Let's play Alpha Brotocol (and Rage together)

[ScottishMartialArts]

Is there a reason why Thorton Shepard isn't wearing any armor?

 

[Cassidy]

He's too EXTREME for it. Besides it's not like this game will be uber-tough, specially on the first missions, so I ignored equipping the armor.

And thus for the next part.

You should try a stealth approach Cassidy, AP is pretty boring and easy if you play as a straight-up shooter.

I don't feel the same urge I had in Thief or Deus Ex to have patience, time the patrols and etc because unlike in those two games(Deus Ex wasn't a piece of cake regarding going Rambo, at least in the first missions), here there is no point at all, gameplay-wise, to justify a stealth approach because the game isn't tough without it, and I if I'm going through stealthily, no way in Hell I'll use that consolified "awareness" skill for it. Nor I will reload the game in case of the stealth approach failing but instead shoot at everything.

So now the rest of this mission, which according to the posts, is the most boring one from the Saudi Arabia part of the game.

=======================

Sneaking through and taking a not so direct path, Thorton spots another Dhimmi below.

Another one appears to check the commotion, easy prey.

Further on, the old cells being used as weapons storage. The entrance should be nearby to be broken in.

Getting through the cells, no signs of those missiles. So it was a wrong lead right here. At least there still is the change of checking the local computer for info.

*Click*

Incendiary grenades. And after that, the computer is hacked(with another minigame you already know). Mission Accomplished

Time to get the fuck out of there.

That satellite seen earlier is tied to Halbech missile systems, like the ones that were stolen.

Now things are really packing, and ammunition is running short.

So a sneak attack is in order.

Things are really hot outside, and several Muslims with real RPGs are attacking the chopper.

Thorton climbs up to one of those heavy machinegun emplacements to clean up the place.

But apparently the AR has a better range, specially with such hazy graphics that make most distant things unclear

The RPG-carrying Muslims simply ignore Thorton.

I was nearly managing to beat this mission without having to reload the game once, all left to do was to head for the chopper behind that wall, a sandnigger took the MH2B and.

At the second time it went well then.

But worry not, I'll still deliver an entire mission accomplished without dying.

Some nice money.

And now, in the next update, we are going to the airfield because it seems the toughest of the two remaining missions. And without hiring mercs to distract guards this time. Also:

Veredict of this update: There were alternate ways to reach the same destination in this specific mission that could avoid some combat, but they are sparse and ultimately the level is quite linear even if it has one or two branching paths along the way that converge again to the same point. The mission was relatively easy, and stealth actually is useful because of allowing surprise attacks, although it is relatively simplistic when compared to systems of true sneakers, and affected by the lack of alternate pathways(with a few exceptions), serving thus mostly as a complement to combat. A pity that the RPG-wielding enemies simply don't react when you fire at them at the late game section.

This game so far looks like something that had potential but was harmed by wrong design choices(coupled with the "Slam Dunk" as some people call), ending as a sort of in-between the decline and the good stuff(and thus it is neither good nor bad). Whether it is closer to the former or to the latter is something still to be seen.

Also I have barely used the actual "cover system" for now, relying instead on the surprise and on shooting first or suppressive fire. Wish there were more grenades tossed by the enemies though.

On another hand, I was really disappointed about the claims regarding the existence of a real Maze of tunnels down there, but I wasn't expecting the description to match the actual level because maze-like tunnels can be navigated by guinea pigs, but definitively not by consoletards.

 

[MetalCraze]

There was no "slam dunk". They've spent 3 years on this one. Abundance of time seems to have no effect on talentless developers.

 

[Radisshu]

Yeah, the level design is definitely too linear. Which is too bad, especially when it's obvious they've taken lots of features from Deus Ex, and this kind of gameplay would benefit from larger, less linear levels.

Also: yes, Skyway. The makers of MotB are completely talentless. NWN is great, though.

