SSX - BEAT OUR SCORES!

[Himu]

I didn't say posting about it here has changed the development of the game, don't be ridiculous. I'm just saying my reaction is hardly knee-jerk, and I've been positive despite my cynicism. Learn to read.

Also SSX3 had lots of pure snow tracks. What on Earth are you talking about?

What I read from the development before changing the name, et al is that the director is an idiot. There wasn't much to go with. What in that video suggests that this is nearly the same thing that they were parading around in interviews? THe SSX: Deadly Descents I read in interviews was a game that took itself entirely too seriously, to the point where the developer even described the classic SSX experience as being on rails.

What I see in this video is classic SSX experience. Sounds to me the good guys really did win. It's pretty obvious that EA put them on the right track after everyone including the press badmouthed the current direction. After months of damage control results are finally in.

[TEEEPO]

video sold me!!!

[Himu]

Yes, it really was the only interesting addition to the franchise.

Just this in: non-SSX fan chimes in on ways to make SSX not look like SSX.

[naff]

Who knows? We haven't exactly seen much gameplay or had any in depth previews yet.

As a big fan of Tricky I'm all for goofy characters and crazy tricks. Imo there's been numerous attempts at serious sb games this gen, I wasn't interested in any of them, now it seems like we're getting gameplay from classic SSX and in game VA and graphics inspired by the popular dudebro shit. And that guy talking in the background with the mike distortion CoD style 'that was great, wish I had a camera', 'nice and clean, looked tight up here' STFU. I want pumping beats and awesome sound effects not some douche on his walkie talkie, saying canned shit over and over again. Laaaaame

[Bocsius]

If they drop the terrain morphing, they might be onto a good idea.

[Himu]

Yes, it really was the only interesting addition to the franchise.

Just this in: non-SSX fan chimes in on ways to make SSX not look like SSX.

So, what else was it brining to the franchise? All I see in that video besides it clearly being SSX is the terrain shifting. At least the deadly descent thing sounded interesting. Split/Second on the snow! I don't know how that isn't cool to people but okay.

No, it seemed from your post you think it's the only interesting addition they've made to the series.

[Himu]

The reason why SSX fans are wary to "innovation" is because of On Tour and Blur. On Tour changed characters from having personality to being create a character and more. Most of these changes resulted in a game that felt flat with almost none of the personality or replayability of past games. Blur included a really crazy control scheme where you had to draw hearts and shit to pull off ubers.

For SSX fans who have been waiting for a good SSX game since what, 2003, most of us really don't give a flying fuck if the new game doesn't offer anything new to the table. If it does, that's fine. But we really don't care. Most of us just want a new SSX game that knocks our socks off.

If it's an interesting feature, I'm all for it, so long as it's implemented well. But if it's another experimental crappy idea thrown into a franchise that should be really fuckin' basic to nail, I dunno what to say.

Baysuckly, new features are fine, but innovation is the most overrated buzz word in this hobby, and rarely, if ever, equates to a high quality product.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

that's a great damn point.  And it really, really speaks well to why so many big sellers are big sellers.  For example, there's almost nothing inventive about any of the last few Call of Duty games, but they're all polished to a mirror-sheen and have strong fundamentals.

Hell, most of my favorite games from last-gen, the ones I still play today, I play because they're so danged mechanically sound and not because they're at all innovative.  Anything more then a couple of years old really can't be, but Urban Reign still plays better then almost any other brawler on the market today (including Namco's latter efforts).  Lets just say.

[Bocsius]

Finally, people who agree with me. "Innovation" sucks.

[Himu]

Exactly. Shut the fuck up about theatrics and give me fucking hd SSX.

I was playing Burnout Paradise last night after like an hour of patch updates, and goddamn, Criterion would have been perfect for SSX. Some people see SSX as a snowboard game; I see SSX as a RACING game where you happen to be on snowboards. Between the open-world, which reeks of SSX3, to takedowns (knockdowns in SSX), to the fast paced action, to the sheer variety of activities you can do (racing, stunts) they would have nailed an hd SSX.

Why EA thought it was smart to have Criterion tease a new SSX game in the Burnout Paradise demo and then not let them make it, I don't have a goddamn clue, but it would have been hot.

[cool breeze]

I like that you people scoff at innovation and completely ignore the huge change from tracks to open world in SSX3.

Some people believe Tricky is the last great SSX and open world was a bad choice.  The idea of a 'classic' ssx or any other game is whack.  People complained about an open world Red Faction, and now they complain about a linear sequel to the open world Red Faction.  People never understand what they want.

