Blade Runner Enhanced Edition available now on PC, PS4, XB1 and Switch - $9.99 [UP: Now includes Classic Version on PC]

Yossarian · Jun 24, 2022

What are the controls on console like? Not going to effect me buying this (no way am I skipping it), but would be cool to know beforehand.

Edward850 - have to say. fair play to you for all your helpful comments in here. Nice to have a dev around. I do, however, imagine it's the digital equivalent of sticking one's hand in an angry hive and trying to stroke the bees.

Burgess_101 · Jun 24, 2022

I've refunded it for now. Will wait and see.

th1nk · Jun 24, 2022

MauroNL said:
Its a shame seeing all these drive by posts dunking on the game. This was obviously a huge undertaking both on a technical and legal level and Nightdive should absolutely be applauded for their efforts, especially at this launch price. For a small team like Nightdive and all their other projects going on this was no small feat, so its okay if its not perfect at launch.

We have a developer in here sharing information and helping out responding to your questions, which is a rare feat on its own, so we should treat them with respect and applaud them for their candidness.

Yeah it is great to see. Most developers/publishers release their game with similar issues and then you will not hear anything from them in days/weeks/months/ever.

Huey · Jun 24, 2022

GrrImAFridge said:
Cheers. :)

Yeah, my understanding is that CDPR agrees to handle the nitty-gritty of getting an on old game to run on modern systems in exchange for a (relatively) short period of exclusivity. E.g. System Shock 2 was exclusive to GOG for three months.

In the case of Blade Runner, though, I assume Alcon figured there was no point in releasing the original game on Steam since the EE was in the works. That or whoever oversaw the release of the game on GOG simply wasn't aware of Steam.

Eh there's tons of older games that are GOG only and never release on steam, and this released on GOG in 2019 (I bought it day one). Getting these old licenses is a specialty of the service and isn't really a priority for steam.

Definitely wouldnt assume that the BREE license overlaps with the GOG release either given how dumb and specific licensing games for sale in general is 🙄

GrrImAFridge · Jun 24, 2022

Huey said:
Eh there's tons of older games that are GOG only and never release on steam, and this released on GOG in 2019 (I bought it day one). Getting these old licenses is a specialty of the service and isn't really a priority for steam.

Definitely wouldnt assume that the BREE license overlaps with the GOG release either given how dumb and specific licensing games for sale in general is 🙄

I'm just saying that there's no reason to suspect the original version was exclusive to GOG because CDPR locked down permanent exclusivity. That'd be antithetical to how it has historically operated, and although Alcon isn't in the business of publishing games, "We'll do the work but the game can never be released elsewhere" surely would've raised an eyebrow or two.

Huey · Jun 24, 2022

GrrImAFridge said:
I'm just saying that there's no reason to suspect the original version was exclusive to GOG because CDPR locked down permanent exclusivity.

I hear you - I just don't think that paid exclusivity is usually the reason old games are GOG-only, rather it's just GOGs model (actively pursuing and indexing old licenses for sale)

GrrImAFridge · Jun 24, 2022

Huey said:
I hear you - I just don't think that paid exclusivity is usually the reason old games are GOG-only, rather it's just GOGs model (actively pursuing and indexing old licenses for sale)

Oh, I agree, and I've just realised I misread your earlier post. Apologies!

Gonzito · Jun 24, 2022

MauroNL said:
Its a shame seeing all these drive by posts dunking on the game. This was obviously a huge undertaking both on a technical and legal level and Nightdive should absolutely be applauded for their efforts, especially at this launch price. For a small team like Nightdive and all their other projects going on this was no small feat, so its okay if its not perfect at launch.

We have a developer in here sharing information and helping out responding to your questions, which is a rare feat on its own, so we should treat them with respect and applaud them for their candidness.

Some of us are tired and exhausted of games releasing in a broken state. I don't care how friendly the developers are, I want the game to be in good condition and unfortunately they have released a turd instead, no matter how hard is to hear the truth.

This is a cult classic and it deserved better

Huey · Jun 24, 2022

Gonzito said:
Some of us are tired and exhausted of games releasing in a broken state. I don't care how friendly the developers are, I want the game to be in good condition and unfortunately they have released a turd instead, no matter how hard is to hear the truth.

This is a cult classic and it deserved better

And some of us are pretty tired of seeing developers getting driven away from the site by toxic posters like you. You can express disappointment without using juvenile words like "turd." I'd suggest as a junior member that if you want to get down like that, this is not a great place for you

Nightdive is not a serial offender for this - in fact, their releases of old games have been amazingly high quality - and Edward has referenced something unusual here that they're trying to fix.

