Topic: Red barrels explode. Its a fact of life.

[idolminds]

Says the makers of Bulletstorm.

We made a stab at trying something different, instead of going with the cliché. In the beginning we had green barrels, but people didn’t get it right away.

They got completely ignored by the players and no one guessed or assumed that they were explosive. Why not? Because they weren’t red. Everyone knows that only the red barrels are explosive.

[sirean_syan]

Maybe that "fact" should be tested on Mythbusters.

[idolminds]

I hope one of their experiments is "Can you pin a body to a wall by shooting sharpened tree trunks at them ala Painkiller?"

[scottws]

Personally, I'd like to see them build the FO3 railway rifle, complete with train whistle sound.

[Xessive]

Oh I would love to see them explore grappling hooks! Video-game grappling hooks are so, sooo awesome!

Hmm, perhaps they'll ook at what's technically closer to real aiming: mouse or analogue stick And settle that question once and for all!

[Quemaqua]

I love this thread.

[scottws]

Going back to the red barrel thing, I found myself thinking about it today for some reason.  I think I would react the same way.  As a FPS gamer, game devs have basically been training me since Doom that red barrels explode and hurt bad guys near them.  But other barrels don't explode.  Well maybe a green one would release a small cloud of nerve toxin, but that is rare.

It's sort of like the green = "good" or "OK" and red = "bad" or "error" thing we're subconsciously trained on since birth.

[idolminds]

Heh, funny thing is the barrels in Doom were gray and had green sludge in them. No red at all.

I wonder which game was the first to color them red?

[gpw11]

"We wanted to take a stab at something different....so we made green barrels."



This game is going to suck.

[scottws]

Heh, funny thing is the barrels in Doom were gray and had green sludge in them. No red at all.

I wonder which game was the first to color them red?

Hmm.  I remember them as red.  Weird.  Now I'm curious.  It had to start someplace.

[Quemaqua]

Maybe you just weren't that interested in the barrels themselves and remember the red, squishy carnage of what happened to nearby victims of said barrels.

[Xessive]

I remember normal and explosive barrels in old beat 'em ups, like Final Fight, Dinosaurs & Cadillacs, and Streets of Rage.

[MysterD]

Someone just tell People Can Fly to put out a PC Demo...

[PyroMenace]

I remember normal and explosive barrels in old beat 'em ups, like Final Fight, Dinosaurs & Cadillacs, and Streets of Rage.

WHAT THE FUCK!?

[idolminds]

Haha, you didn't know Cadillacs and Dinosaurs existed? I remember there was a cartoon when I was younger but I forgot they made a game.

[Xessive]

Haha I got the name backwards It was among Capcoms mad batch of beat 'em ups like Captain Commando, Knights of The Round, The Punisher, Warriors of Fate, Aliens vs Predator, Armored Warriors/Powered Core, and a couple of my favourites D&D: Tower of Doom and D&D: Shadow Over Mystara. God, I love those games.

[MysterD]

Shacknews -> PC Version's System Requirements.

Bulletstorm requires the following minimum configuration:
    * Processor Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon X2, or equivalent, running at 1.6 GHz or greater
    * Memory (RAM) 1.5 GB
    * Video Card DirectX 9.0c compatible, 256 MB of VRAM; NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS, ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro 256 MB, or greater
    * HDD Space 9 GB available
    * Operating System Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), or Windows 7
    * Soundcard DirectX 9.0c compatible, 16-bit
    * Disc Drive 16X CD/DVD Drive
    * Network Internet (TCP/IP) connection

The following configuration is recommended to run Bulletstorm:
    * Processor QuadCore 2.0 GHz
    * Memory (RAM) 2 GB
    * Video Card DirectX 9.0c compatible, 512MB of VRAM; NVIDIA GeForce GTX260, or ATI Radeon 4870
    * HDD Space 9 GB available
    * Operating System Windows Vista (SP2), or Windows 7
    * Soundcard DirectX 9.0c compatible, 16-bit
    * Disc Drive 16X CD/DVD Drive
    * Network Broadband Internet (TCP/IP) connection

[idolminds]

Bulletstorm demo is coming on the 25th for 360 and PS3. Should be fun to try.

[MysterD]

Bluesnews -> No PC Demo planned.

[idolminds]

ESRB

Rating:  Mature

Content descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

Rating summary:

This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a space pirate who must escape a planet populated by mutant cannibals. Players use futuristic machine guns, shotguns, magnum revolvers, assault rifles, and chain guns to perform over-the-top kills that dismember and decapitate foes. Injured enemies emit large sprays of blood that stain the ground and surrounding walls. Specialty kills (i.e., Skillshots) represent the most intense instances of violence: enemies can be dismembered with explosives; impaled on spikes; and drilled into walls, resulting in body parts breaking into pieces. During the course of the game, players can consume alcohol and kill enemies in order to receive an Intoxicated Skillshot; the screen turns blurry during these sequences. The dialogue contains numerous jokes and comments that reference sexual acts, venereal diseases, and having sex with one's mother (e.g., "Guess I know where the ol' gal got that limp."). The names of some Skillshots are infused with sexual innuendo (e.g., Gag Reflex, Rear Entry, Drilldo, Mile High Club); one Skillshot (i.e., Fire in the Hole) allows players to shoot at enemies' exposed buttocks. Language such as "f**k," "sh*t," "p*ssy," and "c*ck" can be heard in dialogue.

