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The Ascent |OT| As Above, So Below

RT ON vs OFF

The-Ascent-STM.png

The-Ascent-GPS.png


Still waiting for GP version patch...
 
Does anyone else not like traversing? Yeah, you can follow the arrow using the d-pad, but figuring out what area to taxi at is annoying. I've spent a good amount of time running round for a side mission only to find I can't access certain areas. Blah.
 

Greggy

Member
How do I save in this game?
Last time I just did quit to main menu and lost all my progress.
yes, I had some progress.
 
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Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
How do I save in this game?
Last time I just did quit to main menu and lost all my progress.
yes, I had some progress.
The game autosaves constantly. When you exit to menu it tells you the time since last save.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
Does anyone else not like traversing? Yeah, you can follow the arrow using the d-pad, but figuring out what area to taxi at is annoying. I've spent a good amount of time running round for a side mission only to find I can't access certain areas. Blah.
It's criticized in a few reviews that quest progression is a little borked. Apparently you can begin many side quests that you can't complete until you've done main story up too a point that opens certain areas. They even said the name of the main story mission they recommend doing before beginning most side quests. A relatively easy fix, but still a bit annoying I'm sure.

Sounds like you just need to progress a bit.
 

Terenty

Member
Yeah, i'm sorry, but i will have to agree with that Metro review, at least the content of it.

The coop is terrible in this game, it's like playing solo only there's two of you.

I played with a friend and the way loot works here just doesn't make any sense. Basically anything you pick up appears in your friend's inventory as well. It's like two identical clones running around, ridiculous.

There's no classes, no division of responsibilities during firefights no nothing. No friendly fire, so no positioning as well.

And the most stupid thing that basically renders everything completely pointless is the fact that you respawn after death and your enemies dont.

I don't know what they were thinking tbh
 
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Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
It's criticized in a few reviews that quest progression is a little borked. Apparently you can begin many side quests that you can't complete until you've done main story up too a point that opens certain areas. They even said the name of the main story mission they recommend doing before beginning most side quests. A relatively easy fix, but still a bit annoying I'm sure.

Sounds like you just need to progress a bit.
That just sounds like a design choice which I am completely fine with. The lack of explanation for half of the games systems is a bit annoying though.
 
Yeah, i'm sorry, but i will have to agree with that Metro review, at least the content of it.

The coop is terrible in this game, it's like playing solo only there's two of you.

I played with a friend and the way loot works here just doesn't make any sense. Basically anything you pick up appears in your friend's inventory as well. It's like two identical clones running around, ridiculous.

There's no classes, no division of responsibilities during firefights no nothing. No friendly fire, so no positioning as well.

And the most stupid thing that basically renders everything completely pointless is the fact that you respawn after death and your enemies dont.

I don't know what they were thinking tbh
But anything you buy is your own loot feed and not shared. I think it good there is not a missed loot drop when found etc and you can split off without having to back track when someone finds one good thing. We had 3 of us and would explore as 2 and 1 then meet up again etc.

Friendly fire with 3 or 4 would be horrible.
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
But anything you buy is your own loot feed and not shared. I think it good there is not a missed loot drop when found etc and you can split off without having to back track when someone finds one good thing. We had 3 of us and would explore as 2 and 1 then meet up again etc.
Yeah, most of what he said didn't really sound bad to me. It's nice that everyone gets all the loot. Then you don't have to fight over it.

There aren't really dedicated healers or anything in this game, so there's not much in terms of "responsibilities" besides just blasting away everything. Everyone's a damage dealer.
 
lol why not? the weapons are super impactful in this game.

The only thing i can think that ratchet does better is enemies loosing piece of armours when you shoot at them, but to counter that, the ascent has way more enviromental destruction, and both returnal and ratchet completely lack good ragdoll and gore and enemies disappear instantly where the ascent has dead bodies that reacts to explosions etc.

I think they are all great in their own way.

Unless are we talking about audio design, i'm really not an audiophile nor an expert so i don't know who is better.
Because Ratchet and Clank and Returnal have the benefit of the dualsense where every gun literally feels different on the controller.

