How could people not see this coming miles away after what Gearbox did to Duke Nukem, their previous commissioned work? I remember we played tons of Duke 3D over LAN back in the days and one of my mates showed this weird FPS you were supposed to control with a mouse instead of the keyboard! I could barely understand what was going on: An alien sprinting at twice the usual speed upside down on ceilings not optimized for wall walking so the camera would snap all over the place on every little pipe you crossed, and yet it still seemed like sorcery then... Funny how a decade and a half later I am here playing NS2 and how Gearbox George Lucased those memories.
I wouldn't considering it milking, but rather an opportunity to reach out to a lot of angry, sad and disappointed gamers and make them happy because they get to play a really awesome aliens vs marines game. Its like when that horrible AVP movie came out, I was mad and I really wanted to sink my teeth into a good sci-fi, and then along came district 9 to save the day
You wouldn't be wankers, you'd be heroes.
Sorry for the double post guys. Schkorpio I like the way you put this. It would be nice if NS2 could satisfy the aliens vs marines itch of disappointed Aliens fans. Making those gamers happy would be a truly wonderful thing.
Though... How could we reach out? To do so with marketing, like Activision did with Warfighter, would be too in-your-face, paying to put ourselves in front of the pain. I could never sign off on that. And, we simply don't have the money to reach that size of an audience.
Perhaps it just needs to be the content? Gorgeous is a truly wonderful update. When work first started on it, we did not know if would be worthy of the time it has taken. But it is just stuffed full of great stuff, features and gameplay that it would have been great to have on day one.
Of course, NS2 is not perfect. There is so much to be done to make it run faster, be better balanced, be more accessible, be better suited to competitive players, look better and play better. Nevertheless, objectively, it is a good game that is always getting better.
But that is not enough. Neither marketing, or just a good product could get us in front of the Aliens crowd. But what if it was not just UWE telling people Gorgeous has arrived? What if, like after the Onos Teaser, like after the Exosuit Reveal, like on launch day, everyone that loves NS2 gets up and shouts? If enough people who love NS2 stand up when Gorgeous arrives... Maybe some of these Aliens fans will hear it.
I know I will be shouting at the top of my lungs, as a fanboy, through NS2HD. Through official UWE channels I'll be trying to show as much press as possible just what NS2 is, and the wonderful community around it. But the power and reach of UWE pales in comparison to what we could all do together.
There are only a few weeks of February left. Gorgeous will be hear soon. Maybe when it is, like Schkorpio says, we can all work together to make some Aliens fans very happy.
As an old AVP 1 player I never even made the connection between the 2 games, there was always way too much RTS element in NS to compare them for me. NS is even missing an entire race, based on an entirely different game in a different genre to what AVP is.
I wouldn't considering it milking, but rather an opportunity to reach out to a lot of angry, sad and disappointed gamers and make them happy because they get to play a really awesome aliens vs marines game. Its like when that horrible AVP movie came out, I was mad and I really wanted to sink my teeth into a good sci-fi, and then along came district 9 to save the day
You wouldn't be wankers, you'd be heroes.
Sorry for the double post guys. Schkorpio I like the way you put this. It would be nice if NS2 could satisfy the aliens vs marines itch of disappointed Aliens fans. Making those gamers happy would be a truly wonderful thing.
Though... How could we reach out? To do so with marketing, like Activision did with Warfighter, would be too in-your-face, paying to put ourselves in front of the pain. I could never sign off on that. And, we simply don't have the money to reach that size of an audience.
Perhaps it just needs to be the content? Gorgeous is a truly wonderful update. When work first started on it, we did not know if would be worthy of the time it has taken. But it is just stuffed full of great stuff, features and gameplay that it would have been great to have on day one.
Of course, NS2 is not perfect. There is so much to be done to make it run faster, be better balanced, be more accessible, be better suited to competitive players, look better and play better. Nevertheless, objectively, it is a good game that is always getting better.
But that is not enough. Neither marketing, or just a good product could get us in front of the Aliens crowd. But what if it was not just UWE telling people Gorgeous has arrived? What if, like after the Onos Teaser, like after the Exosuit Reveal, like on launch day, everyone that loves NS2 gets up and shouts? If enough people who love NS2 stand up when Gorgeous arrives... Maybe some of these Aliens fans will hear it.
I know I will be shouting at the top of my lungs, as a fanboy, through NS2HD. Through official UWE channels I'll be trying to show as much press as possible just what NS2 is, and the wonderful community around it. But the power and reach of UWE pales in comparison to what we could all do together.
