Game sounds really interesting, can't wait to see some early screenshots/videos
Game sounds interesting? How can it sound interesting when all we really know about it is that it will be singleplayer and the gameplay will consist mostly of swimming/driving around underwater with a light crafting system.......
Honestly, it doesn't sound that interesting to me with the current details that are known about it.
With the current information available, there's no way the game could compete against other games that are in the similar genre. That genre being the survival/open sandbox games.
I'm sure when more details about the gameplay are released the game will start to sound more interesting.... but as of now.... no way.
I'll give a basic example of a water scenario and I was just enthralled and amazed by the beauty of the environments and of course the massive scale - World of Warcrafts Vashj'ir.
You are corect, the possibilities are eemingly endless. Yet it is hard to beat the visual fidelity of something created by a huuge team like in WoW. This will be the benchmark to break:
The concept art is already very promising and if anyone can do it with a small team it's UWE! Just look at the AAA game that is NS2 for proof.
It'd be interesting if there was a way to find some small ... trinkets or something to expand the lore ^^ I'm a sucker for lore so wrecks or fallen cargo from such a wreck could provide some insight into what the world is like outside? Though IMO the most important thing is making the game FRESH every time there is a new trench, or a new reef. etc.
I'm also a lore junkie, this is a very, very cool idea. Although I wouldn't want them to be super common, finding signs of past life, civilizations even, would be a wonderful treat to have occasionally. It would be sort of like,
Yes, you're discovering the life and environment of this new world. But you're also building the story of what happened before you, discovering culture and history carved into rocks, buried in sand, tangled in seaweed.
I totally believe that UWE can pull this off. When we were looking at NS2 alpha, nobody really believed it would become even playable. UWE may not be a large company, but they sure have what it takes, as their team is made of of top notch personnel (correct me if I'm wrong).
@LumpN Heh can't really beat Blizzard tbh when it comes to grand PC games in terms of production value but Vashj'ir was their first attempt and it's a few years old now. I see great potential in UWE, as you mentioned the concept art is amazing and the music is PERFECT for this genre and I cannot express this enough. It sounds like the Torvus Bog of Metroid Prime 2 and that is a big achievement already, Prime 2 is one of the best games ever made.
@OP This is a genre which can attract a crazy amount of attention simply because of how unique the concept is. Titles like DayZ just for being different have proven that with some innovation and originality, you can create an entire genre.
Aside from the Silent Hunter series the only other underwater game (not going back as far as line drawn "Gato" in the early 80's) that was ever offered of any quality was Subwar 2050. Kind of a "mercenary game with small personal high speed mini subs more like underwater fighters. You took missions with corporations to protect an area or sabotage another companies equipment etc. My recollection is that Subwar 2050 was pretty good. Not good enough for a redo though. Though to be fair there were not alot of redo's of anything back then cause most of it was new and there were new things that had never been done before, places to go still. Most stuff has been done now and we are rehashing the same old subject matter with ever increasing computing power. Don't get me wrong some genres never took off and are still waiting for "the big one" against which all others will be measured. No pressure though! (pun semi intended)
I myself am a fan of sub simulations. I like the slow pace of underwater travel. I don't expect clear views in an under sea game. I hope a balance can be struck between the realities of being underwater and the gaming communities desire to have a magical physics free environment. I will follow early developments with eager anticipation.
This can be pulled off, for sure. OFC I'm being sure not to get my hopes up too much as this is the game I've always wanted to make (I want to be a game designer) and always wanted to play too... :P again, no pressure.
@Tzudro Agreed, I didn't mean that any of the ruins or wrecks should be commonplace, but a massive shell or husk of a building or large ship could mean a lot EVEN IF there wasn't an explanation for it. (But perhaps a kind of "this ship clearly has turrets on it, perhaps it was a warship.")
Aside from the Silent Hunter series the only other underwater game (not going back as far as line drawn "Gato" in the early 80's) that was ever offered of any quality was Subwar 2050. Kind of a "mercenary game with small personal high speed mini subs more like underwater fighters. You took missions with corporations to protect an area or sabotage another companies equipment etc. My recollection is that Subwar 2050 was pretty good.
