I'm not sure that this deserves its own thread so I'll just post it in here even though it's not technically about the Gamescom coverage, though if anyone wants to spin it off into one that's cool.
Anyways, Hunting Grounds was at the Tokyo Game Show this week and a few articles have gone up with some new information, albeit in Japanese (though thankfully nothing auto-translate can't handle), one on the Japanese Playstation blog and two from Famitsu:
https://www.jp.playstation.com/blog/detail/8932/20190912-predator-2.html?emcid=so-st-213464&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=20190912_sieja_social&utm_source=&utm_term=so-st-213464&utm_content=
https://www.famitsu.com/news/201909/13183235.html
https://www.famitsu.com/news/201909/12183079.html
There's some good info and some bad info revealed between them. For those who just want a quick summary:
The good (or just informative)!
-The fire team chooses their infiltration area on the map, rather than it being just one fixed spawn every time, which should help with keeping each round fresh and making the Predator have to guess where they might be and hunt them down. In the Famitsu demo there were four locations to choose from, and the one the reporter picked was called "waterfall".
-The Predator has an ability called "second wind" which allows him to escape if he's downed, but at the cost of not being able to attack while he uses it. It's purely a retreat/second chance mechanic.
-He can use his medicomp to heal himself a maximum of twice per match.
-The mud the human players can use to cover themselves falls off/wears off over time, or if you fire your weapons, so it sounds like it's better to try and be as stealthy as possible when you're in that state if you want it to last.
-The points you earn in-game will be used to unlock weapons, skins and items. Taking trophies from the human players you kill will net you more points, so you'll want to try and claim as many of them as possible not just for a temporary points bonus in that one match, but to help unlock more stuff faster (and as we already heard about before, making trophies of men also prevents them from being revived, and means they're out of the match for longer until a teammate makes it to a reinforcement point).
-The human players will be able to customise their weapons and it's implied their appearances too.
-They're currently aiming for there to be around 20-30 npc's in a match.
The bad:
-No Predator 2-style urban maps. Every map is going to be in the jungle, with different variations, which sadly I figured would be the case based on everything we'd seen and heard before, and Illfonic's previous track record with Friday the 13th (which launched with just 3 maps, all of which were the same theme, before eventually increasing to five). One of the devs apparently even said of urban maps that "there is no difference in elevation" and so it wouldn't really work, which seems.....wrong. Either way it's an unfortunate shoe to have drop, but also sadly a very much expected one.
-Not entirely surprising given that we saw it in some of those gameplay videos, but matches are on a timer. If time runs out points are tallied up based on number of kills, objectives completed etc., and the winner is decided that way. Kinda sucky given that we've (rightly) heard a lot about how the correct approach to playing the Predator is to take your time and wait for the right moment to strike. Hopefully the time limit will be generous enough that most matches don't end that way though, rather than forcing all players to just rush to do everything purely so they don't run out of time.
The lost in translation:
-It sounds as though we might actually be able to choose whether or not we want to play as the Predator (unlike choosing to play as Jason in Friday the 13th), but the translation is unclear. It could also be a "choose your preference" kind of thing again like in that game, so still no concrete confirmation there one way or the other.
-The answer to the question of whether or not the Predator will have more weapons than just the ones we've seen so far was unclear, but given that one of those B-roll videos from Gamescom showed 7 slots in the Predator's weapon/gadget select it seems like the answer is likely "yes".
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 15, 2019, 05:51:09 PM
The bad:
-No Predator 2-style urban maps. Every map is going to be in the jungle, with different variations, which sadly I figured would be the case based on everything we'd seen and heard before, and Illfonic's previous track record with Friday the 13th (which launched with just 3 maps, all of which were the same theme, before eventually increasing to five). One of the devs apparently even said of urban maps that "there is no difference in elevation" and so it wouldn't really work, which seems.....wrong. Either way it's an unfortunate shoe to have drop, but also sadly a very much expected one.
No elevation? Roof tops, buildings ledges, fire escapes, high wire, balconies, streetlights, traffic lights, windowsills, more windowsills, statues, garbage chutes, flagposts, parked trucks, vans, large dumpsters..!
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7btY0wnQWLZzL2JW/giphy.gif)
Exactly.
I think when we read between the lines, it means that making a full city district is much harder than similar looking trees and nature environments.
