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[jacksepticeye]

Just played about an hour and I really like it. The gameplay is lacking to say the least but I think it's working wonders for the story and pacing, it keeps the whole gaming moving constantly and I never feel too lost or stuck for too long. TDD was a bit too much in the opposite direction with too much running around

The sound design is exceptional, it's more like AAA sound design instead of the DIY approach TDD had. Every little creak and groan as well as children laughing and pig squeeling in the environment is awesome. Jessica Curry's soundtrack is amazing too, right at the main menu those really loud heavy strings are gorgeous to listen to

Scares wise nothing too freaky yet. I have noticed stuff being there and then when I return it's gone and I LOVE that stuff. It's really subtle and can be totally missed.

2 points that freaked me out that weren't jumpscarey are

Spoiler

when you see something lying on the bed in the cage and I said "that looks like a person" then when I returned it was gone. The other time is underground I opened up the barred door and something big and black ran across the roof with a pig squeel.

I think I kow what the story is about too and I came up with a theory like 5 mins in and I really think I could be right but I'm gonna play more to see. I hope I'm wrong though cos to figure it all out so early would be disappointing lol

What I think is happening is (not actual spoilers just my speculation so read at your own peril)

Spoiler

the machine is used to kill people who are diseased to avoid a plague or something. That or the machine is turning people into food. After his wife's death he went crazy and schizophrenic killing his children (most likely in said machine) and the children he sees are visions. The guy on the phone is actually him and it's his former memories being played back to him similar to Daniel's notes from TDD. So the guy we play as now has Amnesia and doesn't remember doing all that stuff before. The pig mask constantly following me hints that I could be the pig trundling around killing people and what you see in the game are just visions or memories or something

it might ot all add up but I think some parts of it could be true

 

[Turin Turambar]

That is a poor description. You are getting a game that is very similar to the first Amnesia sans inventory and resource management, with enemy encounters that are not nearly as well implemented, but with a much improved story.

Cool avatar, appropriate for the thread.

 

[jacksepticeye]

Played half an hour, then I stopped when

Spoiler

one of those fuse-thingies in the 3rd level clipped into a door, and disappeared.

Ugh. I'll get back to it after lunch, I guess. (Just a day off, not skipping classes for this)

But

Spoiler

there's loads of the fuses around, not just 1

 

[dmr87]

Still no multichannel audio. The sound is great but it does not work in surround mode just like the first. :-/

Tried this?

Performance seems a bit janky overall and SLI doesn't seem to work at all. Oh well, will probably improve with new drivers and patches.

 

[Dascu]

I just had the scariest damn moment in ages, beats original Amnesia.

Several hours in:

Spoiler

In the bilge, with all the sewage underneath. The walkway collapsed and you fall into the muck together with some (water) monsters. Short run to the ladder but I think my heart stopped until I reached it.

 

[epmode]

It's weird that in-game vsync isn't working, and neither is D3DOverrider. I guess I could use the Nvidia control panel but I like to have the option of triple buffering if necessary.

 

[Bluemercury]

no inventory is a bit of a downer, but that's chinese room for you. I actualy wasted money on dear esther, that is not a game....

 

[dmr87]

It's weird that in-game vsync isn't working, and neither is D3DOverrider. I guess I could use the Nvidia control panel but I like to have the option of triple buffering if necessary.

Game is running OpenGL according to Afterburner so I guess that's the problem.

----

Can't run this in 1440p with one 670 and vsync on, FPS is all over the place. 1080p seems to be no problem.

 

[jacksepticeye]

Tried this?

.

Thanks for this.I was noticing some weird sound shifting before

 

[Shoyz]

Done! Total play time was a short 3 hours 56 minutes in total..
Spoilerish gameplay wrap-up:

Spoiler

No challenging puzzles (or puzzles at all really), enemies were sparse and nonthreatening, story's nowhere near as enthralling as Amnesia, and removing tinderboxes and oil took away half of Amnesia's gameplay and horror.

