What do you want in Crimson Skies 2?

[Manny Calavera]

The first one on the original Xbox was an absolute blast, and a commercial/critial success, and Piett (the community manager of the FASA Interactive forum for those who don't know, currently trying to PR himself out of the Shadowrun mess) says they'd love to do another one and even had done some light preproduction work on an Xbox sequel before dropping it in favor of Shadowrun, so I'm certain it's coming eventually. So, since it's probably coming for 360 before the end of it's lifespan, what kind of improvements do you want to see?


The most important thing for me is that they stay true to the awesome and interesting universe. They did a great job with this in the first game, but seeing Shadowrun, I'd really like it if they didn't take any more creative license with other IPs. Other than that, being able to heavily customize your own personal plane, with a system like the one in Chromehounds, would be absolutely awesome.

 

[THWIP*]

The first one on the original Xbox was an absolute blast, and a commercial/critial success, and Piett (the community manager of the FASA Interactive forum for those who don't know, currently trying to PR himself out of the Shadowrun mess) says they'd love to do another one and even had done some light preproduction work on an Xbox sequel before dropping it in favor of Shadowrun, so I'm certain it's coming eventually. So, since it's probably coming for 360 before the end of it's lifespan, what kind of improvements do you want to see?


The most important thing for me is that they stay true to the awesome and interesting universe. They did a great job with this in the first game, but seeing Shadowrun, I'd really like it if they didn't take any more creative license with other IPs. Other than that, being able to heavily customize your own personal plane, with a system like the one in Chromehounds, would be absolutely awesome.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING I DON'T ABOUT THIS, AND HAVE CONCRETE PROOF THAT THIS IS EVEN IN THE WORKS, YOU DAMN WELL BETTER POST IT. OTHERWISE, I WILL BE FORCED TO KICK YOUR ASS FOR BEING A C**KSUCKING TEASE.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Here's Piett (FASA Interactive employee, not just a random forum guy) saying it's not in the works, yet.

It was a commercial and critical success though, so it's coming. If I can find the post with Piett talking about having started on a sequel, I will, but the forums there were split just like these and it's sort of hard to find things, and the search feature is kind of useless, so yeah

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I hate to burst bubbles, but when Microsoft cancelled Crimson Skies 2, the Crimson Skies team left to create their own studio called Airtight Games. I don't think we'll be seeing a CS2 from FASA, but it is possible MS would have Airtight make a CS game if the demand is strong (it isn't).

 

[Manny Calavera]

Most of the team is still there, and they still own the IP, and the game did pretty well critically and probably commercially as well, so I don't see why not

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Because they'd rather make a cross-platform example of how to do "Live Anywhere" that nobody cares about than a game that actually matters to people, which would either be CS2 or a Deux Ex Shadowrun.

At least we have Bioshock and some other flying games.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Actually, now that you bring it up, Shadowrun is going to be an amazing game, I think people are going to be really surprised by it the next time they see it. If you go to the fasa interactive website, and read some of the team blogs, the graphics were bad partly because they were really early, and partly because the team was trying to get a great, stable framerate first and THEN add in graphical features so that they could ensure 60fps instead of having to settle for 30 because they put in depth of field and HDR when they really shouldn't have. The E3 demo (the one all the god awful screens are from) didn't even have a finished particle system implemented, bump mapping/paralax mapping, etc. The game is going to look much better when it's actually released. Also, they've discussed some big changes to the art style and the backstory to bring it more in line with what Shadowrun is supposed to be, and every hands on report has said that it's one of the most fun games they've ever played. It looks like trash now, but I have a feeling FASA is going to turn it around in the end.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Actually, now that you bring it up, Shadowrun is going to be an amazing game, I think people are going to be really surprised by it the next time they see it. If you go to the fasa interactive website, and read some of the team blogs, the graphics were bad partly because they were really early, and partly because the team was trying to get a great, stable framerate first and THEN add in graphical features so that they could ensure 60fps instead of having to settle for 30 because they put in depth of field and HDR when they really shouldn't have. The E3 demo (the one all the god awful screens are from) didn't even have a finished particle system implemented, bump mapping/paralax mapping, etc. The game is going to look much better when it's actually released. Also, they've discussed some big changes to the art style and the backstory to bring it more in line with what Shadowrun is supposed to be, and every hands on report has said that it's one of the most fun games they've ever played. It looks like trash now, but I have a feeling FASA is going to turn it around in the end.

