Almost a month before E3 company Bethesda I invited us to Sweden to the announcement of the then unknown AAA Shuther. But a couple of days after that, the announcement of them was made by Canadian Walmart. It turned out that we are talking about the sequel Rage – Games ID Software 2011. Now the Bethesda conference on E3 has ended, the journalists managed to try out demo, and I can finally share with you the impressions of the same demo that we were shown in Stockholm back in mid -May, in the office of the company Avalanche. The difference is that in Sweden the head of ID Software Tim Walls spoke about the project a little more about the presentation in Los Angeles. Yes, and the interview with him and the art director of Rage 2 Jeremy Miller I managed to take.
Before the demonstration, we were shown to the headquarters of the studio: it occupies two floors of a large office building in the center of Stockholm, and on both floors they work on just on Rage 2. By the way, at the same address it houses and Paradox Interactive. We were fluently shown by departments that are engaged in the plot, visual, sound and other components of the game, but at the same time talked about these aspects of work. For example, about how Avalanche is approaching the creation of an open world.
At first, developers come up with a certain place and summarize some life history under it. Who can live there, how he was there? What things can be there, including useful for the player? In what circumstances can you get here – and here you need several options, because the world is open, you never know where you will bring you to this location.
Only when the answers to all questions will be found, artists begin to visualize this place and give it an external personality. One of the walls of the studio is completely hung with concept arts of such locations, but, unfortunately, to photograph the office forbade journalists inside the office.
How does this work?
Tim Willits insists that the setting of the game is incorrect to call post -apocalypse. According to him, we are already talking about the "post -post -postage", because after https://sister-site.org/galaxy-spins/ the events of the first part thirty years have passed, the planet is slowly restored and green. As a result, a “post -post -postpocalyptic sandbox with a proprietary combat style of ID Software and a crazy action” is obtained – this is how Willit defines a new project. Well, the main motto of the development was to make the game "at times more crazy Rage".
According to the developers, Rage 2 is not so much a continuation as the Rage version 2.0, where the studio can finally carry out what I planned for the first game. Just at that moment there were not enough resources, engine for a full open world, and so on. Now nothing prevents them from them, so on the second attempt they (in theory) will present us exactly what they wanted to roll out eight years ago: the famous “Id-Soft” chaos from the first person in any place where the player loves.
Mood color – pink. Such sunsets are expected here
Tim Walls lovingly calls this approach “FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERVERSE”-“The Universe of the First Person”. Nevertheless, “just like before” Tim does not want – hence the idea was born to make peace, color scheme and, in general, everything related to Rage 2, absolutely crazy. Say, the developers chose the same pink because it is it in such a setting that you expect to meet the least of all. How much his presence will be justified by the plot, the head of the studio did not specify.
Here questions begin. Suppose you can try to unscrew the combat system to the maximum. Fortunately, after Rage Id Software, I had a good fun with restart Doom , And Tim Willians directly stated that the experience of this project is actively used in Rage 2. But what about the environment?
Concept art one of the locations
Avalanche studio enters the stage here. As you may remember, the open world in the first Rage, to put it mildly, did not work. In fact, these were just the corridors between individual closed locations, with loading and weak ruders of additional content like rare boring skirmishes with bandits.
The Swedes have much more experience in creating living seamless worlds: here you and Just Cause 3 , and close to Rage 2 Mad Max – with post -apocalypse, open world and cars. Both games had problems, but I cannot name any of them unambiguously failure. In addition, the shortcomings of projects did not concern the atmosphere, explosions and the general level of insanity – in this regard, Avalanche has long reached the Premier League. Therefore, to saturate the world of Rage 2 crazy activities and frostbitten characters will not be difficult for them.
And, of course, in the new game no longer wait for any corridors and walls – the world will be large, seamless and with a bunch of activities. According to the developers, in the creation of the open worlds they are guided by such a credo: “If you see this, then you can get to it, poke it with something and get a response”. After such words I am now waiting in Rage 2 Easter "Gothic 2" : you approach the edge of the map, and there is an ancient “Volvo”, behind which the walking dead man is sitting at the whole game, ready to drink with the main character in the old times and tell about life before the fall of the meteorite.
“Phoenix”, view from behind
By the way, about cars. Cars in Rage 2 will be much more important than in the first part. The main transport of the hero, “Phoenix”, can be customized both visually and gameplay: change guns and other active elements. As for the rest of the cars, here the studios are as follows: "If this has wheels, this can be stolen". And not just get behind the wheel, but bring it to your garage and use in the future, except that it will not work to customize. Racing machines and tanks are available, and the devil knows that – the types of wheeled equipment also have become much larger. But is it possible to climb into fur from trailers, the developers are not recognized.
And what about history?
But they willingly share plot details. Let me remind you that by the end of the first part, the protagonist defeated the evil government (in fact not), called from under the ground to the ground with other surviving colonists, and at the same time returned the capsules to the planet, which all this time hung in orbit. And if there were people in underground sort, then in the “cosmic”, among other things, there was a certain biomass, whose purpose was to cure the planet after the cataclysm. About thirty years around the “cosmic” capsules grew and developed picturesque biomes, and it is they, and not stone wastelands, are waiting for us in the second part of Rage. Hence the "post -post -post -post".
Concept Art of one of the biomes
While the biomass was doing its job, colonists of the “second generation” came out of the “underground” capsules, including the protagonist of the new game – the ranger Walker. By the beginning of the story, the entire town of Winland burned out his whole town – the very one (as it turned out) did not finish in the first Rage.
