[Daedolon]

MrFlibble, on 19 May 2016 - 03:20 AM, said:

Was it CyClones?

Freelook, not mouse aiming, completely separate mechanics. I just don't know the proper term for either.

Cage, on 19 May 2016 - 03:38 AM, said:

My problems with Future Shock was that the levels were too large and the interior sections too mazey.

I personally actually found the exterior areas to be too mazey, not the interiors. Which is why I started writing a guide for GameFaqs like 10 years ago, never just finished it.

[MrFlibble]

Recently I played a bit of SkyNET multiplayer from the demo (in solo mode, just to take a few screenshots), and this made me think that a source port of both Future Shock and the sequel would be quite nice. I wonder if there are any chances of the games going open source? I've heard that Bethesda lost the source of Daggerfall when moving offices, do you think the same could have happened to the Terminator games?

I'm also wondering to what extent the Terminator licence could negatively affect the prospects of open sourcing the games, provided that the sources are recovered? IIRC the author of the FutureShock32 engine recreaton project stated that all work on it was suspended because an approval from the Terminartor copyright holders could not be obtained. Is that really such a serious issue? I mean, open sourcing the code of a game cannot, theoretically, harm the Terminator franchise at all, and it does not affect illicit distribution of either game because they run fine in DOSBox anyway.

[cybdmn]

MrFlibble, on 20 October 2016 - 07:51 AM, said:

I've heard that Bethesda lost the source of Daggerfall when moving offices, do you think the same could have happened to the Terminator games?

Seems very likely. Daggerfall (like Redguard and Battlespire) uses the same Engine, called XnGine as Terminator: Future Shock/SkyNet.

[t800]

Has anybody found way to play SkyNET with hi-res mode fast and reliably in DosBox?
I tried all major variants of it, experimented with different cpu and video settings and still couldnt achieve any satisfactory results.
BTW am I the only one who cant stand that bright blue sky from SkyNET? I dont understand why Bethesda altered it, it is quite atmosphere breaker.

[MrFlibble]

t800, on 24 October 2016 - 02:48 PM, said:

Has anybody found way to play SkyNET with hi-res mode fast and reliably in DosBox?

I only got the demo but it plays smooth for me in DOSBox SVN Daum at around 50k cycles. Dynamic core, everything else pretty much default.

I just checked vanilla v0.74 at around 45k cycles, it works just fine.

I'd recommend setting the game to run in high-res, start DOSBox with a fixed amount of cycles (30k seems like a nice value), then Ctrl+F12 to cycle up until it plays reasonably well. Jittering sound should indicate CPU overclocking.

[Person of Color]

Or you could get a fucking Pentium box.

DOSBox lacks vsync and the OPL synth isn't emulated all that well.

[leilei]

a hem

[Bloodshot]

t800, on 24 October 2016 - 02:48 PM, said:

BTW am I the only one who cant stand that bright blue sky from SkyNET? I dont understand why Bethesda altered it, it is quite atmosphere breaker.

Holy shit finally. I kinda got FS in skyNET running decently, it chugged in some areas but the thing that pushed me back to playing regular future shock was seeing the bright blue night sky in FS instead of a black sky.

idk why but somehow that one pigment change made it feel less like terminator to me

[Hendricks266]

leilei, on 29 October 2016 - 08:47 PM, said:

hem

Can someone mirror this patch?

[Person of Color]

leilei, on 29 October 2016 - 08:47 PM, said:

a hem

Good to know, but I still believe in thrift shops and garage sales, or eBay if you have the cash.

Nothing beats original hardware, and I'm sure you'll agree with me on that.

Shit, I even hand pick cards with real OPL3's. I swear by the CT2230 SB16.

[gemeaux333]

Have any patch ever solved the bug provided by the SKYNET playthrough of the TERMINATOR FUTURE SHOCK campaign... you know, the "Bishop euthanazia preventer" ?

[Cherno]

The games were technically impressive but also badly suffered from two things mainly: The way your character would instantly be killed when sliding down a slope and touching the ground, and the weirdly random way damage seems to work. I think the latter is also brought up in civvie's or Gmanlive's commentary.

[NightFright]

I played the original campaign for the first time earlier this year and it was indeed remarkable. A horribly underrated game, ahead of its time. The Bishop bug is indeed annoying and that sewer level is a criminal labyrinth. I got stuck for a while in the last level since I couldn't figure out you had to destroy a console to reveal a path leading to one of the mission goals. That's usually stuff for secret areas.

Anyway, if there was another patch that fixes the Bishop showstopper and maybe the stupid resolution change whenever you enter the menu in SVGA mode, everything would be perfect. What I liked most about the game was that Terminators are really scary since they can deal quite some damage and aren't just low-HP cannon fodder. Oh yeah, and the shotgun is also enjoyable.

[gemeaux333]

In Skynet you die instantly if you get stuck for good in a collision bug, thats the best devs have found to fix this issue, yes the Elder's Scrolls 2 : Daggerfall engine was buggy (just like all the engines Bethesda have created for its Elder's Scrolls games, and not only for them)
For damages, your armor always take most damages from every single source types, but if you play in easy difficulty you don't have to bother about that, nor the fact you waste collectibles for not having any room in your inventory...

The Bishop bug is the one thant prevent you to kill him when you play in Skynet mode, basically he is just a sprite and a ghost (what sprites have become because of Skynet mode) you can pass threw, but it seems the Bishop euthanazia level was also buggued as hell in the original game (Future Shock)...
...I have installed the 2017 fan patch so I will look for this...


I wondered how Bethesda would feel about doint a remake / re-imagining of these games (all in one) by staying faithfull to the original material, and why not a sequel ?

