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[Ark-AMN]

Ok, during a private demo of Too Human by Denis today I got a chance to play the game myself. I must say I came away impressed. The gameplay itself feels quite solid at its basic elements, and yes, it is very basic. They did show off the polearm weapon though and that was pretty cool, especially the special moves that you can pull off with them. I actually like using the analog sticks to attack. I'm sure with more tweaking it'll be great.

And yeah, everyone notices the animation and framerate problems, so its not like they are blind to it, and they are very forthright about stating they will fix those issues before the game ships.

Also a fun bit of information I got today was that they even researched several martial arts styles and have gotten aid from the studios that did movies such as Hero and Chronicles of Riddick in that regard, so a lot of the moves in the game are actually based on real life techniques which I thought was cool.

And of course, the music and sound effects are simply superb, but of course that was one area SK has always been great at because of Steve Henifin. It's also cool that as you go through the game different times, scenes change such as placement of the camera or enemy movements, so no scene is exactly the same every time you go through it.

Also, the levels shown off at the show are NOT going to be in the final game, they are linear simple things whipped up for E3. Anyway, if they do get the framerates and animation fixed, this game will indeed look quite awesome indeed.

Questions? comments?

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Ok, during a private demo of Too Human by Denis today I got a chance to play the game myself. I must say I came away impressed. The gameplay itself feels quite solid at its basic elements, and yes, it is very basic. They did show off the polearm weapon though and that was pretty cool, especially the special moves that you can pull off with them. I actually like using the analog sticks to attack. I'm sure with more tweaking it'll be great.

And yeah, everyone notices the animation and framerate problems, so its not like they are blind to it, and they are very forthright about stating they will fix those issues before the game ships.

Also a fun bit of information I got today was that they even researched several martial arts styles and have gotten aid from the studios that did movies such as Hero and Chronicles of Riddick in that regard, so a lot of the moves in the game are actually based on real life techniques which I thought was cool.

And of course, the music and sound effects are simply superb, but of course that was one area SK has always been great at because of Steve Henifin. It's also cool that as you go through the game different times, scenes change such as placement of the camera or enemy movements, so no scene is exactly the same every time you go through it.

Also, the levels shown off at the show are NOT going to be in the final game, they are linear simple things whipped up for E3. Anyway, if they do get the framerates and animation fixed, this game will indeed look quite awesome indeed.

Questions? comments?

Why the hell did they put that SHIT on the floor??? So many journalists are commenting on how crappy it looked and played.

 

[theREBELins]

Why the hell did they put that SHIT on the floor??? So many journalists are commenting on how crappy it looked and played.

.

 

[PhatSaqs]

Why the hell did they put that SHIT on the floor??? So many journalists are commenting on how crappy it looked and played.

My thoughts exactly. If they just wanted to show off tech they should have kept it behind closed doors. All the hope I had for this game is pretty much deflated due to the horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE footage i've seen of the game.

 

[Willco]

It's true. The framerate was unplayable. I said it in the Metroid thread, but at one point we actually thought the system had stalled out and froze. That is how bad it was.

 

[Mallrat83]

And yeah, everyone notices the animation and framerate problems, so its not like they are blind to it, and they are very forthright about stating they will fix those issues before the game ships.

They said that about the Twin Snakes too. Also, are you the SK stalker guy that got fired from n-sider? If so, the impressions you gave: figures.

 

[Mifune]

Actually, journalists have been mostly positive in their coverage of the game.

Oh, and Eternal Darkness shipped with a silky smooth framerate, so I have little doubt the choppiness will be ironed out.

But is it fun?

 

[TheWolf]

it seems like at times the camera zooms out WAY too far.

 

[Ark-AMN]

I honestly don't know, I didn't get a chance to ask that question and neither did any of the other journalists there. I'm guessing that such a question will pop up in an official interview done by IGN or one of the other top websites which got dibs on the one-on-one interviews.

I didn't think it played crappily at all. Clearly it seems to be that the "crappy play" complaint stems from the choppy camera and animations, but I had fun slashing and shooting up all the enemies.

It seems that most of the journalists that got the private demo felt better about the game than those on the show floor. As a matter of fact, as I was leaving, Denis got a "plaque" of sorts stating Too Human got nominated by 1up for one of their Best of E3 awards for the show.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Actually, journalists have been mostly positive in their coverage of the game.

Did you listen to the most recent 1up Yours podcast? EGM/Ziff Davis have this as covert art on the most recent EGM and they were baffled.

BTW, I love SK's games.

 

[Shard]

The still begs the question as to why SK allowed for this horrid, horrid floor demo to be allowed on the biggest stae of them all?

 

[Mifune]

Did you listen to the most recent 1up Yours podcast? EGM/Ziff Davis have this as covert art on the most recent EGM and they were baffled.

