Marathon Alpha Impressions

Clearly. Factions was a great mode, already done and polished, with great artstyle and fun to play. They would have added TLOU2 nonbinary characters to please their new audience, added a few maps and the game would have been done.

And Hulst litteraly killed it for 4 Billion dollars Concord 2.0. But he already killed Killzone which had a great MP mode, the most fun I had with a MP game bar Fortnite. So he killed 2 great MP modes Playstation already. Tragically those modes (which could have become standalone games) were actually original and fun and they replaced it with Fotnite / Apex / whatever is currently earning money clones.
The irony is that Sony had loads of great MP games during the PS3 era that they sort of just forgot about chasing the live service gold. The peak of online gaming was during the era of Uncharted 2/MGO2/Warhawk/KZ2/LBP2 days. Sony was ahead of the game decades ago and are today just fumbling around buying up shitty studios for billions and then dissolving said studio when their 400m dollar games flop.
 
Not really.
We will never know but it there is a chance it is true.

Sony deciding what project goes forward and what get stopped when they have 2 similar games is far from farfetched, i doubt f2 was canned without a reason and it's hard to think that nd wasn't doing a quality job when you see their history.
 
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How's that? Did Bungie work on Factions 2 before Marathon?
Playstation (Hulst) asked Bungie to supervise Factions 2... which eventually killed it. so yes Hulst killed Factions 2 because it probably didn't look like a Fairgames or a Concord or whatever Horizons MP is going to look like. A soulless clone of something they hope is going to earn them BILLION of dollars. Those woke managers should not run videogames companies, at all.
 
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We will never know but it there is a chance it is true.

Sony deciding what project goes forward and what get stopped when they have 2 similar games is far from farfetched, i doubt f2 was canned without a reason and it's hard to think that nd wasn't doing a quality job when you see their history.
I don't think looking at Marathon now the 2 projects would have much in common. Plus its well documented that ND killed it because they didn't want to be all in on GAAS. Looks to be a smart move if you as me because if this project fails then knowing Bungie they don't have a plan B.
 
The irony is that Sony had loads of great MP games during the PS3 era that they sort of just forgot about chasing the live service gold. The peak of online gaming was during the era of Uncharted 2/MGO2/Warhawk/KZ2/LBP2 days. Sony was ahead of the game decades ago and are today just fumbling around buying up shitty studios for billions and then dissolving said studio when their 400m dollar games flop.
Sony didn't forget about those games.

Not enough people cared about those games, so they didn't sell well enough.

The result was GG and Insomniac moving away from Killzone and Resistance and studios like Zipper and Incognito getting shutdown.

That's what you get when people whine about every single thing.
 
Playstation (Hulst) asked Bungie to supervise Factions 2... which eventually killed it. so yes Hulst killed Factions 2 because it probably didn't look like a Fairgames or a Concord or whatever Horizons MP is going to look like. A soulless clone of something they hope is going to earn them BILLION of dollars. Those woke managers should not run videogames companies, at all.
They didn't supervise anything. They advised based on their own experiences.
 
I don't think looking at Marathon now the 2 projects would have much in common. Plus its well documented that ND killed it because they didn't want to be all in on GAAS. Looks to be a smart move if you as me because if this project fails then knowing Bungie they don't have a plan B.
Like i said nobody knows for sure, we can only speculate, my guess is as good as yours and the final result doesn't change, we got this thing instead of factions 2, if it is bungie or helmet's fault doesn't change much for the final client.
 
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Sony didn't forget about those games.

Not enough people cared about those games, so they didn't sell well enough.

The result was GG and Insomniac moving away from Killzone and Resistance and studios like Zipper and Incognito getting shutdown.

That's what you get when people whine about every single thing.
All those games were deemed hits by all metrics though. It was their later installments that failed as Sony tried to water down their online experiences into CoD-like trash.
 
Like i said nobody knows for sure, we can only speculate, my guess is as good as yours and the final result doesn't change, we got this thing instead of factions 2, if it is bungie or helmet's fault doesn't change much for the final client.
But it does change the narrative, because it wasn't Bungie that got Factions killed.

ND came out and literally stated that they couldn't support a live-service game due to them being a singleplayer-focused studio:

"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage."


So, there is nothing to guess.
 
Like i said nobody knows for sure, we can only speculate, my guess is as good as yours and the final result doesn't change, we got this thing instead of factions 2, if it is bungie or helmet's fault doesn't change much for the final client.
If you want to blame anything for Factions death then I'd be laying it at Intergalactic's feet.
 
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But it does change the narrative, because it wasn't Bungie that got Factions killed.

ND came out and literally stated that they couldn't support a live-service game due to them being a singleplayer-focused studio:

"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage."


So, there is nothing to guess.
Shush you, lets not take the actuals words of the developer get in the way of some good speculation.
 
But it does change the narrative, because it wasn't Bungie that got Factions killed.

ND came out and literally stated that they couldn't support a live-service game due to them being a singleplayer-focused studio:

"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage."


So, there is nothing to guess.
How do you develop a game for 3-4 years only to be hit by an epiphany mere months before release that online games require post-launch attention?

