Well they got a lot of flak for their trailer which didn't represent the actual game very well ppl expected Bioshock and not yet another ea survival game no one asked for. Then the pricing debacle thx to their partnership with uncle pitchfork, needless to say if they ever plan to sell more then a few thousand copys the game needs to be absolutely spectacular now to get the ppl on board again.
Well they got a lot of flak for their trailer which didn't represent the actual game very well ppl expected Bioshock and not yet another ea survival game no one asked for.
wrong ... the game was kickstarted as mainly survival game and they always said the story parts will be in final version not in early access build .
but yeah they fucked up the marketing as mainstream idnt even knew the game exist before the xbox trailer
Well they got a lot of flak for their trailer which didn't represent the actual game very well ppl expected Bioshock and not yet another ea survival game no one asked for.
wrong ... the game was kickstarted as mainly survival game and they always said the story parts will be in final version not in early access build .
but yeah they fucked up the marketing as mainstream idnt even knew the game exist before the xbox trailer
Yeah ppl usually don't really pay attention to kickstarter if they are not really in to the concept so for most ppl these trailers where their first impression of the game.
On the content and usability side, on Monday Gearbox began a two week playtest for playing through the full game. To get this build ready, we had to make sure that the content was finished (no placeholder content) and no “progression blocker” bugs were present in the game. We finished that up last Friday, and so far so good: no blockers have been encountered, and it looks like players are completing Arthur without too much difficulty! We have been receiving helpful comments on balance, onboarding and how people are using mechanics like combat, stealth and conformity. We also took a day off development to play the game (the whole team), and we have received a ton of great feedback from our team: animators, artists, designers, programmers, we all play differently and it’s important to see things from different perspectives. The next step for us is to review all of the feedback, to then decide what we can realistically achieve before shipping (and what we can’t).
On the technical side, we have been preparing builds for a first round of testing from Microsoft and Sony, to help us prepare for final submission on consoles. It’s the first time these guys have seen the game, so they need to check a range of basic things: for example, does the game use too much memory (and crash), does it display properly on all TVs, does it copy correctly from the Blu Ray, etc. In order to do this we have done a significant amount of optimization work, from art asset optimization to code performance and memory tweaks, and we’re excited to say that the game is now running well on both platforms. It’s even running better on PC, so stay tuned in the coming weeks for updated (and final) PC specs.
In the meantime, the rest of the team has been fixing hundreds of bugs, ranging from conditional progression blockers (eg if I spin around in circles 3 times, and lockpick the wrong chest, I’ll break the game) to minor art bugs (eg a chest is floating 10cm off the ground). In this phase, we prioritize inside each discipline, focusing on the serious and gamebreaking bugs first, then on bugs that cause player frustration, and finally on to cosmetic or otherwise less important bugs. Occasionally we create more - eg when fixing a bug or implementing changes required by optimization or player feedback - but by and large the bug database is reducing at a steady rate. That’s a good sign for release.
Next Steps
The next few weeks are a bit touch and go - the window for addressing feedback and fixing bugs is closing, so we spend a great deal of time prioritizing over and over again to make sure we’re addressing the right feedback. However, we are looking to be in good shape.
The next steps on the production side are getting ready for console submission, so it’s the QA team’s time to shine. We’ll be bringing them lots of coffee over the next few weeks.
I want to thank everyone for all of your comments, feedback, bug reports and (constructive!) criticism over the years. It’s been a huge process for us growing this game, and we’re proud to have had you guys with us all along the way. It’s (almost) time to get hyped.
Was initially excited for this title, until they got in bed with Gearbox and decided that their game was now going to be a fully priced AAA title, for no other reason than "just because".
Fuck em.
I can never be free, because the shackles I wear can't be touched or be seen.
i9-9900k, MSI MPG-Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon, 32GB DDR4 @ 3000, eVGA GTX 1080 DT, Samsung 970 EVO Plus nVME 1TB
After many many months of research, redesign and community feedback, we settled on a system that makes the survival elements affect how strong your character is, but won’t kill you. We have removed a meter that fills based on the “value” of the food or drink, and moved to a buff/debuff system. When fully fed, hydrated, and rested, the player receives buffs for stamina recovery and maximum, for example. When hunger, thirst and sleep deprivation are high, the player is penalized in the same way. In between those states you’ll operate about normally. This doesn't kill you outright, but it makes combat and running away more challenging when you’re debuffed, and gives you advantages when you need it. For those players who prefer to play without those penalties, the new easy mode allows you to remove the debuffs (meaning you’ll never be bothered by a red debuff icon). You can also customize which option you want, with custom difficulty settings. This feels like an approach that solves what we and you guys are looking for: a system that gives you control over what you’re doing, doesn’t interrupt story moments or exploration, has thematic importance, but still is an important part of gameplay.
The primary gameplay loops of: survey terrain -> control terrain -> loot terrain -> repeat remain, as does crafting. You do all the same things as in the early days, and it is still the majority of the gameplay. And, for the survival purists out there, the more traditional, survival aspects will be back in sandbox mode (which will be an update to the game post release).
Community Feedback
The survival mechanics have probably been the most discussed and iterated on systems in the game - and that’s entirely due to community feedback. PAX, Kickstarter, Early Access and Game Preview were all essential to help make this game what it is, because it gave us ongoing feedback during the growth of the game. What started as a survival simulator punctuated with story moments in the form of cutscenes has evolved into a hybrid actiony-adventure story and survival game, with narrative woven intricately throughout every part of the game. Creating a flexible system that appeals both to players who enjoyed the survival mechanics with those who didn’t, while keeping these thematically consistent, was one of the toughest challenges of the project, and we hope you enjoy it on 1.0.
