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Eurogamer: Layoffs at OnRush dev Evo, Driveclub director Rushy let go
- Thread starter chadskin
- Start date
I legitimately don't understand what kind of game Onrush was supposed to be. For some reason my brain is compartmentalizing it with really terrible launch window Saturn/Playstation game called Off World Interceptor. I'm not sure if that's really what they were trying to do.
After 30hours of play I would say that it looks, plays and feels remarkably like Motorstorm.
Well as far as most people are concerned most games are just made by a bunch of anonymous developers, once developers reach a certain level and have a fanbase who appreciates their games it gives them a certain buffer to take chances. They can try and reach beyond their fanbase for bigger success, but as long as that group follows them they have a safety net.
As soon as that fanbase shrugs their shoulders and gives a collective "nope" then that's pretty much it, they cease to be the brand name that Codemasters bought into and become just another development resource pool. Hence why they're dropping the leadership.
I wonder if a certain element is they were too used to the freedom that Sony gave them and their hands off approach. The complaints about communication and lack of release support suggest that Codemasters weren't all that on board with the whole thing. It felt to me like they were on their own just pushing their own game via social media (twitter/youtube). Codemasters may also not have been all that keen on what they had planned next.
I just wish they could stay together and have a chance somewhere else, but this looks like a wholesale dismemberment. At least they went out with a bang, even if most people seem to think it's a whimper.
I just wonder, if like Driveclub, there will still be a small support team keeping the updates going, i.e. Ranked Mode etc., or whether this is just it.
I'm about level 70-ish now, will try and push through to the level cap over the next year or however long it takes, and raise a toast to one of my favourite developers. Consistently great and consistently barraged with bad luck.
You can, but because they're more shoehorned into the world vs. (to take your example) PGR (because they have to be), they don't feel as well designed. That's more a preference thing though, but IMO there isn't a single course in any FH game that feels as good as something like Quebec in PGR4.
I just made the point in this post, but IMO they don't feel the same as a curated track. Admittedly I enjoyed the bucket list events but there's no incentive to retry them once they're completed and because they're point-to-point (from memory) you can't just continue on another lap at the end of your run.
Codies have said they'll continue to support it, but I suppose to support an already released game you don't exactly need design leads... the game's already designed.
And yeah, I'll stick with it too because I can't see myself getting sick of it, just like I fire up DC now and again for a bit of a blast around with my favourite cars/tracks. There's always hundredths to be shaved off ;)
But Sony is the one that shitcanned them in the first place.. I assume that bridge is scorched earth.
Dear fucking god. Wow. Sony really could have just let these guys make Motorstorm PS4 man. What a sad fucking day. I hope they all find a better place. I knew this game was going to be a tough sell. Not sure Motorstorm would have lit it up, but it would have done better than this. Man. This hurts. I really thought after DC rebounded Sony was gonna give them one more chance with the offroad series.
But you surely understand that many would disagree. Looks? Totally. But gameplay? Onrush isn't a racing game.
Sony closed the studio after DC. They went to Codemasters, who let them go after OnRush now. So no chance for them to make a new motorstorm.
Well let's hope a dev out there can combine a great track within an urban environment, because theoretically it should be possible.
This might have been asked already, is there any word on OnRush for PC, because I thought that was officially announced (or maybe I'm wrong?)
It still 'feels' like Motorstorm, if that makes sense. I see what you are saying though. This is sad news.
I can see that, it captures those moments in Motorstorm when you're in the middle of the pack trying to battle your way through those small gaps that open up, or when you suddenly find yourself hurtling towards a choke point.
To me Onrush kind of tackled the complaints about Rubberbanding in those games in an interesting way, almost making it a deliberate feature rather than fixing it.
Agreed it feels like Motorstorm. I thought it was weird they didn't include a more traditional racing mode, almost all of the ingredients are present.
Unless they added that post launch.