That said, it looks fine.  It's early and the track transformation is straight out of that Shaun White skateboarding game.  I just hope wingsuits are still in this.

[Himu]

SSX3 is my favorite SSX.

That said, I wouldn't say SSX3's mountain idea was really innovative, as during the time, everyone jumped on the open-world bandwagon. Also the word innovative is often very mis-used.

SSX3 isn't innovative. It's an evolution on already established fundamentals. Which is why it owns.

[Bebpo]

I like that you people scoff at innovation and completely ignore the huge change from tracks to open world in SSX3.

Some people believe Tricky is the last great SSX and open world was a bad choice.  The idea of a 'classic' ssx or any other game is whack.  People complained about an open world Red Faction, and now they complain about a linear sequel to the open world Red Faction.  People never understand what they want.

That said, it looks fine.  It's early and the track transformation is straight out of that Shaun White skateboarding game.  I just hope wingsuits are still in this.

SSX3 was awesome.

SSX Tricky, SSX3, Amped 2 are the best snowboarding games.

[Himu]

I don't think SSX fans don't know what they want. Yes, we're mostly split into two camps: Tricky diehards and SSX3 diehards, but the truth of the matter is that there hasn't been a good SSX game in almost 10 years. I'd say most of us just want SSX, in spirit, in hd: the high flying colors, the sense of speed, the characters and their personalities, the off the wall zany antics and tricks. Open-world, purely track, doesn't matter. I'd even say that SSX3 is the most popular game in the franchise, and most SSX3 fans, myself included, have only wanted a mere evolution on what SSX3 set out to do all those years ago. All I want is more.

But I'm a pretty open person and I'd be fine if SSX were just purely tracks again. Doesn't matter, at least I'd have more SSX.

I think it's overstated when saying fans don't know what they want, especially in regards to SSX, which is pretty damn simple. I'd even go as far as to say the people who don't like SSX3 due to the "open world" (it really isn't even that open) are a vocal minority. SSX3 was by far and away the most popular and well received game is the franchise and I think it's silly to lump all fans of a franchise under one bus thinking everyone thinks one specific way.

I think this game in its current incarnation looks really fucking good, even in alpha and I'm glad that they've changed the game to better suit something fans have been pining over for almost half a decade.

[naff]

Some people believe Tricky is the last great SSX and open world was a bad choice.  The idea of a 'classic' ssx or any other game is whack.  People complained about an open world Red Faction, and now they complain about a linear sequel to the open world Red Faction.  People never understand what they want.

Of course you're going to get detractors either way. The internets are vast. I still think a lot of people do understand to an extent what they want, especially with a long running series like SSX. I don't understand this need to reinvent series to the point where they're unrecognisable to a series fan. Does the SSX ip really hold that much weight or would've they just been better starting a new franchise with it's own identity? Is anybody actually excited to see a realistic imagining of 'classic' series characters like Mac? (I can't imagine who the fuck would care about this)

[Himu]

Is anybody actually excited to see a realistic imagining of 'classic' series characters like Mac? (I can't imagine who the fuck would care about this)

Duckman and Green Man.

[Bocsius]

SSX Tricky, SSX3, Amped 2 are the best snowboarding games.

3 out of 3 correct. Perfect score.

[Bildi]

My biggest problem with gameplay thus far is that fucking pause before the shockwave.  The shockwave is kinda dumb, but that pause is a total groove killer.

And I know IGN said the terrain deforms, but I still think they're talking out their asses based on the gameplay trailer.  Or they have separate info from EA.  Nothing in the trailer conclusively showed a permanent terrain change as far as I can see.

[Himu]

I like the terrain deform.

It's only in Trick It mode anyways.

[Bildi]

I can live with the shockwave, if they get rid of the pause.  Ugh.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Brehvolution]

No one would be able to survive some of those jumps.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Himu]

[duckman2000]

[youtube=560,345]9yKwuoUJjpE[/youtube]

[Himu]

[youtube=560,345]9yKwuoUJjpE[/youtube]

[brob]

the spin doctor was annoying, but the game looked good. I'm real excited for this one. hope they have some fat bass in it, I know it's the same dude making/supervising the music.

SSX3 menu music

[Himu]

This game is so SSX3-esque

[duckman2000]

Show Survive It, damn it.

[brob]

is it the trick mode or the survival mode that has that terrain deformation?

[duckman2000]

is it the trick mode or the survival mode that has that terrain deformation?