BTW, I love SK's games.

No, I haven't yet. But the hands-on impressions from IGN and Gamespot ranged from neutral to positive.

 

[White Man]

Oh, and Eternal Darkness shipped with a silky smooth framerate, so I have little doubt the choppiness will be ironed out.

Their most recent game certainly didn't.

 

[Willco]

it seems like at times the camera zooms out WAY too far.

I concur.

Listen, it wasn't just a bad framerate, it was an unplayable framerate. When the framerate is so bad you think the system has actually frozen, it transcends just graphics whores bitching about 60fps into the realm of truly unplayable.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Twin Snakes was more in Konami's hands than SK's in terms of scheduling and management. Blame Kojima more than anyone else for the faults of that game.

 

[TheDuce22]

Its not like they have a bad track record. All of their recent games have been great.

 

[jj984jj]

Also, the levels shown off at the show are NOT going to be in the final game, they are linear simple things whipped up for E3. Anyway, if they do get the framerates and animation fixed, this game will indeed look quite awesome indeed.

Questions? comments?

So when's this game coming out again?

 

[RumFore]

They were showing off the demo on G4 and it literally looked like crap and a PS2 game. No hint of the UT3 engine at all IMO. They tried to make it seem as if they were impressed but it was clear they werent, Morgan even looked bored.

 

[Future]

Ok, during a private demo of Too Human by Denis today I got a chance to play the game myself. I must say I came away impressed. The gameplay itself feels quite solid at its basic elements, and yes, it is very basic. They did show off the polearm weapon though and that was pretty cool, especially the special moves that you can pull off with them. I actually like using the analog sticks to attack. I'm sure with more tweaking it'll be great.

And yeah, everyone notices the animation and framerate problems, so its not like they are blind to it, and they are very forthright about stating they will fix those issues before the game ships.

Also a fun bit of information I got today was that they even researched several martial arts styles and have gotten aid from the studios that did movies such as Hero and Chronicles of Riddick in that regard, so a lot of the moves in the game are actually based on real life techniques which I thought was cool.

And of course, the music and sound effects are simply superb, but of course that was one area SK has always been great at because of Steve Henifin. It's also cool that as you go through the game different times, scenes change such as placement of the camera or enemy movements, so no scene is exactly the same every time you go through it.

Also, the levels shown off at the show are NOT going to be in the final game, they are linear simple things whipped up for E3. Anyway, if they do get the framerates and animation fixed, this game will indeed look quite awesome indeed.

Questions? comments?

I don't understand how the game suddenly looks good when journalists play it in front of Dennis and Crew. They must be puttin shit in the water. What was on the floor was an abomination. Unplayable crap.

These weren't minor framerate and animation issues. The framerate was atrocious, it was like playing an online game on a 56k connection. Extremely lagged out. None of the animations blended into each other. Everything was stiff. NOTHING looked good. Not one walk cycle. Not one attack. Not one enemy

The right stick attack thing wasn't the most horrible thing in the world, but it was hard to judge with all of the other problems. They claim that this control scheme was to make things simple and intuitive, but in wasn't even close. No one seemed to have a clue as to what they were doing when playing. Point the stick at some guy and your character warps over there and does some attack automatically. Ok. And then you build some super meter, activate the super, then do some uninteruptable canned ass combo that hits no one.

Then there was the camera. Zoomed way out so you cant see much. Then zoomed way in so you cant see AI attack you. WTF

Seriously, what did you see that gave this game any promise? I was on the floor, so I couldn't hear the music or sound effects really. But even the graphics weren't anything notable or memorable when it comes to both quality and design.

 

[BorkBork]

So basically everything that they presented to the E3 public (animation, level, framerate, AI, movesets, gameplay) are not indicative of the final game? How the hell are people going to judge it then?

 

[Mifune]

Their most recent game certainly didn't.

Heh, I always forgot about that one.

 

[robot]

When they showed this on g4 while dennis was talking i kinda felt bad cause it was a jittery mess - the game was litterly stopping. I'm sure it'll turn out good/great but if your game isn't ready for the public, why the hell would you show it in that form?

 

[Ark-AMN]

While no one would ever admit it, most of the times when a company has to show off something so early even if they don't want to, the publisher usually pulls strings to make them have a demo ready for the show. I actually didn't know for sure there'd be a Too Human demo at E3 until the last minute, and I have a feeling, neither did SK.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

While no one would ever admit it, most of the times when a company has to show off something so early even if they don't want to, the publisher usually pulls strings to make them have a demo ready for the show. I actually didn't know for sure there'd be a Too Human demo at E3 until the last minute, and I have a feeling, neither did SK.

