We don't know. There is no latency counter in this demo. The Demo is more like a cutted down preview version. It's very consolish and has no PC server features. There are some title screens too which state that this is an old version with outdated code and DX9 only.
When I'm playing with europeans it decently playable. Most times you get thrown together with people all around the world and it maybe that's lagging like hell.
Btw, anyone found out what those buttons around the map are for? They do something but I didn't figure out what. It's mysterious.
Went in, joined a game as an Aien. Didn't have a clue what the controls were or what I was doing so I just spammed away randomly... 8 kill streak right from the off lol
Obviously everyone else is a newb, too. Still.. pretty mindless. But I guess that's DM, the other gametypes should be better.
Performance is not an issue in this demo. I think I am well over 100 fps (yes I have fraps running).
Current computer:
Asus P5B motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.4GHz
6 Gigs ram
Evga GTX 275 overclocked edition
LG super multi DVD burner
500 Gig Western Digital HD
Acer AL2216W 22" LCD
Windows Vista 64 Home Premium, XP Pro dual boot
Last edited by Fuku2 Rage on Thu, 4th Feb 2010 11:46; edited 1 time in total
how do you get into a game? it keeps searching and searching and finds nothing....
After waiting for maybe 30 seconds, just hit escape and going back to try to join again.
It might take several times doing this to get into a game. They really need to work on this game.
I don't understand how they can release a demo based on "old code". Wouldn't it have been done awhile ago and couldn't they release it then? Keep it up to date assholes.
Last edited by Fuku2 Rage on Thu, 4th Feb 2010 11:46; edited 1 time in total
That was fucking awesome!!! Took a while to finally get into a game, but when I did; it was hella loads of fun!! Ok, review;
=Graphics=
Yeah, let's get this out the way first - since that's the "most important!!!!1" thing to know, right? They're pretty good; the models are highly detailed and the scenery is impressive with no uber-bland, low-res, textures. Light sourcing is ok, though for a game that is predominantly supposed to be in the dark it had FAR too many light sources. Still, atmospheric enough and it ran a locked 60fps on highest settings.
The demo only has support for DX9, so we aren't able to see all the "niceties" that come from DX10/11.
=Audio=
VERY impressive (IMO) Sound effects capture the feel of the movies quite nicely, there was no music so I can't comment on that - but the overall atmosphere felt nice. Especially nice hearing the battles in a distance, they actually sound frantic and the audio quality doesn't drop off just because you're not in the direct location. Alien sounds were what really impressed me though, immediately recognisable from the films.
My only gripe is the clik-clak sound of the Alien feet when you're moving.. I know they've got these huge claws, but something about it just sounded "off" and it got annoying after a while.
=Gameplay=
Can't really comment on this too much, as the demo only has a FFA/Deathmatch mode and there's a limit on how many players can be a certain species. Eight players, one map, two Predator limit (thank fuck!) - but what I played of it, it certainly seemed a LOT of fun. I found the overall pace to be enjoyable, though it's a huge step down from the speed and fluidity of the first two AVP titles. The map was pretty large, mostly cramped corridors and a smattering of rooms - with one huge docking area where most the combat ends up taking place.
I was happy to find that there was NO lag whatsoever. If I shot someone, the bullets hit. I can't stand match-making, but at least - for once - it managed to put me in a local game.
=Characters=
--Alien--
Oh baby, yeah! My absolute favourite species to play as (in any of the prior AVP titles!) so I was pretty worried about how it works out in this new title. Thankfully I wasn't disappointed in the slightest! ^_^ Standard movement was considerably faster than the Marine or Predator, and when you SPRINT it becomes ludicrous! Super fast speed, allowing you leg it round the map in search of your next victim. The Alien only has two attacks by default, a Light/Heavy claw attack - but it's context sensitive. From a distance, the Heavy attack whips your tail out and with enough force that it will kill Aliens/Marines with two hits and Predators with three.
Close the gap and the Heavy attack works twofold; first to stun the enemy, second to impale them through the chest with your tail. It's slow and takes a while to "charge up", so be sure to hit your enemy with the first - stunning - attack.
Being able to run on walls is great fun, just as it was in the first games, the only annoyance comes from the "Mouse 3 to transition" nonsense. I miss the old way of just HOLDING a button and being able to free-run over surfaces, rather than having to jump onto them and/or press a button to go from wall to ground, etc. Luckily there's an option for "auto transition" which basically means you're able to walk across all surfaces automatically. Downside of the Alien is you take SILLY damage from everyone, so speed is most definitely your friend in this. The Alien has one huge advantage over other species, and that's the ability to see your enemies through walls! This makes tracking opponents much easier, allowing you to hunt enemies without much downtime as you run around the map like a headless chicken.
