Ahahahha, great feedback, Ken. I'm pretty sure that most of us here have a lot of faith in the finished product and from what we've seen as early test/rough stuff, it looks pretty damn amazing. Thanks for keeping us so well informed too.
The e3 video was a modified version of something we built in March for the first Game Informer cover piece. It was really the first bit of playable BioShock ever made.
We enhanced it for E3 and showed pretty much the same thing at Leipzig. It's now been retired for our new gameplay demonstration which we are slaving away on.
I'm saying this not to make excuses for anything you didn't like, because the videos out there and should be fair game to comment on and criticize. We put it out there to get people's comments on it. But for the crew here who are really into deeply discussing the game, I thought some notes might be helpful. Consider this the read me file for the E3 demo.
The look of the world of Rapture really solidified for the first time when we did this demo. Ditto water visual effects. However, the game has progressed substantially on the visual side since then. I think the next gameplay video will demonstrate what I mean.
The animation system is super rough. We're incorporating Havok's animation system mixed with IG's homebrew stuff.
All the voice acting came from an impromptu short session we did before the demo. The Little Sister will have a full suite of dialog, as will all the AIs in the game. Our goal is to have substantially more character dialog per character than even other IG games.
Weapon effects are first pass. We've just done a new rev on them. I think they are amazing now. Our goal was to exceed the weapon effects in Black, and I think we're going to achieve that (even adjusting for next gen)
Engine was entirely unoptimized. We've just finished our core optimization pass last week. As I mentioned another time, load times and performance were a key technical goal on BioShock.
Plasmid effects are first pass. They have been entirely replaced.
On screen and machine intefaces have not only been redone completely by a new artist, their functionality and feedback has been completely rethought. You'll see more of this soon (maybe I'll even leak a shot or two!)
There are 3 different big daddy's and a whole bunch of splicers in the game, plus skin, powers/weapons and even attachment variations (masks, hats, etc.).
We've hardly begun tune game controller/mouse stuff. It's just not something we do until later after we've done a ton of focus testing on our first pass.
One of the coolest visuals you're going to see down the road is views of the actual underwater buildings from windows in Rapture. That will be soon.
Regarding my voice: I'm not actually a serial killer, but I will be playing an evil clown vending machine in the game. I know you hope I'm kidding, but I'm not. I've also decided to use Jade Raymond from Assassin's Creed to do all our future PR work because she's way hotter than me.
Ahahahha, great feedback, Ken. I'm pretty sure that most of us here have a lot of faith in the finished product and from what we've seen as early test/rough stuff, it looks pretty damn amazing. Thanks for keeping us so well informed too.
thanks for the reply/additional info !
made me even more excited.
since this video was the "first pass" substantial things must've happened
till then......can't wait to see new screenshots/movies to compare with
the "old versions".
tip/wish: PLEASE put out an "visual concepts/making of/sketchbook" of
BIOSHOCK upon release. so we can drool over the style when were
not playing the game
and if this happens, please include the "original" designdocument (ww2-nazi-base) which was
scrapped.
Can't wait for the next video to see how things have come along, it sounds like they've improved a lot.
Thanks, BTW, for taking what we say into consideration. We can be quite a demanding lot, and it's good to see you contemplating things rather than just ignoring us, or dumping things in wholesale.
edit: speaking of demanding, I like mothra's idea of doing a 'raising the bar' book, and/or in-game commentary ala HL:EP1 (personally, I'd rather have the latter, if not both).
No, the voice was good, serial killer asideIt was .... dramatic. In any case, I'm glad to hear that a lot of the things are undergoing change and eagerly look forward to the next video.
So uh... come on, you can tell us. When is it going to come out? *wink wink*
Ah cool, Ken, thanks for the info. After seeing the video I'm now not as seethingly rabidly dying to see another since I'm assured the game is going in a direction I like. In fact the only thing I'd be further interested in knowing about right now other than the confusing Plasmid situation is the photography which honestly sounds excellent.
You guys and girls set an example that almost every other developer should aspire to - communicating with the fans.
Thank you all.
Nice.Originally Posted by Irrationallevine
As Victim said, I really think it's great that you guys take the time and give some feedback and inform the BioShock community what's going on. That's zzzzuper
I believe this is a rare thing in this business, but if you're a serious developer you should listen to your gamers...it's after all them that are going to be buying and playing your finished product.
I'm really excited about BioShock and was totally blown away by the video, and now, after reading Mr Levines comments, I'm even more (if possible) excited. Not only does the game seem to kick some serious arse, but you guys at Irrational keep a good contact with your future customers. That's almost too good to be true! Keep up the good work!!!
i dont think anybody will mind if its not a 100 enemys a level fps. anything with shock in is enough.less is more
holy cow . thats just the first version . it runs so well on 360 ...... i hope the soft shadows stay ,
realy like the plasmid effects as they hit the characters
to people complaining about the realism .....this is a computer game.if ss2 lost that computer game feel it wouldnt have been so fun tinkering with things
looks amazing ..... ALREADY
Are you using Havok Behaviour?
If not could you please mention which Havok products you are using?
Last edited by skumlex; 25th Sep 2006 at 04:07.
I hope the voice of the little sister will be added to and not replaced, because I loved it.
I second keeping the voice of the little sister, it was creepy as hell.
I can't wait for the leaked shots! If what we saw on the IGN site was just an early demo, then wow. I thought that was pretty amazing as it was, so i can't wait to see what we get with a new gameplay demo!
Ken said in the "I think you're gonna like this" thread, they are a year from release.No, the voice was good, serial killer aside
So uh... come on, you can tell us. When is it going to come out? *wink wink*
The video showed some really fantastic graphics. However... it did give the impression of being more of a video console game than a PC Game.I just hope that modders will fix the icons and the interface after the game release - as the modding community has done with Thief: DS.
But keep up the good work and gee... I love that Art Deco!
Ken has said in another thread that the interface has already been completely redoneThe video showed some really fantastic graphics. However... it did give the impression of being more of a video console game than a PC Game.
But keep up the good work and gee... I love that Art Deco!
And one might notice that he also said it in THIS thread. In the very first post.
Regarding the Security Station interaction , that is , the fact you have to "pay" some ADAM to stop an alarm ...
I was thinking that this works more along the lines of , the machine requiring ADAM , to id people from a faction in the city ( the ones using the genetic modifs vs the ones not using them ) .
Also this could work as dissemintaing the people native to the Rapture to foreigners that might "invade" the place .
Just a stray thought , people who are more versed in this universe are free to dismantle this theory ...
Cheers
That he did
Joe Faulstick
Associate Producer
Irrational Games Boston
Last edited by IGJoe; 23rd Sep 2006 at 19:05.
I loved the video, got me hyped instantly. I can't wait to get my hands on this game. I just hope it won't go unnoticed by the general gaming crowd like SS1 and 2.
These in depth hybrids are shunned.
Ya see now, that's just awesome!
The "year from release" quote - depending on context, it sounds as if the game was a year from release when the demo was either shown at E3 or when it was originally compiled. perhaps not from when it was released to us.
All quotes about release dates (from any developer) should be taken with a grain of salt. Nothing is concrete until it's gold.
^ Don't be so stupid! STALKER will be released 22/09/2004.
LOL
I have no problem waiting for a top quality build of BioShock, instead of a rushed bug fest
Does this mean we get see a big daddy lumbering around with a fedora?
I had to look that one up.
Fedora:
n.
A soft felt hat with a fairly low crown creased lengthwise and a brim that can be turned up or down.
Nah, he's not going to suit one of those.
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