[360] Alan Wake - Still awake

[Billy Idol]

But the story looks like a plate of spaghetti you can't know what is real every thing intertwines. Think that when we play the last part of this franchise everything will fall into place. So this franchise will probably stand of fall on fan support. Cant wait for the first dlc to fill in some of the gaps.

Spoiler

Think that "the signal" dlc will be about the lighthouse and how the darkness spreads out like a ocean. Alan had to write that the darkness becomes a bigger force so Alice didn't become the host for the darkness. Like Zane failed to do with barbara he just wrote her back. Alan said at the end you can't unbalance the scale you have to balance everything in a thriller.

Spoiler

Yeah, this stuff with the balance...I did not get this correctly...because there simple is no balance. It seems to me that at the end, the story suggests: AW dies, but his wife survives...a form of balance? I would not say this, because: if someone dies is not the balance of someone is surviving, right?

 

[dragonelite]

Spoiler

Yeah, this stuff with the balance...I did not get this correctly...because there simple is no balance. It seems to me that at the end, the story suggests: AW dies, but his wife survives...a form of balance? I would not say this, because: if someone dies is not the balance of someone is surviving, right?

Spoiler

I believe they mention that when Zane had written Barbara to be saved and the darkness defeated, she came back but she was like a host for the darkness like the darkness was concentrated in her, there's a manuscript about it.

What alan wake did was save alice from the darkness but instead she becoming a host he expanded the darkness influence so instead of only influencing the area around cauldron lake it's now is expanded in a ocean.

But i think he meant he had to make the darkness stronger/dangerous by giving it a better host in this case Agent Nightingale.

Hope to start a Nightmare run to find the additional manuscripts only found in that mode hopefully to get some more info.

 

[nightshade]

Spoiler

I believe they mention that when Zane had written Barbara to be saved and the darkness defeated, she came back but she was like a host for the darkness like the darkness was concentrated in her, there's a manuscript about it.

What alan wake did was save alice from the darkness but instead she becoming a host he expanded the darkness influence so instead of only influencing the area around cauldron lake it's now is expanded in a ocean.

But i think he meant he had to make the darkness stronger/dangerous by giving it a better host in this case Agent Nightingale.

Hope to start a Nightmare run to find the additional manuscripts only found in that mode hopefully to get some more info.

Spoiler

I assume when you say expanding the darkness in an ocean you are referring to the last dialogue. Well I don't think you should take that literally, its heavily implied that wake uses a lot of metaphors in his writing, so for all you know it could be another metaphor. What I believe is that Wake offers himself to the darkness in place of Alice, but when exactly does he takes this step or are these events something which have already occurred is something which we don't know yet. We could be thinking about all sort of stuff but in the end we'd realize that majority of the game is something that already happened & the end is actually something that happened during the start "chronically"

 

[dragonelite]

interview with Matias Myllyrinne from remedy
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=5676

 

[joker454]

Finally tore myself away from Blur long enough to play this game, it's been sitting on my shelf for a while. Very cool so far, I love how it's all narrated like you are in the story. They totally nailed the ambiance, I find I just hang around sometimes and check out the scenery, it's nice and creepy. Great draw distance as well. Only nitpicks are that I don't like the disparity between how the cutscenes look and how the game looks with the real time renderer, that gets kinda jarring sometimes. I wish they would just ditch pre-rendered cutscenes and render everything in the engine for better continuity. Also some textures are very low res. Aside from that loving it so far, finished episode one and onto the next.

 

[LightHeaven]

I mentioned this long ago in my first impression, that very few lights are actually lights that create any kid of shafts, static or dynamic.
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1427422&postcount=634

The number of times you see a light that makes shaft are actually less than the number of times you do in Final Fantasy 13 or GOW3.

I think that pretty much all the lights create shafts, some just not interacting with Alan. The light from Alan's flashlight for instance, create shafts when pointed to other characters and objects and scenery, but not to Alan's own arms when he is climbing a ladder...

The lights from safe havens cast shafts from scenery but not to Alan as well...

 

[nightshade]

I think that pretty much all the lights create shafts, some just not interacting with Alan. The light from Alan's flashlight for instance, create shafts when pointed to other characters and objects and scenery, but not to Alan's own arms when he is climbing a ladder...

The lights from safe havens cast shafts from scenery but not to Alan as well...

If you look at the power company lightsource then you'll see that Alan is not an "invisible object" to volumetric lightsources. Its just that very very few of them are actually capable of casting lights that create shafts. The safe havens creates shafts that keeps moving on its own regardless of what/where you try to block it with...this sometimes gives you an illusion that they react to objects. And most of the time the haven's lightsource is positioned in such a way that its impossible for you to block the lightsource in anyway.

I have tried blocking each & every light source found in this game with NPCs/other objects in the environment & apart from Alan's own flashlight, NPC flashlights & car headlights in 3rd episode and all of the power company lightsource...none are capable of casting dynamic shafts. And sunlight in this game isn't even a volumetric lightsource in the first place.


