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Alan Wake coming to Steam? [Steam registry entry appears]

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BobLoblaw

Banned
Please be true. Please be true. All I'm missing now is Red Dead Redemption, but those wankers at Rockstar don't seem to care about what I want.
 
Haha. :p The point I'm trying to make is that I believe the scope - not the quality - of the game was lessened when it became an X360 exclusive.

Edit: I'll happily eat crow if Remedy come out and delineate why they changed the focus of the game and explained Microsoft's lack of creative pressure, but until then I'm filing it under "too coincidental to be coincidence". Is that naive? Perhaps. But when an open-world title becomes a linear (or "closed-world") game in addition to a console exclusive, that - to me - raises some flags. I will not argue nor pretend that Alan Wake would have been superior as an open-world title, but until proven otherwise I will believe that the game changing focus to an X360 exclusive was at least partly responsible for the game becoming less ambitious in scope.

Edit 2: Again, for clarity, do I care? No. I thoroughly enjoyed the game. And before somebody pegs me as one of those blokes who considers open-world titles a touch above everything else, let it be known that Portal 2 and Alice: Madness Returns are my two nods for GoTY. I hope fellow GAFers understand where I'm coming from when utilising the admittedly crude formula of (PC flagship title - PC release) / (X360 exclusive) = final scope of project.
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.

Worst case scenario:

dx9
no aa (deferred engine you see)
16:9 locked aspect ratio
30 fps cap... but it dips!
graphics options: vsync, brightness
the same crappy bik cutscenes
360 textures
mouse lag

:O
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.

Except for the fact that the "open world" is just hills and trees. There's no sense of a larger town. Is the tech impresive given what you play of the game? Sure. Would I classify it as open-world? No, not particularly, though I will admit there are clear remnants of project scope past, not the least of which you've suggested.
 
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.


while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.

You can it only takes away massive amount of bandwidth.
 

GavinGT

Banned
They're a small studio and they're dedicated to polishing their releases. Just look at how long it took them to put out what they did - a truly open world game may never have been released.

Now, if they had teamed up with the Deadly Premonition team, then they would've really been on to something. I'm only sort of joking here.
 
Except for the fact that the "open world" is just hills and trees. There's no sense of a larger town.

i still don't think that demonstrates a tech limitation though, if you get what i mean. and it's mainly hills and trees, but it's not JUST hills and trees. you could say Just Cause 1 and 2 were mainly hills and trees... but you wouldn't say they weren't open world.

reading a bit deeper into those early tech demos, screenshots, etc, we didn't see much in the way of a city, just a small town, surrounded by lots of hills and trees. i know the pacific northwest quite well, and the density of stuff vs hills and trees isn't that far from the truth looking at the cascade area that they based things on.

fall city, wa is about as big as bright falls for example (it isn't a city). i think things looked a little more populated in the early footage, but i just don't see any evidence of the 'technical limitations' argument. design direction forced on them by their new masters? completely plausible.
 

Malio

Member
Everybody who bought in to the Alan Wake hype is gonna be in for a disappointment. It didn't flop for no good reason.

Hopefully, Steam will have it for $4.99.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
i still don't think that demonstrates a tech limitation though, if you get what i mean. and it's mainly hills and trees, but it's not JUST hills and trees. you could say Just Cause 1 and 2 were mainly hills and trees... but you wouldn't say they weren't open world.

reading a bit deeper into those early tech demos, screenshots, etc, we didn't see much in the way of a city, just a small town, surrounded by lots of hills and trees. i know the pacific northwest quite well, and the density of stuff vs hills and trees isn't that far from the truth looking at the cascade area that they based things on.

fall city, wa is about as big as bright falls for example (it isn't a city). i think things looked a little more populated in the early footage, but i just don't see any evidence of the 'technical limitations' argument. design direction forced on them by their new masters? completely plausible.

The problem with discerning the level size of Alan Wake is that while the levels are large relative to levels these days, the path is very linear and the game does have its fair of - admittedly smaller - cutscenes. For instance, when Alan wakes up after a car accident, you're running along a predetermined path for all of about 5 minutes before reaching Alice and the cabin.

