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Roman Empire on X-Box
#16
Now that E3 has opened here in LA we have a little more news of the new game for X-Box set in the Roman Empire.

From the screen shots it would appear that the helmet has some "imaginative" touches and in true Hollywood Roman fashion, our hero wears bracers. (I do wonder if anyone in Hollywood will ever take the time to open any number of books, many by members of this Forum) and discover that the Roman legionaries did not wear bracers.)

Although the graphics look great (from a technical standpoint -- very photo realistic -- and this is to be expected from this generation of games and systems, but .... Just a modicum of research would go along way to making these games look even better. However, looking for accuracy in this genre is a fool's errand in the extreme.

Follow the link for screen shots and a trailer for the new game: RYSE Son of Rome.

http://www.slashgear.com/ryse-son-of-rom...-10285697/

Oh ... and it was also announced at this event that the new XBox One will retail for $500.

[Image: Ryse_THUMB.jpg]

:wink:

Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
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#17
500 bucks for Halo 5... well damn.
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#18
Just saw the video on Ryse. I don't know what to think about it. It looks like a horrible Call of Duty clone set in the Roman Era, filled with quick time events...but it's the only bloody 1st person Roman game I know of. The gladii look huge. The armor is..they just sort of came up with it didn't they...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MfYuP6L44k
Regards,

Andre
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#19
I'm not buying it, Rome II will be better than that.
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#20
The "armor" looks like something out of starship troopers lol. And gotta love the Saving Private Ryan-style "storm the beaches!!" scene. Puke.
Alexander
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#21
Gotta give them good marks for the detail in the characters and their pretty lifelike movements.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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#22
My PC would still burn that graphics system Tongue
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#23
Ryse is getting a lot of negative feedback from gamers from what I've seen. It's pretty, but there's virtually no challenge to combat - mash a button till the enemy dies, with the action pausing occasionally for QTEs you can fail with no ill effects. It apparently requires only three buttons to play, which is astounding.

There's a (damning) preview of the gameplay here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/vi...y-CVG.html

It didn't really help that the demo featured waves of identical Romans fighting identical (furry) barbarians, who were meant to represent...who exactly? It's such a shame that they've gone for the homogeneous view of the Legions when Romans themselves valued individual prowess and identity on the battlefield. I had no idea from the gameplay video that the player character was a general.

The PS4 will win this console generation most likely, but it's sad that I can't think of a single Rome-based game on the horizon that will be playable on that forum. :/
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#24
Skyrim is better than this. I'd love to make a roman game, but I'm not good for anything but ideas. IF a good, true Roman game is made, it has to be an RPG like Skyrim. There is just too much to cover to make a Roman FPS.
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#25
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of the game designers from Impression Games (Caesar II, III & IV, Pharaoh & Cleopatra, Atlantis and a host of other games) in their booth at E3. I was told that, contrary to their earlier announcement, they would not be releasing Cleopatra for the Mac OS because they could not afford the cost, even though the game was already ported and ready for disc pressing. They just did not see a big enough market to justify the ROI.

Then I asked them why not release their games on the PS2 or X-Box. Their argument then, and rightly so, was that the graphics they worked so long on would look like grey mush on a video monitor.

However...

The PS3 and 4 as well as the X-Box360 and One are HD, (and indeed there are unconfirmed rumors that the PS4 may be 4K ready) these machines have CPU's every bit as capable as many desktop / laptop computers and since many (perhaps most gamers) play on 46" or larger HD monitors there is plenty of game real estate to accommodate all of the information one takes for granted with a PC game.

So, why not port Total War Rome or Total War Shogun or any number of other PC based traditional war games to the Play Station or X-Box? The advantage over releasing that same game into the PC market (Windows or Mac OS based) is that you do not need to worry about compatibility of video or audio cards, system software, etc. If the game works on one PS console it will work on all of them.

Now some will argue that console gamers are very different from PC games, with the former favoring FPS and racing games while the latter enjoy more sophisticated 'thinking' games. That might seem to be true on the surface, but I don't buy it.

I do like playing the LEGO games on my PS3 (certainly the most amusing Star Wars games ever released) but my favorite PS game is still Panzer General released on the PS1 (amazingly, although my PS3 is not backwards compatible, it will play PS1 games).

Of course, I could be wrong, and one would have to believe that the game companies have considered this and decided against it, but I still believe there is a market, among console gamers, for traditional war games like those published by HPS (out of California) or the Total War series. If they sold Total War Rome to just 1% of the PS3 owners they would sell nearly 2 million copies. Now that sounds like a hit to me. However, I could be wrong.

Perhaps I'm a lone voice shouting in the wind on this matter, but I'd love to see a really good game, like Total War Rome, or even Caesar III or Cleopatra, released on the PS4. It would be interesting to see how well it sold. I doubt any company will be willing to risk the money, but I can live in hope all the same.

:|

Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
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#26
Quote:The "armor" looks like something out of starship troopers lol. And gotta love the Saving Private Ryan-style "storm the beaches!!" scene. Puke.
It would be pretty amusing to see a game depicting the daily life of a Roman soldier in realistic situations. Would there be a prologue level of trying to find someone to vouch for you so that you could join? Would the tutorial be you vs a wooden post? Would you and your buddy high-five each other when you unlock the "your section of the camp trench is done" achievement?
Take what you want, and pay for it

-Spanish proverb
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#27
Quote:
Alexand96 post=339118 Wrote:The "armor" looks like something out of starship troopers lol. And gotta love the Saving Private Ryan-style "storm the beaches!!" scene. Puke.
It would be pretty amusing to see a game depicting the daily life of a Roman soldier in realistic situations. Would there be a prologue level of trying to find someone to vouch for you so that you could join? Would the tutorial be you vs a wooden post? Would you and your buddy high-five each other when you unlock the "your section of the camp trench is done" achievement?
A twenty mile march in real time! Minigames in which you replace bootnails and grind grain! Lots and lots of armour polishing! The possibilities are endless!

