[Confidence Man]

Reminded me of Bioshock or Deus EX HR. Give you a ton of ways to do things but there's not much challenge involved or incentive to do things one way or another so you end up just doing whatever is convenient or offers the least resistance.

I guess it depends on how stingy they are with power acquisition and how specialized they force you to be, but given it's a console game made for a wide audience it'll probably (unfortunately) be very generous and easy in that regard.

[Derrick01]

Not really. Hes an expert.

I don't see these levels lasting long at all if you're just obliterating everyone in your path and sprinting along. 5-10 minutes seems about right for anyone going the non stealth path. I really hope they balance the hell out of that so that part isn't easy at least.

[En Ex]

I was sold on Dishonored when they announced it last year. Just waiting for the Steam preorder (with inevitable TF2 promo items) to go up.

[Dragonzord]

I don't see these levels lasting long at all if you're just obliterating everyone in your path and sprinting along. 5-10 minutes seems about right for anyone going the non stealth path. I really hope they balance the hell out of that so that part isn't easy at least.

I feel the opposite. The action video they showed seemed to imply 'hey you can do action. but you shouldn't you'll miss out on everything. but you can!'

[Lancehead]

I don't see these levels lasting long at all if you're just obliterating everyone in your path and sprinting along. 5-10 minutes seems about right for anyone going the non stealth path. I really hope they balance the hell out of that so that part isn't easy at least.

I would say this game doesn't follow the traditional difficulty model, similar to how the difficulty in stealth games doesn't come from trying to stay alive. From what I've seen of Dishonored, the powers, the mana meter, it seems to be designed to allow for high application of powers. Because the focus of this game is to provide a game world where players may come up with organic solutions to problems. And direct combat is also designed to be part of such solutions. Hence the protagonist is not as vulnerable as, say, Garrett.

[mickcenary]

It does look very easy. It makes the direct approach look like the more "fun" approach, which I wasn't expecting, as I love me some stealthin'. Things such as the far too blatant peek-around-the-corner mechanic and the fact that the non-lethal takedown is one identical choking animation over and over and over... (I hate that). I mean, I was yearning for more takedown animations in DX:HR, seeing as you're taking dudes down quite a lot.

[En Ex]

In terms of the easiness, these demos were played on "normal" difficulty. I would certainly think/hope that "very hard" would live up to its name.

[mickcenary]

In terms of the easiness, these demos were played on "normal" difficulty. I would certainly think/hope that "very hard" would live up to its name.

You'd hope so, but such is the pitfall of difficulty levels in stealth games.

This is a genuine question, as I've not yet had a chance to play the game on its harder difficulties: does increasing the difficulty in DX:HR increase the stealth systems working against you? i.e. better cones of vision, better hearing, etc. I'm guessing not, but I won't make any assumptions.

[Lancehead]

You'd hope so, but such is the pitfall of difficulty levels in stealth games. This is a genuine question, as I've not yet had a chance to play the game on its harder difficulties: does increasing the difficulty in DX:HR increase the stealth systems working against you? i.e. better cones of vision, better hearing, etc. I'm guessing not, but I won't make any assumptions.

No, they don't. You're just more vulnerable in combat and enemies are more lethal. But that's not unexpected because the game is not a pure stealth game. Dishonored is quite similar in that regard, I imagine.

[Dalauz]

Cant fucking wait

maybe its me, but it seems 4:3ish

[v0mitg0d]

Guys! :)

I interviewed Rafael Colantonio, co-creative director on Dishonored about: Non-lethal gameplay, Analog AI, Viktor Antonov, if Dishonored has multiple endings and a leveling system, targeting limbs, Neo-Victorian Steampunk, possessing a fish and sliding under tables.

It seems to me designing the controls for a game like Dishonored would be incredibly difficult. On one hand you want to make the game accessible to those who are new to the genre and interested in the game. On the other hand you have the core audience who’ve been playing these types of games for a very long time, and you certainly don’t want them to feel like they’re making unnecessary concessions. How on Earth are you guys approaching this? Oh that’s a very very smart and insightful question, and it lies at the heart of our challenge really. The game has a lot of depth and it’s very hardcore by nature, but at the same time we don’t want it to be inaccessible. So we’re constantly putting a lot of effort into making sure the mechanics [are playable] for anyone, without losing the depth this type of game needs. You know, depth and accessibility are not enemies. It is possible to make games that have depth and are accessible. What you don’t want is complexity. So there’s a lot of effort on our part to make the right tutorial and expose the right options to the player at all times. So yes, to answer the question, it’s a very difficult challenge and we don’t believe we’re betraying the hardcore while bringing it to the masses.

http://eat-games.tumblr.com/post/266...nio-dishonored


Hope you like it! Worked hard on this one. :)

[Dyno]

The blink ability seems super powerful. It seems you can traverse a guarded room with minimal fuss. Perhaps that's a later game ability to be unlocked.

