Marathon Remake

[infestedsmith]

a lot of Modern FPS games and games in general are SHIT!!!! I agree. Crysis was amazing...for 5 minutes.
Resistance 2 was amazing...for 5 minutes...
Gears of War was amazing...for 5 minutes...
Even Turok was alright...for 5 minutes...
What I am aiming at is the classic 3D games like Half-Life, Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R., Deus Ex, Far Cry (which beat the crap out of crysis IMO), System Shock 2, Call of Duty 4, and ESPECIALLY BioShock (IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED IT GO BUY IT!!!)

I know that a lot of these games are old now, so I think I should've thought of a better way to say what I wanted. I think a more appropriate term to use would be a "post-half-life" style marathon remake. When Half-Life was released, damn everything changed and games became more reaslistic. So if we wanted to create a marathon remake, we should learn from games like these, not those pieces of shit like GOW, R2, KZ2, Turok, all that.
NO ONE HAS EVER SPEAKEN TRUER WORDS!!!! I hated sitting through Halo 2 they screwed it all up. The removed the epic land battles, they got rid of the AR and Really sick magnum, they even messed up the story and ending *shivers*. Still, this project, whatever it becomes, cannot become another Halo.

Great feedback here guys.

Interesting enough, I found Crysis to be very dull, but I enjoy Gears of War1/2 a lot, especially coop. I'm a HUGE fan of the Half-Life series, I'm really excited to play Ep.3. At the same time, I also love Deus Ex, (hate the 2nd one though) I don't like FEAR though, or Far Cry. I really, really like Call of Duty 4, and I like Bioshock too, amazing game.
See, you say that GoW is shit, but to be honest, it's not like every popular doesn't have a lot of people that hate or just dislike the game. I really enjoy the GoW series, they're not groundbreaking in story, but are really great 3PS games IMO.

If you like the game, nothing wrong with that, people should never be criticized because they like something other people don't. This aside from moral, legal or or reasons. I'm talking about people criticize other people ONLY because they don't share their tastes.

IMO, if somebody likes a game, there's nothing wrong with that. Die hard Fallout fans generally don't like Fallout 3, however, this doesn't mean it's a bad game, it's just not a game that stays true to the original Fallout series (I don't think this myself), but it's still a good game on it's own!

[Major Pedro]

i like that gun allot, i might steal its look ^^

Sure. I'll finish the model soon, I can link it to you if you want.

wow, I must be getting old. classic gaming to me means, Doom, Wolfie3D, Duke, and Shadow Warrior.....Escape Velocity was a mad game. too bad AmbrosiaSW hasn't get into handheld gaming. that would be such a niche for them to corner with most of their games. Avara and Over Ride would be rad on DS.

Yeah, that was more what I thought of as classic. (EVN is the best though). I think superhuman meant classic 3D, all the above are sprite based. I never would have put far cry or COD4 as classic, even though they were good games. They're a bit recent for that.

people should never be criticized because they like something other people don't.

That sums up like half of the worlds problems. Good luck fixing that.

[Paracelsur]

Which has it's ups and downs. but remember- If someone is playing a game, it's to get away from the real.

That's an important point. Half-Life's strength wasn't so much the realism as the level of immersion. It's actually a good thing to be unrealistic, because realism isn't as fun as it sounds. What keeps the player interested is richness, detail, and variety, so long as they're all present for the sake of fun.

[infestedsmith]

That's an important point. Half-Life's strength wasn't so much the realism as the level of immersion. It's actually a good thing to be unrealistic, because realism isn't as fun as it sounds. What keeps the player interested is richness, detail, and variety, so long as they're all present for the sake of fun.

Which is why I play CoD4 not America's Army.

Half-Life 2 and it's Episodes are to me, the best danged single player experience I have ever experienced in my life. Nothing comes close to the personality, the characters, the settings.

[uescsuperhuman]

the way I see it, realism does not mean you can't have aliens and stuff, but it means if you are going to have aliens and you are going to have floor plans like marathons, they make sense. That is what half-life did. All the levels made sense and everything was there for a reason (well, a lot of it).

