Journalists Got Hands-On With Predator: Hunting Grounds At GamesCom!

Started by Corporal Hicks, Aug 29, 2019, 01:46:04 PM

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Journalists Got Hands-On With Predator: Hunting Grounds At GamesCom! (Read 6,932 times)

Corporal Hicks

Not only did Illfonic take a gameplay reveal trailer to GamesCom last week, they also took an early build of the game for gaming journalists to get hands-on with. Early impressions are pretty good, with emphasize on how authentic the game feels to playing as the Predator itself.

GameRadar’s Leon Hurley was one of the lucky few to experience the game at GamesCom where he got to have some fun with the game’s cloaking device!

Playing as the Predator is a fine balance of restraint and excessive power. When invisible, for example it's hard to see a moving Predator, and impossible to be seen while stationary – during one of my matches, when I'd taken a lot of damage and been chased down by the soldier team, I was able to evade them just by turning a corner and freezing. It led to an unbearably tense few seconds as three of them circled around me, almost elbow to elbow and then walking on without realising. I don't think I've ever struggled as hard to hold my nerves and not panic.

Hurley also went into detail around the victory conditions of the matches, stating they shared an understandable similarity with Illfonic’s Friday the 13th.

 The average game's push and pull comes from the fact that if anyone does actually [Arnie voice] get to the chopper, the Predator loses. So as the alien you have to constantly push your luck and take risks to stop that happening. Like Friday the 13th, the usual endgame is some people die, some get away and it's a mixed victory on both sides. Eventualities like killing the Predator outright, or everyone escaping alive are more of a rare occurrence and all the more exhilarating for it.

Also on hand was Polygon’s Colin Campbell who was able to get an early play of Predator: Hunting Grounds and he spoke a little about the map, confirming a variety of map upon the game’s release.

The map I recently played was set in an ancient forest, but I'm told to expect a variety of maps and modes in the final release. Various installations are manned by hostile AI warriors. In the demo mode I played (which is available at PAX West this week), the soldiers are tasked with various missions which generally involve infiltrating buildings and killing swarms of AI enemies. They must survive the Predator, or kill it. The Predator's only concern is hunting the human players, though it is also viewed by the AI as an enemy.

PlayStation Access has also posted up a nice video detailing the “7 Things I Learned” while playing Predator: Hunting Grounds. The video also contains new gameplay footage that demonstrates how the game’s Predkour system works, highlighting the path that the Predator is able to take through the top of the trees!

PlayStation Access also confirmed that there would be multiple classes of Predator. The Predator we’ve seen so far is called the “Hunter” class which has the Plasma Caster, wrist-blades and cloaking device.

We’ll be sure to keep this forum thread updated with new hands-on reports or footage as they come in!

Make sure you stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest news on Predator: Hunting Grounds! You can follow us on FacebookTwitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!

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Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#1
And some European articles here:

https://www.vgn.it/anteprima/108079/predator-hunting-grounds-provato-in-anteprima-alla-gamescom-2019/
https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/impresiones-predator-hunting-grounds-ps4-multijugador-4-1-482665?utm_content=bufferde8ef&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=HC
https://www.eurogamer.de/articles/2019-08-29-predator-hunting-grounds-asymmetrische-multiplayer-action-im-evolve-stil
https://www.eurogamer.pl/articles/2019-08-29-predator-hunting-grounds-juz-gralismy-emocjonujace-polowanie-ktore-wymaga-dopracowania


Looks like the new gameplay footage is b-roll. The other videos on YT including footage all have the same.






https://www.gamereactor.fi/uutiset/675543/Ennakossa+moninpelipainotteinen+Predator+Hunting+Grounds/


VGN weren't fans of the technical side of the build:

QuoteJoys and sorrows that are reflected both in the gameplay and in the technical sector, the real weak point of the build tested in Cologne. It was a pre-alpha, it is true, but we cannot fail to point out that the stability of this version was at historic lows and that even in terms of frame-rate the game often left something to be desired, creating in the marines some problems in too much target phase. Even at a merely graphic level, the title of IllFonic is far from the sacred monsters of the genre: the glance is good, but it takes little to realize that the level of details, animations and textures are not up to the rest of the exclusive first-party from Sony.


You can cover yourself in mud!!!  :o

QuoteIf we find mud, we can keep a button to cover ourselves with that substance and, thus, lower the temperature of our skin. In this way, the Predator will have it more complicated to see us when he uses his special ability, and if we do that, and play as a team, the Predator will really have it raw.

https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/impresiones-predator-hunting-grounds-ps4-multijugador-4-1-482665?utm_content=bufferde8ef&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=HC

I love that!!


They also talked about it being pre-Alpha.

QuoteThe first impressions of Predator Hunting Grounds are good, although as we say, there is work to be done . Both Charles Brungardt (CEO of IllFonic) and those responsible for the study present during the demo, reminded us repeatedly that we are facing a pre-alpha version .

