Planet Descent

From the Front Page => Poll => Topic started by: -<WillyP>- on September 30, 2009, 02:21:21 PM

Title: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: -<WillyP>- on September 30, 2009, 02:21:21 PM
Well, what do you think? Is it possible?
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Ronin RedFox on September 30, 2009, 02:59:18 PM
No.

But the Open Descent Foundation will...  ::)
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: TechPro on September 30, 2009, 05:02:53 PM
Love the choices.  ;D

I  don't see it being possible for Interplay.  Someone or some other group could, but it will take some doing.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: SaladBadger on September 30, 2009, 07:15:36 PM
It's time to reunite Matt Toschlog, Mike Kulas, John Slagel, and the rest of the development team. Toss on more skilled members (perhaps some who were once in the D3 community and have moved on to more modern engines) to have a team worthy of today's game development.

Of course that won't happen
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Planet Orange [phx13] on September 30, 2009, 08:25:08 PM
Unfortunatly the answer is a big NO. With all the crap going on with Interplay, their troubles, and the bad economy I just don't see it happening.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on October 01, 2009, 06:10:47 AM
Also boils back down to the rights, too. They're all fragmented and scattered all over the gaming community, and if anybody forget to obtain a piece, you're stuck until you get it.  ::)

Of course, I'm hoping all of those people just allow the rights to eventually lapse, and then that issue's resolved. It'd be a long wait, though, and of course, there's always going to be the chance that somebody's going to be greedy and hang onto them even though they aren't doing anything with the rights, and the rights aren't doing anything for them.  >:(
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Foil on October 01, 2009, 07:58:48 AM
Great poll question.  :D
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: PyroJockey on October 01, 2009, 08:43:02 AM
No, not interplay. Too much bad management.

I don't think we'll see another Descent until someone else releases a successful 6DOF game (Miner Wars?) and proves there is a market for it.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: SaladBadger on October 01, 2009, 12:53:27 PM
I'd really like to see something with people from the old team (not the D3 team) but I really doubt that will happen (http://basementnet.dyndns.org/ryan/phpbbsmilies/icon_sad.gif)
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Tylosaurus on July 22, 2012, 12:54:59 PM
That this is an old thread I know, but I have interests for it hehe :)

So thereby I voted the bolded no haha, it kinda looked like that I had a choice, right? xDDDDD
Even that I have some hope for a D4 and a FS3, I hope so so there is more to collect.

On the other hand, to be realistic, well it won't happen, well not yet anyways. Just like Pyro Jockey said, Interplay has a very bad management, they are a great bunch of lads, but they have been out of the game for so long, since 2004 if memory services correctly.

If Minerwars does succeed it may let loose some idea's but for most gamers they prefer something simple over something complicated and disorientating, gamers like us should be seen as very rare occasions, but yes I will always have hope for a new Descent and Freespace definitely, I don't see why not  8) 

Freespace btw also has the Tri-Chording bug, nowadsys it can be used to your advantage as well, gameplay wise they are similar, but still Descent is more my thing, it's just something you won't see coming back for quite a few years, such a shame Interplay is still hanging on to the rights of Descent 3, this one can be so much improved, same like Descent 1 and 2 have been thanks to DXX-Rebirth & D2X-XL.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Wraith-1 on July 22, 2012, 09:48:34 PM
I honestly wonder if Interplay would notice if another company made a Descent clone. Couldn't name it Descent 4 though, I bet they'd jump for a chance to sue if it was easy enough. Hmmmm....  (http://thesaurus.com/browse/descent?__utma=1.1155446061.1328469884.1342394701.1343022100.62&__utmb=1.3.9.1343022106524&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1341299399.59.8.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=(not%20provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=107232002)

If you think about it, Half Life 2 came out in 2004 for PC. D3 came out in 1999. We have 5 more years right to complain than the most angry group of fans on the internet.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on July 23, 2012, 07:51:27 AM
Ha-ha, yeah, I suppose we do on that count. :D