It's what it is at this point - refund the game and wait for it to receive some additional work, and don't buy games on day of release before there are reviews if you don't want this to happen.

Zor · Jun 24, 2022

MauroNL said:
Its a shame seeing all these drive by posts dunking on the game. This was obviously a huge undertaking both on a technical and legal level and Nightdive should absolutely be applauded for their efforts, especially at this launch price. For a small team like Nightdive and all their other projects going on this was no small feat, so its okay if its not perfect at launch.

We have a developer in here sharing information and helping out responding to your questions, which is a rare feat on its own, so we should treat them with respect and applaud them for their candidness.

The candour from Edward850 is something I really appreciate, and Nightdive simply never miss so I have every bit of faith that they'll look at this and issue fixes where they can. But it's also important to remember that, by their own admission, the game is in a compromised state and they're working on at least one patch for it based on issues they are aware of.

Drive-by posts can obviously do one, but there absolutely is some cause for concern, if not disappointment with how this has released in this form. Personally, I can wait to see what they update/fix before playing this and it's a shame that it's launched like this. I appreciate their every past and continued effort.

Aveis · Jun 24, 2022

Been waiting for this, will get it next week for sure

BuddyC · Jun 24, 2022

YuSuzzune said:
Can NightDive give for free the original game to Steam users as well like GOG does?
Because that version also supports restored content, which is missing on Steam.

GrrImAFridge said:
Any chance you can kick up the chain the possibility of the original game being added to the Steam version of the EE?

Edward850 said:
I will absolutely try. It's not something we are allowed to do ourselves from the best of my understanding, but it's worth asking about. Though I'm stuck thinking there might be a reason why it was only on GOG before...

The whole reason the original was on GOG in the first place because GOG, Alcon and the ScummVM crew all worked together independently of Nightdive:

Play classic Blade Runner game on GOG

Rediscover a cult sci-fi adventure title from Westwood Studios on your PC. Discover links to the famous Blade Runner film by Ridley Scott.

www.gog.com

The passion came from the programmers who spent around 8 years dissecting the code from Blade Runner's original CDs. After that, they began painstakingly putting it together back again to form the digital version.

Thanks to their hard work and the joint effort of Alcon Interactive Group and GOG.COM, Blade Runner's modernized, digital version is available to buy in a neat digital version.

GOG and Alcon would have to approve the Steam release AND grant Nightdive the right to distribute / publish / support material that's beyond the current scope of the existing publishing agreement; and that's assuming Nightdive would /want/ to undertake the additional work, risk and testing involved with distributing work that isn't theirs instead of using that time and energy to address the issues that ARE in their control.

Given that these issues are "things that went wrong in the launch process that need changing for future projects," there's also no guarantee that adding even MORE work would get this fixed any faster than the solutions already underway.

Acquiescence · Jun 24, 2022

Hmm, do I wait for the patch to drop first or do I just go ahead and play it. I won't lie, I was really eager to get stuck into this over the weekend. I'm a huge fan of the first movie and I've been meaning/wanting to play this game for years.

petetnt · Jun 24, 2022

I played this on Steam Deck for an hour yesterday and I thought the backgrounds looked fine and the controls worked great too, there's something going on with the alpha effects like smoke and such (as evident in the pictures) which should be patchable. That said I got used to it fairly quickly anyway.

GrrImAFridge · Jun 24, 2022

BuddyC said:
GOG and Alcon would have to approve the Steam release AND grant Nightdive the right to distribute / publish / support material that's beyond the current scope of the existing publishing agreement; and that's assuming Nightdive would /want/ to undertake the additional work, risk and testing involved with distributing work that isn't theirs instead of using that time and energy to address the issues that ARE in their control.

The game released on GOG at the beginning of the year, so any exclusivity agreement with CDPR will have expired (or will soon expire, as I'm not aware of a GOG exclusive that didn't hit Steam ASAP any later than six months), and GOG didn't co-publish the release (Alcon was the sole publisher).

Additionally, Night Dive, legal wrinkles permitting, could just package the GOG release in a separate depot and add it as an alternative launch option. I don't think anyone wishing for the original game to be added to the Steam version is expecting it to be integrated into the game itself as a main menu option or whatever.

Given that these issues are "things that went wrong in the launch process that need changing for future projects," there's also no guarantee that adding even MORE work would get this fixed any faster than the solutions already underway.

