Alien Swarm Can Be Played As a Terrifying FPS 157
AndrewGOO9 writes "With a few simple commands from the developer console, Alien Swarm can go from being played as an isometric top-down shooter to a first-person perspective. Surprisingly easy, it does make the game, which was released for free via Steam earlier this week, a lot more terrifying. But, anyone who is at home playing games like Modern Warfare or Halo should have no problem slaughtering their way through wave after wave of creatures. In fact, it poses the potential to make the game easier for people who would've otherwise struggled with the overhead view."
Sounds like (Score:2)
An alien game that'd be good. I've been playing AS since it was released and am loving it.
the kids seem to like top down (Score:5, Funny)
My son is playing AS right now with a few of his friends. I yelled over "hey did you know that AS can be...." "yeah yeah, played as a FPS.. it sucks"
Re:the kids seem to like top down (Score:5, Insightful)
And it does suck. The aliens spawn too far out to react to your increased visibility, the hacking screens don't seem to respond, and the graphics are low-poly and blurry when viewed up close. The game is very atmospheric with the overhead view. The controls do take a few minutes to become comfortable with, but they work well enough. There's no need to turn the game into something it's not. There are already enough FPS on the market, leave Alien Swarm alone. :P
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So everyone that has been saying "This isn't supposed to be played like this" can shut up now because you can't unless the server op enables cheats.
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As a note on alien FPSes, Natural Selection 2 enters playable alpha in 5 days. I'm itching with excitement!
Terrifying?? Try System Shock 2, Doom 3, Undying (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Terrifying?? Try System Shock 2, Doom 3, Undyin (Score:5, Informative)
This story has shown me a terrifying game.
But not the one it indicated.
http://thumb-culture.com/2010/07/22/xbla-review-limbo/
What the hell?
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Yeah, saying the durian is a unique food is silly when its mechanics are the same as any other fruit, only it looks and tastes slightly different. You could actually simulate the style of a durian by filling an empty sea urchin with custard and almond, eating it while on the toilet after eating a ton of beef to recreate the pungent smell, etc etc etc.
Seriously, what kind of philistine are you? :(
But I forgot, this is slashdot. We are great at commenting on things we have never tried ourselves.
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In fact, someone's already made an attempt:
http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,322728528.html [apnicommunity.com]
The visual style is pretty much exactly the same as limbo as I suspected could be done, though the guy that made it isn't great at designing level layouts by the look of things.
Want to make System Shock 2 suck? (Score:2)
Spend some cyber modules on the psionic 'Enhanced Motion Sensitivity' ability.
I bought it a while back while trying to track down the last of the damned red eggs in the Von Braun nacelle. It's amazing how quickly a radar screen turns one of the most atmospheric games of the late 90s into a rather pedestrian shooter.
Front page news? (Score:5, Informative)
In other headline news, Starcraft 2 can be played as anything, thanks to a gnarly editor.
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An inordinate amount of attention for simple game. In other headline news, Starcraft 2 can be played as anything, thanks to a gnarly editor.
One big reason for all the attention is that Valve has released the full source and SDK alongside it. Mods haven't started rolling in yet, but there are sure to be quite a few.
I'm sure SC2's editor is great, though.
Easier? (Score:4, Interesting)
I doubt it, Aliens are constantly coming from all directions including from behind and catch up in seconds or even fractions of seconds, particularly in the harder difficulties.
also constantly maintaining the optimum strategic positions relative to your teammates is a necessarily in Insane mode, and it only takes running in front of your team mate while they file a few times to kill you.
That being said it would be easier to shoot in the z dimension, in the rare instances that it is necessary.
and their is nothing really nothing i have not mentioned about the game that makes FP view harder then top down.
So it would be more then possible, at least at easier difficulties, but I think that insane mode would be near impossible if not totally impossible.
But then some people could just be very stilled at FP squad based tactics and make it work perfectly fine, but then their are a lot more pope playing FPSes then top down shooters.
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"In fact, it poses the potential to make the game easier for people who would've otherwise struggled with the overhead view."
I do not think their is any other way to read this quote...
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That being said it would be easier to shoot in the z dimension,
Although it is of course relative, you probably mean the y dimension. You always shoot in the z dimension, unless you put someone else directly in front of your gun. Try it at home, you'll see!
