F.E.A.R Demo Discussion Thread

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: brikis98
ok ppl, you guys need to lighten up and relax. IMO, this was by FAR the most impressive demo I've seen since Half Life. I had no expectations for this game based on screen shots and the like, and after this (very short ~10min) demo, I am totally blown away.

the graphics are superb. I ran it at 1600x1200 (A64 3000 @2610, 1 gig RAM, x800 XL) with everything maxed out except AA (none) and filtering (trillinear), and it got quite twitchy at times, but I was too sucked in to change it. the cutscenes were gorgeous. the lighting is great. the textures are solid. the billion shader effects are put to very good use. visual effects are stunning.

sound is also incredible, esp. w/ 5.1 surround sound going loud in my dark basement. great sound effects, creapy atmospheric audio, lots of neat touches (like hearing your own scared breath), and just a really engrossing audio experience.

and the gameplay is above par, at least for the 10 minutes we saw. the guns are great, and varied, and you can't carry a million at once, so you have to pick and choose. i love the gun that fires the huge blue bolts that disintigrate guys. the Max payne/Matrix slow mo is fantastic - the sound and visuals match it perfectly and it really gives the fighting some flavor.

the environment is awesome - the gunfights leave behind an incredible trail of destruction as you can shoot out lights and all sorts of stuff in the way. it almost seems like everything can be damaged and destroyed, and really adds to the mayhem of the game.

the AI is solid, never charging at you, but instead ducking for cover, trying to flank you, etc. the scripted events are tight and very effective - a lesson well learned from half life. unfortunately, one lesson they didn't learn from doom III was lighting - some places are just too dark. i know the game is going for a spooky look, but there is a thin line between creepy lighting and just annoying darkness.

finally, the game can be very freaky/scary. the visual effects and lighting lend themselves extremely well to a whole array of disturbing events and scenes, even in this brief demo. the surround sound and creepy sound effects don't hurt either. if done well, this game could be scary as hell.

now, as i said, this was a very short demo and certainly was packed very densley to show off the graphics, sound and gameplay. it's possible the actual game will be much more sparse and have lots of filler, which would be a shame. if the whole game has as much attention to detail as this demo, i think we have a real winner here. only time will tell

How can you say that lighting is good? It's just as craptasic as D3's lighting. It's all black!

What kind of settings are you running? And what monitor? Gamma? Etc...

Because, although I did say the game was a bit too dark (not as bad as Doom III), it is def. not BLACK. it's dark. and there is a difference.

and the lighting otherwise is amazing. the scene with all those lanterns swinging around, the ridiculous lighting effects in the room randomly filled w/ water, even the simple lighting on walls that showed awesome (bump map?) effects.

either you have the settings messed up, or are just too picky and choose to focus on one bad aspect (too dark) and completely ignore all the rest of the amazing effects.

I'll admit a lot of the lighting looked fantastic. But:

1) The SHADOWS are black. Not everything, the shadows. Most of the shadows cast an area of pitch blackness on the objects around them. D3 did the same thing, and it looks stupid.

2) The dark rooms are ridiculous. Yeah, the game's scary, dark is cool, so on and so on, but too much dark is just annoying. Where are all the beautiful and colorful scenes you see in HL2 and FC? Yes, true, FEAR is not that KIND of game, but there still needs to be some better stuff than black basements all over the place.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: lee631
I get 20 fps @ 1600x1200 everthing max. This game suck's

So much for the godly 7800GTX eh?

Not really. F.E.A.R. is just coded terribly, kind of like Halo.

Doom 3 looks better AND runs better, so F.E.A.R. really has no excuse to be as slow as it does. If you have to code that inefficiently to avoid copyright infringement, you should've just licensed the other engine in the first place.

Besides, as far as I'm concerned, anyone not using Unreal Engine 3 for next gen development (except for Will Wright) is just a stupid poo poo head.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: lee631
I get 20 fps @ 1600x1200 everthing max. This game suck's

So much for the godly 7800GTX eh?