On the other hand, I've noticed there seems to be a discreet but sudden upsurge in interest in Descent, because I've been seeing slightly more expressions of interest in it as of late than I have in the past, so if that trend continues, we could see new games. Maybe not a D4 (but as always, I still secretly hope against hope), but other Descent like clones. I mean, we've already got Miner Wars that has successfully been getting off the ground and has garnered a fair amount of attention, and that upcoming "Retrovirus" game that is deliberately very Descent-like too. There could very well be more in the future. :D
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: -<WillyP>- on July 23, 2012, 07:27:15 PM
The poll is evenly split. Fascinating!
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 09, 2012, 12:20:33 AM
Well, this is old. Short answer is a big "no". Long answer is: what, do you think anyone could pull that off?
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: VANGUARD on September 09, 2012, 07:17:36 AM
The odds of the Wiiware is more likely, and I don't even see that happening. Descent has been a blast, but no matter how much we may love it, I can't see it happening. This has been talked about for years.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Pumo on September 09, 2012, 11:23:05 AM
As Sidhe and the poll said, I think the answer is a simple 'NO'. Period.

 :-\
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: VANGUARD on September 09, 2012, 02:29:42 PM
Is Interplay even alive? Descent is still the third one next to be made, and the other two say "2012" as a release date.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 09, 2012, 07:56:34 PM
The issues with Descent 4 are:

1. Storyline continuity. With Dravis blown up, what's there left to do? D3 was the final game in the series.
2. The complexity of it all. Descent, practically, requires a large world populated with robots with real 3D 6DF level design. Not many people who can actually design all that and make it coherent. D3 took a long time to develop partly because of all the constant changes and difficult creation process management.
3. Limited audience (in chickened-out "marketing" view anyway). The pseudo-argument goes like this: Descent is hard to play, so it either gets dumbed down (partly the D3 issue) or not made at all. Either way, being partly flight sim, it's not an "easy game to learn" (like groundpounders), goes the pseudo-argument. Truth is simpler: many groundpounders are actually fairly complex when it comes to controls and gameworld. The interesting ones anyway. As it happens the thrill of a game is directly related with complexity: an easy, simple game gets boring fairly quickly. Even Tetris has a plot and a complot and complexity. Being a puzzle game, it's more complex than just dropping stones. Same thing with fully interactive 3D games - the more interaction and the more lifelike (and that means more complex also), the more interesting they are. The purpose of a game is to convey life (the thrill of a game is teaching what life is, even if fictional).
What this means is that a game like Descent has to be more like a "real" flight simulator and less like a slow walker. And have a working universe of its own, maybe. At the level of the game's storyline anyway...
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: -<WillyP>- on September 10, 2012, 03:44:06 AM
I agree with all but number one. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions that could be explored. I could see a plot line along the lines of, the transmode virus was not Dravis's creation, (after all, it was an alien virus) he was just a 'useful idiot' in the greater scheme of the aliens who are planing a hostile takeover of earth.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Kaiaatzl on September 10, 2012, 04:30:42 AM
Even if there wasn't anything left to do in the story, that never stopped TV producers.  Why should it stop game developers?
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 10, 2012, 05:18:10 AM
O-o-o, intrigue.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on September 10, 2012, 08:19:44 AM
I agree with all but number one. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions that could be explored. I could see a plot line along the lines of, the transmode virus was not Dravis's creation, (after all, it was an alien virus) he was just a 'useful idiot' in the greater scheme of the aliens who are planing a hostile takeover of earth.

Ditto this times infinity. The storyplot for Descent was far from resolved in D3. There is SO MUCH that not only CAN be explored, it almost NEEDS to be explored. Personally, I think Descent could easily have another three games in it until you start running out of old plot elements and need to bring in new ones, and as Kaiaatsel aptly said, that wouldn't stop game developers. If there's profit in it, they'll do it. And there is at least some profit in it, otherwise Interplay wouldn't have bothered to do what they have.

