Topic: Borderlands (Read 138267 times)

Storm Rider · « **on:** 02 Oct 2009, 18:49 »

Seriously, how do we not have a thread for this game yet?

So, Borderlands is a RPG/FPS hybrid being made by Gearbox and published by 2K for the 360, PS3, and PC. It comes out on October 20th, and it looks pretty fucking badass. It's set in a Mad Max-esque postapocalyptic universe, and the plot involved bands of mercenaries searching out a vault full of alien technology hidden somewhere on the universe. The campaign features drop-in/drop-out co-op for up to 4 players. The big hook of the game, however, is the RPG elements: based on Diablo, the game has both skill trees for all four of the game's classes, and most importantly a procedurally generated loot system, that as of the last preview that I read produces over 17 million unique guns. It also has a really distinctive cel-shaded art style that really sets it apart from the typical brown-and-grey shooter palate, in my opinion.

Here's a developer interview!
Here's a trailer!
Here's another one!
Here are a couple of gameplay movies!
Here's a handy WoW-style skill calculator, which also shows all the skill trees!

JD · « **Reply #1 on:** 02 Oct 2009, 19:23 »

Yeah I can't wait for this.

scarred · « **Reply #2 on:** 02 Oct 2009, 19:39 »

So it's what Fallout 3 should've been?

Oh hell. I'm so there.

satsugaikaze · « **Reply #3 on:** 02 Oct 2009, 22:51 »

Yeah, first heard about this in E3. Gearbox and 2K are both pretty solid. I heard something about it being GTA-slash-Mad-Max, that's pretty much what sold me on it. Skill system looks pretty average, but it seems to be interesting enough for me to give it a long, hard go.

Also, no Adventures of Dystopia Brown or Dirt Spectrum? Madness! I love cel-shaded graphics though.

(My favourite visuals from a game are still from XIII, mainly because it was such a cheese-fest.)

est · « **Reply #4 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 02:18 »

Yeah, this has been on my "buy asap" list for a while now, it looks really fun.

Spluff · « **Reply #5 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 02:28 »

What's the deal with the vehicles? I just don't get it, same thing with Rage, they look somewhat out of place, though I'll reserve judgement until I've played the game(s).

LTK · « **Reply #6 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 15:50 »

Looks really awesome, but I have too many games on my WANT-list to really get into this. A game like this (is it an MMOFPSRPG?) would most likely eat up all of my free time.

Storm Rider · « **Reply #7 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 15:58 »

It's not an MMO. Your character is persistent, but the action is either single-player or instanced to your co-op party.

And I admit it, I made this thread at least partially to get two more of you to buy the game so Steve and I have people to play with.

LTK · « **Reply #8 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 16:06 »

Quote from: Storm Rider on 03 Oct 2009, 15:58

It's not an MMO. Your character is persistent, but the action is either single-player or instanced to your co-op party.

And I admit it, I made this thread at least partially to get two more of you to buy the game so Steve and I have people to play with.

It isn't? From the trailer, I was under the impression that the world was pretty crowded with players. I'll have to watch it one more time...

LTK · « **Reply #9 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 16:37 »

I got another look at the two trailers, and I remembered that it works with a class system. "Brick - as himself!" Haha. If it gathers up a crowd, I think I might buy it.

The setting looks somewhat like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect combined. I like the look of that skill tree, too; nothing too complicated. I don't usually care much for class-based games, though. It always feels a bit restrictive to me. I think it was Red Faction Guerillia that had a class-based multiplayer where the type of equipment you picked up determined your class. This appealed more to me than the conventional system.

Is it just me, or do many of these class-based multiplayer games try to be a bit too much like Team Fortress 2? I mean, there's obviously HAVE online, which blatantly copies everything they do, but also Battlefield Heroes, and it seems like they're all trying to create their own atmosphere of 'fun and games'. The classes have, aside from playstyle, radically diverse and exaggarated personalities, and they feel just a bit zany. That's just the impression I'm getting.

Johnny C · « **Reply #10 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 22:55 »

me sam steve bryan SOUNDS LIKE A TEAM, LET'S GO

Melodic · « **Reply #11 on:** 03 Oct 2009, 23:25 »

I'll buy it

for the PC.

FIXDIX · « **Reply #12 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 04:57 »

I'll be up to playing with peeps on PS3.

JD · « **Reply #13 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 04:59 »

Quote from: Melodic on 03 Oct 2009, 23:25

I'll buy it

for the PC.

Seconded

snalin · « **Reply #14 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 06:14 »

Does anyone know if it's possible to play across consoles?

KvP · « **Reply #15 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 11:42 »

I would've heard about it if that was the case.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #16 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 12:28 »

preordered this for 360 months ago. can't wait.

gamertag's Captain Dino, for those of you i'm not already friends with. let's play!