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and it only takes running in front of your team mate while they file a few times to kill you
I know file folder papercuts hurt but DAMN. That gives me the chills just thinking about it!
Next up... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Next up... (Score:5, Funny)
Not abstract enough...
http://firstpersontetris.com/
Re:Next up... (Score:5, Funny)
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Oi, why did I have to check that out? I'm all dizzy and nauseous, and frustrated at my low score!
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Don't play that after a night of drinking, reopened the headache before I could stop...fun though
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Holy FUCK
I've play a LOT of Tetris in my day, that's gotta be the hardest variant!
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I .... (hurk) ... I hate yo...(urps)... sorry, gotta go!
Re:Next up... (Score:5, Funny)
...Space Invaders as a first person shooter. The original alien swarm.
Space Invaders FPS FAQ:
Why is the screen blank?
The Space invaders are 2 Dimensional, and you're viewing them from the side. Good Luck.
I keep dying. What's going on?
We already covered that. The Space Invaders are essentially invisible now. Only elite space defenders can win this game from muscle memory learned in the early 80's. You're not one of them.
That is terrifying (Score:2)
Re:That is terrifying (Score:4, Funny)
Why not script it? (Score:5, Informative)
Why not script it? I guess you just have to do everything yourself.
Just bind p for a handy point-of-view toggle.
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I assume that last line was supposed to read 'exec povtoggle.cfg'
Might be important if anyone intends to use it and doesn't bother to read closely.
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You assume correctly. You have to exec custom configuration scripts in autoexec.cfg for source games to recognize any aliases, bindings, etc.
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What the heck Slashdot? You eat my reply, then give it back after I try again? Who designed this crap?
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Can't anything.. (Score:1)
not for the mac (yet?) (Score:2, Interesting)
Left 4 Dead still isn't available as a Mac title...and now this. Which is completely bizarre, because Alien Swarm was originally available for the Mac; it's based on UT2004...available for, oh, you know, 6 years?
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So? They have Source for Mac! They can rewrite for Mac Source!
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It is a rewrite and based on the Source engine, which has nothing to do with UT2004.
As are Half Life 2 and Portal, both of which are now playable on OSX.
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So is Left 4 Dead, yet that isn't available...yet. Presumably because it's not just as easy as clicking "export for Mac".
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Here's a nickel kid, go get yourself a real computer.
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Left 4 Dead still isn't available as a Mac title...and now this. Which is completely bizarre, because Alien Swarm was originally available for the Mac; it's based on UT2004...available for, oh, you know, 6 years?
Buy a real computer and you can play games. Buy the $400 more expensive hipster "computer" and you can do what Jobs thinks you should be doing.
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Well (Score:1)
This would make life harder (Score:3, Informative)
FPS games tend to spawn most things in front of you.
Top-down games spawn all around you, because you can see behind you just as well as you can see in front of you.
Looking in only one direction at a time would be crippling.
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I'm Sure It's Fun (Score:2)
But since it switches to 800x600 without actually resizing the graphics to such, I can't play it. Nice going Valve.
Re:Or.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.
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Yeah, it's true that 3rd person sucks for aiming, but this is only usually because you cannot zoom in 3rd person. Or for some other reason, like the crosshairs or ironsights being invisible. The camera distance increase only usually has a marginal penalty on accuracy.
For games with a visible crosshairs in 3rd, accuracy can sometimes approach even. It does take quite some getting used to. There are many games where the FoV change makes up-close combat more favorable to 3rd person, and as a result you see all
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Yeah, it's true that 3rd person sucks for aiming, but this is only usually because you cannot zoom in 3rd person.
As long as laser precision at infinite range is the norm for FPSs, why wouldn't everything else suck?
These guys can turn and headshot another in .1 second when the opponent appears at 270 degrees left, while a person in 1st-person view would not have seen the enemy at all. It also makes rapidly switching between targets a lot easier.
*sigh* that's whats wrong with games these days. 270 degree .1 second headshot. How is that immersive? Shot to the head is "realistic" but foot, hand, arm, leg, abdomen etc, those are glancing blows. Twitch shooting is going to kill the FPS genre.
Wouldn't you all like games with real life tactics better? Not the aim for the head!, or finish the guy off with a pistol at 300 yds kind...
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As long as laser precision at infinite range is the norm for FPSs, why wouldn't everything else suck?