1. Graphics: The graphics aren't going to improve that much. Remember, this is also going to be a PC release title, and it's going to have to work on a lot of mid-range PCs if Microsoft wants this to even have a chance of being popular.

2. Gameplay: I really just heard Bender say it was fun, but anyways, it may be even more fun than Halo, but that really doesn't matter for most of us, because there's no SP.

 

[Manny Calavera]

1. Graphics: The graphics aren't going to improve that much. Remember, this is also going to be a PC release title, and it's going to have to work on a lot of mid-range PCs if Microsoft wants this to even have a chance of being popular.

The graphics are going to improve a lot. They hadn't even implemented bump mapping, something that is just a basic feature now, when they did that E3 demonstration. They have a new particle system, totally new dynamic lighting system, etc. It'll look much, much better. And a PC release doesn't mean anything, the PC version can scale down, and it's Vista anyways which means it doesn't need to work on older cards that aren't going to be supported, so no 8kb textures or anything.

2. Gameplay: I really just heard Bender say it was fun, but anyways, it may be even more fun than Halo, but that really doesn't matter for most of us, because there's no SP.

I agree that the lack of a single player game is going to really hurt it and keep it as a 7/10 at the highest for me. I really don't know why they didn't bother with single player, in Crimson Skies they had awesome, addictive multiplayer and awesome single player that actually had a great story to follow. Why would they just revert to nothing but bots?

And it wasn't just that Microsoft blog guy that got invited to play it, it's been pretty much every hands on that I've read. They all start the same "I hated this game", and end with "wow, this game kicks a lot of ass".

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I'm sure the game will be good, but no good can come from this.

If it's a success, Microsoft will order a sequel that's not an RPG and probably won't have Single Player.

If it fails, Microsoft blames the Shadowrun IP and we never get another RPG from it.

 

[Manny Calavera]

FASA has said they want to do more with Shadowrun than just this game/type of game, and that this is simply an introduction to the franchise, so hopefully it doesn't turn into another first person shooter series, Microsoft already has two big name FPS series, it doesn't need another

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Perfect Dark lost a lot of it's name with PDZ, which was a prequel which actually managed to take points away from it's successor by perverting everything you thought was holy in the first game.

I would rather they drop Perfect Dark completely and have Rare's FPS team go back to making FPSs in THEIR style and not making Halo clones.

You know what? They don't deserve to make FPSs, let's have them make XBLA games. Muahahah.

 

[Manny Calavera]

I really liked Perfect Dark Zero, I thought it was a perfect 10 game, on par with the original Halo, I really don't get why people are on Rare's nuts so much over it. I mean, yeah, it makes no sense that she's not a brit, and I guess the story seemed a little "just there", but all in all it was a good game

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I think I need to take a trip to Rare and tell them what the hell to do. Their last like, twenty games pissed me off.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Ugh, their games are fun, they look nice, and they sell well. They don't use IPs like I would like, but I mean, I can't really ask much more of them. They're a great studio, despite what most classless mongrels on these boards believe.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Grabbed by the Ghoulies: I actually really liked this game. It was packed with Rare's style, and had many things about it that made me like Rare in the first place.
Conker: I didn't like Conker to begin with, and the multiplayer was worse than the N64 version.
Kameo: It's really good, but I never really liked the JFG team and this doesn't seem like a Rare game.
Perfect Dark Zero: This game could have been SO FREAKING AWESOME but it just let me down in every single way. The FPS team needs to be forced to play PD on the N64 hours a day for a year (and taking notes) before making another PD game.
Viva Pinata: What the hell is this?

Future redemptions:

Banjo Kazooie 3: Would be an instant redeemer if it's a worthy game. Unfortunately the Banjo Team is tied up with Viva Pinata right now so we won't see Banjo 3 until the Xbox 720.

A real Perfect Dark entry: Hell yes. We need a super-auto-aim crosshair like in the 64 version though.

A new IP that doesn't suck the fat one: Make something irrelevant to today's games, and you'll have a hit as long as you just go with it. And no, it can't be Viva Pinata.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Viva Pinata: What the hell is this?

