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[Patryn]

I would have gotten that achievement but

Spoiler

you have to select Sie as your final handler. If you select anyone else, you won't get the romance scene.

Personally, I picked Steven Heck. I love god ol' Steve.

 

[Labadal]

I would have gotten that achievement but

Spoiler

you have to select Sie as your final handler. If you select anyone else, you won't get the romance scene.

Personally, I picked Steven Heck. I love god ol' Steve.

Ah, true.

Spoiler

I picked her as my handler in the last mission. Since that is where the option to plough her appears.

Spoiler

I had Heck as my handler on my first playthrough.

 

[KnightAttack]

Ah, true.

Spoiler

I picked her as my handler in the last mission. Since that is where the option to plough her appears.

Spoiler

I had Heck as my handler on my first playthrough.

Spoiler

This is true, but it's more like, she plows you! Best Achievement/Trophy name ever!

 

[Labadal]

Spoiler

This is true, but it's more like, she plows you! Best Achievement/Trophy name ever!

I know, but I don't want to spoil it for Snuggler.

 

[Snuggles]

two questions:

Are there any interactions with

Spoiler

Sis beyond the end of the Yacht mission? I spared her in one playthrough, and executed in another, but that was the extent of it. She seems like she could have been a really cool character, maybe they didn't have the time/resources to flesh her out.

Are there any good post-mortems on this game? I'd love to know more about it's development.

 

[unrenowned]

WHat kind of sales numbers did AP get? Crashed and burned from the start or fell off the charts after a week or so?

 

[Labadal]

two questions:

Are there any interactions with

Spoiler

Sis beyond the end of the Yacht mission? I spared her in one playthrough, and executed in another, but that was the extent of it. She seems like she could have been a really cool character, maybe they didn't have the time/resources to flesh her out.

Are there any good post-mortems on this game? I'd love to know more about it's development.

I don't remember her having a big role after that.

Will post a post-mortem later (if I can still find it). I'm posting from my phone atm.

Unrenowned: I have seen the number 700k thrown around a couple of times. I'm more interested to know how it has done to this date, with all the times it has been on sale.

 

[Guesong]

two questions:

Are there any interactions with

Spoiler

Sis beyond the end of the Yacht mission? I spared her in one playthrough, and executed in another, but that was the extent of it. She seems like she could have been a really cool character, maybe they didn't have the time/resources to flesh her out.

She's mostly a catalyst to your interactions with Albatross, I think.

She also appears in the last mission, providing that you chose Albatross as your handler, but nothing major.

 

[daviyoung]

She also appears in the last mission, providing that you chose Albatross as your handler, but nothing major.

Yeh, she saved my ass in the last mission. But she's a mute character, in a game full of dialogue. I don't see how she could be anything more than just a squadmate.

 

[The Last Wizard]

Played this on launch and loved it, I wish there were more spy action-rpgs

 

[Metroidvania]

Yeh, she saved my ass in the last mission. But she's a mute character, in a game full of dialogue. I don't see how she could be anything more than just a squadmate.

I could swear I remember an interview with someone on the team stating that at one point, she was supposed to be more fleshed out, but it was one of the things they couldn't finalize before all the shit hit the fan between them and Sega, hence her having that one +2 option in a convo.

Could be wrong, tho.

In any case, yay for double dipping.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Just reached Saudi Arabia for my first assignment. Was there a tutorial of sorts I was supposed to take? Because all I did was talk to Westridge.

Now I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information to take into consideration and the fact I seemingly can't take two steps in any direction without someone spotting me.

 

[hemtae]

Just reached Saudi Arabia for my first assignment. Was there a tutorial of sorts I was supposed to take? Because all I did was talk to Westridge.

Now I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information to take into consideration and the fact I seemingly can't take two steps in any direction without someone spotting me.

There were three optional training courses. One with Darcy (you'll work with him in a Saudi Arabia mission) over various gadgets. One with Mina (The person you first spoke too in the game) over the various guns. And one with Parker who can give you some information about Alpha Protocol.

I'm pretty sure Westridge gets mad at you if you don't do any of those and you lose a reputation point

 

[Patryn]

Just reached Saudi Arabia for my first assignment. Was there a tutorial of sorts I was supposed to take? Because all I did was talk to Westridge.

Now I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information to take into consideration and the fact I seemingly can't take two steps in any direction without someone spotting me.

