Yo, sup? O.o...

For those who don't have (or don't want to make) time to read the entire thread, I'll tell you what I'll be talking about in a nutshell.

--
A demo of the shooting mechanic in a game.
Why it's cool, or at least why I find it to be.
A video you can watch and a link so you can try it out yourselves.
--

I just wanted to post a thread about a game in development called Interstellar Marines. They're developing it in a different way than other developers. Instead of pitching the idea to a publishing company and let them publish it, they're trying to publish it them selves, through funding of the community.
They are calling their strategy 'AAA-Indie', as to indicate a quality product from an independent company.

Interstellar Marines is a sci-fi, first-person shooter action adventure game, with scary walking sharks as one of your enemies o.o...

Anyways, on their website they will release gameplay demos to play, test and give feedback on. They have just released a playable version of their shooting mechanic, called 'Bullseye', which you can try on their website.

It looks like this;

go to www.interstellarmarines.com to try it yourselves

I think it looks pretty cool. The graphics are neat, the sounds are awesome, and the details on what you hit are pretty cool too.

They are using the Unity engine. The graphics of Unity can supposedly be quite good. And from playing the shooting demo, it seems to be true.

The sounds and handling animation are what impress me the most. There are so many shooters that have been ruined (for me) because it just didn't feel very cool to shoot in it. There are a few important factors that govern this 'feeling'.

First of all the sounds. It has to have a cool, preferably realistic sound to it. And also variations in the sound, from when you fire one bullet to hipfire, and when you hit stuff besides your primary target. The sounds in the demo are awesome, in my opinion. The coolest sound is when you use a suppressor. It also sounds cool when you hit other materials.

Second, the handling animation of your weapon. If the weapon is completely locked in the center of the screen, the weapon will feel more like just an image taped to your screen, than like a real weapon in the game. The weapon needs to be a little loose. One game that has done this exceptionally well is Killzone 2 (and the first for that matter). Depending on where you turn, the weapon will drag slightly. It gives a sense of presence. In Interstellar Marines, there is also this (albeit more subtly) drag, which I like.

Third, the impact of your bullets. This factor is something I find almost mandatory spending some effort on. All games today show some sort of impact when you hit something. However, it's often too simple. You hit your target, and some blood bursts, and if you miss, a slight 'light' bursts on where you hit. These impacts are also too often not very well animated. If a game has cool impact effects which are relative, depending on from which angle, and what material you hit, you will find the frantic hipfire much more enjoyable. In the shooting demo the impact animation is quite nice and if you hit metal surfaces from the sides, you can see that the impact will direct outwards from the surface. The ragdoll effects and superficial destruction also play a role in this 'enjoyability'. However, in the demo of Interstellar Marines, you are shooting at practice targets, but the destruction of those 'dolls' is quite nice.

This is mostly personal opinions of mine, but I know of some who share them with me.

To add an element of discussion, it would be great if you could try it yourselves and post your opinions.

I have decided to support them, by upgrading my profile on their page. Apparently there aren't too many that support them, so it would be awesome to get a few more. I wasn't sure whether to spend money on supporting them (but I did anyway o.0), but when the demo was released I felt reassured. I really seems like they know what they're doing.

Thanks for your time =).

EDIT: The links were broken but should be fixed now.

Looks pretty damn cool. I'll have to try it out :)

Sounds alright, I shall have to look into it.

Furburt:
I hope it turns out well. It'll give good weight to indie games.

Ye, it seems like having some 'quality' despite being an indie game.

Welcome back btw.

I have a Spearhead account, this game is awesome. :)

I can't wait for the next Chapter, Movement. Hope they incorporate RTVP (real time voice porting), but maybe I'm too optimistic.

Your link is broken good sir.

http://www.interstellarmarines.com/

I'll give this a try today.

I support all indie game development and like to see independent titles coming out, but I can't help but feel that this will probably turn out as a typical dime-a-dozen shooter.

If there is a demo or something, I could try it if I could find the time, but as of now, I don't see anything yet that would make me get it, just a bit too standard perhaps. I rather wait for Aliens: Colonial Marine for my dosage of space marine violence.