Yeah, this is probably true -- although it might make it a bit too easy, some might say -- but I hadn't played a game with this feature. I understand Alien Swarm has it. The camera pullback for 3rd would make aiming at targets a little tougher, but not too difficult to overcome. An eyeball might be hard to aim at, but not a person's head.
*sigh* that's whats wrong with games these days. 270 degree .1 second headshot. How is that immersive? Shot to the head is "realistic" but foot, hand, arm, leg, abdomen etc, those are glancing blows.
I agree. But it bears mentioning that a gaping head wound is usually instantly fatal. A shot to the heart will stun and disable a person, but not instantly kill them. So a
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Wouldn't you all like games with real life tactics better? Not the aim for the head!, or finish the guy off with a pistol at 300 yds kind...
Absolutely not. In fact I can't stand the trend of shooters trying to be super realistic. It's one of the reasons I still play Quake 3 after >10 years.
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Twitch shooting was what made the multiplayer FPS genre popular in the first place (Quake, Unreal Tournament).
If you want something slower-paced and less twitchy, I recommend Operation Flashpoint & the ARMA series.
Or Fallout 3 with VATS aming
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There was a recent school shooting (in Germany I think it was) where there were 9 people killed, with nine shots fired, and 9 headshots.
No there wasn't...
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I guess "recent" is a loose term, but it did happen. He may be confusing it with an axe/molotov cocktail attack in march.
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20090917-21985.html
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"Execution-style" typically refers to point-blank shots, not "whipping around" and hitting multiple targets in a short amount of time.
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Professionals aim center mass for a controlled pair. Only when controlled pairs fail (failure drill) do they do 2+1.
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to take them out even if they were wearing body armor.
These days, unless you are wearing almost video-game body armor, professional weapons (e.g., police or military) will generally be able to go right through the armor and still be lethal.
For example, weapons that fire 5.7x28mm ammunition [wikipedia.org] are becoming more common in professional use precisely beause the projectile can penetrate kevlar while still having more than enough power afterward. In theory, this ammo could even pass completely through body armor and the chest cavity (assuming it didn't strike bone) an
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It's fun, and surprisingly tough.
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No, it's first person view that's completely unusable for any game. If I could do 1 thing to improve gaming, it would be to go back in time and murder the guy who created FPS before he was born. Gaming for the past decade would be orders of magnitude better.
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No, it's first person view that's completely unusable for any game. If I could do 1 thing to improve gaming, it would be to go back in time and murder the guy who created FPS before he was born. Gaming for the past decade would be orders of magnitude better.
Absolutely, I completely agree. The problem is that a first-person view has no connection with how I perceive things in reality.
See, I was born with no eyes, and at a very young age I was fitted with a shoulder-harness camera that sits about 30 feet over my head, as well as slightly behind (about 30 degrees) and to the right. This makes it virtually impossible for me to play a first-person game because I have never perceived the world this way, and it just looks strange and alien. I feel right at home pl
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I especially hate when the TPS game has the character off center of the screen and sniping from behind cover.
Option 1. See the enemy, hit obstacle while shooting.
Option 2. Have line of fire to the enemy, don't see the obstacle
Option 3. Move from behind the cover, get shot.
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Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.
I seriously disagree with you there. I really think a lot of games where you control a walking/running character are much better playable in 3rd person than in 1st person. Games with a first person perspective always seem very outdated and limited to me, especially when controlled with a mouse and keyboard. The biggest problem as I see it, is that in most fps games, there is no seperation between looking and moving. You both look and steer your character with the mouse, while you use the keyboard to acceler
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Don't think World of Warcraft when you think 3rd person perspective. It's just 1st person with the camera pulled back a little. Think Robotron 2084. If you feel any detachment from your character, you won't be alive very long. Well, you won't be alive very long anyway, but achieving zen like oneness with your character is quite possible, and necessary to make any sort of real progress.
If anything, it's the games that try to be "real" and "immersive" that fail. An abstract game allows you to forget all
Obligatory (Score:2)
First Person Tetris [firstpersontetris.com]
I'm with you, actually. I played Dr. Mario against a friend for at least two hours a few days ago, and once you're in the zone it's almost a pure contest of wills as opposed to getting the good gun or the high ground.
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Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.
So very this.