Make sure you crouch. Be aware that if you're wearing the default armor, you are going to be noisy as hell, so move slowly. Be aware of where guards are.

But I'd really advise that you restart and take the three training courses AND the optional extra missions. They can give useful perks and exp for later on.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Welp. Fortunately I was mostly dicking around, so nothing lost. I'll start all over then. I don't want to fumble around in the dark because of not keeping important shit in mind. Thanks, guys.

 

[Patryn]

Welp. Fortunately I was mostly dicking around, so nothing lost. I'll start all over then. I don't want to fumble around in the dark because of not keeping important shit in mind. Thanks, guys.

Make sure you keep retaking the courses until you get a score of at least 100 on each of them. That'll trigger an extra mission from each of them that can give more exp and perks.

 

[bengraven]

Can't not buy it for $2.

 

[Labadal]

Did not find that post-mortem I was talking about, but this is close enough:

Chris Avellone interview from 2010 (page 2/2).

SEGA West president Mike Hayes on Alpha protocol back in 2010.

"Let's speak very commercially; the game hasn't sold what we've expected, therefore we won't be doing a sequel," said Hayes.

"The concept was brilliant, though," he added. "You know this whole thing with Metacritic where you have to be in the high 70s to mid-80s minimum [to have any success] - well, with RPGs you have got to be in the late 80s."

"Whilst we had a good game, I don't think we had a game that had enough to get us to that upper echelon and I think that was the issue."

"Again, the amount you need to invest to get there is so large because RPGs are naturally big projects. We've decided we won't do a sequel."

Very interesting Chris Avellone interview focusing on Alpha Protocol.

Another interesting interview with Chris Avellone.

Mostly old interviews, but when you read them all, they become very interesting.

 

[Snuggles]

Thanks Labadal, some good reading there.

You gotta love Alpha Protocol's handling of character interaction and choice and consequence. It's completely free of the binary morality crap that plagues so many modern RPG's and choice-driven games. I love that there is no pop up box after crucial decisions to gauge how mean or nice my choice was. Choice is a meaningful part of the game, not just a bulletpoint on the back of the box.

From the man himself:

CFA: The Dialogue Stance System (and the forward momentum) belongs to AP’s original creative lead, Brian Mitsoda (who’s now heading up Dead State at DoubleBear). The system is designed with “no takebacks,” which makes it feel more like a normal conversation, and in many respects, makes the choices more meaningful and less game-y. It also works especially well in the context of an espionage role-playing game, as it helps to add to the tension when you know that every second you need to be on your toes to see what choices are coming up.

We did want to avoid the morality scale in Alpha Protocol. Having an internal good/bad karma scale didn’t feel right – however, the idea that other people and factions would judge you on your behavior and having each one of them have a perception of you (good or bad) and judge you that way made a lot of sense – in the game, you may be the only one who knows why you do the things you do, and while what you did may have been for the best of reasons, in the eyes of others, they may only see the evil that results and categorize you accordingly. It felt more natural to us rather than an internal barometer.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Not sure if you realise Snuggles but the Brian Mitsoda he's talking about was also the lead on Bloodlines.

 

[zkylon]

I thought Obsidian said they do hold the rights to the ip.

Pretty sure they don't.

The changes were made because SEGA wanted them. There are several interviews out there that indicate that Obsidian had to redo a lot of things because SEGA were thinking it needed to be more actiony and less rpg. So the gameplay had to be changed somewhat.

Thornton in the final game is very different from how he was intended to be. They had already done the voice acting for "old" Thornton when they had to redo him.

Then the game was delayed for 6 months, and during this time, Obsidian were not allowed to actually work on improvements.

I'm not saying it's all SEGA's fault, but I'm also saying it's not entirely Obsidian's fault. It seems to me these companies did not share the same vision for the game.

Very interesting. Your conclusion's most likely right. Just a case of bad developer-publisher combination.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

The dev cycle was a mess in general. I still remember those leaked notes from a meeting between Sony and Sega, and the Alpha Protocol comment was "felt barely rpg. mass effect felt more rpg."

wat

 

[Yopis]

Just started another run through this and am having a better time with it to be honest. Really think they were on the verge of something special. Sucks obsidian only got one shot with this. Sequel would have been great I think.

