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Arkane PREY - Arkane's immersive coffee cup transformation sim - now with Mooncrash roguelike mode DLC

Nano

Arcane
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Mar 6, 2016
Messages
4,647
Grab the Codex by the pussy Strap Yourselves In
This wasn't worth all the hyping they did for it.
 

RoSoDude

Arcane
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Oct 1, 2016
Messages
727
Prepared for :incline:
jIaNb7l.jpg

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Sadly the update also broke the lovely Prey Interface Customizer mod, but I'm sure that will be sorted out in due time.
 

ColonelTeacup

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,433
Also, Ricardo Bare is the writer. Don't overcredit Avellone, he only did additional writing
This is good, as I felt preys story was lackluster.
This wasn't worth all the hyping they did for it.
The devs also talked about it a year or so ago, during an interview. They couldn't finish it in time and the publishers worried the game would be too hard with survival mechanics like broken parts of your suit, broken bones and food/water/sleep requirements, but the devs really wanted to add it in. This seems like bethesda eager to steal some more dosh, in what should have been a free update. Though on the bright side it might give prey a second chance to survive, as I heard it sold poorly.
 

Jaedar

Arcane
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Messages
9,837
Project: Eternity Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Roguelite isn't what I was hoping for, but it could be cool, since it may actually have you work with an incomplete kit requiring some cleverness to progress.

But I doubt.

Also this dlc seems more like a season pass than a dlc
 

ciox

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Messages
1,277
Seems interesting but there's a lack of details.
There's a new 'psycho cutter' weapon but how does it work, and is there anything else? Are new weapons available in the main game too if you get the DLC?
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
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Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Infinitron: prey DLC seems likely. tomorrow night
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @StrongBelwas: I just hope its decently sized, I get the bad feeling its going to be the last hurrah of its kinda of game given how Underworld is looking
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @Infinitron: System Shock 3 is still a thing but yeah
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:35 PM - @Infinitron: I fear the Prey DLC might also be an enhanced edition that popamolizes the full game or something though
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Jaedar: I fear it will be some sort of short challenge levels, not a real campaign
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Daedalos: what makes u fear that infinitron? wasnt there several new storyboard and art pieces on twitter?
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Daedalos: it gave me vibes of new stuff not remastering of old
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Infinitron: Daedalos: Well I understand that Prey didn't sell well
Jun 9, 2018 at 8:37 PM - @Infinitron: They've taken a long time to come out with the DLC so that makes me think they might be looking to relaunch the game in some way

Yep! Well it doesn't sound popamole though.
 

Jinn

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
Well, I take back what I said in the E3 thread. This DLC has actually piqued my interest. I watched some of the gameplay and it actually looks really fun. The multiple characters seem to add a fair amount of depth to your various runs, as you have to adapt to their play-style in order to survive. While it's not exactly what I would have wanted for a $20 DLC (I would have preferred a proper decent length campaign of some sort), I'll probably end up picking it up soon not only because I'm drawn to it, but to support Arkane as well. Wish none of that money was going Bethesda's way though.
 

Jasede

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Messages
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Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut I'm very into cock and ball torture
What an... extremely odd idea.

Also, 20 is pretty cheap for a rogue-lite, that's what all the indie ones with terrible pixel art cost. Rogue-lites are a lot of fun and basically the only genre I play anymore.
 

CyberWhale

Arcane
Glory to Ukraine
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Fortress of Solitude
What an... extremely odd idea.

Also, 20 is pretty cheap for a rogue-lite, that's what all the indie ones with terrible pixel art cost. Rogue-lites are a lot of fun and basically the only genre I play anymore.

They are also made from the ground up and have a much smaller audience, so their higher price is somewhat expected. This uses re-used assets and already has an existing customer base.
15 or maybe even 10 bucks is something I would have expected from a DLC like this TBH.
 

RoSoDude

Arcane
Joined
Oct 1, 2016
Messages
727
I'm more interested in the hardcore mode than this new DLC.
Anyone can post impressions on the mode?

Just played on Survival Mode up until Psychotronics. I can happily report that the game feels quite challenging enough on Hard, where before I felt like I had to play on Nightmare to get a challenge despite it mostly consisting of enemies killing me in two hits. I think there might be some subtle tweaks beyond just the main three that you can optionally toggle at the start (weapon degradation, traumas, oxygen), because I'm noticing combat feels a bit different. In particular, there seems to be more of a delay when switching weapons, especially if you're just finishing a GLOO firing cycle and swap to e.g. a wrench. Somehow enemy attacks also feel like they're a bit more fair -- I haven't had any Phantoms charging up attacks behind walls, warping in front of me, and blasting me away with no chance for me to dodge. I don't know if they've actually changed telegraphing behaviors, but it sure feels like it so far, and I'm enjoying it.

