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Resistance multiplayer update deployed: new modes, no maps
Insomniac delivered the first half of its promised Resistance multiplayer update ahead of schedule, keeping on target with PlayStation 3's European Italian launch. The update adds Team Conversion and Team Assault modes, along with a new featured dubbed "Round Balancing." When enabled (always in ranked matches), Round Balancing will attempt to balance uneven team sizes without splitting up parties.A second update, currently scheduled for May, will introduce a pair of new maps and global servers. Hear that, Europe? Y'all got about two months on them practice fields -- then it's world war![Via PS3 Fanboy]
Resistance updates detailed, modes & maps mentioned
SCEA and Insomniac have detailed a pair of forthcoming Resistance updates in a press release today. On March 23, coinciding with PlayStation 3's European launch, the first update will introduce two new multiplayer modes, Team Conversion (Conversion with teams) and Assault (destroy the defending team's base). In addition, a 'spectator camera' will be added, allowing voyeurs to peep the action from players' perspectives or pan back and discover their own angles. Insomniac has also tweaked matchmaking optimization for the update and will re-introduce the old radar as a custom option.In May, a second update will enable global competition and offer two new multiplayer maps for purchase. The maps are apparently an extension of the game's backstory; a full explanation is scheduled to appear on the official website closer to the update's release. Anyone paying attention to Phil Harrison last week, will recall that the Sony exec blabbed that Insomniac would be "extending the story"; we speculated that this might entail episodic content. While that remains a distant possibility, it appears that the referenced 'extension' will simply be a lame presentation on the Resistance website. Cheers for keeping Resistance fresh, but let's not disguise this update as anything other than what it is: a standard dose of premium multiplayer maps.[Via press release]
New Resistance Maps and Modes
In March, there will come a few new multiplayer modes of play for the PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. Soon after, in May, there will come a few new maps. This is exciting news for anyone who has learned the layout of every map and is pretty much bored of the same running route or always playing capture the flag... or whatever. Anyway, the two new gameplay modes are "Team Conversion" and "Assault". Team Conversion: like Conversion, but with a team. Neat? Assault: essentially, both teams have a base they need to defend and they also have a set of defense nodes and satellite nodes that, if destroyed, weaken the "defenses" of their main base. We guess that means the "health bar" for the main base would decrease. Overtaken satellite nodes become neutral -- a spawning point for both teams. Dangerous! Other fixes have been made for the March patch. Spectators can join custom games and use a player's eyes as his own, along with a free-roaming camera so you can see that sniper in the bushes even if the player doesn't. All glitches and collision holes have been fixed. Matchmaking is quicker and more reliable. Weapons tweaked; the old radar has been added as an option if you want it.What's in store for May? Well, how does worldwide play sound to you? A nice addition, indeed. Also, the map pack will be made available for purchase and download within the game. Both maps are set in England: one in Westmorland, one in Camborn. The former is snowy and very open, the latter has both above ground and subterranean combat. These aren't rehashed maps, either -- they've brand new and specifically designed for multiplayer. Geez. There's a lot of info in the interview with IGN. We decided to cover the maps and new gameplay modes, but the interview also discusses the European launch, plans for future updates, and of course, the all-but-confirmed sequel. Even so, this stuff looks like it'll satisfy plenty of gamers until more information becomes available. Your thoughts?[Thanks, Sean!]
Insomniac launches podcast, listen to sleep-deprived developers [update 1]
With Insomniac Games launching its podcast today, It now seems like everybody has an online audio show. But the Insomniac approach intends to be different than most because gamers get to hear what goes on inside a developer; the twice-monthly show should could be a great marketing and community-building move.Insomniac plans several regular segments, including interviews with members of its staff and even gaming personalities outside of the Resistance and Ratchet developer. The show will cover basics like gamers' mail and Insomniac product updates as, but we'll be regular listeners if it pulls off its fly-on-the-wall aspirations.[Update 1: Insomniac let us know that it changed its mind and won't have a "/podcast.html" URL for the audio show. Instead, the main page will be updated when the podcast goes live in the next few hours.]