[gemeaux333]

Found it :

[Zaxx]

gemeaux333, on 10 October 2019 - 09:06 AM, said:

wondered how Bethesda would feel about doint a remake / re-imagining of these games

They did reimagine these games, a lot of the things they have in their Fallout games come from Future Shock / Skynet. Going out to the wasteland at night has a pretty strong Terminator vibe to it, a lot of the visual design comes from there too and by the time they got to Fallout 4 they even started using robots / androids (synths). That's not really an idea that they took from Black Isle (sure, the first two games have similar elements and even a supercomputer called Skynet in them but they never got to humanoid AI) and I always found that interesting that the minute they had to come up with something original that was their first choice.

[gemeaux333]

I meant a true Terminator setup keeping the ambiance and feelings of the original games actually, even if for sure they were premonitory about what was about to come with Fallout...

There is the Bishop bug I was talking about :

https://youtu.be/LX1_sH4YkG0?t=7734

[Zaxx]

You won't see a Terminator game from Bethesda, that's for sure: they no longer have the license and they are no longer interested in getting it (there is nothing to win, most of their own franchises are bigger than Terminator).

[gemeaux333]

If the license for the existing games is not enough they can get it again, and if its well handled it will be worth Doom, Wolfenstein or Fallout at least !

I am pretty sure they would reconsider if enough pressure from the fans, like petitions for instance...

[MrFlibble]

gemeaux333, on 11 October 2019 - 11:04 AM, said:

I am pretty sure they would reconsider if enough pressure from the fans, like petitions for instance...

I'm not sure which is less likely: that a petition for Bethesda to acquire a new Terminator license and make a game with it will gather any substantial number of signatures, or that they will actually give in to these demands and make said game happen.

In my opinion, the value in Future Shock and SkyNET is exactly because of how ahead of their time both games were. But this is also one of the reasons why they never got the popularity they really deserved (of course not discounting other factors like bugginess, strong market competition and, as far as I know, a lack of modding and mapping tools). And on top of that this is something that will likely never be recreated at all. If you wanted a new Terminator FPS that is playable and enjoyable you'd probably change so much that the original inspiration will no longer be recognizable.

Another thing to consider is that the characteristic atmosphere of these games comes from very specific art style and technology decisions. It's probably worth noting that in the pre-release demo of Future Shock, everything is even less bright and colourful than in the final game, creating a very dark and oppressive mood. I'm not certain that if the games are recreated in a modern AAA FPS style it would achieve the same effect. It might be still dark and frightening but it won't be the same at all.

[gemeaux333]

Why not ? When I have watched Terminator Genisys, I have been thinking straight : this movie would be a great inspiration for a Future Shock/ Skynet remake or sequel, just to say how much it made me remember these games...

And why would Bethesda turn down potential additionnal money, as well as the salvatory action of "remembering your roots" as the moto says ?

I wonder if there is anyone I could contact among Bethesda staff to see how they feel about this... Todd Howard ? https://en.wikipedia...iki/Todd_Howard

[Zaxx]

This is what he thinks:
https://youtu.be/nPttE_fvjZM?t=820

[gemeaux333]

Zaxx, on 12 October 2019 - 09:27 AM, said:

This is what he thinks:
https://youtu.be/nPttE_fvjZM?t=820

So it's : "Yes but that is complicated/delicate" ?

[Outtagum]

gemeaux333, on 12 October 2019 - 08:21 AM, said:

Why not ?

A new Terminator FPS with RPG elements (skill leveling, inventory, crafting, npc interactivity, multiple endings) is scheduled to be released next month. https://store.steamp...tor_Resistance/

[MrFlibble]

gemeaux333, on 12 October 2019 - 08:21 AM, said:

And why would Bethesda turn down potential additionnal money, as well as the salvatory action of "remembering your roots" as the moto says ?

This is simply not how corporate business decisions are made. For every cent of theoretical "additional money" from sales they'd have to invest heavily into licensing, development and marketing. I don't think Bethesda has substantial free capital to put into new projects besides their existing schedule (no doubt planned sometime in advance already). But even if they did where's any guarantee that the sales would be enough to cover these investments, much less generate actual profit? And since there's another Terminator license FPS coming out as pointed out above, it would make even less sense to work against this competition simply to "get back to your roots".

I would rather hope for a fan game, maybe not based on the Terminator franchise at all, but with a similar setting (as similar as you can get without being accused of plagiarism), mechanics and tone. The trailer for Terminator: Resistance is pretty flashy and loud, in line with what a modern AAA game is likely to be, and completely unlike Future Shock & Co. An indie title however could be closer in aesthetics if only lacking the license.

It would also be very certainly nice if there was a playable engine recreation. There was a project IIRC but apparently it is put on hold indefinitely due to concerns that the license holders may take action. Something along the lines of Daggerfall Unity or DaggerXL would be much appreciated.

[Zaxx]

Man, that new Terminator FPS doesn't look good at all. I hope that it will be decent at least.

[gemeaux333]

Thats the one from the creators of the last "rail-shooter" Rambo... https://store.steamp...ame_Baker_Team/

Honestly my friends, do you seriously think they can make the comparison/difference with Bethesda and co. ?

[Zaxx]

Well, I never thought that Future Shock and Skynet were good games (sorry, I care about the actual FPS mechanics more than anything else and those are quite bad in them) so in my world everything's possible. But yeah, the developer's reputation is not good at all.

[gemeaux333]

If they can't make remake or re-imagining of Future Shock and Skynet in internal, they can leave it to other studios (like Machine Games) and Todd Howard remains consultant...

[gemeaux333]

I allways liked the improvements of Skynet, but allways prefered the campaign of Future Shock...