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Silent Hill HD worse than imagined

I've never played a Silent Hill game, nor do I ever want to, but I'm still enjoying watching this analysis video. These guys are entertaining, and their breakdown of the bugs/changes and the hilarious story behind this collection's fail-a-thon is rather entertaining.

I had no idea the developer had done interviews bragging about the quality of this collection. lolz
 
The guys in the video are a but annoying and pretentious though. The bit about trophies especially had me rolling my eyes. ("If you care about trophies you don't deserve these games!")

They're right. Trophies are a lame distraction in games that they even remotely makes sense for, but they are paranormally stupid when applied to games like SH.
 

Ein Bear

Member
They're right. Trophies are a lame distraction in games that they even remotely makes sense for, but they are paranormally stupid when applied to games like SH.

You don't find it slightly dumb how they completely disregarded the Trophy system not working as a non-issue, but were bitching about how 'Off' appears twice on the options menu when you turn off the subtitles?
 
Getting further in the audio analysis now, and it's just hilarious how much shit they decided to tinker with in these games, for no god damn reason! Adding a tiny bell to the songs? Why the fuck would you do that? Why would you even bother?

I would love to see these questions posed to the developer.
 

TrutaS

Member
Tiny bells are so next-gen!
Despite the sometimes insulting remarks the videos were hilarious, I wish they would do this to more games.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Getting further in the audio analysis now, and it's just hilarious how much shit they decided to tinker with in these games, for no god damn reason! Adding a tiny bell to the songs? Why the fuck would you do that? Why would you even bother?

I would love to see these questions posed to the developer.
Yeah, it's actually pretty shocking. I avoided the collection myself so I'm enjoying this look at the issues. They made an insane number of changes. Even if it all worked properly, it would still be shit.
 

Gaogaogao

Member
You don't find it slightly dumb how they completely disregarded the Trophy system not working as a non-issue, but were bitching about how 'Off' appears twice on the options menu when you turn off the subtitles?

not when they have something to compare it too. from their perspective, if a trophy activation fails, it would simply fail to alter the mood of the cut scene it activates on.
 

R-User!

Member
jesusfrescoubul5.jpg


bored at work

I was like: you gotta be shitting me?!?!, then I scrolled down and saw the inevitable sarcastic rug being pulled out from under my potential belief that these pics were real; otherwise known as a black spoiler bar... :D
 

kogasu

Member
I really like these guys and the series. It's so horrible what they let through on this game.

if anything, these videos showed what an awful person mary elizabeth mcglynn is.

i was truly shocked at her behavior and sometimes disdain for the original titles.

While I don't want to say she's an awful person, I have to agree that I was really surprised at all of the things she said. Didn't expect that from her.
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
So god damn glad I bailed out the moment I realized they were only making 2 out of a possible 4 main-line games. I honestly feel nothing for the people who followed this game since it's announcement and bought it knowing they were only remastering 2 games in this "collection". You. Are. A. Sucker.

Seriously, If you weren't able to see that was the red-flag to end all red-flags right then and there, then I don't even know what to say to you...
 

StuBurns

Banned
So god damn glad I bailed out the moment I realized they were only making 2 out of a possible 4 main-line games. I honestly feel nothing for the people who followed this game since it's announcement and bought it knowing they were only remastering 2 games in this "collection". You. Are. A. Sucker.

Seriously, If you weren't able to see that was the red-flag to end all red-flags right then and there, then I don't even know what to say to you...
SH4 is really weak, and SH1 is a PS1 game, no one has done a HD Remaster of a PS1 game, I think 2 and 3 are the obvious inclusions.
 
I'm really loving the analysis so far, and it's all true. There was so much writing on the wall, and so many reasons for Konami to can this but they just didn't. Everyone involved should have seen this coming from miles and miles away but they kept going anyway.
 

jimi_dini

Member
they completely disregarded the Trophy system not working as a non-issue

The trophies didn't work?

they bitched about some trophies in SH2 and I can totally agree with for example the one that pops after killing the last boss. That's in the same league as the SotC trophies. I want to punch the people responsible for those in the face.
 

StuBurns

Banned
Although: I think it was stupid of the dudes in the video to assume the making of an HD collection is in itself a flawed idea, just because they hold the original games in such high regard. What is wrong with upscaling visuals and releasing on a new platform? Normally no other content would be changed. Obviously this one turned out horrendous, but because of the people making it, not because porting is basically bad. I mean you can't even play those original games now unless you buy a PS2.
They said they were against it once they heard the first details about the voice changes. That seems fair to me. In the video they speak highly about the GoW/Team ICO/Metal Gear collections.
 
They're nitpicking quite a bit in a few parts here and there. For some things, there'd be little to complain about without reference to the original.

