Beyond Good and Evil 2

[thorn]

For some reason I actually have an excellent working knowledge of BG&E's plot, and I have no idea how I know any of this.

 

The IRIS Network basically stole the DomZ's lifeforce, their Shauni, and they hid it in Jade, the daughter of two important IRIS members. Jade has several odd abilities that surface at unusual times - for instance, when she gets in combat, she starts hearing DomZ chants. This is also why the first name she picked when asked to come up with a pseudonym was Shauni. The IRIS Network inadvertently tipped off the DomZ when they started releasing reports with a Shauni byline.

Are you sure that

the lifeforce was hidden in the human child Jade? I got the impression that Jade was somehow created from the lifeforce. Maybe I had just been watching too much Buffy when I played the game, though.

[Merus]

The DomZ High Priest addresses Shauni as being distinct from the human shell; the final boss fight is the High Priest attempting to destroy the human shell. They're not fully integrated, although they're not entirely separate either.

 
This story is in the game - the game presents a lot of this stuff out-of-context in the final level, and you need subtitles on to really follow it. A second playthrough helps a lot.
 

Beyond Good & Evil was the game that made me realize the potential games have for storytelling.

 
I love that whole sequence. My favourite part:

it triggers only after you go into the restricted area and trigger the rooftop chase; it's structured so that you finish an infiltration, get the key, then immediately want to go into the restricted area to get enough pearls for a tasty upgrade. You haven't checked on the kids for a while, so when you go out and see that the lighthouse has been destroyed, you feel really, really guilty.

So, so good.

[syntheticgerbil]

So why does Ubisoft not release the HD version over Steam? That was all technically sound and looked great for the most part (since they didn't up the polygon count on any of the characters) besides my irks with the credits. I think the only big complaint is they removed all the bloom and blur stuff, but eh, I didn't really miss it.

[Twig]

Because BG&E was never a big seller and because Ubisoft cares significantly less about PC than consoles. If I had to guess. I'd be curious to know how well the HD release sold compared to the original, though.

 

So this game is still good, right. Except that the camera is completely awful. Whether I'm using mouse and keyboard or mapping the mouse movements to a controller analog stick, it's complete shit. Reminds me how far we've come. Damn.

[syntheticgerbil]

I get the feeling the HD version didn't sell so well. I remember the offical Beyond Good and Evil forums were filled with angry fans boycotting the product for not offering separate X and Y camera inverted options and instead only offered inverting both at a time (even though this is the exact same as the original game). The camera in Beyond Good and Evil doesn't bother me since I have been thoroughly subjected to third person platformers and action games from the time. Nothing is as terrible as Jak 1's camera and even Wind Waker HD carries a lot of the same annoyances, although Nintendo tried to improve it with a lot more camera freedom than before.

 

Then a lot of people were angry early on because of the removal of the motion blur stuff.

Ubisoft also removed all the blur from the Prince of Persia HD versions and there was similar outcry, but I am guessing those did well anyway because they were released in box form with the whole trilogy.

 

Maybe the Chinese team that did all of the Ubisoft remakes should have just left in the bloom and blur it in to make everyone stop fighting about it, but I hear their reasoning was to not put a damper on the new HD stuff because supposedly a lot of those effects were used in the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox era to cover up lower res textures and jagged polygons. The only terrible HD remake Ubisoft did was Rayman 3, because they fucked up a lot of lighting and water effects, created an easy to trigger game breaking bug where you cannot access the last level, and had multiple instances where the UVWs on textures were all mixed up. That kind of explains why that one was quietly released a couple of years after the other HD versions.

 

Also Ubisoft completely fixed the internet code generator for the last Mdisk on the Beyond Good and Evil website, allowing for 100% completion again. It had been broken for 5-6 years before. It'll probably break again at some point.

[Twig]

I wouldn't have any huge issue with the camera if it were just difficult to control, but it also is sorta nauseating without it swings around at unexpected speeds. I dunno. It's unpleasant.

 

Ubisoft is a very frustrating powerhouse. They have so many, SO MANY great games, but they don't seem to treat them well. Or treat the people who love them well. It's like they make the game good and then throw in a couple gross things to piss people off (usually Uplay, these days) and then stop there. The future no longer matters. "Day one sales, and WE OUT," they scream from the roof of their office building.

[Bjorn]

And yet then they make things like Rayman Origins and Legends, both of which feel like games to me that are not going to depend on Day 1 sales, but are going to depend on a longer sales cycle than most games.

 

That just highlights the dysfunctional nature of Ubi for me.  Occasionally they make games/decisions that seem to buck the other AAA publisher trends, but it seems almost accidental rather than intentional.

[Twig]

Yeah, I think that's the key. Those games were not planned to succeed the way they succeeded. I remember Ubisoft originally saying a PC port of Origins would never happen because the game sold like shit. And this was after like a few months? Ahhh, I don't remember, my details are probably wrong, but the spirit of what I'm saying remains.

 

EDIT: I've decided that BG&E on PC simply doesn't work with a controller. I've accepted that. I want analog controls, but they don't exist, and not having them is completely throwing me off. Shame, because that's the only issue I have with how it's all mapped to my controller. I adjusted the camera to move at optimal speeds, etc. Oh well. Damnit Ubisoft just release the HD version on Steam, okay? Okay.