[Quemaqua]

Did anyone else find that ridiculously funny for some reason?

[MysterD]

Youtube -> Bulletstorm - Weapons and Anarchy Mode.

[MysterD]

CliffyB's latest tweet on Twitter.

http://bit.ly/eTr0BR - BULLETSTORM DEMO COMING TO 360/PS3 JANUARY 25th. In other news, PC gamers are grumpy about this.
10:16 AM Jan 14th via TweetDeck
Retweeted by 90 people.

[K-man]

So I'm playing through Goldeneye for Wii.  Sure enough, red barrels.  They explode.

[idolminds]

I'm sure Cliffy is just working on some really cutting edge reverse psychology sales method there.

[Quemaqua]

Someone remind me again why he still has a job?  And what is his job?  Last time I checked he just sat around the office masturbating all day.

[MysterD]

PCG -> Bulletstorm PC to support NVidia 3D Vision exclusively.

[idolminds]

Developer Cliff Bleszinski may be living in hope that this PC exclusive feature could cheer up PC gamers after he made them ‘grumpy’ by tweeting that the Bulletstorm demo would only be available on consoles.

Did this make anyone else laugh and then suddenly get depressed?

[MysterD]

Did this make anyone else laugh and then suddenly get depressed?

Yes.

[MysterD]

Bluesnews -> Bulletstorm PC's DRM and G4WL details.

Destructoid has a report on plans for copy protection in Bulletstorm, along with a follow up on the DRM in People Can Fly's upcoming first-person shooter. They note that the Electronic Arts Online Disclosures for PC Games Page indicates the digitally distributed version of the game requires a persistent internet connection, but follow that up with People Can Fly denying this in a tweet, seeming to blame the internet, rather than EA for the confusion (later backing off), saying: "F**king Internets... No, Bulletstorm PC does not require any constant connection, only for install and for online play (duh!)."

True to that, clicking through to the EULA itself (Adobe Acrobat-format), we see it contains word on the game's Zero Day Piracy Protection (ZDPP) and Server Side Authentication (SSA), saying: "ZDPP requires a one-time access to the Internet. It may prompt users to enter their serial code (enclosed with purchase) in order to install their game. If the code is invalid, or entered before the product’s release date, the installed executable files will remain encrypted and unusable. SSA requires a one-time access to the Internet in order to authenticate your serial code. Please keep your serial code. You may need it to access online features and/or if you seek to install your game on more than one machine."

The EULA also indicates the game will use the unpopular Games for Windows LIVE, saying it will require: "A Windows Live ID and Account, installation of the Games for Windows Live software, acceptance of the Games for Windows LIVE Terms of Use."

[MysterD]

Epic's Forums -> NO SDK for Bulletstorm PC.

Hey folks, sorry it took a while to get back to you here.

In Bulletstorm, we would have had to make modifications to the Unreal Editor to account for the skillshot system. We spent years developing the skillshot system and carefully balancing weapons, and it was a resource matter - make an editor we can ship with the game or keep polishing Bulletstorm for release.

Epic maintains the Unreal Development Kit (UDK) for people who would like to work with our game development toolset. We regularly release free, updated versions that include the latest additions to the engine.

UDK *is* Unreal Engine 3 - plus it comes with sample content that can be used to make standalone games. Epic's engine team makes hundreds of improvements to the engine every month and UDK is the best way for developers to keep on top of the latest technology.

UDK ships with the gorgeous visual features seen in Bulletstorm - Unreal Lightmass global illumination, light shafts (a.k.a. god beams), dynamic lighting and shadowing, and so much more.

[idolminds]

Kind of a weird thing to say. Yeah, UDK is UE3 but lots of modders aren't interested in making some standalone game on their own, they want to tweak (in this case) Bulletstorm. Make new maps or new skillshots, but still with the same art assets and basic gameplay.

So ok, no editor for Bulletstorm. Just dont act like UDK is a replacement for that.

[MysterD]

It sounded more like a pitch for UDK than reasoning for why Bulletstorm is not having a SDK.
Why don't they add Skillshot system to the UDK, UE3, and any other future UE versions?

I'm also thinking to myself...maybe Epic and PCF want the gamer to buy tons of Bulletstorm DLC?

[MysterD]

Joystiq -> Cliffy B explains why Co-Op was canned.

Another interesting tidbit: Bulletstorm originally had campaign cooperative play, but it was eventually removed. According to Bleszinski, co-op killed the game's pacing: it "just broke down, and it was a situation where people would race through the game, ignoring the vistas and they wouldn't set up as many skillshots," he said.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Bulletstorm PC Demo coming...AFTER game's official launch.