Wait? So the tech demo of Rage we seen Carmack walk us through, while admiting it was running on an iPhone 4, has turned into an on-rails sub-plot game called Mutant Bash TV? That's a little disappointing to say the least, but the game we are getting still packs some impressive visuals.
we will get another game around the release of Rage for console and PC that will probably be more like the console and PC version http://kotaku.com/5611523/id-unleashes-rage-on-the-iphone
I'll definitely be picking up Mutant Bash TV for my iPhone 4, especially if it's just a couple of quid.
Again, linearity of level design is not the same thing as putting the gameplay on rails. Taking Mutant Bash out of the equation for the moment (because its levels were designed to be even more linear because of the rails) every iPhone FPS and first-person RPG still allows free roaming to some degree. You still choose where, when and how to move within the scope of the levels, and there are usually benefits to being able to do so. (Finding cover to shoot from behind, hiding pickups off the trail in the foliage, being able to jump on top of things to find vantage points to snipe from, or whatever.) This doesn't even take into account moderately open-world games like the Gangstar games. Level designs -- even on PC -- are often made linear to expediently advance the story without letting the player get lost wondering where they need to go next. (Again, open-world games employ extra mechanics like maps, fast travel and quest lists to provide means to find your next destination easier, even though you don't have to follow a given quest if you don't want to.) You can have a linear game without putting it on rails and still give the player the significant and effective illusion of freedom. Freedom of movement, regardless of the degree of each level's linearity, still makes the player feel like every decision is in his hands. Take that away to make a rail shooter and you're basically turning the player into a moving turret, which is certainly fun for those that enjoy such games, but is ultimately frustrating for the rest who'd much rather have control over their own movements no matter how claustrophobic the level design is. (Okay, I will give Painkiller an exception here because that game stunk to high heaven so much that it wouldn't have even mattered if it was on rails.)
That is the game I will be waiting for -- big time. As long as they don't put it on rails, that's the money id's going to get from me, day one.
Yeah, I remember reading that part of the article. It seems like many people are either unaware of the 2nd version or have forgotten about it. I hope it is still being made, and I hope it's not on-rails. I agree. Modern Combat 2 for example has linear level designs, Gameloft could've quite easily made it an on-rail shooter. But even though the levels are mainly linear, it still feels much better to have full control of my movement. I can go at my own pace, take cover when I want and where I want, take time to observe/appreciate the environment, flank enemies etc. On-rails shooters take a way all the freedom and your individual playing style that you would have with a regular FPS.
Even the Call of Duty games have linear levels. I mean, ok, if there are 2 paths, both will end at the same place.
I've gotta say, I was properly excited when we all heard the news and saw John Carmack's awesome tech demo. And yet I was equally disappointed to learn it'd be a 'Mutant Bash TV' RAGE sub-plot. My disappointment was compounded further still when I heard it would be on-rails. Errrgh! BUT...I saw the teaser video with proper gameplay at IGN.com yesterday and even this hard-hearted cynic has gotta admit; it looks damn fine, and easily the best graphics seen on the platform to date. Take a look at the trailer and I'm sure most iGamers will concur...
One thing a lot of people are forgetting is that this lite on-rails version of Rage is going to be around 1.4gigs for the HD iPad / Retina version. Maybe the filesize would have been too big if it were a full game, or not on-rails?
I don't get any sense of freedom from a game like MC2 or BIA2. Sure, I can move around a bit in each small area and I can duck behind cover etc but I'm still stuck on a path that Gameloft designed. This is compounded by Gameloft's scripted AI, which is awful and repetitive, with enemies who do too little to utilise your ability to move. Most times they just take pop shots from behind cover and you'll wind up doing the same. The majority of the filesize will be textures (or megatextures as id calls them). They would be the same if you could move or not with these same level designs. Having said that, if they were to make a bigger game, it'd have to be less than 2GB as that is the limit for an app in the sdk. But we don't know how many levels and enemies are in the game as is.
No, what Carmack said was that the SD version for older devices would be 700mb or so and the HD version for 4th gen and up would be about double that.
Not entirely. If it were a free roaming game, the control and movement code, object collision data, A.I., path finding A.I., and so on would have made the game even bigger.
That's a tiny amount of data compared to very hi-res textures. Its all just lines of code which is very small.
Depending on the AI, and the complexity of the level, the code can actually get quite big. Also, the size of the levels would probably have to be expanded to make enough room for the free roaming.
Some people seem to think another "full version" of Rage for iOS is coming alongside the PC/Console launch, but according to Carmack it's not going to happen: In the post, Carmack also reveals that while with this engine it's technically possible to compile the full-blown PC/console version of Rage for the iPhone, he describes it as a "hopelessly bad idea," citing inappropriate performance tradeoffs and control differences. He admits what they do have is fun, and unlike anything else available for the iOS. After seeing the success of Myst, which is a 700MB download, that became their target file size for the "standard definition" version of the game. The "high definition" version for the iPad and iPhone 4 will be twice that size. Even more surprising, this game is going to launch at 99¢ for the standard version, and $1.99 for the HD. Carmack thinks "people will be very happy with the value." So that's that then. Rage: Mutant Bash TV, is the only iOS version of the game we're going to see.
Ideally, the sense of freedom isn't something you consciously notice until it is taken away from you. Put it like this: Movies you really get into are the ones that are capable of suspending disbelief by making everything seem realistic and plausible. Games do the same sort of thing. When they suck is when they shatter the suspension of disbelief by presenting you with a highly implausible scenario, bad acting, fake-looking sets or models, bad effects, etc. You may not consciously pay attention to the linearity of levels in first-person games -- or at least it isn't the sort of thing that generally ruins the suspension of disbelief (except when they have obvious invisible fences -- areas you can see into and should be able to enter but can't -- everyone remembers Oblivion's "You can't go any further, turn back") so it isn't in the forefront of your mind as you play. Rails utterly remove the suspension of disbelief by taking away the freedom you normally take for granted in FPS games. It is the implausibility that is furthermore always in your face. Freedom in games is an illusion anyway; there are always limitations. The better games try to hide by making obvious obstacles (mountains, buildings, large bodies of water, etc.) but no matter how confined the levels are, you still get to decide how to play. You don't get that in rail shooters. You get to choose where to aim. End of interaction. That might work for gunner games, or as railed gunner sequences within a larger, proper FPS, but put it entirely within setting that is normally reserved for the FPS genre and the constriction of gameplay becomes noticeably acute. The illusion of freedom shatters and all you're left with is a gunner game in the wrong genre. I'm all for big games if they're as gorgeous as this. I don't mind spending that kind of storage for this kind of engine -- it brings the device closer to console-quality games, which is fantastic. Not specifically this game mind you, but if id's engine were applied to a real FPS or RPG, it would be the best damned looking FPS or RPG on the platform, bar none, and by a wide margin, and if I had to I'd clear off half my apps just to make room for it.