[Derrick01]

The blink ability seems super powerful. It seems you can traverse a guarded room with minimal fuss. Perhaps that's a later game ability to be unlocked.

It's what everyone is worried about at this point. All I know is your magic bar only recharges up to a little point like in Deus Ex HR, but that little amount is enough to use Blink. So it comes down to how fast it takes to recharge or if you can use it all of the time it's going to come down to the player exercising self control and not constantly using it in place of other stuff.

It also needs to be upgraded to travel as far as he does in the demo video.

[Lancehead]

Guys! :) I interviewed Rafael Colantonio, co-creative director on Dishonored about: Non-lethal gameplay, Analog AI, Viktor Antonov, if Dishonored has multiple endings and a leveling system, targeting limbs, Neo-Victorian Steampunk, possessing a fish and sliding under tables. http://eat-games.tumblr.com/post/266...nio-dishonored Hope you like it! Worked hard on this one. :)

It was a good interview. Well done!

Can you elaborate on the 3D Audio Propagation system for us? Well the first time we heard it was with the first Thief game. As a player I was blown away by it! I had a 4-speaker setup and I was playing in the dark—I think this was back in 1997—and I thought to myself “Wow, every game should do this!” You know what? Even today most games don’t do this, and there’s a reason for it too. It’s requires a lot of work and a lot of tagging by the sound engineer but it adds so much to the feeling of emersion for the player. Just having the ability to locate the [enemies] around you; being able to hear their footsteps behind doors or in other rooms is really awesome. So that’s what we’ve done! The sound travels through the spaces. It’ll get muffled if you’re behind a door, and I think it also helps you become more aware of the environment in general.

So if I understand this correctly, the 3D sound propagation works for the sounds made by enemies, but not by the player? Because from the E3 videos it didn't seem like that was the case for the player.

Edit: Harvey Smith says it works for both the player and the enemies.

[epmode]

I'm so glad they're accounting for audio distorion. I can't tell you how many times I thought something was right near me in Bioshock only to find that the splicer was in a bathroom/a floor below/in an entirely different tunnel.

I remember reading about audio positioning around Half-Life 1 so I could never understand why some modern games ignored it.

[v0mitg0d]

The blink ability seems super powerful. It seems you can traverse a guarded room with minimal fuss. Perhaps that's a later game ability to be unlocked.

Blink is free in terms of mana cost, but the game has been designed around the teleport ability. What I mean by that is the environments helps foster the user of all your powers, and in a fun way too, however lets just say blink isn't going to break the game--at least not in my experience.

[nickbreckon]

All I know is your magic bar only recharges up to a little point like in Deus Ex HR, but that little amount is enough to use Blink. So it comes down to how fast it takes to recharge or if you can use it all of the time it's going to come down to the player exercising self control and not constantly using it in place of other stuff.

Blink is just one tool you have for traversal. Double-jump, dark vision, etc -- all of these things allow super-careful players to take advantage of the environment and possibly make it through a level unscathed.

But yeah, Blink is not a cheat. The recharge time means that you can't just spam it in a fight/escape scenario without risking a pasting, and even in stealth situations it has the potential backfire. Patrols can be aligned in such a way as to make Blinking through an area like digging a deeper and deeper hole. Imagine Blinking around a corner or up to a rooftop only to find yourself standing directly in front of a guard.

You also don't need to purchase it. But it's a super fun power and I highly recommend it.

[Derrick01]

Blink is just one tool you have for traversal. Double-jump, dark vision, etc -- all of these things allow super-careful players to take advantage of the environment and possibly make it through a level unscathed. But yeah, Blink is not a cheat. The recharge time means that you can't just spam it in a fight/escape scenario without risking a pasting, and even in stealth situations it has the potential backfire. Patrols can be aligned in such a way as to make Blinking through an area like digging a deeper and deeper hole. Imagine Blinking around a corner or up to a rooftop only to find yourself standing directly in front of a guard. You also don't need to purchase it. But it's a super fun power and I highly recommend it.