The overriding theme was buried in their video: that an HD remake should at the very least do the game justice and at best, enhance it subtly. The SH collection comes off as a sloppy port. There's simply no excusing bugs, mistakes, glitches, unnecessary replacements etc. 10 years after the fact.

On vastly superior hardware no less with a version that allready runs in HD.
 
Ok, I'm realistic. I understand that there were probably a lot of unseen things holding this project back...politics, low budget, pressures and misunderstandings from Japan or whatever. I get that, and that's too bad...

...but everyone involved in the making of this compilation should seriously be ashamed of themselves. And I'm not trying to be nerd-rage-y and say that "they ruined my favorite thing so eff them" or something. No.

If your job for two years of your life is to take someone else's original creation and simply polish it up for the people who love it...and then instead of doing that, you destroy it beyond recognition...it might be time to rethink your shit.

For shame.
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
SH4 is really weak, and SH1 is a PS1 game, no one has done a HD Remaster of a PS1 game, I think 2 and 3 are the obvious inclusions.
Well then it's not a genuine collection, now is it? They should have just called it "Silent Hill HD: The games that people liked most, save for the original classic of course because that's a PS1 game and people don't remaster those." But I guess that's not as catchy as just slapping the words collection on it even when it's not...

I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, even the DMC collection had DMC2. Everyone hates that game with a passion and yet they still did it justice. These motherfuckers making this collection couldn't throw in SH4? Give me a break. The lack of effort and dedication put into this "collection" was apparent from the get go.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Well then it's not a genuine collection, now is it? They should have just called it "Silent Hill HD: The games that people liked most, save for the original classic of course because that's a PS1 game and people don't remaster those." But I guess that's not as catchy as just slapping the words collection on it even when it's not...

I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, even the DMC collection had DMC2. Everyone hates that game with a passion and yet they still did it justice. These motherfuckers making this collection couldn't throw in SH4? Give me a break. The lack of effort and dedication put into this "collection" was apparent from the get go.
Based on how it turned out I don't think this complaint is even worth voicing. Any further inclusions would simply have contributed to the travesty of this project.
 

StuBurns

Banned
Well then it's not a genuine collection, now is it? They should have just called it "Silent Hill HD: The games that people liked most, save for the original classic of course because that's a PS1 game and people don't remaster those." But I guess that's not as catchy as just slapping the words collection on it even when it's not...

I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, even the DMC collection had DMC2. Everyone hates that game with a passion and yet they still did it justice. These motherfuckers making this collection couldn't throw in SH4? Give me a break. The lack of effort and dedication put into this "collection" was apparent from the get go.
A collection doesn't imply it is a complete collection. The MGS collection only includes 2/3/PW and was highly acclaimed.

I think the absence of four was really very low on the list of complaints. Personally, I don't see why we don't have PS1 HD ports, MGS1 and SH1 could, and should have been included in those collections I'd say, but SH4? Hard to miss that.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
A collection doesn't imply it is a complete collection. The MGS collection only includes 2/3/PW and was highly acclaimed.

I think the absence of four was really very low on the list of complaints. Personally, I don't see why we don't have PS1 HD ports, MGS1 and SH1 could, and should have been included in those collections I'd say, but SH4? Hard to miss that.
I think it's pretty damn clear why there are no ports of SH1 or MGS1. The games look like dog shit when rendered at a high resolution and the lack of details become immediately obvious. Anything beyond that would require them to completely build a new game based on the original.
 
Ok, I'm realistic. I understand that there were probably a lot of unseen things holding this project back...politics, low budget, pressures and misunderstandings from Japan or whatever. I get that, and that's too bad...

...but everyone involved in the making of this compilation should seriously be ashamed of themselves. And I'm not trying to be nerd-rage-y and say that "they ruined my favorite thing so eff them" or something. No.

If your job for two years of your life is to take someone else's original creation and simply polish it up for the people who love it...and then instead of doing that, you destroy it beyond recognition...it might be time to rethink your shit.

For shame.

This is the god damn truth.
 

StuBurns

Banned
I think it's pretty damn clear why there are no ports of SH1 or MGS1. The games look like dog shit when rendered at a high resolution and the lack of details become immediately obvious. Anything beyond that would require them to completely build a new game based on the original.
I disagree, I think think it would be fine. PW was designed for 272p, and I think it looks great.

I can't imagine them seeing this:

metal-gear-solid-peace-walker-playstation-portable_33898-1.jpg


And saying "yeah, we can work with this"

And seeing this:

52373-Metal_Gear_Solid_(E)_(Disc_2)-8.jpg


And turning their noses up at it.
 

UrbanRats

Member
SH4 is really weak, and SH1 is a PS1 game, no one has done a HD Remaster of a PS1 game, I think 2 and 3 are the obvious inclusions.