Dimmukane · « **Reply #17 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 12:40 »

<--- Gamertag

Storm Rider · « **Reply #18 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 14:09 »

Quote from: Johnny C on 03 Oct 2009, 22:55

me sam steve bryan SOUNDS LIKE A TEAM, LET'S GO

Yesssssss.

Boro_Bandito · « **Reply #19 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 17:10 »

I still haven't finished Arkham Asylum, and I'm getting Brutal Legend right when it comes out, this looks cool, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it right away unfortunately, especially with school being so life-drainingly impossible this semester. I have had nearly zero time for video games so far and it irks me.

est · « **Reply #20 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 17:32 »

I wish these cunts* would get their shit sorted and get cross-console/pc mutliplayer happening already. It's all the same game, surely the information being passed back and forth can be abstracted/translated to a sufficient degree that this is possible.

It's 2010 in three months. If we're not gonna get jetpacks at least give us this.

* everyone involved with gaming in general, not just Gearbox

Melodic · « **Reply #21 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 17:37 »

There are two major problems in cross-platform gaming: net code and playability.

Number one is fairly obtuse. Sure, they all connect to the internet and have the same gameplay, but designing the network code of one version of the game to be compatible with another version is a ridiculously complicated task. Since both the 360 and PS3 rely on peer-to-peer connection, this makes it even more difficult to sync them to a PC, which relies on dedicated servers (most of the time). It would be like trying to hook up your toaster to your wireless router so you could make Eggos on the fly.

Number two is pretty obvious, though. PC gamers get much better sensitivity control than console gamers, and handicapping them to prevent exploiting that ability (I'm looking at you, Shadowrun) is a dick move.

RallyMonkey · « **Reply #22 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 20:12 »

I was a lot more excited for this game when I thought the trailer said "The RPG and FPS made by a baby".

lprkn · « **Reply #23 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 21:24 »

Your post-apocalyptic future has entirely too few pairs of assless chaps.

est · « **Reply #24 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 23:44 »

Quote from: Melodic on 04 Oct 2009, 17:37

Since both the 360 and PS3 rely on peer-to-peer connection, this makes it even more difficult to sync them to a PC, which relies on dedicated servers (most of the time).

I know that, but Battle.net for example is just a match-making service to set up peer to peer games with character info stored server-side when important things happen, and in this case at least it's got a direct example with Diablo, as this is billed to be an FPS RPG in the Diablo mold. If Gearbox ran a matchmaking server that shared info with PSN and XBL and as I said earlier, they were able to abstract the info being passed between the players to a sufficient degree then it could be done, and people could play one game on their PC then one game on their/their friend's Xbox with the same character. In fact, I could see some kind of agreement between Steam and XBL&/PSN in the future if they really tried, because I could only see it benefiting all involved.

est · « **Reply #25 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 23:49 »

Also, re: point #2 I think that if you're gonna play an FPS on a console then that is your choice and other people shouldn't be handicapped for it. There are some people who are gonna be shit players despite control schemes, and there are people who are naturally good at using a console controller to play with.

JD · « **Reply #26 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 23:57 »

Quote from: Spluff on 03 Oct 2009, 02:28

What's the deal with the vehicles? I just don't get it, same thing with Rage, they look somewhat out of place, though I'll reserve judgement until I've played the game(s).

Didn't they say the same thing about Half Life 2?

Storm Rider · « **Reply #27 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 10:12 »

Quote from: est on 04 Oct 2009, 23:49

Also, re: point #2 I think that if you're gonna play an FPS on a console then that is your choice and other people shouldn't be handicapped for it. There are some people who are gonna be shit players despite control schemes, and there are people who are naturally good at using a console controller to play with.

So console gamers should be forced to play at a competitive disadvantage because they can't afford to buy/maintain a gaming PC? Although I will admit that Borderlands is a special case because there's no real head-to-head multiplayer. It could still create balance problems if the PC guy is hogging all the XP, though.

Nodaisho · « **Reply #28 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 12:52 »

Possibly have an option when creating a server to decide whether it can be a cross-platform server, and then have a search option that lets you only see non-cross-platform servers?

Gaming computers aren't that expensive anymore, either. At least not ones that will acceptably run new games. Not counting stuff that people can be expected to already have (case, mouse, keyboard, hard drive, monitor), you could put together a decent rig for less than $300, one that would last you a few years, and your games wouldn't cost $60 when new, which adds up quickly.

