Six New Shots From The Fall

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Tue Jan 27, 2004 4:56 pm

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<html><body>After a brief hiatus, the site for <A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/e/index.php target=_blank>The Fall</A> is back and with six brand spanking new screenshots added to their <A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/e/index.php?menu=screenshots target=_blank>gallery</A>. HereÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s a taste:<blockquote><center><A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/gallery.php?pic=18 target=_blank><img src=/madmaxrw/thefall8a.jpg></A> <A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/gallery.php?pic=19 target=_blank><img src=/madmaxrw/thefall9a.jpg></A> <A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/gallery.php?pic=20 target=_blank><img src=/madmaxrw/thefall10a.jpg></A></center></blockquote>Looking good. See the rest at <A HREF=http://www.the-fall.com/e/index.php target=_blank>The Fall homepage</A>.</body></html>

Thorndyke · Post by **Thorndyke** » Tue Jan 27, 2004 7:31 pm

I like the look of the world, but the interface looks quite cheap and those avatars are just horrible.

Silver · Post by **Silver** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 2:19 am

Yeah I feel the same. The avatars and the menus look like they were made in 5 minutes. The rest looks excellent.

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 12:38 pm

heh the portraits are so hideous... honestly from all the screenshots i've seen it looks like they have about 5 different faces and just toss on colored hair or some other accessory as they go along. Too bad about the interface looking like arcanum's. Don't developers ever learn?

Carsten Strehse · Post by **Carsten Strehse** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:01 pm

Mmh... I'll take your feedback very serious.

Please take a look at this characters picture:

http://www.the-fall.com/makingof.php?artwork=14

The ones in the shots are just smaller version of them (in general, not every character on the picture is also on one of the shots).

Do you like the quality of characters on the big picture? If yes, it's hard for us to improve something on the smaller versions of them. If not I'm open for your suggestions.

Role-Player · Post by **Role-Player** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:19 pm

The only thing i'll mention is the ocasional cross-eyed problem of some

Otherwise they seem to be very good. It's definetely harder to get a similar quality on smaller pictures. Just go for what you think is best. I personally don't think the smaller pictures are that bad.

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:13 pm

i hope this helps...

There's also that image.
Here's a wacky idea, how about not having unit portraits? 99% of the time players will only be looking to modify that feature of the game as soon as release hits. (See Temple of Elemental Evil) or hell just google "portrait packs" and you'll see a staggering number of sites for this very cause.

There's also that image. Something about it just irks me. Do I need these gargantuan trade windows in the game? May I ask what the poor filing cabinet did to deserve the bullet holes? It's not anything that's easily fixable. The problem is the things presented thus far in the screenshots seem awfully cliche, boring. The art isn't bad, the graphics are nice, its the content and the style that need work.

Megatron · Post by **Megatron** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:50 pm

Perhaps instead of faces you could have a camera centrds of the character model?

Also the trade window is a little confusing mabye, perhaps you could have the head be on the same line as the inventory? I'm also used too the trader being on the right, but it's not that bigger deal.

chrisbeddoes · Post by **chrisbeddoes** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:14 am

Carsten Strehse wrote:Mmh... I'll take your feedback very serious.

.

Lose the guy with the blue hair.

Make the interface SMALLER.

And finally make sure that your engine can import portraits.

Royalty free standards (for your engine) like png exist dont they ?

Make sure that your user can import their own portraits .

Let me tell you something funny.

Many people want to use the same avatars over and over and carry them over different games.

If I like as an example the avatar of a cool babe from IWD 2 to use as my avatar in the Fall well you Carsten cannot include it because of copyright reasons but if i want to use it nothing should stop me.After all i do own IWD 2 (bargain bin price of course).

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 2:24 pm

I agree. The interface and character faces need a total and complete revamp before I can even play this game.

The environment rocks my socks as far as post-apoc look goes.

keeks · Post by **keeks** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 4:52 pm

Is it just me or does the woman on the left of the bottom row of faces look EXACTLY like Lucy Liu?

iohkus · Post by **iohkus** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:59 pm

and the guy on the bottom left is definitely a still drawing of leonard nemoy

and i generally agree with other people's assesments of the interface and portraits

Carsten Strehse · Post by **Carsten Strehse** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:14 pm

> i hope this helps...

Eh... Characters with the same colored circles look too similar in your eyes? Is it that what you mean?

> Lose the guy with the blue hair.

Seems like you don't like people with blue hair.

> Make the interface SMALLER.

Don't think that this would be a good idea. A user interface should be used by the user and if it's too small the user can't use it. Used... eh... Got me?

> And finally make sure that your engine can import portraits.

From the technical side this has nothing to do with the engine, but I know what you mean. All graphics (enviroment, portraits, menus... everything) can be exchanged. The Fall is completly modable (also the game mechanics, rules etc.).

> Royalty free standards (for your engine) like png exist dont they ?

Sure.

> Make sure that your user can import their own portraits .

See above.

> If I like as an example the avatar of a cool babe from IWD 2 to use as my avatar in the Fall well you Carsten cannot include it because of copyright reasons but if i want to use it nothing should stop me.After all i do own IWD 2 (bargain bin price of course).