I like 4 a lot, i think it should've been in.. regardless, i almost didn't recognize you without that Simpson avatar.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I disagree, I think think it would be fine. PW was designed for 272p, and I think it looks great.

I can't imagine them seeing this:

metal-gear-solid-peace-walker-playstation-portable_33898-1.jpg


And saying "yeah, we can work with this"

And seeing this:

52373-Metal_Gear_Solid_(E)_(Disc_2)-8.jpg


And turning their noses up at it.
Ha ha ha, dude, seriously?

Do you realize just how much more detailed Peace Walker is than the PSX game? There is a WORLD of difference in the geometry and complexity of its environments. There are not even remotely comparable.

The models are all very simple, lack any facial details, have HUGE seams between every joint, use simple animation, etc. The environments feature low resolution, warbly textures, simple geometry, and shaky geometry. The PSP game is much more solid overall and much closer to matching an actual PS2 game. You also have to consider things like animation and collision detection which are much more advanced in Peace Walker. It looks world better than a PSX game. If not for the low resolution I'd argue that Peace Walker is what we might have expected from Metal Gear Solid on Dreamcast (if such a thing had been created). Even that might be pushing things as the character models in Peace Walker are more detailed than your typical DC title.

That said, MGS does hold up a lot better than Silent Hill.

Headhunter on Dreamcast makes for an interesting comparison...

p171am23m716t01fadqsqg634t91.jpg
 
Maybe I had you misunderstood. What I meant is that when the voices are overdone it put to much emphasis on the character, then we are forced to focus on him/her due to the fact the performance is clearly shining. In a video game, EVERYTHING matters, gameplay, atmosphere, controls, any particular aspect that makes the other elements feel mediocre may ruin what the game developers have build up to design. This isn't like watching a movie or a play where the character leads the audience through their script. In here, bugs, glitches and even unresponsive controls can be detrimental to the player's immersion and anything that STANDS out that is not the main focus would only make the other problems seem even worse.
I would have to say I did misunderstand you then, because I didn't get that at all from your original post.

Although, taking your last sentence into account, wouldn't the controls take away focus from the atmosphere due to how clunky and obtuse they were? The camera and combat in particular, I would think.

That depends on how you view it. When I played Silent Hill the only thing that still sticks out the most was in fact, Silent Hill itself. You can tell because the atmosphere and music tries to embody something that inanimate to give the town some sort of life. When a character is introduced you have absolutely no idea which part of Silent Hill placed in the "real" world or the "otherworld" is true manifestation of it. This theme retains itself in all the original Silent Hill games I've played considering the stark difference in story.
Just because it is memorable does not mean it was the focus.

edit:
Informative video, but I hate that they keep making fun of Masahiro Ito's English. It's really rubbing me the wrong way.
Don't go too far down the rabbit hole with this one.
 
Who the hell though it was a good idea to cover up the videotape with a static tv picture. Did anyone at Hijinx actually play through the original game before developing it?
 

StuBurns

Banned
Ha ha ha, dude, seriously?

Do you realize just how much more detailed Peace Walker is than the PSX game? There is a WORLD of difference in the geometry and complexity of its environments. There are not even remotely comparable.
I did not say those games look as good as each other, I said I don't believe someone saying that one is of acceptable quality for a port and one isn't. The fact people buy MGS1 on PS3 via PSN alone is enough to suggest they still want the game, looking as bad as it ever did, stretched over a huge screen. A HD port would look much much nicer than the original, and it'd run at 60fps. Would it look as good as Peace Walker HD? No, of course not. Would people want it? Yes.
 
I agree on most things but the new voice of Angela is way better. Also are these guys really serious that people that were anticipating the HD collection were ''wrong'' :I.
 
I did not say those games look as good as each other, I said I don't believe someone saying that one is of acceptable quality for a port and one isn't. The fact people buy MGS1 on PS3 via PSN alone is enough to suggest they still want the game, looking as bad as it ever did, stretched over a huge screen. A HD port would look much much nicer than the original, and it'd run at 60fps. Would it look as good as Peace Walker HD? No, of course not. Would people want it? Yes.

The thing about MGS1 that keeps people coming back is the atmosphere created by the audio work. It is unlike any game since. Even TTS didn't nail it. Not that TTS is an abomination or anything.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I disagree, I think think it would be fine. PW was designed for 272p, and I think it looks great.

I can't imagine them seeing this:

metal-gear-solid-peace-walker-playstation-portable_33898-1.jpg


And saying "yeah, we can work with this"

And seeing this:

52373-Metal_Gear_Solid_(E)_(Disc_2)-8.jpg


And turning their noses up at it.