Not really. F.E.A.R. is just coded terribly, kind of like Halo.

Doom 3 looks better AND runs better, so F.E.A.R. really has no excuse to be as slow as it does. If you have to code that inefficiently to avoid copyright infringement, you should've just licensed the other engine in the first place.

Besides, as far as I'm concerned, anyone not using Unreal Engine 3 for next gen development (except for Will Wright) is just a stupid poo poo head.

Will that engine run better than this on our hardware?

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Will that engine run better than this on our hardware?

Maybe, maybe not, but it has an excuse to run slower than F.E.A.R.: It looks like a next-generation engine.

F.E.A.R. is not a next gen technology. It looks like current generation games SHOULD look (recall that most games these days are mostly DX8.1 with a few DX9 touches smoothed over the top), but runs worse. And, it runs worse than games that are comparably prettier.

If a game looks better and runs faster, then exactly what is F.E.A.R.'s excuse?

 

[Polish3d]

I believe I'm getting a decent FPS with my system at 1680x1050 with 2xaa and 4AF and all other settings on maximum, but frankly, I think this game is coded like absolute sh|T.

Although the character models are very impressive in their movements and such, the graphics are mediocre and incomplete, a lot of phony-looking monochromatic textures and cartoonish objects.

This thing should be able to run waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than it does for most of you guys, I wouldn't even judge my system based on this piece of crap at all.

 

[dguy6789]

They need to code this game better.

At 800X600 all max settings with no aa/af, I get around 45fps. This game looks worse than Doom3, which I can run at ultra settings at 1024 at a solid 50+ fps.

They need to code the game a bit better. Hopefully they can improve performance via a patch should the full game be this slow.

Aside from that, the game does look pretty good. It seems to have some really nice combat effects that are better than other games'. It is also pretty fun, but it is no half life 2.

 

[XNice]

Originally posted by: brikis98
ok ppl, you guys need to lighten up and relax. IMO, this was by FAR the most impressive demo I've seen since Half Life. I had no expectations for this game based on screen shots and the like, and after this (very short ~10min) demo, I am totally blown away.

i know the game is going for a spooky look, but there is a thin line between creepy lighting and just annoying darkness.

Word up...... runs fine on my system. also i dont understand why people complain about demos being so big. you wanna know why? you cant just cut out a piece of the game as perfect as you DEV's might think. You ever heard of reusable assets?

 

[Polish3d]

If the game had more uniformly good graphics (rather than crap graphics mixed in with good graphics and effects) and a little more polish + way better optimization it could have been pretty good

 

[inveterate]

Ugh,, just played it,, it's not THAT great, I have to turn down the lighting and everything looks fine, getting 60 walking and 35 firefights, 4x/8x, 10x7, physics up all the way. haven't seen the water yet. Overall not the 18fps that everyone said.

 

[Hacp]

What resolution are you playing at thougH?

 

[Diasper]

As people have said it's a rip-off of alot of others things but hey if it's done well (which it appears to be) then it's not a problem.

Everything else seemed great and I liked it alot though again perhaps too dark - seeing the guys in black body armour got tricky at times - I had to use quicksave a bit when they took me by suprise alot. I settled for upping the gamma a fair bit.

Also I did find the game scary moreso at the beginning than towards the end - though you could always tell when a 'freaky' moment was going to come. I really did like the corridor moment where you went into spooky vision-mode for lack of a beter word - the ceiling of blood where the girl was walking upside down from - when you shot at her and hit the blood it sprayed down - I wasn't expecting that and that was damn cool as was that whole sequence.

Also the AI I was very impressed with - moreso than Half Life 2s which seemed a bit dulled (maybe because the soldiers just didn't like to move)

I played it at 1280x960 at medium everything which I thought was pretty good - that's with a 3200XP, 1GB DDR400 and 9800Pro which I thought was pretty good. However, it did feel like the fps were a bit low and could have benefitted from turning a fewthings down for smoother gameplay.

