Alan Wake 2

mrk said:
Yes AW1 gameplay was terrible IMO, janky on PC and not as immersive or intuitive as this.
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FINALLY! Someone who doesn't think it was the best/unique game ever just cause Remedy made it, if anything that's why I was so angry, because they're veterans at this point at making a good game/engine/story telling, this felt like a Pron spin off/Bollywood junk.

I genuinely tried so hard both times to like it, they sold us so hard on it being amazing and I finally got it and was just like "oh..." run a to b, shine light, dodge people, hide in the light, run to c, repeat. Paired with a plot that never takes itself seriously with the worst voice acting ever.

I just don't get what they were thinking?

It could have been SO good and genuinely terrifying? WHAT happened!

I think it's mental people compare it to Stephen King etc, that's such an insult to a GOAT like him.

That stupid bit on stage as well in the field fighting people in the concert, and the bit with the combine attacking you, just all seems like a joke/p take? It's like am I meant to be taking this seriously or is this meant to be a P take the whole way through and a joke parody of survival horror/silly teen trip over get stabbed slasher flicks?

I think they insulted themselves personally. This new one however, so far has promise. I cannot stand though the overly forced voice acting of AW in both games, I know he's meant to be full of himself, but it comes across like the actor himself is, and thinks he's delivering god tier acting talent, but it really isn't!
Casey however is just very believable, James McCaffrey is legit and you don't even question that's the person he's portraying, which is impressive seeing as you keep wanting him to be secretly Max haha.
As I said before, I'd of much rather just had him and Saga do a True Detective S1 style story with this engine... That'd be perfection.
 
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keef247 said:
I'm sorry but AW1 feels rank in comparison to AW2! Go back and play it now and you'll hate it.

I hated it's clunky movement when I played it back in the day, I couldn't understand how a company that had made such a good 'handling' game/engine like MP1/2 (2 especially) which is ps2/xbox/cube era, could make sucha terrible engine/player dynamic. AW1 IMHO feels like an inside joke cash grab, it's got strong 4th wall break vibes as if it's a literal parody P take of itself?

I tried SO hard to like it back in the day and recently when I replayed it so I could do the final DLC for Control which involves AW...

I know MP1/2 is action blah blah blah, but that's not the point I'm making, the entire presentation be it the story telling, the feel, the handling of the environment and it's character interactions, the npc's/enemy movement/AI, just blows AW out of the water, I also think it looks better graphically, especially on the PC version with period correct hardware maxed out ala a 9800 XT? (I had the 9600XT at the time and it looked amazing at 1600x1200 on my 19" Dell CRT)

So TLDR they've got no excuse when it came to making AW1, as they've proved they have perfected story telling/atmosphere/game engines/character movement/voice acting etc etc...

What we got was a weird P take of itself that you could never take seriously with some of the dullest characters ever and the worst voice acting in a game I've ever witnessed, along with splicing really stupid b movie grade silly plot moments in where it's meant to be tense/serious along with what felt like major filler unoriginal padding inbetween, then some thoroughly stupid wacky bits at the end, I just don't get what they were thinking, then the 2 DLC's they just reused the levels in reverse pretty much and then messed with the plot more, I mean that first DLC with his annoying best mate/manager just standing there rambling whilst you pointlessly fight stupid amounts of enemies in levels you've already done but starting at the other end first, blatant filler content/lazy writing/lack of development, it was the equivilent of driving on a race track in reverse in a game... Then that 2nd DLC, more reused BS and just a waste of time.

I pushed myself hard through all of that just to do the last DLC of Control that featured AW2, that ended up pretty decent.

For balance though, I'm quite liking this one, it's what it could have been in the first place regardless of how pretty it looks, they've proved in the past no matter the era they could make something all round awesome in each aspect ala MP1/2.

I do agree the whole piecing together stuff on the wall is clunky/somethings things don't stick to the wall properly and it's linear. The gameplay/story telling/movement/'handling' of the characters, is on point this time though.

I genuinely would rather have this whole setup but just about Casey/Saga just investigating some nasty murders ala True Detective Season 1 stylie... Than have another AW game, but I am genuinely despite how it sounds playing this with an open mind... Just never ever make me play the 1st game again, I legit would rather swim in lava!

