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Dear Frictional (some advice)
soopytwist Offline
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Posts: 5
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Joined: May 2008
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#1
Dear Frictional (some advice)

If you're going to allow players to trap a monster in a room DON'T magically teleport said monster out of it again.

This is the most sloppiest of game designs I've ever seen, a cheat and ridiculously unfair.

I'm talking about Theta of course, the Proxy that stalks you while attempting to access the elevator after running the ARK simulation.

I spent an hour figuring out how to trap the Proxy and having finally managed to trap it in the Medical Lab next door to security I felt pretty awesome having won over the damn thing. Imagine then my bewilderment when running back to the elevator there's the Proxy standing right there; followed swiftly by insta-death.

I actually rage quit in disgust. I'm not even sure if I can be bothered to load up it up again.

Here's what should happen and I really would suggest this is patched:

1. You find the chip while sneaking around to avoid the Proxy. It should NOT magically teleport behind you after you just watched it run down a corridor away from you.

2. You find the security station and update the chip, you also quickly learn this computer can lock and unlock doors.

3. You throw a fire extinguisher into the Medical Lab and sneak back to security.

4. You wait for the Proxy to enter the Medical Lab and you lock the door...

5. ...Where the proxy REMAINS.

6. You can now relax safe in the knowledge that the Proxy is locked away leaving you free to explore the other rooms you avoided while being stalked. That is until...

7. ...Heading back to the elevator you hear a crash (the Proxy just busted out!), you've got mere seconds to attach the chip, close the panel, hit the switch and dive into the elevator before it comes charging.

Sound better?

Patch this in and I won't uninstall yet another unfinished disappointment in my Steam library.
10-02-2015, 09:14 PM
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Googolplex Offline
Banned

Posts: 2,340
Threads: 246
Joined: Oct 2008
#2
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

SOMA is no unfinished disappointment! It is one of the best games ever created. The teleporting of the monsters is really a bit obstruse when you notice it the first time. But it is not something I hate so much.
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 09:28 PM by Googolplex.)
10-02-2015, 09:27 PM
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Oscar House Offline
Senior Member

Posts: 302
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Joined: Nov 2010
Reputation: 9
#3
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

Didn't the proxies use the vents to move around? There's a broken vent in the Medical Lab it could escape through.

[Image: 2exldzm.png]
10-02-2015, 09:38 PM
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caffeine4671 Offline
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#4
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

Most enemies are teleported in games. The key difference here being that most of the teleportation is easily explainable story-wise. Not the case for A Machine for Pigs. Which was an unfinished and poorly written disappointment.
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 10:09 PM by caffeine4671.)
10-02-2015, 10:03 PM
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TiManGames Offline
Senior Member

Posts: 517
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Joined: May 2015
Reputation: 11
#5
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

1. There are more than one proxy.
2. The Proxy can move through vents.
3. If you so don't want the proxy teleport, then go to the level editor and delete the doors at the lab room :/

This forum is dead
10-02-2015, 10:09 PM
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Googolplex Offline
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Posts: 2,340
Threads: 246
Joined: Oct 2008
#6
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

(10-02-2015, 10:03 PM)caffeine4671 Wrote: Most enemies are teleported in games. The key difference here being that most of the teleportation is easily explainable story-wise. Not the case for A Machine for Pigs. Which was an unfinished and poorly written disappointment.

No! Story and atmosphere are superb in Machine for Pigs. How can you call it poorly and unfinished? Games with such high-quality design are very rare these days. Prof. Dr. Dan Pinchbeck is probably the best story writer and he absolutely knows how to make games right. OK the game could have more interactions, but the whole experience is something we should esteem. Not only playing and forget. Machine for Pigs has such a strong message that stays in mind. A shame when people don't understand it.
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 10:21 PM by Googolplex.)
10-02-2015, 10:17 PM
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Slanderous Offline
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Posts: 1,606
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#7
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

The regular case of "I got stuck and I hate your game" type o' player.
10-02-2015, 10:19 PM
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caffeine4671 Offline
Member

Posts: 66
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Joined: Sep 2015
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#8
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

(10-02-2015, 10:17 PM)Googolplex Wrote:
(10-02-2015, 10:03 PM)caffeine4671 Wrote: Most enemies are teleported in games. The key difference here being that most of the teleportation is easily explainable story-wise. Not the case for A Machine for Pigs. Which was an unfinished and poorly written disappointment.

