I Hate Mountains Forums

kryzian

Member

Registered: 2010-06-08

Seriously ... well done guys

I just want to congratulate the team on a game well executed. I've just played it through and loved it all.

Yes, I did get stuck on the fence near the downed helicopter for a while, but somehow manged to free myself. Small bug - I'm sure you guys are on it.

The things I loved about the mod:

1. The level of detail and effort put into the campaign and each map
2. The plot twists - nice touch with the helicopter crashing for example
3. The sense of being lost at times (especially in the underground level) and the darkness made it very atmospheric

I just registered to say thanks for a great job and well done. Your efforts are appreciated.

moroes

Administrator

From: Vincennes (France)

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Thanks for your post Kryzian

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Thank you kryzian, unfortunately, what you liked is also what some other people hated the most. We're working on making it a bit brighter and a bit less chaotic in terms of "were the hell should I go?", but we don't want to alienate people like you, who enjoyed it. That's pretty hard to do.

kryzian

Member

Registered: 2010-06-08

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

My main problem with most 'professional' games is that they don't let the player explore enough. I think it's ok to get lost, it's ok to double back on your path and it's ok to be unsure about where to go next. I don't need a waypointer to guide me to the next important thing that I have to play through.

So once again, good job on making a game that you don't need to be 'nannied' through (it's a horror game after all, right?).

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Yeah, but you know, you release some fan-made content for a game and people automatically think it has to have the same kind of content/feeling/rules/whatever than the original content. I think nothing could be more wrong, modding is all about taking advantage of an existing system and bending the rules to build something different on top. People seem to disagree with this vision though.

Gurluas

Member

Registered: 2010-06-06

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Well i dont, i hope you dont make it too bright, i actually liked the darkness alot.

Fnilp

Member

Registered: 2010-06-06

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

i hope you dont make it too bright, i actually liked the darkness alot.

same here.

Zalbar

Member

Registered: 2010-06-08

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Well, I just played through it and I have to say excellent job.

After reading all the comments here, I was going into it a bit skeptical, and while I noticed everything that people were terming negatives, I found it to be a more realistic experience. Got lost a few times, and didn't really know half the time where I was going or should go, but it just made it all that more heart racing.

Encore, vraiment bien fait, et fantastique.

Congratulations de la part de Zalbar a Montreal!!

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Thanks Zalbar, we're doing everything we can to reduce the negative reviews number at an even lower number! I mean... we're fixing things. We're not killing their authors.

error126

Member

Registered: 2010-06-08

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Yeah, but you know, you release some fan-made content for a game and people automatically think it has to have the same kind of content/feeling/rules/whatever than the original content. I think nothing could be more wrong, modding is all about taking advantage of an existing system and bending the rules to build something different on top. People seem to disagree with this vision though.

I think the main problem is, that your standard is so high that it's only comparable to the Valve campaigns and not to the other custom ones, so that's actually a commendation for you. Most people don't get the fact that it's "just" a custom fan made project and see it in one line with Valve's campaigns.

They have also played Valve's official maps quite often and are common with them and might have forgotten that also the official maps have their moments, where you are actually lost for the first time playing them (so to speak of the crescendo event of L4D2's Parish Campaign, 4th map, as an example... I bet a lot of people didn't get it for the first time where they had to head to).

Last edited by error126 (2010-06-10 12:47:51)

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Yeah, I couldn't agree more with you, in more than 75% of the cases, people report us they got a bit lost in the first try and then began to understand the layout better and enjoyed it way more. I guess when you only play it once, you can't really enjoy it at it's best.

error126

Member

Registered: 2010-06-08

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Yep, that's for sure. I don't know on which audience you try to focus on, the "casuals" or let's call em the "more experienced" gamers, but as far is I got you in some interviews or replys, it's actually more the "experienced" ones.

With having that in mind it would be a shame to change too much of the layout or change anything related to the "getting lost" syndrom because as far as I got ppl around here, the more experienced ones actually liked the "more open" way.

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: Seriously ... well done guys

Unlike Portal: Prelude, we're not focusing on any particular target audience. Sure people have to like Left 4 Dead and openness, but not much more. That's why we're working on brightening it a bit and adding more visual clues to guide the player. It should not alienate experienced players but could help casual ones.