Trick. Survival has yet to be shown.

[brob]

ah. survival could be cool. wing suits and ice picks!

[duckman2000]

The trailer has a few seconds of near-vertical drops and avalanches, I'm guessing that's Survive It.

[Bildi]

Did you see the Survive It trailer?  Todd Batty talks it up to sound amazing and I was getting hyped about how awesome it might be.  But then you see it...

[youtube=560,345]Inxx3YZm2hk[/youtube]

[Himu]

Why in the fuck do they change perspectives? This looks like shit.

[duckman2000]

Well, that was drab.

[Bildi]

Yeah, they completely blew it IMO.  Buildup sounded great, end result was .

Some impressions I just saw from http://www.merqurycity.com/ssx_forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9029 (note they say the Survive It mode is likely just a quick distraction).  Summary at the end.

So I was at E3 today, and it took me an hour and half of waiting in line, but I got to play SSX! :woot Plus I didn't have to sign any non-disclosure agreement or anything, so as far as I know what I learned is fair-game to discuss. Figured I'd pop in and tell you all about it. Edit: aaaaall about it. This is a long post!



They had the game behind closed doors and they gave 30 minute previews. In the first 15 minutes one of the devs talked about the design of the game (Race it, trick it, survive it, etc) and played the game in front of us. The menu is the google-earth inspired interface they talked about it, and it's really slick. Select a mountain range, it zooms into a perspective view on it and you're looking at a couple mountains to select from. They zoomed in on the Himalayas, Africa, and Alaska. Each one had 2-3 mountains. Needless to say, the game looks pretty damn big.

The dude played the 3 tracks you've all seen in the videos, and it was nice to see a different play-through of each of them. The race and trick run were neat, but I gleaned the most insight from him playing the deadly-descent. In that run the camera smoothly transitioned from regular view to the backward-facing camera once he glided off the ridge with the squirrel-suit (still not totally sold on the angle, but hey at least it was smooth). The very next thing that was apparent from him playing was that it's hard. The guy had a tough time getting down it, and apparently in all his demos to people that day he hadn't been able to survive (he died at about 670 meters for us). It also didn't look like he was faking it, so I think it's very interesting that the difficulty is legitimately high.

More importantly, he also stressed the fact that these descents are meant to be stand-alone set-piece moments in the game. He likened them to when you get chopper-gunner segments in Call of Duty. He said they're there to act as a foil to the rest of the game and change the pace. The point being, things like the rear-facing camera aren't really part of the core experience - that fact that it's so different from what we're used to is the point. Based on what he said, I was actually pretty sold on the concept of the deadly-descents.




After that they ushered us into another room with a bunch of TVs to play the Himalayas trick level for a good 10-15 minutes. I happened to be at a station next to another one of the devs (who I unfortunately forget the name of, but he said he was a gamemode/online play designer), and I was half playing the game, half talking to him. This was good and bad. I gleaned more info, but I didn't get as much of a chance to analyze the game first-hand. But here's what I thought of it:

It's an early-build
The first thing I noticed is that they actually aren't lying when they say "pre-alpha." Plenty of games at E3 are called "pre-alpha," but are really more of a beta build. The SSX I was playing was missing lots of features, and hadn't been polished yet (and that's not a bad thing - I actually think it's very cool they let us play it this early in development). I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 levels they showed look completely different in the final game (especially since they appeared to be sharing lots of textures). Also, going into it I was concerned about whether the characters were going to be talking and yelling at each other, and have that great personality from Tricky and 3. But the game really isn't in the state where they would be concentrating on that stuff yet. So perhaps some of you can rest more at-ease about that.

The general feel
Nevertheless, I was having fun. The game feels like SSX but... more weighty I guess? It felt like the characters preserved their momentum, so if I screwed up my aim on one jump, correcting myself upon landing to hit the next one perfectly was tricky. And I mean that in a good way. Other than that, it's hard to talk more about the feel of the game, because again it was unfinished and will probably change a fair amount come-release. But I will say I've played the fuck out of SSX3, and I could kind of pick up this game, but I was making pretty bad runs. So at the very least we should all have the experience of re-learning how to master an SSX game.

The controls
The devs have been hesitant to talk about the controls, and the guy I was talking to told me they're not finished (especially with the tricks). I was playing on PS3, and the D-pad was all-but not used. The L stick was used for both turning and winding-up spins/flips. It's not clear whether that's how the final game will be, but I told the guy I missed having them separated. Although, it wasn't bad like Shaun White or Amped where in order to do backflips you have to slow down . It was like the turning controls disappeared when you held down jump, and were replaced with the winding controls.