But with the resonance cascade, xenians and a scientist in an orange suit destroying marines, that is somewhat unrealistic. Unrealism is a good thing, but I mean realism more in level design, which marathon does not succeed in. Granted it has excelling level design, but it is not very 'realistic'.

I didn't like gears of war, but I loved GoW 2 IDK y. However, GoW co-op is really fun.

Yeah, that was more what I thought of as classic. (EVN is the best though). I think superhuman meant classic 3D, all the above are sprite based. I never would have put far cry or COD4 as classic, even though they were good games. They're a bit recent for that.

While that is true that doom and wolfie 3d and all that are classics, I was just trying to refer to Post-Half-Life games because if we do this project in the marathon series even not as a remake, we should take elements from those games perhaps.

When it comes to Far Cry and COD4, my definition of classic when it comes to the quality of a game or movie is something that people are going to remember many years down the road.

Technically, the Halo series is a classic in this defenition, but I still wouldn't say so.

Far Cry and COD4 are going to be remembered by a lot of people many years down the road; they were land marks (maybe not cod4 but still).

all the games I listed as 3D Classics are games I will remember for a very long time. BioShock essentially changed my life as...pathetic as that sounds...ANYWAYS!

Marathon is a classic because the people who played it will NOT forget it. It was a stepping stone. People who played DOOM will not forget it for the same reason. But people won't remember UT3 and Gears of War 2 because although they are excellent games, they won't compare to CS:S and SS2.

When I say I want to make a "Modern Marathon" or "Modern Marathon Scenario", I mean with the kind of modernness that Half-Life introduced-more realism, immersive level design, grade A A.I. and good SP AND good MP along with excellent story telling.


P.S.: If you really think about it, it's not really Half-Life's story that makes it so excellent, but it's Story-telling more.

BTW I feel really bad for this kid, or he's making up a disgusting joke of himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2mFmQaoKQ...feature=channel

[Major Pedro]

BTW I feel really bad for this kid, or he's making up a disgusting joke of himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2mFmQaoKQ...feature=channel

That kid looks like Pfhortipfhy.

anyway

If we create something, it won't be Half-life, or Marathon. We won't get those classic elements. You say, with your modern Marathon, you want the story telling- It's already been told, and this project won't be remembered for re telling someone else's story, same as it won't be remembered for taking someone else's realism.

Plus for that kind of realism you have to be a pro mapper / scripter. I dunno how good you guys are at mapping, but I believe lesser than a team of developers who are actually getting paid, with years of experience. No offence.

[acks45]

That's an important point. Half-Life's strength wasn't so much the realism as the level of immersion. It's actually a good thing to be unrealistic, because realism isn't as fun as it sounds. What keeps the player interested is richness, detail, and variety, so long as they're all present for the sake of fun.

and launching ragdolls gaily through the air.

<edit>DOES NOT LOOK LIKE PFHORTIPFHY!</edit>
<edit2> AT ALL!</edit2>
<edit3> REALLY NOT AT ALL</edit3>

[uescsuperhuman]

no that is not what I meant I don't want to re-tell the game's story and I don't want it to be a half-life clone, I was just saying it should reach that level of mastery. Marathon's story telling is already perfect. I just meant that features that every game uses today but was originally introduced by half-life should be in here in fact, just forget what I said nevmind.

[treellama]

Half-Life 2 and it's Episodes are to me, the best danged single player experience I have ever experienced in my life. Nothing comes close to the personality, the characters, the settings.

Deus Ex beats it, IMO. The game play and music are better, and the replay value from the skill system is immense. Plus Half Life 2's ending was pretty sad

Each HL 2 episode has been better gameplay-wise than the previous one--if they would just give up on the gimmick vehicles and weapons. Sadly, we're virtually guaranteed at least one new gimmick weapon in EP3, you know what I'm talking about.

Off topic, I guess, but discussing what makes a game great might help here. If not, get an admin to delete this

[Paracelsur]

and launching ragdolls gaily through the air.

Any self-respecting Marathon-alike should have low gravity environments where the player can do this to himself, with his own guns. In fact, this should be encouraged, even required.

There are too few games like this in recent years. Plenty of room to fill an overlooked niche.