The new hardcore systems are also enforcing more tactical decisionmaking and character building strategy. For example, I can no longer rely on just crafting a huge stack of pistol and shotgun ammo as soon as I get their fabrication licenses to spam my way to victory, since my weapons degrade on use. If I don't get the Repair skill (which now allows you to use Spare Parts to fix weapons), I'll have to fabricate new copies of weapons or rely on the ones i can find in the station -- however, this means I won't be able to keep my weapon modifications, so if I want to spec into the Gunsmith skills I must also get Repair! You can see how just the addition of this one system leads to a lot more depth and tense choices in gameplay. As for the trauma system, I've only dealt with burn trauma so far, but it's brutal -- reduced max health is no joke. Now the placement of the first medical operator dispensor (medical operators can clear traumas) behind a standard and Thermal Phantom in the Trauma Center makes a lot more sense, especially since you're likely to get burned while fighting the thing anyway and it's a good teaching moment. I like the new oxygen system too -- you'll only leak O2 if your suit is in bad condition, making suit repair kits more important in space battles and adding much needed tension to the whole affair, but assuring that exploration of the Talos 1 Exterior isn't tedious. You can't carry O2 bottles in your inventory like I thought, but I believe you can use them on the spot, and there are also O2 refilling stations at various points on the exterior which are waypointed on your HUD.

As for my own experience so far, I've decided I'm going to go for a Scientist + Psi build and eschew the Engineer and Security trees entirely. Even on Hard, enemies are still wrecking me, and as I've said I'm hesitant to lean too much on my shotgun, so I've had to experiment a bit more with the combat mechanics, and the game's delivering. In particular, I've discovered the immense value of explosive gas canisters in the early game -- I've already sent six Phantoms (three of them Exotic) hurtling and splatted on walls, leaving them open to finishing wrench strikes. It's basic stuff, but I'm feeling more value in planning your approach and executing air and slide dodges in combat, due to the seeming changes to enemy attack telegraphing. Stealth also feels more reliable too, but that could also just be my imagination. Somehow the core gameplay is clicking for me a lot more than it did the first time, whether due to actual changes or just my own experience with the game + the new systems encouraging me to properly experiment. It's good stuff, really happy with it so far. I'm prepared to be disappointed by the steep nosedive in level design towards the end again, but maybe the new systems (and quiet changes? Am I just insane?) will make a difference. Will update as I go on.
 

Daedalos

Arcane
The Real Fanboy
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Apr 18, 2007
Messages
5,559
Location
Denmark
too bad i completed the game bfore this update :(

Still very very cool that Arkane is doing that, had hoped to see a more standalone fully fleshed DLC, but hwatever. Arkane are good guys n gals.
 

RoSoDude

Arcane
Joined
Oct 1, 2016
Messages
727
There's a bunch more detail about the Mooncrash DLC in this Engadget article, by the way:

https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/10/bethesda-prey-dlc-mooncrash-typhon-hunter/

How Bethesda plans to pull players back to 'Prey'

moon1.jpg

Last year's Prey was a creepy shooter and role-playing game set on a spaceship riddled with black, shimmering aliens. The so-called 'immersive sim' was praised for its science fiction story, which let you shape the main character and the fate of the hostile research station. The gameplay, though, was seen by many as a retread of BioShock, System Shock and other genre classics. Despite its wild Neuromod abilities, which let you become an expert hacker, fighter or shape-shifting alien, the rebooted Prey failed to catch the public's attention.

The title is far from finished, though. Developer Arkane Studios has been working on a wealth of DLC which could reignite interest in the alternate history thriller. Today, the base game will receive a free update with two new modes: Story and Survival. The former is for players who might have struggled with Prey's ferocious difficulty, or simply want to explore and experience the ending. Survival, meanwhile, adds a trauma system and other difficult mechanics for veteran and 'hardcore' players. If you fall off a balcony, for instance, or get hit by the alien Typhon, you might break a leg or start bleeding out.

A new, paid DLC package called Mooncrash is also coming out today. It's a side story which, as the name implies, takes place on a lunar base called Pytheas. The facility has gone 'dark,' however, and it's your job to find out exactly what happened. You're cast as a spy on a nearby satellite that's able to simulate, or relive, the events leading up to the collapse. The new mode was inspired by indie roguelikes, or more accurately roguelites, such as Darkest Dungeon, Rogue Legacy and Risk of Rain. It's a genre typified by multiple runs, or lives, and randomized elements including enemies, items and level design.