Sounds like a great game! Why haven't I heard of it before? I like the concept of fast submarine fighters for some serious action. It's always more fun to be agile, even in an exploration game. (That's why people jump around while traveling in games like WoW). Also note that SN water is alien water. Could be much less dense - more like thick air - allowing for much faster "physics".
BTW there was an expansion called "The Plot Deepens" in 1994. So I guess the game sold well.
I myself am a fan of sub simulations. I like the slow pace of underwater travel. I don't expect clear views in an under sea game. I hope a balance can be struck between the realities of being underwater and the gaming communities desire to have a magical physics free environment.
While I'm a fan of simulation games too, I don't enjoy slow paced games too much. But again, this is alien water. The pefect excuse for allowing both very slow paced (perhaps huuge) subs possibly carrying smaller fighter-like minisubs that are quite fast and agile (like in space games).
By the same reason the view distance could be a lot larger than it is in earth water. Also it doesn't need to become dark in deep water and it doesn't need to fade into blue color in the distance. Maybe it fades into orange, green or white sometimes, depending on the environment type (and the suspended particles). I guess fading into bright colors would give the game a very different feel from dark claustrophobic subsims.
Comments
Game sounds interesting? How can it sound interesting when all we really know about it is that it will be singleplayer and the gameplay will consist mostly of swimming/driving around underwater with a light crafting system.......
Honestly, it doesn't sound that interesting to me with the current details that are known about it.
With the current information available, there's no way the game could compete against other games that are in the similar genre. That genre being the survival/open sandbox games.
I'm sure when more details about the gameplay are released the game will start to sound more interesting.... but as of now.... no way.
You are corect, the possibilities are eemingly endless. Yet it is hard to beat the visual fidelity of something created by a huuge team like in WoW. This will be the benchmark to break:
The concept art is already very promising and if anyone can do it with a small team it's UWE! Just look at the AAA game that is NS2 for proof.
I'm also a lore junkie, this is a very, very cool idea. Although I wouldn't want them to be super common, finding signs of past life, civilizations even, would be a wonderful treat to have occasionally. It would be sort of like,
Yes, you're discovering the life and environment of this new world. But you're also building the story of what happened before you, discovering culture and history carved into rocks, buried in sand, tangled in seaweed.
@OP This is a genre which can attract a crazy amount of attention simply because of how unique the concept is. Titles like DayZ just for being different have proven that with some innovation and originality, you can create an entire genre.
I myself am a fan of sub simulations. I like the slow pace of underwater travel. I don't expect clear views in an under sea game. I hope a balance can be struck between the realities of being underwater and the gaming communities desire to have a magical physics free environment. I will follow early developments with eager anticipation.
@Tzudro Agreed, I didn't mean that any of the ruins or wrecks should be commonplace, but a massive shell or husk of a building or large ship could mean a lot EVEN IF there wasn't an explanation for it. (But perhaps a kind of "this ship clearly has turrets on it, perhaps it was a warship.")
Sounds like a great game! Why haven't I heard of it before? I like the concept of fast submarine fighters for some serious action. It's always more fun to be agile, even in an exploration game. (That's why people jump around while traveling in games like WoW). Also note that SN water is alien water. Could be much less dense - more like thick air - allowing for much faster "physics".
BTW there was an expansion called "The Plot Deepens" in 1994. So I guess the game sold well.
While I'm a fan of simulation games too, I don't enjoy slow paced games too much. But again, this is alien water. The pefect excuse for allowing both very slow paced (perhaps huuge) subs possibly carrying smaller fighter-like minisubs that are quite fast and agile (like in space games).
By the same reason the view distance could be a lot larger than it is in earth water. Also it doesn't need to become dark in deep water and it doesn't need to fade into blue color in the distance. Maybe it fades into orange, green or white sometimes, depending on the environment type (and the suspended particles). I guess fading into bright colors would give the game a very different feel from dark claustrophobic subsims.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0004381