There are only a few weeks of February left. Gorgeous will be hear soon. Maybe when it is, like Schkorpio says, we can all work together to make some Aliens fans very happy.
Hugh, seriously though, if you guys released an Aliens DLC pack with new skins, sound effects, and music in the nebulous future, I would need an ice pack because of the excited swelling I would get for an entire week. And you would need such, such deep pockets for the rain of money.
Hugh, seriously though, if you guys released an Aliens DLC pack with new skins, sound effects, and music in the nebulous future, I would need an ice pack because of the excited swelling I would get for an entire week. And you would need such, such deep pockets for the rain of money.
Has nothing to do with deep pockets but rather with license shenanigans. FOX is very protective about it's Aliens IP they already sued modmakers/forced the shutdown of projects because of that.
In an ideal world UWE would get in touch with SEGA/FOX and go "Look guys, we already ripped off so much of that stuff for the past 10 years, we know how to do it!" maybe getting a shot at the official license and some additional funding. But that's pretty unlikely to happen i guess..
Anyway, there are already custom skins/mods out there for NS2 that look like straight out of Aliens. In NS1 there had been enough custom content of that nature to nearly make a Alien total conversation for NS1. So just give it some time and you will be running around with a pulse rifle, killing Fades that look like Xenos
A:CM should have been like AvP 1 and 2. You know, eerie and terrifying. You won't get much of that in NS2's hectic multiplayer anyway. The "style" of the two games resemble each other though.
Sadly, UWE rides on it's own ego wave and tries to deny NS2's dying fast, cause people still get frustrated and critical balance issues are still where they used to be.
I've seen countless solutions for them presented by the Community, but it's all in vain. Content update will screw up balance even further. What's the point of the new content? You play for marines - you get munched 2 out of 3 games at best.
Sadly, UWE rides on it's own ego wave and tries to deny NS2's dying fast, cause people still get frustrated and critical balance issues are still where they used to be.
I've seen countless solutions for them presented by the Community, but it's all in vain. Content update will screw up balance even further. What's the point of the new content? You play for marines - you get munched 2 out of 3 games at best.
Thanks for the heads up, from the trailer was very interested in buying A:CM , but after the disappointment of Dead Island and being sucked in by that trailer, I definitely wont be buying this.
Cant believe how bad this is, Halflife leave this for dead for enemy AI. I loved the original AVP game, played it from start to finish , but the other i didn't even bother finishing first level.
As an old AVP 1 player I never even made the connection between the 2 games, there was always way too much RTS element in NS to compare them for me. NS is even missing an entire race, based on an entirely different game in a different genre to what AVP is.
I don't see the overlap.
This trailer is what got me into the game in the first place. The connection with "Aliens" was unmistakable.
Content update will screw up balance even further. What's the point of the new content? You play for marines - you get munched 2 out of 3 games at best.
@Neoken:
I see your Aliens NS1 connection and raise you a StarCraft Amerigo:
Check out the similiarities:
The slow opening a door, viewed from inside the ship
A marine with laser sights walking through
A short cut to "marine vision"
...
Can you name more?
This trailer is what got me into the game in the first place. The connection with "Aliens" was unmistakable.
Ahhh memories! What's that WEIRD GUN that the marine is using, the one which has a magazine that you pull out by a handle from the top of the gun? Man, sure WISH that we had THAT gun.
The degree to which we feared ACM was, in hindsight, crazy. Potential release dates for NS2 were discussed with reference to ACM's potential release date. Around the lunch table, we pondered the pasting reviewers would give us if they were simultaneously reviewing a AAA mega-budget aliens vs marines title.
At shows like GamesCom, PAX-East, and E3 I walked around the ACM super-booths in awe. I spoke to ACM PR reps and they had no idea what NS was. I watched the demos (especially the E3 one) and thought... 'How can we possibly stand up to these guy on the aliens v marine stage?' I walked around the Power Loader in multiple countries and shook my head at the poor luck of having to face this Sega/Gearbox monster in our launch window.
Now, I'm filled with sadness. Sadness at being an Aliens fan and not being able to experience LV-426 like I had imagined I would. Sadness that we spent so much time being afraid of a game that we have beaten on Metacritic by 30 points. Sadness that the launch trailer for ACM probably cost more than 30% of the entire development budget of NS2.
With that marketing machine, with that moneypot, with that kind of development time, with that kind of bullet-proof intellectual property, ACM should have been an absolute hit.
No, UWE won't be milking the poor reception of ACM. To do so would make us wankers, it would be dishonorable. Remember when Warfighter exploded? Activision ran a targeted ad campaign hitting every single Warfighter keyword with CODBLOPSII pre-rolls and banners. I'm sure it got them sales. But it also said much about the kind of company they are.