As for the rest, you are sadly correct Sidhe Priest, except I will state that the complexity of building a balanced Descent game doesn't strike me as quite that difficult, assuming the key members involved are already quite familiar with how Descent works. Example: if us fans were somehow involved in the development in D4, I think the only problem we'd have is all agreeing on what we'd want. Building it wouldn't be a problem if we all had the necessary tools, time, and knowledge (that right there is probably the biggest things keeping us fans from just doing it ourselves).
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: VANGUARD on September 10, 2012, 01:06:45 PM
I agree with most. I do feel you could go on. Dravis dead doesn't mean end of game. It's possible to go on another chapter into the Descent world.

Descent 4 could still have the same style of gaming and not change a ton. Call of Duty hasn't changed much in years. Maybe that's a bad example. Doom hasn't much. Yeah, in some ways, but, okay, maybe worse example.

Descent 3 could work, except the people behind it are either gone, or not interested (my guess anyway)
Interplay doesn't seem to be anywhere. Where is outrage? Parallax?
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 10, 2012, 10:39:01 PM
The point of this is, with D3 a sales flop (not like it was advertised much though), and the game itself being complex, and the developers not at it, Interplay won't be giving it a priority.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 10, 2012, 10:44:44 PM
Still, a game other than Descent makes sense for two reasons... One - it can be made independently of all Descent-related copyrights, trademarks, and other fluff.

There's the Infinity Engine: http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=33 (http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=33) - it's been perpetually stuck in development, but it might work for a Descent-like game with features like interplanetary travel and zooming onto a planet surface. Opens up a lot of detail - planet re-entry, etc. The one bit that wasn't coherent in Descent games is that the player ships are supposed to be interplanetary spaceships, and that automatically means very high speeds and open space travel (remember the asteroid belt and D3 end movies?). And then the poor things are limited to car-like crawls. Not serious.

Two - there's so much more detail and realism possible with an engine like that, it'd be silly to limit only to mine/surface-crawling.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 10, 2012, 10:50:10 PM
By itself, the notion of piles of metal of varying size floating in space or air isn't anything that original.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: -<WillyP>- on September 11, 2012, 04:07:56 AM
The high speed interplanetary travel was handled by the warp core engine and wasn't used in the mines or on the planet surface. The details of which were a bit hazy, but that wasn't the focus of the game. Just like in a book, there aren't detailed description of how the character slept every night, or when he used the bathroom.

Given the confined area of a mine, the Pyro didn't really need (inner planetary? near surface?) extreme high speed capabilities. I am sure it took a huge amount of energy just to accomplish the anti-gravity hovering.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on September 11, 2012, 07:12:36 AM
Good thing your energy banks for your weapons seems to be powered separately from those engines, then. :P

Sidhe Priest, while all of those ideas are indeed intriguing, and no doubt worth exploring for a Descent game, at the same time I would think that it would be unwise for any Descent game to be too heavily dependent on them, especially the space travel elements. Not against a Descent-in-space levels or the such, but put too much focus on that, and then it'll be more like Freespace than Descent. Furthermore, I think there would be an element of action to all of that, or the game would feel lackluster (or at least it would to me). So, say, if you had to journey through an asteroid belt and have to dodge asteroids while also getting sniped at by baddies, then that'd be good. But if it's just cruising from star system to star system...that wouldn't be as great...unless the trip was super fast, and it wouldn't take long to reach action again. Like Hunter's Basewars. You cross numerous star systems in that mod, but the trip from system to system is instantaneous, and you're almost never far from action. In that case, it could work for Descent, and work well, depending on how you do it, and how much focus you give it (too much and again it loses the Descent feel, but too little, and it'll feel pointless).

Personally, though, I think fans would be most happy with a more traditional Descent game, with the classic delving into mines and blowing stuff up in general, and as such, I feel that should still be any hypothetical future Descent game's major focus. That has always been Descent's schtick, so why change it?

That said, I'm going to repeat something I've said before, and say that I feel any D4 (or something like it) should have a very destructive environment. You shoot at a wall, it takes visible damage, you continue to shoot at it, and you can destroy it, etc. I've been giving a lot of thought about the gameplay mechanics for such a Descent-like game, and I'm convinced it could not only work, but work very, very, well. :D
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 11, 2012, 07:29:43 AM
That's what the experimental warpcore is for, to avoid cruising between planets and systems. Other ships without the experimental thingie though are still in for slow sightseeing. Or space-staring.