Also you need 1Gb with this - my friend was trying to run it at 512MB but sudden jerkiness/stopping alot of the time.

Looked nice still - but the world wasn't quite as interative as Half Life 2 or even some console based games eg Riddick as shooting out the lights I couldn't do (just flashed thereafter) while not everything that should have been destructable was eg CCTV camera that you saw through a door's window.

If I get this however this might need to wait for an upgrade else for when I can play it on someone else's computer.

 

[sandorski]

Not sure what to think. I feel myself getting bored with playing FPS games, at least Single Player that pretty much locks you into a fixed path with little or no options/Player inspired strategies other than this weapon with that Enemy.

Another vote for More Deus Ex games and less go through this Maze crap. Perhaps I might actually enjoy the full game, but I'm not even sure I'll spend money on this one.

 

[yukichigai]

This looks like it might be a halfway decent meld between FPS and Horror Survival, two gametypes I live for. Action is nothing spectacular, but the creepiness is. All the game has to do is maintain halfway decent weapons and a spooky plot and I'll be happy with it. Oh, and be moddable. There's no way in hell I'm buying it if it's not moddable.

There was much jerkiness on my machine between area changes; it seemed to freak out when it was loading up new enemies, but it was never at parts where slowdown would result in my death. (A64 3000+ 1 gig ram x800 Pro 256mb, if you're wondering) Other than that game performance was great.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Not sure what to think. I feel myself getting bored with playing FPS games, at least Single Player that pretty much locks you into a fixed path with little or no options/Player inspired strategies other than this weapon with that Enemy.

Another vote for More Deus Ex games and less go through this Maze crap. Perhaps I might actually enjoy the full game, but I'm not even sure I'll spend money on this one.

I kind of agree. I'd like to see a GTA-type environment implemented in a FPS. Not 20 or so "levels," just one big city, with nonlinear (and multiplayer) gameplay. Unfortunately, the way I imagine this would call for some MAJOR hardware advances and some fairly clever programming.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
This looks like it might be a halfway decent meld between FPS and Horror Survival, two gametypes I live for. Action is nothing spectacular, but the creepiness is. All the game has to do is maintain halfway decent weapons and a spooky plot and I'll be happy with it. Oh, and be moddable. There's no way in hell I'm buying it if it's not moddable.

There was much jerkiness on my machine between area changes; it seemed to freak out when it was loading up new enemies, but it was never at parts where slowdown would result in my death. (A64 3000+ 1 gig ram x800 Pro 256mb, if you're wondering) Other than that game performance was great.

What settings were you using? I have the same card, a P4 3.2 northwood, and 1GB of ram (all stock). I tried 16x12 with some of the settings on med/high, and my computer told me to go F myself.

 

[larry89]

The Demo looked absolutely amazing.

I got scared at the ladder part when I went down into the room with the dead body. I won't tell you what happens, I'll leave that up to you.


edit: just played further into the game and HOLY FREAKING CRAP THIS **** IS SCARY

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: larry89
The Demo looked absolutely amazing.

I got scared at the ladder part when I went down into the room with the dead body. I won't tell you what happens, I'll leave that up to you.


edit: just played further into the game and HOLY FREAKING CRAP THIS **** IS SCARY

No it's not. You're just a wuss.

The only remotely startling part was the ladder scene near the end of the demo. And the hallway after that? Laughable.

This is too much generic scare like most of today's slasher flicks. Blood, Gore, Death is not scary people. Vulnerability is scary.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: sandorski
Not sure what to think. I feel myself getting bored with playing FPS games, at least Single Player that pretty much locks you into a fixed path with little or no options/Player inspired strategies other than this weapon with that Enemy.