Anyway that's my hyper critical moan about AW1 and so far positive 'for what it is' AW2 experience.
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Well I have actually been replaying AW1 this week bought the remastered version on the Epic store. That is a little different it has way better graphics & also a few little gameplay tweaks. I really like it.

AW2 is just boring those case file sections are so tedious & the actual graphics are only ok even with RT on my RTX2060 Super Rig. The gameplay matters more but its too clunky & stop start Remedy should have kept to the AW1 gameplay formula :(
 
AWPC said:
Well I have actually been replaying AW1 this week bought the remastered version on the Epic store. That is a little different it has way better graphics & also a few little gameplay tweaks. I really like it.

AW2 is just boring those case file sections are so tedious & the actual graphics are only ok even with RT on my RTX2060 Super Rig. The gameplay matters more but its too clunky & stop start Remedy should have kept to the AW1 gameplay formula :(
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:( Whatttt, AW1 is clunky movement wise, 2 is only clunky when pinning the evidence to the walls, 'sometimes' it takes a few goes. That's about it, moving your character about feels way better than 1. That's like stirring treacle with a crap engine.

I swear there's like some kind of back hander going on with AW1, either that or it's mob owned and no one dares disgrace it for what it is ;)

Legit the biggest conspiracy ever! :p
 
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Is the refund period not 2 hours? I genuinely can’t understand how somebody can install, open and play under 2 hours worth and genuinely complain about boring gameplay. You can’t have played more than 1:30 of actual gameplay! I didn’t agree with those saying Starfield only got better after 10 hours (that’s far too long to start getting enjoyment), but 1:30 sounds harsh :D
 
Kelt said:
It's a walking simulator, where you get to try out crap torches, probably bought from Wish.
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To be fair, that type of summary applies to almost all games :))
keef247 said:
I'm sorry but AW1 feels rank in comparison to AW2! Go back and play it now and you'll hate it.

I hated it's clunky movement when I played it back in the day, I couldn't understand how a company that had made such a good 'handling' game/engine like MP1/2 (2 especially) which is ps2/xbox/cube era, could make sucha terrible engine/player dynamic. AW1 IMHO feels like an inside joke cash grab, it's got strong 4th wall break vibes as if it's a literal parody P take of itself?

I tried SO hard to like it back in the day and recently when I replayed it so I could do the final DLC for Control which involves AW...

I know MP1/2 is action blah blah blah, but that's not the point I'm making, the entire presentation be it the story telling, the feel, the handling of the environment and it's character interactions, the npc's/enemy movement/AI, just blows AW out of the water, I also think it looks better graphically, especially on the PC version with period correct hardware maxed out ala a 9800 XT? (I had the 9600XT at the time and it looked amazing at 1600x1200 on my 19" Dell CRT)

So TLDR they've got no excuse when it came to making AW1, as they've proved they have perfected story telling/atmosphere/game engines/character movement/voice acting etc etc...

What we got was a weird P take of itself that you could never take seriously with some of the dullest characters ever and the worst voice acting in a game I've ever witnessed, along with splicing really stupid b movie grade silly plot moments in where it's meant to be tense/serious along with what felt like major filler unoriginal padding inbetween, then some thoroughly stupid wacky bits at the end, I just don't get what they were thinking, then the 2 DLC's they just reused the levels in reverse pretty much and then messed with the plot more, I mean that first DLC with his annoying best mate/manager just standing there rambling whilst you pointlessly fight stupid amounts of enemies in levels you've already done but starting at the other end first, blatant filler content/lazy writing/lack of development, it was the equivilent of driving on a race track in reverse in a game... Then that 2nd DLC, more reused BS and just a waste of time.

I pushed myself hard through all of that just to do the last DLC of Control that featured AW2, that ended up pretty decent.

For balance though, I'm quite liking this one, it's what it could have been in the first place regardless of how pretty it looks, they've proved in the past no matter the era they could make something all round awesome in each aspect ala MP1/2.

I do agree the whole piecing together stuff on the wall is clunky/somethings things don't stick to the wall properly and it's linear. The gameplay/story telling/movement/'handling' of the characters, is on point this time though.