I think you've misunderstood me. I don't want the original version because it'd be a relatively quick-and-easy fix for the issues I listed. I want it for posterity and without having to rebuy the EE on GOG. The EE is largely fine in my view, and I've no intention of refunding regardless of how things shake out.

Radogol · Jun 24, 2022

Acquiescence said:
Hmm, do I wait for the patch to drop first or do I just go ahead and play it. I won't lie, I was really eager to get stuck into this over the weekend. I'm a huge fan of the first movie and I've been meaning/wanting to play this game for years.

If you hadn't bought it yet, I'd suggest buying the game on GoG and playing the ScummVM version. It's included with every purchase of the Enhanced Edition but only on GoG. In addition, existing owners of the ScummVM version get a 50% discount on EE.

EDIT: That's assuming you'd like to play it on PC, of course.

Patitoloco · Jun 24, 2022

Acquiescence said:
Hmm, do I wait for the patch to drop first or do I just go ahead and play it. I won't lie, I was really eager to get stuck into this over the weekend. I'm a huge fan of the first movie and I've been meaning/wanting to play this game for years.

I would wait, or play the GoG original version with ScummVM.

Javier23 · Jun 24, 2022

Acquiescence said:
Hmm, do I wait for the patch to drop first or do I just go ahead and play it. I won't lie, I was really eager to get stuck into this over the weekend. I'm a huge fan of the first movie and I've been meaning/wanting to play this game for years.

You've waited entire decades at this point, you'll be fine waiting for a patch instead of playing a lesser version than the one you could have played this whole time.

wafflebrain · Jun 24, 2022

This thread inspired me to play my GOG copy I never got around to playing when I first got it at release. Can't believe I never played this back in the day as someone that grew up on 90s point and click games on PC. Its amazing how well Westwood captured the atmosphere of the og movie. Lots of great callbacks and crossover characters too. What a gem.

Radogol said:
If you hadn't bought it yet, I'd suggest buying the game on GoG and playing the ScummVM version. It's included with every purchase of the Enhanced Edition but only on GoG. In addition, existing owners of the ScummVM version get a 50% discount on EE.

EDIT: That's assuming you'd like to play it on PC, of course.

I had no idea about the 50% discount for existing owners of the 2019 release on GOG, thanks!

GenTask · Jun 24, 2022

MauroNL said:
Its a shame seeing all these drive by posts dunking on the game. This was obviously a huge undertaking both on a technical and legal level and Nightdive should absolutely be applauded for their efforts, especially at this launch price. For a small team like Nightdive and all their other projects going on this was no small feat, so its okay if its not perfect at launch.

We have a developer in here sharing information and helping out responding to your questions, which is a rare feat on its own, so we should treat them with respect and applaud them for their candidness.

I get the impression sometimes that people not in development simply do not understand what developing games is like. Let alone reverse-engineering or simply making old games run on modern hardware is not easy.

Jedi2016 · Jun 24, 2022

I already have the OG game on GOG. I was mildly interested in this to see what kind of "enhancements" would be done. Not a fan of the detail loss and incorrect depth info like in those diner screens up above.

I would like to have it on Switch to play on the go, and while I understand the reality of porting a game like this, that's so unique in how it's built, I think "not like this" still, sadly, applies.

I am looking forward to seeing MGV's inevitable video about the port, though.

Samurai Penguiin · Jun 24, 2022

Just ordered the Switch version from LRG :D

Planning on getting a digital copy on Xbox too.

Spacejaws · Jun 24, 2022

Just booting it up now and man do I love the Nightdive logo animation.

petetnt · Jun 24, 2022

Can you get stuck in this game? I missed the disk from Runciter and I am now seemingly stuck I have exhausted all the other options...

Patitoloco · Jun 24, 2022

petetnt said:
Can you get stuck in this game? I missed the disk from Runciter and I am now seemingly stuck I have exhausted all the other options...

I think not, there are no real dead ends, but the game is very ambiguous and open ended in what to do. It's important to know that some NPCs have different locations they can show up, so you might be "chasing them" lol

Radogol · Jun 24, 2022

petetnt said:
Can you get stuck in this game? I missed the disk from Runciter and I am now seemingly stuck I have exhausted all the other options...

If nothing else works, try synchronizing with Clue Database at the precinct. It's the computer next to the Esper machine. Crystal sometimes uploads clues there that you have missed.

Where are you in the game? What suspects have you already encountered? If you know which Act you are in, that would be even more helpful.

petetnt · Jun 24, 2022

Radogol said:
If nothing else works, try synchronizing with Clue Database at the precinct. It's the computer next to the Esper machine. Crystal sometimes uploads clues there that you have missed.

