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[Loudninja]

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Launch Date: November 19th

Hi all - this is my first PlayStation Blog post so let me first introduce myself - I work in Software Product Marketing and lucky enough to be working with Naughty Dog on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

I’m sure you’ve heard some rumors that Uncharted will be hitting stores November 15th. As much as we’d love to get the game in your hands earlier, just wanted to let you guys know that we are still on schedule to be in-store November 19th…so you’re going to have to wait 7 more days ;-). But hopefully the demo and DJ Shadow track will keep you going till then.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/11/12/uncharted-drakes-fortune-launch-date-november-19th/

 

[Kintaro]

AGAIN, this is why I feel the demo is an older build. They said they changed the old combo system away from the timing aspect. You try to hit Square, Square and the combo breaks in the demo.

Nope. There's an all square combo in the demo. I was just doing it in fact.

 

[Loudninja]

There are more combos guys

 

[patsu]

one of my issues with uncharted is that the jungle doesn't look or feel like a jungle. The level is too carved out. I wish Drake was weaving in and out of trees, but that doesn't happen. Instead, there is a 30 yard path between the jungle borders that the player moves through. The fact that you're in a jungle means nothing because the level design could just as easily be outlined in a wherehouse setting. The jungle serves as the level's boundary, not the level itself. In games like Far Cry and even the first level of Halo 3 the jungle is the level. You're weaving in out of trees and vegetation while fighting the game's enemies.

The way they animate and shadow are top notch but to me they look blocky

I think REV 09 hit the nail on the head for me as far as why I"M so unimpressed with the jungle.

This is probably irrelevant.

In the demo level... the jungle patch was (probably burned and) cleared to build the ruin site years ago. It may also have been excavated not long ago by the pirates. Plus the area is also "carved" out by the water, so it's ok to see open areas. If you have lived near a tropical rain forest (like I did for years), you'd find the level familiar and not unreasonable.

Nonetheless, you can still catch a glimpse of how to weave in and out of jungle in the demo. In the scene where Nathan jumped down the cliff to fight the pirates... go to the far end and you will find a row of trees where you can run through and hide behind. There is also a pirate on top of the cliff where he shot through an over hanged tree. In fact, if you look closely, the trees to the right seem to hide some treasures (some sort of papyrus). I have not figured out how to retrieve it yet.

They actually reminded me of some areas in Malaysia. And they certainly are not blocky at all. Not every jungle has to be impassable.

 

[kaching]

Indeed. As a general note, I suggest to set the brightness (in-game) to 1/4 (it's 2/4 by default) for HDMI users. HDMI video signal is brighter than Component so you might end up having a slightly "washed out" image. Basically, the darker you set it while still being able to see details the better. At least on my set up it looks better.

Weird, I'm on HDMI too and I end up bumping the brightness two notches up in the demo.

Edit: Love how they've done the water surface for the ocean in the game opening sequence. It's pretty.

 

[eso76]

Uncharted looks very beautiful, i wouldn't say it looks technically better than anything we've seen this gen and i definately wouldn't say it looks much more impressive than heavenly sword, assuming the limited freedom won't probably change too much in the full game. It IS impressive, but roughly in the same ballpark of the best looking titles this gen (i would not say halo 3 is one of those though : ) ).
I was very impressed at the attention to details though, the animated normal mapping on Drake's shirt for example, the way his clothes get wet, and the game has some of the highest res shadow maps i've ever seen.

Gameplay-wise...i'm not sure. I was expecting something different in fact.
I was hoping the game would be more puzzle and exploration oriented. Each time i would kill a couple pirates i anticipated walking some more, deeper into the forest, but the game would throw a couple more pirates at me, and then some more.
While the AI looked interesting and the game controlled very well, i didn't find the actual gunplay that much fun. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe i just need to get used to dual shock again, i really can't aim worth shit with that thing.

 

[Jtrizzy]

has anyone tried creating a Korean account to get their demo? or was that the final version?

 

[RavenFox]

OMG and tinfoil GTFO!

 

[BelligerentOC]

lets face the facts about the barrels for a second.
when you shoot at them they explode, this means they are full of flammable liquids, and a barrel full of flammable liquids is pretty damn near impossible to move.
just saying..

To be fair, its the fumes that light on fire... thats why fire always seems to 'float' a bit above an oil or gas spill...

 

[dark10x]

and i definately wouldn't say it looks much more impressive than heavenly sword

Heavenly Sword runs like shit, however. The framerate is AWFUL throughout the entire game and REALLY brings down the overall experience. Not only that, some of the locales look pretty ugly (the early snowy landscapes, for instance).

 

[Steroyd]

As you can see, there are more combos

Like what? I get bitchslapped when I press square 3 times. :/

 

[Mojovonio]

that water looks amazing.