I mean i'm having fun with this game, but environmental destruction doesn't even make up for how garbage cover shooting is with a controller. Nvm making the guns feel more impactful than those PS5 exclusives.
 
Yeah, i'm sorry, but i will have to agree with that Metro review, at least the content of it.

The coop is terrible in this game, it's like playing solo only there's two of you.

I played with a friend and the way loot works here just doesn't make any sense. Basically anything you pick up appears in your friend's inventory as well. It's like two identical clones running around, ridiculous.

There's no classes, no division of responsibilities during firefights no nothing. No friendly fire, so no positioning as well.

And the most stupid thing that basically renders everything completely pointless is the fact that you respawn after death and your enemies dont.

I don't know what they were thinking tbh
Those last two lines about enemies is one of the worst and laziest gameplay designs of all time. Because on top of that cover shooting with a controller is also basically broken, the big fights i've encountered thus far like the one where you have to eliminate the 4 grenade dudes have consisted of shoot, barrel roll til im exhausted, shoot grenades special power things etc, and repeat until the enemy count overwhelms me.

I like this game, I wouldn't call it bad, but for sure this is one of the laziest approaches to combat design i've seen.
 
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chris121580

Member
I’ve been having a good time but damn, shit gets real in the campaign once you hit level 12. Really large difficulty spike. I may have to go back and do more side quests
 

Fess

Member
the big fights i've encountered thus far like the one where you have to eliminate the 4 grenade dudes have consisted of shoot, barrel roll til im exhausted, shoot grenades special power things etc, and repeat until the enemy count overwhelms me.
That’s essentially all shooters since the dawn of time, you start with precision shooting and end with smart bombs. Sounds like you expected another game. Personally I think it’s a total blast, and it gets better, cooler specials, enemies with shields, rockets, big bulky ones, small ones that rush in to shred you upclose, etc. Things are heating up!
 
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oagboghi2

Member
That’s essentially all shooters since the dawn of time, you start with precision shooting and end with smart bombs. Sounds like you expected another game. Personally I think it’s a total blast, and it gets better, cooler specials, enemies with shields, rockets, big bulky ones, small ones that rush in to shred you upclose, etc. Things are heating up!
Is that meant to be a compliment? Maybe a better game would try something new and interesting
 
That’s essentially all shooters since the dawn of time, you start with precision shooting and end with smart bombs. Sounds like you expected another game. Personally I think it’s a total blast, and it gets better, cooler specials, enemies with shields, rockets, big bulky ones, small ones that rush in to shred you upclose, etc. Things are heating up!
Definitely not. I played Returnal recently and the different enemies, rooms, learning their attacks, learning to time dash, when and how to use grapple hook for combat advantage, etc made it a challenging but extremely satisfying and fun shooter.

This game can't even get cover shooting right. How can you even bother trying to defend something that has a broken cover system ffs, one of the simplest most common shooter mechanics there is. You literally have no choice but to roll around and shoot swarming enemies, cause thats all every enemy does is run at you, til u die enough times to eliminate them and/or level up. Laziest thing i've seen in awhile.
 
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Mr.ODST

Member
Love that I can switch seamlessly between my PC and XSX, wish every game did this.



Yeah dont love this different versions bullshit.

I want to play with RTX on!
Tried this, why I love MS's cloud saves, it just works seamlessly, swapped within 1 minute and was playing again.
 

Fess

Member
Definitely not. I played Returnal recently and the different enemies, rooms, learning their attacks, learning to time dash, when and how to use grapple hook for combat advantage, etc made it a challenging but extremely satisfying and fun shooter.

This game can't even get cover shooting right. How can you even bother trying to defend something that has a broken cover system ffs, one of the simplest most common shooter mechanics there is. You literally have no choice but to roll around and shoot swarming enemies, cause thats all every enemy does is run at you, til u die enough times to eliminate them and/or level up. Laziest thing i've seen in awhile.
It’s a completely different genre. I’m talking about other twin stick shooters, it’s not like dodging and taking cover or even leveling up is common, I’d say it’s surprisingly advanced for the genre.
 