More Resistance in April, episodic content on the menu
Fast-forwarding through another Phil Harrison interview, we smack into some meaningful chatter. When pressed about future content for Resistance, Harrison busts out a tantalizing reply: "we have some really, really cool things that will be extending the story, extending the locations, some brand new content, starting in April. So if that works well and is well-received by the audience, then that will keep the engagement with game going between now and should there be a sequel at some point in the future." (For the record, Insomniac's Ted Price has already confirmed the obvious; Resistance is a franchise, with a sequel likely already in early development stages.) What Harrison seems to suggest though, is some degree of episodic content bridging the first game and apparent sequel. Adding multiplayer maps and modes is the tired standard, but actually building upon the single-player narrative with downloadable content would represent a significant step forward for PlayStation Network -- and keep Resistance holding down the console that's sure to let loose sooner or later.
Sony prices first-party PS3 games for Euro launch
Those walking out of a UK store next month with a PS3 under the arm will no doubt be concerned about the retail price of launch games -- doubly so if they actually paid for the console on their way out. Sony has announced a £39.99 (€59.99) price point for first-party launch games, placing the likes of Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man in the same bracket as Wii and first-party Xbox 360 titles. Presumably, the games will contain all of the content from their American and Japanese releases. Sony also notes that an "introductory period" will see PlayStation Network games priced between €2.99 and €9.99, with game-specific downloadable content starting at €0.99 and increasing depending on the product's scope. Previously: European PS3 not so backwards compatible Sony incentivizes Euro PS3 with Casino Royale Blu-ray Sony UK sales boss quits before impending PS3 launch
Next Ratchet & Clank officially titled
1UP informs us that the forthcoming Ratchet & Clank adventure is featured on the cover of April's Electronic Gaming Monthly, complete with its full title, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Brian Allgeier, design director for Insomniac Games, notes that the name "works on many levels. It signals a new era for the franchise, ties into the game's story, and includes one of our signature subtitle double entendres."Tools of Destruction might even mark the first time that Insomniac's playful choice of words survives the trip to Europe. You might recall the PlayStation 2 titles, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, being respectively changed to the more polite Locked & Loaded and Ratchet & Clank 3. It's just as well Insomniac didn't go for their original and somewhat less subtle choice, Ratchet and Clank To Come: Implements of Ravaging.
Ted Price talks more about Resistance
Now, the game's been out for a month, so it's a natural time to look back and reflect on things -- what worked? What didn't? No matter how many times you go back through something you work on, it will never be perfect or ready in your eyes. At one point, though, you just have to decide that it's "good enough" and let that baby bird fly. With that in mind, GamePro's Vicious Sid (oh, a Sex Pistols reference... that's so cool... because gaming news interviews are hardcore) sat down for a chat with Insomniac CEO, Ted Price. Highlights follow: The game was built specifically for the PS3. With the multi-processor usage, translating it to another system would be difficult, but not impossible... The Cell has a pretty steep learning curve and Ted claims they've just begun to understand how to work the PS3. Scratch the surface or some such. 16GB was the final word on the game size and there are many reasons why: more character animations, more sound (7.1, etc), HD movie/cutscenes... but the cut back from 22GB came from switching the movies from PAL to NTSC for Europe. Which you can try to say that about 6GB of the game is cinematics, but would that be accurate? Hmm. The game could never fit on a DVD. It would have to have entire levels removed. So it seems that it's stuck on PS3 only, unless that HD-DVD add-on learns to play games... then maybe. 720p is smoother than 1080i, despite the larger number going towards the latter. I know, I know, a lot of you knew that, but there are others that weren't too sure. But Resistance went the 720p route for just that reason. They don't miss rumble (but some friends who played the game do... my hands have become pretty numb to that option, so I don't think I'd care). Nothing groundbreaking, nothing really "oh, we shoulda done this", but still good to know the guy loves the game they made. A lot of the humor for me comes from the comments on the GamePro article. Wow. If any of you thought there were some "bad" comments here... we're all educated very highly in comparison. Take this opportunity to pat yourselves on the back, despite your, um, "console affiliation". Whatever that means. Also, let us know what you think worked best, or didn't work at all, in Resistance.
Resistance multiplayer patch: better balance, more strategy
Resistance: Fall of Man's lead multiplayer programmer Eric Ellis has blogged the lid off of Insomniac's patch plans. While avoiding full disclosure, Ellis did outline the team's intention to bring better weapon balance to the game's online experience, with a focus toward enhancing team-based strategic gameplay -- a welcome alternative to those chaotic 40-player free-for-alls.Ellis was clear that the patch would be implemented "very soon."