 

[MetalCraze]

Yes they are completely talentless.
MotB was just a single example where they didn't try to copy Bioware and even then the game is not something outstanding. And it was 3 years ago
Since then they were making crap like:
SoZ - unbelievable shit, the absolute low of Obsidian ever - fucking awful mod sold as an addon.
Aliens shooter which was a shitty ME clone. Thankfully SEGA put an end to it.
Alpha Protocol - another shitty ME clone.
Failout 3 New Vegas - another shitty shooter and another dump on Fallout's grave (Failout 3 clone obviously)
Dungeons Siege 3 - even this is now being turned into a turd for consoletards (Dragon Age clone too)

But they did MotB omg!
And yes NWN is way better than anything Obsidian did all does since MotB.

 

[Radisshu]

No, Skyway. You are an idiot, and nobody actually takes you seriously. That's why you have become a meme, you know.

 

[Brother None]

Alpha Protocol level design is shit.

Besides it's not like this game will be uber-tough, specially on the first missions, so I ignored equipping the armor.

It's auto-equipped, so you had to unequip it. Stop the lies.

Also, for someone who got killed in a tutorial mission, almost died and ran out of bullets on his first, and then really died on his first, you sure are boasting a lot about how easy this game is.

I don't feel the same urge I had in Thief or Deus Ex to have patience, time the patrols and etc because unlike in those two games(Deus Ex wasn't a piece of cake regarding going Rambo, at least in the first missions), here there is no point at all, gameplay-wise, to justify a stealth approach because the game isn't tough without it, and I if I'm going through stealthily, no way in Hell I'll use that consolified "awareness" skill for it. Nor I will reload the game in case of the stealth approach failing but instead shoot at everything.

You really are dedicated to doing anything you can to make the game as unenjoyable as you can.

Good attitude.

(coupled with the "Slam Dunk" as some people call),

Goddamn noobs.

Nobody calls this a slam dunk. A slam dunk title is one based on existing assets and (preferably) licensing and produced in a short time-frame by a small team to cash in on the success of its predecessor. Fallout 2, KotOR 2, NWN 2, BG:DA II are all slam dunk titles. Alpha Protocol is not.

 

[spekkio]

YO, BRO NOONE.
Y S SIRUS 'BOUT ALPHA BROTOCOL?
Y THE HATE TOWRADS BRO CASSIDY?
HE MIGHT HAVE DIET DURING TEH TUTORIAL, BUT HEIS STILL A BRO, NO?

 

[taplonaplo]

Meh, i died in the tutorial too, the 6-12 fps might have helped but i join the suck train!

 

[Brother None]

Nothing wrong with dying. But if you're getting killed in the game, it looks silly to whine about how easy it is.

 

[Cassidy]

Alpha Protocol level design is shit.

Besides it's not like this game will be uber-tough, specially on the first missions, so I ignored equipping the armor.

Also, for someone who got killed in a tutorial mission, almost died and ran out of bullets on his first, and then really died on his first, you sure are boasting a lot about how easy this game is.

You're an idiot if you think that never dying during an entire playthrough is a requirement to judge a game easy. This game is easy, there is no serious challenge and most of the few deaths have been caused by the fact its camera is horrible and by my total inexperience with this type of game. In Deus ex I actually found the need of saving/reloading often because it was a challenging game. Seriously, I could just leave the dying scenes out, but the fact showing them tend to irk people like you to throw such pearls of wisdom really motivates me to show this LP in its full glory.

You really are dedicated to doing anything you can to make the game as unenjoyable as you can.

Good attitude.

Since when does using stupid bonus compasses skills make a game more enjoyable? Wait, let me guess: you like them, don't you? I don't think I will waste time arguing with you anymore if such is your taste in gaming. I'll try to use stealth when possible in this game, but I won't stick to it because obviously, the game and level designs really do everything to be against a full stealth approach like in Deus Ex or Thief series.

Nobody calls this a slam dunk. A slam dunk title is one based on existing assets and (preferably) licensing and produced in a short time-frame by a small team to cash in on the success of its predecessor. Fallout 2, KotOR 2, NWN 2, BG:DA II are all slam dunk titles. Alpha Protocol is not.

I love the fact that nearly all the games you mentioned are better than Alpha Protocol.

 

[sportforredneck]

SPOILER: Camera is not horrible.