 

[VonGak!]

To be fair, its the fumes that light on fire... thats why fire always seems to 'float' a bit above an oil or gas spill...

And the fumes is also the reason why gas barrels and car gas tanks do not explode when shot upon, there's just no enough air for the combustion (unless the car/barrel is close to empty).

 

[frAntic_Frog]

im sure there will be puzzles in the main game, but as far as the demo is concerned, it was probably just a pure-action sequence to get the casual gun/fps/action-loving crowd pumped up for this game. i doubt a SOTC-like demo would've created as much hype/attention as a guns-ablazin' demo such as this

 

[Kittonwy]

Even the little fishes in the water cast their own shadows

Oh shit you're right. I went back to the demo and I found them.

 

[VonGak!]

that water looks amazing.

Didn't they have a team of 5 (or was it "only" 3) dedicated to water in the game?

 

[Loudninja]

Like what? I get bitchslapped when I press square 3 times. :/

They only gave you one combo in the demo

 

[eso76]

Heavenly Sword runs like shit, however. The framerate is AWFUL throughout the entire game and REALLY brings down the overall experience. Not only that, some of the locales look pretty ugly (the early snowy landscapes, for instance).

yes, it's certainly much more polished, but i don't think it's actually doing much more.
It probably does things more effectively, then again the fact you will never be able to get closer to most structures which serve as background (for example) allows devs to shift resources on the foreground.
Anyway, how they did it is not important, the game does look bloody good.

 

[mckmas8808]

Awesome!

Here is some fish to celebrate! (lol)

Only the big brownish ones cast shadows. I'm pretty sure those are 3D while the other small white fishes are just sprites.

Oh nice.

 

[user friendly]

The coolest is when you are in cover that you need to crouch, every time you turn to head the other direction, his stance is different than the one before. Not sure if anyone else caught this but it blew my mind when I first noticed it.

Try it out, latch on to a pile of rocks or any cover that requires Drake to be in the crouching position. Then just tap the analog so he turns the other way and keep doing that, back and forth and keep your eyes on his hands and shoulders, not sure how many different stances they gave him but I probably counted at least 6 - 10.

how many more little touches are going unnoticed I wonder?

 

[kaching]

how many more little touches are going unnoticed I wonder?

Too much variety confirmed.

Spoiler

IF NOT PS3 THEN PRINT "Subtle Beauty"

 

[frAntic_Frog]

anyone seen any good tv spots for this game yet? exclusive ads for this game, not the sony montage ad....
its only a week away from release and i wonder why sony isnt marketin the hell out of this game

 

[Blimblim]

Good work guys!

Blimblim, Gamersyde is becoming my favorite place for game video's on the net. How come your video's always look 10 times better than everyone else's?

Simple, make no comprise of quality over bitrate. We encode towards a certain video quality and not towards a certain (much too low most of the time) bitrate. If it gets us a 600 MB file for 10 minutes, so be it.

 

[the_id]

Question: Water in Uncharted and Bioshock. which is better?

never played bioshock but saw some videos of it. OMG at the water effects in bioshock! uncharted water effects seem to be on par as bioshock and looks excellent. water looks so real i wish drake had a button that'll make him crouch and drink the water and then another button that'll make him piss in barrelz.

 

[Insane Metal]

new(?) shots from Ruliweb:

QFA (quoted for awesome)

OMG!

 

[SolidSnakex]

anyone seen any good tv spots for this game yet? exclusive ads for this game, not the sony montage ad....
its only a week away from release and i wonder why sony isnt marketin the hell out of this game

Someone mentioned not too long ago that they saw an ad specifically for Uncharted. I haven't seen it at all. All i've seen are AC, CoD4, R&C, Simspons and the regular PS3 spots.

 

[Blimblim]

My only issue with uncharted's water is that it's too clean. I can see the water in that fish shot being pristine, but in that submarine from a few weeks ago it looked a bit out of place. This is a rusty old submarine, and yet the water looks like it's just been filtered for drinking.
Nitpicking of course, the effect itself is excellent.

 

[SalientOne]

Question: Water in Uncharted and Bioshock. which is better?

Water in Bioshock because the game doesn't constantly drop below 20 fps and result in horrible screen tearing.

 

[Firewire]

Simple, make no comprise of quality over bitrate. We encode towards a certain video quality and not towards a certain (much too low most of the time) bitrate. If it gets us a 600 MB file for 10 minutes, so be it.

I just wish everyone was as committed as you guys are, but regardless you guys have won me over numerous times now. I think all of us appreciate the awesome job you guys are doing! Thanks again!

 

[Dragon]

Water in Bioshock because the game doesn't constantly drop below 20 fps and result in horrible screen tearing.