I genuinely would rather have this whole setup but just about Casey/Saga just investigating some nasty murders ala True Detective Season 1 stylie... Than have another AW game, but I am genuinely despite how it sounds playing this with an open mind... Just never ever make me play the 1st game again, I legit would rather swim in lava!

Anyway that's my hyper critical moan about AW1 and so far positive 'for what it is' AW2 experience.
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While I didn't like it initially, it managed to change by mind in time. I replay it now (the remaster), and it pushes a lot of right buttons.

The control is a little bit out of place at times, indeed, the enemies lack the Matrix style combat of Max Payne and the limited carry of weapons combined with losing them ever so often are it's low points.

I do, however, like the atmosphere. The volumetric lighting and the fog are second to none from the top of my head. I guess I'm biased also, because I adore the setting, the Twin Peaks style backdrop.

Quantum Break and Control are below AW1 in my book. Both have their own control issues as well.

BTW, the lack of FoV slider (unless I missed it), in AW 2 is annoying since the FoV is rather narrow.
 
Calin Banc said:
BTW, the lack of FoV slider (unless I missed it), in AW 2 is annoying since the FoV is rather narrow.
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You can manually adjust the FoV in the settings file.
Change m_fFieldOfViewMultiplier to 1.3 and the FoV is much better

Set m_bVignette, m_bDepthOfField and m_bLensDistortion to false as well while you're at it and the game will look much better. It will get rid of the slight blurry look
These changes were recommended in the techpowerup review
 
Calin Banc said:
To be fair, that type of summary applies to almost all games :))


While I didn't like it initially, it managed to change by mind in time. I replay it now (the remaster), and it pushes a lot of right buttons.

The control is a little bit out of place at times, indeed, the enemies lack the Matrix style combat of Max Payne and the limited carry of weapons combined with losing them ever so often are it's low points.

I do, however, like the atmosphere. The volumetric lighting and the fog are second to none from the top of my head. I guess I'm biased also, because I adore the setting, the Twin Peaks style backdrop.

Quantum Break and Control are below AW1 in my book. Both have their own control issues as well.

BTW, the lack of FoV slider (unless I missed it), in AW 2 is annoying since the FoV is rather narrow.
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I did half of the original version years ago and hated it, then as CP PL was coming out I was finishing the remaster+both dlcs + control dlc 2.
It isn't really about matrix style or trying to make it MP, I just think it feels very simple/linear/bodgy/cheap in terms of the character handling/interaction with a world, it's like a low budget ps1/2 game in terms of the mind numbing play style. It was very simplistic, and not in a good way.

But yeah as I say I'm playing AW2 with an open mind, just like I did with Control.
Haven't done Quantum Break, I'll have a look into that mate.
 
Now that I've made it to the city streets as Alan, the debris and clutter is rather beautiful.Comparison of Ray Traced vs Path Traced vs Raster at 3440x1440, DLSS Quality, Ray Reconstruction ON, Frame Gen OFF and all other max manually set settings:

https://imgsli.com/MjE2OTQ5
^ There is a 32fps difference between Ray Traced and Rastered. The visual difference is essentially zero.
^ There is a 47fps difference between Rastered and Path Traced. There is a visual difference, especially with shadows. Some might call it minimal/subtle, but it is there.

:cool:

eSHnvJG.jpg


I have noticed a few quirks with the rendering, there is black crush but only in certain distances, like when you get too close to a dark corner, black crush sets in , otherwise the colour grade has a faded black tone much like how Cyberpunk used to have that faded black look and still does but minimal. This feels intentional to look cinematic like a movie, not sure if I like it or not because I'm on OLED, so want inky blacks at all times, not 50% of the time.

I'm also doing a commentary video comparing the path tracing features against Cyberpunk since both games are "full ray tracing" and use RR. I've already noted some differences earlier, so just want to expand on that as I do think that Cyberpunk does it better due to the nature of the colour grading on AW2 being seemingly deliberate and as a result not fully playing ball with how colour is represented in some scenes, especially indoors and on NPC faces.

As well as the GI of course.

