News | Forum | People | FAQ | Links | Search | Register | Log in
Modern Retro Shooters / Quake Spiritual Successors
Wonder If A Specific Retro-shooter Thread Is Warranted?
#10166 posted by Shambler [92.29.26.135] on 2017/08/27 11:32:00


It is! Separate thread because there's a lot of these sort of games, the ethos of them is particularly relevant to this board, and it's inhabitants seem to have some good varying opinions on the matter.

Quake as the eptiome as 90s action FPS:

Very direct control and physics
Simple streamlined gameplay
Brutal visceral and gory
Weird fantasy / gothic / industrial theme
Grungy, coherent graphics
Cool map designs / architecture (for the time)
Varied but consistent bestiary
Etc
(many of the above adhered to and greatly enhanced by subsequent custom content)

We all like these aspects, we all like these aspects in other games, we all want to see more of those games, possibly combined with modern graphical styles (Quake Chumpions MAPS might be an example of how far this could go) and maybe very limited modern additions (crouching? an inventory? coherent story? - but nothing that gets in the way of solid action). We perhaps want the next Quake / 90s action FPS spiritual successor...

Modern Retro Shooters:

...and lo, there's a neverending stream of modern retro games many of which are unabashedly marketting themselves as 90s action FPS spiritual successors and particularly highlighting speed, direct control, simple action, limitless violence. Do they have what it takes to hit that mark though??

Strafe
http://store.steampowered.com/app/442780/STRAFE_Millennium_Edition/

Amid Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7X7b6pPng

Dusk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsu9uDMlIMM

Hellbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyabhVn1SfQ

Apocryph
http://store.steampowered.com/app/596240/Apocryph_an_oldschool_shooter/

Ion Maiden
https://twitter.com/voidpnt

Neverdead
http://store.steampowered.com/app/681000/NEVRDEAD/

Gorescript
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpZ1Wa0OIoQ

Intrude
https://bagogames.com/intrude-review/

Hermodr
http://store.steampowered.com/app/490360/Hermodr/

Devil Daggers
http://store.steampowered.com/app/422970/Devil_Daggers/

Gibhard
http://www.gibhard.com

Revulsion
http://store.steampowered.com/app/719180/Revulsion/

Witchfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zqjNkdXT94

PLUS MANY MORE LINKED IN THE THREAD BELOW....

Without wanting to opine too much, there seems to be a general trend of possibly not hitting the mark despite some attempts to do so, with a huge variety in how much potential those attempts show, as well as how close these games are to realising the overall harmonious game quality of a typical best 90s action FPS. I.e. Some games seem to do some aspects right, but don't seem to get all the aspects in balance and appealing together.

Discuss....
First | Previous | Next | Last
 
that was in response to

There is a great deal that can be done with the diverting of the massive art team resources put in AAA games towards more polishing, the subtle touches and generally quality over quantity to make a "retro" fps feel like much much more than just that.

Doom 2016 is as AAA and modern as they come (obviously the gameplay takes inspiration from classic shooters and rewards action etc) 
Killpixel's Game Should Be Added To The List 
He sounds like and definitely looks like, he knows what he is doing. 
 
Doom2016 indeed is a an example of a modern FPS taking more retro mechanics and having success.


I think this is highly underestimated : the wow factor achievable if the human resources poured into the crafting all the stuff needed for impressive modern gfx were poured into doing more with less a la Quake1.

You got to think the scale, detail and polish achievable. Of course there would be no reasons to have any limits on level size, number of brushes etc, not for the purpose or silly-level acrchitectural detail but rather gigantic maps

Imagine this kind of stuff http://quaketastic.com/files/jam9.png on an insane scale, where you can see off kilometers into the distance (using modern gfx power for high render res and max AA etc to keep all that lovingly designed crisp detail as much as possible)

These AAA level human resources can be busy with scripting actual events in the distance while you make you way thorugh the episode sized level, eg enemy and friendly forces fighting far off in the distance, actually happening in level in engine


I think that in todays almost bland me-too AAA eyecandy gfx this would actual have a much higher impact than classis "gud gfx" 
 
Doom 4 barely has anything retro in it though, apart from keycards and maybe the health drops from monsters that is vaguely similar to Life Essence in Blood. The progression is almost the same as Painkiller's which is absolutely NOT a retro FPS.

Also killpixel is spot on. 
Agreed 
killpixel's project looks fantastic and nails the the retro-shooter aesthetic. No wonder his critique of modern shooters is also so spot on. 
Killpixel's Ain't Included On The List Because.... 
...it so far doesn't like it's going to fit in with "a general trend of not hitting the mark" ;) 
Damn 
now that's a hot trend 
Aw Shucks, Guys 
wait till you get your hands on the demo then decide if it belongs on a list :D 
Killpixel 
are you going to use us to make maps for your game?

please? 
Shamblernaut 
Hmm. I'm tempted to give you a cute answer like "maybe :)" but that wouldn't satisfy me if I were asking. So to be frank (and probably overly candid) yes, it is intended that the level design team will be comprised of people from the quake, doom and duke nukem 3d communities. HOWEVER, I have not started assembling the team and I'm still quite a ways away. There are still things to be done, things that remain be seen and others that have yet to fall into place. The project's destiny will be clearer after the demo (I'm doing my best to get it out Q1 2018).

So there you go :D 
Only Interested In A Few 
Dusk, Ion Maiden, Amid Evil and Gibhard.

Most retro inspired shooters are not good. Strafe is one of the big name examples where they failed to properly do the genre justice. Most of them aren't even as good as Strafe. 
 
Strafe is a roguelike-ish FPS, not a Quake clone. 
My Perfect Retro-modern Fps 
Graphics/asthetics like Devil Daggers, hub-centered world design and combat pacing similar to that of Hexen, slow but not too slow, Quake-style thematic variations, just enough big-picture polish for effect without going overboard into minute details. 
Devil Daggers Is Cool 
albeit it's far more akin to an FPS version of scoring shmups where the point is NOT "good level design" in the traditional sense but rather in continually replaying the same stages with the same patterns over and over with the goal of self-improvement, beating records, etc. As a highly casual occasional shmup player I can appreciate that; not really my preferred cup of tea, but it's a really good game that's trying to do something much different from old school FPS, however it was marketed. It has the aesthetic down to a T, though, that's for sure.

Doom 2016 is awesome. It's obviously much more in a Painkiller/Serious Sam vein, but it blows those games out of the water in its execution.

I haven't played any of the others mentioned in this thread but I will probably check out the ones Fifth mentioned, and any others that people care to recommend (assuming they don't use procedural level generation). 
New Apocryph Trailer 
Doesn't impress me - Doom 3-style lighting, narrow cluttered rooms, boring enemies, boring trailer.

Anyway here it is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGdx2yg3m-g&t= 
 
boring music too. 
Woof 
 
Aye. Pretty Sure My Favourite Old Skool Shooters... 
...weren't box rooms full of bouncing jello blobs which you can hardly see because of the blinding rave effects from the weapons.

I don't mind the lighting tho. 
Apocryph 
truly awful particle effects 
 
:D 
 
That Looks Really Cool 
what game is that? 
 
One of those Dark Souls games

Thing is you can go anywhere you see there

This is what I was talking about a few posts back

Integrate to a "low detail" engine the really great parts of modern tech such as one big detailed level you can travel to any part you see of. 
2 posts not shown on this page because they were spam
First | Previous | Next | Last
You must be logged in to post in this thread.
Website copyright © 2002-2024 John Fitzgibbons. All posts are copyright their respective authors.