At first, your task is to explore the base, upgrade your character and survive. During each run, you will be battling a corruption meter -- a breakdown of the simulation -- which makes the typhon evolve and heightens environmental hazards such as fire, blackouts and electrically charged puddles. As you explore the station, you will slowly unlock new characters with unique abilities and Neuromod skill trees. Joan, for instance, is an expert engineer who can repair, fortify and summon turrets. VJ, meanwhile, is a weapons specialist with the muscle to open unpowered doors.
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"What we have here is like, something that's clearly descended from the immersive sim genre," Ricardo Bare, lead designer at Arkane Studios said. "It's a first-person action game, and it has roguelike elements, but it also has some storytelling elements that Arkane is known for mixed in with it. So it's this unique hybrid beast, I guess."

The ultimate goal is to help all five characters escape the lunar base. To succeed, you'll need to slowly build up the crew and combine their different abilities. You might start as the engineer, for instance, and find a broken door that leads to the escape pod hangar. If a horde of Typhon is lurking inside, it's best to unlock the door and move on, knowing that VJ can fight through and hopefully escape later on. When you switch to VJ, though, it might be better to find Joan's body first and pick up any equipment and resources she dropped.

Mooncrash will introduce two unlockable companions: a robot operator and a shapeshifting mimic. The operator is essentially a packmule that can ferry your loot to other characters. The mimic, meanwhile, will scurry through rooms and corridors tagging Typhon that have shapeshifted into everyday objects. There's also a new enemy called the Moonshark, which responds solely to sound and movement. The blind Typhon will burrow underground and try to surprise you from below; it's a devastating attack, but one that can be learned if you're able to find the corresponding Neuromod.

If the corruption level gets too high, or you run out of characters, you can choose to reset the base. The general layout will remain the same, but the content in each area will change. A laboratory might be pristine, pitch black or on fire. A door to a scientist's office could be open, damaged or protected by a keypad that can only be hacked by the engineer. Each session will, therefore, be unique and challenge players in different ways. Speedrunning will be possible, but the randomized elements should make it difficult for fans to create and follow meticulous walkthroughs.
moon3.jpg

If you loved Prey for its story, fear not; Mooncrash will build on the original game's narrative. You might spend the first few runs scurrying around for ammunition and Neuromod upgrades, but once you're strong enough, there will be side quests and special story missions to tackle. You might find an email that mentions a note on a now-deceased friend. If you're feeling adventurous, and the corruption level isn't too high, you might try to reach that colleague and learn a little more about the base. Arkane Studios expects players to naturally flip between survival-focused and more narrative or exploratory runs.

Mooncrash is also linked to the original Prey. During the game's development, the team had to think about Talos I and how it would have been constructed. The writers decided that humanity would have gone to the moon first, set up a staging ground, and then harvested helium from the lunar soil before building the floating art deco station. Once Talos I was completed, the moon base became a separate research facility. Transtar, the company behind the project, has a rival called Kasma that's referenced in emails and side quests during the main game.

"We basically took those two elements and said, 'Okay, let's put it on the moon, and have the main character, at least the character you start with, as a Kasma spy,'" Bare explained.

Mooncrash will be updated with a separate mode called Typhon Hunter later this summer. It's a multiplayer addition that pits one Morgan -- the hero of last year's game -- against a group of shape-shifting Typhon. You can play the mode in several locations pulled from Talos I. Each match will take roughly five minutes and boils down to a lethal game of hide and seek. Morgan's job is to find the wrenches and pistols scattered across the map and then defeat the hidden mimics. On the flipside, the Typhon have to somehow outlast or lure Morgan into an overwhelming ambush.

"They're super fun and full of jump scares," Bare said. "For the Morgan player, anyway! Not for the mimics."
dims

The asymmetrical gameplay is similar, in part, to the soon-to-be shuttered multiplayer shooter Evolve. That title, though, pits four humans against a quickly evolving monster; in Prey, the group dynamic is reversed, and the aliens are stuck in their primitive but no less lethal mimic form. In addition, Prey's upcoming Typhon Hunter mode will be VR compatible. That, of course, should heighten the scare factor when a mimic suddenly appears out of a seemingly innocent coffee cup.

Typhon Hunter will be joined by several single player challenge rooms set on Talos I. They're short experiences -- think simple scavenger hunts -- that will also be VR compatible. It's a bonus feature that is both unexpected and unsurprising given the wealth of VR adaptations Bethesda has put out in the last few years. The game should also be a great fit given the beautiful art and interior architecture that was dreamt up for the original game.

Taken as a whole, Mooncrash sounds like a nice expansion for Prey fans. Players who missed the game last year can buy an Ultimate Edition that includes the base game, the new Story and Survival modes, Mooncrash and — once it's available — the VR-compatible Typhon Hunter and single-player challenge rooms. If that doesn't galvanise interest in the franchise, I don't think anything will.

Do I get speshul newsposter XP now? I even did all the links and images, see!
 

Trithne

Erudite
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
1,191
Mooncrash is aptly named: So far I've managed to kill an Operator so hard it froze the game.
 