They would have been beter of with CG than with what they showed. Sometimes MS seems to think that having a shitty presence is better than having no presence. ***stares at Japan***

 

[<nu>faust]

ok let's say frame rate, animations can all be fixed in time what about that much touted "smart" camera ?...i have seen 4-5 videos of the game and in all of them camera was showing the action from some weird angles,changing the perspective suddenly and sometimes even hindering the player's actions....seriously wtf?

 

[Kabuki Waq]

they dont seem like impressions as much as excuses.

 

[BorkBork]

ok let's say frame rate, animations can all be fixed in time what about that much touted "smart" camera ?...i have seen 4-5 videos of the game and in all of them camera was showing the action from some weird angles,changing the perspective suddenly and sometimes even hindering the player's actions....seriously wtf?

Don't you know, the smart camera system's not in place yet!

 

[Willco]

That is true. Whatever SK lackey I spoke did relent and say that this was a crazy rush to get it for E3. However, if that's how you're going to showcase what is being hyped as a reason to buy a next gen platform, then maybe you should just cut a trailer.

 

[Mifune]

I very much doubt the game will ship with an unplayable framerate and camera.

It's the gameplay that concerns me.

 

[wazoo]

All E3 for SK have been atrocious. Remember the 3 E3 of Eternal Darkness.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Unlike most people here, I actually look to see the potential in a title rather than just flat out dismiss it alltogether. Granted, it was not the demo to be shown at E3. Still, I got a good impression of how the gameplay basics would work and once the framerate is fixed and the animation follow-throughs all implemented, then it is going to be a killer game.

Indeed, having the game stutter while playing damaged the experience, but again, I imagine playing it with a smooth framerate and it makes me anticipate it.

Just because a game doesn't have a good first showing, doesn't mean the game shouldn't come out, as most people here would probably wish.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Unlike most people here, I actually look to see the potential in a title rather than just flat out dismiss it alltogether. Granted, it was not the demo to be shown at E3. Still, I got a good impression of how the gameplay basics would work and once the framerate is fixed and the animation follow-throughs all implemented, then it is going to be a killer game.

Indeed, having the game stutter while playing damaged the experience, but again, I imagine playing it with a smooth framerate and it makes me anticipate it.

Just because a game doesn't have a good first showing, doesn't mean the game shouldn't come out, as most people here would probably wish.

I don't think we are wishing that. But when you look at the quality of a demo like Gears of War that is in playable form and coming out in 2006 and you look at Too Human's demo and hear that it is scheduled for 2006, the disparity is obvious. It seems they have a LOT of work to do and makes it less likely to come out this year which is ultimatley disappointing.

 

[dark10x]

Twin Snakes was more in Konami's hands than SK's in terms of scheduling and management. Blame Kojima more than anyone else for the faults of that game.

Eh? Kojima was responsible for the choppy framerate?

 

[demon]

Can somebody give me a rundown on what this game is really about, gameplay/structure-wise? I haven't really followed it lately, but I recall screenshots and articles back from the early Gamecube days that hinted at a really deep, story-based adventure game with a non-linear plot. So, needless to say, I can't help but think "what the fuck is this shit" when watching these videos.

 

[Kittonwy]

Unlike most people here, I actually look to see the potential in a title rather than just flat out dismiss it alltogether. Granted, it was not the demo to be shown at E3. Still, I got a good impression of how the gameplay basics would work and once the framerate is fixed and the animation follow-throughs all implemented, then it is going to be a killer game.

Indeed, having the game stutter while playing damaged the experience, but again, I imagine playing it with a smooth framerate and it makes me anticipate it.

Just because a game doesn't have a good first showing, doesn't mean the game shouldn't come out, as most people here would probably wish.

So what are the gameplay basics? Can you explain how the combo system works, such as how you would input the combos (yes, I know you use the right analog stick, I mean in more detail, like what the basic combos are)?

 

[Ark-AMN]

Well, the combos that were available in this version were extensions of normal attacks building up to a special attack. Of course, since the enemies (goblins) that were shown were quite weak and died in one hit, you couldn't really try them out on those things. But the special attacks are neat, of course you have the angel wings and then you have a black hole attack and other attacks with the spear. And your guns, which you need to shoot down incoming missles. And of course for the large enemy (the troll) you jump on its back and stab it to kill it quickly instead of attacking normaly.

Of course, there's the whole cybernetic augmentation that was not present, but which will allow you to customize your weaponry and physical attributes and unlock over 100 combos using skill trees and other methods.

Oh, and cyberspace was shown also, which was the completely organic world devoid of tech which did look nice indeed.

 

[Mifune]

Did you get a look at the cyberspace portions? IGN mentions those in their hands-on impressions.

EDIT: nevermind, you did.

 

[Unison]

Just because a game doesn't have a good first showing, doesn't mean the game shouldn't come out, as most people here would probably wish.