Shame. Well, maybe as additional content in the future or, if god wills, and it's good AND successful in a sequel.
Quote from: The Kurgan on Sep 16, 2019, 03:34:58 PM
Shame. Well, maybe as additional content in the future or, if god wills, and it's good AND successful in a sequel.
From your lips to the all powerful's ears!
Quote from: Still Collating... on Sep 16, 2019, 03:31:14 PM
Exactly.
I think when we read between the lines, it means that making a full city district is much harder than similar looking trees and nature environments.
True, but city alleyways at night and in shadows gets easier I think.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was an attempt to justify a budgetary decision. Much cheaper to make several maps all using the same jungle assets rather than several maps made with jungle assets
and urban ones. Because yeah, Concrete Jungle and Predator 2 didn't seem to have any problems with finding elevation for their Predators to use.
Though sadly it also probably means a Predators-style hunting planet is out too, since it'd be pretty difficult to chopper the human players in and out when the map is set on a different planet. :P
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Sep 16, 2019, 03:20:04 PM
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 15, 2019, 05:51:09 PM
The bad:
-No Predator 2-style urban maps. Every map is going to be in the jungle, with different variations, which sadly I figured would be the case based on everything we'd seen and heard before, and Illfonic's previous track record with Friday the 13th (which launched with just 3 maps, all of which were the same theme, before eventually increasing to five). One of the devs apparently even said of urban maps that "there is no difference in elevation" and so it wouldn't really work, which seems.....wrong. Either way it's an unfortunate shoe to have drop, but also sadly a very much expected one.
No elevation? Roof tops, buildings ledges, fire escapes, high wire, balconies, streetlights, traffic lights, windowsills, more windowsills, statues, garbage chutes, flagposts, parked trucks, vans, large dumpsters..!
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7btY0wnQWLZzL2JW/giphy.gif
I just hope nobody tells Ubisoft. If they find that out, every Assassin's Creed game going all the way back to the first one is screwed!
For now I'd say the closest we'll get to anything urban will be if one of these maps has a village of some kind.
You're probably right. :-\
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 16, 2019, 04:41:44 PM
I just hope nobody tells Ubisoft. If they find that out, every Assassin's Creed game going all the way back to the first one is screwed!
:laugh:
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/ugKmdd4Bu3iNO/source.gif)
That's a nice optical illusion, almost looks like he's running up the wall! Must be some sort of weird reverse "flat Earth" conspiracy-type deal!
Quote from: JokersWarPig on Sep 16, 2019, 05:22:09 PM
For now I'd say the closest we'll get to anything urban will be if one of these maps has a village of some kind.
Yeah at the very least that'd be a nice area to have on the map. Hopefully there are multiple points of interest dotted around the place rather than the whole thing just being "generic jungle and nothing but".
I'm not surprised about the jungle given that so much of it seems to be based off the first movie.
They could ease into it through a small town however. We do have a cinematic basis for them running around towns like in AVP-R and of course in The Predator.
Gotta admit,I'm a lil ticked off..it's only on PlayStation...🤬
I agree, hopefully in the far future you will be able to get ps4 emulators like the ps1 emulators we have today on PC
If they're smart, they're gonna port it to PC sooner or later. However good the game might be, it will die if it's only on PS4. This is a niche product for a limited, niche fanbase, and they need as much of us as possible to make it a success. The graphics aren't crazy, there's no need to keep it on the PS4 only forever. I haven't got a console, and I never will. We'll see what happens.
Quote from: Still Collating... on Sep 20, 2019, 09:38:37 AM
If they're smart, they're gonna port it to PC sooner or later. However good the game might be, it will die if it's only on PS4. This is a niche product for a limited, niche fanbase, and they need as much of us as possible to make it a success. The graphics aren't crazy, there's no need to keep it on the PS4 only forever. I haven't got a console, and I never will. We'll see what happens.
It will live through compatibility on PS5.
Then there is this even if it is a second party game.
https://gematsu.com/2019/08/sony-interactive-entertainments-shawn-layden-suggests-some-first-party-multiplayer-titles-will-come-to-additional-platforms
I gotta say I am really looking forward to this one! I feel they have exactly the right ideas to make this an interesting multiplayer game.
Panic and Celebration Moments.
