Game News Alpha Protocol Patch 1.10 Released

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I liked Alpha Protocol this much.

Say it loud and proud brothers! Don't hide under tiny fonts!

Testify!

 

[CrimsonAngel]

The last two people in the world who still play that piece of shit sure are happy as fuck that they've fixed some bugs and removed the DRM.

Why yes we are.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Are you still going on about your ineptitude?

Now that I've played the game: this. I saw 3 possible spots where Marburg can be killed, and that was during only one playthrough (for the record, I did kill him in the end. Felt good man ). If you were really, really trying very hard to keep him alive all the way to the end, only to complain that he's still alive, well...

I wasn't trying really hard to keep him alive. Why don't you read my posts in that thread before spouting off like a retard?

And where are these three oppurtunities to kill him, again?

The mansion? Once I break free he's nowhere to be found, only to pop up to watch me leave in a cutscene.

The museum? I fight him and then he runs away.

The conversation before the end? I'm under heavy guard.

The final conversation after I kill Leland? Nope, no option there either.

 

[pipka]

The museum? I fight him and then he runs away.

If you use suave option every time to get negative reputation, he can be killed there.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

A patch that stops the game working? did I hear correctly?

Ahh, Obsidian.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Well, it's not like you need the patch. The game works just fine without it.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Yes, the game works incredibly fine.

This game... this game has more bugs than the average David Cronenberg hallucination. To say this was released in an unpolished state would be a kindness, as it is waylaid by a barrage of small glitches to huge bugs on the PC platform. It doesn't quite reach the legendary messiness of old – like Fallout 2 – but for many people the experience won't be that different to some of the classic unplayables.

Without seriously trying to test the game by looking for bugs, in two playthroughs I encountered getting stuck in terrain, falling through terrain, enemies glitching out of the level, boss fights bugging out so the boss doesn't fight back, missions bugging out so you can't lose them, missions bugging out so you can't finish them and – understandably – different storyline threads created by my choices conflicting with no pre-defined resolution.

All of this wouldn't be as big a problem if Obsidian hadn't opted for a check point save system, the game auto-saving in every new checkpoint you reach overwriting the old autosave. There's a good reason they opted for this system, as we'll discuss later, but it's a right pain in the ass when it means having to chase a boss around again because you fell through the terrain or having to start back in your safehouse when you had already made it halfway through a mission.

If you're fortunate enough to dodge the major, mission-killing bugs, you'll probably still run into one of the game's many smaller glitches. It's a walking clipping error, but other texture or rendering glitches can also show up. One of my “favorite” frequently encountered glitches was the bad functionality of the dialogue fast forward option, by which you could skip to the next text block in the conversation. Very frequently, the game would play the audio of both the part I just skipped and the next part simultaneously when using this function.

But this game is not done yet aggravating its PC players. This is not a very good port, at all. The basic control scheme is your standard control scheme and works well enough, but it handles all its different menus poorly. Sometimes the right mouse button closes screens to return to the main game, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the escape button does, sometimes it doesn't. Map interfaces where any PC user expects to be able to click on the map itself, or “continue” screens where one would expect “click anywhere” functionality don't work that way. And Alpha Protocol commits a transgression that is a pet peeve of mine: not making all the key bindings remappable for no discernible reason.

What clinches it is the mouse controls. The mouse sensitivity is...off, and because it appears to be due to some odd mouse delay, no amount of in-menu tweaking will fix it, though some tweaking guides already exist. It's not a big pain during the main gameplay, but it particularly smarts during minigames.

Now I'm not the biggest fan of minigames in general, but Alpha Protocol's are a typical example of bad design mixed with too high a frequency. The bypass minigame is basic and short enough, and the lockpicking one is also simple, if often messed up by mouse sensitivity. The learning curve for each minigame can be a bit steep, especially as the minigames are often on a short timer and will alert all the nearby guards if you mess them up.

The one that really grinds my gears is the hacking minigame, which consists of a full screen of characters flickering and changing wildly. Two codes are provided which you have to find inside that field of flickering characters, and match together. The most intuitive way to implement this on a PC would be to have us drag and drop each of them. So how does Alpha Protocol do it? By controlling the left one with the arrow/WASD keys and the right with the mouse, making the left too slow and the right too hard to maneuver precisely.

perfeckt gaem no need patch amirite

 

[Achilles]

Alpha Protocol seems to have done quite well in the recent Steam sale. Maybe the Gods will smile on us and Sega will greenlight AP2.

 

[commie]

Alpha Protocol seems to have done quite well in the recent Steam sale. Maybe the Gods will smile on us and Sega will greenlight AP2.

Fuck SEGA, but then at least they published the first one. Maybe they noticed that Obsidian are suddenly very well regarded and will want to cash in with a 'new, improved' sequel?

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Yes, the game works incredibly fine.

This game... this game has more bugs than the average David Cronenberg hallucination. To say this was released in an unpolished state would be a kindness, as it is waylaid by a barrage of small glitches to huge bugs on the PC platform. It doesn't quite reach the legendary messiness of old – like Fallout 2 – but for many people the experience won't be that different to some of the classic unplayables.

