Topic: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided -> MD sequel might still in the works... (Reply 47)

[MysterD]

NEW -> 11-18-2016:
GameInformer -> DE: MD delayed until August 2016.

OLD:
RockPaperShotgun -> Deus Ex: Mankind Divided revealed w/ some screenshots.

[scottws]

Wow! Those visuals are impressive!

I liked Human Revolution quite a bit and I'll be following this with interest.

[PyroMenace]

Announcement trailer. Pretty excited for this.

[MysterD]

Bluesnews -> Press release for DE:MD

Square Enix® and Eidos-Montréal®, the award-winning studio behind the critically acclaimed, multimillion-selling Deus Ex: Human Revolution®, today announced that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided™, the next chapter in the legendary Deus Ex® franchise, is in development for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC. The action role-playing game brings one of the most well-known, immersive and discussed worlds to the newest generation of consoles and high-end PCs.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided takes place in 2029, two years after the events of Human Revolution and the infamous ‘Aug Incident’ in Panchaea that resulted in the death of millions at the hands of those who had installed augmentations. This event has created a huge divide between those who have augmentations, and those who do not. Amongst this emotional turmoil are various factions looking to manipulate the public by twisting public opinion of augmentation to further their own agenda and hide the truth of what really happened.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided also continues the story of Adam Jensen, a former biotech company security chief turned super-augmented, anti-terrorist agent playing by his own rules. Jensen has been empowered with all new augmentations, enabling him and the player a greater sense of self-control as they explore all new locations in-game. As social and political tensions reach a major turning point, Jensen and conspiracies surrounding the Illuminati continue toward an inevitable crossroads … and possibly, an epic showdown.

“For 15 years, Deus Ex has been a point of conversation across the games industry and beyond, whether the topic is the franchise’s unique gameplay or topical narrative focused on advanced biotechnology and human augmentation,” said David Anfossi, Head of Studio, Eidos-Montréal. “What began with Deus Ex: Human Revolution goes to a whole new level in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, diving even deeper into this discussion and, in turn, offering fans an all-encompassing experience, one which will challenge their skills as players and emphasize decision-making based on real world topics.”

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will also mark a new era in Eidos-Montréal’s technology, utilizing the advanced visual and immersive capabilities of the Dawn Engine™, specifically built for the recent generation of consoles and PC. Under the umbrella of the Gaming Evolved program, AMD and Eidos-Montréal have been collaborating on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and the game will feature Microsoft’s DirectX® 12 support as well as AMD’s TressFX™. These features will not only raise the bar in game performance but bring unrivalled visual fidelity to the Deus Ex franchise..

The release date for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be announced at a later date.

Exclusive details and developer commentary for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided can be found in Game Informer’s May issue. Visit GameInformer throughout the month for ongoing coverage.

[MysterD]

IGN -> Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Gameplay Revealed + Developer Interview.

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> New Game + Mode revealed; and Vernon Wells will be voice-acting in the game.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is coming Feb 23rd, 2016 with a mess of pre-order stuff.

[Quemaqua]

Some seriously dumb shit they're pulling with this preorder campaign. And to top it off, oh boy, a 4-day early release! Who the hell can't wait less than a fucking week for their stupid game to come out, especially when they probably have several hundred other games they haven't even touched? Bunch of nonsense.

[MysterD]

Some seriously dumb shit they're pulling with this preorder campaign. And to top it off, oh boy, a 4-day early release! Who the hell can't wait less than a fucking week for their stupid game to come out, especially when they probably have several hundred other games they haven't even touched? Bunch of nonsense.

I just have to love how these games keep giving more + more reasons and ammunition to not Pre-Order or buy games ASAP; I'll just buy them in dirt-cheap sales.

[PyroMenace]

This stuff is always dumb but I kinda don't care about it since I almost never get CE's or preorder bonuses. I'll just get the base game when it comes out or goes on sale. If this happens to garner more sales for the publisher and development then fine whatever. Triple A shit is barely staying afloat so do what you have to.

[MysterD]

GameInformer -> Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's Pre-Order Tiered plans revamped b/c of harsh feedback from fans.

When Square Enix announced the release date for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, it also revealed a tiered pre-order scheme. The more pre-orders the game received, the more rewards players would unlock.
Today, the “Augment Your Pre-Order” plan is no more.

The publisher says that the negative feedback on the program led to the decision. “We’ve spent a lot of time reading through all of your comments, working to understand how we can try to make things right for you,” the publisher writes. “After much thought and reflection, we decided to close down the program and make all incentive content available to anyone who pre-orders Deus Ex: Makind Divided or purchases a Day 1 edition of the game.”