No! Story and atmosphere are superb in Machine for Pigs. How can you call it poorly and unfinished? Games with such high-quality design are very rare these days. Prof. Dr. Dan Pinchbeck is probably the best story

He's the best writer for hipster-dialog, that's for sure. Don't know how to actually write characters that people are supposed to like? Just fill the game with random notes about jaguar men and call it 'deep'. If people don't like it, it's because they can't appreciate 'art', not because you fail at your job as a developer.

EDIT: I'm one of those that actually liked 'Dear Esther' because it was exactly what it set out to be. Even as a stand alone horror game, A Machine for Pigs isn't that great.
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 10:40 PM by caffeine4671.)
10-02-2015, 10:28 PM
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MsHannerBananer Offline
Member

Posts: 218
Threads: 34
Joined: Sep 2013
Reputation: 10
#9
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

(10-02-2015, 09:14 PM)soopytwist Wrote: If you're going to allow players to trap a monster in a room DON'T magically teleport said monster out of it again.

This is the most sloppiest of game designs I've ever seen, a cheat and ridiculously unfair.

I'm talking about Theta of course, the Proxy that stalks you while attempting to access the elevator after running the ARK simulation.

I spent an hour figuring out how to trap the Proxy and having finally managed to trap it in the Medical Lab next door to security I felt pretty awesome having won over the damn thing. Imagine then my bewilderment when running back to the elevator there's the Proxy standing right there; followed swiftly by insta-death.

I actually rage quit in disgust. I'm not even sure if I can be bothered to load up it up again.

Here's what should happen and I really would suggest this is patched:

1. You find the chip while sneaking around to avoid the Proxy. It should NOT magically teleport behind you after you just watched it run down a corridor away from you.

2. You find the security station and update the chip, you also quickly learn this computer can lock and unlock doors.

3. You throw a fire extinguisher into the Medical Lab and sneak back to security.

4. You wait for the Proxy to enter the Medical Lab and you lock the door...

5. ...Where the proxy REMAINS.

6. You can now relax safe in the knowledge that the Proxy is locked away leaving you free to explore the other rooms you avoided while being stalked. That is until...

7. ...Heading back to the elevator you hear a crash (the Proxy just busted out!), you've got mere seconds to attach the chip, close the panel, hit the switch and dive into the elevator before it comes charging.

Sound better?

Patch this in and I won't uninstall yet another unfinished disappointment in my Steam library.

This game is by far NOT an unfinished disappointment, but I agree that where the enemy's show up can be a little jarring and annoying.

Many of the enemies roaming Pathos-II are able to open doors, did you not notice that? If you hide in a room with the door closed, especially the room the Proxy in Theta broke out of (where the tape recorder is and the medical bed covered in blood and grossness), if you play the tape or make a lot of noise, he'll come and open the door, look around and leave.

There are three kinds of enemy's. Those that teleport (bloody Proxy inside the Curie gave me a heart attack every single time!), the enemys that can't do anything except be menacing (the first enemy you encounter) and enemies that can open doors (the Proxy in Theta, and the Proxy when you have to start up the servers and talk with Wan).

He didn't exactly teleport, but yes, it seems like he goes through a cycle and then despawns and respawns in the same place if he doesn't find you.

But he can open doors. I hid inside one of the rooms and he opened the door, wandered around, and then left. He doesn't just teleport.

(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 10:35 PM by MsHannerBananer.)
10-02-2015, 10:35 PM
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humanoid Offline
Junior Member

Posts: 26
Threads: 3
Joined: Sep 2015
Reputation: 0
#10
RE: Dear Frictional (some advice)

(10-02-2015, 10:35 PM)MsHannerBananer Wrote: But he can open doors. I hid inside one of the rooms and he opened the door, wandered around, and then left. He doesn't just teleport.

OP was talking about the fact that you could lock (not just close) certain rooms in this particular area and with a bit of effort, trap the monster inside.

I actually did the exact same thing the first time I played through (didn't take an hour to do that though) and yes I was also somewhat disappointed to find out that he wouldn't stay in there forever (he did for a few minutes though).

However I did notice beforehand the vents in the area (including this particular room) and the fact that there was something crawling around in the vents 1) before the monster of that area first appears and 2) when it was "unleashed" but not near you, so yeah I went with that explanation.

And even if there weren't hints/"excuses" like that I wouldn't get butthurt over it and call it an "unfinished disappointment", in fact this is a more polished game than quite a lot of "AAA" games out there.

But suit yourself, its your loss of an otherwise outstanding game/story experience (just like that other person that posted here who wouldn't accept the choices presented to him, I guess some people are really that nitpicky).
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2015, 11:12 PM by humanoid.)
10-02-2015, 11:09 PM
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