Party McHardy
Member
First person is a bit of a let down but I’m still hyped for this. Bring on the footage!
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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora details leaked
- Thread starter Draugoth
- Start date
CamHostage
Member
Was just going to say the same thing, but without the recommendation. I tries it very recently since Way of Water reminded me I owned a copy, but the framerate was miserable (PS3), the blocky world and character models felt PS2-level (though i did run it on a 3D TV, which was novel since no game offers that any more, ) and the missions were bog-standard. However, I only have it an hour, so if you try on PC and you play longer, maybe you'd have more fun than I did?
I also have the PSP game, but none of the portable Avatar game did anything special that I recall.
(BTW, i remember the developer talking about choices the player could make in the game, but ultimately that just came down to a good-ending/bad-ending path at the very end of the game, right?)
SirKicksalot
Member
Yeah you get a choice at the end even if you side with the humans.
You're holocausting Pandora for 4-5 hours then you can join the Na'vi lol
On PC it still looks pretty good and even the flying controls are decent. I had a GTX 480 in 2010 and it ran great in 3D. It's a simple shooter but it has all the cool weapons and shit. It's not canon anymore but who cares. Unleash your inner Quaritch!
onnextflix5
Member
Can’t wait too play a reskinned far cry game.
Humdinger
Member
Sounds interesting. The basic elements of the game appeal to me. I don't know much about the Avatar universe, but I like science fiction action-adventure/RPG games -- particularly ones that are set in an outdoor, natural setting with plenty of visual beauty (vs. largely indoors or grim-dark).
I thought it was scheduled for a 2023 release, but I see now they were referring to the fiscal year, which lasts until March 2024. And of course, it could be delayed.
I thought it was scheduled for a 2023 release, but I see now they were referring to the fiscal year, which lasts until March 2024. And of course, it could be delayed.
GoldenRetreating
Banned
The "Airbender" Avatar show is one of the most redditor related series of the 2000s
Filthy Casual
Member
First person and Ubisoft.
I have to say I'm skeptical, feel like this IP will turn out to be a wasted opportunity in Ubisoft's hands.
None of the details so far suggest anything unique.
I have to say I'm skeptical, feel like this IP will turn out to be a wasted opportunity in Ubisoft's hands.
None of the details so far suggest anything unique.
Lone Wolf
Member
Hogwarts Legacy?
Pedro Motta
Gold Member
A static one, yes.
CamHostage
Member
Hmm... This might be a jump-to-conclusions, but I caught this line in the product description:
"Open-world regions", that does not say to me a fully open, interconnected, free-roam, unlimitedly explorable world, am I wrong? Sounds more like chunks of open-world regions to load in and out of... for better or worse.
If the game uses more of a zone system, with set levels/missions and cinematic (pathed/linear) events but wide-open areas to explore and tactically plan your route, that makes more sense as far as how they can accomplish this level of fidelity and macro-to-micro design complexity in a single game. Sprawling fields to ride animals through, minutely detailed forests to stalk prey and race through as foes give chase, gigantic Banshee skyspaces to fly around and battle warships, all these incredible, specific Pandora experiences to discover. Not as a single, undivided open world, but in open regions sectioned off and designed specifically for that experience in that part of the world.
Possibly I'm just letting my own theory dictate my reading of the doc, but I've been wondering from the beginning how "open-world" Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" would be? Yes, this is/one of the first "true next-gen" games built from the ground up for the power of next-gen platforms, and yes, Massive are really great at making open lands with the Snowdrop engine, but still, having a truly open and unrestricted world with cinematic storytelling (especially at the level of graphical fidelity the trailer hints at) is tremendously difficult to pull off; it's the stuff of game designers' both dreams and nightmares.
So, since the announcement, I've been trying to notice anything that specifically contradicted my assumption of the game being level-based rather than seamless open-world when I read interviews or watch developer pages. As far as I know, the developers have not talked about time-of-day transition (they talk about NPC AI and the state of the world being aware of the time-of-day conditions, but not that ToD changes dynamically over a play session; same with weather, it's something the engine modifies behavior for, but ), or being able to jump on a Banshee at any point and fly anywhere. There's not that usual bulletpoint advertising an open-world game saying, "freely explore the world of Pandora as you have always dreamed!" Which, wouldn't that be line #1 on the description if the game did that? The company tagline is, "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings to life the alluring world of Pandora with all of its beauty and danger in an immersive, open world experience.", which still leaves doors open as far as how that experience will be delivered.