We Happy Few, which creative director Guillaume Provost describes as “an action adventure game with lots of weird stuff in it," has been around for quite some time in the form of a drug-fueled roguelike. But its stock rose significantly in the wake of its E3 2016 presence at Xbox’s press briefing, where it showcased a BioShock-esque narrative campaign. It’s been mostly quiet ever since before finally re-revealing itself this month. I played a good 45 or so minutes of it and came away mostly impressed. It is clearly doing everything it can to make “The Leap,” like a superstar athlete, from raw potential to polished All-Star.
Developer Compulsion Games and creative director Guillaume Provost explained that over 40 people are now working on We Happy Few – far more than before – and that the past nine months have been spent focusing almost solely on this single-player campaign, which Provost claims is clocking in at around 20 hours long. My demo picked up shortly after the 2016 demo ended, in the shoes of Arthur, the same chap we already know from the last demo.
The island I was running around on was very tranquil, a gentle contrast to the madness of many of its inhabitants who’ve gone off of their government-mandated “Joy” medication. Colors abound, but not in an obnoxious, over-the-top way. The art direction is commendable in We Happy Few. Accents are decidedly British, and the overall look and feel of the world on display is decidedly unique and appealing.
In the free-roaming portions, you may come across items that can be used to craft other items, such as restorative health bits or clothing. But the narrative also takes you through more linear, focused paths, such as when I had to find the old war medals of a gatekeeper, who’d had them stolen by a nearby gang of bandits, before he’d let me over the bridge to the next island I needed to go to. I also had a power cell on my shopping list.
The front entrance to the bandit hideout was obviously not the best way in, what with the gate and all. So I snuck around, following a (very scenic) cliff’s edge on the very border of this part of the island, and found a back way in. Unfortunately, the task wouldn’t be completed by way of simple stealth. I got in an elevator and tried to infiltrate the hideout, but instead I was locked in the car and trapped, then plunged down into the bowels of the base.
When the doors opened I was forced to compete in a gladiator-esque pit, a one-on-one fight for the amusement of the bandits in camp. My opponent was Danny Defoe, a fine fellow and fellow unwilling combatant that Arthur actually knows, adding more discomfort and sorrow to an already difficult situation. That added weight to the small choice I was given next: my choice of weapon before the partition lowered and the battle began. I could pick either a nonlethal padded bat, or a potentially lethal pointed stick. I chose the latter, thinking that it was clearly a “him or me” kind of situation.
So yes, I killed poor Danny, and I learned in the next tussle – yes, two more anonymous antagonists were sent in after Danny dropped – that I could’ve used Danny’s corpse as a weapon by picking it up and throwing it, but I didn’t see the prompt for the option in time before I felled both enemies. It’s moments like this – along with flashback story moments called “Lies” – that leave me feeling optimistic that We Happy Few can successfully make “The Leap.” We’ll find out soon enough.
We Happy Few" is a narrative-driven action-adventure game set in a retrofuturistic 1960s England. Uncover the mystery of Wellington Wells as you play through the interwoven narratives of three moderately terrible citizens trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial.
"We Happy Few" will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, and PC on August 10, 2018.
We Happy Few" is a narrative-driven action-adventure game set in a retrofuturistic 1960s England. Uncover the mystery of Wellington Wells as you play through the interwoven narratives of three moderately terrible citizens trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial.
"We Happy Few" will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, and PC on August 10, 2018.
Now that's more like it! I'm actually a bit hyped again.
Now that's more like it! I'm actually a bit hyped again.
Likewise, the old earlyaccessian beta (sans-story) felt quite uninspired and barren, but it seems that the future final release will have substantial additions in terms of gameplay (stealth mechanics, immersive sim-like tricks, multiple approaches etc.). Hopefully the narrative will be decent enough to amalgamate the whole thing properly, for me that's always important.
I didn't follow closely, but I can see the marketing team is pushing all sorts of videos and whatnot, is it delayed, not, why do they need so much time to release it?
Danyutz: you can read their weekly progress on their devblogs... Basically they were polishing and adding options to sandbox mode and the other part of the team expading the story mode thx to Gearbox injection
IMO the atmoshpere looks to be much better and suiting than Bioshock Infinite, not as good as orgiinal Bioshock though but there's a potential, fingers crossed.
heh seems like sandbox mode from EA will not be there for launch
Quote:
Hi everyone,
We’re thrilled to share the first details about We Happy Few‘s post-launch content! These will not be available at launch but we wanted to give you a little taste of what's coming after.
Sandbox Mode
This free update will add an infinite mode, set in a world that you can customize as you wish (larger, smaller, more dangerous, less food, more Wellies, etc). You will be able to customize some of the rules of the game, including choosing to play as a Wellie (Wellie Mode!). This mode will bring back the systemic, sandbox world showcased in the early days of We Happy Few.
Also in the works is the We Happy Few Season Pass! Included in the We Happy Few Deluxe Edition, the Season Pass includes three different stories set in Wellington Wells:
Roger & James in: They Came From Below!
Precocious Roger and Impetuous James set off in search of adventure and love, only to uncover bizarre technology and a terrifying new threat. All is not as it seems. Or is it exactly as it seems?
Lightbearer
Heartthrob, artist, and personal trainwreck, Nick Lightbearer is Wellington Wells’ most celebrated rock star—but what truly makes him tick? Tune in to Uncle Jack’s late show to find out.
We All Fall Down
Much like any well-worn happy mask, all societies develop cracks in their veneer. But that doesn’t mean you should go digging up dirt from the past. Right? *pops a Joy pill* Right!
The Season Pass is currently only available as part of We Happy Few Deluxe Edition, but will be available for purchase separately upon launch.
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and they always said the story parts will be in final version not in early access build .
