The Lone Courier
Member
Wasn't Splinter Cell Conviction originally gonna be open world, heavily borrowing mechanics from Assassins Creed? Then delayed because it was too much like Assassins Creed?
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Radically redesigned/overhauled games prior to release?
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TheChewyWaffles
Member
Destiny, the thread
Lighting used to be a huge game mechanic. The torch was implemented for a reason originally. In the final game its mostly useless, but with the original lighting there was some actual, real severe darkness which meant you needed a torch, which meant you were stuck fighting handicapped with only one arm if you wanted to see enemies.
Think of someplace like Blighttown from DS. It would be significantly less memorable if it wasn't for that poison floor. It gave the area a real sense of dread and an anxiety that you need to hurry to make it out alive. Now imagine if that was just stripped out.
That happened throughout a lot of Dark Souls II. I played through the entire game on PC and I absolutely loved it. On a second play through I used a ENB lighting mod that reintroduced true, actual darkness and many parts of the game played hugely different.
Huntsmans Copse was hugely tense and exciting because of the darkness. That sense of walking through a dark forest with only your torch to guide your way. Seeing monsters appear from just outside the darkness. A strange mist falling from above poisoning you. It was terrifying and magnificent. Imagine a player who goes through the whole game turtling with sword and board. It would force them out of their comfort zone of the shield and they would need to actually learn to time dodges and manage to keep the torch lit.
It isn't simply a lighting change, because the lighting itself was a gameplay mechanic and it shows in the final product.
I believe it was way grittier. I remember there like being guns or something else equally ludicrous.
silver.tongue
Member
What? How come?
pinkurocket
Member
Oh wow, that's amazing. I think that info was in the back of my mind from when I read it once, shame the ZombiU wiki didn't elaborate on that.
The maps in that video don't even exist in the final game. There's a ton of old audio/video assets sitting around in the files as well. Whatever game structure they were originally planning seems to have been completely scrapped alongside the original art, and the remaining assets quickly cobbled together into the plotless frankengame that released. Wish we'd seen more of it before the overhaul.
BlindJesus
Member
IIRC, the very earliest development period of Splinter Cell Conviction eventually became the first assassins creed, or at least they based on the same prototype. I'm not totally convinced because the release of conviction and AC were originally going to be the same month/year, but the original idea of conviction was essentially a modern Assassins Creed. Hiding in crowds, open worlds, visceral hand-to-hand combat...either way, I'm happy they canned it.
You explained this very nicely.
The incredibly repetitive textures and lack of detail in several areas also lends credence to the idea. Why would the developers spend time polishing every nook and cranny of a pitch black area? I'd love to read an actual post-mortem.
Dark Souls 2's downgrade still hurts.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Team Fortress 2 and Borderlands had huge art style changes. TF2 much moreso.
Well it took them years to release TF2 since that redesign lol.
Whom_Gods_Annoy
Banned
Either way you look at it though, the product we got was very different from what they had in mind starting out. I actually think too many people cried foul when it was originally announced. It still seemed to have many of the core ideas X-Com is about even though it was a different genre and setting.
The Bureau... not so much.
Guild Wars originally looked like some sort of Everquest-ish rip-off. It also had less character and a cheaper looking art style. Thankfully, it turned out way, way better:
GW 2003:
GW 2005:
Video for 2003's Guild Wars.
GW 2003:
GW 2005:
Video for 2003's Guild Wars.
Legacy of Kain: Deadsun had most of the game scrapped with the MP reworked into Nosgoth.
Grasshopper's Lily Bergamo is being reworked into Let it Die, a F2P game for PS4 (crying shame)
(Likely already been mentioned) Devil May Cry was a RE game
Didn't they fix the lighting in the next gen remaster? What a shitty cash grab
Care to elaborate?
Grasshopper's Lily Bergamo is being reworked into Let it Die, a F2P game for PS4 (crying shame)
(Likely already been mentioned) Devil May Cry was a RE game
Didn't they fix the lighting in the next gen remaster? What a shitty cash grab
Care to elaborate?