Nincompoop:
Second, the handling animation of your weapon. If the weapon is completely locked in the center of the screen, the weapon will feel more like just an image taped to your screen, than like a real weapon in the game. The weapon needs to be a little loose. One game that has done this exceptionally well is Killzone 2 (and the first for that matter). Depending on where you turn, the weapon will drag slightly. It gives a sense of presence. In Interstellar Marines, there is also this (albeit more subtly) drag, which I like.

Ok this is where I was turned off...

Just because it feels more real doesn't mean it's going to be awesome.

Seriously that is (one) the reason why I hated Killzone 2, I don't care if it feels more realistic to make the gun handle loosely, it's fucking annoying. I'd rather make it more easy to handle than realistic.

Setting that rant aside, the game looks nice, though I'm sure most people will dismiss it as another generic sci-fi FPS, and then the faggots will come by parroting Yahtzee about how it's another space marines crap game.

Who cares? Any game has the potential to be good, so I'll keep an eye on this one. Especially since it was indie-funded, it would be great to see this pay off, it would definitely give a new outlook on taking chances with publishing to get an underrated jewel out here.

P.S. If it's PC exclusive then oh well forget it.

SantoUno:

Nincompoop:
Second, the handling animation of your weapon. If the weapon is completely locked in the center of the screen, the weapon will feel more like just an image taped to your screen, than like a real weapon in the game. The weapon needs to be a little loose. One game that has done this exceptionally well is Killzone 2 (and the first for that matter). Depending on where you turn, the weapon will drag slightly. It gives a sense of presence. In Interstellar Marines, there is also this (albeit more subtly) drag, which I like.

Ok this is where I was turned off...

Just because it feels more real doesn't mean it's going to be awesome.

Seriously that is (one) the reason why I hated Killzone 2, I don't care if it feels more realistic to make the gun handle loosely, it's fucking annoying. I'd rather make it more easy to handle than realistic.

Setting that rant aside, the game looks nice, though I'm sure most people will dismiss it as another generic sci-fi FPS, and then the faggots will come by parroting Yahtzee about how it's another space marines crap game.

Who cares? Any game has the potential to be good, so I'll keep an eye on this one. Especially since it was indie-funded, it would be great to see this pay off, it would definitely give a new outlook on taking chances with publishing to get an underrated jewel out here.

P.S. If it's PC exclusive then oh well forget it.

The controls and gunplay are up there with the best. You have your reloads that are faster depending on when you reload (if you reload when you're out of ammunition, it takes a long time, if you reload when you have enough ammo it takes a little bit longer and you get a super fast reload when you're just about to run out). The controls are not sluggish at all. The sounds are incredible. There are great impact effects. Animations are excellent.

Oh, and it will come to 360 and PS3 if the interest is there.

Looks interesting, but be careful. This thread seems to be borderline advertising.

Astalano:
The controls and gunplay are up there with the best. You have your reloads that are faster depending on when you reload (if you reload when you're out of ammunition, it takes a long time, if you reload when you have enough ammo it takes a little bit longer and you get a super fast reload when you're just about to run out). The controls are not sluggish at all. The sounds are incredible. There are great impact effects. Animations are excellent.

Oh, and it will come to 360 and PS3 if the interest is there.

I just played it, and well my laptop can't run games so the graphics looked bad lol. And the framterate was real bad (20-30) so I can't say.

Though shooting targets was lame, if only it was an actual mission or something.

SantoUno:

Astalano:
The controls and gunplay are up there with the best. You have your reloads that are faster depending on when you reload (if you reload when you're out of ammunition, it takes a long time, if you reload when you have enough ammo it takes a little bit longer and you get a super fast reload when you're just about to run out). The controls are not sluggish at all. The sounds are incredible. There are great impact effects. Animations are excellent.

Oh, and it will come to 360 and PS3 if the interest is there.

I just played it, and well my laptop can't run games so the graphics looked bad lol. And the framterate was real bad (20-30) so I can't say.

Though shooting targets was lame, if only it was an actual mission or something.

Yeah, but I find trying to beat community members' scores is suprisingly addictive. Too bad your specs aren't good enough, maybe you can try to play it on a friend's computer?

scnj:
Looks interesting, but be careful. This thread seems to be borderline advertising.