 

[Cassidy]

SPOILER: Camera is not horrible.

The way moving around blurs everything even with motion blur disabled is, and the occlusion also can be included, and I dislike the camera. Why are all nextgen games supposed to involve characters with myopia?

 

[sportforredneck]

SPOILER: Camera is not horrible.

The way moving around blurs everything even with motion blur disabled is, and the occlusion also can be included, and I dislike the camera. Why are all nextgen games supposed to involve characters with myopia?

I didn't have any issues with the camera. I guess there was the blur but it wasn't an issue. Watching my brother play seems to be like what you Codexers seem to experience. He plays like shit and rages over it, when I had no issues playing.

 

[Serious_Business]

No, Skyway. You are an idiot, and nobody actually takes you seriously. That's why you have become a meme, you know.

I take him seriously. Skyway is a fine young early 20-something man that is a blossoming flower of tasteful opinions. Now he seems one-sided and without nuance to you, but this is only a phase in his intellectual journey. When he will have transcended the ignorant and obvious "one man agaisnt the system" elitism, he will be able to do great things. But until then he's a huge faggot, but then we all have a bit of faggotry in us A true thinking individual must be confronting by nature to start with and that is what he is showing us, and then when he drops the objectivist act there will be the real choice to make, to continue on the path or keep being a faggot.

 

[Jaedar]

The camera quality depends a lot on your computer, on my 64bit-W7 setup, its a totally stable and usable camera, if a bit unwieldy at times. On my 32bit-XP its a laggy piece of shit.

 

[Cassidy]

.Alpha Protocol - another shitty ME clone.

See? I'm not like skyway. So far I think it is a mediocre ME clone instead of a shitty one.

Anyway, the next update was a total failure of epic proportions and is dedicated to all those who keep trying too hard to troll me. Yes, I mean you, Brother None.

I didn't bother seriously trying the stealth in this game so far. So I'll have to rage about it in this update, and draw more heat to this thread.

===================

Sneaking without darkness, without sound and without popamole special abilities.

What is known so far

• There is a sandnigger named Shaheed who "stole" some new missile technology and blew a civilian airplane on flight with one of them.
• The Accountant from Halbech Corporation, source of the missiles used by Shaheed, looks like G-man and is very suspicious. He coul- is definitively involved.
• A politician called Baxter is suspected from receiving funds originated from Shaheed. It's unknown whether this will have relevance to the game later or is just there as Lore.
• Thorton was knocked out, captured and drugged as part of a strange first training.
• Westridge, Thorton's boss, is a very EXTREME type of man who resembles EXTREME Shepard from that other Let's Play. He seems willing to take any means to achieve his ends.
• Should the Alpha Brotocol leak, everyone inside the facility will be killed to cover-up its existence.
• Thorton just moved to Saudi Arabia with the mission of assassinating Shaheed. There are two leads remaining. A weapons dealer named Nasri, and an airfield used by the terrorist group.

Because the airfield is most likely the hardest of the two missions, it is chosen as the next mission. Mina will be the handler for it. EMPs are bought for this mission, coupled with some additional weapon upgrades.

The place is full of enemies. Thorton has to plant a bug in the Control Tower.

No shadows. And even in the places where it is darker, the game doesn't calculate detection chances, there is neither a light gem nor, as in Deus Ex, the proper calculation of darkness to define whether an enemy will spot you or not, nor sound seems to matter at all. The primary ways of not being detected is watching the patrol routes, and using consoletard special abilities.

Such is how stealth works in Alpha Protocol: flawed, banal, boring, without any gameplay depth, with the level design usually being unfriendly to it, and dependant upon retarded special abilities to be used to its fullest. And usually it makes the game a bit more challenging(provided you don't use the awareness compass), although ultimately it doesn't improve much the game and is tossed brutally as useless in several segments of the game progresses, as the update after this one will demonstrate.

The way it tries to mix player and chacter skills simply sucks and most of the way it was implemented cater to that target audience the Codex has became so filled with lately. Those security cameras are a joke, like I've mentioned before, and are mostly there to make the minigames even more annoying.