There is a very subtle aliens reference in the Gorgeous Trailer, but it was scripted in long, long ago. Well before we even realized ACM was landing at the same time as the update. Now, I just hope the press won't can us for 'trying to milk failure.'
Gotta keep an eye on this statement for future reference, just in case of accusations and stuff, of the Gorgeous Trailer by the attracted trolls.
DC_DarklingJoin Date: 2003-07-10Member: 18068Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver
would it not be funny that after working out the stability & balance issues we still have, although I do not think they are as bad as many say, some big shots take notice and ask if uwe actually would make a new aliens game? 'because they can'. haha
I am going to be pissed if that would mean no new stuff for NS though.
Really, I do think that a trailer for Gorgeous would do a lot. People will do all their things with the likes and the sharing on their social media sites, it'll get around.
Especially if the various game media sites start mentioning it. UWE wouldn't even have to say anything about A:CM at all, but that doesn't mean Kotaku and The Escapist and all those other sites won't mention the obvious things to mention. But the media sites won't talk about NS2 if we, the players, don't make them aware of it. So go out and yabber about how great this game is, and then people will start taking more notice!
@Hugh
Do you know what you are not using enough? Steam NEWS.
Only a tiny number of NS2 players ever sees these forums, but EVERYBODY sees their Steam news and announcements!
Upload your fancy changelogs, change videos and trailers. Embed them, integrate them, infest them! You already do all that work, make sure you don't forget your most important site.
Make it happen!
@Hugh
Do you know what you are not using enough? Steam NEWS....
Hi Hamlet! Do you mean the NS2 Steam Group? Or the news section on Library page (Screenshot maybe)?
The Library page is controlled by Valve, we have to manually send them changelogs and such and there is usually a big delay. But you are absolutely right that we should have more content up there!
@Hugh
Do you know what you are not using enough? Steam NEWS....
Hi Hamlet! Do you mean the NS2 Steam Group? Or the news section on Library page (Screenshot maybe)?
The Library page is controlled by Valve, we have to manually send them changelogs and such and there is usually a big delay. But you are absolutely right that we should have more content up there!
It's quite important, though, since that site is also directly accessible from the shop page. Having a lot of updates listed there shows that the game is supported by the developers, regardless of the delay.
Other games even post pretty much every occurrence of their game on pages like Kotaku there, or stuff that is related to the game's franchise but not the game itself. But it at least signalizes activity to the players.
Want a negative example?
Uber Entertainment used to post their patch notes on the Steam News for quite a while but stopped doing that at some point because they thought that showing them in the game's launcher was enough - well, it obviously was not because you can't reach players who have uninstalled the game already that way and convince them that the game might have gotten some awesome new updates.
And if you don't bring any updates on the Steam News for three months, despite actually patching the game once every week, and then have a single Steam News that only talks about your awesome new Planetary Annihilation Kickstarter, then how does this look to any player on the outside? "This game is abandoned, no updates in months and the devs are already working on a new title!"
Uber did so many things wrong with their PR management and player retention - please don't make the same mistake.
Also: Nothing annoys players as much as Steam downloading a big update that might even introduces gameplay and balance changes, then clicking on "Update News" in the download manager and not getting any clue about why exactly they have to download a few hundred MB now before they can play again.
Thanks for this feedback guys. I will make sure Gorgeous gets a nice big post in the News Section. I selfishly wish Valve would allow us to post directly... But I understand why they might not want that.
Comments
Hahaha!! Kouji, have I told you recently that you are the man?
Sorry for the double post guys. Schkorpio I like the way you put this. It would be nice if NS2 could satisfy the aliens vs marines itch of disappointed Aliens fans. Making those gamers happy would be a truly wonderful thing.
Though... How could we reach out? To do so with marketing, like Activision did with Warfighter, would be too in-your-face, paying to put ourselves in front of the pain. I could never sign off on that. And, we simply don't have the money to reach that size of an audience.
Perhaps it just needs to be the content? Gorgeous is a truly wonderful update. When work first started on it, we did not know if would be worthy of the time it has taken. But it is just stuffed full of great stuff, features and gameplay that it would have been great to have on day one.
Of course, NS2 is not perfect. There is so much to be done to make it run faster, be better balanced, be more accessible, be better suited to competitive players, look better and play better. Nevertheless, objectively, it is a good game that is always getting better.