That brings me to the jumping. There are two ways to jump. #1 is hold down X like usual. #2 is R stick held down, then flipped up like in Skate. I switched between the two and couldn't decide which one I liked better (really). Both methods were very function and felt just fine. Don't worry, there's no need to get all worried about "oh god they're turning into Skate," because they're totally not.

The in-air trick controls were the part I didn't really get. I was telling the guy that I was an SSX3 player and asking "how do I do this, do that, can I tweak, how do I do an uber", and he didn't want to give me solid answers because the trick-system is still being worked on. However, the way it played was the R stick up/down/left/right corresponded to grabbing the top/bottom/left/right of the board. The odd thing is the face buttons did the same thing. There was no "hold triangle to do an indie" - the buttons still corresponded to different sides of the board. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to try every button combo to see what would happen (obviously, you can hold 4 buttons at once but only 1 direction on a stick), but they really seemed to function the same as the stick. I then asked "oh so is it like Skate where I can diagonally move the stick and stuff and I do different grabs?" He said it would be but they're still making it . He very-much made it sound like the trick system is in flux right now. I was sort of doing ubers out of nowhere without knowing what I was doing, and I wasn't sure how do to different grabs and tweaks, but it was whatever. I'm not sweating it, because the guy was right there saying it wasn't finished, and I believed him, so no harm no foul. I'm sure when they do nail-down the trick system it'll feel 10x better than what I played. And I was playing something that was about as fun as Shawn White's trick stick, so take that for what it's worth.

The Track
One thing I've been curious about is whether the mountains are open world, or series of enclosed tracks. So naturally I restarted, turned right, and boarded off the track. I went about 30 yards over what was obviously not supposed to be seen, then reached where the geometry ended and only skybox remained. So that answers that question I guess! The guy then told me that, indeed, it was not an open world game. Their eventual aim, he said, is to make natural barriers that look legit, and that players wouldn't really want to go over anyways. So it seems they're using the topography data as a foundation for all their levels, but that they are that: levels. Earlier on in the presentation the person talking noted that "raw topography data makes awful levels", which makes sense. Personally, I'm really glad they're going in this direction. Plus, both the trick and race tracks definitely had paths continuing on below, making it seem that you can probably board from peak to base seamlessly on these mountains. And who knows if each mountain will have multiple tracks that take you to the bottom (a la On Tour)? I can't say, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Other than that, the Himalayas track was pretty cool. It was very wide with lots of paths and ways to trick off things. It was a fun little showoff stage.

Loadouts? (Question Mark?)
I tried quitting out of the event to start it from the menu (ha-HAH, I am sneaky) to get a closer look at the character-select screen that they briefly showed in the first part of the presentation, but didn't want to talk about. You select a character, board, and 2 (or was it 3?) other options. The guy told me I wasn't supposed to see it, so I only got the slightest of peeks, but it's pretty interesting stuff. It appears things like the squirrel-suit are 1 of many tools to choose from. I also noticed that "boost" was something selected in another slot. Perhaps the boost button can be set up to do other functions? I don't know, maybe. Plus, at the very bottom is a dialogue that says "chance of success: ___". This makes me think that you can loadout your character however the hell you want, regardless of the event. That wing-suit jump at the start of the deadly-descent? Maybe you don't have to do it if you don't want! Who knows! Speculation!

The Uber-trick shockwave thing
Yeah, it's sort of weird, but not as bad as it looked in the videos. Interesting to note: they are not exclusive to the trick mode. The guy I was talking to said that they will also factor into races, perhaps letting tricking give you the ability to knock riders away from you upon landing. He was sort of hand-wavy about it, because apparently it's another feature they're still playing around with.

However, I got one chance at this thing to give him a little bit of feedback, and I spent it on this feature. I told him that whatever they have this shockwave do, I don't think it should slow your character down. I likened it to slow-mo uber tricks in On Tour. I explained that I thought the slow-mo in that killed your flow in-game, and that the slowing-effect of the shockwave was analogous to it. He kind of nodded and was like "alright, that's some good feedback". Not sure if anything will come of it, but hey, I said something regardless.

