Predator: Hunting Grounds Trial Weekend Thread

[molasar]

Damn. I didn't feel this harshness is deserved. I hope we don't have another Concrete Jungle situation on our hands.

PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS IS THE WORST SONY GAME OF THIS GENERATION
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/predator-hunting-grounds-beta-game-review-ps4

The author of this article to me is just another clueless gamer who probably has seen Predator 1987 once or twice and enjoyed it or not at all, but he is not a fan who follows the franchise.

Anyway he should pointed out that the game is a niche one aiming at the franchise fans first and foremost.

And then we get to the following sentence he wrote:
"But there aren't enough references to please hardcore Predator fans or hardcore FPS fans." which completely discredited him. And I do not know what is his real issue with its FPS gameplay mechanics. They are just standard ones on arcadey side of it as they should be in this type of game IMO. Also there is no issue with missions and he did not propose other solutions instead.

Perhaps the trial attracted some asymmetrical MP or FPS game lovers but they are not its target group. For example I can't imagine myself appreciating a hypothetical game about Barbie doll no matter how great its gameplay would be. I am not familiar with any franchise references in it besides knowing that she is a toy-doll for little girls and her boyfriend's name is Ken.

Also he did not compare PC experience with PS4's. Probably the latter will require radical downgrades to run stable but it should be playable on PS5 without doing it.

So, the first thing I do is checking if a person is a real fan in this case to take it seriously.

[Voodoo Magic]

The author lives in the alternate universe where drug lords paid for a development of a AAA title or he drops acid after he played and realized hard core drugs is better--So he wrote a jabbing article instead of a good one.

It probably will be another Concrete Jungle situation and more or less another Alien Isolation. This is not the game that's made for a casual audience and it's budget and presentation are reflective of that.

Yeah with Alien Isolation we had a well reviewed game, but made with a bigger budget than its smaller audience could justify, so much so Sega subsequently publically declared the sales as "weak". Ouch. Not a good look either.

And then we get to the following sentence he wrote:
"But there aren't enough references to please hardcore Predator fans or hardcore FPS fans." which completely discredited him.

That one got stuck in my craw too, as well as this:

• "Something alchemical about the game kept me playing for many matches. I reached the mid-20s in levels after playing for several hours. Part of me hoped that the next unlock would somehow fix all of the deep-rooted problems I had with Predator: Hunting Grounds, and this dangling carrot was enough to keep me interested longer than I may have otherwise."

Oh, so part of you played "the worst sony game of this generation" hoping it would fix its problems with an "unlock", and that's why you played it for hours? The worst one?  Or perhaps the gameplay was just a little bit better than you gave it credit for Mr. Level Mid-20s (which means level 25). 

It reminds me of this dude I knew, who sent a steak back at a restaurant for being overcooked after eating 2/3rds of it.

[acrediblesource]

Listen , writers for www.inverse.com don't play games to have a good time. They do coke. LOTS OF COCAINE!

[Voodoo Magic]

Okay, that's a good meme. 

[Le Celticant]

It probably will be another Concrete Jungle situation and more or less another Alien Isolation. This is not the game that's made for a casual audience and it's budget and presentation are reflective of that. Hunting Grounds has it's problems but it's meant to be a multiplayer title for the Predator fanbase first. The issue with presenting yourself to the niche audience is that while we'll get it, the rest of the gaming community looks at it and says "why does this exist". The general consumer doesn't look at things with the same biases we do and the general consumer simply does not understand the technical hurdles of game development or how easy it is to change things.

Yes the game will change from Beta to launch, that's why a Beta happens. Writing off a product as the worst of the year because you didn't like a beta where variables are in flux and not all content is available should revoke credibility. An open Beta happens to stress test servers and see how the community interacts with the product in the current state. At the end of the day the developers have been open about what the product is and you should not expect a full game (or a finished product) from a Beta. I understand the game releases this month but being a digital product, why wouldn't they be able to work on this? Even for disk games a day one patch is not uncommon and in addition to that it needs to connect with a server anyways so you will be patching the game on launch and after. The game is not currently gold to the best of my knowledge either so it's not even ready for storefronts yet.

I'm not saying it doesn't have it's problems but this is like looking at a prototype microwave exploding and saying the whole production line will. You're not wrong, but with time before launch who is going to launch like that when time and resources are available?

Both Concrete Jungle and Isolation were Single Player game so no, it won't be another one...
This game is actually made for Casual audience:
Super quick matchmaking, I'll bet there won't be dedicated server support. Casual gamer need one click only to join or create a game ! At the expanse of very poor experience.
Comic book stylish Marvel looking game with Colorful rainbow predator, with the success of comic book this last decade, this can ONLY be for casuals actually. How can I judge? It would be indeed hard to resist to the urge to:
A) Make a video game with a badass monster with super power and cool stuff blowing everything up.
B) Make a thrilling experience of a Cold killer that spends its time hiding for the perfect moment to strike.
I'm sure casuals would call for A anytime.
Paid cosmetics so you can feel "unique" and be the "you" you always wanted to be (while not dropping proper mod support I bet).
I don't even understand this is even a thing video game companies consider (and why it's greedy) why on earth would you paralyze modelers, animators, shadders worker on the repetitive same items rather than developing something else once you've nailed the character? This makes no sense, by basic math if you spend your time doing different hair-style for the same character, you can't have time to do hair for other things like animals, other characters...