PS3 launch: Overheard on Resistance
Dude #1: We camped for four days. Bought a couple cots and stayed in sportings goods -- 'til they kicked us out. So we got some tents, barbeque grills -- partied outside. Dude #2: Yeah man, we camped for two days. I love that shit! Dude #1: Ah, that shit is so cool! [Resistance: Fall of Man; unranked deathmatch]
Resistance: Fall of Man -- welcome to the killer app zone
I've said it before, I hate the term killer app. But apparently, IGN has given the thumbs way up to Resistance, scoring it an impressive 9.1 out of 10. They go so far as to call it a killer app available on day one. Let's break down the highs and low of the review. The alternate timeline story is pretty solid, pretty cool, pretty pretty. Graphics are great, although not the "best" out there. Weapons, weapons, weapons! The weapon designs are hailed as fantastic, to say the least. What do you expect from the Ratchet & Clank people? The AI grows with you -- the first few levels consist of fairly "dumb" enemies, but by the later levels, they are rather intelligent. Oh, just a rant, but I played Gears of War over the weekend. It's pretty cool, but you know, if they gave you a Light Gun and a pedel to push when you duck behind stuff, it's basically a more interactive Time Crisis. Which is fine, since Time Crisis rocks. So, it's good, but not "the best game ever". Load times are only at the beginning of stages. Sweet. No lag in game or in the insanely impressive multi-player matches. Speaking of... multi-player matches are plenty, varied, and loads of fun. What's not so good? Well... the ending is fairly vague and open-ended (which, unless otherwise set in stone, is fine for sequel material) You can read the IGN review to get a better feel for this summary of sorts. But let it be known! The game is deserving of your attention, even if it means a simple rental.
Joystiq hands-on -- Resistance: Fall of Man
Resistance: Fall of Man will be released as a PS3 launch title, filling the requisite "sci-fi shooter" slot in the bingo card of console launches. At Sony's recent Gamer's Day, I played this PS3 exclusive from Insomniac Games; the areas I saw looked good and played well, but little suggested this would be a new benchmark FPS. Still, it should be a strong PS3 opener to introduce the system.The Insomniac team didn't say much about the story as I started playing -- something about horrible human-monster hybrids -- but I didn't care. I was there to blow stuff up, and the gameplay held my interest. Resistance felt good as a shooter; the controls were competent, and the action maintained a fast pace, with lots of monsters -- sometimes dozens -- trying to shoot me.
A ton more Resistance: Fall of Man info from the man himself
The man we're talking about is Ted Price, who is very, almost surprisingly, good at keeping up with reader requests on his blog at IGN. Let's go over some of the bits and pieces that really matter. The final disc size is 16GB. Why? PAL movies were removed and improved data compression (ah-ha! Knew that was going to be a part of it). Ted Price: "Still, having a lot of space on Bluray means that we're including things we wouldn't have been able to include if we had had to use dual layer DVDs: higher res game assets and more of them, HD movies, higher fidelity sounds, more dialogue, all languages on one disc, etc." He also says the whole disc size debate is silly and your experience with the game is what matters! The final resolution will be 720p, for a few reasons. Insomniac said they'd try and they did, but they wanted to keep the VRAM down (and 1080p used a lot more than 720p did, obviously). No video chat for Resistance, but future PS3 games will have such. Everything else is open-forum Q&A and more or less dismissable. So, the disc size is smaller, but still giving the thumbs up to Blu-ray. The resolution isn't 1080p, but that should only bother about 2% of people (about 60% who are interested in the PS3). No video chat? Okay. We're still excited about this game![thanks, portorikan!]
Some Resistance news from Ted Price's mouth... blog.