[L'howon]

Any self-respecting Marathon-alike should have low gravity environments where the player can do this to himself, with his own guns. In fact, this should be encouraged, even required.

There are too few games like this in recent years. Plenty of room to fill an overlooked niche.

Perhaps not weapons, but *ahem* Deadspace.

Take it or leave it, it does at least fill that niche.

[uescsuperhuman]

Perhaps not weapons, but *ahem* Deadspace.

Take it or leave it, it does at least fill that niche.

Hey how was dead space?

[acks45]

I was going to find a clip of a train getting derailed, but i found this instead.

[SynthNinja]

DAAAAMMMMIIIIIITTT!!!! I miss two days and look at all these replies! Phew! Now that I'm done reading, I side with those who say No Remake. They're right. A remake (of anything) would be boring, unoriginal, and a waste of time and energy. Someday, though, it might be a nice little gem to throw out into the world as a retro project, like Metroid Cubed (took the original side-scroller and made it more 3D). Remember the arcade version of S.T.U.N. Runner? I loved that game. I do wish they'd bring that game back, but then, I also haven't played it in years.

Infestedsmith is right about making something original. Then again, when you think about it, nothing is ever truly original. We just take what's already there and combine it in new ways. The concept of terminals is great, I haven't ever seen them used anywhere else. Bungie did a phenomenal job with what they had at the time, and even the pixelated textures of the original Marathon games were amazing for their day. But it is also good to offer something from your own world. I have unlimited creative potential when I'm not loafing around. (loaf loaf loaf). I write music (obviously), I have taken up photography as a side-hobby, I've made hand-drawn inked mandalas with damn-near perfect circles (because nothing is ever truly perfect), and I have even made a Marathon map roughly depicting the kind of house I want to live in someday (minus the compiler shooting tracking energy bolts at me or the vac bob in the other version- yeah, I added them solely for my amusement).

Pedro, nice artwork, keep it up. I've got some music going for the map. I'm starting with a loop for now, but it will be a full-blown song by the time I'm done with it. Too early right now to tell how long it will be, I have lots of ideas. I should have time to work on it, perhaps even finish it this weekend depending on how things flow.

anyway, half of my post probably doesn't make sense because I'm tired. I'll let you all decide which half.

[uescsuperhuman]

DAAAAMMMMIIIIIITTT!!!! I miss two days and look at all these replies! Phew! Now that I'm done reading, I side with those who say No Remake. They're right. A remake (of anything) would be boring, unoriginal, and a waste of time and energy. Someday, though, it might be a nice little gem to throw out into the world as a retro project, like Metroid Cubed (took the original side-scroller and made it more 3D). Remember the arcade version of S.T.U.N. Runner? I loved that game. I do wish they'd bring that game back, but then, I also haven't played it in years.

Infestedsmith is right about making something original. Then again, when you think about it, nothing is ever truly original. We just take what's already there and combine it in new ways. The concept of terminals is great, I haven't ever seen them used anywhere else. Bungie did a phenomenal job with what they had at the time, and even the pixelated textures of the original Marathon games were amazing for their day. But it is also good to offer something from your own world. I have unlimited creative potential when I'm not loafing around. (loaf loaf loaf). I write music (obviously), I have taken up photography as a side-hobby, I've made hand-drawn inked mandalas with damn-near perfect circles (because nothing is ever truly perfect), and I have even made a Marathon map roughly depicting the kind of house I want to live in someday (minus the compiler shooting tracking energy bolts at me or the vac bob in the other version- yeah, I added them solely for my amusement).

Pedro, nice artwork, keep it up. I've got some music going for the map. I'm starting with a loop for now, but it will be a full-blown song by the time I'm done with it. Too early right now to tell how long it will be, I have lots of ideas. I should have time to work on it, perhaps even finish it this weekend depending on how things flow.

anyway, half of my post probably doesn't make sense because I'm tired. I'll let you all decide which half.

yeah that was pretty vague. You might want to elaborate later. Yeah. I have a great story that would fit a tau-ceti scenario and even if we don't stick with a tau ceti scenario and go out of the marathon universe, it is set up well and with some modifications, can be made to have terminals that make sense for being there.