True, and that's why I think it got earlier "switched" than we may think.

Ditto. Again, though (I don't mean to insult your intelligence - I'm just pointing this out for the sake of clarity), I can't prove it and won't pretend otherwise. It's merely a feeling I can't shake.
 

PooBone

Member
Nice. I would probably buy it and replay it on PC if my machine can handle it properly. Such a badass game.
 
If it's a good port I will buy it on sale just for the eye candy. Sadly ended up not liking the game that much, too cheesy and repetitive for my liking.
 

GavinGT

Banned
Everybody who bought in to the Alan Wake hype is gonna be in for a disappointment. It didn't flop for no good reason.

Hopefully, Steam will have it for $4.99.

Oh man, you're right. That game I totally loved and played through like three times? I definitely hate it now.
 

Wag

Member
Dammit! I just paid $7 for the 360 version!!!! I would have much rather played it on my Tri-Fire 4.8GHz Tri-Fire 6950 setup. Heh. Well it was fun anyways.
 

Red

Member
Dammit! I just paid $7 for the 360 version!!!! I would have much rather played it on my Tri-Fire 4.8GHz Tri-Fire 6950 setup. Heh. Well it was fun anyways.

Yep. I bought it for $6 on Amazon, and was really put off by how blurry and sluggish it was. Never imagined it would actually see a release on PC.

Time to double dip I guess.
 

PooBone

Member
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.


while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.

MS didn't push them to make the game more linear, the developers came to that decision because it made the game better.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Hopefully the PC version was far enough along that this essentially isn't a port at all.
 
The amount of hatred in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. Alan Wake is, at least, a good game. I would love it if average games looked and played like this, because it's one of the most unique titles to come out this generation. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I for one I'm glad that more people get to experience it first hand.

Most complaints about the game are absolutely ridiculous. The linear vs sandbox debate has always amused me, as if making a more open game, especially in one as story-driven as this one, amounted to a better experience. It would have unarguably been a different game, for better or worse.

The resolution and tearing debate was understandable, but also out of control. The game looked great regardless; the resolution deficiency was only jarring during the daylight sections, which were less than a fourth of the game.

The major justified shortcoming of the game is the lack of variety in both enemy types and locales. Having said that, the core gameplay mechanics were polished enough that there was still fun to be had fighting the taken, especially in the higher difficulties.
 

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
I'm not terribly interested in it, but it is good to know that my decision to upgrade my PC and ditch the 360 still lets me play most 360 exclusives :)

Come on Gears 2/3!
 

ASilva

Neo Member
I played this on the 360 but i will GLADLY play it again on PC. Just the reason i needed to replay this awesome game
 

Angry Fork

Member
tm4un ninH hien g gb jksr b j GIOEBNGVE
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OH MY GOD


OH MY GOD. HYPERVENTILATING. SO FUCKING SERIOUS.

I've been waiting, waiting, WAITING for a PC version. Remedy are god-tier developers. Max Payne 1 and 2 are the best shooters ever made imo and in my top 5 of all time. Please be true. If this is true I will no longer need a 360. PLEASE BE TRUE.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
The amount of hatred in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. Alan Wake is, at least, a good game. I would love it if average games looked and played like this, because it's one of the most unique titles to come out this generation. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I for one I'm glad that more people get to experience it first hand.

Most complaints about the game are absolutely ridiculous. The linear vs sandbox debate has always amused me, as if making a more open game, especially in one as story-driven as this one, amounted to a better experience. It would have unarguably been a different game, for better or worse.

The resolution and tearing debate was understandable, but also out of control. The game looked great regardless; the resolution deficiency was only jarring during the daylight sections, which were less than a fourth of the game.

The major justified shortcoming of the game is the lack of variety in both enemy types and locales. Having said that, the core gameplay mechanics were polished enough that there was still fun to be had fighting the taken, especially in the higher difficulties.

Are you referring to me? Because I've said at least half a dozen times that I don't believe the decision to switch to a linear narrative experience impacted the overall quality of the game. I even stated categorically that a game being open-world doesn't make it inherently superior to its more constricted peers.