No problem. Put your babe into the game. 'Hope she looks as cool as you said.

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:25 pm

if its too small the user can't use it... that's absolute poppy cock. radial menus, keyboard and mouse combinations, hell you could even make certain compartments of that monstrosity collapsable.

what about the inventory trading screen?

Carsten Strehse · Post by **Carsten Strehse** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:49 pm

> if its too small the user can't use it... that's absolute poppy cock. radial menus, keyboard and mouse combinations, hell you could even make certain compartments of that monstrosity collapsable.

The discussion makes no sense, I think. Seems like you're a very experienced player who's familiar using keyboard and mouse at the same time and any kind of combinations, so I understand your point of view. However, we also have to care about the players that are not that experienced.
You can hide the interface if you want to have a full screen look, no problem.

> what about the inventory trading screen?

Your statements reflect your personal taste, so it's hard for me to react. If I would ask 10 people on that topic I would get 10 different opinions.
What I can tell you is that the screen is very easy to use and that it's huge fun to trade your selfmade guns, necklaces or explosives against some fuel or ammo while watching the trader reacting on your suggestions for a barter. This whole trading thing is quite complex, so we need a menu for it.
If you don't like trading, you don't have to go to the trader and this means that you don't have to watch any menu for it.

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:56 pm

God forbid developers and players actually put a manual to use, rather lets dumb down the entire gaming industry to meet the LCD's needs. Because that's working SO FUCKING WELL RIGHT NOW. It's more a matter of efficiency and aesthetics. For some reason you think your customer base is composed entirely of the moleman from the simpsons. That's not the case, most gamers are quite savvy on how to operate a manual. PAGE 1, TURN. Congratulations. Besides, what's easier to learn a big HUD with different icons representing different things or a context sensitive right click menu which would be intuitive to most windows users?

As I've said everything is much too large, and the problem isn't necessarily that its large if not that the art involved is BORING. How long can you look at a rusted metal texture before feeling like you want to puke? And this problem/issue goes beyond the interface, its representative of the style of the game world. Lots of rusted metal, lots of scorched earth and pretty much a very limited scope of what a pa world looks like. A world pumped with Co2 will kill all the trees apparently. Odd, I always thought photosynthesis took co2 + energy in and pumped oxygen out. Fancy that, polar ice caps melt.. therefore raising the sea level inundating the low lying tropical areas shifting the more tropical climates to what used to be the more moderate latitudes. Hurricanes carrying seeds, animals and other forms of small life begin populating these new regions. I see a whole lot of green, a whole lot of water, don't you?

Carsten Strehse · Post by **Carsten Strehse** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:16 pm

> God forbid developers and players actually put a manual to use, rather lets dumb down the entire gaming industry to meet the LCD's needs. Because that's working SO FUCKING WELL RIGHT NOW. It's more a matter of efficiency and aesthetics.

Aha... :confused2: I always thought worldwide standards for the usage of computer games would make sense.

> For some reason you think your customer base is composed entirely of the moleman from the simpsons.

That was your statement, not mine. But generally I'm impressed by the way you can read what I'm thinking!

> As I've said everything is much too large, and the problem isn't necessarily that its large if not that the art involved is BORING. How long can you look at a rusted metal texture before feeling like you want to puke?

Dunno, tell me?

> And this problem/issue goes beyond the interface, its representative of the style of the game world. Lots of rusted metal, lots of scorched earth and pretty much a very limited scope of what a pa world looks like.

Well, I seriously think The Fall will never be a game you will like or you could play, so a discussion about details makes no sense. The game would be a waste of money for you. The market has enough games without any metal, scorched earth etc.. I think you will easily find something that fits to your taste.

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:20 pm

what's disturbing is that my type of game would be a well thought out post apocalyptic RPG. So what you're saying is your game isn't that? K thanks.

Carsten Strehse · Post by **Carsten Strehse** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:48 pm

> what's disturbing is that my type of game would be a well thought out post apocalyptic RPG.

Don't think so. I'm very sure that you could design a post-apoc game. But nobody except of you would play it, since you would design it only based on your personal taste.

> So what you're saying is your game isn't that? K thanks.

And again I'm impressed how clearly you can read what I'm thinking...

Look, I don't have any problem to discuss any The Fall, Fallout or general post-apoc topic with you. But it has to be a real discussion. Childish "I'm the godfather of post-apoc games! Swallow my opinion or die!"-Statements make no sense. You waste your time posting them, I waste my time reading them.

Do you think I come here to offend you or something? I wanted to start a serious discussion, because I thought as the Administrator of the DAC board you would have some knowledge and bring on some good ideas. But all I got from you were words like "dumb", "fucking", "puke". :confused2:

Killzig · Post by **Killzig** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:50 pm

Well you've completely shunned the issue brought forth regarding the style of the game world. You can't tell me its a matter of personal taste, its more a matter of BAD SCIENCE AND A POORLY CONCEIVED BACK STORY. So you're right, bad writing does not suit my tastes you dumb fucking puke. If you want a critical blow job feel free to head back over to no mutants allowed. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to swallow any shit you shovel into a box..