I personally felt like this game was released too soon with poor hype and marketing. I think they should have also had a traditional type racing mode or something so people felt more at home. I thought these guys did a good job in the time frame. They must have been on a super tight budget and time scale.
For me I just wasn't interested in this game too much to pay full price. I was going to pick it up on a deeper sale because well I have no time for any other games. I probably won't even bother anymore knowing most of them were just fired. Fuck it.
Sony fucked up IMO. This team had at least one more classic Motorstorm in them. I cannot see how Sony would have lost too much money going for that after DC. Codemasters I thought was going to let this team craft a game over time, and instead it appears they wanted something rushed out and then shit hit the fan because said game was rushed and not ready for prime time.
For me I just wasn't interested in this game too much to pay full price. I was going to pick it up on a deeper sale because well I have no time for any other games. I probably won't even bother anymore knowing most of them were just fired. Fuck it.
Sony fucked up IMO. This team had at least one more classic Motorstorm in them. I cannot see how Sony would have lost too much money going for that after DC. Codemasters I thought was going to let this team craft a game over time, and instead it appears they wanted something rushed out and then shit hit the fan because said game was rushed and not ready for prime time.
If they wanted DriveClub fans to support their next project, then they should've made something like DC, if not a direct spiritual successor to DC. OnRush was out of left field, and maybe they were trying to appeal to Motorstorm fans, but I don't think there's much overlap between those two fan bases. Part of that blame should honestly go to the Codemasters leadership though.
I agree 100%. What the fuck was Codemasters thinking releasing a game this fast and totally bonkers playstyle? Racers are already niche. Experiments like this are ridiculous. It's not quite on the scale of Starhawk's massacre of the franchise, but it still hurts knowing this talented team could have given so much more.
It depends, we may have considered Driveclub a big success, at least at what it delivered, but the market likely didn't. So it probably just wasn't an option. I was happy to see them move back towards a more Motorstorm direction, even if it was with a more experimental bent, but I am surprised by Codemasters actions. From saviour to executioner at one fell swoop, though it may just be that they're not in a strong position themselves.
I still remember playing BMX Simulator back in the day, and have fond memories of Codies games back when they did a lot more than just racing, so was very happy when they snapped them up.
I gave it a chance, I reviewed it. For me, it felt one note.
Briefly. I didn't complete the game. I guess i was burned out by Motorstorm at that stage. I dunno.
No have not played the game yet. My assessment that it looks like Motorstorm was based purely on the concept of the game. Fast pace, burnout style offload racer. I should have clarified that in my initial post but i'm open to trying the game. Just waiting for it to drop in price a bit.
Yep yep. My comment was based on just the concept of the game as outlined in my response above.
Yeah i will give it a go. Hopefully they reduce the price or make it a free to play game. I wouldn't mind giving it a go then.
The best bits about Motorstorm were the multiple routes, deforming tracks and the other parts you mentioned above. Such a great concept for a fun racing game. They really should think about resurrecting the series. I feel in the right hands a Motorstorm revival can be the new burnout of next gen. I really want to see Devs take advantage of the new CPU processing power coming with PS5 and Xbox Next.
I'm relatively confident this isn't... true? One of the things about Driveclub was that it was a long-time passion project for the studio that they've wanted to do since the Motorstorm days, but presumably were never allowed the chance to do while GT was in the spotlight.
The part with Kaz not allowing another dev to do a GT game is true though. But I imagine that was always the position from the very beginning - it wasn't that they retooled GT spin-off into DC, but that a GT spinoff idea was never allowed to exist in the first place by the overwhelming power of Kazunori Yamauchi.
https://www.gtplanet.net/gran-turismo-spin-off-series-would-be-unthinkable-says-kazunori-yamauchi/
Very sad to hear, since DRIVECLUB is one of my favorite games released this gen. Good luck to those that were let go.
Where's your review?
Those were good parts of the game, but equally good and part of its identity were the violent, high-octane in-race interactions between racers, which OnRush managed to capture and perfect. Anyway, sadly no chance of resurrecting the series now that the studio is gone. It's another Studio Liverpool story. Seriously, fuck Sony always pulling this shit.