...And personally, that'd be the Avatar game I'd like to play, as "open-world" tends to have a lot of drawbacks I don't always enjoy unless it's done incredibly well. I know the dream is to have a massive island of Pandora to freely explore in the air and on land and in the sea, but that's almost impossibly difficult to design a cohesive and propulsive game around. (Horizon Forbidden West is just now adding full-scale flight to its play systems, and it still has logical limitations of how and maybe where it works; Zelda TotK has an open world and incredible systems for transitioning from surface to sky, but it still wisely avoids just giving you a bird which can fly anywhere.) Having giant levels which can be explored openly within the boundaries but that only lead into one another through story events (loading in/out via cutscenes) without making the game one sprawling open world more readily allows focused combat encounters, dynamic flight adventure/battles, and emotional, beautiful location/TOD events such as the nighttime glow in forest glens.
Or, not. But that's been my thoughts on how Avatar FoP would work even before this description leaked, and this text seems to fall in line with my hypothesis
"Open-world regions", that does not say to me a fully open, interconnected, free-roam, unlimitedly explorable world, am I wrong? Sounds more like chunks of open-world regions to load in and out of... for better or worse.
If the game uses more of a zone system, with set levels/missions and cinematic (pathed/linear) events but wide-open areas to explore and tactically plan your route, that makes more sense as far as how they can accomplish this level of fidelity and macro-to-micro design complexity in a single game. Sprawling fields to ride animals through, minutely detailed forests to stalk prey and race through as foes give chase, gigantic Banshee skyspaces to fly around and battle warships, all these incredible, specific Pandora experiences to discover. Not as a single, undivided open world, but in open regions sectioned off and designed specifically for that experience in that part of the world.
(Three different "levels" open to explore? Or one gigantic open world?)
Possibly I'm just letting my own theory dictate my reading of the doc, but I've been wondering from the beginning how "open-world" Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" would be? Yes, this is/one of the first "true next-gen" games built from the ground up for the power of next-gen platforms, and yes, Massive are really great at making open lands with the Snowdrop engine, but still, having a truly open and unrestricted world with cinematic storytelling (especially at the level of graphical fidelity the trailer hints at) is tremendously difficult to pull off; it's the stuff of game designers' both dreams and nightmares.
So, since the announcement, I've been trying to notice anything that specifically contradicted my assumption of the game being level-based rather than seamless open-world when I read interviews or watch developer pages. As far as I know, the developers have not talked about time-of-day transition (they talk about NPC AI and the state of the world being aware of the time-of-day conditions, but not that ToD changes dynamically over a play session; same with weather, it's something the engine modifies behavior for, but ), or being able to jump on a Banshee at any point and fly anywhere. There's not that usual bulletpoint advertising an open-world game saying, "freely explore the world of Pandora as you have always dreamed!" Which, wouldn't that be line #1 on the description if the game did that? The company tagline is, "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings to life the alluring world of Pandora with all of its beauty and danger in an immersive, open world experience.", which still leaves doors open as far as how that experience will be delivered.
...And personally, that'd be the Avatar game I'd like to play, as "open-world" tends to have a lot of drawbacks I don't always enjoy unless it's done incredibly well. I know the dream is to have a massive island of Pandora to freely explore in the air and on land and in the sea, but that's almost impossibly difficult to design a cohesive and propulsive game around. (Horizon Forbidden West is just now adding full-scale flight to its play systems, and it still has logical limitations of how and maybe where it works; Zelda TotK has an open world and incredible systems for transitioning from surface to sky, but it still wisely avoids just giving you a bird which can fly anywhere.) Having giant levels which can be explored openly within the boundaries but that only lead into one another through story events (loading in/out via cutscenes) without making the game one sprawling open world more readily allows focused combat encounters, dynamic flight adventure/battles, and emotional, beautiful location/TOD events such as the nighttime glow in forest glens.
Or, not. But that's been my thoughts on how Avatar FoP would work even before this description leaked, and this text seems to fall in line with my hypothesis
Last edited:
EruditeHobo
Member
Avatar AAA game is an absolute no-brainer, but honestly so was an Avengers AAA game and that didn't work out too well... even apart from the MTX/GaaS type stuff, some of the gameplay just wasn't where it needed to be. So time will tell with this one as well.
Definitely interested in checking it out though.
Definitely interested in checking it out though.
SportsFan581
Member
@
CamHostage
that sounds great. I'd play the game you describe for sure. Too many times true open worlds get so boring and repetitive, more purpose built regions could be really interesting.
CamHostage
that sounds great. I'd play the game you describe for sure. Too many times true open worlds get so boring and repetitive, more purpose built regions could be really interesting.
midnightAI
Member
Why would it be static?