[Major Pedro]

yeah that was pretty vague. You might want to elaborate later. Yeah. I have a great story that would fit a tau-ceti scenario and even if we don't stick with a tau ceti scenario and go out of the marathon universe, it is set up well and with some modifications, can be made to have terminals that make sense for being there.

We'll have to figure out how to make terminals in source. Can we hear the story? I can start making stuff once I know what to do.

Pedro, nice artwork, keep it up. I've got some music going for the map. I'm starting with a loop for now, but it will be a full-blown song by the time I'm done with it. Too early right now to tell how long it will be, I have lots of ideas. I should have time to work on it, perhaps even finish it this weekend depending on how things flow.

Thanks man. Hey all the art and animation I do (from now on) I'll put on my tumblr- check it out http://m12.tumblr.com/

[$lave]

Off topic, I guess, but discussing what makes a game great might help here. If not, get an admin to delete this

What admin?

[acks45]

@stynhinjan: Not Marathon X. Midvale X.

@Prdeo: then what would be the point of even having the terminals. Use your eyes not your ears, the act of reading makes you engage the story. Another idea is we could have a hologramatic female that reads everything to you and displays images on the inside of your helmet.

@$vlae:

[ukimalefu]

@stynh: Not Marathon X. Midvale X.

@Prdeo: then what would be the point of even having the terminals. Use your eyes not your ears, the act of reading makes you engage the story. Another idea is we could have a hologramatic female that reads everything to you and displays images on the inside of your helmet.

@$vlae:

I TOTALLY AGREE ABOUT READING! Totally.

But,

without taking away the reading part, terminals could be improved. They could have animations and/or video. Also, they could be more interactive, like, you could ask stuff and get answers. After all they are freaking Artificial Intelligences! You could talk to the dead in Pathways, but you can't talk to a super advanced computer?

Also, the HUD could be "smarter" too. If a terminal gives you information, you should be able to store that info somewhere, carrying with you for whenever you need it.


More than a remake, something I always wanted is a prequel. Based on Mars maybe, ending in the player being sent to The Marathon.

[treellama]

More than a remake, something I always wanted is a prequel. Based on Mars maybe

Or in the Yucatan!

[acks45]

@uilkmfeau: too much work to ge tit to answer your questions. ... unless you can borrow the code for eliza!

Some People Have a Deep Abiding Respect for the Natural Beauty that was Once this Community.

People Start Pollution. People can Stop it.


<edit> I got an idea for the project codename. How about Midvale X: Burgertime.</edit>

[SynthNinja]

*sigh*

EDIT:

Some People Have a Deep Abiding Respect for the Natural Beauty that was Once this Community.
Reduced: 64% of original size [ 1237 x 343 ]- Click to view full image

People Start Pollution. People can Stop it.


<edit> I got an idea for the project codename. How about Midvale X: Burgertime.</edit>

Unfortunately a lot of us don't have that frame of reference (pertaining to your comment about the community) to go on. Hence my failure to understand your apparent frustrations. Do you care to elaborate on what this community once was, since you are alluding to something the more recently-joined among us do not understand? As for the map we are making now, Midvale X meets my approval. That being said, there is no other project at this time, so there is nothing to name.

[$lave]

@$vlae:

My point was simply that the only admin left is appleswitch, and he hasn't been very active lately. There is somewhat of an absence of any administrators at the moment.

[Major Pedro]

@Prdeo: then what would be the point of even having the terminals. Use your eyes not your ears, the act of reading makes you engage the story. Another idea is we could have a hologramatic female that reads everything to you and displays images on the inside of your helmet.

I mean can we hear the storyline that uescsuperhuman wrote for the game. I agree that reading the terminals is the way to go, but they should definitely be more interactive.

@stynh:
@Prdeo:
@$vlae:

I know it may be a touchy subject, but do you have a minor case of dyslexia?

[acks45]

@Purdie-O: Oh. ok sorry. I think that adding some graphics to the terminal like what M:R did in the airlock level of M1 was good.( they showed a live camera feed)

@Stien-in-Jan.: I'm sorry to have caused you to *sigh*, thank you very much for considering my input.