Quote from: Shamo on Sep 20, 2019, 08:09:56 PM
I gotta say I am really looking forward to this one! I feel they have exactly the right ideas to make this an interesting multiplayer game.
Right On!
Hopefully we see it on xbox and pc. As is I'm not buying a ps4.for it. Bare minimum I'll play it on pc.
if or when.
I'm also really surprised they are doing a game on predator after the last movies performance. and only marketing it to a single console???
Cuts your dam market by so much, hopefully it does not fail, that would be really bad for the franchise.
Quote from: TYRANTKINGALIEN on Sep 21, 2019, 01:59:33 AM
Hopefully we see it on xbox and pc. As is I'm not buying a ps4.for it. Bare minimum I'll play it on pc.
if or when.
I'm also really surprised they are doing a game on predator after the last movies performance. and only marketing it to a single console???
Cuts your dam market by so much, hopefully it does not fail, that would be really bad for the franchise.
Near as I understood is that while The Predator did poorly, it didn't do nearly as badly as we'd feared. It held some tax credits and Fox felt comfortable enough to do those home release ads. Near as we know the NECA figures also still do well and Archie Versus Predator 2 (as niche as we can get) did well enough it opened within lower tier Marvel sales which isn't bad for Darkhorse. So despite the source, merchandise still moved. It's also at fault for those who put Shane Black in the directors chair despite what kind of films he's known for making and the studio's fault for the 11th hour costly edit, re-shoot, and delays which saddles the movie with extra debt.
So while it wasn't a great position to be in, it's mitigated but still a disaster they themselves made.
Sony probably not knowing what awaited the film and the merchandise yet still moving after probably took it as a low risk potential high-yield production. Makes sense given the creative team and Sony having won this console generation and PS5 potentially being compatible with the PS4 library makes it able to be sold on two systems for the int ital developing cost.
As an Xbox owner, I admittedly will be purchasing a PlayStation to play this.
It's smart after The Predator, that this console game is going back to its beloved roots.
As a PC Master Race owner I will probably do the same. :P
Only an Alien/Predator game is capable of making me buy a console if necessary.
I remember AVP was a big incentive to get our PC upgraded back in the day.
I still need to finish playing through Concrete Jungle. I bought a new copy off Amazon a few months back largely due to being hyped about this and never having played it back in the day (£60 off Amazon, only to then see it on sale for £30 the day after, of course :P ). Despite some questionable control decisions I've been digging it so far, especially the optional objectives to unlock new skins. Here's hoping Hunting Grounds takes all of the good and less of the bad and improves on it all!
Also a shame it doesn't seem like there's any new footage being captured from its TGS appearance. Maybe Japanese gamers just aren't into recording this sort of thing off screens?
Can we pick our weapons and what the predator looks like ?
While it's technically unconfirmed, gameplay shows the Predator's weapon/gadget select has 7 slots, with only 3 of them being used in everything that's been shown so far (wrist blades, plasma caster, medicomp), so it's a fairly safe bet we'll be able to choose our weaponry one way or another.
Likewise while we haven't heard anything yet about alternate skins, Friday the 13th had practically every Jason skin you could think of, so it's also a pretty safe bet we should be getting some different Preds to choose from too.
Thank you most kindly.
I was left with the impression a city map could be made at some point ?
Np, and unfortunately it doesn't seem like we'll be getting one (at launch anyway). It's certainly possible in the future as DLC, but it sounds like for now it's just going to be a jungle setting with variations.
We're gonna have to make enough noise about it (without being jerks).
Just gotta keep tweeting "please to DLC this, Illfonic!" at them. :laugh:
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nerdinfinite.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F12%2FPredator-2-posteredited.jpg&hash=b05f478ea7ed251b07f755f57c36d0c3aca3147c)
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 22, 2019, 04:09:34 PM
Just gotta keep tweeting "please to DLC this, Illfonic!" at them. :laugh:
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nerdinfinite.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F12%2FPredator-2-posteredited.jpg&hash=b05f478ea7ed251b07f755f57c36d0c3aca3147c)
If City Hunter isn't in the base game, you think we could get them to do a Predator 2 Expansion?
Soldiers replaced with the OWLF
Predator is City Hunter or one of the Lost Hunters
Objectives are based around the attempted capture or killing of the Predator as well as removing evidence of the creature and or claiming fallen gear.
