Name: Zeh Fernando
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Posts: 59
The end of 2003 and beginning of 2004 will see an earthquake on the gaming biz. With the sequels to two of the bestselling games ever being released - Half-life 2 and DOOM 3 - it'll be a bit hard for other game companies to release any title and compete with these two giants.
That's what Polish developer
People Can Fly intend to do, however. They'll be releasing the game
Painkiller, a game using the "action formula of classic first-person shooters", focusing on "fast-paced, addictive action" (Gamespot).
From what I've seen, the game looks nice. Well, it's an OK game from the screenshots and videos. Because of the way the maps are designed, it reminds a bit the Serious Sam series, although from reading most of the previews, interviews and
developers replies at the official game forum it looks like it's a game
strongly inspired on QuakeWorld.
The game also makes used of the Havok 2 engine for physics (the same from HL2 and Deus Ex 2 I believe).
It's a bit stupid for me to repeat what most reviews have been saying about the game, so I'll just point to some worthy links and post some information/quotes from the chief developer - Adrian Chmielarz (who seems a pretty nice guy from the patience he've shown on the forums) and Brian Gladman, product manager. I will try to do some brief explanations of what I've learnt about the game, although I know I won't give the full scope on the game. For this, I recommend visiting one of the full previews/interviews which I link to.
INTRODUCTION
In the story, you're a guy who died and is locked between heaven and hell (in purgatory) and must kill enemies (zombies, demons and other gothic-inspired creatures). Killing enemies will give you some sort of power to later become a Demon and kick ass or something. That might be fun but to tell the truth, it's not the focus of this article so I can't tell much about it.
Despite having this single-player campaign which looks like Serious Sam sans coop mode (looks like the final game won't have it), it'll also have a multi-player mode, where I think the main surprise about the game is.
GAME MODES
The game's MP features will include several playing modes: DM and TDM modes; Quad Arena; something called "Voosh" mode, which looks like a random weapon Rocket Arena; "People Can Fly", named after the own developer name, a 1v1 arena-style mode in which you only do damage to your enemy if he's in the air, so you have to kick him into the air by shooting on his feet (yes, like midair on QuakeWorld); and some other stuff. There's no CTF out-of-the-box, but they say it can be added by modifying the game, so I believe modding will be possible.
WEAPONS WEAPONS WEAPONS
There isn't much information on weapons yet. What we know is that 5 weapons will be available; each one having a secondary fire mode. Secondary fire modes are pretty different - they're completelly different weapons.
you're on the right track: QW combos (there are not that many, but the ultimate RL+LG still makes me happy) are our inspiration for Painkiller. What we're doing with "double weapons" is that you won't need 8 keys to choose a weapon (QW = 8 weapons), but just 5 (and PK=5x2=10 weapons this way).
Take the Rocket Launcher, for example. The secondary fire mode is a chaingun which, I speculate, will work like QW's shaft. There's instant weapon switch, and using combos will also grant more damage.
In Painkiller, the Secondary fire is totally unique to the Primary fire. So, you have Combo weapons, where the Primary fire might be an assault rifle, and the Secondary fire is a grenade launcher. It’s like carrying two weapons in one. The upshot is that the skilled player can then combine the two firing modes for added damage bonuses! In the last milestone, we got a look at a Stake-gun. Man… wait till you see this baby in action.
BINDING AND CONSOLES
PK won't have a console. It will, though, have some stuff no game have - "instant switch and fire" buttons for certain weapons. This is possible in QW with binding ("bind +space"/"bind -space" for example), but Quake 3 won't allow that (id considered that to be some kind of cheating).
It will also have some bindable built-in macros, for rocket jumping for example.
I also use lots of scripts in my QW config, I got Forward RJ, I got QuickGrenadeThrow (with return to the previous weapon), I got ChooseBestNonExplosive (good for close combat), etc.
Painkiller is not written the way Quake engine is. I don't think using the console and/or text editing your cfg files is fun any more. It's the thing of the past...
...but that only means we will have all that ALREADY built-in the "normal" easy-to-use game menu. You will be able to assign a key to "Rocket Jump", as well as to "Forward Rocket Jump". You'd have 2 slots for "Quick Shot" (change weapon to new one, fire and switch back to the previous weapon) and a couple of other options (like "Fire Best Explosive", "Switch to Best Explosive" and "Fire Best Close Combat" etc. - of course with configurable weapon order).
STUFF NO ONE CARES ABOUT BUT HARDCORE GAMERS
The game has a Quad Damage powerup, and it is called "Quad Damage".
The game will allow strafejumping and bunnyhoping.
We're shooting for a Multiplayer test at summer's end, and a full demo around launch.
And yes, we will have bright skins support, server configurable.
