[PSN/Live] From Dust
- Thread starter Shifty Geezer
- Start date
From Dust Coming to PSN on September 27th:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/08/from-dust-coming-to-psn-on-september-27th/
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/08/from-dust-coming-to-psn-on-september-27th/
September the 14th in Euroland. 
From Dust PSN debut moved to Sep. 13 in North America:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/09/from-dust-psn-debut-moved-to-sep-13-in-north-america/
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/09/from-dust-psn-debut-moved-to-sep-13-in-north-america/
Dah! Anything to stop the Euro's having an advantage just for once.
Yeah, but it's the date you Yanks will laud over!
With either a PSPlus discount, or a non PSPlus extra charge, I'm not sure ...
I bought it yesterday from PS+
Was waiting for it to show up in the PS+ discount area. ;-)
(((interference)))
Veteran
I want to buy this, but I don't know if the full version will also crash after the second level
Will MS refund my points if it isn't working on my 360?
Will MS refund my points if it isn't working on my 360?
No problems on PS3 demo. I know with other games people have managed to get a refund off MS when it's proved unplayably bugged, although in the good old days of console companies actually having a QA process they never had to worry about that because they'd never let a terminally bugged game through...
I like the demo. It feels very like a classic Bullfrog/Lionhead game, with a very Black and White vibe. The physics aspect isn't as technically impressive as I was thinking it would be. Seems to be height data with 2D physics, turned into a height map on a fixed mesh terrain. So there aren't pretty little channels cut through the sand when you dribble some water on it, or even tides washing away the coast. It also doesn't look as pretty as I hoped. The tropical conversion is quite muted, and not full of vibrant plants, and the textures are remarkably flat - not even normal mapped. The people also mill about aimlessly and are a bit stupid. They want you to make them bridges, but they're quite capable of swimming the channels you have to fill!
It is a good gameplay mechanic at a pleasant pace though, and with a happy, hippy vibe. the 'ethincity' works extremely well. I hope the game sells well and a full disc version of this concept with higher production values is gviven the go-ahead. I want to see inteligence in the people with jobs for them to do (Black and White, Settlers) and richer visuals. Very pleased to see a proper god game back though!
I like the demo. It feels very like a classic Bullfrog/Lionhead game, with a very Black and White vibe. The physics aspect isn't as technically impressive as I was thinking it would be. Seems to be height data with 2D physics, turned into a height map on a fixed mesh terrain. So there aren't pretty little channels cut through the sand when you dribble some water on it, or even tides washing away the coast. It also doesn't look as pretty as I hoped. The tropical conversion is quite muted, and not full of vibrant plants, and the textures are remarkably flat - not even normal mapped. The people also mill about aimlessly and are a bit stupid. They want you to make them bridges, but they're quite capable of swimming the channels you have to fill!
It is a good gameplay mechanic at a pleasant pace though, and with a happy, hippy vibe. the 'ethincity' works extremely well. I hope the game sells well and a full disc version of this concept with higher production values is gviven the go-ahead. I want to see inteligence in the people with jobs for them to do (Black and White, Settlers) and richer visuals. Very pleased to see a proper god game back though!
(((interference)))
Veteran
But don't the rivers erode the land and form deltas at the coast etc?
And is it cheaper on PSN compared to XBLA
And is it cheaper on PSN compared to XBLA
There are some water types that cause erosion, springs from the mountains, but if you pick up a huge ball of water and trinkle it down a sandy hill, it doesn't have any effect. Price is £12 on UK PSN. 1200 MS points, which The Interwebz suggests is nearer £10.
It was also very dark in the demo, with no brightness setting. I hope they have a proper PS3 gamma and didn't just transfer over their XB settings!
It was also very dark in the demo, with no brightness setting. I hope they have a proper PS3 gamma and didn't just transfer over their XB settings!
Having completed it (short game!) I retract my impression of their engine. When you see everything active at once it is very good. Really needs a proper game though. This feels like a tech demo contrived into a game, with a number of 'unfinished' aspects. For one you can zoom in on a person and you're told something about them, which is always "This (wo)man can build villages, carry knowledge, and something." Why have that if there's no need to identify different people? There's mention of a creature I never encountered. And then the last level is just a tech showcase. It's as if Ubisoft had no faith that a god-game would be financially viable any more, and told Chachi to get 'something' out there quick and cheap to prove his tech wasn't a waste of money.
This tech with the gameplay of something like Populous or Megalomania, where you have to build villages and grow your population fighting against various elements. Some Settlers style resource harvesting wouldn't go amiss either. It would be an awesome game - I fear it'll never get made.
Really, what we need is for Molyneuz to stop faffing about with his 'new wave' game ideas and get back to making God games around the capabilites of modern hardware!
This tech with the gameplay of something like Populous or Megalomania, where you have to build villages and grow your population fighting against various elements. Some Settlers style resource harvesting wouldn't go amiss either. It would be an awesome game - I fear it'll never get made.
Really, what we need is for Molyneuz to stop faffing about with his 'new wave' game ideas and get back to making God games around the capabilites of modern hardware!
(((interference)))
Veteran
I think I might get it, I spent quite a lot of time with the demo doing things like rerouting the rivers to see the effects on the terrain.
The short length is a bonus for me - as I have too many games to play and too little time - I only just finished Bioshock 1
The short length is a bonus for me - as I have too many games to play and too little time - I only just finished Bioshock 1
Played the demo last night for a blast and it was great fun. I soon found myself trying to cover every cm2 with trees by maximising the land and ferrying water into pits in the hills. Definite purchase for me.
Thought a bit more about the potential here, and a civilisation type game really is a must. Imagine having to plan waterways for a watermill, and choosing where to create a spring for a natural river with an eye on shifting environments and preserving low-lands and the like. It'd add a much more dynamic playing area to establish working colonies/towns than the old static maps of yesteryear. Instead of direct manipulation of the terrain you could have peeps digging and building and such. Order them to build a hill and they set to it. Dig and moat, or a water channel. given limited numbers of people you'd have to think about building a redirection channel rather than a whole river causeway, and you could develop techs to build stronger, more robust structures. Pathfinding could have them build roads along natural routes.
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