FEAR MP Demo is out

Just pimpin the demo.

Would love to hear your opinions on it.

Linkage:


http://www.fileplanet.com/157279/150000/fileinfo/-F.E.A.R.-Demo-[Multi-Player]
http://www.gamespot.com/promos/2005/feardemo/index.html?tag=boxcar_all_download_image
http://www.fileshack.com/file.x?fid=7745

I’m kind of curious as to exactly how much pull multiplayer demos are for a game like FEAR in terms of consumers.

About the only reason I would bother with the demo is to play around with the engine, which isn’t a real concern because I’m pretty much set for a day one purchase for the single-player portion by itself.

Multiplayer demos are great because they get people playing your game from the time of demo release until long after it’s on shelves. It’s a great way to keep it in people’s minds and hopefully get them to go buy the game.

I really think the Unreal Tournament demos have been instrumental to the success of those games.

–Dave

Well, I would make an argument that games like the Unreal Tournament and Battlefield series are bought primarily for their multiplayer components, Dave, so it only makes sense for MP demos to be a big draw.

FEAR on the other hand is a game that I’m not sure how many people really are concerned about MP with.

Yeah, but if people see the MP in FEAR and start really saying “Wow”, then you’ve suddenly got really good value because you get this great single player game next to a great multiplayer game… like the old days.

It’s funny, we were just talking about the original Quake at work today and how awesome that was and really still is. You could do that superfast runthrough of single player, which was really fun. You could do that with your buddies in co-op mode. Then the Internet multiplayer was so awesome on top of that. It really was this complete experience but made so much better by the juxtaposition of crazy shit like the “eyes” when you turned invisible.

The sound in that game still is some of the best ever in a shooter. The FWOOMP of the grenade launcher followed by the bell-ringing BONG BONG of the bouncing grenades… the great rocket sound. That fleshtearing sound that accompanied a gib. The nailgun and it’s tinny machinegun spray that turned ridiculous as the super nailgun. No long range railgun bullshit… everything up close and pretty personal… THE AXE! I often wonder if Romero leaving is when the crazy left Id. Since then everything is often too rooted in trying to be “real” somehow.

Anyway, tangent aside, I think a multiplayer demo is an awesome way to promote a game like FEAR if it has multiplayer that will make that single player experience continue on into something a little different and exciting afterward. I bought Soldier of Fortune II for the Infiltration mode in multiplayer based on the demo and just happened to get a pretty cool single player game to go with it.

–Dave

Quake is from a time when the idea of online multiplayer modes was still a relatively new idea, so sure, it made a difference in the perceived value then.

In the post Tribes / Unreal Tournament / Battlefield 1942 world, however, I think it can be argued that just slapping on a multiplayer component does not automatically bring in the perception of real additional value. For some, sure, but my question is exactly how much does yet another team or 1on1 deathmatch mode add to any random game?

Again, for something like Unreal Tournament, an MP demo is a big deal, but I’m speaking to those games most people tend to look at as primarily a single-player game, like FEAR or SWAT4 or Tron 2.0, etc, etc.

Quake 3 wasn’t rooted in extreme realism.

Downloaded and installed and played a few quick games. I must say I am impressed and really looking forward to the release of the game.

The single player demo creeped the hell out of me, and intended to purchase it on my single player experience alone,

Great multiplayer is just icing on the cake.

I would say FEAR delivers the multiplayer goods.

Awesome pacing (you actually feel you are running along, as opposed to gliding at breakneck speed), awesome lighting: shadows add an awesome stealth dimension if that is your playing style (the way Doom 3 should have, but you couldn’t see jack on any of Doom 3’s levels). Nice balance of light and dark areas.

Lag is minimal if non existent, and the game runs really smooth and looks great on the default settings for my computer (res @ 800 x 600; any higher and I would get drops in frame rate). Only running a Barton 2500 and a 9800 Pro, so I am really happy that it runs this good.

Will leave some more impressions after some more playtime, but I have seen enough to pick this up on release day.

Ps,

It’s great to see a game company other than ID, Valve, Epic or Dice release a game with good multiplayer. Hope it catches on.

One more thing,

The physics in the game are absolutely incredible. I can’t really put my finger on it, but everything seems to have mass, for every action there seems to be the appropriate reaction (stuff being knocked over, weapon recoil, bullets hitting and damaging walls, people, etc.

FEAR is a prime example of physics put to good use in a game. With HL2 death match the physics were really gimmicky (throwing barrels around with the gravity gun) and didn’t really add to the immersion in any way.

It appears to me at least that with FEAR, physics are used seamlessly to add realism, believability and immersion to the gameworld, not placed in the gameworld artificially proclaiming. “Look we have physics”

Very subtle, but if you play the demo, you will see exactly what I mean.

I haven’t got around to playing the multiplayer demo, but I was rather unimpressed by the physics in the single player demo and thought HL2 totally outclassed it there.

Just played this for a bit. I agree with the positive sentiments. It has a nice feel… not too fast, but not too slow. Lots of nice weapon effects and a everything goes boom or sizzles or smokes. Weapons feel hefty.

One neat thing I noticed… if you make a big explodey, the hanging lights will sway, casting shadows everywhere. I also like shooting people with the Penetrator and having their bodies nailed up against the wall for all to see.

I probably wouldn’t buy it for the MP, but it’s definitely fun.

Negative notes: levels take forever to load, and the in-game browser feels only a shade over BF2 quality.

I’ll echo all the positive sentiments and add one negative: the submachine gun and automatic rifle seem a bit too powerful in multiplayer. They’re the easiest to hit other players with and kill quickly. I’ve only played for an hour or so, though, so what the hell do I know about balance. Just my initial reaction.

Installing now. Any servers I should use?

I’m hearing lots of “Quake” and “Unreal” being thrown around here and I for one totally agree with that sentiment. In fact, “Quake 2” is exactly the thing that I was feeling while playing this. Fantastic sound. The guns have weight and felt like you’re actually shooting them (the delay in the bullets firing is genius). No, not since the Quake 2 days have I been going “WOW” so much in a demo (and yeah the singleplayer was s00per creepy). This felt more like a full game than a demo to me. Graphics, sound, gameplay… it’s all there.

Are we moving back to “the good old days” of demos? I could only hope.

It’s been a loooooooong time since a shooter has made me feel that “magic” and this one delivers (and it’s got the creepy girl single-player too).

To cut it short (too late) I preordered this bastard last night just on the strength of this demo. That’s something that I never do.