D3's Fusion engine already has blastable/deformable terrain. And destructable brushes in levels. Just not used that much.

Atmospheric entry gives its own game issues (have you noticed in every videoclip the Pyro spawns next to a planet, not inside the planet's atmosphere? - maybe the warp mechanism has to avoid strong gravity pulls). Like having to do stealthy re-entries. Or being intercepted on entry/descent. More plot devices here.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Kaiaatzl on September 11, 2012, 08:03:37 AM
Atmospheric entry gives its own game issues (have you noticed in every videoclip the Pyro spawns next to a planet, not inside the planet's atmosphere? - maybe the warp mechanism has to avoid strong gravity pulls). Like having to do stealthy re-entries. Or being intercepted on entry/descent. More plot devices here.

I think that was really a visual device to let the player see a 'stunning' animation of each planet.  I doubt the writers went into that amount of detail for a game whose story has a beginning and an end, but no middle.
Though on that topic; meteorologically speaking, from looking at the exit movies, neither Zeta Aquilae nor Brimspark actually have an atmosphere.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 11, 2012, 08:06:00 AM
The point is, a sci-fi game has to have a lot of sci-fi detail, and not necessarily be limited to combat either. Many space games used to have (and have now) upgrade stores and a merchant/social element. It's rather boring otherwise, all there is is blasting robots and flipping switches and getting objects. Pretty much the old Doom formula.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Matthew on September 11, 2012, 08:28:31 AM
D3's Fusion engine already has blastable/deformable terrain. And destructable brushes in levels. Just not used that much.
It does?! I've never seen deformable terrain used in D3, nor even heard of such a thing being possible.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 11, 2012, 11:29:17 AM
The feature is there, it works, but it's never been used in the D3 campaign. A weapon has to have a terrain damage value specified in the table. By default no weapon has that, but well, you could dig hideouts with, say, the fusion cannon. Terrain damage size/depth per shot are valid weapon flags. Modify them in a table and see for yourself... There were screenshots and a discussion years ago, maybe someone even used the feature in a mod.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Foil on September 11, 2012, 12:58:26 PM
Interesting! Does it work well?
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: VANGUARD on September 11, 2012, 01:09:05 PM
I think it was used more in Merc, right? You activate some sort of mine cart thing and it blows up boulders below, or the use of napalm in D3, L14 on those trees.

It's no Red Faction though.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Kaiaatzl on September 11, 2012, 02:52:07 PM
No I don't think that's what he was talking about.  And neither of those examples are Merc.
In answer to your question, it sounds like an unfinished feature that was never used in Retribution or Merc.  After all, Mercenary didn't introduce any new weapons that could have had the flag enabled.

Scripted environmental destruction is something different entirely.  Lots of games (heck I'd say most games) have that.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 11, 2012, 11:37:51 PM
Try it yourself, it's just a couple fields on any weapon.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on September 12, 2012, 08:03:44 AM
Quote from: Sidhe Priest
That's what the experimental warpcore is for

Emphasis on EXPERIMENTAL. After it's performance at the end of D2 (matters of deliberate sabotage aside) I'm sure it's marketable credibility was shattered. :P

Seriously, though, I did completely overlook the warpcore in all of that, and now that you bring it up, I like the idea. In my own mental visions of what I'd view as the perfect next Descent game, I kept trying to fit the warpcore in there, but never could figure out a good way to do it. This would fix that.

I have to say no to any slow sightseeing routes, though. I don't know why anyone would want that in a game. And I don't see how the slow sightseeing routes would add anything to Descent, except slow it down unnecessarily. Personally, I think Descent works best when kept simple. Make it too complicated would take away much of it's thrill. Again, I want to say that these aren't bad, but if used in Descent, I would think they would need to be used wisely and/or sparingly.