To be fair, the North West of England used to be a hub for game studios and we've just been gutted over the past decade or so - a lot of that involved Sony closing Psygnosis (although I believe xDev are still there and going) but it's not just them, since Bizarre Creations went too via Activision.
At least we got offshot studios like Firesprite and Lucid Games that can hopefully work their way up to making AAA racing games again one day.
This is not an open-world vs circuit-based racer argument at all if you think about it. On the one hand you're talking about track designs being "shoehorned" into the world... but the game you're comparing with here doesn't even have traditionally designed tracks. PGR takes place in the ultimate open-world... real life roads... Bizarre simply blocked road paths off to form race courses, but unlike even most open-world racers, the original open-world track designs were a hard requirement that had to be factored into their layout, whilst most open-world games would be free to stick Silverstone in the middle of a city if they wanted to (or a fictional Hot Wheel course reaching into the skies).
Don't think so. PS+ definitely helped, but RL has an immediate hook that you completely get from watching one minute of footage. OnRush really doesn't have that thing that makes people want to try it out.
Damn shame, it was a quality game that deserved to do well.
1000 units in its first UK week? Jeez.
1000 units in its first UK week? Jeez.
slightly off topic but does anyone remember Hi-Octane? that was a great game back in the days!
I bought this game on Saturn... let's just say it wasn't one of the console's stronger ports.
Damn right. OnRush deserves way more credit than it gets.
What really pisses me off is people having an opinion without even having played OnRush.
Sure, everyone is entitled to his own opinion but just play the game and make up your mind afterwards.
People have an opinion to make up their minds whether they want to play the game or not, especially when OnRush is asking for the money upfront.
Um what? You can have an opinion without playing the game though. The game failed because it didnt sell enough copies, people are commenting why they didnt buy it. The developer doesnt only care about opinions from people who've bought the game, in fact i bet they are more concerned about people who didnt buy the game.
Also from reading the thread, dont think anyone has said it was a terrible game.
Actually you know PGR tracks werent real life roads the developer has said its very loosely based on real life locations and they just made everything fit so they could have a balance of track design and landmarks.
Right one of the things that people see as a positive really isn't.
The great thing about racers with great high points like Motorstorm is that they're memorable. You go to others saying "look at this sick jump I made".
When the entire game is this, along with destruction, nothing is memorable. It's just an overload of noise and without the lows, the meat of a racer where you knuckle down and race, becomes a mess of dopamine hits without reason.
Imagine if the Doom reboot used this design philosophy. Instead of enemy placing and spawn waves, the game just replaced every frag with a new enemy.
Each level would be an endless supply of kills, of glory kills and spectacular frags. No let up in the action. But no time to enjoy the level design, no time to think. What starts as intense fun, becomes just intense, then just a chore.
When takedown number 1,000 happens and you think "can I remember any of these" you have a problem. More is not more. The constant action becomes suffocating and I couldn't actually enjoy playing knowing that no matter what you did, there was nothing but more people to crash into, jump after jump that because it's the core of the game rather than something to strive for, no longer becomes enjoyable.
The qualities of Evo then become lost. The amazing track design they're known for, the sense of speed and handling model, all lost in the mire of constant action.
I'm afraid that in the end, OnRush took everything that Evo are great at, and make it feel wrong.
To sum up?
Motorstorm: "Ooh a jump, woo!"
OnRush: "Ooh a jump, woo(!)".
The great thing about racers with great high points like Motorstorm is that they're memorable. You go to others saying "look at this sick jump I made".
When the entire game is this, along with destruction, nothing is memorable. It's just an overload of noise and without the lows, the meat of a racer where you knuckle down and race, becomes a mess of dopamine hits without reason.
Imagine if the Doom reboot used this design philosophy. Instead of enemy placing and spawn waves, the game just replaced every frag with a new enemy.
