Be warned, I wasn't kidding when I said "ramblings." The points below are stupid-long, so if you aren't into scaling walls of text, turn back now.
So I was reading through a recent thread about an old chassis that hasn't been released yet, "the preggers mech" someone called it. The lumpy little (A class) cousin of the Hon. In that thread, this old HAWKEN video was posted. This had been the first time I watched it, so this was like looking through a window into the past. One of the first thoughts that came to mind was, "Wow, this is awesome!" The second thought however went something like, "Why did it change?" Indeed, what choices were made that turned the HAWKEN of 2011 into the radically different HAWKEN of today? I realize some of these changes were due to technical issues (old HUD eating up huge amounts of RAM, etc.), and some for the sake of gameplay (In Old Soviet HAWKEN, battleship shoot you!), but I can't help but be envious of these past players. To keep this mildly less mind numbing to read, spoilers.
Sights and Sounds
Spoiler
The visuals in old HAWKEN were quite frankly amazing. Being an aviation enthusiast, the HUD with the compass and (nonfunctional) altimeter was downright sexy. I realize the technical issues that arose from this, but I can't help but wonder if an alternative exists. The current HUD is a little over-simplified, minimized to the extreme. While everyone loves the pretty visuals, the sounds HAWKEN used in the early days were especially fantastic. Seeing as these are rickety machines held together with duct tape and desperation, it's nice to have them sound like that. Also, hearing the weapons cycle and the zoom activate, and all those other little details really added to the atmosphere and the ambience (soon to be discussed). I never even played this version of the game and I miss the sounds it made.
Atmosphere
Spoiler
This ties in with the sights and sounds, so I figured I'd just mention it here. The atmosphere of the game seems drastically different in this video than it does in the current game. The major changes to the way the game was built is largely responsible, but there is still plenty of room to improve. The first thing I would say is, obviously, to bring back some of the old visual and audible elements back from the old game. It seems strange to say, but when I think of HAWKEN and its story, I don't think of streamlined mecha with modern-minimal HUDs, I think of huge lumbering machines scarred by the fierce and relentless winds of war. Battered, aging, and not quite what they used to be, these machines should show signs of old tech resurrected for a new war; the old-school HUD, the rattling and whirring of internal mechanisms working to keep up with the demand of the conflict. These are things we should have but don't.
Weapons
Spoiler
While many, if not all, of the weapons featured in this video are still in the game, the way they are combined is something we don't have anymore. Unless you get the "randomized mech" bug, the options are limited when it comes to weapon combinations. I know people have suggested completely open weapon systems, and that they have all been shot down (no pun intended) by optimal build theory. But what if there was a gamemode specifically for that? If anyone is familiar with TF2 Randomizer or random weapon deathmatch in other games, then you know what I mean. If not, then you need to get out more. More to the point however, in these gamemodes, you spawn with a completely random loadout, and you get a new loadout upon respawning. Will people get powerful combos? Yeah, sure. But since they're bound to die eventually, it's a temporary pain.
I need sleep
dorobo, crockrocket, Tankman95 and 6 others like this
HEAT gun that pumps. that lonely feeling conveyed that you were gonna dies alone by the enemy
not likely, bro. expecially that 700hp Flak/Rifle assault.
:(
we acan all dream
for CapnJosh, you have to know, the wild and awesome reception the gaming communiti give to Hawken in 2011/12 was for this. not what you are3 saddled with now. take care. you own a community-deserted Ded Game (this had >560k registered players). breathd life into it, PLEASE
Wow, I actually never saw that either, at least the full video. I got over the simplified cockpit, because I understand it had performance issues. But now I'm sad, because I don't understand why they removed so many of the awesome sounds.
Actually, these videos are a better representative of what alpha was like:
If I'm not mistaken, they are both from alpha 1 (yes, I know the 1st says A2, but I don't recall having that garage in A2) as the 'sniper' (the original name of the reaper) had a slug/SA Hawkens (might be wrong on the second one) and not the EOC as seen in the 2nd video.
And the altimeter on the left of the aiming pip? It was functional, same with the speed indicator on the right. Mostly useless, but they did work.
Otherwise, I agree with a lot of what you posted. Hawken doesn't have the same 'feel' or 'charm' that it used to have. Ascension made it a lot more... 'sterile', for lack of a better term.
Edited by bacon_avenger, 10 May 2015 - 11:13 PM.
SparkyJJC and Nov8tr like this
Test dummy for science, Follower of Wheatons Law, usually hanging around #hawkenscrim and #spawn, occasional poster of YouTube videos and streaming. Can also be found on twitter
I also noticed the mechs seem to "trudge" more than they do now. They move more heavily. The hud is less sterile and floaty. I suppose the thing that bothers me most now is that the reticle and heat meters are very detatched from the cockpit. Sounds are dull and snappy rather than full and thick. Don't get me wrong, I like what we have now, but it's not what that video was.
Technician | Fear the Beam | Support Welcome to the End of Days [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]] Smoke this!
Hey I came in October of 2012 and I really am old in age. How do you think I feel? I love the old Hawken. They won't bring it back, but I can always dream can't I? Sigh...............the mechs had raw power and feel to them. Yeah we have "cool" toys now, but it feels more like a game than war in a mech blowing the enemy away. I've seen real war. One of the reasons I fell in love with Hawken so long ago. Now they are just memories like all the others I have from my life.
Well... We could maybe like when a new much will be implemented maybe use the in meched chassises to do it?
There are a lot of mech concepts and all if we could maybe model the perfect and balanced mech, we maybe don't need to model the skins and all unless the skin doesn't correspond yo it maybe... Idk
....
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This was indeed just rambling. But i (for some unknown reasons) agree with the most of it. This post was more of the nostalgia desperate yell into the darkness. But i like it. I liked 'Old' HAWKEN. I like this post. And i definitely in love with the old ambient sounds and radio guy.
I simply cease to believe that something is OP just because it's OP.
Actually, these videos are a better representative of what alpha was like:
What made me sad about watching those videos is how herokuapp made it very clear that no one in those videos has played in a very long time. Only one level 30 of the lot, and no one with a complete set of mechs. It's almost like they played a different game.
Yeah, there's definitely something to be said about the old hawken atmosphere. It was definitely very cool. And that alone pretty much generated all of hawkens hype, which was pretty substantial considering it was an indie title from studio we've never heard of.
What's also interesting is that adhesive seems to have intentionally made the game look much clunkier and slower in their "official gameplay" trailers than it actually was, rather than openly advertise the perverse unreal tournament-mech warrior franken-game they had cooked up. I've said this once before, but hawken is kind of a bad game that will subsist on the niche following that is willing to overlook its flaws. Probably not a popular opinion, but I think it's true. Most people who are interested in the type of game play hawken has to offer will seek out a real arena FPS. Anyone interested in playing a mech game is more likely to go play mech warrior or something similar. I have plenty of AFPS friends who can't get over the "mech stigma" long enough to see what hawken has to offer, and even if they could, they likely would be turned off by cheap/gimicky mechanics, bad maps, sub par game modes.
Anyways back to the atmosphere. Yeah old hawken atmosphere was sick. A lot of competitively minded players will tell you that a lot of those visuals, while they certainly look cool, are obtrusive, distracting, and would like to turn them off for actual game play.( I completely agree) Some would even say "they don't belong in this type of game". ( I find this laughable)
That video presents hawken in a very cool way, but it's nowhere I'd like to see hawken go. Not after what I've put into, and gotten out of hawken. Sometimes though I like to watch that video and pretend it's a new single player game coming out that I could play for casual fun, without feeling the need to treat it like quantified competitive experience.
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