Konami themselves said that they'd rather just go back and re-do the whole thing in regards to MGS1.

Actually, I think the oldest game thus far to get an HD upgrade is Resident Evil Code Veronica which was originally a Dreamcast game. That's probably about as far back as developers are willing to go. We'll see what Nintendo does with future N64 games on Virtual Console though...
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
Based on how it turned out I don't think this complaint is even worth voicing. Any further inclusions would simply have contributed to the travesty of this project.
It was a travesty the moment they announced they were only making 2 games out of a possible 4. That was the nuke going off. Everything else was the fall-out.
A collection doesn't imply it is a complete collection. The MGS collection only includes 2/3/PW and was highly acclaimed.

I think the absence of four was really very low on the list of complaints. Personally, I don't see why we don't have PS1 HD ports, MGS1 and SH1 could, and should have been included in those collections I'd say, but SH4? Hard to miss that.
Every proper collection should have all the main-line titles of the previous generation. Those are the god damn rules. MGS is a bad example because it follows the rules. SHHD clearly dd not... there just isn't any excuse, man.

Fact of the matter is, no proper collection leaves out titles like that. Period. It was pretty evident to me from that alone that this "collection" wasn't going to be done right. Right then and there. And how other gamers didn't see the writing on the wall is beyond my comprehension...
 

StuBurns

Banned
Konami themselves said that they'd rather just go back and re-do the whole thing in regards to MGS1.
When did they say that? I'd be surprised to see another remake. People would want it of course, but it seems like far more work that just porting the original.

I think people underestimate how good it could look.

MGS1.png


Just that looks pretty rad to me.

EDIT: For comparison:

mgspw81804.jpg
 

ss_lemonade

Member
Need to watch this later during my break.

About remakes, in order to do justice to a PSX game, you would have to do an RE Remake.
 
Every proper collection should have all the main-line titles of the previous generation. Those are the god damn rules. MGS is a bad example because it follows the rules. SHHD clearly dd not... there just isn't any excuse, man.

Fact of the matter is, no proper collection leaves out titles like that. Period. It was pretty evident to me from that alone that this "collection" wasn't going to be done right. Right then and there. And how other gamers didn't see the writing on the wall is beyond my comprehension...
the limits of your comprehension has no bearing on reality man.

and insisting that something is true does not make it so. there are no 'god damn rules' to say what a collection should and shouldn't contain.

period.
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
It was a travesty the moment they announced they were only making 2 games out of a possible 4. That was the nuke going off. Everything else was the fall-out.

They actually had 5 games to choose from (2, 3, 4, 0rigins and Shattered Memories were all available on the PS2), they just opted to go for the two most popular games.
 
Actually, I think the oldest game thus far to get an HD upgrade is Resident Evil Code Veronica which was originally a Dreamcast game. That's probably about as far back as developers are willing to go. We'll see what Nintendo does with future N64 games on Virtual Console though...

Code:Veronica HD got a huge upgrade on the lightning engine. I think it's the most drastic improvement in any HD remaster and it was needed just to make the game look passable.
 
I agree on most things but the new voice of Angela is way better. Also are these guys really serious that people that were anticipating the HD collection were ''wrong'' :I.

I disagree, old Angela sounds completely nuts and unhinged, new Angela just sounds scared, it's completely missed the point
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
When did they say that? I'd be surprised to see another remake. People would want it of course, but it seems like far more work that just porting the original.

I think people underestimate how good it could look.

MGS1.png


Just that looks pretty rad to me.

EDIT: For comparison:

mgspw81804.jpg
If they could actually deliver it at that quality level, that could be cool, but what version would serve as the base? The PSX version would require a lot of work and the PC version is missing a lot of effects.

MGS has a lot of cutscenes, though, and the models don't really hold up.

mgs-screen-3-retrospective.jpg
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
the limits of your comprehension has no bearing on reality man.

and insisting that something is true does not make it so. there are no 'god damn rules' to say what a collection should and shouldn't contain.

period.
There is a proper way to do something and an improper way. MGS/DMC/GOW/ICO collections did it the proper way. SH sits in a corner with a dunce hat on it's head having done it the wrong way. And they were doing it wrong before the game even released.

It doesn't need to be written in stone to have a firm grasp on how something is supposed to be done the right way. And looking at all the other proper collections it's just common damn sense at this point. Something the SHHD collection lacks.

They actually had 5 games to choose from (2, 3, 4, 0rigins and Shattered Memories were all available on the PS2), they just opted to go for the two most popular games.
Were those considered main-line games? Honestly though, regardless of if they were, it just makes the collection seem even more pathetic. So much to choose from and you go with just 2, the 2 most popular on the PS2 no doubt, but still just 2...

Writing on the wall, man. Writing. On. The. Wall.
 
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