It’s a completely different genre. I’m talking about other twin stick shooters, it’s not like dodging and taking cover or even leveling up is common, I’d say it’s surprisingly advanced for the genre.
No. Binding of Isaac and Hotline Miami off top require A LOT more developed skill and strategic approach. This game you literally just roll around til you're tired and die......
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Lack of manual save and a minimap is probably my biggest caveats. Plus some of the destinations aren't clear on what floor/tier of the city you need to be on.

Cover system doesn't seem necessary unless you have like 10 mobs on you.
 

sendit

Member
How does Microsoft continuously fuck up on the PC front when trying to compete with Steam? Seriously baffles me.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Definitely not. I played Returnal recently and the different enemies, rooms, learning their attacks, learning to time dash, when and how to use grapple hook for combat advantage, etc made it a challenging but extremely satisfying and fun shooter.

This game can't even get cover shooting right. How can you even bother trying to defend something that has a broken cover system ffs, one of the simplest most common shooter mechanics there is. You literally have no choice but to roll around and shoot swarming enemies, cause thats all every enemy does is run at you, til u die enough times to eliminate them and/or level up. Laziest thing i've seen in awhile.
You can't play this like a cover shooter. It's not. Cover will only do so for a few seconds until the enemies start flanking you. You have to keep moving. Hold the left trigger to shoot over obstacles. Let go to shoot from the hip. The approach they went with the combat is brilliant and tactical if you know what you're doing
 
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IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Developer Neon Giant and publisher Curve Digital’s The Ascent has been impressing players in the lead up to its launch for some time now, and we have, over the last few days, been playing the game ourselves. As such, we were able to run the game on different platforms and see how its performance stacks up across the Xbox Series X and the Xbox One X.

We analyzed the game’s performance by capturing some sample scenes from the game and running it through trdrop, an open source software. Note that this tool gives us a mere demonstration of the game’s performance, because an exact 1:1 representation of performance can only be provided by the developers themselves since they have access to vast of array of tools and profilers.

While The Ascent doesn’t feature ray-tracing on consoles as it does on PC, we’ve still come away impressed with what the game has on offer on a visual and technical level. On the Xbox Series X, it runs at 4K and 60 FPS, with the performance target most being hit. In comparison, the game’s Xbox One X version targets 30 FPS, and mostly achieves it pretty consistently, while on the resolution front, it runs at a less than native 4K resolution. Unsurprisingly, the Xbox Series X version is the superior of the two, with both performance, resolution, and visual quality being better across the board.

We were a little surprised that the game doesn’t offer multiple graphics modes, but then again, some perspective is required- this was made by a team of just twelve people, and it’s honestly surprising what they were able to accomplish. The Ascent’s art style, too, deserves special praise, which is displayed consistently across its dense and varied level and really makes its cyberpunk aesthetic pop.
 
I’ve been having a good time but damn, shit gets real in the campaign once you hit level 12. Really large difficulty spike. I may have to go back and do more side quests
Yeah. I had to pick some crowd control. [little brawler robot for distraction and ability that nearly freezes enemy bullets] After that so far so good, just beat that ascent girl in a robot in hospital. Playing solo. I think coop would be way too easy.
 

MastAndo

Member
Just do a bunch of side missions and make sure you're at the level of the mobs. Level up your guns too.

If you get the shotgun to mark 4 or 5, it basically one shots everything.

It's not difficulty, it's just numbers.
Yeah, picking up my first shotgun (Riot Gun), basically changed the game for me. I think my aim in twin stick shooters just sucks too much to be viable with anything longer range in a game like this, but I've been faring much better with a shotgun build. Having a lot more fun with this one now.
 

M.W.

Gold Member
Tried it on XSX just now. It's cool the save file transfers over. Just started from where I stopped on PC. I would say XSX is currently more stable but the image is much softer compared to my PC. Prolly going back to PC to play.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Just finished the Onyx Operative mission and beat the big ass bot. Level 12 now. Feel like I'm really starting hit the groove with gameplay. Lovin' it.

