Game News Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded Screenshots

[Burning Bridges]

Hey Shitcomposer, will you also add shoulderpads and oversized guns?

 

[Trash]

Every JA clone was a resounding failure. Is there really anyone thinking this will be different?

Mind you, would be nice if it was but come on.

 

[lisac2k]

Following the recent events around the JA series and its future... I really wonder what's the next step of BC regarding pr/marketing/hype. It seems there are two options for them right now:

A) release screenshots every once in a while, just to confirm the development is going just fine, reassuring everybody that the game will be released (after several projects that couldn't make it). Eventually, release more info prior to launch (trailers, interviews, whatever) and hope for the best.
B) release more info along with screenshots and get confronted by enraged JA-veterans on their forums for the every piece of info announced.

I'm not sure if they want to choose the latter. With the first option they have at least a slight chance to appeal to casual players (to an extent), since they don't ask too many questions and can be decieved by nice screenshots.

That said, indies may want to think about a new setting for a decent JA clone, because it was already clear weeks ago that the upcoming remake (and the following installments, based on the same technology and principles) will be far, far away from JA2. The game(s) made by BC have left a significant gap in a nice PC-gaming genre, yes sir.

 

[denizsi]

Discussion on Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded – turn-based combat system 2011

We are sorry to have caused a furore in the discussion on a modern combat system for 2011. We admit our choice of words at the start of the thread was somewhat unfortunate, which led to the discussion developing in a direction that ultimately focused on the detailed refinements of the system and less on a vision for a modern game version, which was our intention, and we would like to thank you for your contributions.
We recently explained our Plan & Go system and we will now release regular updates on the combat system and answer your questions as best we can for the time being.
We would ask for your understanding if we are unable to go into every question in detail. There will certainly be some changes to our concept of the combat system during the development process, as the theory can often work out quite differently in practice. We would also ask you to bear in mind that the game will not be released for at least a year and, for this reason, everything is far from being set in stone.

I will make a new thread praising the decision to go with the new system but I will criticise sticking with iso-view and will press for first-person. If it's gonna be raped, it's gotta be raped properly, so who's with me? Give me some support:

http://www.jaggedalliance.com/index.php ... mforum_pi1[action]=list_post&tx_mmforum_pi1[tid]=145

 

[GarfunkeL]

Haha, that's gonna be an epic thread, I can see it already :D

 

[commie]

Meh, it actually looks quite nice. Doesn't change the fact that it's a pointless production though. Why not just make another game set somewhere else and not called JA?

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Discussion on Jagged Alliance 2: Reloaded – turn-based combat system 2011

We are sorry to have caused a furore in the discussion on a modern combat system for 2011. We admit our choice of words at the start of the thread was somewhat unfortunate, which led to the discussion developing in a direction that ultimately focused on the detailed refinements of the system and less on a vision for a modern game version, which was our intention, and we would like to thank you for your contributions.
We recently explained our Plan & Go system and we will now release regular updates on the combat system and answer your questions as best we can for the time being.
We would ask for your understanding if we are unable to go into every question in detail. There will certainly be some changes to our concept of the combat system during the development process, as the theory can often work out quite differently in practice. We would also ask you to bear in mind that the game will not be released for at least a year and, for this reason, everything is far from being set in stone.

I will make a new thread praising the decision to go with the new system but I will criticise sticking with iso-view and will press for first-person. If it's gonna be raped, it's gotta be raped properly, so who's with me? Give me some support:

http://www.jaggedalliance.com/index.php ... mforum_pi1[action]=list_post&tx_mmforum_pi1[tid]=145

Great idea. I'm waiting for activation email.

 

[Silellak]

I whole heartedly agree!

MAKE IT FIRST-PERSON PLEASE!

I am finding it hard to understand what is going on in these screenshots. Where is the targeting reticule? Where is the action? At least the world looks properly brown, though it does need more bloom. Making it FP is the only sane choice. Would Gears of War or Modern Warfare sold that well if they were some ancient isometric viewpoint style that only old people play? Hell no.

So go first-person and bring it to Xbox too!

Oh, Codex.

 

[RaXz]

It's like realtime chess with shiny graphics.

I just discovered that they even removed line of sight, because it wasn't modern enough.

 

[Mister Arkham]

I whole heartedly agree!

MAKE IT FIRST-PERSON PLEASE!

I am finding it hard to understand what is going on in these screenshots. Where is the targeting reticule? Where is the action? At least the world looks properly brown, though it does need more bloom. Making it FP is the only sane choice. Would Gears of War or Modern Warfare sold that well if they were some ancient isometric viewpoint style that only old people play? Hell no.

So go first-person and bring it to Xbox too!

Guiz, this is y ur my favorite place in the internet.

 

[Epsilon]

They need to implement more shiny metal armors and apm counters.
Just like KoreanCraft 2.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Silellak & Mister Arkham, thank you, thank you :D

 

[Black]

I see no turns in screenshots.

 

[MetalCraze]

I wouldn't mind it... if it only was a graphical upgrade like Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary. But man... Real Time in JA2? Fuck that.

It's also politically correct

It's almost as if Bethesda did this

 

[GarfunkeL]

The Expendables proved that retro-style action film, done in the best 80's style, can score big.

Wonder when game publishers might realize the same thing, instead of all aiming for that Jerry Bruckheimer, summer block-buster slot.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/100337- ... ailed.html

change the combat system

Why would you do that?