Oh so you don't have to buy it at all? I was under the impression it was a base power for some reason, but that's good news. You kind of can't complain about something being overpowered if it's optional and as long as the game wasn't designed around just that.

I'll probably buy the basic level of it at least and just use it sparingly. It does look cool.

[v0mitg0d]

Oh so you don't have to buy it at all? I was under the impression it was a base power for some reason, but that's good news. You kind of can't complain about something being overpowered if it's optional and as long as the game wasn't designed around just that. I'll probably buy the basic level of it at least and just use it sparingly. It does look cool.

Wait till you use it and see how great it feels. It'll be hard not to use it. :)

[JaseC]

Guys! :) I interviewed Rafael Colantonio, co-creative director on Dishonored about: Non-lethal gameplay, Analog AI, Viktor Antonov, if Dishonored has multiple endings and a leveling system, targeting limbs, Neo-Victorian Steampunk, possessing a fish and sliding under tables. http://eat-games.tumblr.com/post/266...nio-dishonored Hope you like it! Worked hard on this one. :)

Great interview. :)

In terms of the analog AI system, I’m curious if its behavior affects the cool down of the AI’s search routines. Meaning, will the AI return to their original patrol state and completely forget about you? Well there is a cool down period. So if the AI has detected you but isn’t completely sure, then they’ll go searching for you. During this investigation the cool down begins, and if they don’t find you then yes they will go out of this investigative mode. However they would remain in a higher alert mode that’s more aware than their original mode. Now if they’ve seen you for real, have engaged in combat and then lost you, they’ll search for you essentially forever. They will return to patrol and remain in a high alert mode. This means they will no longer be relaxed and will no longer comment on things they see or hear. See when they’re in a relaxed mode they might see a flower and say something about it, but that doesn’t happen in a high alert mode. Also, every time they communicate with another guard they’ll chat about their alert level. Like “Hey, stay on your guard! There’s an assassin somewhere around here!” So yeah, that’s the way it all works.

Love it.

(Do we have official confirmation that we can change the FoV in the PC version? I recall it being said that this was mentioned over at the game's official forums, but for whatever reason the activation or even the password reset e-mails won't arrive in my inbox, so I can't log in and search the threads myself.)

[Herla]

I wonder if you will be able to finish the game without upgrades or powers, kinda like in the Human Revolution DLC.

Hmm sounds like a fourth playthrough.

[Derrick01]

Wait till you use it and see how great it feels. It'll be hard not to use it. :)

Yeah it looks fun but my only worry is similar to everyone else's, that it could break the game if they let you use it too liberally. I think in the end I'll just have to use self control and challenge myself to not use it constantly.

[v0mitg0d]

The blink ability seems super powerful. It seems you can traverse a guarded room with minimal fuss. Perhaps that's a later game ability to be unlocked.

Yeah it looks fun but my only worry is similar to everyone else's, that it could break the game if they let you use it too liberally. I think in the end I'll just have to use self control and challenge myself to not use it constantly.

I don't recall exactly the time took for the Blink power to cooldown, however it was long enough to where I could not spam it and short enough to quickly use it again in the same fight with multiple enemies.

I want to say somewhere around 3-4 seconds?

[v0mitg0d]

I thought I'd share this with the group because it's a total first for me--hope that's OK. My interview with Raf got translated and posted on a Chinese website.

Weird and cool!

http://www.gamebase.com.tw/forum/60844/topic/95043203

[Eideka]

(Do we have official confirmation that we can change the FoV in the PC version?

It has been confirmed here :
http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/58...aigris./page44
Post 1298, it's in French.

Sarakyel is a Arkane developper and he confirmed that the PC version will have an adjustable FOV.

[JaseC]

It has been confirmed here : http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/58...aigris./page44 Post 1298, it's in French. Sarakyel is a Arkane developper and he confirmed that the PC version will have an adjustable FOV.

Cheers. :)

[v0mitg0d]

It has been confirmed here : http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/58...aigris./page44 Post 1298, it's in French. Sarakyel is a Arkane developper and he confirmed that the PC version will have an adjustable FOV.

Oh man that's a relief. YAY!)