Not you too. It has more colors than grey and blood red, please don't hate it

A new IP that doesn't suck the fat one: Make something irrelevant to today's games, and you'll have a hit as long as you just go with it. And no, it can't be Viva Pinata.

Why not? If Viva is fun, and so far every indication is that it will be, it would be a "new IP that doesn't suck the fat one".

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Rare was always better at making adventure games and platformers, so now they're making an Xbox version of The Sims crossbread with Animal Crossing?

And why'd it have to be the Banjo Team, who is, for my money, Rare's best team?

So now we've got the FPS team probably making PD negative one, which will just have it say PDZ was only a virtual reality training situation for Joanna Dark which even then won't negate that franchise-killing filth, only to screw that up even worse with Zelda: The Windwaker graphics and annoying chinese enemies.

The Jet Force Gemini/Kameo team is probably wondering how they're going to eat food tonight because in the last decade, they've produced two games which both sold poorly, they'll probably be forced into making a generic TPS that costs little to develop and sells reasonably well.

The handheld team is probably porting another SNES game to the GBA.

Ugh. What the hell is happening!

 

[Manny Calavera]

Rare was always better at making adventure games and platformers, so now they're making an Xbox version of The Sims crossbread with Animal Crossing?

And why'd it have to be the Banjo Team, who is, for my money, Rare's best team?

So now we've got the FPS team probably making PD negative one, which will just have it say PDZ was only a virtual reality training situation for Joanna Dark which even then won't negate that franchise-killing filth, only to screw that up even worse with Zelda: The Windwaker graphics and annoying chinese enemies.

The Jet Force Gemini/Kameo team is probably wondering how they're going to eat food tonight because in the last decade, they've produced two games which both sold poorly, they'll probably be forced into making a generic TPS that costs little to develop and sells reasonably well.

The handheld team is probably porting another SNES game to the GBA.

Ugh. What the hell is happening!

Going down the line, because they want to branch out into new things like all great developers, so that the game is ****ing great, the virtual simulation stuff is dumb, it was ONE part of ONE level for goodness sake, Windwaker's graphics were awesome, as were PDZ's, Kameo didn't sell poorly, they doing another diddy kong racing, I don't play handheld games so meh, nothing is happening, people are just all over Rare these days for a lot of reasons, none of which are valid, snap out of it. That was a really long sentence.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I had faith in Rare while they deserved it. I mean, Perfect Dark. How the hell do you screw that up? Just take the first one and change it around a little. For an Xbox port that was shrowded in secrecy for so long, I expected a much better game. Kameo was a long, long wait, and it was good, especially for a launch game, but it can be very aggravating.

I won't be happy with a Rare game until Banjo 3 comes out, but even still, why Viva Pinata? And why me?

 

[Manny Calavera]

So basically you're angry at Rare for not doing Banjo Threeie right away?

 

[WhatsHisFace]

In a word, yes.

But really, it's bigger than that. Banjo Kazooie 3's absense is just a symptom of the things that suck: The Banjo Team doesn't want to be pidgeonholed into making platformers after three Donkey Kong Countries and two Banjo Kazooies.

That's fine and dandy, but to have them make two original IPs in the meantime, both being EXTREMELY unambitious? I mean, GbtG is an 80's style game in modern times, and Viva Pinata is just one room where animals wander around. It's not exactly the largest game ever produced.

I wouldn't mind Banjo 3's neglect if it was actually for a good purpose, like the Banjo Team making a Deus Ex type game on the Xbox.

 

[Manny Calavera]

GbtG wasn't an 80s style game in modern times to me so much as it was a type of game that you just didn't see as often anymore, being a breath of fresh air, just as Viva Pinata is, which btw is actually a pretty huge game, saying it's just a "room" is kind of wrong

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Well each person gets their own "room", and other people can look into your "room". But this isn't Black and White with a bunch of creatures. It's not even multiple Tomagotchis. It's just you making a "room" that animals like.

How do you even quantify that? It doesn't make sense.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Room sounds smaller, it's actually a pretty large island, and don't just make a room that they like, you can breed them as well, so you have control over their environment and the creatures themselves. This thread has spun WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY off topic