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Uncharted 3 aiming tweaked in upcoming patch, in part due to dedicated fans
An upcoming patch for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will help assuage concerns with the game's aiming. Fans have complained that shooting in Uncharted 3 feels "off" compared to the previous game, and dev studio Naughty Dog isn't shrugging off criticisms. "I posted on the Neogaf forum where people were going through it [shooting criticisms] in a very eloquent fashion, really explaining their gripes very clearly, and I said 'Well, is anyone local that can come in and explain it to us?'" community manager Arne Meyer told Giant Bomb. Apparently two fans took up the challenge (as well as two of their friends), and assisted both game director Justin Richmond and multiplayer programmer Travis McIntosh in tweaking the game's shooting "feel" via on-the-fly playtesting at Naughty Dog's Santa Monica-based HQ. The result is an optional tweak for the shooting that will arrive, alongside other fixes, in a game update at an undetermined point in the future. Thanks, articulate fans!
Naughty Dog responds to Uncharted 3 aiming concerns
Players -- and critics -- don't always have an appropriate vocabulary with which to discuss less defined, mechanical aspects of games. Why does shooting feel right in one game, but wrong in another? We appear to have run into this problem of a lacking lexicon with Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, which some players say has introduced problematic aiming (i.e. something feels wrong), particularly in the single-player adventure. Posting on the official Naughty Dog blog, community overlord Arne Meyer relayed information from game director Justin Richmond, who's able to speak more clearly on the technical performance of Drake's gun. "Aiming is identical to Uncharted 2 - we took a look at the values side by side. We did adjust the sensitivity to be MUCH higher in Uncharted 3 to give you a more precise feel. With Uncharted 2 it was pretty much guaranteed you would aim in one of the 8 directions and it was hard to deviate from that (imagine it being almost like a traditional 8-way arcade stick)." According to Richmond, "With Uncharted 3, you can deviate from the straight path from each of the 8 directions much easier and more precisely." So, contrary to some complaints, sensitivity has gone up. However, enemies also change positions faster now, "which changes the flow of gun combat as well, from what you were used to if you're coming off fresh from Uncharted 2." We've had this same problem at Joystiq HQ, and believe that aiming assistance might be a tad too magnetic, slowing your reticle down when it gets near an enemy. The most interesting part is that the gunplay in Uncharted 3 has been adjusted in another significant way. You might not have known it looking at him, but Drake's shots used to come out at weird angles. "In Uncharted 2 the bullets would leave the barrel at a pre-set deviation when you were aimed in," says Naughty Dog. "What this means is that the bullets would not fire straight out of the barrel all the time -- they could come out at an angle. Therefore, you could have a target clearly in the reticle and still miss it by a wide margin." In the sequel, "bullets now fire straight out of the barrel 100% of the time," though you need to adjust for recoil. There's a question about which ultimately takes precedence: the informed explanation rooted in data and design, or the more nebulous discomfort of an aim that just feels ... off?
Naughty Dogs getting new home
Making a critically acclaimed title (that also sold its fair share of units) is one of the best ways to upgrade your digs as a game development studio. Naughty Dog is enjoying just such a reward right now, as the company's blog recently announced a move to a "killer new studio," presumably expanding after the continuing success of last year's Uncharted 2. ND co-prez Evan Wells said the March 1 move "positions Naughty Dog perfectly to adapt to the demands of developing PlayStation games that continue to raise the bar for our industry for the next decade and beyond ," while main community man Arne Meyer notes, "significant upgrades to help us keep developing cutting-edge, award-winning games" are a big part of the equation. In addition to the neat image you see above, the Dogs have uploaded a photo set of the new space to Flickr, with a promise to keep fans updated via the ND blog. Good luck with the move, folks!
PSA: Uncharted 2 double cash weekend, Santa hats in play
In our rush to the yule late this past week, we nearly forgot to mention that Nathan Drake and Nathan Drake lookalikes (Drakealikes?) have the chance to earn double cash (read: XP) this weekend in Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode. Donning the ubiquitous red cap (and apparently two brand new invisible hands), those taking Drake online will encounter not just jollier looking foes, but also "double for all kills and medals," according to Naughty Dog marketing man Arne Meyer on the PlayStation Blog. The temporary XP boost kicked in on Christmas Eve (December 24) at 10AM PST and goes until tomorrow at 11AM PST, so there are still at least another 24 or so hours to shoot some of those dastardly Drakealikes in multiplayer. %Gallery-51151%