I dunno man... it sounds like you drank the same Kool-Aid as 1up. :lol

 

[Kittonwy]

Well, the combos that were available in this version were extensions of normal attacks building up to a special attack. Of course, since the enemies (goblins) that were shown were quite weak and died in one hit, you couldn't really try them out on those things. But the special attacks are neat, of course you have the angel wings and then you have a black hole attack and other attacks with the spear. And your guns, which you need to shoot down incoming missles. And of course for the large enemy (the troll) you jump on its back and stab it to kill it quickly instead of attacking normaly.

Of course, there's the whole cybernetic augmentation that was not present, but which will allow you to customize your weaponry and physical attributes and unlock over 100 combos using skill trees and other methods.

Oh, and cyberspace was shown also, which was the completely organic world devoid of tech which did look nice indeed.

Do you need to register a hit on an enemy in order for the combo to continue?

The level-building aside, can you be more specific? Like for example do you just keep tapping the analog stick towards the enemy? How many times? Does pausing slightly change the combo from one to another? Do you know any of the regular combos you were doing while you were playing the demo?

 

[Draft]

Too Human was easily my most anticipated X360 game going into E3, and it looked like shit. So fucking awful I could not believe it. Framerate: AWFUL. Animations: AWFUL. Camera: AWFUL. AI: AWFUL.

Detestable, malignant, embarressing and revolting. Should never have seen the light of day. There is no fucking chance Too Human is a 2006 title. If it ships by Xmas, it is either going to be an embaressment to Microsoft, or a game development miracle.

What's most embarressing is the damage control from Dyack and people that hope to be employed by Dyack. Especially considering how tight some of Microsoft's other second party stuff was looking.

Moore needs to sweep into SK's office and start kicking fat Canadian ass like yesterday, because as of right now Too Human is the only wart on Microsoft's otherwise glorious E3 showing.

 

[<nu>faust]

Don't you know, the smart camera system's not in place yet!

ark-amn can you confirm this?

 

[PhatSaqs]

Screengrab of outdoors.

 

[Ark-AMN]

"Do you need to register a hit on an enemy in order for the combo to continue?"

That seemed to be the case from what I saw, I didn't get to accomplish that but the guy who was demoing it at first did when he faced off with the "dark elves", and it seemed to work more with the spear than the sword too, though I think the spear was only shown behind closed doors.

"The level-building aside, can you be more specific? Like for example do you just keep tapping the analog stick towards the enemy? How many times?"

Holding down the analog stick seemed to do more, and I did something cool with the sword when I spinned the stick around (sword spun around and threw everything back). Again, it was hard to gauge it precisely due to how fast things were going, and yes, despite the framerate, it was still a lot of hectic action on screen.

 

[Razoric]

i swear im starting to think SK just needs to pack it up and go home.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Well, I won't write the AMN official impressions, so don't worry about that. Our 360 EIC will take care of it, but he liked the game with repeated playthroughs, though at least he'll be more "unbiased" in your eyes.

Though hopefully we will get our video of the presentation up soon, cause I know we asked some critical questions yesterday.

 

[Aryuken]

I want to believe.

 

[Dahbomb]

I can't believe Dennis Dyack approved this to be on the show floor.

Heavenly Sword completely ass raped Too Human and both games are at 50%. Plus Too Human's core game play is clearly very basic (completely overlooking the crap animation/AI/camera/framerate), with some snazzy movements thrown in to give it flair. Dual analog combat has yet to be used effectively in a top tier action game.

 

[Ark-AMN]

I highly doubt that Too Human will ship this year, as when I talked to people in the know they wouldn't confirm a date or time like say Retro, which emphatically stated MP3 would launch alongside the Wii.

And using percentages to quantify the progress of game development is quite misleading. Each part of a game has its own milestones and its hard to base completion when there are so many varibales that need to be considered. It's why management in this industry is so key, one has to analyze risks and scheduling and try to figure out some kind of timeframe.

I was just about to get an answer from Denis about how long the demo took to make, but then the MS people got in the way. Oh well.

 

[Amir0x]

While no one would ever admit it, most of the times when a company has to show off something so early even if they don't want to, the publisher usually pulls strings to make them have a demo ready for the show. I actually didn't know for sure there'd be a Too Human demo at E3 until the last minute, and I have a feeling, neither did SK.

So basically the Too Human demo was a fucking disaster and everyone knows it, but it's ok 'cause it shows "potential" and besides everyone knows some games get pushed onto the show floor before they're ready.

I don't know, Ark-AMN... suspicious

 

[jax (old)]

It's true. The framerate was unplayable. I said it in the Metroid thread, but at one point we actually thought the system had stalled out and froze. That is how bad it was.

when you read this and then you compare it to the OP's post.

:lol