I hated the disconnect between 'WASD moving in perspective' to 'full on strafe, with mouse turning'. It was jarring.
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Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.
Except there is a reason perspectives are designed that way. I can't use an external view in something like Halo because it would allow you to see around corners and things like that.
In the case of Alien Swarm, it only takes 1 or 2 shots to kill a standard alien. As it stands, its already pretty easy and its got a well built learning curve - But its also very teamwork centric, like L4D - you'll only do as well as your team can work together.
Because of that, the top down view is designed to make you have a t
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...and not all games are designed for everyone. If you don't like the top-down view, there are hundreds of FPS games out there for you. Play one of them instead of trying to turn Alien Swarm into something it's not.
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You know, however you want to play it. Because you're the one playing it.
Do you work for Activision?
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so your statement means what exactly?
first person is in the game and not exactly hidden.
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Or it could be played.... you know, the way it was designed to be played
Yep. Also, music should be listened to on the CD, and not format-shifted to something the publisher did not intend.
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That's a false dichotomy. Format-shifting music doesn't change the inherent nature of the music. It is still (mostly) similar to its original and intended form.
Changing a third-person game to a first-person one is a considerable change, and many of the design decisions that are made for one type of game are flat-out incorrect for the other.
A better comparison would be cutting up Pulp Fiction or Memento to show the scenes in chronological order.
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Re:Or.. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Because developers have nothing better to do than waste their time on features they hate and never want anyone to use.
Explains why they insist on putting motion controls in games that don't need it.
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Yeah, the submitter's crapping on about it like he thinks he hacked the Gibson or something. Dude, you need to take two steps back and think about it. Did it take any skillz? Could my two-year-old have done the same? Put things in perspective, dude. I think you need to chill with Dan Queed.
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I think both of you just need to chill, take a hit or whatever will calm you down, and just let Mr. Taco run his blog however the fuck he wants to :)
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(uncommonly referred to as isometric view)
Never try to sound smarter than you are, because someone who actually knows what they're talking about will show you up. Isometric view points in a game specifically refer to when the plane is tilted to a certain perspective, usually 45 degrees. It is possible to have 2D perspective that is not at all isometric, since to be isometric, it needs to be fixed that all along each axis, the scale is the same, meaning that there's no foreshortening or vanishing points.
Further, when it's actually applicable, isome
Syndicate (Score:2)
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You, sir, are an idiot. Isometric and 2D are not, at all, the same thing. Alien Swarm is neither, regardless of what people who are utterly unfamiliar with both terms seem to think. Believe it or not, these words have actual meanings, although you clearly don't understand them.
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And we all had to know this why?
1 Get your own blog ...
2 Whine on that
3 Leave this one alone
4
5 Forget profit, I would love it if I could read one thread without anyone having to be modded off-topic or troll.
Re:How is this news? (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously? Could we get something remotely interesting for a change? I've not even downloaded the game and I could tell you exactly how to do this, its really, really not even remotely difficult or complicated in any way. I will very shortly be removing slashdot from my RSS feeds.
Your post is hilarious when read out in a posh and pretentious English schoolgirl's voice.
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No... The game really is open source.
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It is, so the tagger isn't actually misinformed. That said, the source license is still almost completely irrelevant to the story. It's cool to point it out, but that's not what this story is about (to the extent that it's about much at all...)
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No, Open Source actually means something more than source code that you can download and look through. I did look through the SDK source for a license, and the only thing I found was "Copyright (year) Valve Corporation, LLC, All Rights Reserved". I cannot find the terms and conditions of the source code for Alien Swarm anywhere in the SDK distribution.
Bruce Perens once related a story [youtube.com] about Steve Ballmer announcing Microsoft's "Shared Source" program. During the Q&A portion of Ballmer's presentation,
Re:opensource (Score:4, Informative)
Valve never said that the game was "open source", just that the source code for the "game logic" is available, similar to how it is with HL2. At some point, people (and press?) got confused and keep calling it open source, despite that it's not really different from the other moddable Source engine games that you can use as base. The intent being opening up avenues of modding, but the game still depends on large binary blobs to compile and is releases under a restricted license.
Valve probably didn't intend to mislead people, unlike the whole "Shared source" crap by Microsoft.
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Historically, modde
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Doh! thats what I get for not RTFA and fact checking.
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