Mouthblog. Mmmm. There have been a lot of people asking a lot of questions about the anticipated Resistance: Fall of Man. Questions that, when answered, would no longer be questions. With that not-unflawless logic in mind, Insomniac's Ted Price has decided to do just that -- answer questions. Let's listen in to the good ones, shall we?Someone cited that the aiming system seen in video footage was jerky. Ted Price responds! "When we were prototyping the game we realized that if there's any lag in the camera motion when aiming, the game can get frustrating so we came down on the side of quick response. We did of course look at other quality FPS's to ensure that we weren't too far off base. Even better, you can adjust the sensitivity of the controls in the controller options screen. This will give you the option of having the camera move very slowly and smoothly, extremely quickly or something in between." So, does this mean something like Counterstrike but sans the mouse? Forgive the ignorance, FPS fans, as it's not this blogger's primary joy.What makes the game different from Halo, Prey, Gears of War, etc? Price says it has to do with a few things. First is the way the story is told -- not through the eyes of a protagonist, but through a British Intelligence officer trying to put pieces of a mystery together (a cool twist on the conventional "this is my story... let's blow stuff up" method employed by many, many games). The unique weapons are also cited as a reason -- each carries a unique property instead of "B is stronger than A, C is stronger than B, if you have A against C you will die quickly." The 40-person online matches are pointed out next, with three unique play modes in addition to the normal three.If you're playing a splitscreen on a 16:9 TV, the screen is cut vertical. On a 4:3 screen, it's cut horizontal. A nice touch, really. No mouse/keyboard functionality, but there will be headset support. Geez, there are a ton of questions and answers! The above two seemed to be most relevant, but if you want to know about vehicles being supported, specific weapon types, more about Insomniac's relation to Sony... read the Q&A session. It's fairly interesting -- and amazing how nice Ted Price comes across.
Resistance: Fall of Man gets some more press
IGN sat down with some of the guys at Insomniac games to talk about a few loose ends regarding Resistance: Fall of Man. Not all loose ends are tied up, but some questions are answered we've been waiting for. Here's a summary: To run a 40-player online match of exploding awesome, they downed the frames per second to 30 and focused more on "running with artificially high latency and packet loss" to make sure the system can handle the numbers and also to look good while doing it. Playing as either hybrid or human has distinct advantages and disadvantages -- not just a skin swap. You can disable tilt-sensing if you want, but other uses for it are still under wraps. All HD modes, including 1080p, will be supported. Framerate is locked at 30 fps, AC3 and ATRAC3 for audio codecs (aren't those the codecs Sony uses to restrict piracy? This Sony Vaio seems to recall it as such...) There will be both nonlinear and more restricted levels to explore and move back and forth through. Some restricted areas force you to go ahead so the suspense and such keep you glued to your seat. There is a stealthy aspect to smaller corridor areas, but the large battlefields will take some bravery and loud explosions. So, experiment with your play styles! Now, if you check out the interview at IGN, on the last page there are a few very amazing answers to some amazing questions. They're too fantastic to even try to summarize, but they talk about how Resistance could not have been made on any other system (20GB size aside) and some misconceptions about programming for the PS3. Check it out, leave your thoughts. This game is shaping up to be a fantastic title.
Blog debate: PS3 to load games slower than the Xbox 360
From the "PS3 can't get a publicity break" file comes news that the system's Blu-ray load times will be slower than the DVD speeds of the Xbox 360. Following our post regarding Resistance: Fall of Man's beefy 22GBs of data, Microsoft's Andre Vrignaud (aka Ozymandias) wrote about why storage capacity isn't as important as drive speed and -- wouldn'tcha know it? -- Blu-ray has bunches of the former and not so much of the latter. Former Sony employee Mark DeLoura responded with a long, thoughtful response sticking up for the format that fanboys love to hate, talking textures, audio, and even read speed. Naturally, there's some guffawing from the other side of the aisle as Ozymandias takes umbrage with some of DeLoura's claims, notably that textures and other media will take up a sizable chunk of that Blu-ray disc. One area they are in agreement on is that Blu-ray's read speed isn't as fast as the Xbox 360's. Says DeLoura: "Admittedly, Blu-Ray looks dicey from several non-capacity angles. Blu-Ray movies require a 1.5x Blu-Ray drive, or 54Mbits/second. Sony announced that PS3 uses a 2x BD drive, which is 72Mbits/second or 