 

[TheYanger]

Just started another run through this and am having a better time with it to be honest. Really think they were on the verge of something special. Sucks obsidian only got one shot with this. Sequel would have been great I think.

Feel the same way, how did this game get so much hate, jfc. I played for like 7 hours straight this morning to finish it, and immediately started again with veteran wanting to try different things. This is probably my favorite game since ME2 (And with some more polish I think could be better).

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Make sure you keep retaking the courses until you get a score of at least 100 on each of them. That'll trigger an extra mission from each of them that can give more exp and perks.

So I aced both the weapons and gadgets tutorials, got offered the extra mission and did alright in both. However, the stealth instructor won't offer me an extra mission, even though I just nailed his test with a score of 123. What gives?

Also, that lockpicking minigame is bullshit. When all three picks have the sweet spot towards the middle, it's all gravy, but if I find one fucking pick like the one in the far left:

<--not my pic, I'm playing with controller
I can't push the trigger with enough finesse to hit the right spot, no matter what I try. Fuck lockpicking!

 

[angular graphics]

Pretty sure they don't.

The Lead Designer on Rome, thinks otherwise: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3308998&userid=19836

It was really douchey of sega to announce that there wouldn't be a sequel to AP since the rights don't belong to them.

EDIT: First and last neg I'm gonna drop on the publisher. Still unprofessional but I'm comfortable with this one considering how unprofessional that press release was of them.

Obsidian owns the rights? So there COULD be a sequel?

Yes, yes. Sega has made is clear they wouldn't be the publisher though by publicly crapping in their hands and throwing it at Obs.

 

[Shanlei91]

I don't normally feel emotionally invested towards games and how others perceive them, but I am ticked off at how poorly rated this game is. I have had so much fun with this game. Finished it this morning and felt like replaying it - didn't due to my ridiculous backlog.

Then went to play Darksiders. Got bored after 20 mins of pressing the square button.

Then went to play Fallout New Vegas. Got bored for several reasons.

And it hit me, all of these games scored higher than Alpha. And these aren't games I didn't just like less than Alpha, I plain out refuse to play them. I am certain now that either I have a screw loose or people weren't appreciating Alpha Protocol.

 

[jackdoe]

Then went to play Darksiders. Got bored after 20 mins of pressing the square button.

Then went to play Fallout New Vegas. Got bored for several reasons.

And it hit me, all of these games scored higher than Alpha. And these aren't games I didn't just like less than Alpha, I plain out refuse to play them. I am certain now that either I have a screw loose or people weren't appreciating Alpha Protocol.

Darksiders is more polished and contains few if any game breaking bugs (never mind it's in a complete different genre which may not appeal to your tastes). And Fallout New Vegas is from Obsidian themselves so that's a poor example IMO. You have to be able to overlook the terrible combat, terrible AI, and game breaking bugs to be able to enjoy the game (I'm assuming those reviewers couldn't, or they could and gave a fair score of 7). A sequel should iron all of it out and net a better score.

 

[The Stealth Fox]

Playing this game like you're an action hero is awesome. Busting through doors with your mighty foot, shooting up bad dudes.... it's awesome.

As an RPG, it's definitely better than Mass Effect. The shooting mechanics are passable, the stealth needs to be ironed out (too much trial and error), but since stealth is so rare these days it's passable. There's AI glitchiness and whatnot and the game feels rushed, but overall, this game man, this game....

 

[Kinyou]

Came in here wondering if the game is worth 10 bucks, looks like it is

 

[Kuran]

Kind of disappointed after sampling it for about half an hour. The first gun I picked up was stuck on my left hand for a while, so it looked all wrong. Always frustrating to get obvious bugs so long after a game's release.

My biggest disappointment is how I can't seem to pick up a guard's gun.. what, really? I thought this was a role playing game.. do you get more 'options' after the first level? Where is my inventory?

Shooting felt pretty good. Although I feel 'trapped' in game design where I can't seem to interact fully with the elements in the environment. (such as picking up a gun that is laying right in front of me) That even ticked me off in Deus Ex. Bad game design imo.

Will play a bit more when I get time, I do hope it picks up.

PS. Hacking with mouse/keyboard is IMPOSSIBLE. And I must be stupid, but it will take me forever to get a successful hack I'm afraid.. haha.

When you have to select something using the mouse, for some reason the invisible 'cursor' holding your password is off, and every time you need to select something at the left edge of the screen, Windows decides to go back to desktop.