I'd say wait for it to hit $10.

I just had the scariest damn moment in ages, beats original Amnesia.

Several hours in:

Spoiler

In the bilge, with all the sewage underneath. The walkway collapsed and you fall into the muck together with some (water) monsters. Short run to the ladder but I think my heart stopped until I reached it.

Spoiler

I could have sat still for 5 seconds and the monster still wouldn't have reached me. I ran to the ladder and I don't think it even reached my original fall location. Bug or simply non-scare for me? No idea.

 

[jacksepticeye]

A fix to remove the blue tint or blue foggy look according to a user on Steam. Haven't tried it myself though

Hey Guys,
After spending a few hours tinkering with the game files, I found a place to disable the annoying blue fog.

You'll need to navigate to the location where your save games are stored. Usually this is
My Documents/Amnesia/PIG/<profilename>
where profilename is the name you gave your profile in game.

Open your latest save with with a text editer like notepad, and find the following value:

name="mbFogActive" val="true"

change this to:

name="mbFogActive" val="false"

This should disable the fog when you reload the game. Im not 100 percent sure what affect this will have later on in the game (I'm only just in the cellar) it may also not last across level loads.

The save file holds a heap of stuff, so the standard rule of "Back-up before changing anything" should apply here.

Hope this helps some people!

luv

UPDATE:
Seems to have increased performance for me. The stuttering that I would get when running around seems to have gone.
Also confirmed to last through level transitions.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/239200/discussions/0/864978110177598988/

 

[Dascu]

Finished it, with a playtime of around 4 hours.

I suppose I agree that gameplay's a bit toned down: There's no lighting up candles, less enemy encounters and the puzzles are more straightforward. But everything else is much improved. I liked the enemy designs better, the setting, the sound and story. The endgame in particular is much nicer than the original.

Controversial opinion: I want these guys to make the next Silent Hill. I mean, as far as Western developers are concerned, TheChineseRoom has the talent in crafting a horrifying and oppressive world, and merging that with a story. The SH franchise has always had this little art element, where you sometimes just want to stop and admire the grotesque scenery A Machine for Pigs is the first Western horror game in a long time that has managed to create that same feeling.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

The game is fantastic. Lingering terror just like the first game, but the story is more compelling to me for some reason. Just thinking about what could possibly be going on is terrifying.

 

[vladdamad]

Installing now. Stupidly excited for this, I love The Chinese Room and couldn't get into the first Amnesia because of the tedious (in my opinion) gameplay elements.The fact that the scares are subtle is getting me even more hyped, all of these Slender-rip-offs that have been out recently do a very poor job of frightening me with their jump scares. Deeply disturbing, unsettling horror - that's what I want. Let's do this.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

About a hour in and this is no where near as scary as the first game. Bit disappointing so far.

 

[epmode]

Game is running OpenGL according to Afterburner so I guess that's the problem.

I see! Then triple buffering will work in the Nvidia control panel! I'll just do it that way. Thanks very much.

 

[Nymphae]

Installing now. Stupidly excited for this, I love The Chinese Room and couldn't get into the first Amnesia because of the tedious (in my opinion) gameplay elements.The fact that the scares are subtle is getting me even more hyped, all of these Slender-rip-offs that have been out recently do a very poor job of frightening me with their jump scares. Deeply disturbing, unsettling horror - that's what I want. Let's do this.

Same here. I love horror games, and played about 20 minutes of Amnesia: DD before quitting. The sanity & light systems were far too tedious for my tastes, they didn't add to the atmosphere for me at all, just felt incredibly gamey.

I saw some some reviews complaining about the fact that these systems are gone, but for me that just means I will actually buy this at some point.

 

[Valravn]

Bought it. But im gonna start it before i finished Outlast.