So here it goes.

Thorton avoids everything so far. But soon he'll have to knock out somebody.

Jumping from the watch tower to a nearby building, a path so discretely shown by the quest compass is provided.

Like in Thief, it requires some patience(not as much as Thief does, but it still does require it). Unlike Thief, there is a lack of environmental interactivity and depth to make it truly enjoyable.

Also, it is mentioned some of the elite guards of Shaheed are there. According to some dossiers, these guards are well trained, equipped with real-grade, next-generation military armor and weapons instead of shitty AK-47 clones and if they are killed now, they won't be present in a future mission.

They are right below. Thorton sneaks to attempt taking them by surprise.

The first one goes down quickly, but killing the second ends being a little less discrete. The alarm sounds after it, but with the radio trick, it is shut down.

Thorton proceeds to leave the warehouse.

Another one is across. The front gate guards remain unaware of his presence.

Inside the hangar, more crosswords.

With this new level gained, Thorton now heads upstairs.

Using the catwalk across the warehous to get down through a zip line

Resisting the urge to just shoot everything on sight.

At least Thorton was well away from the MH2B coverage when someone behind him spotted him. He retreated inside another supply depot. Going up, another catwalk to jump through.

Another enemy bypassed.

And at last, the Control Tower.

A guard patrolling the staircase to the tower is knocked out.

Downstairs, Thorton sweeps through to knock out as many as possible.

And get some loot.

Get valuable data from other computers.

And clean up the basement, hacking another computer inside it with all the flight logs of the group. This could definitively lead to some conclusive discoveries.

There are alternate paths through the place. This level is better than the previous one.

Then at last.

With the collected information, Mina informs Thorton that they discovered where Shaheed is. Westridge EXTREME Shepard will be the handler for this mission, although it is still possible to head for Nasri before meeting Shaheed.

Regardless, I'll go straight to the First Boss Fight because it's likely most people already saw the ending that happens when doing the Nasri mission(if not doing it makes a difference to the ending).

Veredict of this Update: I've seen enough to make a preliminary judgment of this game. It is ultimately flawed gameplay-wise. The plot albeit cliché, on the other hand, leaves enough mysteries to draw the interest and there are already enough evidences that even if nothing as groundbreaking as Fallout, this game most likely has choices with consequences.

But they and the decent plot won't save its shortcomings. The stealth system is plainly bad and reliant on skills I'd rather not use in this game because of how badly the merge of player and character skill was made on this one.

The combat is uninspiring, and yet another example of a bad combo of player and character skill. This will be the first and last game of this kind I'll ever play. The special skills are mostly dull, alienating even more the game from what it could be. This middle of the road between a mostly character-skill based combat system and a mostly player-skill based combat system doesn't work.

Alpha Protocol is good for the mediocrity it is.

 

[Jaedar]

Sound does actually matter, but in a very simple way. If your armor has a low sound reduction score, guards will hear you further away, and at 0 there is no point in trying to sneak, because they hear you coming a mile away(even if you crouch). But since you're not using armor, you have such a high sound reduction(6?) that you essentially make no sound at all when crouch-walking.

 

[1eyedking]

BRO THE GAME HAS NO CHOICES AND NO CONSEQUENCES BRO YOU CAN FINISH IT BY TAPPING THE USE KEY FURIOUSLY I MEAN HOW DUMB CAN YOU GET???!!!

 

[Cassidy]

BRO THE GAME HAS NO CHOICES AND NO CONSEQUENCES BRO YOU CAN FINISH IT BY TAPPING THE USE KEY FURIOUSLY I MEAN HOW DUMB CAN YOU GET???!!!

BRO BUT I CAN CHOES IF THE REDSHIRT OR THE GRENESHIT WILL BE LATER TO HELP AMD I CAN SKIP THE MISSIONS GIVING THE CONSEUQENCES OF LESS POPAMOLE BEFORE SEEING THE ENDING CUTSCENE. ALSO I CNA KILL OR SPARE PEOPLE AND THEY GIVE INFORMATION BUT OF COURSE IT CHANGES NOTHING IN GAEMPLAY.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Died on the tutorial mission.