I've played enough betas to know there aren't drastic changes with the finished one.
I've also seen many "first day" and "last day" patch that beside fixing hard crash and tweaking here and there a few damages knob on the console doesn't drastically improve the balance for the game. AVP2010 is still broken and what is most likely to happen is the drop of support sooner than the continuous support needed. You also don't re-design a game with patch. You tweak a few things, prevent crash but you don't overhaul the thing.

[Voodoo Magic]

Both Concrete Jungle and Isolation were Single Player game so no, it won't be another one...

I brought that comparison up in regards to: like Predator Concrete Jungle, I hope we don't have another Predator game that fans love and critics don't.

[molasar]

Both Concrete Jungle and Isolation were Single Player game so no, it won't be another one...
This game is actually made for Casual audience:
Super quick matchmaking, I'll bet there won't be dedicated server support. Casual gamer need one click only to join or create a game ! At the expanse of very poor experience.
Comic book stylish Marvel looking game with Colorful rainbow predator, with the success of comic book this last decade, this can ONLY be for casuals actually. How can I judge? It would be indeed hard to resist to the urge to:
A) Make a video game with a badass monster with super power and cool stuff blowing everything up.
B) Make a thrilling experience of a Cold killer that spends its time hiding for the perfect moment to strike.
I'm sure casuals would call for A anytime.
Paid cosmetics so you can feel "unique" and be the "you" you always wanted to be (while not dropping proper mod support I bet).
I don't even understand this is even a thing video game companies consider (and why it's greedy) why on earth would you paralyze modelers, animators, shadders worker on the repetitive same items rather than developing something else once you've nailed the character? This makes no sense, by basic math if you spend your time doing different hair-style for the same character, you can't have time to do hair for other things like animals, other characters...

I've played enough betas to know there aren't drastic changes with the finished one.
I've also seen many "first day" and "last day" patch that beside fixing hard crash and tweaking here and there a few damages knob on the console doesn't drastically improve the balance for the game. AVP2010 is still broken and what is most likely to happen is the drop of support sooner than the continuous support needed. You also don't re-design a game with patch. You tweak a few things, prevent crash but you don't overhaul the thing.

What is not a casual experience? A simulator? How much fun is in simulator games in comparison to arcadey ones? Which one does feel more like work instead of pleasure?

Also I do not agree with that 'Super quick matchmaking', no dedicated servers and one click to join is a poor experience. All of those do not break its gameplay mechanics and gameplay loop.

Your options A and B are in this game.

And mod support is a niche thing (mainly PC), not worth time spending on limited budget.

Do you really care about animal and human characters hair more than Predator's in this game?

[Le Celticant]

Also I do not agree with that 'Super quick matchmaking', no dedicated servers and one click to join is a poor experience. All of those do not break its gameplay mechanics and gameplay loop.

Matchmaking has the poorest connection loophole that completely break the experience.
Host leave the game -> BAM disconnect / or Host Migration freezing the entire game.
Predator Leave -> Let's go back to the lobby
Host has a poor connection -> Deal with it.
Dedicated server is not plagued by all these problems.
It's also more stable and has overall less chances to break the gameplay immersion.

And mod support is a niche thing (mainly PC), not worth time spending on limited budget.

Unreal Engine is already available and constantly updated. There's nothing to spend.
You just have to allow asset extraction.

Do you really care about animal and human characters hair more than Predator's in this game?

Considering 4 of 5 games are on the human side. Yes I do care about the human experience too.
It shouldn't only be good to play as a Predator but also as a human facing a Predator.
I'd even go to it should even be slightly above since most players in each game will play humans !
If it pleases 1 to annoy 4 other players I don't see how that's a great gameplay experience.

[molasar]

Also I do not agree with that 'Super quick matchmaking', no dedicated servers and one click to join is a poor experience. All of those do not break its gameplay mechanics and gameplay loop.

Matchmaking has the poorest connection loophole that completely break the experience.
Host leave the game -> BAM disconnect / or Host Migration freezing the entire game.
Predator Leave -> Let's go back to the lobby
Host has a poor connection -> Deal with it.
Dedicated server is not plagued by all these problems.
It's also more stable and has overall less chances to break the gameplay immersion.

And mod support is a niche thing (mainly PC), not worth time spending on limited budget.

Unreal Engine is already available and constantly updated. There's nothing to spend.
You just have to allow asset extraction.

Do you really care about animal and human characters hair more than Predator's in this game?

Considering 4 of 5 games are on the human side. Yes I do care about the human experience too.
It shouldn't only be good to play as a Predator but also as a human facing a Predator.
I'd even go to it should even be slightly above since most players in each game will play humans !
If it pleases 1 to annoy 4 other players I don't see how that's a great gameplay experience.