Where are you in the game? What suspects have you already encountered? If you know which Act you are in, that would be even more helpful.

Edit: nevermind, I missed clues in the survailance photos due to the weird controls on Steam Deck.

How can you proceed if you don't get the survailance disk to get the first two pictures? I needed to restart the game

edit: You can apparently do a VK test on the chef after some triggers if you are missing the photos

Spacejaws · Jun 24, 2022

Can anyone explained what jist happened and if I fucked anything up?

After seeing the chef at the sushi place and...

asking him to do the voight kampf test he bolted and following him only lead to a locked door. I then travelled to my apparetment for the first time and a guy I thought might be him approached me and started beating the shit out of me. I shot him about 15 times and he died and then someone showed up with a cane, (maybe Gaff?) and has a completely unreleated conversation with me, laughably one part of it talking about the consequences of retiring a human while a dead body is literally slumped next to me. Then he walks away, I check the body and he just says 'ew'

Radogol · Jun 24, 2022

Spacejaws said:
Can anyone explained what jist happened and if I fucked anything up?

After seeing the chef at the sushi place and...

asking him to do the voight kampf test he bolted and following him only lead to a locked door. I then travelled to my apparetment for the first time and a guy I thought might be him approached me and started beating the shit out of me. I shot him about 15 times and he died and then someone showed up with a cane, (maybe Gaff?) and has a completely unreleated conversation with me, laughably one part of it talking about the consequences of retiring a human while a dead body is literally slumped next to me. Then he walks away, I check the body and he just says 'ew'

That conversation is not unrelated.

You just wasted a rep and Gaff refers to that.

petetnt said:
Edit: nevermind, I missed clues in the survailance photos due to the weird controls on Steam Deck.

How can you proceed if you don't get the survailance disk to get the first two pictures? I needed to restart the game

edit: You can apparently do a VK test on the chef after some triggers if you are missing the photos

Yeah, there are no dead ends in the game. There might be bugs and there are, but not dead ends. If you miss absolutely crucial clues and there's no way for you to get them anymore, other Blade Runners will upload them to the KIA database. If they don't, then perhaps what you missed wasn't essential. Walkthroughs might be misleading because this sucker is not only non-linear but also randomized to a degree.

Bottom line: YOU CAN'T FUCK UP, YOU CAN ONLY ALTER THE STORY.

neoak · Jun 24, 2022

Bought digital on Xbox.

Will wait for BB for a Switch physical.

Yossarian · Jun 24, 2022

Radogol said:
That conversation is not unrelated.

You just wasted a rep and Gaff refers to that.

Yeah, there are no dead ends in the game. There might be bugs and there are, but not dead ends. If you miss absolutely crucial clues and there's no way for you to get them anymore, other Blade Runners will upload them to the KIA database. If they don't, then perhaps what you missed wasn't essential. Walkthroughs might be misleading because this sucker is not only non-linear but also randomized to a degree.

Bottom line: YOU CAN'T FUCK UP, YOU CAN ONLY ALTER THE STORY.

Entirely off-topic, but I just want to say: that is a stupendously good avatar that brings back fond memories. Where's It's remaster? 😀

Radogol · Jun 24, 2022

Yossarian said:
Entirely off-topic, but I just want to say: that is a stupendously good avatar that brings back fond memories. Where's It's remaster? 😀

Ah, a person of taste! <3

To the best of my knowledge, Starbreeze currently holds the rights. Let's hope they won't waste them!

Glassboy · Jun 24, 2022

neoak said:
Bought digital on Xbox.

Will wait for BB for a Switch physical.

Is there a way to tell which games are getting BB releases still? I don't see the disclaimer anymore.

neoak · Jun 24, 2022

Glassboy said:
Is there a way to tell which games are getting BB releases still? I don't see the disclaimer anymore.

Unknown. If they don't get it, then I won't buy it.

Teiresias · Jun 24, 2022

Glassboy said:
Is there a way to tell which games are getting BB releases still? I don't see the disclaimer anymore.

I'm stupid, what BB?

Glassboy · Jun 24, 2022

Teiresias said:
I'm stupid, what BB?

Best Buy. You're not dumb ha. I have to ask or look up abbreviations all the time.

wafflebrain · Jun 24, 2022

I went ahead and purchased the EE given the 50% off since I owned the 2019 GOG release, launched it briefly to compare the two. Yeah there's no way I can enjoy the EE until they at minimum fix the issue with characters looking like they're on a foreground plane and not at all blending with the environment. The loss of detail with the blurring of pre-rendered backgrounds sticks out like a sore thumb too. I'll gladly take the more pixelated look of the Scumm version. I hope these are issues that can be fixed.