Quote from: Sidhe Priest
(have you noticed in every videoclip the Pyro spawns next to a planet, not inside the planet's atmosphere? - maybe the warp mechanism has to avoid strong gravity pulls)

If that were true, then the ship would have to appear even FARTHER away from the planet, because the location it's always portrayed at appearing is still very deep within said planet's gravity well (I think a lot of people don't realize just how far an object's gravity well can reach). I think Kaiaastel is right to say that it was more likely a theatrical device, but if a logical explanation is really needed for it, it's possible that the warpcore just doesn't mix well with atmospheres. Maybe the warpcore process runs the risk of igniting the gasses in an atmosphere, or an atmosphere provides too much interference.

Quote from: Kaiaastel
...neither Zeta Aquilae nor Brimspark actually have an atmosphere.

Not necessarily. Just because it doesn't appear to have an atmosphere, doesn't mean it doesn't have one. The moon, for example, actually DOES have an atmosphere, it's just really, really, REALLY thin. That said, with all of the volcanic activity that clearly takes place on Brimspark, I can almost guarantee that is has a thin atmosphere of some sort, likely volcanic gases spewed out from eruptions.

Quote from: Sidhe Priest
Many space games used to have (and have now) upgrade stores and a merchant/social element.

The day Descent becomes an RPG is the day I leave the fandom, no joke. And just because all the OTHER sci-fi games seem to be doing it doesn't mean Descent has to follow the crowd. Indeed, I would think most of us would want it to continue to stand apart from the others as it has always done. There are other ways to add the complexity and detail you speak of WITHOUT going the RPG route.

Quote from: Sidhe Priest
The feature is there, it works, but it's never been used in the D3 campaign. A weapon has to have a terrain damage value specified in the table.

Makes sense to me, and certainly seems within D3's capabilities. I've never heard of it before, but I can't doubt the residual coding is there and works. Although I'm sure it's buggy beyond all belief (why else would it be so unused and obscure?).

Quote from: Kaiaatsel
Scripted environmental destruction is something different entirely.  Lots of games (heck I'd say most games) have that.

I'd even go as far to say that all big-title games have that now, and when they don't, it runs the risk of falling behind as a result.

So what would be really cool would be to include that same kind of realistic environmental destruction WITHOUT having to script it all fall a certain way. Gaming tech, as it happens, is getting real close to doing this.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Matthew on September 12, 2012, 11:57:55 AM
So what would be really cool would be to include that same kind of realistic environmental destruction WITHOUT having to script it all fall a certain way. Gaming tech, as it happens, is getting real close to doing this.
There are already games that have unscripted dynamic environments.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on September 13, 2012, 07:23:22 AM
Eh, true, some that I've seen, but always lacking in details here and there, and still bear a degree of scripting to kind of...guide...the event through it seamlessly. What I'm speaking of is slightly more capable and...encompassing...than that. I don't really know how to explain it.

Although I suppose it is possible that there is more than one recently released game that has this already that I just don't know of yet. It would actually thrill me to no end to hear of such a game. :)
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: TechPro on September 16, 2012, 04:03:19 PM
Heh,  ;D. The Poll is tied.


No, I didn't do it.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Matthew on September 16, 2012, 06:57:24 PM
We have 20 active members? o_0
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Kaiaatzl on September 16, 2012, 08:04:30 PM
And I can't figure out whether that's good or bad for the community.
Scary.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on September 17, 2012, 06:46:52 AM
Darn thing keeps doing that, getting itself tied...
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Sidhe Priest on September 17, 2012, 08:07:52 AM
How about a new topic/poll? "Will Anyone Ever Release Anything Like Descent 4?"
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on March 18, 2015, 07:28:54 PM
It just occurred to me, but in light of recent events, does this mean this poll is now null and void? Or are we going to be technical and point out that Underground doesn't feature a "4" anywhere in it's title?

 ;D
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Kaiaatzl on March 19, 2015, 04:41:34 AM
Well I'm going to be technical and say Interplay aren't the people releasing it.  I mean, what else do you think I'd do.
Title: Re: Will Interplay Ever Release a Descent 4?
Post by: Scyphi on March 19, 2015, 05:27:10 AM
Well, they are still the ones sponsoring it. Sort of. They at least gave their official okie-dokie on going forward on a title they own, so that means they are involved...in the barest minimum manner possible...

You know what? I agree, Interplay's not releasing Underground.  ::)