You can always offer Sony your money for dedicated servers as an investor.

Be serious this game does not need mods to attract players. I myself was nether bothered with it so much because there was always a new shiny thing on the horizon to deal with. New games are always better than mods.

If you play with your friends, you can choose side you want to play as. To be honest if it was some narcissistic game about showing off yourself, then yes, it makes sense.

[Le Celticant]

You can always offer Sony your money for dedicated servers as an investor.

Be serious this game does not need mods to attract players. I myself was nether bothered with it so much because there was always a new shiny thing on the horizon to deal with. New games are always better than mods.

The thing is, it's actually against their interest because they couldn't control the life expectancy of the game.
And a cheap game played a lot years later is not a very good deal.

I have yet to see a game that gave something better than AJL mod for AVP2.
Really, in 20 years, neither Predator Concrete Jungle, Aliens: Colonial Marines or AVP: 2010 did it.
They never came close to the thing. They rip a few ideas but it always felt like a regression.

Just to give you an example:
In AVP2010, you can't swim, climb ladder as you wish or crouch.
10 years ago you could.
I don't see how that's a better game.
That was a more greedy for sure though.

Also I'm not talking about mods to "attract" players.
Attraction is a thing for the marketing campaign, toolkit or not.

If you play with your friends, you can choose side you want play as. To be honest if it was some narcissistic game about showing off yourself, then yes, it makes sense.

Care to elaborate where that came from? I'm having hard time to understand if there was a connection to the previous post or an arrow that just missed?

[Voodoo Magic]

I have yet to see a game that gave something better than AJL mod for AVP2.
Really, in 20 years, neither Predator Concrete Jungle, Aliens: Colonial Marines or AVP: 2010 did it.
They never came close to the thing. They rip a few ideas but it always felt like a regression.

Yet, you love the critically unfavored Predator: Concrete Jungle:

I've always been a fan of that game, dunno why, it's kinda cheap when I think about it but I just loved it.

I'm sure many can lecture you on how it's not a good game and why, but where will it ultimately take us? Take you?

I'm betting many of us will love Predator: Hunting Grounds too, warts and all. Just live and let live brother. 

[molasar]

The thing is, it's actually against their interest because they couldn't control the life expectancy of the game.
And a cheap game played a lot years later is not a very good deal.

This is the way it works. If a game is successful, they make a sequel to replace it.

I have yet to see a game that gave something better than AJL mod for AVP2.
Really, in 20 years, neither Predator Concrete Jungle, Aliens: Colonial Marines or AVP: 2010 did it.
They never came close to the thing. They rip a few ideas but it always felt like a regression.

To me, it is P:HG and it does not rip ideas.

Just to give you an example:
In AVP2010, you can't swim, climb ladder as you wish or crouch.
10 years ago you could.
I don't see how that's a better game.
That was a more greedy for sure though.

Are swim, climb ladder or crouch as you wish mechanics even necessary in AvP2010?

BTW, I am not a fan of AvP2010 for various reasons.

Also I'm not talking about mods to "attract" players.
Attraction is a thing for the marketing campaign, toolkit or not.

OK, you are just into mod scene.

Care to elaborate where that came from? I'm having hard time to understand if there was a connection to the previous post or an arrow that just missed?

I thought that you ended up more often as a human player. That is why you want to have more customization options for them.

[Johnny Castle]

The game was broken and a total disappointment for me. I got a refund right away.

[Gr33n M4n]

The game was broken and a total disappointment for me. I got a refund right away.

That's why I don't bother with pre-orders.

[Le Celticant]

This is the way it works. If a game is successful, they make a sequel to replace it.

Cross your fingers very hard on that.

Are swim, climb ladder or crouch as you wish mechanics even necessary in AvP2010?

Considering how ladders, hiding and water are omnipresent in every movie... yeah it's important.
Unless you are satisfied with an Alien/Predator game that has... no Alien or Predator in it.

BTW, I am not a fan of AvP2010 for various reasons.

Let me guess, the gameplay ?

OK, you are just into mod scene.

"Just" cos obviously it's just what I am, do and think.
I like how you try to force your way of imposing my own thoughts It's funny to read.
No I like to play. Eventually do maps if allowed but it's not a priority.
But, one thing you must understand is game with toolkit ends-up uplifted, even terrible games like A:CM.

I thought that you ended up more often as a human player. That is why you want to have more customization options for them.

Never said I want more customization, just a clearer statement of what the **** I'm even doing in this game beside pressing the trigger.
The state of the game right now only has a briefing to read, ambiguous and this poor cinematic having "Fireteam Go Go Go".
But Go where do what? And Why should I even do that?

As I said for the predator it's clear: You are a Predator, a Hunter. You kill people and take their trophy.
For the human what? You're special Force? Special Force of what? Is your objective complete the objective? Kill the Predator? It's a mystery of steam and I don't see what justify any of the objectives I'm doing so I just press the trigger and follow the white rabbit where it want me to go.