Edit*
Oh yeah, HDR does work and looks good, but it says it's maxing out at 500 nits whereas my screen is capable of 1060 nits. Other games detect 1000 nits fine like Cyberpunk but the HDR brightness doesn't go above 500 on the slider in AW2 so this must be a bug. Enabling HDR mode in-game when NOT in HDR mode in Windows does trigger the HDR mode in Windows to enable, whic is nice. It does not however revert back to SDR mode when you exit the game, not nice.
 
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mrk said:
Now that I've made it to the city streets as Alan, the debris and clutter is rather beautiful.Comparison of Ray Traced vs Path Traced vs Raster at 3440x1440, DLSS Quality, Ray Reconstruction ON, Frame Gen OFF and all other max manually set settings:

https://imgsli.com/MjE2OTQ5
^ There is a 32fps difference between Ray Traced and Rastered. The visual difference is essentially zero.
^ There is a 47fps difference between Rastered and Path Traced. There is a visual difference, especially with shadows. Some might call it minimal/subtle, but it is there.

:cool:

eSHnvJG.jpg


I have noticed a few quirks with the rendering, there is black crush but only in certain distances, like when you get too close to a dark corner, black crush sets in , otherwise the colour grade has a faded black tone much like how Cyberpunk used to have that faded black look and still does but minimal. This feels intentional to look cinematic like a movie, not sure if I like it or not because I'm on OLED, so want inky blacks at all times, not 50% of the time.

I'm also doing a commentary video comparing the path tracing features against Cyberpunk since both games are "full ray tracing" and use RR. I've already noted some differences earlier, so just want to expand on that as I do think that Cyberpunk does it better due to the nature of the colour grading on AW2 being seemingly deliberate and as a result not fully playing ball with how colour is represented in some scenes, especially indoors and on NPC faces.

As well as the GI of course.

Edit*
Oh yeah, HDR does work and looks good, but it says it's maxing out at 500 nits whereas my screen is capable of 1060 nits. Other games detect 1000 nits fine like Cyberpunk but the HDR brightness doesn't go above 500 on the slider in AW2 so this must be a bug. Enabling HDR mode in-game when NOT in HDR mode in Windows does trigger the HDR mode in Windows to enable, whic is nice. It does not however revert back to SDR mode when you exit the game, not nice.
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Is the naked commentary video on your OnlyFans or are you doing it for Patreon this time? Asking for a friend.
 
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Played it till 4am last night, loving it, can see why people say it's like Resi a bit more now, I get it inventory etc, but I still stand by my point that it's more it's own thing or at a push a bit more Silent Hill'ish. Love it though.
If they remade AW1 this way, that'd be awesome.

I have a thing for having both games using the same engine/looking/feeling the same, that's why I was so glad they remade TLOU to match how beautiful looking 2 was, now we just need 2 remade on the PC using 1's engine (which I'm pretty sure IS 2's PS4 Pro engine? No idea, they both look stunning)

Can we have a moment to appreciate how good this tune it cranked on a decent amp/speakers/sub though!
 
no_1_dave said:
You can manually adjust the FoV in the settings file.
Change m_fFieldOfViewMultiplier to 1.3 and the FoV is much better

Set m_bVignette, m_bDepthOfField and m_bLensDistortion to false as well while you're at it and the game will look much better. It will get rid of the slight blurry look
These changes were recommended in the techpowerup review
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where is that file located?
 
Sc00p007 said:
The surround on this is amazing, random noises from the back speakers is really adding to the creeps.
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markoboyo11 said:
Yeh I'm using ps5 pulse headphones and the 3d audio is unreal, very unsettling sounds all around.
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Are you 2 on about the tune I posted or just the general awesome sound atmosphere? As I don't get why you've quoted my song post @Sc00p007 otherwise haha!

Noxia said:
I appreciate this thread represents an insignificant portion of the player base but so far we've heard mainly about people refunding it and a few talking about the graphics. Anyone got anything positive to say about the game itself lol.
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How dare you miss my 4 hour session review from last night, you absolute scumbag. Just cause your Nan is a welder and works for ESSO!


P.S. ily still kthxbai.
 
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