P.S.[About Alan's hand not casting shafts from his own light, well if you look carefully then you'll notice that his hands don't create any shadows either....this is simply because his hands must be at a distance that's less than what's required for the flashlight to show any kind of interaction with a body]

 

[Sigfried1977]

Got the game yesterday as well. If it wasn't for the story being way more intersting than I anticipated I would have already put it up on ebay. Gameplay-wise AW is the most one-sided and boring piece of software I played since, well, forever I guess. It's like playing Resident Evil 5 with every type of enemy removed except from the Majinis. I'm also beginning to tire of wooden shacks and trees. You'd think they'd manage to come up with more than 4 variations of the same enemy in 5 years.

 

[LightHeaven]

If you look at the power company lightsource then you'll see that Alan is not an "invisible object" to volumetric lightsources.

He is not invisible to some, but is invisible to most light sources. His own flashlight for instance, doesn't cast any shafts when his arm is in front of it, but it does when any other object or character does (thats mostly noticeable when you got the strongest flashlight and has to climb some stairs with it)

Its just that very very few of them are actually capable of casting lights that create shafts. The safe havens creates shafts that keeps moving on its own regardless of what/where you try to block it with...this sometimes gives you an illusion that they react to objects. And most of the time the haven's lightsource is positioned in such a way that its impossible for you to block the lightsource in anyway.

Most of them are, but i remember a particular safe haven near a fence, and it did seen like the fence blocked the light... Tought that could've just be pre-calculated as the scenery does not move.

I'm not sure if it counts, but on last year's demo, they also had a safe haven stand in place where the elevator comes and Alan is attacked by birds, when the elevator is coming you can see the shafts... Its a shame the location was set up just for the demo, and ended up quite different in the game, but there's no change in sight from last year's demo aside from resolution...

I have tried blocking each & every light source found in this game with NPCs/other objects in the environment & apart from Alan's own flashlight, NPC flashlights & car headlights in 3rd episode and all of the power company lightsource...none are capable of casting dynamic shafts. And sunlight in this game isn't even a volumetric lightsource in the first place.

In chapter 5 or 6 there's a location where i believe was part of that Intel presentation, where they showed a garage door that opens showing volumetric light... That part seems to be in the game, and the volumetric light is there too, sure, its horribly low res, but its there.

About the company's light source, what you used to try to block the lights? I didn't noticed any particular object that could be both movable and close enough to try blocking with it XD

As for the sunlight, didn't early tech demos only showed volumetric light from the sun when it was about to rise or dawn? I didn't realy tried to see if its light was volumetric, so i can't really comment about that.

And sorry, but i didn't get this part: "apart from Alan's own flashlight, NPC flashlights & car headlights in 3rd episode and all of the power company lightsource...none are capable of casting dynamic shafts." Are you saying that those are the only light sources that cast shafts or that none of them casts?

P.S.[About Alan's hand not casting shafts from his own light, well if you look carefully then you'll notice that his hands don't create any shadows either....this is simply because his hands must be at a distance that's less than what's required for the flashlight to show any kind of interaction with a body]

Dunno about that, when climbing stairs i can see shafts from the stairs blocking the light and is more or less the same distance from the light as Alan's arm.

 

[LightHeaven]

Got the game yesterday as well. If it wasn't for the story being way more intersting than I anticipated I would have already put it up on ebay. Gameplay-wise AW is the most one-sided and boring piece of software I played since, well, forever I guess. It's like playing Resident Evil 5 with every type of enemy removed except from the Majinis. I'm also beginning to tire of wooden shacks and trees. You'd think they'd manage to come up with more than 4 variations of the same enemy in 5 years.

Really? I absolutely loved the gameplay, the shooting just fells right, and i just thought the whole fighting mechanics was spectacular and intense.

 

[Rangers]

Well I finished the game and my initial love wore off.

I'm generally a pretty bad players, and I read each chapter was around 2.5 hours (6 chapters) that's 15 hours. I didn't keep track but I bet it took me more like 20 ( I also explored a good deal).

Bottom line is twenty hours is too long to play an action game with little variety.

Even the visuals which are quite stunning, in many ways I think the best I've seen on console when the rolling fog kicks in, can almost grow tiresome with a lack of variety. Too much blue and green only at night. The softness, whether from 540P or some other effect, is also somewhat annoying in the daytime.

Story is also too convoluted for it's own good. Nothing I'm sure as bad as MGS4, but just too convoluted.