Without seriously trying to test the game by looking for bugs, in two playthroughs I encountered getting stuck in terrain, falling through terrain, enemies glitching out of the level, boss fights bugging out so the boss doesn't fight back, missions bugging out so you can't lose them, missions bugging out so you can't finish them and – understandably – different storyline threads created by my choices conflicting with no pre-defined resolution.

All of this wouldn't be as big a problem if Obsidian hadn't opted for a check point save system, the game auto-saving in every new checkpoint you reach overwriting the old autosave. There's a good reason they opted for this system, as we'll discuss later, but it's a right pain in the ass when it means having to chase a boss around again because you fell through the terrain or having to start back in your safehouse when you had already made it halfway through a mission.

If you're fortunate enough to dodge the major, mission-killing bugs, you'll probably still run into one of the game's many smaller glitches. It's a walking clipping error, but other texture or rendering glitches can also show up. One of my “favorite” frequently encountered glitches was the bad functionality of the dialogue fast forward option, by which you could skip to the next text block in the conversation. Very frequently, the game would play the audio of both the part I just skipped and the next part simultaneously when using this function.

But this game is not done yet aggravating its PC players. This is not a very good port, at all. The basic control scheme is your standard control scheme and works well enough, but it handles all its different menus poorly. Sometimes the right mouse button closes screens to return to the main game, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the escape button does, sometimes it doesn't. Map interfaces where any PC user expects to be able to click on the map itself, or “continue” screens where one would expect “click anywhere” functionality don't work that way. And Alpha Protocol commits a transgression that is a pet peeve of mine: not making all the key bindings remappable for no discernible reason.

What clinches it is the mouse controls. The mouse sensitivity is...off, and because it appears to be due to some odd mouse delay, no amount of in-menu tweaking will fix it, though some tweaking guides already exist. It's not a big pain during the main gameplay, but it particularly smarts during minigames.

Now I'm not the biggest fan of minigames in general, but Alpha Protocol's are a typical example of bad design mixed with too high a frequency. The bypass minigame is basic and short enough, and the lockpicking one is also simple, if often messed up by mouse sensitivity. The learning curve for each minigame can be a bit steep, especially as the minigames are often on a short timer and will alert all the nearby guards if you mess them up.

The one that really grinds my gears is the hacking minigame, which consists of a full screen of characters flickering and changing wildly. Two codes are provided which you have to find inside that field of flickering characters, and match together. The most intuitive way to implement this on a PC would be to have us drag and drop each of them. So how does Alpha Protocol do it? By controlling the left one with the arrow/WASD keys and the right with the mouse, making the left too slow and the right too hard to maneuver precisely.

perfeckt gaem no need patch amirite

I've said it a thousand times. The list applies to other games. Every game have the falling out of the world bug, for example. I was playing Mass Effect and had to reload when Shepard succeeded in walking through a fence and into darkness. That was fully patched. In short, your list don't mean shit and Alpha Protocol works fine for me. Sorry you're having problems.

And about the minigames: suck less.

 

[Silellak]

Well, it's not like you need the patch. The game works just fine without it.

I'm not entirely sure what this has to do with the inherent humor in Obsidian releasing a patch that makes their buggy game less playable.

"Well, you don't need the patch!" doesn't justify making your game worse with something that's supposed to make it better.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Well, it's not like you need the patch. The game works just fine without it.

I'm not entirely sure what this has to do with the inherent humor in Obsidian releasing a patch that makes their buggy game less playable.

"Well, you don't need the patch!" doesn't justify making your game worse with something that's supposed to make it better.

It's a good thing I'm not trying to justify anything then.

 

[SoupNazi]

There's only two bugs that I really need fixed in AP for it to be a great game (not just a good one):

The lag whenever a new area loads (often turning the character around and possibly screwing up your stealthy approach).

And the minigame where you have to use both keyboard and a mouse to search for a code. It's clearly a bad control port from consoles and is incredibly annoying.

Other than that, there aren't any major bugs or mistakes. Of course, level design etc. could be better but that's not something you can just patch.

 

[ironyuri]

I liked Alpha Protocol.

I've said it...

Now the healing can begin. I just hope my bros support me.

 

[Brother None]

Well, it's not like you need the patch. The game works just fine without it.

"I lucked out and didn't run into many bugs so I'll pretend that means this game is bugfree for everyone"

On the other hand, one of my buds still can't get it too start.

Why do discussions on bugs always dissolve into retarded "yeah, well, I didn't run into any bugs" contributions. As if that means shit. It doesn't.

Alpha Protocol seems to have done quite well in the recent Steam sale. Maybe the Gods will smile on us and Sega will greenlight AP2.

Ha-hah no. It did well because it went on a firesale way too soon after release, because it is a gigantic flop. Sega has clearly given up on it.

 

[SoupNazi]

"I bummed out and ran into many bugs so I'll pretend that means this game is bug-ridden for everyone"

Anyone can use strawman logic, man.