--Marines--
Fun, fun, fun!! I was never much of a fan of the Marines in prior titles, but in this one you really can kick some ass - as long as you don't let the Aliens/Predators get too close, that is The Pulse rifle is the weapon you start with by default, and to be honest; it's the weapon you'll use the most. Supremely damaging, against both Aliens and Predators, a huge magazine size, relatively fast reload, and small spread as long as you don't full auto until the clip is out I picked up the shotgun and ughhhh, it's horrible :\ You'd think the shotgun would be considerably better in close quarters, but I found the Pulse Rifle to be the weapon of choice.
The Motion Tracker is, as always, a great device - but you really can't rely on it too much. The tracker has a slight delay on pinpointing opponents, and given the speed of the Aliens - that could be disastrous. Still, it's good to help you get your bearings. The Marine has the largest amount of life available, and - like the Predator - can heal himself with Stims. The biggest downside of the Marine is how goddamned slow he is! He plods along at a ridiculously slow pace, and even sprinting is laughable - it's nothing more than a jog and you run out of stamina after a few steps. Disappointing.
--Predator--
Hoo~boy. Mr Overpowered is back and he's kicking ass and taking names. This dude, just like he was in both earlier AVP titles, is seriously OP - especially if you let him get ahold of his tools and gadgets. He can soak a lot of damage, dish a lot of damage, and can heal himself in seconds - as well as being able to go invisible via the cloak, and make use of insta-kill weapons like the Plasma Caster and Smart Disk. Yeah, this dude is seriously OP.... and fun!
You start off with just your wrist-blades, and even they are downright lethal, easily rivalling the Alien claws. Your other gadgets, like the Cloak/PlasmaCaster/Disk/Pistol are all found as pickups dotted around the level. Luckily the vision modes are standard and built into your helmet, which is a good thing because they are NEEDED! Three vision modes to switch between; Standard, Infrared (for finding Marines) and Electro (for locating Aliens/Predators) and if you don't make use of them, expect to die - often.
So far I've only managed to have a few rounds as the Pred, and only managed to find the Disk, but man what a weapon!! It's a one-hit-kill weapon and it ricochets off walls when it hits, cutting through enemies like butter. Holding down "Mouse 3" (default for your special attack) and it brings up the targeting laser, if you lock onto an enemy and release the button; the disk goes flying out and bam! One more frag for you. The disk comes flying back pretty fast too, so it's not long before you can start firing again.
Finally, the Predator's leap/jump - the one we all saw in the gameplay vids? I love it! It's not the "smart button" that I originally feared and it doesn't even come up until you activate it! Basically pressing the FOCUS button brings up a reticule that lets you leap from place to place, or even locate points of interest (ie; a faint outline showing you where to find your weapon pickups). You can jump around normally, like any other player, but the FOCUS jump is for coordinated leaps and lets you cross huge gaps in an instant. It may sound like an "instant win!" button, but it really isn't - all it does is make the super-jump function of AVP2 actually work properly. IMO of course.
=Final=
All in all, a very enjoyable demo. Slower paced than we're used to with the AVP series, but I don't think it detracts from the experience THAT much. Smooth gameplay, pretty graphics, not-so-killer system requirements, tons of variety in how each species plays. I like it. Bring on the retail!!
I don't understand how they can release a demo based on "old code". Wouldn't it have been done awhile ago and couldn't they release it then? Keep it up to date assholes.
Don't be surprised when the "old code" turns out to be retail code.
After my first round as an Alien, I figured playing a marine would be somewhat masochistic. But I tried it, and actually managed to win the round as one. Seems it's really all about watching your back and managing to spot at medium range before they manage to close the gap.
Next I tried the predator, lol stupidly powerful, and I was only using basic attacks + stealth.
Heavy hit, light, light (or E, but that seems to be countered quite often). dead.
Don't get a whole lot of satisfaction from kills, but I imagine this should change as people get better at the game and getting the jump isn't so easy.
I think another cause of this is that nothing seems to really require any precision or even much timing as an Alien/Predator. Get close, aim in general direction, spam away, job done.
I can't even join a game!! Now why the fuck didn't they make an option like in left4dead that enables me to host my own p2p game??? This is fucked Beyond!!
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The Pulse rifle is the weapon you start with by default, and to be honest; it's the weapon you'll use the most. Supremely damaging, against both Aliens and Predators, a huge magazine size, relatively fast reload, and small spread as long as you don't full auto until the clip is out 
I picked up the shotgun and ughhhh, it's horrible :\ You'd think the shotgun would be considerably better in close quarters, but I found the Pulse Rifle to be the weapon of choice.