I don't know what you mean by 'borderline advertisement'. I haven't heard that expression before. This is however a somewhat advertising thread, but with a discussion element nevertheless. But the reason for advertising this product is a selfish act. I want the game to get more attention and get developed faster, so that I can play the game =P. But I am in no way (besides slight support) connected to the game development.

SantoUno:

Nincompoop:
Second, the handling animation of your weapon. If the weapon is completely locked in the center of the screen, the weapon will feel more like just an image taped to your screen, than like a real weapon in the game. The weapon needs to be a little loose. One game that has done this exceptionally well is Killzone 2 (and the first for that matter). Depending on where you turn, the weapon will drag slightly. It gives a sense of presence. In Interstellar Marines, there is also this (albeit more subtly) drag, which I like.

Ok this is where I was turned off...

Just because it feels more real doesn't mean it's going to be awesome.

Seriously that is (one) the reason why I hated Killzone 2, I don't care if it feels more realistic to make the gun handle loosely, it's fucking annoying. I'd rather make it more easy to handle than realistic.

I hope you're not confusing with the regrettable handling delay of Killzone 2. There seemed to be way too much delay from when you moved your controller to when the character moved. The handling animation (mind you) which I am talking about cannot make the shooting mechanic harder to use. It's only an animation. I mean, you could just as well not display any weapon at all, it's always the corsair in the middle of the screen which decides where the bullets fly. It's only a cosmetic feature. This is of course unless you are so incredible annoyed by this that you can't concentrate.

Nincompoop:

SantoUno:

Nincompoop:
Second, the handling animation of your weapon. If the weapon is completely locked in the center of the screen, the weapon will feel more like just an image taped to your screen, than like a real weapon in the game. The weapon needs to be a little loose. One game that has done this exceptionally well is Killzone 2 (and the first for that matter). Depending on where you turn, the weapon will drag slightly. It gives a sense of presence. In Interstellar Marines, there is also this (albeit more subtly) drag, which I like.

Ok this is where I was turned off...

Just because it feels more real doesn't mean it's going to be awesome.

Seriously that is (one) the reason why I hated Killzone 2, I don't care if it feels more realistic to make the gun handle loosely, it's fucking annoying. I'd rather make it more easy to handle than realistic.

I hope you're not confusing with the regrettable handling delay of Killzone 2. There seemed to be way too much delay from when you moved your controller to when the character moved. The handling animation (mind you) which I am talking about cannot make the shooting mechanic harder to use. It's only an animation. I mean, you could just as well not display any weapon at all, it's always the corsair in the middle of the screen which decides where the bullets fly. It's only a cosmetic feature. This is of course unless you are so incredible annoyed by this that you can't concentrate.

I remember Far Cry 2 having the stupid slow weapon handling as well.

Astalano:
I remember Far Cry 2 having the stupid slow weapon handling as well.

Yeh, a regrettable feature some games suffer from.

I sent you a message, did you not receive it?

TOGSolid:
Your link is broken good sir.

http://www.interstellarmarines.com/

I'll give this a try today.

I see that. I can't wrap my head around as to why. This is my first post with links hidden in specific words, but I thought I did it right.

EDIT: Should be fixed now. Thank you sir.

Well, looks like that Unity plugin can do a high-quality FPS.

As for Interstellar Marines, I've heard about it here and there, it looks like it should be pretty solid. This demo doesn't do it much justice in that it doesn't show off any of the interesting features the game will supposedly offer. Like zero-G squad-level combat with better-than-average AI. It did, at least, show off a whole lot of attention paid to one weapon's ballistic mechanics.

HOW GOOD IS THE STORYLINE? Oh wait it's a new game, storyline doesn't matter, as long as it's eye porn.

It's sad what today's games have gotten to...

e2density:
HOW GOOD IS THE STORYLINE? Oh wait it's a new game, storyline doesn't matter, as long as it's eye porn.

It's sad what today's games have gotten to...

Not to be a blatant defender of this game, but actually I hear the storyline of this one is fairly complex.

You're confusing the purveyors of story-free eye porn for the big name companies who produce games for the mainstream who, by their judgement, is apparently a bunch of dumbasses who wouldn't know what to do with a story. Interstellar Marines is being made by indies who were looking to push the envelope along these lines.

geldonyetich:

e2density:
HOW GOOD IS THE STORYLINE? Oh wait it's a new game, storyline doesn't matter, as long as it's eye porn.