TheAngryInternet
Neo Member
I can't find many details online, but I recall early magazine previews describing Dungeon Keeper as more of an CRPG, with a very robust first-person mode instead of the more or less gratuitous window dressing it became. Eventually it became a sort of "Command and Conquer in a dungeon," as Molyneux described it, at which point the development team decided to scrap it and try again (with Molyneux paying for the additional development). There was also supposed to be much more online emphasis, with the ability to play as the heroes in multiplayer (I remember reading after release that they were planning to patch this in) and a QuakeWorld-esque interface that would allow 64 dungeons to be linked together. This trailer from 1995 is all I can find online of the game's earlier iteration(s), and while it doesn't look much different from the final product, it's clearly a faster-paced game, and the first-person interface is a lot more complex. There's also a reference to "Mana," which was in DK2 but not in the shipped version of DK1.
I'm also a little surprised that Ultima IX hasn't been mentioned yet. There's lots of info out there about the game's various iterations, as well as some screenshots showing the abandoned isometric 3D version. Unseen64 has a decent overview.
I'm also a little surprised that Ultima IX hasn't been mentioned yet. There's lots of info out there about the game's various iterations, as well as some screenshots showing the abandoned isometric 3D version. Unseen64 has a decent overview.
SchrodingerC
Member
Any one remember the original Borderlands Concept?
Hmm, I kinda like this Lilith model before the redesign, even though Lilith's new design fits her more.
The twilight realm/zones in Twilight Princess went from B&W to orange-y, saturated environments mid-development, shifting the definition of Twilight from the old B&W TV show to the period between day and dusk, probably for the better.
Someone should make a hacked version of TP with the black and white version intact.
Someone should make a hacked version of TP with the black and white version intact.
Xion_Stellar
People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
Resident Evil 4:
Resident Evil 4 Beta (following the Resident Evil 0 Formula)
and Actual Game (using the genre defining 3rd Person Camera)
Resident Evil 4 Beta (following the Resident Evil 0 Formula)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5kwX0LZAc
and Actual Game (using the genre defining 3rd Person Camera)
That demo was one of the coolest demos I had ever seen.
Still has great atmosphere.
Any one remember the original Borderlands Concept?
I still wish we got this game. I liked the atmosphere so much more. But I think they were afraid they would end up with a all too hollow post-apoc game, especially seeing how half-baked Borderlands 1 was.
Lead platform was always the PS2, but a Dreamcast port was planned. Here's some more early development shots of GTA 3!
The map also changed quite a bit too. (Top = Beta, Bottom = Final)
Portland had a nuclear power plant, Staunton Island had an airport and Shoreside Vale had proper suburbs.
I could honestly write an entire essay on the beta and alpha of GTA 3, because I find it so fascinating. Here's a great video on the topic by a well-established member of the GTAF community, and the thread where all the analysis goes on
Rabbi_Vole
Banned
Mario Sunshine went from 60fps to 30fps in literally the weeks leading up to launch.
Also, they took out the giant walking meatus.
Also, they took out the giant walking meatus.
grosvenor_92
Member
The new Rainbow Six is much different from what they originally showed. I for one was much more interested in Patriots
Rainbow Six Patriots target trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-ucVWHmYk
Rainbow Six Siege Gamescom 2015 gameplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vx1F0JffRo
Rainbow Six Patriots target trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-ucVWHmYk
Rainbow Six Siege Gamescom 2015 gameplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vx1F0JffRo
GTA 3 was originally planned for Dreamcast.
B_Spooky13
Member
Does True Crimes 3 turning into Sleeping Dogs count?
Man Called Aerodynamics
Member
It became the design for Commandant Steele.
The original Grand Theft Auto was completely redesigned halfway through. I read about it in the book "Jacked."
It was originally called Race & Chase, and it had a realistic city simulation where you had to stop for red lights and got penalized for hitting pedestrians. One day one of the developers thought it was boring so on a whim they reprogrammed it so you got points for running people over. The rest is history.
It was originally called Race & Chase, and it had a realistic city simulation where you had to stop for red lights and got penalized for hitting pedestrians. One day one of the developers thought it was boring so on a whim they reprogrammed it so you got points for running people over. The rest is history.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Unseen64 is a really good site for this kind of stuff. On my phone right now so can't post some examples
SchrodingerC
Member
I know, but I still like the design for Lilith.
Suzushiiro
Banned
Warcraft 3 was originally meant to be more of an RTS/RPG hybrid than what we wound up getting, which was an RTS where some of your units had a simple leveling/item system.
You have to wonder what DOTA and the MOBA genre as a whole would have looked like had Blizzard gone in one direction or the other with WC3. Would DOTA have even existed had WC3 gone full RTS and ditched the hero/item/leveling system completely? Would it have had much more complex RPG mechanics had they stuck to their original vision of "role playing strategy"?