I'm curious if Nightdive ever considered using AI upscaling on the backgrounds, its done wonders for certain older games like REmake and FFIX. The current solution just removes way too much detail.

KORNdog · Jun 24, 2022

wafflebrain said:
I went ahead and purchased the EE given the 50% off since I owned the 2019 GOG release, launched it briefly to compare the two. Yeah there's no way I can enjoy the EE until they at minimum fix the issue with characters looking like they're on a foreground plane and not at all blending with the environment. The loss of detail with the blurring of pre-rendered backgrounds sticks out like a sore thumb too. I'll gladly take the more pixelated look of the Scumm version. I hope these are issues that can be fixed.

I'm curious if Nightdive ever considered using AI upscaling on the backgrounds, its done wonders for certain older games like REmake and FFIX. The current solution just removes way too much detail.

Yeah. I appreciate the low price of this thing...but in its current state I feel like it is barely even worth that low price. There's no way I could play it like this.

Ideal situation for me would be for them to release an update that gave us an option for 30fps cutscenes and background so that they don't jar so much with the low AF framerate character animations and gameplay.

Upscale the backgrounds so they're not blurry. Or just give us the originals (they retain more detail anyway)

and then fix the weird layering bugs with effects and characters.

He'll, fuck it. Just release the original with controller support...done. lol

Edward850 · Jun 24, 2022

KORNdog said:
He'll, fuck it. Just release the original with controller support...done. lol

Original source code seems to be gone, and of course scummvm is unusable on consoles due to GPL licensing, hence the need to do a new disassembly.

Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

Rosebud · Jun 24, 2022

Edward850 said:
Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

Wait seriously? Thank you very much

Zeliard · Jun 24, 2022

Edward850 said:
Original source code seems to be gone, and of course scummvm is unusable on consoles due to GPL licensing, hence the need to do a new disassembly.

Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

Very cool, wishing you guys the best with the patches to the EE.

GrrImAFridge · Jun 24, 2022

Edward850 said:
Original source code seems to be gone, and of course scummvm is unusable on consoles due to GPL licensing, hence the need to do a new disassembly.

Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

Fantastic! Thanks a ton. :)

Edward850 · Jun 24, 2022

Zeliard said:
Very cool, wishing you guys the best with the patches to the EE.

"It's going to be a long weekend" was mentioned.

dreamstation · Jun 24, 2022

Edward850 said:
Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

Now that is awesome. Thanks for making it happen!

"It's going to be a long weekend" was mentioned.

All the best :)

Jon God · Jun 25, 2022

Is there any chance the console versions get an option for the original backgrounds? Kinda like the Monkey Island Special Editions?

wackojackosnose · Jun 25, 2022

Oh wow, it's cheap enough (~£8) that I'm happy enough to pick up at release, warts an' all.

Also, any chance of putting Forsaken Remastered (Xbox) on sale again any time soon? :p

th1nk · Jun 25, 2022

Edward850 said:
"It's going to be a long weekend" was mentioned.

Unfortunate that it had to come to this… thank you guys for putting in the work!

cowbanana · Jun 25, 2022

Edward850 said:
Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

That's great!

th1nk · Jun 25, 2022

Edward850 said:
"It's going to be a long weekend" was mentioned.

Could you guys by any chance put out a list of changes/fixes you are still working on with each patch release? It helps tremendously on the decision if it is the time to jump in or wait for the next patch when there is some feature that is worth waiting for.

Bought the game on Switch and am happy to wait longer to get the best first impression of this classic. Thanks again for taking the issues seriously! 😻

Ahti · Jun 25, 2022

Edward850 said:
Related if you would like the ScummVM version but owned the game on Steam, we have now added that to Steam as a launch option.

That`s awesome! Thank you and all the best to you.

Blade Runner Enhanced Edition available now on PC, PS4, XB1 and Switch - $9.99 [UP: Now includes Classic Version on PC]

ONE THOUSAND DOLLARYDOOS

ONE THOUSAND DOLLARYDOOS

ONE THOUSAND DOLLARYDOOS

One Winged Slayer

One Winged Slayer

Software & Netcode Engineer at Nightdive Studios

Two Pieces

ONE THOUSAND DOLLARYDOOS

Software & Netcode Engineer at Nightdive Studios

Unshakable Resolve