It's sad what today's games have gotten to...

Not to be a blatant defender of this game, but actually I hear the storyline of this one is fairly complex.

You're confusing the purveyors of story-free eye porn for the big name companies who produce games for the mainstream who, by their judgement, is apparently a bunch of dumbasses who wouldn't know what to do with a story. Interstellar Marines is being made by indies who were looking to push the envelope along these lines.

I'll copy and paste the backstory for ya, as well as all other information that will hopefully shed some light on the game. :P

Interstellar Marines: An Overview:

Interstellar Marines is an AAA, FPS, Sci-fi, action and adventure game with an original and unpredictable storyline featuring single and cooperative gameplay, with heavy focus on realism. Planned as a trilogy and targeted at a 17+ audience, the game is currently being developed for PC. In time it's aimed at the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Set in a believable future, the player is a newly enlisted Special Forces soldier, equipped with the latest in weaponry, armour and gadgets that will embark on a breathtaking adventure. A world filled with challenging scenarios and heart pounding situations that in time draws you deeper into an ongoing plot.

Key features

* Heavy focus on creating a thick realistic feeling of immersion through graphics, sound and game play.
* Single player or up to four players cooperative game play.
* A number of different interactive environments, ranging from claustrophobic space stations to large outdoor levels.
* Persistent character development and skill system
* Non-linear game play and open ended level design
* Freely customizable weapons simulation
* Captivating epic storyline written with focus on the co-operative part of the game

Genre: FPS, Sci-fi, action and adventure game
Platforms(s): PC
Release Date: N/A
Developer: Zero Point Software A/S
Publisher: Its AAA Indie, baby!

ITO:

The Interstellar Treaty Organisation, ITO, is an alliance of countries that wishes to further the exploration of space. To do so it provides a stable social and economical platform on Earth in order to nuture the commercial space sector. During its century long existence it has focused on expansion through the spreading of cultural and economic goods, specifically staying away from using its armed forces in anything but defense. Although diplomacy is its primary vector it maintains control over a formiddable force of hardware and personnel.

As the 21st century drew to an end, Europe was experiencing an economic boom. Its population ached for access to space, there was mounting pressure for faster, better, cheaper ways to get to orbit and the moon. The commercial aerospace industry had seen a huge increase in demand for materials brought to and from space, more and more satellites and hightech manufacturing facilities were put up.

There was a small but growing space tourism industry coming to life, with a space station already in orbit catering to a rich clientele and a similar habitat under construction on the moon.

But a sense of worry was growing, that the economic boom would not last or that human stupidity would force us to abandon all space efforts again. Something needed to be done to ensure a stable base from which the expansion into space could continue. That materialized in 2096, when a proposed alliance was ratified by western European countries and the Interplanetary Treaty Organization was created. It's goal would be the pursuit of peaceful expansion, leveraging the combined economic resources and military might of its member countries.

To keep the territories stable ITO has been hard at work knitting together the populations of all these incredibly diverse cultures. While each nation retains their sovereignty, ITO has implemented a series of standards designed to allow the freedom of movement of people, goods and services across its nations. The same basic infrastructure and education is in place across all countries, creating a common foundation between the people. ITO also provides financial aid to countries to boost their standards of living and industrialization.

They've pushed especially hard on education, with ITO-run schools and universities being particularly prevalent in South America and the Middle East. In little over a century ITO has successfully eased much of the tension in what used to be the hotspots of the world. Its number of nations grew quickly: In a series of expansions taking place over sixty years, ITO spread from its original founding countries to the current list of over eighty countries. Amongst its members are almost all European and Middle Eastern countries, large parts of Asia, Russia, the United States of America, and most countries in Africa and South America.

Especially noteworthy was the 3rd Expansion in 2121, where ITO dedicated their resources to financing the construction of Zero Point Energy reactors to all its member nations. The gift of limitless energy won many countries over that were previously thought impossible to persuade peacefully.