And as for story, this could take place during Predator 2, maybe there was more than the one team? There are more Predators on the ship and so maybe a few of them went out themselves and we just don't see it.
It could also introduce new gadgets for the Human players like the temperature suits and new vision modes for the Predator.
Or alternatively players could be a SWAT team going on a mission against a gang (Colombians or Jamaicans, perhaps) who are the NPCs, getting choppered in and out when the Predator shows up.
Either way I feel like it's doable within the framework they've set up.
I think a large city map of L.A in the style of predator 2 would be awesome. The elevator shaft down to the sewer with the ship and the top of sky scrappers would be a lot of ground to cover.
I think it would get my money.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Sep 22, 2019, 02:46:51 PM
We're gonna have to make enough noise about it (without being jerks).
My Man!(https://i.imgur.com/boyRiZp.gif)
This sounds better actually, still i am not convinced is worth buying so far.
Well then what is the damn point of killing if the people you kill can be revived?
One of the biggest points of dread in the movie was how each time a team member was killed it weakened the group and made them more vulnerable because there was no help coming. They were on their own.
This just sounds like they want to copy Dead By Daylight or Last Year instead of being something more unique.
Quote from: Nameless_1 on Sep 27, 2019, 10:39:31 PM
Well then what is the damn point of killing if the people you kill can be revived?
I get what you're saying but I actually like this mechanic:
- Predator: Rip out its enemies' skulls to prevent them from getting revived by teammates
Every hunter needs his trophies, and the Predator is no exception. In this case, ripping out the downed Fireteam members' skulls from their bodies will put them out of the match for an extended period of time, until one of the other players calls them back in at a designated reinforcement point. Otherwise, each of the team members can call out for help and get revived on the spot.
The developers at Illfonic also confirmed that the team is working hard on implementing a whole slew of ways the Predator can finish off its victims, and claim its trophy in all sorts of gruesome ways. Right now only the skull gets ripped out, but we're fully expecting the attached spine to come along with the skull in the final game.
https://geekculture.co/tgs-2019-5-new-things-we-learned-from-predator-hunting-grounds/
Yeah some people seem to be getting confused as to the meaning of "revived." You can only be revived if you're not dead yet.
It's basically the same as Left 4 Dead or Apex Legends. If a player is knocked down they can be revived and get back up. If they're knocked down and then actually
killed (see what Voodoo posted above about the Predator taking trophies for that very purpose), their teammates have to go to a specific location on the map to respawn them, like the closets in L4D or the respawn beacons in Apex. So unless and until they do that their team
is a lot more vulnerable because they're down a man (or more), and depending on how the respawning (or "reinforcement") points are actually handled, the Predator could also be waiting for them there because he knows there's a good chance they're going to try to bring their buddies back in if he kills any of them.
Here's a couple of videos from the PAX thread that show people being downed and killed, from both perspectives:
In this one you see the Predator attack a player and down him, and a message pops up saying "
Assault was downed, Go revive them!"
Then he immediately does a trophy kill on him and the message appears saying "
Assault has been killed! Look for the reinforcements mission to activate."
And then in this one at the 10:10 mark you see it from the human player's perspective, the Predator attacks and downs him but he's still alive, with a health bar appearing on the screen and the ability to spot the Predator or call for help from his teammates. Then a few seconds later the Predator rushes back and tries to kill him so his teammates can't get him back up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY4a92WzSjM&feature=youtu.be&t=610
Obviously we'll have to see how it works out, but I'm not against this system in theory compared to one that had perma-death. One of the most annoying things in Friday the 13th was playing as a counselor and having Jason find and kill you immediately, so you basically had to sit out the entire game if you wanted any XP (and respawning as Tommy Jarvis was random and only for one player). So having a system where you can be brought back doesn't sound so bad to me.
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 28, 2019, 12:47:46 PM
Obviously we'll have to see how it works out, but I'm not against this system in theory compared to one that had perma-death. One of the most annoying things in Friday the 13th was playing as a counselor and having Jason find and kill you immediately, so you basically had to sit out the entire game if you wanted any XP (and respawning as Tommy Jarvis was random and only for one player). So having a system where you can be brought back doesn't sound so bad to me.
Agreed :)
I agree too. It was a total disaster if Jason nailed you early.
Absolutely, it's critical to get right so Hunting Grounds survives in the long term, like Dead By Daylight and not Friday the 13th.