Another vote for More Deus Ex games and less go through this Maze crap. Perhaps I might actually enjoy the full game, but I'm not even sure I'll spend money on this one.

I kind of agree. I'd like to see a GTA-type environment implemented in a FPS. Not 20 or so "levels," just one big city, with nonlinear (and multiplayer) gameplay. Unfortunately, the way I imagine this would call for some MAJOR hardware advances and some fairly clever programming.

Unreal Engine 3 has it.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: sandorski
Not sure what to think. I feel myself getting bored with playing FPS games, at least Single Player that pretty much locks you into a fixed path with little or no options/Player inspired strategies other than this weapon with that Enemy.

Another vote for More Deus Ex games and less go through this Maze crap. Perhaps I might actually enjoy the full game, but I'm not even sure I'll spend money on this one.

I kind of agree. I'd like to see a GTA-type environment implemented in a FPS. Not 20 or so "levels," just one big city, with nonlinear (and multiplayer) gameplay. Unfortunately, the way I imagine this would call for some MAJOR hardware advances and some fairly clever programming.

Unreal Engine 3 has it.

Not quite what I'm thinking of.

 

[dnuggett]

I have it mirrored on my server as well...

FEAR DEMO

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: yukichigai
This looks like it might be a halfway decent meld between FPS and Horror Survival, two gametypes I live for. Action is nothing spectacular, but the creepiness is. All the game has to do is maintain halfway decent weapons and a spooky plot and I'll be happy with it. Oh, and be moddable. There's no way in hell I'm buying it if it's not moddable.

There was much jerkiness on my machine between area changes; it seemed to freak out when it was loading up new enemies, but it was never at parts where slowdown would result in my death. (A64 3000+ 1 gig ram x800 Pro 256mb, if you're wondering) Other than that game performance was great.

What settings were you using? I have the same card, a P4 3.2 northwood, and 1GB of ram (all stock). I tried 16x12 with some of the settings on med/high, and my computer told me to go F myself.

Heh, I ran it at 1024x768. Since I'm running x64 I can't OC my x800 Pro anymore, so I knew it was never going to happen. I had everything else set to high though and it ran just fine.

EDIT: Oh yeah, this is remarkably scary for an FPS. Mood is everything, and this does it well, almost as well as the beginning of some of the Silent Hill games. Certainly kicks Doom3's tookus, and that game takes you to Hell.

 

[inveterate]

playing at 10x7

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: larry89
The Demo looked absolutely amazing.

I got scared at the ladder part when I went down into the room with the dead body. I won't tell you what happens, I'll leave that up to you.


edit: just played further into the game and HOLY FREAKING CRAP THIS **** IS SCARY

No it's not. You're just a wuss.

The only remotely startling part was the ladder scene near the end of the demo. And the hallway after that? Laughable.

This is too much generic scare like most of today's slasher flicks. Blood, Gore, Death is not scary people. Vulnerability is scary.

and when this game takes you out of your comfy "i have big guns and can take care of myself" and sticks you in a hallway w/ a bleeding cieling and no weapons whatsoever, you don't feel vulnerable?

or when little girls appear in the middle of nowhere and whisper scary sh*t?

the "generic" scares you refer to are things popping out suddenly (ala Doom 3). IMO, there is nothing generic to the scares in this demo.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: brikis98
ok ppl, you guys need to lighten up and relax. IMO, this was by FAR the most impressive demo I've seen since Half Life. I had no expectations for this game based on screen shots and the like, and after this (very short ~10min) demo, I am totally blown away.

the graphics are superb. I ran it at 1600x1200 (A64 3000 @2610, 1 gig RAM, x800 XL) with everything maxed out except AA (none) and filtering (trillinear), and it got quite twitchy at times, but I was too sucked in to change it. the cutscenes were gorgeous. the lighting is great. the textures are solid. the billion shader effects are put to very good use. visual effects are stunning.