To this day ITO maintains direct control over all orbital traffic within its territory; no individual nations are allowed to operate aerospace vehicles without the use of ITO-trained pilots. Concern has been raised over this level of control and potential for abuse, but ITO maintains that a unified command and control structure is required to safely operate in space and ensure constant growth in the space industry. The ITO countries are responsible for almost 70% of all space-faring traffic (the remaining traffic is generated from the CoSEA territories)

ITO Organization:

ITO is organized into the following political offices, scientific endeavours, civilian programs and military structures:

Expanding Beyond Earth:

While the 21st century saw Humanity's forrays into space ebb and flow, the 22nd century was far more positive. Several key events contributes to an explosive growth in the space industry all around the globe.

In the latter half of the 21st century the world was experiencing a cautious economic upswing. Commercial interest in space was slowly rising, following the successful deployment of the joint Chinese-European lunar research bases. But it took the Japanese built and privately owned space station "Hotel Dawn" to fully jolt the European space businesses to life. Despite catering only to the ultra-wealthy, at the time it opens in 2080 the waiting list for a vacation in space are years long. It manages to operate at a profit, sending the budding aerospace industry skyrocketing. Companies from the western world soon lay plans for a settlement on the moon, catering to low gravity manufacturing, Helium-3 mining and tourism.

Meanwhile, the aging International Space Station, still in orbit after its abandonment in 2025, steps back onto the world stage. It is refitted and reopened in 2097 for the purpose of performing high energy experiments. Just a few short years later the team of scientists are successful beyond their wildest dreams, creating the worlds first Zero Point Energy reaction.

With limitless energy came an enormous growth curve in space exploration. The commercial sector went beyond exponential growth, with an increasing number of privately run orbital stations and lunar facilities under construction. More and more countries of Earth join with the ITO alliance, and under its guidance mining facilities are erected on Mars and even as far away as the asteroid belt.

Zero Point Energy (ZPE):

The discovery of this virtually unlimited ressource was the beginning of a new era, and the union of human kind. Learn more about the first experiments that formed the foundation for interstellar travel.

Few believed that the exponential technological evolution of the 20th century would ever be paralleled. The 21st century not only paralleled it - it went beyond it. The single-most important reason for this was the discovery of Zero Point Energy.

Originally proposed by Albert Einstein and Otto Stern the concept of Zero Point Energy started as a purely theoretical quirk to explain a residual term needed to solve the equations of quantum mechanics. One April morning in 2100 aboard the International Space Station, a team of top scientists from all around the world managed to produce a quantum of energy from the vacuum of space surrounding them. Showing the possibility to generate pure energy exploiting the fabric of space-time itself, the experiment showed promise to solve the depletion of Earth's energy sources. It was the end of a dark age of apocalyptic prophecies, and the beginning of a brighter and better future.

Experiment:

It was suggested to diverge the power obtained in the experiment to the propulsion system of the space-station holding it in orbit. Rather than maintaining stationary distance to Earth as predicted, the experiment sent the 2 million ton space station hurling rapidly away from Earth threatening the lives of those aboard. An emergency rescue mission led by the ITO special forces managed to retrieve the ISS-scientists and most staff after almost 10 months of chasing the uncontrollable facility.

Subsequent evaluation of the experiment revealed it to have generated energy equivalent to roughly 86% of that produced by powerplants in the entirety of human history.

The Gameplay of IM:

Ok, so let's have a look at the game play of Interstellar Marines, what sets this game apart from all the other great games out there?

A dark place where the unexpected might happen.

Well, Interstellar Marines is at the core a Sci-fi First Person Shooter (FPS).

Now that's not really anything special to say the least, however there is a bit more to it than that. When we as developers (and not to forget gamers) began to create a new FPS game, a main motivation was that even though lots of great games came out, we always seemed to miss something.

One game would have a great open ended world while another featured a cool skill system, one game offered intense combat while in yet another you got the chance to play cooperatively. However we wanted to bring all the features we as gamers enjoyed the most together in one great FPS game.

Ambitious? - hell yeah, but on the other hand you could also just look at it as evolution of the genre. Not really any point in (re-) creating what has already been successfully made by others, and as mentioned, we saw an empty space in the selection of available games still waiting to be filled.

