Shattered Horizon

[minmaster]

has anyone else been looking forward to this game? it's from the guys who make the benchmarking software 3dmark. it looks very interesting, and some fresh air to the fps genre.

http://www.shatteredhorizon.com/

it's coming out in couple days and only $17.99 on steam right now. i'm thinking about picking it up, anyone else?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/18110/

the only thing that i wonder is if it'll be too much of a benchmarking game. like more about the visuals than actual gameplay. its no lightweight game, DX10 required (no XP) and recommends GTX 260/4870.

 

[Malak]

There is nothing fresh about it. The game sucks. There's a big reason why it is so cheap.

 

[minmaster]

so you played it? if you didn't how can you make that conclusion? c'mon be a bit more constructive, i don't care whether its negative comment but seriously...

 

[Regs]

I doubt anybody has played it. Though it does look kind of...pointless.

 

[minmaster]

again, i'd appreciate it if you'd elaborate.

 

[Regs]

There happens to be a thread all ready with, I guess, a few people who played the beta.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=321018

 

[minmaster]

thanks, i was about to search before i made the thread but i couldn't find the damn search function. where is it?

 

[fatpat268]

thanks, i was about to search before i made the thread but i couldn't find the damn search function. where is it?

Temporarily disabled. Apparently it was causing performance issues and they're working on a fix.

 

[Malak]

so you played it? if you didn't how can you make that conclusion? c'mon be a bit more constructive, i don't care whether its negative comment but seriously...

Yes I have played it, and the reason I was less than constructive was because we just had this conversation a week ago. But since search is broken(when is it not?), I'll elaborate.

Shattered Horizon's entirely selling point is zero-G combat. This is a gimmick. It hides the fact that this is just a typical FPS, with only a single gun. There is absolutely nothing special about this game except at how incomplete and non-fun it is. I can't readily think of any FPS off the top of my head that was so.... bland. The game isn't worth the meager price it is offered at.

 

[minmaster]

yea that's what i was afraid of. that it'd be too simple and more of a benchmarking tool or a tech test drive than a game. the price point seems to reflect the limited gameplay but they do say there will be new level pack DLCs. i know most mock the 1 weapon system, but i think it'd be interesting to see how everyone performs with equal equipment. maybe more weapons will be added via DLC. i'm still interested, mainly because i haven't had any decent fps to play as of late.

 

[minmaster]

bah double post..

anyways, i think i'll cough up the $18 to try out this game. i know malak doesn't like the game at all, but reading what the other guy who explained the game in detail had to say, it didn't seem too bad.

btw, for the ones who tried it, would i have issues running it with 8800gt with 1680x1050 res? 8800gt seems to be the minimum.

 

[minmaster]

i've been playing this game today and damn, you gotta have a nice video card to make it look pretty and run ok. it's struggling on my 8800gt. but so far, i like the game and the zero-gravity. still getting the hang of changing horizon and reorienting myself after attaching to surface but i like most of what i've seen so far. the scope mode recoils way too much for my taste, but it supposedly fires 10 shots in one burst. if it shoots less bullets in one burst and recoils less, i'd prefer that.

all in all, pretty decent game for 18 bucks. definitely a breath of fresh air to all the repetitive military fps gaming as of late.

EDIT: i just found bumping up shadow/shaders from med to max makes a world of difference. everything looks so much better now and it doesn't seem to be a noticeable hit on performance. wow i'm lovin this game!

 

[fatpat268]

Yea, my 8800gt is struggling like it's never have before. The game really does look good in motion, simple screenshots doesn't do it justice.

Actually, I'm having some pretty good fun, especially for the price. Very difficult to get the hang of. Movement is still somewhat of a challenge at times. I suck, but I'll keep playing, heh.

 

[minmaster]

yeah i'm having a blast. one thing that bugs me though is if i'm getting hit from behind, 99% of the time i have no chance. since you have to watch not just your sides, front, back, but also up and below, often times you have no idea where you're getting hit from.

i really like the 1 gun setup. it is a multipurpose weapon and it involves more skill as everyone is on the same level as far as weaponry is concerned.

 

[Genx87]

Well ran into my first steam issue I think. Game wont launch on Win7 x64. Comes up with an error about 64 bit system incompatiblity and to talk with the vendor on the support forums.

woohooo

 

[minmaster]

i get a similar error at start up, it says you need a vista/win7 to play but i have vista. but i just ignore it and click ok and i can play the game...

it does have some quirky installation i noticed. but you should be able to sort it out with them, they have pretty good support at their forums. let me know how it goes because i'm planning a win7 upgrade in the coming week.

 

[Genx87]

When i move past that error it goes to decrypting files then nothing.

Ill see what happens in a week. The game looks like it has potential and I want to try it. But I wont sweat too much over the 17 bucks lost if it doesnt work.

 

[minmaster]

i had the same issue. i think i quit/restarted steam couple times. make sure you're not launching the beta, as it automatically installs beta (which isn't even playable i think).

 

[Lonyo]

http://store.futuremark.com/shop/buy_shatteredhorizon.jsp

Cheaper (I think) than Steam (seems to indicate $16.35), and more money goes to the developer.
And no Steam to deal with \o/

 

[minmaster]

you have to run the game from steam anyways. and it says 19.95 for me. i paid 17.99 since i got it the day before it was released.

if you were beta tester or an owner of futuremark benchmarking software, you get 25% off i believe.