As the only survivor, the Walker gets into the favorite “Phoenix” car and goes to wander around the world in order, firstly, to avenge, and secondly, to do something useful. On the way, he meets several characters familiar to us in the first part. For example, Dr. Antonin Kvassir, who previously created mutants for the government, and now has recovered, joined resistance and is ready to help us. Maybe. At least in demo versions, it is he who periodically buzzes the hero of the tips on radio communications. And Walker answers – this is the only one, except Blaskovitsa, the hero of the games of ID Software, who has a voice.
And you can touch?
Demo level makes us in the midst of fulfilling the task of this doctor: you need to bring him an untouched sample of biomass with a “cosmic” capsule. There is just one thing in orbit, so you need to get into the flight control center (of course, the bandits are mistaken there) and deceive the local electronics so that the capsule will react to an unauthorized order and return to the ground. The level of chamber, they do not allow any charms of the open world. Well, the shooters of ID Software can do, we know that, even if the speeds are much lower than in doom. Therefore, the only new impression of this demo is a system of abilities.
Since the Walker is a “second-generation colonist”, the substances “Nanotris” from the first part work in his body differently. Previously, the hero was simply revived after death. Here, using nanotrites, you can activate various superpowers. As the developers prompt, it will be possible not to develop this area at all and play in the old way (only Dash-an ordinary Straff) is originally available). However, apparently, there is little sense in such self -restraint.
Various abilities that showed in demo and at the presentation: Shatter, Overdrive, Slam and a certain remote attack that attracts enemies, and then throws them into the air. It is possible that it can be used as a springboard for SLAM to apply more damage
Three abilities are available in the demo of the hero, except for the starting strap. Shatter is a powerful power impetus that tears some unprotected or damaged enemies into rags at a distance of a couple of meters from the player. It is perfectly combined with the very strap and successfully replaces hand -to -hand attack. It is on its own, but in battles with pumped and armored opponents the effect of it is almost negative. And so if you don’t kill, then at least you measure the enemies and have time to lay a couple of rounds in a shotgun.
SLAM allows you to jump and hit hard with a fist on the ground, creating a destructive wave in a small radius from the hero. Remember the final frames of the first gameplay trailer when the hero jumps with fists for fur? This is the same attack. As developers prompted, the higher the jump, the more destruction, so the sweetest thing is to fly on the enemies of the floor crowded on the ground from the third.
Finally, there is another Overdrive – a scale that is filled as you shred enemies to pieces. The less time passed between the killings of two enemies, the more points you will receive. Well, when activating the completed scale, your weapon begins to damage about four times higher than usual (and the image on the screen becomes completely acidic). And here it is already completely unimportant what kind of armor is the opponents in the armor, how many of them, how they are armed … Just. Khan.
10 more facts about Rage 2
The open world will definitely be seamless, and the plot is non -linear. But at the same time, the main ending is one.
Teams from ID Software and Avalanche are working on the game approximately equally, but, of course, on its various aspects. Of course, shooting and everything connected with it mainly falls on the ID, and the open world on Avalanche. But many things of the company do jointly, and this applies among other things and the narrative.
Only part of the employees of both companies work on the project. Simply put, active work on Rage 2 does not mean that somewhere in the bowels of the ID Software do not come in parallel over the second doom.
From the first game in Rage 2, the throwing boomerangs sharply like a razor – they occupy the same slot as grenades. They do not return back to the hand.
Those same boomerangs, they are Wingastics
The promised "elements of the game-service, but without lutboxes" will be expressed in constant support, regular updates and new content.
Warfers of different types will not get to the sequel. Their place will take up the upgrades and abilities of the hero.
Heroes worked deeper than in the first part, and some acts of the protagonist will change the state of peace and gameplay opportunities. For example, if we destroy the government convoy, merchants who will find improvements for your abilities will be able to work in that area. To take them or not – you decide, and depending on this decision, a gameplay component will change.
We will encounter several hostile fractions at once: mutants, bandits, government and, perhaps, someone else. Fighting styles with many of them will be different. For example, only one of the groups has the same furs.
Horo-o-oh-hogo dog ..
Tim Willians refused to confirm or refute the presence of a multiplayer or cooperative in the game. At the time of the interview, the main thing for him was to make a fairly high -quality entertaining content for one user.
To leave the fight is not in the style of the heroes of ID Software. So if you got into battle, put as many opponents as possible.
And you might think?
On the one hand, the future of Rage 2 seems to be relatively cloudless. Two studios who know their job are uniting efforts in working on a large -budget project. On the other … nothing new and even just fresh in the concept and gameplay Rage 2 I do not see. The open world has not been shown, so there is nothing to talk about here at all – but, according to the experience of past games, Avalanche is still where to grow in this direction. Well, the action is a standard, verified lead hell from ID Software, just now with an “acid” raid of superpowers.
Blood -shaped – an obligatory element of the jokes ID Software. Rage 2 was no exception
It seems to be really planned a long growth against the background of the first part. But to be honest: I do not think that supernatural efforts are needed to grow strongly over the original Rage. After all, the problem of the first part was not so much in the absence of funds, but in the fact that ID Software for some reason took up a completely new area for themselves-open worlds, thought out stories and spelled out characters.
The second part seems to be done according to the Marxist principle: "From each according to his abilities, everyone according to his needs". So now the fans of the deadly bacchanalia “Kveikov”, “Dumas” and the early “Wolfenstens” are waiting for a new outbreak of lead rabies from ID Software (however, the speeds are much lower than in the same doom), and fans of adventures, stories and random events for large locations – several dozen hours in the open world from Avalanche. Will this be enough for the game to be remembered at least a year after the release? Personally, I doubt it for now.
The project is published in the spring of 2019. Until then, we will probably hear about him at other exhibitions – for example, at August Quakecon. Maybe there are some other levels there, and then the fate of the project will become a little clearer.
All about E3 2018!