You have to wonder what DOTA and the MOBA genre as a whole would have looked like had Blizzard gone in one direction or the other with WC3. Would DOTA have even existed had WC3 gone full RTS and ditched the hero/item/leveling system completely? Would it have had much more complex RPG mechanics had they stuck to their original vision of "role playing strategy"?
Dick Justice
Banned
The poster child for corporate meddling:
was of course:
Well, at least Insomniac got to keep that incredibly valuable Fuse IP, right?
Man Called Aerodynamics
Member
Man, I must be like the only person who really loved Fuse. A sequel would've been great.
Townie Hitler?
Destiny was actually the month before.
Victor Omega
Member
Maybe this is in reverse to what the thread is but
Gladiator A.D.(concept) was to be the "Ryse" for the Wii during a time when Mature rated games were rare on the console....anything with blood people wanted to play. This was coming from High Voltage Software who were coming off the success of The Conduit with their Wii in house Quantum3 graphic engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-3g3VM_iY
Then....supposedly, SEGA stepped in to published the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvvQX7O5LBc
It became kid friendly TOURNAMENT OF LEGENDS
Gladiator A.D.(concept) was to be the "Ryse" for the Wii during a time when Mature rated games were rare on the console....anything with blood people wanted to play. This was coming from High Voltage Software who were coming off the success of The Conduit with their Wii in house Quantum3 graphic engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-3g3VM_iY
Then....supposedly, SEGA stepped in to published the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvvQX7O5LBc
It became kid friendly TOURNAMENT OF LEGENDS
Deified Data
Banned
I still remember taking the time on launch day to light all the torches in Things Betwixt because surely it was a puzzle and lighting all of them would do something, because the environment was light as day and there could be no other practical purpose for them. I didn't understand what happened until I got to the turtle knight tunnel in FotFG that I remember seeing in pitch blackness in the previews.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyThe..._destinys_content_completely_changed_over_the
TL;DR version: Destiny had its story changed dramatically.
Bungie initially announced Destiny would release in September 2013. The recent rounds of interviews for The Taken King confirmed that the story was completely changed in early 2013. Joe Staten, long time Bungie head writer and responsible for Halo lore, quit Bungie around this time.
The game got pushed a full 12 months, finally releasing in September 2014.
More late-development changes occurred, gutting the story and cut-scenes. The final release shoved all the lore and exposition to the Grimoire cards, with most of this stuff written very close (weeks) before launch. Grimoire Cards can't even be viewed in-game. You have to go to the Bungie site or use the companion app to read them. That says to me they were a very late stage inclusion. In addition to this. there were planets / areas shown in early reveals that were not in the final game, or the year one DLCs.
The Taken King's focus on a coherent story, fleshed about characters and extensive cut scenes and voice acting has been done in an acknowledgement of how much they the late-development changes fucked with the story in Vanilla Destiny.
Edit: got my years wrong!
Dicktatorship
Junior Member
Good God I had no idea Dark Souls 2 looked that great before launch. The difference between what we got and that is almost lawsuit worthy.
I know Bioshock Infinite has already been mentioned, but this video really makes me salty knowing that most of the problems I had with Bioshock Infinite were caused by content cuts. The levels look open, you could interact with the characters and the environment a lot more, skylines were more prevalent and the vigors actually seemed useful. What happened?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WUt5dEMt_Y
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
This unfortunately popular rumor is completely false. The beta was a compilation of unfinished ideas, tests, and prototypes of enemies, levels, concepts, weapons, and more. Much of it had been cut even at that point, to the point where it's really more of a content dump than a game. The retail HL2 is the direction the game was inevitably going in, regardless of the leak.
Also here is the link to the wiki that actually gets updates.
Xbox 360 and PS3 happened, they had massive technical issues with the skyrail system thing. The areas were way too big for the limited amount of RAM they had to work with kn the consoles.
I really do recommend that if you have the DX9 version of the game on PC, you look into some of the ENB lighting mods.
Vanilla | Modded
______________
Light Source
More_Badass
Member
But seriously, can we get a Fugitive-esque game? Instead of wasting a USA-sized map on racing games like The Crew, I imagine fleeing from the cops across the country, using spy tricks and social stealth to evade capture
family_guy
Member
My future predicition is Half Life 3.