 

[Tak3n]

Picked this up on GOG, and I am enjoying it, so far I like the clues, I am one of these people who does not really enjoy running around for an hour looking for that elusive clue, so I appreciate the way you are more "helped" to where you need to go... in the terms of clues

 

[TheExodu5]

Same here. I love horror games, and played about 20 minutes of Amnesia: DD before quitting. The sanity & light systems were far too tedious for my tastes, they didn't add to the atmosphere for me at all, just felt incredibly gamey.

That's how I feel as well.

Black Plague removed the tedious elements from Overture and was better for it. I'm hoping for a similar evolution here.

 

[Shoyz]

Same here. I love horror games, and played about 20 minutes of Amnesia: DD before quitting. The sanity & light systems were far too tedious for my tastes, they didn't add to the atmosphere for me at all, just felt incredibly gamey.

Do you stop watching movies if you don't like the first 5 minutes of it?

 

[Tenck]

Screen tearing is so awful in this game. Now I wish I didn't spend my money on this.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I played about half an hour of the first Penumbra game before writing it off as Amnesia 0.1. Is there anything there worth going back and exploring?

 

[jacksepticeye]

Controversial opinion: I want these guys to make the next Silent Hill. I mean, as far as Western developers are concerned, TheChineseRoom has the talent in crafting a horrifying and oppressive world, and merging that with a story. The SH franchise has always had this little art element, where you sometimes just want to stop and admire the grotesque scenery A Machine for Pigs is the first Western horror game in a long time that has managed to create that same feeling.

I'm with you dude, some people said red Barrels should do it after Outlast but that's not subtle enough, great game but a bit ham fisted with its horror. Thechineseroom are really good at building atmosphere and keeping a story trickling along and having a few good scares peppered throughout. The sound design in AMFP is incredible. The game gets a bit too loud at times but it's forgivable

About a hour in and this is no where near as scary as the first game. Bit disappointing so far.

The first hour of TDD isn't scary in slightest either though. It took a really long time for a proper tense scare or chase to happen where the first few hours was wind blowing and doors opening

I played about half an hour of the first Penumbra game before writing it off as Amnesia 0.1. Is there anything there worth going back and exploring?

So you played Amnesia before the Penumbra games? I'd say definitely go back to them. They're better than Amnesia in a lot of ways, also worse in some others

 

[TeoLolstoi]

I finished the game yesterday night, since I had a review-code. I found the game to be absolutely amazing and I guess until now it's high up on my GOTY list. I don't think it's necessary to compare the game to its predecessor (since it's not actually a realy successor but more of a side-note), especially in terms of horror. I think they've stretched the meaning of "horror" quite a bit. About half in the game the scares and terror disappear but then they offer space for that overwhelming and thick sense of dread and misery. To me that was much more effective than cheap jump scares of gore (*cough* Outlast *cough*). Also I loved the writing and the music. Pinchbeck and Curry are a real dream team and I hope to see more of them. The ending was absolutely mesmerizing and quite literary.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I -- I was in a constant state of unease for the first few hours of Amnesia 1.

 

[jacksepticeye]

I finished the game yesterday night, since I had a review-code. I found the game to be absolutely amazing and I guess until now it's high up on my GOTY list. I don't think it's necessary to compare the game to its predecessor (since it's not actually a realy successor but more of a side-note), especially in terms of horror. I think they've stretched the meaning of "horror" quite a bit. About half in the game the scares and terror disappear but then they offer space for that overwhelming and thick sense of dread and misery. To me that was much more effective than cheap jump scares of gore (*cough* Outlast *cough*). Also I loved the writing and the music. Pinchbeck and Curry are a real dream team and I hope to see more of them. The ending was absolutely mesmerizing and quite literary.

I can't say much overall as I'm only like an hour in but yeah Pinchbeck and Curry really go well together. Her music really brings his dialogue to life. I love the miserable sound to AMFP and the really heavy strings

 

[fantomena]

Im dissapointed. This is not scary at all.

 

[Dascu]

I played about half an hour of the first Penumbra game before writing it off as Amnesia 0.1. Is there anything there worth going back and exploring?