 

[Brother None]

"I bummed out and ran into many bugs so I'll pretend that means this game is bug-ridden for everyone"

Anyone can use strawman logic, man.

Bro I wasn't arguing the game is equally bugged for everyone. I ran into relatively few bugs compared to other players I heard on the game. Andyman Messiah outright stated "you" don't need the patch. Mine wasn't a strawman, I was restating what he had actually said. Yours is though, so well done.

Total fail there bro.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Well, it's not like you need the patch. The game works just fine without it.

"I lucked out and didn't run into many bugs so I'll pretend that means this game is bugfree for everyone"

It's a good thing you quoted me saying this before I actually said it. You saved me a lot of time. Thanks, Brother None! You're a pal!

edit: Seriously though, as many of us Alpha Protocol apologists are saying, AP is a rushed game with many faults but not without heart. Good work went into the game and it's been enough for me to enjoy finishing it on all three different "modes". In particular I like how the facial animation and voice acting totally kicks Bioware's ass.

 

[Sceptic]

The conversation before the end? I'm under heavy guard.

The final conversation after I kill Leland? Nope, no option there either.

See you're doing it again. You talked him into joining you and fighting at your side, and then you complain that you don't get to kill him. Try maybe NOT being that nice too him? surprise surprise, you don't even have to try very hard to kill him - he'll attack you and you HAVE to kill him to proceed with the final mission. Or even better, get on his good side AND betray him by telling Parker what happened in Rome (not sure if this works if you take the other Rome path) - he'll STILL attack you even if you're trying to get on his good side (clever boy figures out you are the only one who could've told Parker; also makes the fight against him a bit easier)

Yes, the game works incredibly fine.

I'm sorry, but some of these points are the kind of bullshit I'd expect to in some terribad Gamespot review, not from Brother None.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THE GAME OVERWRITES CHECKPOINTS AND FORCES ME TO REPLAY THE WHOLE MISSION!". Did you perchance miss the huge fucking button that says "save last checkpoint" in the menu?

(The checkpoint system is an abomination though)

 

[Forest Dweller]

The conversation before the end? I'm under heavy guard.

The final conversation after I kill Leland? Nope, no option there either.

See you're doing it again. You talked him into joining you and fighting at your side, and then you complain that you don't get to kill him. Try maybe NOT being that nice too him? surprise surprise, you don't even have to try very hard to kill him - he'll attack you and you HAVE to kill him to proceed with the final mission. Or even better, get on his good side AND betray him by telling Parker what happened in Rome (not sure if this works if you take the other Rome path) - he'll STILL attack you even if you're trying to get on his good side (clever boy figures out you are the only one who could've told Parker; also makes the fight against him a bit easier)

I didn't talk him into shit. Since when is fucking with someone's head being nice to them? Bullshit excuses are bullshit.

I've already explained how everything worked out for me. Your only choice is to believe me or not.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Every time someone mentions Marburg, Dicksmoker replays Alpha Protocol.

Is that right? Are you playing it right now? Because if you're not then you clearly have no idea if you're doing it right.

 

[Brother None]

Seriously though, as many of us Alpha Protocol apologists are saying, AP is a rushed game with many faults but not without heart.

Yes. It does many things well and is worth a purchase and a playthrough if you can get it to run. Not really sure how it helps to deny flaws that are clearly there though, apologist or not.

I'm sorry, but some of these points are the kind of bullshit I'd expect to in some terribad Gamespot review, not from Brother None.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THE GAME OVERWRITES CHECKPOINTS AND FORCES ME TO REPLAY THE WHOLE MISSION!". Did you perchance miss the huge fucking button that says "save last checkpoint" in the menu?

Yeah, I probably overplayed bugginess there, but mission progress-destroying bugs are the most serious bugs to my mind, and they never work well together with a savepoint-based save system.

You're kind of being an idiot now though. Yes, I am aware of hardsaving, that's what I did the second time through that mission to help me get past that bug. I hadn't been using it otherwise because other than saving a few key narrative points it isn't really necessary. You're claiming I somehow should've seen it coming that the game would bug out and destroy mission progress and make hard saves for every save point just because...uh...

That is really invalid attempt to dismiss criticism.

 

[SuicideBunny]

did they ever fix checkpoint saves fucking up mission progress/loot/enemies?

 

[Forest Dweller]

Every time someone mentions Marburg, Dicksmoker replays Alpha Protocol.

Is that right? Are you playing it right now? Because if you're not then you clearly have no idea if you're doing it right.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Every time someone mentions Marburg, Dicksmoker replays Alpha Protocol.

Is that right? Are you playing it right now? Because if you're not then you clearly have no idea if you're doing it right.

I know, son. I know.

Yes. It does many things well and is worth a purchase and a playthrough if you can get it to run. Not really sure how it helps to deny flaws that are clearly there though, apologist or not.

Not denying anything, bro. There are flaws but a lot of us played and finished the unpatched game. Not without problems that needed solving or workarounds but I think it's justifiable to say that the patch isn't necessary if it makes the game unplayable.