SELECTED INTERVIEWS/PREVIEWS
All these previews and interviews have accompanying screenshots.
Not every game that goes for over-the-top action can pull it off, but Painkiller seems to be on the right track. In development at Polish studio People Can Fly, Painkiller takes the frantic action formula of classic first-person shooters and the more recent Serious Sam and adds explosive physics effects. It's one thing to have a group of big, tattooed bikers charge at you with tommy guns blazing, but it's definitely something else to send them all flying crazily through the air with a volley of rockets. This insane carnage takes place in huge, good-looking locations throughout some of the not-so-nice parts of purgatory. However, the game doesn't focus on gruesome battles, but instead on fast-paced, addictive action, and from what we've seen, Painkiller might just succeed.
Read more...
Since Valve recently poked its head out from its underground bunker and threw the bombshell that Half-Life 2 not only really exists, it will actually be in our hands this September, the action crowd's been holding its breath. But let us not forget there are other worthwhile first-person shooters in development.
Take DreamCatcher's Painkiller, for example. Despite sounding like a headache tablet, this game is showing a lot of promise for those of us with a penchant for the less cerebral and more action-packed, no-holds-barred, Serious Sam-style shooter.
Read more...
At its most basic level, Painkiller is a technologically advanced first-person shooter with an emphasis on twitch-based reflex action and a lot of chaotic, almost mindless but thrilling carnage. The trick, which is the same one Serious Sam knew how to play off of all too well, is to engage players with eye candy, overwhelm them with numbers, scare them with constant near death situations, and thrill them with sparkling effects and a solid feel. What will hopefully make this better than Sam or at least of some worth on its own right? Physics, design, feel.
Read more...
Do you remember Serious Sam, with its one versus many gameplay, strange and varied enemies, and (for its time) top-notch graphics? More recently, do you recall the coverage of Will Rock, who seemed to inherit Sam’s throne with improved graphics, a little deeper plot, and an even higher degree of gameplay? If you like the concepts that those games bring to the table, quit reading right now and go reserve Painkiller at any fine software dealer. If you are interested in how exactly this game is going to rock the one versus many genre apart, read on and be enlightened.
Read more...
After all these years, it's quite possible Serious Sam found its match. It's a little difficult to say for sure at this stage, since we've yet to see the full version. In any case, like I've stated earlier, the game also carries a number a few distinctive Quake-like elements. Believe it or not, the developers have also allowed players to use the strafe-jump, which speeds up player's movement and is something all Quake fans will surely go nuts over (2Lions is particularly keen on that one). Actually, the whole game clearly pays homage to id's Quake, and it even has a dash of Doom in it. (Hell yeah; all those demonic symbols and stuff! - 2Lions) From what we've experienced of Painkiller thus far, we strongly believe that the game could easily sneak under the radar and work its way into the very top of upcoming FPS games.
Read more...
Is there any sense of dread going up against the likes of Half-Life 2 or is there a certain level of cautious optimism that Painkiller will be able to attract an audience?
After E3 it's definitely the optimism. Before E3 we knew we had something cool, but the expo was our first real test in front of the gamers. To hear people praising the game and see them coming back the next day for more – that was a blast!
Read more...
How would you describe Painkiller, for those who are just hearing about the game?
Painkiller is a horror shooter, with an emphasis on adrenaline-rush style gameplay. It looks amazing, and plays even better! It’s got a Gothic story, and frantic action.
Read more...
Action Vault: How about the range of opponents you'll face? What were the key goals in designing them? And what objectives do you have with respect to enemy AI?
Painkiller features 20 different enemies and five end-chapter bosses. The enemies are highly detailed and, dare I say, frightening. Besides all the cool graphical elements like bump-mapping and lighting technologies used on them, the monsters have other cool features. For example, their heads will always track to the player. This sounds like something very simple, but what it means is that as you are moving, the monsters will turn their heads to follow you. In a fast-paced shooter like Painkiller where you'll be doing lots of circle-strafing, this technique is key to building that sense of immersion we're shooting for.
Read more...
GameShark: What's the importance of using a physics engine, in your opinion? What are you using and what does your middleware choice let you do that you couldn't without using it?
Painkiller is actually using Havok 2.0 for physics. Like all middleware, the Havok engine allows the developers to include a fully featured physics engine without having to invest the time and money to code it themselves. And Havok 2.0 is really powerful in the hands of talented and creative developers. Aside from the standard stuff like inverse kinematics (rag-dolls), the PCF guys have used the engine to allow the player to interact with the world. In Painkiller, physics actually impacts gameplay!
Read more...
OTHER LINKS
Painkiller: official site
Painkiller developer: People Can Fly
Painkiller publisher: DreamCatcher Games
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