Penumbra: Black Plague is pretty good and still worth playing.

 

[Hofmann]

Controversial opinion: I want these guys to make the next Silent Hill. I mean, as far as Western developers are concerned, TheChineseRoom has the talent in crafting a horrifying and oppressive world, and merging that with a story. The SH franchise has always had this little art element, where you sometimes just want to stop and admire the grotesque scenery A Machine for Pigs is the first Western horror game in a long time that has managed to create that same feeling.

I've heard some raving impressions of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from the people whose opinion I really trust. I need to find the game somewhere and finally see it for myself.

 

[Nymphae]

Do you stop watching movies if you don't like the first 5 minutes of it?

If it's consistently annoying for those 5 minutes, maybe. It simply wasn't fun to juggle those systems for me, I'm not obliged to continue playing when I'm not having fun with what they present.

 

[Dascu]

I've heard some raving impressions of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from the people whose opinion I really trust. I need to find the game somewhere and finally see it for myself.

You should. It does a lot of things right.

 

[Thrakier]

Same here. I love horror games, and played about 20 minutes of Amnesia: DD before quitting. The sanity & light systems were far too tedious for my tastes, they didn't add to the atmosphere for me at all, just felt incredibly gamey.

I saw some some reviews complaining about the fact that these systems are gone, but for me that just means I will actually buy this at some point.

Can't wrap my head around that. I don't think that you "love" horror games. How can it get tedious after just 20 minutes anway!?? That's hilarious.

And If "gamey" means that you interact with your enviroment in a meaningful way which also needs skills and is more than just watching an interactive movie...that's a good thing, you know. It's videogames. Not interactive movies.

 

[Tenck]

Need a little help here.

Spoiler

Just saw that pig run down the hall as I was headed towards my room. I've also pulled the lever in the bathroom to find that secret room. Also turned the valve. Not sure what else to do. I've gone through the whole house already

 

[TeoLolstoi]

Can't wrap my head around that. I don't think that you "love" horror games. How can it get tedious after just 20 minutes anway!?? That's hilarious.

No, I can absolutely understand that sentiment. To me it just seemed illogical and keeping track of my oil-use was tedious because it was meta-gaming in the worst sense of the word. It was a mechanic to enforce horror. I think good horror can't force feelings (and fear and terror are emotions) through mechanics. That's why I really appreciated that those elements were gone and I could focus on my own mind terrifying me.

 

[Nymphae]

Can't wrap my head around that. I don't think that you "love" horror games. How can it get tedious after just 20 minutes anway!?? That's hilarious.

And If "gamey" means that you interact with your enviroment in a meaningful way which also needs skills and is more than just watching an interactive movie...that's a good thing, you know. It's videogames. Not interactive movies.

It's gamey dude. There's probably a reason it was taken out of the game, a lot of people probably didn't find it fun, or additive to the experience. I can understand people that like to juggle those things and enjoy resource management. I don't. The things I like about horror games are the atmosphere, the art direction, the plot, the general sense of dread. I personally didn't feel it when I had to keep an eye on those systems. It took me out of the experience.

No, I can absolutely understand that sentiment. To me it just seemed illogical and keeping track of my oil-use was tedious because it was meta-gaming in the worst sense of the word. It was a mechanic to enforce horror. I think good horror can't force feelings (and fear and terror are emotions) through mechanics. That's why I really appreciated that those elements were gone and I could focus on my own mind terrifying me.

Bingo. And I don't feel like it worked.

 

[Shoyz]

Need a little help here.

Spoiler

Just saw that pig run down the hall as I was headed towards my room. I've also pulled the lever in the bathroom to find that secret room. Also turned the valve. Not sure what else to do. I've gone through the whole house already

Spoiler

Memory might be foggy, did turning that Valve and the one in the hidden trophy room rearrange the fences outside?