This means that players will no longer have to choose which pre-order bonus they receive at different tiers.
Everyone will get:
•Intruder (stealth), Enforcer (aggressive), and classic packs
•Skins
•Extra mission
•Comic Book
•Soundtrack

The release date is now fixed at February 23, and Square Enix no longer has plans to distribute it four days early based on pre-order numbers. The publisher says that the changes should be applied automatically to your order with no action required on your part.

[Xessive]

Result! Wait.. Result? They're still just pre-order incentives. Damn it.

I still don't understand how they screwed up the tiered rewards system in the first place.

[MysterD]

GameInformer -> DE: MD delayed until August 2016.

[Xessive]

The reviews are in and it is well received!

Top 3 reviews:
Ars Technica "Verdict: Buy. Buy the heck out of this game."
Gamespot "8.0/10"
Polygon "8.5/10"

Also, the pre-load is active. The game is officially out on 23 Aug 2016.

[MysterD]

Looks like episodic Squeenix strikes again - i.e. see Hitman 2016, plans for FF7 Remake, and now this w/ DE: Mankind Divided:

From Polygon's review:

If Mankind Divided has any major problems, it’s a difficulty in cashing the checks that its setting and narrative write.

There’s every indication that Mankind Divided will explore a global conspiracy, that it will seek to unravel both the mysterious Illuminati’s plans for the Augmented, and what happened to Jensen in the two years after the events of Human Revolution. Instead, Eidos Montreal is largely content to play in Prague, with minor detours to very limited spaces elsewhere that compose a small fraction of the game.

It’s strange, having played Human Revolution and now Mankind Divided, and being struck with a sense that the former was somehow more grandiose than the latter. The levels in Human Revolution were almost certainly smaller, allowed for somewhat less experimentation and were more segmented. But the game went places, both story-wise and geographically, and Mankind Divided feels like a yo-yo on a considerably shorter string.

But the most frustrating thing about Mankind Divided is how abruptly it’s all over.

I try not to exaggerate in reviews, so believe me when I describe my reaction to Mankind Divided’s conclusion as "stunned." There’s a host of story threads presented that are explored over the game’s 30 hours and dropped without comment or resolution after a fairly anticlimactic boss battle. Very little of the conspiracy Jensen is investigating is revealed, and by the end, there are few answers and a pile of new questions. There’s only a faint whiff of resolution, and the prospect of waiting another five years to see how Eidos Montreal’s mechanical augmentations ultimately give way to the nanotech dystopia of the original Deus Ex left me feeling pretty deflated.

From Giant Bomb on the forgettable narrative and the game's (lack of a) conclusion:

As it stands, the narrative is fine, if somewhat forgettable. Jensen spends the vast majority of the game in different sections of Prague, which has become a ground zero of sorts for human/aug tension. There are plenty of different factions at play, from the shadowy government-controlling conspiracy at the center of it to an augmented rights organization that swears they're non-violent to Russian mobsters, dirty cops, a hilarious little underground newspaper, and so on. By the end I felt like I had stopped "the bad guys" without getting any more insight into who "the bad guys behind the bad guys" actually are or why any of it matters.

The game also doesn't come up with many meaningful combat encounters. On one hand, this solves the boss fight issue some had with the previous game, though I don't know that "remove almost all boss fights" is the most exciting solution. Perhaps that speaks more to my non-lethal, very conversation-focused approach to the action, but by the time I got to the boss fight in Mankind Divided, it felt like I hadn't had enough trigger time to be actually comfortable with the combat controls, making the endgame more of a hassle than a satisfying conclusion.

I ended up enjoying more of the side missions than the actual story itself, though the narrative does provide a good setup for why, exactly, you aren't starting out just as powerful as you were at the end of the previous game.

EDIT:
Forbes' review on DE: MD focuses on a lot of the narrative problems  with its storytelling, shortcomings, how it drops storyline threads, and incompleteness.

[Xessive]

The unanimous consensus is that the narrative is lacking. It's not bad, just underwhelming.

Normally not a major issue in a game, but it is a big deal for a narrative-driven experience.

[scottws]

That's sad, considering one the best things about the Deus Ex series has always been the conspiracy plot.  I have such fond memories of the original game that I extracted the data link sound from the game files and made it my text message received sound.

[Xessive]

Well, it's out tomorrow so I'll find out soon enough how much of an issue it is. I suspect it might have been rated down because of high expectations.

Either way, all the reviewers loved the game so I'm optimistic.

[MysterD]

Kotaku review.