9MB/second. The Xbox 360 uses a 12x DVD, which should give it about 16MB/second. That is significantly faster for games and will result in shorter load times. And that 12x DVD drive should be a whole lot cheaper. (Note that the PS3 drive will do 8x DVD, and even that is faster than 2x BD.)" Says Ozymandias in response: "This is pretty much what I've been saying regarding drive speeds. A good example of where we're pretty clearly agreeing." So, they're in agreement. The PS3 will load slower than the Xbox 360, leading one to question whether bragging about 22GB discs is the most prudent course of action. Let's hope they use the compression technologies touched on in the debate to shrink the data down considerably, even if it obviates a key selling point of the console. ... but wait, it's not all settled. Be sure to read the comments on Ozymandias' last post to get a bunch of great feedback, including this gem on the finer differences between CAV and CLV drives ("a BD25 on PS3 fares better than a DVD9 on the 360"), or Kim Pallister's link back to his own feedback on the fight and the "innovator's dilemma." [Thanks, Hank; via DigitalBattle] Grist - Will Resistance: FoM justify the PS3 pricetag? [Joystiq] Point - Drive Speed More Relevant to Games Than Capacity [Ozymandias] Counterpoint - On PS3 and Blu-Ray [Mark DeLoura] Counter-counterpoint - Oddly, We're in Violent Agreement [Ozymandias]
Will Resistance: FoM justify the PS3 pricetag? [update 1]
Insomniac Games, the guys behind the Ratchet and Clank series, were in the Big Apple showing off the latest build of their upcoming PS3 launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man. Kotaku had a Gawker cameraman on the scene to grab some video, and MTV News' Stephen Totilo managed the impossible. He extracted some positive press about the PS3 (Sony must be furious at Insomniac, this goes against their entire pre-launch strategy). Turns out that Blu-ray drive that every armchair analyst is convinced is a giant wooden equine built to penetrate our consumer-weary walls and then attack with an army of HD movies may actually be useful for gaming afterall. The game currently takes up 22GB! That's seven whole gee-bees more than a single layer HD-DVD disc that the Xbox 360 won't (?) be using for gaming. The Dual Shake functionality that was supposedly tacked on at the last minute ... well, it looks like it was still tacked on; nevertheless, it holds some serious promise. Ninety days before this thing has to be on store shelves the developers have still not activated the functionality on the controller, but they have added in some clever gameplay currently triggered with a button press. Shake off a melee attack by shaking the controller, or introduce the end of your rifle to their face with a quick jab of your right hand. Sure, you won't feel the vibration when that blow connects, but it's something. But there's also multiplayer. How will Sony's secretive service compare to the superlative Xbox Live? R: FoM will feature: "40-player online matches at launch; 60 levels of player progression while playing online; two-player offline co-op." 60 levels of player progression ... sounds like another popular online game. According to MTV News, Insomniac even promised "better, deeper support than any Xbox Live title." Has the PS3 buzz finally begun? We've been increasingly anxious that someone at Sony didn't get the memo that their latest and greatest was launching in a few scant months. [Update: Insomniac's Ryan Schneider called MTV News to clarify what exactly is on those 22GBs. "While the music and vocals in Resistance take up only about 1 Gigabyte of disc space, graphics, level data and programming code occupy most of the remaining 21."] Watch - New Resistance: Fall of Man video Read - MTV News on Resistance: Fall of Man
Did Resistance: Fall of Man truly get a graphical boost?
A forum over at NeoGaf has an interesting quote from Insomniac Games' James Stevenson. Someone had asked if the graphics for their upcoming title Resistance: Fall of Man has had any changes since the E3 demo. To this, Stevenson responded: "Over the E3 demo? Hah! I'm incredibly impressed with how much the graphics have improved in the past two weeks. I almost didn't recognize a couple of levels now that the lighting has gone in." Well, well, Mr. Stevenson. Have you any screens to back up this haughty claim? ...Didn't think so.Even though there are a few screens on the forum page, they're the old ones. But still -- if the graphics have been overhauled from what is shown there (with advanced lighting effects or particle nonsense... whatever) then we'll definately have a fun launch. Resistance: FoM and F.E.A.R. will probably compete with each other for some reason (not to mention Gears of War). Basically, these realistic crazy alien-demon-shooters are going to go at each other's throats and that will be one exciting death match to watch. If you're into those sort of games. Where do you ally yourselves?
Joystiq Video: Resistance Fall of Man
Tune in as Joystiq takes a look at Resistance: Fall of Man. Video: 3ivx, Quicktime, 5.27MBs: [link]
