Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Discussion Topic Part 1

[Damascus Rose]

Yeah, that gamma was pretty fucked, but holy shit. This is a better trailer than what I expected. It looks really good. Really really damn good. I don't think people have the right to complain about the poor recording quality when they get a trailer, and game eventually, this good. I like the flashlight/lantern, the tunnel vision it gives will make the game much scarier. The monster seems much more active like I suspected, and will probably be one of the differences from the first Amnesia. Way more aggressive monsters that don't just walk around the room like zombies. And that dialogue at the end, that was so perfect.

[Jack O'Lantern]

LOVE the new trailer.

A Machine For Pigs is going to be awesome.

[maarten12100]

I'm not too a big fan of the pigs being fast. Judging by the footsteps and how fast the shadows move in the pen room, they must be pretty damn fast as their default speed.... me no likey.

Agree after detection in Amnesia there was a chance to get away as you could run as fast as they do + you have tactical ways of outrunning by blocking barricading.
But if it really is this fast and smarter holy crap...

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Well... they did say that players wouldn't be able to play AAMFP the way they played TDD. So maybe these new monsters are what that was about? (amongst other things I bet) Maybe there are ways to use the environment to your advantage, even though they are faster than you? For example their speed could make it difficult for them to turn corners, or something like that... or maybe there's some special "rule" concerning the circumstances under which they'll attack you. (maybe they stay away from light, or only attack you fom behind, or only when they are in a group... the possibilities to balance out their superiour speed are endless )

[FlawlessHappiness]

I'm not too a big fan of the pigs being fast. Judging by the footsteps and how fast the shadows move in the pen room, they must be pretty damn fast as their default speed.... me no likey.

Agree after detection in Amnesia there was a chance to get away as you could run as fast as they do + you have tactical ways of outrunning by blocking barricading.
But if it really is this fast and smarter holy crap...

You cannot conclude that they are fast from what you have heard... Have you noticed when you are running away from a water lurker, no matter what distance it has to you, it always sounds like it is right behind you, even though it isn't. They can do a lot with sounds, we can't conclude anything before we've seen it. Of course they won't be faster, than the player has a chance to get away. Frictional games already thought about this in ATDD

[Istrebitel]

Detection in Amnesia was actually flawed in that LOS was drawn face-to-face, so holding a piece of paper in front of your face would prevent you from being detected by the monster. Also, monsters were faster than you, so if you'd run straight line, you would get killed eventually. And despite common sense, throwing stuff at monsters to slow their movement actually could speed up their movement instead! But getting around a corner or two usually saved you since monster would lose sight and become slower and then stop outright and go into "patrol".

Generally, I disliked in Amnesia how just sitting in a corner usually removed monster alltogether. There were single occasions throughout the game where monster would not go away with your just sitting in the corner.

Even worse, music totally gave away wether monster despawned or not. It would keep on going until monster despawned, then return to normal "relaxed" location music, then you know its safe to come out. This was like the WORST part of the game for me - sit there until music changes, continue.

Even worse, monsters actually spawned and despawned, they were not always there. This meant you ONLY get monster encounters when you do something specific: cross a line or open a door or pick up an item. This, in turn, meant that you were absolutely safe as long as its peaceful music now and you dont move! Nonsense. There are grunts out there lurking in the dark seeking for you, yet you can go AFK for an hour and be sure you're safe?

Another small complain is that monst monsters (except Kaernik probably) despawn then they kill you. A valid walkthrough would be just bumprush each monster! Totally makes no sense.

So yeah, I hope this gets fixed and changed, so you cannot play AAMFP that way.

I hope (at least some) monsters are pre-placed, in that they roam the maps and so you never know when one would show up, and they never ever disappear.

I hope that music reflects your character's mood, not the monster's state, in that after a certain amount if you dont hear or see monster, music goes back to "calm", but monster may as well be around the corner waiting for you - music is your perception (you think that he is gone), not a state detector (game knows that he is gone). Music should never ever ever ever serve as a "radar" of some kind (like, monster sees you but you dont see monster neither you hear him - no "danger" music until you see or hear him).

I hope scripted "when you open door i spawn" monsters never "go away" by you passively sitting in a corner, but rather by you completing the next step (like, a monster that spawns in a room when you open the door will go away after you reach a hidden line that actually requires you to pass this monster, not if you back off in a corner or backtrack 100 miles away from it backwards into explored area).

I hope they treat death differently, in that it doesnt always despawn the killer (thus awarding you for dying). I understand why they go with "game should not require skill because that would remove atmosphere" idea but totally despawning the killer when player dies is not a vaild solution IMHO.

[maarten12100]

I'm not too a big fan of the pigs being fast. Judging by the footsteps and how fast the shadows move in the pen room, they must be pretty damn fast as their default speed.... me no likey.

Agree after detection in Amnesia there was a chance to get away as you could run as fast as they do + you have tactical ways of outrunning by blocking barricading.
But if it really is this fast and smarter holy crap...

You cannot conclude that they are fast from what you have heard... Have you noticed when you are running away from a water lurker, no matter what distance it has to you, it always sounds like it is right behind you, even though it isn't. They can do a lot with sounds, we can't conclude anything before we've seen it. Of course they won't be faster, than the player has a chance to get away. Frictional games already thought about this in ATDD

I could barely shake of the suitor in the last part of justine with the levers and the water.
And those were relatively slow.

I'm sure FG will make it playable as dieing kills the experience under the "it is just a game" factor.

[Lucas]

Yeah I agree.

Although, I couldn't hear any music within the monsters surroundings, only squeals and groans, no music or special ambience at all.

[Exostalker]

And it looked just like a total conversion mod - amnesia with new textures and models, not a new game... I think I will be disappointed with this, at least judging from the trailer.

Congratulations, you have just discovered the meaning of the word "sequel".

No seriously, sarcasm aside, if you want a game that's entirely different from Amnesia, you should wait for Frictionals new, secret title. Expecting a game called "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs" to be entirely different than the first Amnesia doesn't make a whole lot of sense, now does it? Apart from the fact, that most Amnesia fans would probably feel betrayed if it was.

From what we've heard so far, their goal was to improve those aspects of Amnesia that didn't work perfectly, while keeping the base game mechanics and feeling of the original. And I think they succeeded.

The point is - it looks just like a custom story. It's not worth to spend money on it.

Of course blind fans will like anything... for me, I have played original with custom stories enough... Sequel should introduce something new than a story and new models. The gameplay should be changed at least a bit. From what I see now, it's all the same, only lantern has changed, and instead of hiding in closet you have to hide in a cage. I would expect much more from a team which will be working on this for more than one year.

Also - only improving some aspects, as you said, won't work. People have played this game over and over for hundreds of times, it got so boring... Everybody knows the gameplay scheme, how the monsters and scares work. Level editor and hundreds of custom stories should be judged for that.

[CorinthianMerchant]

Seems like Kanye West has been creating a lot of accounts here. Wierd.