Mankind Divided feels smaller-scale and less ambitious than its first act led me to believe it would be, and as the credits rolled, I felt faintly unsatisfied. As much as I liked the game overall, I was let down by the abrupt ending, which feels like it is missing an act somewhere. Several plot points are rushed to their conclusion or wrapped up offscreen, while others are left unresolved.

I was also disappointed that the bulk of the tale occurs in and around the city of Prague. Aside from a brief detour to a nearby Aug ghetto called Golem City, there aren’t any other meaningful non-combat hubs in the game. Throughout the first few hours, characters are constantly talking about events in London and the augs-only city of Rabi’ah, which led me to assume that we’d relocate to those two cities in due course. We never did.

[ender]

Hard for me to get excited about this. As a huge fan of the original Deus Ex... I just think the series lost what made that game great. I never played the previous one before this – it seems to me that this is much more like Hitman and Metal Gear Solid than an immersive first-person RPG. Any thoughts on that?

[Xessive]

Hard for me to get excited about this. As a huge fan of the original Deus Ex... I just think the series lost what made that game great. I never played the previous one before this – it seems to me that this is much more like Hitman and Metal Gear Solid than an immersive first-person RPG. Any thoughts on that?

It's tough to say since it really depends on the way you play.

Admittedly, DX: Human Revolution (DX:HR) was more suited to stealth gameplay, which makes the boss battles in that game even more baffling since they all relied on firepower and brute force. However, the experience itself was very much a traditional Deus Ex first-person RPG. It proved that the core gameplay principles of Deus Ex were very much viable and desirable to the current consumer base. That was quite an achievement considering how poorly DX: Invisible War turned out (critically and financially); also bearing in mind that Square-Enix canceled the 3rd Deus Ex game and re-branded it as Project Snowblind, which was a pretty decent game but did not carry the Deus Ex name. Human Revolution revitalized the brand and it's really worth checking out if you liked the original Deus Ex.

That's why I'm pretty excited about Mankind Divided since I've set my expectation on it being more refined than DX:HR.

[ender]

It's tough to say since it really depends on the way you play.

Admittedly, DX: Human Revolution (DX:HR) was more suited to stealth gameplay, which makes the boss battles in that game even more baffling since they all relied on firepower and brute force. However, the experience itself was very much a traditional Deus Ex first-person RPG. It proved that the core gameplay principles of Deus Ex were very much viable and desirable to the current consumer base. That was quite an achievement considering how poorly DX: Invisible War turned out (critically and financially); also bearing in mind that Square-Enix canceled the 3rd Deus Ex game and re-branded it as Project Snowblind, which was a pretty decent game but did not carry the Deus Ex name. Human Revolution revitalized the brand and it's really worth checking out if you liked the original Deus Ex.

That's why I'm pretty excited about Mankind Divided since I've set my expectation on it being more refined than DX:HR.

Thanks I may check this out at some point. I played only using the charger prod or baton through the entire game. I never killed anyone... so I guess the idea you have to kill bosses is worrisome for me. I also dislike that the game switches to 3rd person viewpoint from what I've seen.

[Xessive]

Yeah, the boss fights were so out of place. I managed to beat all of them with tranq darts but it still registers as "killed" and doesn't alter the outcome, however it does not count against your progress if you're trying to complete the game with no kills (and get the achievement).

The 3rd person stuff is only in certain instances like taking cover (so you can get a better view of the corner) and when climbing ladders. In dialogues it goes into another camera type, which is not dissimilar to the original DX. It's not bad and doesn't take you out of the experience.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Cobra951]

Ender, X, are you guys talking about DX:HR in that last exchange, or another DX game?  I got HR free a while back, and dabbled in it a bit, but then I moved on.  (That's my problem with free games--I don't feel I owe myself the time to persevere through rough or slow spots.)  Maybe I need to try it again.

I've been reading this thread.  My reaction in the last couple of days has been rather negative.  Here's one more incomplete (rushed?) game, which may be completed with a sequel or DLC.  New normal, I guess.

[ender]

My playing comments are about the original DX, compared to what I've seen of the newer Eidos games. Sounds cool though, hope it goes on sale at some point!

[Xessive]

Ender, X, are you guys talking about DX:HR in that last exchange, or another DX game?  I got HR free a while back, and dabbled in it a bit, but then I moved on.  (That's my problem with free games--I don't feel I owe myself the time to persevere through rough or slow spots.)  Maybe I need to try it again.

I've been reading this thread.  My reaction in the last couple of days has been rather negative.  Here's one more incomplete (rushed?) game, which may be completed with a sequel or DLC.  New normal, I guess.

