Lets get to the point...
ChrisLalli said:
Settle down fellas!
I'm glad there is enthusiasm about PC gaming and Hawken's graphical fidelity, but I think it's time for a reality check about our game.
I don't need to have any reality check. I know exactly how the industry works and how to measure my expectations. The money are made with the casual brain dead console morons. The crysis model is unsustainable as a business model on recessional times like this one, moreover when resources are scarse. That's why you see why many developers throwing their bone for consoles.
Is this a surprise or a novelty_ No, we expect to see a team focusing on a downloadable reachable project. However I work with computer graphics and animation in my architectural masters program. For me is easy to discern between graphics and artistry.
ChrisLalli said:
Hawken has never been about pushing the limits of hardware technology or becoming the next Crysis. We are not trying to make a next-gen game that graphically blows away the competition. We don't have the resources for that, we have ONE programmer. If our first trailers falsely gave you that impression, it's just a testament to our art direction and methods.
That's a cheap excuse, and you know it.
I don't need them. You do whatever you want with your project. We are your client and as client my only vision and mission is to express verbally my hopes, expectation and piece of mind on these whereabouts. You don't have to excuse yourself with cheap arguments. You don't need to feel the burden of proof to make the concession with anyone of us. You simply read the board and decide to throw your two cents on what we are thinking.
Your game, project and your delicacy with it will be measured in the field. Rarely I get impressed with original projects like this one. You got my attention with it. However when you decide to shoot yourself in the foot throwing this to the consoles I get frustrated again.
Gimping the game for the of money is not a good idea. You can contact any publisher, contact any publisher interested in your job. It made great news and managed to cull up many people interested in it. The old excuse of one programmer will not hold forever.
ChrisLalli said:
Hawken is a handful of people using UDK to make a fun mech game. We hardly even use normal or spec maps, the game runs on DirectX 10, not 11, and it runs smoothly on $800 PC's without us even optimizing anything yet.
Another excuse.
If you want to go straight to the consoles and make money, please say so. You don't have to justify yourself with me or justify your actions with those excuses. Speak frankly. I am the one who will be in charge deciding if I purchase, download or skip. You keep doing your work.
It was good enough to get my attention.
ChrisLalli said:
We've said from the start we want the game to be a downloadable title for multiple platforms, but that hasn't even been established yet. If it comes out on console, it will come out on PC as well and no one is forcing you to play with a controller on the PC. We aren't dumbing anything down for anybody, the game has always been the way it's been and that's just how it is
Your third excuse.
I don't believe in anything you say until you prove it with the delivery. Simple.
If the game ends up being good making justice to PC gamers, PS3 gamers and 360 gamers then we could start a conversation about the achievements.
ChrisLalli said:
The E3 demo is the same version of Hawken that you saw in the Youtube trailers, and it was demoed on PCs. The difference you describe could possibly be that the desert map is a little more washed out and monochrome than the city, and the video might have been captured at lower resolution or framerate than our internal ones.
I can't tell about the real specifications on the game. However what I saw gave me the feeling of a gimped uninteresting game. I simply started to worry about the inevitable gimping due to the consoles searching for a steady frame rate of 30 frames per second.
ChrisLalli said:
I'm sorry if this lowers anyone's expectations, but if you're looking for earth-shattering, PC-melting, bleeding-edge graphics using state of the art technology, you've come to the wrong place.
You missed the point. We are looking for a good game that makes justice to PC gamers. If the game performs well, and I'm sure it will, then you can optimize and throw it to the console peasants. They have the same right to enjoy a good game from your production.
However, this is the part you don't get about your PC clients. Graphics is one part of the equation. We PC clients like to get a game where we can modify, design, add and adjust the parameters of gaming. We like to have the freedom to mod the game and continue on designing levels for it. We like graphic options to adjust the game quality according to our machine.
The PC clients want to see graphics because their machines are more capable than the consoles. We want to see a complex gaming structure because our demography of gamers is different. We are not button pushers or mindless kids who need to be tutored and patronized on everything.
Yes, I agree that graphics are not everything but the level of sophistication we expect is standard on the games we play for PC. Look for example Red Orchestra project. It's not a graphical game but it gives to PC players what they want.
ChrisLalli said:
If you want to spend a few bucks to stomp around in a mech, blowing up other mechs in beautiful sci-fi environments that look like concept paintings, then stick around.
Lalli, that's a polite way to say, fuck off Mechmechanics1 with your "trolling"...: :3
I understand it quite well. However, I'm here because your work, your artistry and your dedication to the game captured my imagination and interest.
I'm here because your videos gave me something that no other game is capable to supply. I don't expect any less. However what frustrates me is how your team has this notion and tendency to behave like any generic industry sellout whores for a multi platform launch when your resources are very limited. It's dumb to go multi platform unless your target is money making.
Sad will be the result if you place ambition first instead of dedication to the quality of the project. You will be remembered and associated with the set of generic developers who tried to pull the cheap twig instead of caring for the game.
Money will come but if you are desperate for it "then I'm not going to stick around" watching how you tear apart your project.
Thanks, but no thanks......