And, certainly, it is something that shows. Although character modeling is what it is, as well as most animations, it is technically not at the level it will be when it arrives sometime in 2020. Also, as seen in the videos, the performance is also nothing from the other world, with a very fair frame rate per second.

Despite that, the visual section promises and is quite interesting, more when we handle one of the soldiers than the Predator himself. Of course, Predator modeling is perfect and we can not wait to see it with great detail in the final version.


QuoteAs a Predator, you also fall back on the well-known thermal image view. This highlights guards and soldiers in color from the environment and thus facilitates the spying of prey. The Marines counter this, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, by smearing themselves with mud. This makes them harder to recognize for the Predator. Illfonic is working on further interaction possibilities and is even considering building traps. But also on demand, one did not want to confirm these gameplay ideas.

QuoteIn terms of equipment, neither the Predator nor the Marines have the last word. The basis for the long-term motivation should be an experience system and an individualization system. In plain language, you will be able to customize and assemble your soldiers and probably the Predator itself. How these systems work is not yet known. Similar to the Predator's Wrist Computer. Once the hunter goes down, he can still salty the soup and blow himself and everything around him. Illfonic wants to turn self-destruction into a kind of optional escape sequence to complete a game. How that will look exactly is still unclear.

https://www.eurogamer.de/articles/2019-08-29-predator-hunting-grounds-asymmetrische-multiplayer-action-im-evolve-stil

molasar

I like how dynamic Predator gameplay looks like in a new footage even if it is in a pre-alpha state. It gives more positive impression than a previous gameplay reveal.

JokersWarPig

Different Predator classes eh?

Corporal Hicks

Quote from: JokersWarPig on Aug 29, 2019, 06:48:20 PM
Different Predator classes eh?

I'm actually pretty happy about this. I wanted to see Predators better at different things. Same for the humans. Though one of the previews mentioned something about it being entirely customisable so maybe you choose the skills you want to focus on.

Another English hands-on: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/predator-hunting-grounds-is-at-its-best-when-playi/1100-6469489/


https://www.gamereactor.eu/predator-hunting-grounds-handson-impressions/

JokersWarPig

I'm ok with different classes, thats basically what each Jason is in F13.

Kailem

Yeah it makes sense. I wonder if they'll do the same thing with the customisation, where you can customise your kills but the powers and visuals remain the same for each specific character? I feel like that's more likely than not now that we know they're going the class route rather than giving the player total control over customising their own Predator.

I'm actually feeling a bit better about it after seeing this new footage. The gunplay looks a little smoother and less janky than it did in the trailer, and the Predator's movement in terms of climbing and running along the branches and treetops looks great (apart from the jumping, which looks like he's just sliding in mid-air). That sort of Assassin's Creed kind of movement is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for when they said they were developing a "Predkour" system after seeing the trailer. Looks like we'll easily be able to grab the high ground and stalk people without worrying about falling out of a tree every time we take a step forward.

And that's pretty crazy that there actually is a mud camouflage system in there! That's the sort of thing that, when someone mentioned it on here I thought would just end up being one of those cool gameplay mechanics that'd be great to have but will never actually be a real thing, and yet here we are! Awesome!

magical_boy

Hope this has a variety of predator skins

Voodoo Magic

The mud was an initial big want for me. I am extremely thrilled it will be realized in-game. 

Quote from: magical_boy on Sep 04, 2019, 06:10:28 AM
Hope this has a variety of predator skins

Yes!  The Jungle Hunter.  The City Hunter.  The Beserker.  I want them all!

SuperiorIronman

Something worth noting about the Pax image of the loadout screen, it has vision as an equipped ability. Vision might be something we can tweak since early on in the films we knew they used other vision modes, thermal is just the default. So what if covering oneself in mud is an option to deter the Predator's sight, but say we had something like a heartbeat vision mode or that we could invert the colors to see someone in the mud. It would force players to think creatively in fighting the Predator since there is a counter to the counter and you can't guarantee a player is using one or the other.

One hope I have is for the plasmacaster.
Maybe they could have the plasmapistol as a quick draw but it needs to reload between shots or the rapid fire version which does less damage but you could fire longer. Dual casters might be fun if they took more energy but could do more damage or aim at other people in addition to who you target.

Grimtaur

The game doesn't look too bad. But I have a massive issue with the soldier's radar in the HUD - it shows exactly where all the AI enemies are. Unless I'm mistaken? And the red outline of the AI when you shoot them, is that really necessary?  :-

Corporal Hicks

Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Sep 04, 2019, 03:27:23 PM
The mud was an initial big want for me. I am extremely thrilled it will be realized in-game. 

I never knew I wanted it, but now I know it's a mechanic I am f**king excited for it!

Enjoy

So the predator game play is not first person ? More like resident evil over the shoulder it looked like

Voodoo Magic

First person for the soldiers. Third person for the Yautja.

The Old One

The correct way, in my opinion.

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