I think that's a bullshit excuse. Someone at Sony simply got cold feet and did not want their online games to cannibalize one another and it was Factions that took the killing blow as ND has capabilities to create SP games aswell. Sony bit off way more than they could chew and the disastrous decisions by Ryan/Hulst will be felt years from now.
 
All those games were deemed hits by all metrics though. It was their later installments that failed as Sony tried to water down their online experiences into CoD-like trash.
Those weren't hits.

MAG and Socom did rather poorly.

Resistance 3 only sold 180.000 copies at launch.

Killzone 3 only sold 2.8M copies, Shadowfall only sold 2.1M copies.

Warhawk sold ~1.2M copies
Starhawk sold ~1M?

Your memory is kinda revisionist.
 
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But it does change the narrative, because it wasn't Bungie that got Factions killed.

ND came out and literally stated that they couldn't support a live-service game due to them being a singleplayer-focused studio:

"In ramping up to full production, the massive scope of our ambition became clear. To release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's heritage."


So, there is nothing to guess.
Hulst asked them to make a soulless GAAS clone, which they refused. Directly or indirectly Hulst killed Factions 2. It doesn't matter as Without Hulst's (or Ryan's not sure) involvement, we would had a Factions 2 mode just after TLOU2.
 
Shush you, lets not take the actuals words of the developer get in the way of some good speculation.
Pr talks that you have no idea if sincere or forced by sony are hardly as bulletproof as you think.

I mean unless you believe everything that comes out from devs mouth.

I'm sure todd was sincere when he said that starfield was optimized and we just had to upgrade our pc, i mean how can you doubt such a statement...
 
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How do you develop a game for 3-4 years only to be hit by an epiphany mere months before release that online games require post-launch attention?

I think that's a bullshit excuse. Someone at Sony simply got cold feet and did not want their online games to cannibalize one another and it was Factions that took the killing blow as ND has capabilities to create SP games aswell. Sony bit off way more than they could chew and the disastrous decisions by Ryan/Hulst will be felt years from now.
You just made all this up?
 
If you want to blame anything for Factions death then I'd be laying it at Intergalactic's feet.
Everything is possible.

It's just hard to think that nd devs worked on f2 for years and they were ok with trashing all of that because all of a sudden they realized that they are a...single player studio? Then why the fuck do you made multyplayer modes for unchy 4 and tlou1 and why the hell you even started working on f2?

You can can understand why i don't fully believe pr talks...
 
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Pr talks that you have no idea if sincere or forced by sony are hardly as bulletproof as you think.

I mean unless you believe everything that comes out from devs mouth.

I'm sure todd was sincere when he said that starfield was optimized and we just had to upgrade our pc, i mean how can you doubt such a statement...
I think that the reason the actual dev's gave is far more plausible than Bungie killed it because they thought it was better than their own game, or other fanciful explanations.
 
Hulst asked them to make a soulless GAAS clone, which they refused. Directly or indirectly Hulst killed Factions 2. It doesn't matter as Without Hulst's (or Ryan's not sure) involvement, we would had a Factions 2 mode just after TLOU2.
Where did you get this nonsense?

ND decided to make the TLOU2 mp a standalone game because it's scope became too big to be included with TLOU2 as just a mode.


No wonder some of you have these weird takes.
You're completely delulu, making things up as you go and actually believing your made up memories.🙃
 
I think that the reason the actual dev's gave is far more plausible than Bungie killed it because they thought it was better than their own game, or other fanciful explanations.
So it doesn't sound strange to you that they realized all of that after years of working on f2 uh?

They thought they could make factions 2 and then abandon the whole thing after launch? An extremely experienced studio like nd.

I don't know man, it sound fishy to say the least.
 
So it doesn't sound strange to you that they realized all of that after years of working on f2 uh?

They thought they could make factions 2 and then abandon the whole thing after launch? An extremely experienced studio like nd.

I don't know man, it sound fishy to say the least.
Maybe they just underestimated the scope and dedication required for long-term support?

They're a sp-focused studio, so live service mp is the exact opposite of what they're used.

Most likely Bungie gave more insight and after trying to find a working solution, they came to the realization that it wouldn't work out, especially with Intergalactic going into full production and supposedly another Uncharted being in the works.

Seems completely logical, contrary to a conspiracy where Bungie deliberately undermined the project.
 
So it doesn't sound strange to you that they realized all of that after years of working on f2 uh?

They thought they could make factions 2 and then abandon the whole thing after launch? An extremely experienced studio like nd.

I don't know man, it sound fishy to say the least.
You think Bungie, a newly acquired studio, suddenly has that much weight it could cancel a massive project at Sony's premier (and most well regarded) studio?


Speculation from me would be: Seems like the project was growing arms and legs and once Sony opened Bungo's books and looked at the resources required to keep the wheels spinning they shut it down themselves.

I also don't think it was anywhere near release, if it was they could have just added it to TLOU2 remastered as a bonus mode or something, rather than just abandoning it completely.
 
You think Bungie, a newly acquired studio, suddenly has that much weight it could cancel a massive project at Sony's premier (and most well regarded) studio?