PICTURESPICTURESPICTURESPICTURES

"going Lithuanian Hitman style"

Yeah, this LP is staying out of my sticky. Sorry, bro.

 

[Cassidy]

I thought horses had way more tougher asses than men and thus were far more difficult to get hurt there.

Also I'm too lazy to bother transcribing all NPC conversations bro.

Yeah, I'm better at doing LPs for Strategy and 4x games, because they tend to be more focused on gameplay than on NPC chatter, specially of the popamole kind that has six words shown per time.

Anyway. Good luck. No hard feelings bro.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

I thought horses had way more tougher asses than men and thus were far more difficult to get hurt there.

Also I'm too lazy to bother transcribing all NPC conversations bro.

Yeah, I'm better at doing LPs for Strategy and 4x games, because they tend to be more focused on gameplay than on NPC chatter, specially of the popamole kind that has six words shown per time.

Anyway. Good luck. No hard feelings bro.

Alright, bro. Thanks for being such a bro, bro. Stay that way, bro.

 

[Cassidy]

Will there be any consequences to skipping a mission besides less popamole?

What is known so far

• There is a sandnigger named Shaheed who "stole" some new missile technology and blew a civilian airplane on flight with one of them.
• The Accountant from Halbech Corporation, source of the missiles used by Shaheed, looks like G-man and is very suspicious. He coul- is definitively involved.
• A politician called Baxter is suspected from receiving funds originated from Shaheed. It's unknown whether this will have relevance to the game later or is just there as Lore.
• Thorton was knocked out, captured and drugged as part of a strange first training.
• Westridge, Thorton's boss, is a very EXTREME type of man who resembles EXTREME Shepard from that other Let's Play. He seems willing to take any means to achieve his ends.
• Should the Alpha Brotocol leak, everyone inside the facility will be killed to cover-up its existence.
• Thorton just moved to Saudi Arabia with the mission of assassinating Shaheed. After conducting ELINT and HUMINT operations in a weapons stockpile and in a terrorist airfield, Alpha Protocol now got the location of Shaheed, and it's up to Thorton to choose whether to go straight for it or get more information by reaching Nasri.

Back on the haven, Thorton checks for new mails.

Purchases relevant Intel.

And an armor that is not as noisy as the Interceptor, because this mission will definitively be somewhat tougher than all the previous ones.

The decision to leave Nasri alone is made. Will it haunt Thorton Shepard later one? That is unknown. For now, it is time to head for another airfield where Shaheed is expected to arrive, to recover the Halbech missiles and kill the terrorist leader. According to Mina, this operation isn't supposed to go to the public because the government would rather cover-up the fact it is Amerikwan corporate technology being used by those terrorists.

Or is there another far darker secret behind so much secrecy?

Hidden inside a truck, possibly inside a cargo crate. Oldest trick in the book but always work. He can either let the convoy run away to intercept it along the road, or get those missiles before they are loaded in.

According to Westridge, there is no clue about where the missiles are. Some intelligence gathering will be necessary because the quest compass can't detect them either, for now.

The disappointing lack of enough alternate ways to progress through the level is evident. The linearity here reach disturbingly frustrating levels, as taking one path that seemed reasonable enough leads only to a dead end.

So, making all the way back, still undetected, the pathway that was designed to be one of the two only reasonably stealthy ways towards that other building, which puts Thorton on direct line of sight with the machinegun operating terrorist and yet he remains undetected, becomes clear.

[Perception]Many of the buildings in this level look like direct copypasta from the previous airfield mission, even in the layout of objects inside and above them.

All roads lead to this tower if one wants to avoid being detected.

Then just the right timing.

These screenshots are one of the best demonstrations of how stealth works in Alpha Protocol I have so far.

Even this looks better in comparison!

We infiltrate inside the building, and without shadows to hide at and without use of popamole awareness, random chance of detection kicks in.

And whenever stealth doesn't work,

A bullet to the head always does.