The Graphics
The game looked surprisingly good playing it first-hand. You don't need to worry about the level of detail on the characters - they looked great. And overall the visuals the game is throwing on the screen are pleasing to the eye, just exaggerated enough to look like SSX, and all-around pretty impressive. The game ran very smooth, as well. Of course, when I stopped moving and really took a close look it started to look kind of underwelming (you've all seen the screenshots and videos of the 3 tracks). Not to mention, that avalanche-snow in the deadly-descent was a very cheesy-looking particle effect. However, given the state the game is in right now, it's probably par for the course. Given that the trick-system isn't even finished, I'm surprised they've completed this big an art-pass at all.



tl;dr, Here's what I found out:
-There are a lot of fucking mountains in this game.
-The menu is great.
-Mountains are not open sandboxes. Topographic data is (presumably) being used as the foundation for enclosed levels and the 3D skyboxes. They'll probably make it so there's no need for an "Out of Bounds" reset thing, but the tracks do have boundaries. I think this is a good move on their part.
-The boarding feels more weighty than past games, like the characters preserve momentum (no spinning on a dime just by holding left or right).
-The trick-system and controls are yet to be nailed down.
-You can use either the R stick or X/A button to jump.
-Steering and winding spins/flips is (for now) all on the L stick.
-You select loadouts for each event, which has at least enough flexibility to require a "chance of success" metric.
-I had fun playing it.
-The game is still early in production. Keep requesting features and giving feedback, because the game can and will change!

[Himu]

Not open-world is disappointing, but it's not like SSX3 was open-world either. SSX3 had the same exact thing and it had boundaries in enclosed. Shame it's not all one world mountain, but considering the map idea, it was obvious from the outset it wouldn't be exactly like SSX3. Still, it reminds me of SSX3 in spirit and overall feel: zany, but within the context of reality, but still something that's pretty fucking impossible.

[Bildi]

I kind of like the news of tracks being closed in.  I was a bit worried that with a total open world it would be difficult to find a great run (a problem I found in Amped 3).  With closed runs, they hopefully offer a focussed and fun experience.

[Himu]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/117/1179498p1.html

game looks amazing

[Bildi]

Gondee at MerquryCity wrote up a massive post about the SSX weekend:

http://www.merqurycity.com/ssx_forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9103

Extremely encouraging news for SSX fans.

[chronovore]

custom soundtracks using the beat remix software is really cool. More games should do a better job of working in custom soundtracks.

Yeah, I'd like to see more games allow more robust use of the player's own music collection. Having just tried something similar, I can confirm that it's pretty nontrivial to mess with the Custom Soundtrack feature, and if it's multi-platform with PS3, the "similar" System BGM there is a whole 'nother bag of worms.

[etiolate]

open world is code for lazy level design, so don't worry too much about it

[Bildi]

You guys see Zoe's artwork?

[chronovore]

open world is code for lazy level design, so don't worry too much about it

I'm pretty sure you're trolling me.

[Sho Nuff]

Zoe <3

[Bildi]

First new character, Tane Mumea, I think he's figian or something:



I think he's good.  Obvious Brodi vibe going on.

[Himu]

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

[BlueTsunami]

You guys see Zoe's artwork?

[img]http://i55.tinypic.com/23r94e1.jpg[img]

She actually looks like a woman (instead of all semi-chibi cute teenager). Its pretty good. Lets see how that translates to the game itself.

[etiolate]

open world is code for lazy level design, so don't worry too much about it

I'm pretty sure you're trolling me.

haha no

I have just found that when a game promises "open world", it ends up with crappier level design. I find well crafted levels to be more rewarding than something that is generally "open" but less in tune with the overall mechanics of player movement and combat. It's an empty warehouse versus a well made stunt course sort of thing.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Himu]

holy fuck

[Beezy]

looks amazing

[Bildi]

The tricks look really fluid.  That's probably my favourite part of the trailer.  The brief nighttime run looks awesome too, although I guess that'll be limited to just one of the deadly descents.

[BlueTsunami]

Music sounds sick

[youtube=560,345]Crss3GldyW4[/youtube]

[Himu]

Wait, this is Eddie?

[Bildi]

Watchya think?  He's my favourite design along with Zoe.

[Himu]

I'm mixed. I like the afro but.....I'd probably like it more if his vest were rainbow colored as well. the other characters were recognizable, Eddie...not so much

[Bildi]

Yeah, the vest is the suckiest part.  Apparently when EA had that fan and media event a while back Eddie had his bright polka-dot shirt.  The vest is a later edition.

As with the other character designs, it got worse the more they messed with it.

[Himu]

[youtube=560,345]i5scm_58USc[/youtube]

 

[duckman2000]

Everything looks nice, but the snow.  :'( But I guess that's close enough for this particular fanbase.  :'(