Don Peste

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||☆||
These two Steam reviews give a little bit of detail about how the DLC works:

I just successfully escaped the base with the first subject and figured I'd share my initial impressions.

The roguelike elemements in Mooncrash are the perfect twist for the Prey formula. I thoroughly enjoyed the intensity of the base game and Mooncrash's features complement it very well. The short, one-life runs mean you'll rarely become overpowered enough to confidently rush around every corner, unlike in the latter half of the base game. The lack of a save system during each individual run adds to this suspense immensely. No save scumming here. With this system, Arkane opened the door to new sorts of gameplay mechanics as well. I noticed several items meant for healing different kinds of injuries (Skin Graft kit for burns, Skeletal Structure repair kit, etc.). This is a very cool addition to the game that might not have worked well in the base game. I also disovered several new abilities, tools, and weapons. I look forward to exploring these more. The narrative and gameplay progression between subject escape attempts is very well executed so far as well.

How does it work?
After some small story bits you are taken to a menu where you can select one of five characters.
At the beginning you only get one, and have to unlock the others by doing objectives.
As soon as you pick your first character, you create what is called a run/simulation, which is a unique persistent moon setup across all of the characters that randomizes stuff as said above (it does not randomize the levels). It is persistent in the fact that everything remains the same, which means that if you take a really good, or important item and escape with it on one character, it will be gone when the next character runs through, so some thought and management is required. As you explore the moonbase, there is a sense of urgency. You have what is called Typhon Corruption, an escalation system where the longer you are in the simulation (in total, across the characters), the more corrupt it becomes. This works much like Risk of Rain. You start off with Level 1 and have weak enemies and sparse spawning. As time goes by you slowly gain level and more and more enemies pop-up, while also getting stronger. When you hit Level 5 there is a skull icon. I can only assume it means death, but it might just mean it gets really ♥♥♥♥ing hard. You can find these very rare items though that seem to lower your escalation progression by like 1/3rd, but I haven't gotten far enough to see how many spawn, or if a set amount more than one per run spawns.

The goal is to escape with all 5 characters in a single run/ simulation, however the simulation can be reset of course. If you fail to escape with all characters such as someone dying, or maybe not having unlocked the rest of the characters and escaping, everything will be reset and the item and enemy placement will randomize again.
What does carry over into a new run is the characters you unlocked, upgrade chipsets, enemy scans, and the currency you receive.

There is an in-game scoring system in this game. For everything you do, such as finding a dead crew member, killing an enemy, or finding upgraded chipsets/weapons, you receive a certain currency that can be used in the character selection menu to buy items for your character to start with in their loadout. The only catch is you have to find the items to unlock them in the store. This means you can buy a ♥♥♥♥ ton of neuromods, or start with a gun, etc.
Maybe you just want to run through with an inventory full of recycler charges.

Story
Regardless of what the description says, the story is a bit light. You start the game in a Kasma Corp. satelite orbiting the moon where you receive an operator a mole sent to you while under the guise of TranStar. You are told by an unknown person that you are contractually obligated, and you must fulfill certain requirements before you can go home.
You hook the operator up and sit down in a chair that lets you relive the memories of 5 people trying to escape. Your goal is to complete a series of objectives (beyond just escaping with the 5 in one run) that can be done in any order and doesn't need to be done in a single run.

There is the typical Shock-like sidestory content you can find scattered around, where you learn about what happened to people, find voice logs, and even sometimes get talked to through radio transmissions, but it feels much more light compared to the original campaign, which leads me to my topic of review.

The New Stuff
So what's new besides the story and the mechanics?
Well, the setting is a large moonbase hub with 3 large areas that connect to eachother in some way (usually just a tram/shuttle), and retains the "choose your path" open style of level design where you have options in how you get somewhere.
There are new enemy types, though I've only seen two so far, I think more come out when you gain escalation levels.
One is kind of like the Hydra from the Half-Life 2 beta, and the other is a Moonshark, a very large typhon that burrows in the ground and finds you with movement ala Tremors.
Along with new enemies, there's new toys and weapons to play with. I haven't touched them yet, but there's Gloo Bombs, Typhon Tentacle Grenades, and a Psi-melee weapon. I'm sure there's more, but I haven't explored deep enough yet.
 

dragonul09

Arcane
Edgy
Joined
Dec 19, 2014
Messages
1,445
Refunded, I'm sorry but the story is non-existent and the replayabilty consists mostsy in slightly different monsters and loot spawning in rooms, instead of two mimics, you get a phantom, wow so impressive. Who asked for this, I sure as hell didn't, people asked for something that would be tied to the original game, a side story, a continuation, but not a score based rogue-like, it's just not something that I wanted from this game. Also they are going to add a multiplayer mode later on, no one asked for that either.

You had a decent game for once and all you had to do was to expand on it, now they just sharted all over it, great job for listening to your costumers.
 
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