Honestly that does actually sound pretty cool if handled right. Snippets of life like you describe could be handled in flashback sequences (or as tutorials...), and there's no reason why they'd have to make for dull gameplay. Basing a game entirely around EPIC BATTLES isn't necessarily going to be a great idea, since developers are going to be pressured into putting HUGE EXPLOSIONS and DECAPITATIONS in every few seconds, and Rome's real campaigns often have modern political implications (sack the Temple of Jerusalem! Commit genocide against the Gauls!).

However, a game based around your activities as a beneficiarius, a frumentarius, or a centurion of the region would enable more of an adventure game kind of story. Imagine an open world adventure in which you could travel to regions across the empire and explore towns or authentic landscapes, fight in skirmishes against bandits or pirates, and take on missions through letters (papyrus or wooden tablet) sent through the cursus publicus, or through personal appeals from concerned natives. RPG elements could see you develop your skills in literacy and language (opening up social connections and enabling higher level missions), pimp out your personal armour and horse harness with new armour types, materials, and military honours, or even (controversy!) recruit or buy slaves/freemen/mercenaries/soldiers to help you in battles, run your household, and administer any distant businesses you may run.

Narukami: Modern consoles are certainly capable of running games like Rome: Total War, but there's still the problems of input and fine detail. Controllers are never going to be as smooth as a mouse for dragging and selecting units or navigating complex menus, and not everyone is going to have a 46" TV they sit 4' away from. There would have to be a lot of concessions to make it work, but I agree I don't think it should be ruled out entirely.
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#28
That's a good point Matthew, and indeed, user interface has always been a tricky question when it comes to console controllers. Of course, most of the current and next generation of machines will accept keyboards & mice (wired or wireless) but most gamers will be reluctant to give up their standard controller so the trick will be to adapt all the necessary functionality to a limited number of buttons. Not ideal I will admit.

I would note that as many games are being adapted for the iPad a whole host of compromises have been necessary, but the touchscreen does help to make up for the more limited real estate.

As for sitting 4' away from a 46" monitor, that does present another wrinkle to be sure. On the other hand, have you seen the new Sony 84" 4K HD monitor? Forgetting for a moment that it only costs $25,000 ... that would certianly solve a few issues and oh what sweet picture it makes with a 4K source. :dizzy:

Your points are well and fairly taken, but I do not see them as insurmountable. The question remains - will any game publisher think the time/money/energy to port their title over to a console will be worth it? :|

:wink:

Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
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#29
Matt has a good point about games on consoles - Halo Wars, which was like the only console Real-Time Strategy they put a ****-ton of work and money into, was an absolute flop. It's something that's really hard to do.

However, he also has a good point about RPG games. That's what a Roman game should be - Skyrim. Some guy was making a total conversion for Skyrim on PC somewhere, but I don't remember. I can even think of main quests, expansions, side-quests, etc for a Skyrim-like Roman game. You could even do sequels, if you started in the Era of like the punic wars in the first game. Historically accurate armor, etc.

Also, the difference between PC and Console games is that a PC can do a hell of a lot better in processing and graphics (especially considering the next-gen consoles like xbone don't have a dedicated GPU). And PC games can be modded, like Skyrim, Rome Total War, and Europa Universalis III to name a few. You have everything from total conversions of games to mods that do nothing but "enhance" the women in the game so to speak. Graphics mods are the most popular usually, especially on older games.

Many companies refuse to release games on PC because of Piracy - after Halo 2 Bungie/343 said they will never release a Halo Game on PC because they will loose so much in projected income from piracy. Furthermore, many companies using PC as a medium are making their games less and less moddable because of Piracy and Hacking - Creative Assembly is one, Rome and Medieval 2 were praised for their ability to be easily modded by the community. Shogun and Rome II will be almost completely unmoddable, on top of the immense historical inaccuracy of the games.
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#30
Quote:Many companies refuse to release games on PC because of Piracy - after Halo 2 Bungie/343 said they will never release a Halo Game on PC because they will loose so much in projected income from piracy. Furthermore, many companies using PC as a medium are making their games less and less moddable because of Piracy and Hacking - Creative Assembly is one, Rome and Medieval 2 were praised for their ability to be easily modded by the community. Shogun and Rome II will be almost completely unmoddable, on top of the immense historical inaccuracy of the games.
I think it's possible to overstate the effect of piracy there - often the quality of the port is simply a let down for gamers. CliffyB, the maker of Gears of War blames piracy for poor sales of the PC port; in fact it simply wasn't very good.

It's very sad that Rome II is unmoddable, that does seem to defeat the point of the PC experience. I can't really believe that piracy fears are to blame there though, Half Life 2 mods have been making the rounds for years and some have even had commercial releases!
Quote:As for sitting 4' away from a 46" monitor, that does present another wrinkle to be sure. On the other hand, have you seen the new Sony 84" 4K HD monitor? Forgetting for a moment that it only costs $25,000 ... that would certianly solve a few issues and oh what sweet picture it makes with a 4K source
Unfortunately at that kind of budget, you're basically dealing with a PC audience. Consoles can seem quite expensive, but a top of the range gaming PC at the moment will cost far more than even the XBone - and people still buy them. Most TVs now are HD, but a lot of people won't have the space (or money) for very large ones.

The Skyrim-style setting could work well. Ideally with no dragons, though.
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