Speculation from me would be: Seems like the project was growing arms and legs and once Sony opened Bungo's books and looked at the resources required to keep the wheels spinning they shut it down themselves.

I also don't think it was anywhere near release, if it was they could have just added it to TLOU2 remastered as a bonus mode or something, rather than just abandoning it completely.
I'm pretty sure word was that Bungie consulted and reviewed Sony's live service portfolio, and that they didn't like Factions in terms of its ability to retain players. It was also in development for 4 years with a team in the hundreds. Although it is a rumour, if you believe Jason Schreier, there might be some truth to it.
 
Wonder what they gonna do after the alpha. Im sure they are in panic mode reading and watching all the impressions. I smell a big delay
I quite like it for what i've seen but its clear this has been banged together in 18 month-2 years in true Bungie style.

Another year, a pass on the visuals, 2-3 more maps and the progression and systems getting another pass would work wonders I think.

Really surprised they announced a release date before they had chance to gauge reception.
 
I'm pretty sure word was that Bungie consulted and reviewed Sony's live service portfolio, and that they didn't like Factions in terms of its ability to retain players. It was also in development for 4 years with a team in the hundreds. Although it is a rumour, if you believe Jason Schreier, there might be some truth to it.
Yeah they where consulted, we al know that although I didn't catch the part that Bungie outright said it wouldn't have the ability to retain players, must have missed that. I thought ND came to their own conclusions after consulting with Bungie.
 
I am so confused. Do people here like multiplayer or hate it ?
They reject every MP attempt while salivating at Factions release, which given ND quality and time would had less updates than Division 2.
 
I am so confused. Do people here like multiplayer or hate it ?
They reject every MP attempt while salivating at Factions release, which given ND quality and time would had less updates than Division 2.
People here are morons.

It's just flavor of the day opinions without any consistency.
 
Do people here like multiplayer or hate it ?
I think people here can like good multiplayer while also hating bad, shitty games.

I'm not an MP guy but I can see why Marathon looks like shit.
 
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Yeah they where consulted, we al know that although I didn't catch the part that Bungie outright said it wouldn't have the ability to retain players, must have missed that. I thought ND came to their own conclusions after consulting with Bungie.
I found the quote:

Article:
"Sony has invested heavily in "games as a service," or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project's ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment."


I don't think ND would even have the autonomy to make a decision like that after developing a project for 4 years.
 
I found the quote:

Article:
"Sony has invested heavily in "games as a service," or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project's ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment."


I don't think ND would even have the autonomy to make a decision like that after developing a project for 4 years.
This is completely in line with ND's official statement of moving away from Factions due to them being a singleplayer-focused studio which is not able to offer the required long-term support.
 
I found the quote:

Article:
"Sony has invested heavily in "games as a service," or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project's ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment."


I don't think ND would even have the autonomy to make a decision like that after developing a project for 4 years.
Cheers for that, hearsay from good old jase but no doubt some truth to it. Although reading that article seems like development wasn't going exactly smoothly either.
 
I just really cannot see the appeal in this, what exactly is it doing different to anything else?
Most likely the 4th map and approach to ranked mode, which won't be available until after launch

Just like Destiny and it's raids and Iron Banner.
 
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Bungie in shambles hearing these impressions.

Sony getting ready to shut them down. It's gonna be ironic that Sony will ultimately kill the studio that made Halo.
Impressions I'm reading in general on reddit and other places are not negative, many are really positive.
Here people want the game to fail, it's absolutely obvious, like they wanted AC Shadows to fail and it didn't happen. You won't find genuine comments with such attitude.
It is what it is.
 
I just really cannot see the appeal in this, what exactly is it doing different to anything else?
Its Tarkov lite. there isn't really anything like it on console, not that's successful anyway. I'll be playing, but I like MP titles.

Its a big gamble that doesn't look like it will pay off.
 
Impressions I'm reading in general on reddit and other places are not negative, many are really positive.
Here people want the game to fail, it's absolutely obvious, like they wanted AC Shadows to fail and it didn't happen. You won't find genuine comments with such attitude.
It is what it is.
Yeah the general sentiment from those folks who like MP games and who are actually playing it seem pretty positive.
 
You think Bungie, a newly acquired studio, suddenly has that much weight it could cancel a massive project at Sony's premier (and most well regarded) studio?


Speculation from me would be: Seems like the project was growing arms and legs and once Sony opened Bungo's books and looked at the resources required to keep the wheels spinning they shut it down themselves.

I also don't think it was anywhere near release, if it was they could have just added it to TLOU2 remastered as a bonus mode or something, rather than just abandoning it completely.
Bungie are probably considered THE gaas experts so their words have more weight, maybe not enought to straight up erase a game but enought to put the thought in helmet's mind.

I know it sound silly but so is a veteran studio realising all of a sudden that you have to sustain a gaas game like f2 after the launch.
 
I think they will let them work on Destiny 3 first and if it underperforms it's definitely over for Bungie.
This is the likely scenario I think. Marathon will find a relatively small dedicated audience, possibly grow slightly over time. Then most of the studio gets on with life support for D2 and D3 in time for PS6.
 
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