To ensure that Jagged Alliance 2 makes a successful transition into 2011

What, it's some kind of a tranny now? But seriously it functions perfectly on newer systems, is practically free and the gameplay is evergreen.

and that the remake is as attractive as possible to players who know the Jagged Alliance series and to those who have yet to play it, we will simply make a few changes to the existing JA2 combat system.

Why would it be attractive to Jagged Alliance fans? Does somebody actually play remakes? Oh gods, the game industry is becoming even more like Hollywood, remakes of remakes of reboots.

We are calling the new combat system the “Plan & Go” system.

Oh cool, everybody else calls it real time or possibly popamole. Is this the kind of thing like how every bad metal band has their own subgenre?

In the “Plan & Go” system we have omitted the “Fog of War”, which covered most of the map in JA2. Enemies positioned outside buildings are permanently visible, which enables the player to establish a strategy from the outset without having to constantly save and load. In addition, the world looks much more animated and lively as the hostile forces patrol in the meticulously detailed 3D backdrops.

Wow, sounds about as exciting as playing Starcraft with a cheat. This means there won't be listen checks anymore, and being careful isn't required anymore. So Plan & Go means essentially go kill all enemies as fast as possible in optimal order with your cheapass godvision knowledge of their locations.

The “Plan & Go” system removes the turn-based structure.

This is the stupidest thing I could imagine hearing when a Jagged Alliance game is about to be released.

The real-time elements in the “Plan & Go” system also add new and exciting features such as “Timing” for example.

What.

As the enemies are patrolling all over the map, the player must time his movements very precisely to defend himself against his enemies. Here, the need to quicksave/quick load is greatly reduced, as the risks and challenges are more easily identified and the effect of the risk is reduced to a much shorter time (e.g. a character is sighted before he has reached his target, so the shooting starts earlier than anticipated).

Sounds like an RTS all right, like those C&C baseless missions. Probably not as challenging though. So. A JA2 remake where they replace JA2 gameplay with RTS clicky gameplay, or maybe it could have waypoints so you could set a waypoint to each enemy squad in the right order and go play something else as the game resolves itself. I'm sorry, I just cant get over this idea, this is as stupid as when they made new Transformers movies which were about boring ass people instead of giant robots.

The “Plan & Go” system also enables players to specify the conditions under which his units can attack independently; they can therefore open fire when enemies enter their range of vision.

Wow, how astounding. It's like a feature commonly present in even the most mindless clickfest RTS games.

This offers players the same tactical depth in terms of decision-making, and also intensifies the combat experience, because more experienced players have to pause much less frequently and, for the most part, can let the game progress in real time.

Yeah I get it, you hate turn-based combat because it doesn't play like Starcraft or even better, Diablo. The intensity of clicking really fast, why didn't JA2 have this before.

In particular, this speeds up battles with large numbers of fighters and which seemed like they would never end in the original game!

Speeding up that sort of thing could be achieved just by having a +speed button that speeds up the whole game for the enemy turns.

The advantages of the “Plan & Go” system opposed to the turn-based original are:

Oh, this is going to be good.

• It is dynamic, as it allows combat in real time.

So in essence you're saying it's better because it's realtime because realtime is better. Why are you remaking a turn-based game then you assholes?

• It introduces timing as a new element: it enables the player to spot and assess enemy movements, so he can either cleverly sneak past, or lie in wait and choose the right moment to attack.

None of these are new elements. Instead you mean it has the new element of attacking isolated squads at perfect times always because you have godvision.

• It avoids the situation where you get mixed up in a battle while your mercenaries are some distance from the front. JA2 was very time-consuming in this respect, because players had to lag behind for several turns while they moved all their mercenaries to the front.

You don't need to mess everything up to have a speed up button which would mess nothing in a turn-based game. However you can't play a RTS game with 8x speed, which is why many real-time games involve so much boring waiting.

• The new system also allows us to incorporate new AI functions such as cutting off and flanking enemies, that only work when actions are carried out simultaneously and not one after the other.

This I don't get at all, perhaps because it's bullshit. In essence you are just saying you don't know how to program turn-based AI, or probably any AI whatsoever.

Your bitComposer Team

Who?

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Sounds like an RTS all right,

RTS? Combat in JA2 happens on skirmish-level, not on strategic-level.

 

[SharkClub]

Real-Time Skimirsh

It's still an RTS.

 

[Stig]

Looks a bit bland and lifeless, like an early mock-up of a scene that's merely showing off the engine, demonstrating what the actual game is *supposed* to look like (which is what these screenshots most likely are), but it's not really ugly enough to piss me off in any way.

Having said this, I have no hopes for this project whatsoever, with or without their intended "streamlining". Even if they had planned a 1:1 remake, only with updated graphics, chances would still be hopelessly high for such a godawful shovelware developer to fuck it up.

 

[Severian Silk]

It looks nice. But they should focus on it being a game instead of screenshots.

 

[levelup]

because this makes it look more like the middle east and you like the good american freedom fighters that many x-box live users would like to be, or so marketing hopes. i bet they also made the enemies look more middle eastern.

This. Gueriila conflicts in central/south America are so last gen. I am surprised they haven't officially changed the setting yet. I wouldn't be surprised at all. Not that it matters that much.

They could make some kind of big drug funneling enterprise funded by the usa to get funds to fight the war on terror, or something like that. Xbox-live playing idiot 20-somethings getting a sun-tan in the middle of a sun-killed dirt-road fighting bearded guys in ragtags with ak47s gets old. It's not the dubya administration anymore after all.