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Aliens: Colonial Marines PC update will bring HD textures and visual improvements

Oh, please. Let me reintroduce you two. Lipstick, meet pig. Pig, meet lipstick.
 
ian_laugh16jkt5.gif

Supreme candidate for the fabled "audio gif".
 
alot of people are saying it looks more like demo now. and things like the glass cracking happen now too
 
I wanna try this game just to see how shitty it is, or if it is really that shitty. I'm sure it's not GOOD, but I wanna see if it's really the abomination everyone says it is. Don't wanna pay for it though, I'm not a pirate, no real way to rent it...and I'm not friends with anyone who bought it that I can borrow it.

Maybe I'll watch someone play through it on youtube. Are there any good playthrough videos with funny commentary?
 
they added lots of fog and film grain to cover up bad textures
 
I mentioned a better idea I had for an Aliens game in the OT, and I'm developing that idea a little further, bit by bit. Hopefully, I'll have a fleshed out idea soon.
 
Hmm I might reinstall it to check out the update but I don't really have a desire to play through it again. Kinda to little to late at this point. I don't think it was as bad of a game as some people made it out to be, but it definitely didn't come close to meeting my expectations. Very mediocre.
 
It does have better lighting and what appears to be better texture...somewhat. BUT...

They've added a horrible film-grain effect. If it was there before, it just wasn't this noticeable.

Also, you can shoot the hanging light fixture in that first room with the marines, and the light moves around. I could have missed that before too.

 
It does have better lighting and what appears to be better texture...somewhat. BUT...

They've added a horrible film-grain effect. If it was there before, it just wasn't this noticeable.

Also, you can shoot the hanging light fixture in that first room with the marines, and the light moves around. I could have missed that before too.

Thanks for the pictures (you too spindoctor), it looks somewhat nicer now I guess, but that grain filter has to go. Maybe you can disable it in the .ini(or whatever file has the graphical value settings in it).
 
Anyone else's lighting broken now?

Not sure what is happening, thought it might have been that useless fake dx10 that I downloaded but I reinstalled the game and it still is broken. In case it isn't clear my flashlight is on, and that siren should be projecting red light. Have the game on max settings and downsampling from 3200 x 1800. I tried in 1080P and the issue remains.
 
Believe it or not, the PC version already had better textures than the consoles, so I'm surprised they're making any effort there.

The film grain does bug me, though.. why would ever add something like that?

Edit: Just tried the game. Lighting seems okay, if a bit flatter than before (contrary to what they say, I suppose). AA is completely broken, jaggies everywhere. Anisotropic filtering is also gone. The game's actually gotten far uglier. The film grain isn't helping.
 
Does this ever happen? Where a console game gets a patch for improved visuals or maybe a better framerate?

I don't know if that happens or not, but right now, I can't think of a game that needs it more on the console versions. I'll want improved AI/NPC actions more than updated visuals anyway. I want both, but fun before "beauty".
 
http://kotaku.com/5992141/gearbox-is-working-on-more-patches-to-fix-aliens-colonial-marines

Gearbox recognizes that there are some...flaws with Aliens: Colonial Marines. That's why they're continuing to work on patching the game.

At their PAX East panel today, the developers announced a few more fixes that players will see in future patches.

Chris Faylor community manager at Gearbox mentioned the most notable changes:

More aggressive AI
Tweaked difficulty
Better data protection
More combat feedback (Smart Gun Tracking, Xeno Death Animation)
Improved PC Visuals
Support for Hot Fixes coming online


But... that's it. No apology has been mentioned officially yet. Just a commitment to future patches. But whether or not those will significantly change such a mangled game isn't clear. So far the bullet-pointed changes are too vague to make sense of.

They noted at the panel today that some people aren't happy with the outcome of the game. But they maintain that they are still in love with the universe. We'll see if that translates.

From what I've read about the recent patch it didn't transform the game into a good one, so I'm not sure there's any hope left. However, it's interesting they announced a further improvement of PC's visuals. Then again, it's not like their first attempt made the game to look good.

What I mean to say I guess is that, personally, I don't think this game can be redeemed.
 
http://kotaku.com/5992141/gearbox-is-working-on-more-patches-to-fix-aliens-colonial-marines



From what I've read about the recent patch it didn't transform the game into a good one, so I'm not sure there's any hope left. However, it's interesting they announced a further improvement of PC's visuals. Then again, it's not like their first attempt made the game to look good.

What I mean to say I guess is that, personally, I don't think this game can be redeemed.

Thanks for the update. I hope they continue to support the console versions as well. I'd love to return to this game someday when some of the bullshit is fixed.
 
I'm so glad Mythbusters tested this "myth." So now, every time someone uses the old rhetorical phrase, someone else can bring up this pointless episode of a declining show.

Well, it's a pretty awful phrase, so anything that discourages it's use is OK with me.
 
New update: http://store.steampowered.com/news/10549/

v1.2.0 Update (May 6, 2013)

• Added compatibility for “Reconnaissance Pack” multiplayer add-on.
• Various visual improvements, including new screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO) functionality.

They are probably copy-pasting some shaders from the Borderlands games, but that won't do, I'm afraid. The game needs redone lighting and/or assets to start looking "nice".
 
Some impressions: http://steamcommunity.com/app/49540/discussions/0/810923580645228773/

That's exactly it, the game's got a "facelift." I played it for about 15 minutes to see what the update was all about, and I gotta give credit where credit is due - the difference between the graphics in their original release state, and what they are now is night-and-day. Short of significantly increasing polygon counts, and re-doing all the animations, I don't think there's much else they could do with the engine they're using.

The game looks much better now.

looking alot better now

The game looks vastly better imo, from the smoothness to the visuals to the really nice lighting they have added. The shadowing has improved and the visuals definately have more depth and punch now.

Huh.. Can a GAFfer confirm there's a noticeable improvement?
 
I could see that hud hurting my eyes after having to stare at it for too long. It looks so bad, was it like that pre-patch too?
 
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