly. The Children Of The Forest have splintered off into two factions, the Pirates and the Pioneers, each taking vastly different approaches to deal with outsiders such as bandits hell-bent on stealing their resources, and members of Artyom’s crew, who have stumbled into yet another bad situation. And yet, it’s easy to empathise with the Children Of The Forest. There’s some degree of moral ambiguity to their actions – that’s something that helps ratchet up tension in a way that we hadn’t perhaps expected or anticipated. To them, you are the enemy here; a stranger in full military gear wading through the shadows and indiscriminately taking lives long after being warned to stay away. How you tackle the area is up to you. 4A has seamlessly blurred the lines between stealth and all-out action sections, using the breadth of the open-world design to give you an array of options in combat and a completely overhauled AI system to better account for your decisions. The game flow is excellent, though some will undoubtedly miss the more authored pacing of old. For us, we couldn’t help but be impressed by the flexibility of the enemy behaviours; they move in packs, they flank and they take cover, so far so standard. What left us reeling was the addition of AI barks; enemies calling out to one another, sharing information between one another on our location and using it to coordinate. It helps to add a degree of authenticity to the world in an area 4A has never had it. “It’s not just the designers and the artists that get to do new stuff this time around, so we’ve looked at all of our other systems and our AI is definitely one of them,” Bloch tells us, noting that the team has taken heed of criticism it has faced in the past as it looked to rework such major systems. “We realised that our AI systems were really, really complex and really very realistic. Players didn’t necessarily understand what was happening all of the time, and when you don’t understand what the AI knows or why the AI is doing something it makes it hard to fully grasp what’s going on, and then it might seem like the system is broken or buggy.” Bloch laughs that it is indeed “possible” that it was broken or buggy in instances back in 2033 and Last Light, but this time around the team isn’t taking any chances. It’s making the AI and battle chatter clearer to understand, though no less threatening. “Communication was one of the things that we wanted to work at this time. You might get into combat and you’ll overhear the enemies shouting that you’re up on the balcony or hiding behind the car, behind barrels… we’ve added so much specific dialogue,” says Bloch, noting that this works two-fold. Not only does it help sell the authenticity of the world and of the people that inhabit it, but it’s also designed to help players keep track of the packs of enemies. Exodus isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, and this system is integral in allowing you to “move positions, change your strategy and adapt to the enemies.” If you should ever manage to get the upper hand, wiping out the majority of a crew, you’ll find that the remaining few will attempt to surrender – giving you the opportunity to either kill them outright, walk away or knock them out. 4A isn’t overly forthcoming into how this system will, if at all, factor into any of the decisions that will no doubt rear their head later into the game, though it does help paint a degree of moral ambiguity across the world and its populous – something the Metro games have always toyed with. “It’s a behavioural change,” teases Bloch, who also notes that there are other such systems hidden in the game. Another working alongside the survival mechanic is that of the adrenaline system, which increases the amount of punishment an enemy takes before hitting the dirt the longer they spend in combat. “We’ve tried to identify where the weaknesses were in all of our systems, AI included, and have tried to improve them as much as possible.” That’s 4A Games’ approach to every aspect of Metro Exodus. If it’s an element returning from a previous game, the team has tried to improve it as much as possible. If it’s a brand-new feature, mechanic or system, then the team is pushing for it to be on a level above that of any of its competition. 4A might be small, but it dares to dream big. And it deserves to; from its humble origins, its move to establish a new base far from home, to its decision to rip Artyom out of his home and take him on his most challenging adventure yet, everything about Exodus (and the story behind it) is demanding of your attention and admiration. It might not look like the Metro you’re familiar with, but there’s a very real chance that Exodus will surpass the achievements of its predecessor. The larger levels may steal the attention, but it’s the stories within them that will ultimately prove whether this has been a journey worth taking for 4A. Still, it’s very confident that it’s made the right decision, that Exodus will bring us into Artyom’s world better than any game before it. “One thing that we’ve always tried to do with the Metro games is that we want players to feel immersed. We want players to feel like they are Artyom, that they are defining who he is based on their actions. We try to be very careful about how we present certain things in the story and we want players to feel like they’re actually defining who this main character is, you’re not just along for the ride,” says Bloch. We ponder whether Artyom will ever find the salvation that he seeks, whether he deserves happiness after struggling in the shadows for so many years. Bloch added this with a smile: “The last time Prof [creative director, Andrew Prokhorov] was asked about this I think he said, ‘In Metro Exodus, you will get what you deserve.’” We have a feeling the same will be said about 4A Games when all is said and done. |
 
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09.09.2018, 08:51
Сообщение
#1300
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Игровой Бог первой степени Репутация: 432 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 8787 Награды: 4 Регистрация: 21.03.2013 |
но на геймплейных кадрах можно заметить, что ног у ГГ нет. Ноги есть и убирать не собирались. Не знаю где в ролике это можно заметить. Может баг конечно Что-то я их проглядел наверно. Ну типа в любой момент можно увидеть ноги посмотрев на землю? Ато я уже начал волноваться, вводу падает, а ног невидно, по локациям бегает, а ноги в кадр не попадают, кроме моментов с вытягиванием стрелы из собаки. -------------------- |
 
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18.09.2018, 16:34
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#1301
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Почти Мастер Репутация: 624 Группа: Участник Сообщений: 1033 Награды: 10 Регистрация: 24.11.2005 |
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Текстовая версия | Сейчас: 05.05.2024, 19:35 |