[Perception]Wait? In the previous update:

[Intelligence]Even the amount of cash inside that safe that looks like an exact copy of the safe in the previous mission in a room that is a nearly exact copy of the room where the safe was in the previous mission is the same as the amount of cash that was gotten from the original, non copypasta safe. Except for a few props removed, it's a blatant CTRL+C CTRL+V of it.

[Lore]Most old Unreal Engine maps made of copypasta were thrashed as shit back in the old days.

[Perception][Insight]And it's not over yet

Feels like.

Deja Vu. Doesn't it Thorton?

At least the minigame shouldn't have to be played again. Because if it is the same computer being copy-pasted, shouldn't both computers have the same password?

Shouldn't them?

Anyway, with this, some good loot from hacking Swiss accounts. Now time to get up in a room that looks very close to the one in the previous mission. If terrorists bases had buildings predictable and sharing all the same layout, why would intelligence be even necessary? If you got one, you got all.

Thorton finds the location of the missiles in that computer. They are past a graveyard of airplanes, in the middle of the mountains. It is something like a car salvage but with planes instead.

However, wouldn't there be some extra goons downstairs?

Of course, dealt with through silent means.

And whenever the advantage of surprise won't last, with less silent ones too.

I'd make another rant about copypasta and put another screenshot from the previous update but it's not necessary.

This is the gate to the next checkpoint.

It seems expansive. In fact, the largest outdoors area seem so far. Does this mean that it will have more opportunities regarding alternate ways?

So far, nobody detected Thorton yet. The best bet to go through unnotice however, would require some good timing beating a damn minigame to unlock a fence. If too much time was wasted, the camera would come there and the alarm would be sounded.

So much for wanting to save an EMP grenade for worse moments...

How to: get out of this apparently tight situation. PROTIP: The HMG can't cover the back of the soldier using it. Thorton simply runs always from the cover of the HMG and does it.

But first, he also deals with some further threats along the way.

And having avoided most of them initially, he uses their defenses against what remains of them.

A quite narrow passage among the mountains, and a patrol that can be avoided.

From accomplishing objectives mostly, plus avoidance and killing of enemies.

Because of certain frustrations with that damn hacking minigame. Also, I plan to have Thorton as a EXTREME Thorton, and thus of course, Toughness and Assault Rifles will become the two primary skills of him, eventually.

To get further on, Thorton needs to find a way to get a gate opened.

A silent approach is always better and less popamole.

Not as enjoyable as silent killing someone with a sledgehammer in Bloodlines, but it will have to do.

A textbook infiltration.

Last time I saved up EMP, I was greeted with extra mole-whacking. This time, screw it. I'll just use up one of them. Anything to avoid annoying minigames is a good thing.

Stalking and raping 101

What happened to the guard, that I'll let your imagination decide. And thus, there is the base where the missiles are guarded.

Thorton hides inside the empty barracks. Then some shit hits the fan for a change and he just runs inside the warehouse.

Where a scripted conversation breaks entirely the action continuity and the checkpoint will make the game to carry on from a SNAFU.

Using a special gadget to disable the alarm, there is hope to avoid detection. At least for a while.

The enemies came towards the room, but hiding behind those old computers, Thorton managed to avoid detection. Thus he sneaks upstairs to those ladders right ahead(behind the steel supports), to hopefully avoid the enemies or engage them in a position of advantage.

First one is taken down unconscious, as the computer controlling security systtems in the warehouse is disabled.

Thorton manages to reach across the platform and into a stairway leading down again.

I have a feeling that this will most certainly have to be dealt with in the popamole way.

And thus it is done.

Wait, I want to get Thorton's ass out of there, why isn't the game answering to my keyboard?

I DIDN'T PRESS THE COVER BUTTON AND NOW I'M STUCK IN A BIZARRE COLLISION/CLIPPING BUG WITH THAT WALL!!!

NOT EVEN PRESSING SPACE BAR ON THE CRATE SOLVES IT! SHIT I'LL HAVE TO DO THIS SHIT ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!

Verdict of this Partial Update

Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff.

 

[Jaedar]

Dude... its the same airfield... it is not supposed to look differently. Sucks you ran in to a gamestopping bug though.