I ask because the matter only arrived when I began explaining my stance on the whole multiplatform-versus-X360-exclusive issue.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
I thought there was some truth to the tech limitation thing, weren't there some crazy ass weather/hurricane effects in that pc demo? I thought they were over a year and a half into the development of the pc version when the did that demo.

Also, no way they cap it at 30 fps...are you guys being sarcastic?
 
I thought there was some truth to the tech limitation thing, weren't there some crazy ass weather/hurricane effects in that pc demo? I thought they were over a year and a half into the development of the pc version when the did that demo.

Also, no way they cap it at 30 fps...are you guys being sarcastic?

There is a tornado in the first 5 minutes of Alan Wake.
 
I thought there was some truth to the tech limitation thing, weren't there some crazy ass weather/hurricane effects in that pc demo? I thought they were over a year and a half into the development of the pc version when the did that demo.

Also, no way they cap it at 30 fps...are you guys being sarcastic?

Unfortunately, anything is possible in the world of PC ports :(.
 
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.

http://forum.alanwake.com/showpost.php?p=61786&postcount=1

-It is true that we have used a lot of recent Graphics and physics Technologies in our home-made Engine. For example, we have used SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Oclusion) a technique to use very close shots and not loosing quality or sharpness. We also have used the benefits of the Deferred engine (Lights engine). In Alan Wake we have tried to combine the best technologies and we are very happy with the actual result.
 

Raoh

Member
My PC is hooked up to my 40" TV so comfy couch am ready!

Will so buy this.

Same here. I haven't beat it on my 360 yet though. I might just get rid of it and start over on the pc.

I'm finding less and less reasons to turn on my 360 lately.
 
Will the PC version still allow you to run past the majority of the encounters in the game?

I found it weird that when you reached a checkpoint all the enemies despawn. Enjoyable enough game though, will buy when it drops in price.
 

louiedog

Member
I'm not normally one of those people who insists on headphones and a certain setup to get the most out of their games. However, this game's atmosphere sucked me in so much that I wanted the rest of the world to go away completely. I only played it at night in a dark room, with comfortable headphones that blocked noise, and when my girlfriend wasn't home. It was so enjoyable that way.
 
FORCING a cap at 30? It would NEVER make any sense at all.
Giving an OPTION? I'd very much like that.

Exactly. All games, in my opinion, should have options for locks at 30 and 60, and none at all. Also, triple buffering etc. built in. Yes, I know about D3DOverrider, lol.

Nothing's worse than having enough power to get to over 30FPS easily enough, but not 60. That 45FPS dead zone is brutal with the variable framerate, and in that situation I'd take a steady 30FPS instead of a framerate swinging from 60 to 40FPS.
 

derFeef

Member
The amount of hatred in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. Alan Wake is, at least, a good game. I would love it if average games looked and played like this, because it's one of the most unique titles to come out this generation. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I for one I'm glad that more people get to experience it first hand.

Most complaints about the game are absolutely ridiculous. The linear vs sandbox debate has always amused me, as if making a more open game, especially in one as story-driven as this one, amounted to a better experience. It would have unarguably been a different game, for better or worse.

The resolution and tearing debate was understandable, but also out of control. The game looked great regardless; the resolution deficiency was only jarring during the daylight sections, which were less than a fourth of the game.

The major justified shortcoming of the game is the lack of variety in both enemy types and locales. Having said that, the core gameplay mechanics were polished enough that there was still fun to be had fighting the taken, especially in the higher difficulties.

RI9Te.jpg
post :)

Will the PC version still allow you to run past the majority of the encounters in the game?

I found it weird that when you reached a checkpoint all the enemies despawn. Enjoyable enough game though, will buy when it drops in price.

They vanished, but they came back if not destroyed in the light or by Alan.
 
They vanished, but they came back if not destroyed in the light or by Alan.

What do you mean they came back? I never experienced that, when I reached a checkpoint all the monsters chasing me vanished. I ran past most encounters in the game and I hardly had to fight anything other than the 'boss' fights.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
If Microsoft are in the process of bringing their older stuff to Steam then they better get Rise of Nations up.
 
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