 

[Grayman]

Kind of disappointed after sampling it for about half an hour. The first gun I picked up was stuck on my left hand for a while, so it looked all wrong. Always frustrating to get obvious bugs so long after a game's release. Fuck you Obsidian.

My biggest disappointment is how I can't seem to pick up a guard's gun.. what, really? I thought this was a role playing game.. do you get more 'options' after the first level? Where is my inventory?

Shooting felt pretty good. Although I feel 'trapped' in game design where I can't seem to interact fully with the elements in the environment. (such as picking up a gun that is laying right in front of me) That even ticked me off in Deus Ex. Bad game design imo.

Will play a bit more when I get time, I do hope it picks up.

you never do get to pick up guns or interact with bodies no. You do have the weapon cupboard in your safehouse to control your inventory and can pick up some items(weapon mods, use slot stuff, ammo) in missions but guns are always through the store or boss rewards. The game certainly has a narrow design that could lead to that trapped feeling, I found the conversation side of the game to improve as it left saudi arabia and that was enough to make up for the other aspects to me.

 

[Kuran]

you never do get to pick up guns or interact with bodies no. You do have the weapon cupboard in your safehouse to control your inventory and can pick up some items(weapon mods, use slot stuff, ammo) in missions but guns are always through the store or boss rewards. The game certainly has a narrow design that could lead to that trapped feeling, I found the conversation side of the game to improve as it left saudi arabia and that was enough to make up for the other aspects to me.

Thanks for the explanation, definitely will still try to play a few missions more.

 

[zkylon]

The Lead Designer on Rome, thinks otherwise: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3308998&userid=19836

Oh man, this is great news. It still sounds like it'd be hell to pitch AP to new publishers, but at least there's hope.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

Came in here wondering if the game is worth 10 bucks, looks like it is

10 bucks? It's $2 on Steam!

 

[Tylahedras]

AP2 shouldn't be a hard pitch, the idea for the game is very solid, it's the execution that needed work.

 

[arglebargle]

Came in here wondering if the game is worth 10 bucks, looks like it is

we will certainly tell you it, but be prepared to deal with some "issues". id read a standard review and then check out some of our enthusiasm and decide whether you prefer sterile but technically proficient games, or games with good characters and systems where the execution may not have been perfect.

 

[Tallshortman]

Ugh what frustrates me the most is that it's obvious that Obsidian genius is right there in the game but some dumb mechanics really keep it from shining. Also, stealth is not done all that well. Same thing with New Vegas, I thought it was superior to Fallout 3 but had way too many bugs.

 

[The Stealth Fox]

AP2 shouldn't be a hard pitch, the idea for the game is very solid, it's the execution that needed work.

The actual RPG elements are superb. It's the basic things like AI and bugs that need work. The level design is actually pretty solid, almost like a mini deus ex.

 

[Gvaz]

So I aced both the weapons and gadgets tutorials, got offered the extra mission and did alright in both. However, the stealth instructor won't offer me an extra mission, even though I just nailed his test with a score of 123. What gives?

Also, that lockpicking minigame is bullshit. When all three picks have the sweet spot towards the middle, it's all gravy, but if I find one fucking pick like the one in the far left:

<--not my pic, I'm playing with controller
I can't push the trigger with enough finesse to hit the right spot, no matter what I try. Fuck lockpicking!

With the mouse and keyboard that is my favorite minigame. The hacking one can go fuck itself though.

 

[aasoncott]

I'm playing with controller
I can't push the trigger with enough finesse to hit the right spot, no matter what I try. Fuck lockpicking!

What controller are you using? I was using a DualShock and had the exact same problem. Plugged in a 360 controller instead and had no trouble. It was really, really obviously made to be played with a 360 controller and 360 controller alone.

 

[Red Blaster]

What controller are you using? I was using a DualShock and had the exact same problem. Plugged in a 360 controller instead and had no trouble. It was really, really obviously made to be played with a 360 controller and 360 controller alone.

Found a solution to this. If you're using Motionjoy, upgrade to the latest version (6.0004 or whatever) and then go to options and change the threshold of whatever buttons you've got set to for LT/RT to zero (default is at 64 which means a considerable deadzone).

 

[CornBurrito]

Decided to play Recruit on Normal for my first playthrough. So far all my points are in pistols/stealth. I pick people off from a distance, or get in close and incapacitate them.