And to think this thread just started getting on track

 

[Firewire]

Someone mentioned not too long ago that they saw an ad specifically for Uncharted. I haven't seen it at all. All i've seen are AC, CoD4, R&C, Simspons and the regular PS3 spots.

I think it was bogus. I haven't seen an Uncharted ad at all, and it would be up on the net by now. Also I think Sony would have posted it on their blog, like they did with other 1st party commercials!

 

[the_id]

And to think this thread just started getting on track

I realise what i just asked opened a can of shit worms.

 

[SalientOne]

Hey, anyone who has played the demo knows that I speak the truth.

 

[eso76]

(actually those ruliweb shots look AWFUL. Like REALLY awful, how the hell did they capture those ? thankfully, that's not what the game looks like when i play it AT ALL)

 

[Loudninja]

Hey, anyone who has played the demo knows that I speak the truth.

bullshit

 

[SolidSnakex]

I think it was bogus. I haven't seen an Uncharted ad at all, and it would be up on the net by now. Also I think Sony would have posted it on their blog, like they did with other 1st party commercials!

In general ads for games start the week of their release. There haven't been any ads for Mario on TV from what i've seen although they should be starting sometime today, probably during RAW. Uncharted's ads will likely start next week.

 

[J-Rzez]

Screen shots really don't do this game any justice. Anyone with a good HDTV will tell you this. I'm looking at these demo caps/shots and just shaking my head. And the caps don't convey one of it's best features, and that's how the game looks even more beautiful in motion.

 

[Snah]

one of my issues with uncharted is that the jungle doesn't look or feel like a jungle. The level is too carved out. I wish Drake was weaving in and out of trees, but that doesn't happen. Instead, there is a 30 yard path between the jungle borders that the player moves through. The fact that you're in a jungle means nothing because the level design could just as easily be outlined in a wherehouse setting. The jungle serves as the level's boundary, not the level itself. In games like Far Cry and even the first level of Halo 3 the jungle is the level. You're weaving in out of trees and vegetation while fighting the game's enemies.

I realize that i've only played 1 level of uncharted and that other levels may have more of an interactive jungle design to them instead of the cookie cutter scenarios that were present in the demo.

This is one of the most retarded attempts at trolling I've ever heard. :lol :lol :lol

And yes, if you think Halo 3's Sierra level looks better, you are trolling (or you don't have eyes).

 

[Insane Metal]

WTF is going on? I see those shots and think they´re completely awesome, but everybody who sees it thinks they´re horrible, do I need glasses? :lol

 

[needlesmcgirk]

My only complaint that I haven't seen come up from the demo is that when you kill a guys, their body's dissapear. The guns are still there but after a while the bodys seem to disapear. maybe I'm crazy.

So pumped for this game though.

 

[Firewire]

In general ads for games start the week of their release. There haven't been any ads for Mario on TV from what i've seen although they should be starting sometime today, probably during RAW. Uncharted's ads will likely start next week.

I hope so! Sony needs to throw a couple million into advertising Uncharted in N.A. alone, I think the game is a system seller & there isn't all that much thats exclusive to Sony to advertise during the holidays. Ratchet & Uncharted is were their advertising dollars need to go, along with those ads already out there.

 

[J-Rzez]

Oh, and the sound. Honestly I think it puts a lot of movies to shame with it's sound quality, sound effects, and especially musical score. 7.1LPCM is really something to behold in this game.

And wow at 3,435 posts and 194,966 views at a demo thread so far.

 

[Loudninja]

My only complaint that I haven't seen come up from the demo is that when you kill a guys, their body's dissapear. The guns are still there but after a while the bodys seem to disapear. maybe I'm crazy.

So pumped for this game though.

LOL. you are dude, the bodies always stay

 

[newsguy]

Fastest double kill ever?

 

[Dave1988]

Hey, anyone who has played the demo knows that I speak the truth.

Solomon
way off his meds
(Today, 10:23 PM)
Reply | Quote

 

[antiloop]

Ruliweb really knows their stuff. Just look at the difference from the IGN grabs. Holy shiii..!

 

[SolidSnakex]

Ruliweb really knows their stuff. Just look at the difference from the IGN grabs. Holy shiii..!

I don't know what the hell they use but they get better caps than any of the big sites.

 

[mysticstylez]

Fastest double kill ever?

I'm sorry but anyone who leaves explodable barrels on a fuckin boat deserves to die. Seriously exploding barrels should be put to sleep..

 

[sprocket]

I'm sorry but anyone who leaves explodable barrels on a fuckin boat deserves to die. Seriously exploding barrels should be put to sleep..

Fuel for the boat. :/

 

[mysticstylez]

Fuel for the boat. :/

Why would you leave the fuel in the open like that, especially when they are armed.