I was informing Ender on DX:HR, since he hadn't played it yet. If he likes it, chances are DX:MD will be next on his list

I just started DX:MD, I'll share my impressions soon.

[MysterD]

I just started DX:MD, I'll share my impressions soon.

Looking forward to your impressions, of course.
Steam Reviews look pretty damn mixed right now.

[MysterD]

Steam Community - Nixxes (who did DE: MD PC technical port) puts up a Performance Tuning Guide for DE: MD PC version.
PC Gamer - How To Get The Best Performance Out Of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC).

[Xessive]

Thankfully I'm not running into any performance issues. The game is running really well on Very High settings with some custom tweaks to Ultra (texture resolution etc.).

What does suck so far though: mouse acceleration. There is no way to disable it. You can only modify mouse sensitivity (default 50%), I had to lower it to 25%, which can still result in a full 360 deg turn if I flick my mouse about 3 inches.

[MysterD]

@Xessive

"Meh" and "Bleh" @ the mouse issues. That bites. Hopefully, that can fix that crap - and fix it soon.

Do you have MSAA on or off?
It sounds like turning it off can really boost performance, from what's been reported about this game.

[MysterD]

Legit Reviews - Benchmarking DE: MD on different settings and video cards.

[Xessive]

First impression:

Game is awesome, it's basically a more focused build of DX:HR. Gameplay refinements are all welcome; stealth has a lot more variety than before, exploration is expanded on, and gunplay is a lot better, making it a much more viable option for people who prefer it.

Visuals are great, though they don't really stand on even ground with its peers. If you thought DX:HR looked great, DX:MD is basically a super-remastered version of those visuals.

Oh and the mouse acceleration seems to have been fixed by a recent patch.

Now, the negatives:
There's one really weird menu bug where your last pressed button carries over into your game if it's the press that exits the menu; for example, when you load a game it sits on a splash screen with a prompt "Press Space to continue" and when I press Space the game begins and Adam either jumps or changes cover depending on where I saved. I had one particular moment where I quicksaved while in cover just before entering a restricted area, now every time I load that save, Adam runs right into the restricted area. The quick fix is remember to instantly cancel as soon as the game screen shows up. Kinda weird but not game-breaking.

Now, the really bad negatives:
Pre-order bonus DLC and microtransactions. All done is the weirdest ways.

Pre-order bonuses can be redeemed when you start your game (once you can access your inventory) from the storage section and transfer them to your inventory. Here's the catch: one-time use only. Not one-time per playthrough, one-time PERMANENTLY. If you redeem any item from your storage it is permanently tied to this playthrough and can never be used again even if you start a new game. WTF.

Thankfully the bonuses are just "elite" versions of basic weapons and some consumables etc. The current workaround is to create a manual save right when the game starts before redeeming any of the bonuses, and when you want to start a new game just start it from that save file. Pretty messed up that this is even a thing.

Microtransactions exist, which sucks in and of itself for a $60 triple-AAA title. Guess what? They're for one-time use consumables. So you can spend a dollar for a Praxis kit, use it, and it's gone for good. It will never show up in your storage for another save or anything. Warranting yet another WTF.

It is a travesty that such an awesome game is marred by such asinine non-game-related bullshit. Damn shame.

Anyway, I'll play some more and let you all know how I feel by the end of it.

[Cobra951]

Yeah, that's horrible (about MTs).  But how necessary or beneficial are they?  The last 2 Assassin's Creed games do this (like with helix credits), but since I never stoop to that shit, I've never missed its perks, or felt impeded by the lack of them.  The biggest issue with this insidious practice is that games can be made too tedious to play enjoyably without letting yourself get fleeced as you play.  The revenue-stream mentality means devs are going to be pressured into doing just that.  (I remember asking the same questions about the AC games before buying them too.)

[Xessive]

Yeah, that's horrible (about MTs).  But how necessary or beneficial are they?  The last 2 Assassin's Creed games do this (like with helix credits), but since I never stoop to that shit, I've never missed its perks, or felt impeded by the lack of them.  The biggest issue with this insidious practice is that games can be made too tedious to play enjoyably without letting yourself get fleeced as you play.  The revenue-stream mentality means devs are going to be pressured into doing just that.  (I remember asking the same questions about the AC games before buying them too.)

That's a very good example. The MTs are set up in a very similar (if not identical) fashion as the recent Assassin's Creed games. I don't feel impeded by the lack of them either and luckily they're not blasting you in the face with adverts or "pay here" options. SO I guess I ought to be grateful for that at least.