Honestly when I finished the game I was just pretty sick of it. I dont even know that I have any interest in the DLC.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I think the way they did the manuscripts and thermoses was a huge mistake. I've been able to find most of them without much exploring, but some people have spent a lot of time running around looking for things. In Chapter 6, I just decided to skip looking for any of that stuff and play through. If you spend too much time searching, I can see how it would break up the flow of the story, or get you caught fighting endless respawns in certain areas. Playing the game in a few sittings, I might have gotten bored, but I've played in one or two hours pieces, and it's held my attention really well. I'm actually right about half way through chapter 6. My only complaint with the controls is the dodge button being shared with the sprint. Sometimes you just want to run, and Alan won't do it. He'll just do his little dodge instead. The shooting feels great, and the camera is really well implemented. Depending on how you turn, the camera will swing from one shoulder over the other, so you always have a wide view of the direction your turning into, which is exactly what you want.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Yeah, hiding the collectibles in the woods was a big mistake. Totally at odds with the game's intention to convey a sense of urgency. Same with the misplaced daytime driving sequences. I also think that the game was far too long for its own good. Despite the fact that it only took me 8 hours I was absolutely sick of shooting the same 3 enemies (small guys, big guys, birds) over and over again. (sorry, but I'm not counting possessed junk that tries to hit me as proper enemy design. It was a pure annoyance, just like all bullet sponge type enemies). In chapter 6 I just lit flares and tried to run past everything, especially since the enemies in the game also struck me as being more cheap than challenging. Quite frankly, I thought the constant backstabbing was infuriating.
The gameplay was also predictable as hell: whenever you activate a painfully slow moving elevator, pick up something meaningful, find a large supply of ammo or take yet another dumb-ass detour (let's go through half a dozen spooky farm buildings instead of climbing over a fence) you can pretty much bet your balls on the fact that the same 3 flannel wearing shadows will swarm you. Again.
Another annoyance was the game's tendency to take away the controls only to show me a horde of enemies slowly closing in on my position. Just let me shoot before it's nearly too late for Christ's sake.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I don't know. I've found the game really enjoyable so far. Another enemy type or two would be nice, but I'm ok with what's there, even the poltergeist objects. It's all very simple, but it works. Haven't had any issues with the actual gameplay, except my comment about dodge/run being the same button. Playing on normal, I wouldn't say the game has been really hard, but there have been a few spots I found challenging. Mostly from being swarmed, but usually that's because I didn't take advantage of the flares. Haven't really found the enemies to be cheap. They're predictable, and if you let them get in close they'll kill you quickly, but you have all the tools to make sure you aren't overwhelmed. They definitely do give away a little too much in terms of when you're about to get into some of the larger fights because there is always a stockpile of ammo and supplies leading up to it.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Wasn't hard at all actually. Annoying nevertheless. Been quite a while since I cursed so passionately at my poor tv.
At least I didn't have any problems with the dodge move.

 

[nightshade]

I agree that the game feels a bit dragged cause of repetitions, I played on Hard & finished the last episode without any shooting....should've taken me around 8-9 hours. The thing is, Remedy did a very bad job at balancing & placing the collectibles, I mean there's too much in the name of collectibles ~23 sign boards, 28 hidden chests, 13-14 TV shows, 11 Radio Shows , 100+ thermoses & 100+ manuscripts.

And these things could either be found right on your track or could be found between woods. Since you don't know whether to expect the collectible to shown up right in front of you or expect it to be at some corner....this makes the player search every corner needlessly & that means going to places with enemy random respawn triggers. Sometimes I'd go deep into the woods only to find nothing but waste my ammo & items on random enemy respawns....very very annoying. The enemies are kinda like rubber band AI, they'll teleport onto you, they move faster than you & above all have endless supply of axes which they throw every 4 seconds. (atleast in RE games the enemy waited for ~10 seconds to throw another projectile)

I thought the story was decent..too much reference to Stephan King's stories & Twin Peaks...and yea too confusing for its own good....& let me tell you I had ZERO issues getting 100% of MGS4's story which I thought was not at all confusing or convoluted....its just that there's too much to keep track on if you want to go after every bit. I was pretty amazed to see answers for every little question which most people wouldn't have noticed in previous games at all & hence would think its an unnecessary addition. Or maybe that's just because of me being a diehard Metal Gear fan for over a decade

 

[dragonelite]

First screen from the first dlc. Looks really creepy
http://forum.alanwake.com/files/AlanWake_07_darkplace_720p_editFacebook.jpg

And alan wake series/movie confirmed?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=287757ZH4oU

 

[Scott_Arm]

Finished it on the weekend. Great game. The manuscript is pretty corny, but overall I thought the story was fun and well presented. I was a big fan of Max Payne 1 and 2, for the way they changed the pace of the game with the crazy dream/drug/hallucination levels. Alan Wake follows a very similar formula and its done very well. I'm thinking of installing Max Payne 2 to play it again. Playing Alan Wake makes me wish they still had the rights to do Max Payne 3.

 

[Scott_Arm]

My friend sure likes it. He came over and played up until half way through Episode 5 in one sitting. He stayed up all night after I went to sleep.

 

[BadTB25]

I've been playing this game this week and I just started Episode 5.

It has given the most scares/creeps/goose bumps since Resident Evil Code Veronica. I love the night time sections and I'm finding the story and more importantly how it is being told very enjoyable. I was just telling the wife last night, that if they had added random wildlife (besides birds) like rabbits, deer, wolves, etc it could have been way more scarier/intense.

It is definitely my game of the first half of this year. For reference, other really great games I played this year include Uncharted 1 & 2, GOW III, and SSFIV. My only knock against it, maybe that it will probably be too short. I am playing through with a friend's copy, but plan to buy it new just to get into the dlc Episodes.