 

[Dascu]

It's gamey dude. There's probably a reason it was taken out of the game, a lot of people probably didn't find it fun, or additive to the experience. I can understand people that like to juggle those things and enjoy resource management. I don't. The things I like about horror games are the atmosphere, the art direction, the plot, the general sense of dread. I personally didn't feel it when I had to keep an eye on those systems. It took me out of the game.

No, I can absolutely understand that sentiment. To me it just seemed illogical and keeping track of my oil-use was tedious because it was meta-gaming in the worst sense of the word. It was a mechanic to enforce horror. I think good horror can't force feelings (and fear and terror are emotions) through mechanics. That's why I really appreciated that those elements were gone and I could focus on my own mind terrifying me.

For what it's worth, running out of oil, tinderboxes or sanity was never much of a risk in the original. They kind of present it as some sort of resource management early on, but once it actually starts getting dark and when enemies actually start appearing, you'll have found plenty of light sources already.

My advice is to just play the game and not worry about it. Don't have your lamp out when you can see and don't light every candle, and you'll be fine. That's why I don't mind the removal of those subsystems in AMFP. You could still perfectly play the original while ignoring them.

It's nowhere near the amount of resource management of health and ammo in a Silent Hill or Resident Evil, let alone something like The Void.

Need a little help here.

Spoiler

Just saw that pig run down the hall as I was headed towards my room. I've also pulled the lever in the bathroom to find that secret room. Also turned the valve. Not sure what else to do. I've gone through the whole house already

Hint:

Spoiler

Check your notes. The kids mention something about playing with the animals, no?

Solution:

Spoiler

You can move the glass cage where the bear is in. Afterwards, a fence is open in the exterior area.

 

[jacksepticeye]

It's gamey dude. There's probably a reason it was taken out of the game, a lot of people probably didn't find it fun, or additive to the experience. I can understand people that like to juggle those things and enjoy resource management. I don't. The things I like about horror games are the atmosphere, the art direction, the plot, the general sense of dread. I personally didn't feel it when I had to keep an eye on those systems. It took me out of the game.

Bingo. And I don't feel like it worked.

The Lantern was tedious to me too, so was the whole sanity system. It was cool at first but when you realise fuck all happens to you sitting in the darkness besides an annoying sound and screen effect it got old fast. I appreciate what they were trying to do with it but it didn't pay off for me

I think the main reason these things were removed was to more align with pinchbeck's style of writing. It demands a more fluid approach to keep the dialogue and notes rolling and keep the tone consistent. Getting bogged down in meta game tedium would be a disservice to it. The drawback is that it can also streamline the game TOO much for some people and makes it feel a ltitle more on rails. I personally don't mind that they're gone, I'm still having fun

 

[AndyBNV]

The start of the intro is very red, and then the game is very, very blue. That's a bug right? Some are claiming it's by design...

 

[Tenck]

Thanks guys. I was going to every door and trying to scan it all over with my mouse to see if I missed something.

Also, the second I start up the game now my heart is racing a bit. Thinking to myself "Please scare me now and get it over with."

This game is gonna give me a heart attack.

 

[toddhunter]

Just finished it.

I think it is worth noting that it took me just under three hours. I felt I was making pretty good progress through it, but I don't see how I could have taken a whole lot more time.

I have to say it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't bad, but I would largely describe my experience as negative.

(general comments, no real spoilers but playing it safe)

Spoiler

* It wasn't scary to me at all beyond the early "jump scares". Whenever I saw an enemy I was like "lets do this" but most of the time they just walked off. I ended up chasing them for fun to try to catch them before they vanished.
* When an enemy does stick around, there is no challenge in the game, at all. You quickly learn when this will happen, which kills a lot of the tension.
* I don't like how all the light/sanity/whatever mechanics were removed. There really isn't much to do but keep walking forward.
* The story/writing was very up and down and it was all very predictable. Somebody might pull me up and reveal lots of hidden deep meanings...but I don't really think so and I'm not really interested in any case (which is much worse).
* I don't mind the length, but I don't really think it was worth the price.
* On the positive side, I did like that it was pretty linear and items were easy to find. I'm not a big fan of the scavenger hunt of the original.
* The sound was amazing as you might expect.