As you said, it's really easy for devs (or publishers) to start hindering the game or locking behind artificial hurdles which can only be relieved by paying, just like in mobile games "pay now to bypass timer" or "get premium currency to buy exclusive items" or any of that shit. It's utter nonsense and has no place in any paid game.

Of course, their logic is: hey, you don't HAVE to buy it, you can play the game normally but if someone wants to pay to speed up their progress, who are we to say no?

[MysterD]

Given what I've read about reviewers slapping the game namely for its storyline  + character issues - i.e. storyline or character stuff either get dropped, not fleshed-out, feel unfinished, etc - I'll really be interested to hear Xessive's take on this stuff.

Especially since all of the Deus Ex games (Deus Ex original, even Invisible War, and Human Revolution) did a great job w/ all of that stuff.

[MysterD]

***** SPOILERS in this Link Below for the entire Deus Ex Franchise + Deus Ex: MD: *****

Rock Paper Shotgun -> EDITORIAL (from Alec Meer): Deus Ex’s Adam Jensen Doesn’t Care, So Why Should I?

[MysterD]

GamesRadar - Season Pass details.

Here's what you'd get for $30 USD of DE: MD Season Pass:

You'll get four free Praxis kits, 1,000 crafting materials, and 5,000 credits stuffed into your wallet - Praxis kits are how you gain new powers, so this essentially means free upgrades, better guns, and the ability to buy more stuff and more expensive gear sooner. No more skulking around in the vents hunting for randomly discarded items for you!

You'll also get your own miniature armory thanks to the Assault Pack and Tactical Pack. The former contains a custom skinned Battle Rifle, the Chaff Augmentation, one pack of regular Battle Rifle ammo, one pack of armor piercing Battle Rifle ammo, 2 Frag Grenades, and 2 EMP Grenades. The latter holds a custom skinned Tranquilizer Rifle, the Micro Assembler Augmentation, one pack of tranquilizer ammo, 3 Smoke Grenades, and 2 Gas Grenades.

If you plan on checking out the new Deus Ex multiplayer mode, Breach, you can take advantage of the five Breach booster packs and 20 Breach chipsets. Booster packs unlock things like new weapons and items, Praxis points, premium ammo, while chipsets are the in-game currency used to purchase them. Again, you're both getting power and an easing of the financial burden that comes with buying more power.

Lastly, the Mankind Divided season pass will include two story missions. "System Rift" will be available later this fall, and "A Criminal Past" will be available in early 2017. No word on what these missions will be about, but if they're anything like the main game, it's safe to say there will be cyborgs, morally-grey conundrums, and lots of triangles.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Info on the upcoming System Rift DLC.

Square Enix has shared some information about the first Deus Ex: Mankind Divided story add-on.

Titled "System Rift," the DLC pack will see the return of Frank Pritchard and will have him team up with Adam Jensen to hack into the Santeau Group.

"In System Rift you will re-unite with Frank Pritchard, Adam's friend and former colleague at Sarif Industries, and assist him in hunting down information on the mysterious Santeau Group," the publisher explains in a press release.

"Desperate to get more information, Pritchard targets one of the most secure data banks ever created--the Palisade Blade. In agreeing to help, Adam may also be able to uncover hints as to who the illuminati really are."

This first story pack will be available on September 23 for all formats (PC, PS4 and Xbox One).

No prices for the US have been listed, but the original article mentions it is 10 cents more on Xbox One. I can't fathom why, but we all know a pretty good response to that; something about never asking for or not wanting this.

[MysterD]

Jimquisition - Jim Sterling on Square Enix meddling with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Anonymous source from Eidos Montreal tells Jim plenty of things about Square Enix's meddling with Mankind Divided:
- After most of the game was developed and they were working on bug-testing + fixing, around 2 weeks before they were done with it, Square Enix wanted Microtransactions added to the game.
- Eidos Montreal had TWO teams working on TWO Deus Ex games, codenamed Deus Ex NG1 + Deus Ex NG2 (NG = Next-Generation).
- NG1 was Square's code-name for Mankind Divided + NG2 was the code-name for sequel to Mankind Divided.
- Square pulled a bunch of NG2 members over to NG1 to try to get the game released by Feb. 2016. MD was released in August 2016.
- Square wanted a F2P-style game thrown onto Deus Ex: MD, hence the Breach game-mode found in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
- $70 million Canadian dollars was spent on MD; 50 grand was spent on marketing with Deus Ex TV.
- 3 million copies need to be sold to break even.
- Everything you do in Deus Ex: MD is sent back to Square's servers.

[Cobra951]

So arrogant and irritating, and so right.  Good thing I'm lukewarm on the DX franchise.  I can wait for a price drop.  It doesn't seem right to be paying full price for this.