Such an awesome game so far. Can't wait to finish it so I can start my Veteran playthrough and just fuck shit up early on.

 

[OatmealMu]

Also, that lockpicking minigame is bullshit. When all three picks have the sweet spot towards the middle, it's all gravy, but if I find one fucking pick like the one in the far left:

<--not my pic, I'm playing with controller
I can't push the trigger with enough finesse to hit the right spot, no matter what I try. Fuck lockpicking!

I had this problem, too. I played through the game with a DS3 (with trigger add-ons) emulating a 360 pad. I had tons of trouble at first but eventually figured out the timing. In retrospect, I'm sure there's a way to tweak the trigger sensitivity, since I figured out how to adjust the left sticks' deadzone.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

What controller are you using? I was using a DualShock and had the exact same problem. Plugged in a 360 controller instead and had no trouble. It was really, really obviously made to be played with a 360 controller and 360 controller alone.

Yeah, DS3 via MotionInJoy drivers. It's just frustrating. I had a hard-ass time trying to ace the stealth tutorial.

Found a solution to this. If you're using Motionjoy, upgrade to the latest version (6.0004 or whatever) and then go to options and change the threshold of whatever buttons you've got set to for LT/RT to zero (default is at 64 which means a considerable deadzone).

You, sir, are a fucking BOSS. Lol. Thanks, I'll try it out tonight for sure.

 

[Valygar]

This game is awesome. Might be the first "RPG" in years I replay without waiting a lot of years. Lots of different options to complete the missions (except the final one, maybe), and the best conversation system I've ever seen.

And the repercussions of your actions actually having some effect is amazing. I'm comparing this game with Deus Ex:HR, and even if it's not as polished, it still has some areas where it is better.

I mean, i.e, you can do the 3 main missions in the order you want to. BUT they are not isolated, people from one place offer help in another if you've helped them and so on... I found that very rewarding and very well done.

The gameplay itself was nice as well, though the IA is a bit stupid. That and some turrets you can't really avoid without EMP's or hacking from a distance are my main concerns, but still, it's a beautiful game.

Note for future players: Invest on some weapon skill early on, at least so you get to chain shot advanced. You will need it for some bosses. I didn't have this on Taiwan, and it was very difficult (until I remembered I had 2 incendiary grenades, and used them as mines).

My story ended up a bit weird:

Spoiler

I had only slept with Scarlet, but I didn't know her secret. Mina offered to sleep with me, but I decided not to as I found her a bit ugly, and just a friend. At the end, I chose to speak with Alan Parker, and I think didn't uncovered the secret identity of Scarlet. Still, I chose to save Mina (since it was partly my fault she was captured), never heard again from Scarlet, killed Leland even while I was a pacifist most of the time (that guy deseved it), and escaped the Island with Mina as friends.. or more, not sure.

I'm so going to replay this as Crazy Mike with Heck as main handler and SIE as romance interest. I can't even wait.

About the conversation system, the only thing I found weird was that being friends with someone wasn't bad for other relationship. There were some antagonists, and you could achieve friendship/trust with both of them without problem. Usually people prejudge you if you are friends with someone they know, but this largely didn't happened here, they only judged your actions (maybe they are better than real people).

 

[jackdoe]

Just beat the game. It is definitely a fun, but mechanically flawed game whose flaws come right into the open during some extremely frustrating moments in the final mission. However, there is definite potential and a sequel will probably be awesome (but buggy).

Also, Mike Thorton VA has to go. He makes male Shep seem like a downright charismatic character in comparison.

 

[CrocMother]

So I just bought this game for $2 off steam...can't wait to try it out

 

[Tacitus_]

So I just bought this game for $2 off steam...can't wait to try it out

It's pretty nice if you can overlook the faults... I just started my psycho run. I'm going to answer everything with aggressive or cocky, etc and always choose to go for the bodycount. So far running up to people and blasting them to the face with a shotty is surprisingly fun
Getting close enough will oneshot them and then just gotta duck for a while and do it again.

 

[ArjanN]

Also, Mike Thorton VA has to go. He makes male Shep seem like a downright charismatic character in comparison.

Nah, Mike is kind of a douche no matter if you play him like a professional or a psychopath, but at least I felt he was intentionally written that way, unlike Shepard, who is just kind of bland.