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Outcast: Second Contact
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Seems like there was little hype (or marketing), so this thread contains most of the Resetera reactions:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ou...oming-in-november-so-heres-a-new-trailer.1389
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ou...oming-in-november-so-heres-a-new-trailer.1389
Don't be mean, it's still a 1999 game underneath. And a great one to boot.
Oh it's a remake? Ok that makes more sense. Sorry, I just glanced at it and thought it was an asset flip or something.
I've played it for about half a hour on a the PS4 and had no troubles, seems running very well.
While a friend of mine on the PC can't run it at all, it crashes right away for him. Not sure if it's the game's fault or his computer though.
OP
OP
What are your impressions of the game itself? Is it as massive as I've read? From what I can gather, there is very little hand-holding in this game -- typical of late 90s titles. How's that aspect?
OP
OP
Runs well, at least on PS4 Pro (don't know if has been patched).
Looks like unoptimized mess on pc.
Does not even have volume sliders, lol
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Outcast:_Second_Contact
correct (I played the original)
I wouldn't call it massive. It's one of the early open world games, but the indivdual areas aren't super-huge or packed with modern-day filler content
was quite a surprise seeing this pop up on the Steam store today, I had no idea it even existed. I think I'll grab it for the PS4, I finally want to figure out how to make it to the damn jungle moon
Haha that's exactly what I was thinking.
Played the original game but didn't finish it. I remember running around trying to figure out what to do next. If the impressions are positive, maybe I'll give it another try.
Tried it on PS4 at Milan Games Week. It was really really rough, and it was only like 45 days ago, so I kinda doubt they fixed all that. There's some cool ideas and situations (did not play the original game) but in this state it's a bit hard to recommend.
The VO sounds the same to me as the original version, which is a problem lol
Otherwise, I'm very intrigued. I'll probably hold out for a sale, though, unless someone does a really convincing write-up, like with Elex.
I was surprised to see this title was released specially when the kickstarter failed (if memory serves me right). If it's an improved version of the original I'll certainly pick it up bit I'm fairly sure that it is outdated by most standards. At the time of its release though it was bar-none the most impressive game I had ever played. It was like receiving a Mass Effect game a year after Half Life 1.
This is a remake that had sadly very low budget, so both the music (which is amazingly good) and voice overs (which are...not quite as good) were reused from the 1999 original. Unfortunately those voiceovers have a low sound quality and could not be restored and they did not have the budget to re-record.
Outcast was absolutely mindblowing game back in the day, years and years ahead of anything else on the market pretty much. Unfortunately the remake, although making it more playable for today, seems exactly as lowbudgety as it is in comparison to today's AAA games. But the great game should still be there so I will probably give it a spin soon.
I've been keeping my eye on this for some time now. Never played the original but third person shooting, aliens worlds and pretty environments caught my eye.
Phew, didn't realise this was out. Need to play it. Never got to the original but the organic "directions" system for NPCs was legendary (they dynamically give you directions to places - no objective or way point makers in the game).
Sweet, didn't realize this was out already. Probably wait for some impressions/reviews first, but as an owner of the original, I'm really interested.
Well Outcast and ELEX are very different games. Don't expect anything like Outcast from ELEX.
Have not played the first one much, but I have Outcast 1.1 on steam which gives an extra 30% discount on Outcast:SC in the first month.
Played Outcast:SC a bit and its seems alright. Looks alright. Has a very lengthy intro cinematic and sequence. Seems quite open world-y. More action adventure than third person shooter; seems to have optional quests and good/evil approaches to give you advantages.
Had no problem starting it, but it crashed after I quit the game, lol.
I absolutely adored the original. What a masterpiece (of its time). I spend countless moons in the game and was blown away by seeing that every NPC is voiced. In the german version the main character was also dubbed by the Bruce Willes-VA, which has undoubtedly the most badass voice in the entirety of Germany.
I tried playing the original a few years back and it was simply not possible to get it to run right, because of the voxel engine, so I had to give up. I can't see myself currently getting into the game, since I currently play Elex, and the games are kinda similar, but I might dig in at some point in the future.
edit: I just noticed that the posters above me are saying Elex and Outcast aren't similar. x) Well not gameplay wise, but they do feel similar. Also, both are a bit on the clunky side of things.
I tried playing the original a few years back and it was simply not possible to get it to run right, because of the voxel engine, so I had to give up. I can't see myself currently getting into the game, since I currently play Elex, and the games are kinda similar, but I might dig in at some point in the future.
edit: I just noticed that the posters above me are saying Elex and Outcast aren't similar. x) Well not gameplay wise, but they do feel similar. Also, both are a bit on the clunky side of things.
How are the games similar? I am very curious in the similarities you see between the two games.
My Impressions in spoiler tags should someone feel my impressions after playing 2h Outcast:SC or ~16h ELEX are spoilery.
To me they feel extremely different. In Outcast you are the hero set out to save two worlds while in ELEX you are basically a nobody that can't do jack shit for dozens of hours. And both games really hammer those expects in. Outcast has you put in a very different alien world, the world in ELEX is post-apocalyptic with lots of 'old world' ruins and enemies are more mutations than fully alien. Gameplay feels extremely different.
In both games you are a foreigner thrown into a world that is entirely different to your character's perspective. Be it the alien lifestyle in different towns in Outcast, or the different, drastically different factions in Elex. The movement also feels kinda similar and both have a crude ranged weapon system. The dialogue style as well as how the environment reacts to you also feel very similar. In general, how the world "works" in both games share similarities. But like I said, it's primarily how both games "feel".