So off we went starting filling that gap with what will eventually become Interstellar Marines, and here are some of the key features we have focused on:

RPG:

Playing a pre-made character in a game can be great fun, but when designing Interstellar Marines it was pretty clear that we wanted more than that, we wanted to give players the freedom to shape and mold their character themselves.

In the game the characters will enter the solar system as rookies, but during the progression of the game all gradually become more and more experienced as the story unfolds. With experience comes new skills and abilities as well as access to new and better weaponry, and it is now all up to each player how they want to build and equip their Marine.

Create a stealthy medic with hacking skills, a heavy armored sniper with explosives or maybe an officer with excellent strategic abilities and a minigun?

It is all up to the player to decide.

Just like the character is growing and taking shape by gaining skills during the course of the game, so are the weapons of the marine. In a somewhat similar way to traditional RPG character progression we also wanted the players to be able to "personalize" their weaponry and equipment.

As an Interstellar Marine moves up in rank, he gets to choose more and more weapons and weapon utilities from the vast armory of the IM corps and is now able to freely customize his guns and items. If you pick an assault rifle you could choose to improve it with the shotgun extension and hollow point bullets or perhaps a silencer, piercing rounds and a scope?

The options are plentiful and it is all up to each player to freely make the decisions that suit his or hers preferred play style.

Co-op:

What is more fun than playing through a stunning adrenaline-filled game that completely blows you away? Doing so with your friends!

In Interstellar Marines you will have the option of teaming up with up to three of your friends and play through the game in co-operative mode (co-op). From the very beginning of designing this game, we knew we wanted co-op to be a core element and because of that we have shaped all of the other features to enhance the co-operative game play.

The skill system will give players a vast number of options for all kinds of team play and all of the levels of IM has been designed with the clear focus of supporting co-op game play. Even the story line is written with multiple protagonists in focus so that all players in a group will have their unique place and doing in the upcoming epic saga.

Of course there is always the option of playing on your own, but should you choose to invite some friends to a game (or find some new ones on-line) a whole new challenge awaits you and your band of elite soldiers.

Open Ended Level Design

When we were to create the world of the Interstellar Marines, plenty of ideas came up for great locations and places for the players to explore. However no matter where the story would take the marines, we were pretty sure about one thing; the places should all be open ended and not in any way force the players to just take a pre-chosen path through.

So we constructed the game in such a way that there are always several ways to achieve the main objectives/complete the levels and players will have the option of using brute force, stealth tactics and/or make use of the various skills as a mean to successfully clear a mission.

However not only should players be able to explore the areas of the game freely, we also wished for the levels to be as dynamic as possible, so that the game would stay fresh and exciting even when you came back for the fifth or sixth time. The cool thing about a dynamic environment is that it allows for tactical choices, and the player should consider the effects of shutting down the lights, turning on the sprinklers and how the enemy AI will react to such changes in the environment.

To add to the re-playability all levels are non-scripted and the various inhabitants of a location will have a life of their own (guards patrolling, scientists working, crew personnel cleaning, etc) until the players intervene one way or the other, so there are no monsters jumping out of the closet when players step on that exact trigger on the floor.

e2density:
HOW GOOD IS THE STORYLINE? Oh wait it's a new game, storyline doesn't matter, as long as it's eye porn.

It's sad what today's games have gotten to...

First of all, this was just about the shooting mechanic. Second of all, the story appears to be quite unique and interesting, as someone has explained.

However, I find storyline to be only a minor factor in liking a game. Seriously, if storyline is to be rated of most importance, a fucking book could compete at being a good VIDEO GAME with most new video games. The two most important factors are (to me), and should be (in my opinion), gameplay and engine. By engine I mean everything from graphics, to physics and sound.

A game about Spess Mehrenes using an actual hard sci-fi? I already saw it, but now i know for sure - i'm so buying this.

EDIT: Checked out the traning range. Shooting indeed sounds and dare i say, feels, better than usually. Buuuut...

SHELL CASINGS! So egregious! It's supposed to be THE FUTURE! GRAAAAAAAAAHH!

Kollega:
A game about Spess Mehrenes using an actual hard sci-fi? I already saw it, but now i know for sure - i'm so buying this.

EDIT: Checked out the traning range. Shooting indeed sounds and dare i say, feels, better than usually. Buuuut...