[Dewar]

So why does Ubisoft not release the HD version over Steam? That was all technically sound and looked great for the most part (since they didn't up the polygon count on any of the characters) besides my irks with the credits. I think the only big complaint is they removed all the bloom and blur stuff, but eh, I didn't really miss it.

 

I'd imagine you'd have to play it with uPlay.

[Bjorn]

I'd imagine you'd have to play it with uPlay.

 

 

Well, at least we know what is beyond evil: uPlay.

[Nappi]

EDIT: I've decided that BG&E on PC simply doesn't work with a controller. I've accepted that. I want analog controls, but they don't exist, and not having them is completely throwing me off. Shame, because that's the only issue I have with how it's all mapped to my controller. I adjusted the camera to move at optimal speeds, etc. Oh well. Damnit Ubisoft just release the HD version on Steam, okay? Okay.

 

Well, crap. I think I played the game using mouse and keyboard because I didn't have a gamepad back then. Sorry to mislead you about the PC version actually working fine.

[Twig]

It's no big deal. I think I would've ended up buying it regardless, since it's the only way I can play it. Anyway, it's playable at this point (after all the hacks), just not ideal.

[syntheticgerbil]

And yet then they make things like Rayman Origins and Legends, both of which feel like games to me that are not going to depend on Day 1 sales, but are going to depend on a longer sales cycle than most games.

 

That just highlights the dysfunctional nature of Ubi for me.  Occasionally they make games/decisions that seem to buck the other AAA publisher trends, but it seems almost accidental rather than intentional.

 

If I understand correctly, Legends wouldn't even been produced if it were based on the abysmal week one sales of Origins alone. It was word of mouth that eventually made Origins profitable after a few months.

 

I also think part of it is they don't want to piss off Michel Ancel who has been with the company since 1990 and is pretty much pivotal in their growth as a company during that whole decade. I forgot that rumor blog that used to be around (Surfergirl or something?) But it seems Ancel has threatened to quit more than a few times.

[Twig]

I almost wish he would quit, even if it meant sacrificing the IPs he's known for, but maybe he's not the type who wants to start his own small indie studio like every other big name these days.

[syntheticgerbil]

Well it seems like he's accustomed to smaller teams. Like the first 45 seconds of the twenty minute Rayman Origins credits.

[Merus]

If I understand correctly, Legends wouldn't even been produced if it were based on the abysmal week one sales of Origins alone. It was word of mouth that eventually made Origins profitable after a few months.

 

I believe the sales tail of Origins looked more like a Nintendo game, which Ubisoft realised a month or so after release. It turns out you make quite a lot of money if you sell 100,000 copies every month for the next three years.

[Ucantalas]

Ubisoft, why do you keep saying stuff like this?

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/08/01/beyond-good-will-push-past-the-boundaries-of-proverbial-sequel/

[Twig]

Half-Life 3 confirmed still in the works!

 

EDIT: WHOA.

 

"Following news overnight that creator Michel Ancel will launch his own independent studio"

 

I am so excited!

 

EDIETETID:: more thoughs

 

I almost don't want this game to come out anymore for fear it'll be structured identically to the Ass Cries and Far Creeds. Ubisoft can do great and interesting things - and I do believe that! - but these days they're most reserved for smaller projects like Rayman and Child of Light and Valiant Hearts.

 

...Which, to be fair, all come from Ancel's hotbed of creativity, with UbiArt, I believe. So Maybe I should have some faith in BG&E2 (if it happens which it won't).

 

EEEEDDDDIIIITTTT:::::

 

 

"In many ways, BG&E is an inimitable game - it appeals to all generations of gamers and is an inspiration behind many of Ubisoft Montpellier's past and future games. It's still far too early to give many details about this new title, but what we can say is that while Michel and the team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of BG&E, they're developing something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel and leverages next-gen technologies to deliver a truly surprising, innovative and exceptional game. The entire team is excited about the direction this extremely ambitious project is taking, and we'll have more to share later, as it progresses."

 

This quote never actually says they're working on a sequel to BG&E2. This rep dances around it with some PR speak voodoo. "Working with the core tenets of BG&E." "Something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel." I am embracing my cynicism and stating here and now that they are not, in fact, actually working on a sequel.

[Bjorn]

This is so much worse than HL3 for me.  At least Valve doesn't even pretend like it exists.

 

I certainly hope that Ancel does well independently, and will be excited to see what he designs outside of Ubisoft.  But I also worry about the guy spreading himself too thin across multiple projects, which is what it sounds like he's doing. 

[syntheticgerbil]

 I hate when this thread gets bumped with non-news.

[Merus]

I have basically given up on BG&E2, particularly the part where Ubisoft wants it to do well and to give it resources, because I expect that those resources will include Ubisoft Montreal and the Alice Unit.

[Ben X]

Ubisoft, why do you keep saying stuff like this?

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/08/01/beyond-good-will-push-past-the-boundaries-of-proverbial-sequel/

 

You mean "proverbial sequel"?

[Dr Wookie]

Why must they toy with my heart so? Beyond Good & Evil was a great little game, and they've been on again off again with this sequel for years! I'll believe it when it's on my hard drive

[prawks]

Think this will be the next game I play, I've had it on my list for so long. And I need a new game for my Gamecube 

[Apelsin]

Beyond Good & Evil 2 coming out Fall 2018 for the Nintendo Gamecube the Second