Something to keep an eye on is skill points and weapon upgrade points. Good to always have your character and weapons as strong as they can be, and it's easy to get distracted and overlook them. Also, you sell bounties at the club where you meet Poone. I was sitting on a stack of them and didn't realize. They're about 1K creds each.
 
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Fess

Member
No. Binding of Isaac and Hotline Miami off top require A LOT more developed skill and strategic approach. This game you literally just roll around til you're tired and die......
I think it’ll sort itself out quite soon, the game is evolving and you have to evolve with it or you’ll hit a wall. I’ve hit several walls already lol
Level 14, yCorp. Loving the game!
 

Terenty

Member
Yeah, most of what he said didn't really sound bad to me. It's nice that everyone gets all the loot. Then you don't have to fight over it.

There aren't really dedicated healers or anything in this game, so there's not much in terms of "responsibilities" besides just blasting away everything. Everyone's a damage dealer.
The thing is the game is clearly designed for a solo player, then they just slapped a coop on without any thought it seems.

All the encounters are made so that one player can tackle them, there's no need for a team play whatsoever. The only difference is that in coop the number of enemies is higher.

Coupled with infinite ammo and immortality it's just devoid of any tension.
 
I love the look of the environments, the lighting is great! but man the gunplay isn't all that hot, the cover shooting is broken AF.
 

Duchess

Member
Reading this thread, it's starting to sound like another game that the players love by the journalist hate, along with Days Gone and Terminator Resistance (both of which I very much enjoyed).
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Because Ratchet and Clank and Returnal have the benefit of the dualsense where every gun literally feels different on the controller.

I mean i'm having fun with this game, but environmental destruction doesn't even make up for how garbage cover shooting is with a controller. Nvm making the guns feel more impactful than those PS5 exclusives.
Oh i'm sorry, i don't put much weight into a controller gimmick...like we all did for 30 years before dual sense was even a thing.

Is this the new mantra of some people in here? Everything is better because of dual sense?? Jesus fuck we are in for dark times fellas :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
How do I save in this game?
Last time I just did quit to main menu and lost all my progress.
yes, I had some progress.
I lost a cloud save going from my Series X to Series S. When I went back the my X later, the cloud save loaded, but only on the second try. I think the saves have some bugs.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
I'm probably playing another game because i'm usually utter shit at twin stick shooters and i have zero problem with the challenge in solo (on hard), the aiming and the cover system...

For now the game has more technical problem than design problems:

Dlss doesn't work at all on my end (i can turn it on but i have zero performance gains)
Dx12 run like crap but you need it for the rtx
Compiling problems
Hiccups during explosions
Uneven framerate

I played another 3 hours and beside the tech problems, i'm fucking loving the game, playing on hard makes the progression even better, even finding a rifle with slightly more damage is significant.

Returnal was muuuuuch more challenging after 5 hours, i really don't understand some people...

P.s. like other people said, this is not a cover shooter, the covers are used to get some breath and to kill 2-3 while being relatively safe before rolling out, the ia is super aggressive like in the outriders and i love it, they are soft covers not glue-on-the-wall covers.
 
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mxbison

Member
Reading this thread, it's starting to sound like another game that the players love by the journalist hate, along with Days Gone and Terminator Resistance (both of which I very much enjoyed).

It's buggy / missing features and has quite a few issues like UI, map, loot.

I think 7/10 is a fair score in that current state, don't see how that is hating.
(Except the 3/10 but many games have some of these bullshit clickbait reviews)
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Oh i'm sorry, i don't put much weight into a controller gimmick...like we all did for 30 years before dual sense was even a thing.

Is this the new mantra of some people in here? Everything is better because of dual sense?? Jesus fuck we are in for dark times fellas :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
You could live without it == Proof that it adds no value. Well, that seems like sound absolute proof you got there. Convincing maths ;).

It might not be meant to be like it, but it sounds like this:
fyWrTd6.jpg

Then again DS4 light blinded people’s eyes, apparently the strong white logo on the front of the controller facing the player on XSX (I guess it started with previous generations too) is absolutely fine. So I guess when Elite v3 will add haptics feedback and dynamic adaptive triggers it will suddenly be a system seller ;).
 
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