sound is also incredible, esp. w/ 5.1 surround sound going loud in my dark basement. great sound effects, creapy atmospheric audio, lots of neat touches (like hearing your own scared breath), and just a really engrossing audio experience.

and the gameplay is above par, at least for the 10 minutes we saw. the guns are great, and varied, and you can't carry a million at once, so you have to pick and choose. i love the gun that fires the huge blue bolts that disintigrate guys. the Max payne/Matrix slow mo is fantastic - the sound and visuals match it perfectly and it really gives the fighting some flavor.

the environment is awesome - the gunfights leave behind an incredible trail of destruction as you can shoot out lights and all sorts of stuff in the way. it almost seems like everything can be damaged and destroyed, and really adds to the mayhem of the game.

the AI is solid, never charging at you, but instead ducking for cover, trying to flank you, etc. the scripted events are tight and very effective - a lesson well learned from half life. unfortunately, one lesson they didn't learn from doom III was lighting - some places are just too dark. i know the game is going for a spooky look, but there is a thin line between creepy lighting and just annoying darkness.

finally, the game can be very freaky/scary. the visual effects and lighting lend themselves extremely well to a whole array of disturbing events and scenes, even in this brief demo. the surround sound and creepy sound effects don't hurt either. if done well, this game could be scary as hell.

now, as i said, this was a very short demo and certainly was packed very densley to show off the graphics, sound and gameplay. it's possible the actual game will be much more sparse and have lots of filler, which would be a shame. if the whole game has as much attention to detail as this demo, i think we have a real winner here. only time will tell

How can you say that lighting is good? It's just as craptasic as D3's lighting. It's all black!

What kind of settings are you running? And what monitor? Gamma? Etc...

Because, although I did say the game was a bit too dark (not as bad as Doom III), it is def. not BLACK. it's dark. and there is a difference.

and the lighting otherwise is amazing. the scene with all those lanterns swinging around, the ridiculous lighting effects in the room randomly filled w/ water, even the simple lighting on walls that showed awesome (bump map?) effects.

either you have the settings messed up, or are just too picky and choose to focus on one bad aspect (too dark) and completely ignore all the rest of the amazing effects.

I'll admit a lot of the lighting looked fantastic. But:

1) The SHADOWS are black. Not everything, the shadows. Most of the shadows cast an area of pitch blackness on the objects around them. D3 did the same thing, and it looks stupid.

2) The dark rooms are ridiculous. Yeah, the game's scary, dark is cool, so on and so on, but too much dark is just annoying. Where are all the beautiful and colorful scenes you see in HL2 and FC? Yes, true, FEAR is not that KIND of game, but there still needs to be some better stuff than black basements all over the place.

ok, those two things i agree... the shadows aren't 100% black, but are awfully dark, and look kind of dumb. they also move a bit oddly, esp. when in front of bright lights, like the car headlights.

and yeah, i said the game was a bit too dark. i guess the demo takes place at night, and its supposed to be spooky, but it just gets irritating. they do need a better balance.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: lee631
I get 20 fps @ 1600x1200 everthing max. This game suck's

So much for the godly 7800GTX eh?

Not really. F.E.A.R. is just coded terribly, kind of like Halo.

Doom 3 looks better AND runs better, so F.E.A.R. really has no excuse to be as slow as it does. If you have to code that inefficiently to avoid copyright infringement, you should've just licensed the other engine in the first place.

Besides, as far as I'm concerned, anyone not using Unreal Engine 3 for next gen development (except for Will Wright) is just a stupid poo poo head.

although it may be coded inefficiently, this is still a demo.

but, i don't understand how ppl can say doom 3 looked better. this game, in every conceivable way, looks MUCH better than doom 3. first of all, you couldn't see sh*t in doom 3 cause it was too friggin dark. but even what you could see is far outdone by this game. FEAR has better lighting, better models, better textures, and MUCH better special effects (including shader effects). it's also too dark, but IMO, creams doom 3's graphics in every way.