The release of “Prey” (the FPS) is approaching.

In about twenty days 3D Realms will release a free demo that will show both the multiplayer and the single player portion. From the rumors it seems to be a very good demo with a lot of content in it (I miss the shareware days). The actual game is going to be released for the beginning of July.

The reason why I write about this is because this game is not “just another shooter”, but one that is adding some quite innovative features that will add some new patterns and break some conventional ones. I’m interested to see how all this will work out. I think the demo is a perfect opportunity to have a peek at how those new features will impact the “flow” of the game and see if they’ll really add to the fun.

I wrote already in the past about the game because I believe in those ideas and, if the technology is solid as it was publicized, it could really open so many new possibilities.

Previous articles – here and here. I think the only part I haven’t commented is that the game will also have an option to dynamically adjust the difficulty while you play. Just another interesting (and optional) feature to throw in the mix.

A summarized feature list taken from my old post on a forum:

– Portal tecnology opening at every angle breaking the euclidean space
– Different gravity/physics systems active at the same time (ceilings, walls, planetoids etc..)
– Environmental hazards and mobile rooms (the environment moves and can hurt you. No static or fixed)
– Gravity flipping (entire environments flipping upside down with you inside)
– Wall walk (switching orientation, no ladders)
– Spirit walk (switching to a spirit world where you just can use a bow but you can move through impassable barriers in the physical world)
– Death walk (instead of “game over” you enter the spirit world killing flying demons with a bow to quickly regain a decent amount of health before being thrown back into the action)
– Adaptable difficulty system (as you play the game monitors your performance and tries to dynamically adapt the difficulty, this can be turned off)

And I would even add a good HUD design and all sort of imaginative “alien” weapons to that list.

From the latest weekly update, about the innovative approach:

Back in the old days with Doom, ROTT, and the like you had just left and right to contend with. Quake introduced up and down to the mix, and it’s pretty much stayed that way until now. While Quake allows for incoming fire to come from almost every direction, the base play remained the same, as you had to be “on” something – up and down were constants for the most part, despite the Z axis now being brought into play. Prey changes that with gravity flipping and wall walking.

And some interesting updates about the delivery system (that I think and hope will be also used for the demo):

One other section that has been tested a lot is the Triton delivery system. Sure, you can go to the store and buy a box, but you will also be able to buy the full game over Triton, and this needs testing. The last few beta builds we got at 3DR have come through Triton, which is kind of cool. What’s nice about the Triton system is that you don’t have to wait for the entire title to come down to play. After a certain percentage of the game has been downloaded, you are asked if you want to start playing right away. You can choose to start playing (depending on your download speed) after a short while, and the remainder of the game will be streamed to your computer in the background while you play.

My hope is that they don’t screw this. First worry is whether this is supported worldwide or just NA, because it would suck if it’s limited. Then I hope the final game, and maybe even the demo, will be preloaded at least a few days before, as Valve does with Steam. It’s a convenience both for them (spread the server load on more days) and the users (have time to download even on slower connections).

In the meantime I got Half-Life 2 Ep1. It took me almost two days to finish the download on my slow connection, but I was oddly able to play when it was still at 87%. While I was waiting I also got the Darwina demo that was only 20Mb or so (and what is fun is that those are 20Mb of sound files, since all the graphic is generated, and sooo pretty) and five minutes later I was already buying the full version. Right now I’m more hooked up in Darwinia than HL2.

That said, the new chapter to HL2 is really good, with an even stronger cinematic feel. As they defined it, it’s a great “rollercoaster”. Everything is still on rail, heavily scripted. Plenty of “whoa” moments, cool stuff, wonderful ideas and decent plot. The starting sequence (when you have already the control) is simply amazing and I watched it with a grin on my face. The commentary system is also interesting for those who love the dig the design, even if they seem to end exactly when you would like to hear more details.

The new technical bits aren’t so noticeable. The HDR is pretty but it’s also heavy on the framerate. After the magnificence of Oblivion and Quake 4 the textures seem less impressive, but the overall level design is still good. The animation system was also reworked but I didn’t notice the difference to be honest. In fact I think the animations still aren’t on par with the cinematic feel and still look rather faked and awkward.

I think the main innovation about the episode is the presence of Alyx and the “single-player co-op”, as they defined it. The interesting part is that she isn’t just a bot following around, but a fully scripted character that has possibilities different than yours, so enhancing the interaction and possible variations in the game. As other people have wrote the annoying part is that Alyx sometimes pushes you around as she tries to run past you.

There was a lot of discussion also about the price, which I consider a bit too high. As written on Q23.

With much lower production costs I think Valve’s first goal should have been about reaching a much larger audience by making the price more convenient and accessible. But that’s just me striving for ideals as always.