2007-07-17 22:23:56 Too Human Interview with Henry Sterchi, Part 2 combat, level design, and boss battles.

TH.net: One of the things that is evident from our play session was that the game is extremely action oriented and that there is a very frantic feeling during combat. One of the concerns that has been raised is that there is a strategic element missing because it is all attacking all the time, and there are not many defensive moves built into the game. Are those concerns legitimate given what you have built into the game?

Sterchi: I think based upon what people have seen to date, we haven’t answered those questions visually. I think the depth is there, and to be honest with you, I believe we have reached a point of diminishing returns in some areas where people might not even pick up on some of the subtleties and the depth in the combat system. Literally, the way you approach the enemies is the key point. One of the things I said a long time ago, and hopefully it will resonate more when people have the chance to play, is that a really skilled player who understands the combat and roleplaying systems and who has outfitted themselves well with equipment is going to clear an area a lot faster than someone who is coming in and just doing a bunch of basic attacks. To me, that’s where it really steps up in terms of depth.

To answer some of those real specifics, it’s really about reading your situation and your enemy types. Some of the stuff we’ve shown up to this point has been about the “swarmer” mentality of the enemies. These are the easier to kill “goblin” types of enemies. The reason that’s there and the reason they just sort of swarm around the player and attack is that we really want to empower the player from the first minute they play this game. We’ve got to face that whole problem of “Man, I’m really powerful at level 50, but not so much at level 1” and we really want to avoid that. We want people to see and feel from the very beginning that the combat is really fun. They need to see the potential and go from there. One of the ways to do that is to have the enemies be something that comes at you continuously, but that you can plow through a bunch of them and feel powerful. Some of the later enemies are going to be the types that are slower or more plodding and take more damage, and have weak spots, have different properties that make you approach them in different ways. We have the combination of blending melee and ballistic gameplay, so we’ve got to have enemies that are better to approach from range, or better to approach from a different style or technique, and even with different equipment sets in some cases. That’s all stuff that you do get to appreciate more as you play the game. It’s really the type of thing that someone who has played the game 50 hours will understand to a much more advanced level than someone who has played for 10 minutes. But that guy who has played the game for 10 minutes still has to have a hell of a lot of fun.

rest here

http://toohuman.net/index.php?option=com_content&t...

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Halle Berry: Delgado i am feeling really reall dirty tonight, shall i call Jessica Simpson for a threesome?

Delgado: HALLE what have i told you about bothering me when i'm playing Mass Effect!!! now get out and dont come back for 2 months!! (Slams door

2007-07-17 22:48:17

IMO UE3 is ruining this game

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mess with the best die the like rest

2007-07-17 23:05:31

If it wasn't for UE3, tack on another 1-2 years of dev time for a game engine.

2007-07-18 01:26:19 In reply to Phaethon360 (2007-07-17 23:05:31)

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mess with the best die the like rest

2007-07-18 01:42:40

doesnt that have more to do with the art direction than the engine?

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COD 4's pre-alpha stage looks better than most game's gone gold stage.

E3 2K7- best. e3. ever.

Saying you cant find animaton in Japan is like saying you cant find food in Italy. Its simply not true.

2007-07-18 01:51:53

I'm always for a dev using their own engine to be honest, but whatever whats done is done will have to deal with the UE3 engine.

I believe Too Human could look more unique and would ultimately be a better game without UE3, but again whats done is done :)

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-18 02:14:21 In reply to mkk316 (2007-07-18 01:42:40)

2007-07-18 05:34:53

We aren't blaming Epic its just that I don't think the Engine is a good enough substitute for a developer using an engine of their own design.

That isn't necessarily epic's fault its just their Engine is built a certain way and it might not always adhere to the design tendacies of a specific developer. If anything its more the fault of the developer for not going with a different strategy.

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-18 10:13:34

on teamxbox.com is opening scene, 6 minutes long

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x

2007-07-18 10:20:17 In reply to robotnjik (2007-07-18 10:13:34)

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"You're being arrested for drunk driving."
"Drunk definitely, I don't know if you could call it driving."

2007-07-18 23:23:39

some tidbit new info from Denis D
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=16850

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all good things must come to an end

2007-07-18 23:33:26

Sounds very promising :)

Could that mean game is suppose to ship this year?

Perhaps it will fill in the december slot with Lost Odyssey?

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-18 23:35:00

Well, the UE3 does have an impact, as there is a certain similarity in animation between games using it... BUT, take Lost Oddysey, art direction is totally different there, so SK also has something to do with it.
On a different note, i think this game will distinguish itself in other ways besides graphics, and its a triology, so 2 and 3 could have their own engine.

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GoW, War3, Halo, MYST, Civilazation

2007-07-18 23:37:09 In reply to Optimusv2 (2007-07-18 23:33:26)

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all good things must come to an end

2007-07-19 00:31:09 In reply to Schmooboo (2007-07-18 23:35:00)

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-19 21:29:40

A Very Human War - Blog #37
http://blogs.ign.com/silicon-knights/2007/07/19/60...

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Halle Berry: Delgado i am feeling really reall dirty tonight, shall i call Jessica Simpson for a threesome?

Delgado: HALLE what have i told you about bothering me when i'm playing Mass Effect!!! now get out and dont come back for 2 months!! (Slams door

2007-07-19 21:43:40

Ya already saw it, but I've read enough I want a demo, new video or the game itself.

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-20 09:21:30

Damn I can't wait for this damn game to come, and Mass Effect, both is gonna be bad ass for sure, both gonna be epic.

But as for Too Human they need all the time they can get for the game, while Mass Effect needs to haul ass on the optimizing before November.

In those new TH screens, they have yet to make each soldier face unique and random, unless they are clones like in SW.

If they were clones, I would understand, which is very cool.

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360: Mass Effect - Too Human - Assassin's Creed - Dark Sector - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Ninja Gaiden 2 - Fable 2 - DMC4 - Haze
Wii: Rygar: The Battle of Argus - SC: Legends - Metroid Prime 3