SHELL CASINGS! So egregious! It's supposed to be THE FUTURE! GRAAAAAAAAAHH!

Lmao =P... I think it's like 2120 or something.

If I were to read the motive of the game before seeing gameplay footage, the fact that they use bullets would have baffled me. But it's cool in a way. I'm not so fond of phasers and laser majiggers. And it's also quite believable that raw physical strength is hard to surpass. Laser based weapons might be better to defend against. But to be honest, I have no idea whether you will be able to use other kinds of weaponry.

Nincompoop:
Lmao =P... I think it's like 2120 or something.

If I were to read the motive of the game before seeing gameplay footage, the fact that they use bullets would have baffled me. But it's cool in a way. I'm not so fond of phasers and laser majiggers. And it's also quite believable that raw physical strength is hard to surpass. Laser based weapons might be better to defend against. But to be honest, I have no idea whether you will be able to use other kinds of weaponry.

Not lasers. Maybe not even railguns. All i ask for is CASELESS AMMO! Many army researchers try to invent good way of ditching the shell casings right about now. They sure are cool, but they are dead weight. And this game is supposed to be hard sci-fi, not one relying on rule of coolness.

geldonyetich:

Not to be a blatant defender of this game, but actually I hear the storyline of this one is fairly complex.

You're confusing the purveyors of story-free eye porn for the big name companies who produce games for the mainstream who, by their judgement, is apparently a bunch of dumbasses who wouldn't know what to do with a story. Interstellar Marines is being made by indies who were looking to push the envelope along these lines.

Eh... the story looks like bad fanfic-level stuff. They took a bunch of old ideas that had been laying around and have thrown them together haphazardly with no dramatic direction. Half their backstory is the kind of world-government wank I'd expect out of a 15-year old who thinks that he has political ideas that will change the world forever.

I mean, they really couldn't come up with a better name than "Interstellar Marines"? That's the exact kind of creative impotence that you're bashing big name companies for.

Kollega:

Nincompoop:
Lmao =P... I think it's like 2120 or something.

If I were to read the motive of the game before seeing gameplay footage, the fact that they use bullets would have baffled me. But it's cool in a way. I'm not so fond of phasers and laser majiggers. And it's also quite believable that raw physical strength is hard to surpass. Laser based weapons might be better to defend against. But to be honest, I have no idea whether you will be able to use other kinds of weaponry.

Not lasers. Maybe not even railguns. All i ask for is CASELESS AMMO! Many army researchers try to invent good way of ditching the shell casings right about now. They sure are cool, but they are dead weight. And this game is supposed to be hard sci-fi, not one relying on rule of coolness.

I suspected that you didn't mean just bullets as a whole, but I wasn't sure. That's actually an interesting critique, and one should run that through the IM creators. After all, their development is supposed to, not only be funded, but also be progressively criticized by the community.

HUBILUB:
They're publishing it themselves? That does not sound like a very good strategy.

Still, it looks freakin' epic.

Better then to give up a 75% cut of the revenue to the publisher.

They aren't getting any points for graphics from me though, that gun is butt ugly and so far it's the only object we saw up close. Also, since when is 20 meters "long range"? That's still inside shotgun range except for the most obnoxious arcades shooters(mw2 and ilk). I have the feeling that this game features a lot of jump scares that require timing but no aiming beyond "point the gun in the correct cardinal direction"

Asehujiko:

Better then to give up a 75% cut of the revenue to the publisher.

Doubtful. That 75% cut that the publisher takes is because they usually provide funding for the game. They also provide things like advertising and distribution, which will kill a game dead if not done right.

Asehujiko:

HUBILUB:
They're publishing it themselves? That does not sound like a very good strategy.

Still, it looks freakin' epic.

Better then to give up a 75% cut of the revenue to the publisher.

They aren't getting any points for graphics from me though, that gun is butt ugly and so far it's the only object we saw up close. Also, since when is 20 meters "long range"? That's still inside shotgun range except for the most obnoxious arcades shooters(mw2 and ilk). I have the feeling that this game features a lot of jump scares that require timing but no aiming beyond "point the gun in the correct cardinal direction"

*yawn*

Funding from the community dude and a game shaped by the community. If you have a problem with anything in the game just make a thread on the forums.