But that is not enough. Neither marketing, or just a good product could get us in front of the Aliens crowd. But what if it was not just UWE telling people Gorgeous has arrived? What if, like after the Onos Teaser, like after the Exosuit Reveal, like on launch day, everyone that loves NS2 gets up and shouts? If enough people who love NS2 stand up when Gorgeous arrives... Maybe some of these Aliens fans will hear it.
I know I will be shouting at the top of my lungs, as a fanboy, through NS2HD. Through official UWE channels I'll be trying to show as much press as possible just what NS2 is, and the wonderful community around it. But the power and reach of UWE pales in comparison to what we could all do together.
There are only a few weeks of February left. Gorgeous will be hear soon. Maybe when it is, like Schkorpio says, we can all work together to make some Aliens fans very happy.
I don't see the overlap.
Has nothing to do with deep pockets but rather with license shenanigans. FOX is very protective about it's Aliens IP they already sued modmakers/forced the shutdown of projects because of that.
In an ideal world UWE would get in touch with SEGA/FOX and go "Look guys, we already ripped off so much of that stuff for the past 10 years, we know how to do it!" maybe getting a shot at the official license and some additional funding. But that's pretty unlikely to happen i guess..
Anyway, there are already custom skins/mods out there for NS2 that look like straight out of Aliens. In NS1 there had been enough custom content of that nature to nearly make a Alien total conversation for NS1. So just give it some time and you will be running around with a pulse rifle, killing Fades that look like Xenos
A Swedish site included a link to NS2 in their A:CM review.
I've seen countless solutions for them presented by the Community, but it's all in vain. Content update will screw up balance even further. What's the point of the new content? You play for marines - you get munched 2 out of 3 games at best.
Everyone takes your opinion very seriously.
Game's population got lower even after steam sale.
Cant believe how bad this is, Halflife leave this for dead for enemy AI. I loved the original AVP game, played it from start to finish , but the other i didn't even bother finishing first level.
This trailer is what got me into the game in the first place. The connection with "Aliens" was unmistakable.
Holy crap that trailer is awesome. Someone should remake a NS2 trailer in this style
You assume too much.
I see your Aliens NS1 connection and raise you a StarCraft Amerigo:
Check out the similiarities:
The slow opening a door, viewed from inside the ship
A marine with laser sights walking through
A short cut to "marine vision"
...
Can you name more?
Ahhh memories! What's that WEIRD GUN that the marine is using, the one which has a magazine that you pull out by a handle from the top of the gun? Man, sure WISH that we had THAT gun.
That would be this. That's the trailer that got me into the game.
I am going to be pissed if that would mean no new stuff for NS though.
Especially if the various game media sites start mentioning it. UWE wouldn't even have to say anything about A:CM at all, but that doesn't mean Kotaku and The Escapist and all those other sites won't mention the obvious things to mention. But the media sites won't talk about NS2 if we, the players, don't make them aware of it. So go out and yabber about how great this game is, and then people will start taking more notice!
How the hell are they supposed to close the distance as a melee only class? You can't sneak/ambush everywhere.
Do you know what you are not using enough? Steam NEWS.
Only a tiny number of NS2 players ever sees these forums, but EVERYBODY sees their Steam news and announcements!
Upload your fancy changelogs, change videos and trailers. Embed them, integrate them, infest them! You already do all that work, make sure you don't forget your most important site.
Make it happen!
Hi Hamlet! Do you mean the NS2 Steam Group? Or the news section on Library page (Screenshot maybe)?
The Library page is controlled by Valve, we have to manually send them changelogs and such and there is usually a big delay. But you are absolutely right that we should have more content up there!
It's quite important, though, since that site is also directly accessible from the shop page. Having a lot of updates listed there shows that the game is supported by the developers, regardless of the delay.
Other games even post pretty much every occurrence of their game on pages like Kotaku there, or stuff that is related to the game's franchise but not the game itself. But it at least signalizes activity to the players.
Want a negative example?
Uber Entertainment used to post their patch notes on the Steam News for quite a while but stopped doing that at some point because they thought that showing them in the game's launcher was enough - well, it obviously was not because you can't reach players who have uninstalled the game already that way and convince them that the game might have gotten some awesome new updates.
And if you don't bring any updates on the Steam News for three months, despite actually patching the game once every week, and then have a single Steam News that only talks about your awesome new Planetary Annihilation Kickstarter, then how does this look to any player on the outside? "This game is abandoned, no updates in months and the devs are already working on a new title!"
Uber did so many things wrong with their PR management and player retention - please don't make the same mistake.
Also: Nothing annoys players as much as Steam downloading a big update that might even introduces gameplay and balance changes, then clicking on "Update News" in the download manager and not getting any clue about why exactly they have to download a few hundred MB now before they can play again.