Storm Rider · « **Reply #29 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 13:14 »

P.S.: Dimmukane and SWM, I didn't have you on my friends list yet, so I added you after you posted your tags in this thread. If you got a friend request sometime yesterday and didn't know who it was from, it's probably me.

est · « **Reply #30 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 01:36 »

Quote from: Storm Rider on 05 Oct 2009, 10:12

So console gamers should be forced to play at a competitive disadvantage because they can't afford to buy/maintain a gaming PC? Although I will admit that Borderlands is a special case because there's no real head-to-head multiplayer. It could still create balance problems if the PC guy is hogging all the XP, though.

No-one would be forcing you to play with PC players. Hopefully if someone got this going then you could set up console-only or pc-only games, and set up games with passwords so that if you want to invite console or pc-playing friends into a game where that shit is less of a problem then the option is available to you.

The extra letter · « **Reply #31 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 23:23 »

Oooh boy, I've been waiting for this to come out.

Looks like yet another game that'll be so much more fun than finishing off my assignments for this semester.

LTK · « **Reply #32 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 12:16 »

Oh look, Steam offers a four-pack of Borderlands for a discount. €134.97 for me and $134.97 for you guys in the US. Anyone up for a collaborative purchase?

KvP · « **Reply #33 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 12:22 »

Yeah, but I don't know how I'd transfer money. E-check via paypal!

Johnny C · « **Reply #34 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 14:30 »

Quote from: est on 06 Oct 2009, 01:36

No-one would be forcing you to play with PC players. Hopefully if someone got this going then you could set up console-only or pc-only games, and set up games with passwords so that if you want to invite console or pc-playing friends into a game where that shit is less of a problem then the option is available to you.

this is way more goofy and complex than just maybe making sure everyone's on an even playing field for cross platform games, and it doesn't actually solve any problems

Nodaisho · « **Reply #35 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 15:36 »

Except for the problem of how terribly the game will sell for PC if you handicap PC players.

est · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 15:54 »

Yeah, fuck that shit. And Johnny, I really don't see any "problems" with letting console and pc players play without handicapping. There have got to be some people who are really fucking good at playing with a controller. I know there's sensitivity problems and so forth, but to me that just means that they need to tweak the controls so that the analog stick can be tuned to be more/less sensitive and you have things like "quick turn" buttons or something. Either that or just let people plug a fucking kb+mouse into the xbox/ps3 and play it like that.

You don't gimp one set of players just because another set's control system is sub-par. That is ridiculous. You fix what is wrong with the sub-par system so everyone can play properly.

Melodic · « **Reply #37 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 17:17 »

Est, that would not work.

scarred · « **Reply #38 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 19:15 »

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #39 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 19:21 »

Zombie DLC already announced.

est · « **Reply #40 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 19:59 »

Quote from: scarred on 16 Oct 2009, 19:15

You know, I was going to say something about how someone was gonna accuse me of this, but I left it alone. I have consoles too, and I get the shits with the control schemes for FPS type games, but I wouldn't want someone else's gaming experience hampered just because the devs/platform couldn't provide me with a decent control mechanism.

LeeC · « **Reply #41 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 21:19 »

looks pretty sweet. Like the road warrior meets evolution.

LTK · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Oct 2009, 14:19 »

Quote from: KvP on 16 Oct 2009, 12:22

Yeah, but I don't know how I'd transfer money. E-check via paypal!

Although I don't have a Paypal account - guess I never needed one - I can do international transactions.

KvP · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Oct 2009, 17:15 »

Cool, PM me. I might be able to wrangle another purchaser, if we don't already have 4 guys.

Melodic · « **Reply #44 on:** 17 Oct 2009, 17:28 »

I might be in on that.

KvP · « **Reply #45 on:** 17 Oct 2009, 17:38 »

I do have a friend, and I can send you an e-cheque for $70. It'll probably take a week or two to go through though, if that's a problem.

LTK · « **Reply #46 on:** 18 Oct 2009, 03:08 »

I've got two people from the Koala Wallop forums who are also interested. So, that's five people. Uh.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #47 on:** 18 Oct 2009, 11:14 »

Quote from: est on 16 Oct 2009, 19:59

You know, I was going to say something about how someone was gonna accuse me of this, but I left it alone. I have consoles too, and I get the shits with the control schemes for FPS type games, but I wouldn't want someone else's gaming experience hampered just because the devs/platform couldn't provide me with a decent control mechanism.

This is exactly yes.

Storm Rider · « **Reply #48 on:** 19 Oct 2009, 11:49 »

Alright, who's getting the 360 version of the game? We should all trade GT's, so that we have enough people that we can always form a full or nearly-full group based on who's online.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #49 on:** 19 Oct 2009, 12:04 »

I'll be getting the 360 version eventually but not for a couple of weeks probably.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Borderlands (Read 138267 times)