Each level would be an endless supply of kills, of glory kills and spectacular frags. No let up in the action. But no time to enjoy the level design, no time to think. What starts as intense fun, becomes just intense, then just a chore.
When takedown number 1,000 happens and you think "can I remember any of these" you have a problem. More is not more. The constant action becomes suffocating and I couldn't actually enjoy playing knowing that no matter what you did, there was nothing but more people to crash into, jump after jump that because it's the core of the game rather than something to strive for, no longer becomes enjoyable.
The qualities of Evo then become lost. The amazing track design they're known for, the sense of speed and handling model, all lost in the mire of constant action.
I'm afraid that in the end, OnRush took everything that Evo are great at, and make it feel wrong.
To sum up?
Motorstorm: "Ooh a jump, woo!"
OnRush: "Ooh a jump, woo(!)".
It makes sense for Kaz not to trust other devs with the GT brand, which would really only be used for sales sake. There's the whole language barrier in communication plus given how long they take to create their games they probably want to be solely focused on that instead of splitting time trying to lend help on a GT arcade spin-off. The other option is just to give the spin-off dev free reign on how the handling and game design work, which would be pretty risky attaching the GT brand to it. Despite many gamers loving Driveclub, the critical reception was horrendous, and there was a massive server issue debacle at launch where players couldn't even play online for months which was a huge focus for the game. I liked DriveClub but attaching the GT name to it would have hurt the brand given the result; the DC critical reception and launch mess up basically got Evo shut down. So even in hindsight I'm not sure why anyone would think making Driveclub a Gran Turismo would have been a good idea.
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I once tried Driveclub and didn't like it. I'm tempted to try again with such praise around here.
Anyway, sorry for the folks that lost their job. It seems to me OnRush was a hard sell since it was announced.
Anyway, sorry for the folks that lost their job. It seems to me OnRush was a hard sell since it was announced.
Nah, this reeks to me of someone who just painfully wanted it to be more Motorstorm. I'm sorry, but I've had plenty of memorable moments in the game. They're just not the same types of moments like Motorstorm. Here the moments are things like tracking an opponent mark for some time, and then successfully shutting them down with some cool move. The moments are misleading a truck dude into wrecking in some trees that you were able to skillfully drive through on your bike. Moments are getting totally valid revenge on a higher level player even though you're a newbie.
This is a moment I had recently in the game:
I could go on as there are plenty more, but you obviously won't find them if you're looking at the game from a lens that expects it to be Motorstorm.
Indeed.
However the market has spoken. You enjoy the game and more power to you, but yeah, I couldn't.
I'm sorry that I couldn't make myself like the game? Why is not finding the game enjoyable so offensive to you that you dismiss me as wanting something else as if it makes my experience with the game invalid?
Rushy,
I know you are reading this thread, pitch a Jet Moto remake to Sony using techniques and game play mechanics from DriveClub. It could be done like WipeOut HD, it could be done like a seasonal GaaS, it could be done like a standalone AAA game.
Could be Sonys Mario Kart
Huge nostalgia factor IE Crash and Spyro
The game celebrates in game ads
Could be a huge PSVR or PS Pro game
I know you are reading this thread, pitch a Jet Moto remake to Sony using techniques and game play mechanics from DriveClub. It could be done like WipeOut HD, it could be done like a seasonal GaaS, it could be done like a standalone AAA game.
Could be Sonys Mario Kart
Huge nostalgia factor IE Crash and Spyro
The game celebrates in game ads
Could be a huge PSVR or PS Pro game
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OnRush just sounded like a stupid name for a game to me, and I had never come across a single video for it. Not sure why it flew under my radar but something went wrong there IMO.
I havent been buying arcade-looking racers like OnRush so it was an easy pass. I did buy Drive Club back in the day. Layoffs & surprise firings really suck. I feel for these game devs. You make a fun looking game but get dissed because it didnt meet or exceed expectations