 

[Thrakier]

It's gamey dude. There's probably a reason it was taken out of the game, a lot of people probably didn't find it fun, or additive to the experience. I can understand people that like to juggle those things and enjoy resource management. I don't. The things I like about horror games are the atmosphere, the art direction, the plot, the general sense of dread. I personally didn't feel it when I had to keep an eye on those systems. It took me out of the experience.



Bingo. And I don't feel like it worked.

It's not "gamey" because it's not artificial. It's rather realistic. When you have a lamp you need it to stay on, don't you. Although I don't know how long such a lamp burns in real life...

 

[dmr87]

The start of the intro is very red, and then the game is very, very blue. That's a bug right? Some are claiming it's by design...

You mean this?

And since you are our Nvidia man, SLI is broken right now, right? Any drivers on the way?

 

[TeoLolstoi]

Just finished it.

I think it is worth noting that it took me just under three hours. I felt I was making pretty good progress through it, but I don't see how I could have taken a whole lot more time.

I don't know, I've played about 3 or 4 hours and then another 4 hours for my Twitch stream. I don't know what I did differently.

Whenever I saw an enemy I was like "lets do this" but most of the time they just walked off. I ended up chasing them for fun to try to catch them before they vanished.

I mean, why would you do this? I think the point of the game is the suspension of disbelief and not the breaking of a game. You wouldn't stand behind a magician when he's doing tricks, would you?

It's not "gamey" because it's not artificial. It's rather realistic. When you have a lamp you need it to stay on, don't you. Although I don't know how long such a lamp burns in real life...

Actually an oil lamp doesn't run out after two minutes. It can burn more than just a few hours actually.

 

[Nymphae]

My advice is to just play the game and not worry about it. Don't have your lamp out when you can see and don't light every candle, and you'll be fine. That's why I don't mind the removal of those subsystems in AMFP. You could still perfectly play the original while ignoring them.

It's nowhere near the amount of resource management of health and ammo in a Silent Hill or Resident Evil, let alone something like The Void.

Maybe I'll give it a second chance, I liked the atmosphere and wanted to find out more about the plot, I just wasn't in the mood for the oil management at all when I tried it. Hearing that it takes more of a backseat later on makes me want to power through the early game now.

 

[jet1911]

It's not "gamey" because it's not artificial. It's rather realistic. When you have a lamp you need it to stay on, don't you. Although I don't know how long such a lamp burns in real life...

Very long.

 

[toddhunter]

I don't know, I've played about 3 or 4 hours and then another 4 hours for my Twitch stream. I don't know what I did differently.

I imagine just took your time about puzzles or reading.

I mean, why would you do this? I think the point of the game is the suspension of disbelief and not the breaking of a game. You wouldn't stand behind a magician when he's doing tricks, would you?

Other horror games do a good job of hiding issues or preventing you from seeing behind the curtain. It doesn't mean that others will not have an issue, but once you have to force yourself to suspend disbelief? Well the magic is broken anyway right?

Anyway, I think this will be a very divisive game when everything is said and done. I am glad I played it..just not so glad about the price.

 

[AndyBNV]

You mean this?

And since you are our Nvidia man, SLI is broken right now, right? Any drivers on the way?

That's it... This post has a fix, which I found on the next page of the link you provided, so thank you very much! http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-22824-post-257362.html#pid257362

We didn't receive a pre-release build so have had no opportunity to investigate SLI support. Submitting a request to our SLI team today, but can offer no ETA.

 

[jacksepticeye]

The start of the intro is very red, and then the game is very, very blue. That's a bug right? Some are claiming it's by design...

It's a design choice Frictional said (I know they didn't make it). I posted a link to a supposed fix above that someone posted on Steam. Don't know if it works though or actually removes that tint.