Huge fan of the original. Something seems to have been lost in the new coat of paint they gave it though, it seems to have lost some of its character and charm, and it does look a bit generic now. (Main character design)
Remake got "Recommended" from Eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-11-16-outcast-second-contact-review
That surprised me very pleasantly, I expected mainstream press to tear the game down for low production values. Really awesome to see them appreciate it as it should be.
Finally I will play Outcast from start to end, been quite a wait, 18 years.
Well I guess we both fundamentally disagree on what makes up the feeling of a game.
I would say the bold description is very vague. I could list dozens of games with that premise that feel extremely different. Movement feels different for me, but I can kind of understand that point. Dialogue definitely feels different in Outcast:SC. Presentation is different and I have not encountered any real conversation choices.
Played some more; Games got some charm and is pretty alright. Movement, though, does not feel super great and jumping is awful. Thankfully I haven't encountered any necessary platforming yet.
Game deserves some more buzz here.
Doesn't someone with the proper rights want to make an OT?
Just bought a new retail Outcast Second Contact in the Mediamarkt from Amsterdam.
When I open the box I see that there is no product key. Is that normal?
When I open the box I see that there is no product key. Is that normal?
Outcast literally is the Crysis of 1999. Its engine (dubbed Paradise) did so much stuff that you only would see years laters with shader based cards. To name a few:
- Impressive AI
- A physical sun
- Dynamic water that ripples (Like the stuff you see in Crysis)
- God rays
- Lens flares
- Depth of field
- Motion blur
and so much more... it looks bizarrely clean these days, but low res due to the voxels used, but Outcast 1999 could easily pass as a X360 title on extremely low res given all the shader like stuff it is doing in software.
Outcast really is part of a select few PC titles from the 90's that, mostly obscure, showcased tech that only became noticeable years later. Among these ranks Seed (A first person platformer with Doom 3 like lighting and shadowing on a mediocre Voodoo card) and Decay (Which later became New World Order) and Trespasser.
For anyone wanting to read up on the amazing tech, here is a few links:
http://www.fresh3d.com/outcast-1999
http://francksauer.com/index.php/15-games/published-games/47-outcast-pc
Outcast is visually one of the biggest developments in gaming. Everyone used Unreal as an example of high end graphics but Outcast, released just a year later, trounces all of them by a landslide. And you could play it in first person, too.
- Impressive AI
- A physical sun
- Dynamic water that ripples (Like the stuff you see in Crysis)
- God rays
- Lens flares
- Depth of field
- Motion blur
and so much more... it looks bizarrely clean these days, but low res due to the voxels used, but Outcast 1999 could easily pass as a X360 title on extremely low res given all the shader like stuff it is doing in software.
Outcast really is part of a select few PC titles from the 90's that, mostly obscure, showcased tech that only became noticeable years later. Among these ranks Seed (A first person platformer with Doom 3 like lighting and shadowing on a mediocre Voodoo card) and Decay (Which later became New World Order) and Trespasser.
For anyone wanting to read up on the amazing tech, here is a few links:
http://www.fresh3d.com/outcast-1999
http://francksauer.com/index.php/15-games/published-games/47-outcast-pc
Outcast is visually one of the biggest developments in gaming. Everyone used Unreal as an example of high end graphics but Outcast, released just a year later, trounces all of them by a landslide. And you could play it in first person, too.
True, game was way ahead of its time, shame nobody really played it back then -- well, partly because almost nobody could really play it probably.
Always wished for a sequel, not sure I'm into the remake though. It looks okay but, yeah, original Outcast was cutting edge while this seems to be somewhat the opposite. Although the comparison screenshots and the Eurogamer review make it appear somewhat decent.
Always wished for a sequel, not sure I'm into the remake though. It looks okay but, yeah, original Outcast was cutting edge while this seems to be somewhat the opposite. Although the comparison screenshots and the Eurogamer review make it appear somewhat decent.
Gameplay looks really rough, especially the action. Kind of inexcusable since it's a remake rather than just a remaster. The areas look too faithful to the original so really barren as well. System Shock Remake looks like what I'd want out of this sort of revival. At first they too were being too faithful to the original but that has since changed and it looks really well done now (hopefully it is), like what the original would aim for with better technology rather than higher fidelity in the nearly exact same old design constrained by the era's tech and know how. I'd be more inclined to play the re-release of the original than this remake myself, its age excuses the shortcomings.
Wow nice pics. They kept the atmosphere of the origin while adding new elements like the plants.
I absolutely adored the original so I will support this without question. Didn't even know it existed! Buying on PS4 today!
To be clear, it does look and feel more like a remaster than a fully fledged remake. I mean, the audio is absolutely original.
Another positive review by PC Gamer's Richard Cobbett
http://www.pcgamer.com/outcast-second-contact-review/
http://www.pcgamer.com/outcast-second-contact-review/
So many good memories of this game. What was the protagonist or those inhabitants called ? Ulakai or something. When was the original, feels like more than a decade ago....
Some PC version benchmarks: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Outca...59776/Specials/Benchmark-Test-Review-1243719/
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https:///8O9c.png
Screw it. I picked it up. I normally would hold off until it was part of a steam sale/bundle, but I still have my old boxed copy of the original game, gave money to the Kickstarter that never succeeded and have outcast 1.1 on both steam and gog. I need to show my support so that there's hope of an actual sequel.