Beamer wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:51:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
The Crysis games were love 'em or hate 'em kind of games - personally I loved them - but there's no question Crytek made some incredible tech. It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something? (And no, I'm not counting Star Citizen because from what I've read CIG has retooled it to the point that it is practically a new engine.)

I also loved Crysis. I think I played 1 & 2. Maybe 3? I remember getting a little tired of it in the middle of the second game, with some tedious passages.

Then again, saying that, I remember the end of the original Far Cry, where you had a sequence requiring you to fight something like 6 rocket mutants at once. I had to "cheat" by pushing a chair in the path of an auto-close door so I could run back halfway through for ammo and health. It... it just wasn't remotely fun.

edit - This part here, if I recall. Not even fun to watch. And wow, I don't remember Far Cry looking that awful.

Loved Crysis 1, but 2 and 3 were just boring. I actually had to force myself to complete them. I already forgot their plots again.

NetHead wrote on Dec 21, 2016, 07:39:
Their engine tech has always been impressive, Far Cry eventually came out of a tech demo for their engine (think they got some funding from Nvidia and turned it into a game, memory's really foggy but there's probably still some old videos floating around regarding it).

That's right. At first they wanted to make some kind of dinosaur game like Jurrasic Park on the basis of their "Dinosaur Island" tech demo, which featured mainly massive vegetation rendering. Ubisoft stepped in as a major financing partner and steered the direction to a more traditional shooter.

But sadly the Yerlis never understood the importance of creating a complete (!) engine package, including full support for third party tools and full service for developers. They had only interest in creating the best renderer. Nothing more is the CryEngine. A dammned good renderer with still the best and most accurate lighting effects ... and then some half-assed code to make a "game engine".

But the people creating this renderer are longer around. You already mentioned top personnel going to id Software. Two years ago the core engine team including the "inventor" of the modern CryEngine, left to found CIG Frankfurt. I doubt they will find enough good programming talent to continue the CryEngine as a competitive renderer.

Kajetan wrote on Dec 21, 2016, 04:04:

NetHead wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 18:08:
I vaguely remember them opening way more studios than made sense. Now that they're closing "five studios in five countries" the first thing that came to mind was where the hell are all the games. The only recent one I remember is The Climb which has a tiny potential customer base.

Crytek made good money with defense contracting. Simulators for the german army and the arms industry. I know someone who quit his job at Crytek for that specific reason. He said, that he wanted to make shooters and not murder simulations. Which sounds funny at first, but it is the destinction between making a game that people can have fun with and making a simulation to help people to actually better kill other people for realz.

That's interesting to know, beyond their engine I don't keep track of them other than news such as this. Good to know they at least had some other income, though can sympathise with the person you mentioned.

Prez wrote on Dec 21, 2016, 00:00:

Jamil20 wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 23:23:

siapnar wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 20:05:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something?

Only one I can think of is Kingdom Come: Deliverance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CryEngine_games

Well I'll be damned! I had no idea that so many games used the Cryengine!

Quite a few games use CryEngine. That list has mistakes, not all of those use CryEngine and not all that do are listed.

Their engine tech has always been impressive, Far Cry eventually came out of a tech demo for their engine (think they got some funding from Nvidia and turned it into a game, memory's really foggy but there's probably still some old videos floating around regarding it). Things like SSAO came from CtyTek first so they've even helped push the industry forward.

So it would be unfortunate if their engine side suffers due to all this, a while ago they lost a long time major graphics engineer to id Software, now id's lead rendering programmer on id Tech which is very impressive stuff (except MegaTexture which needs to die in games). Can't help but wonder how much of a brain drain they'll suffer this time.

NetHead wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 18:08:
I vaguely remember them opening way more studios than made sense. Now that they're closing "five studios in five countries" the first thing that came to mind was where the hell are all the games. The only recent one I remember is The Climb which has a tiny potential customer base.

Crytek made good money with defense contracting. Simulators for the german army and the arms industry. I know someone who quit his job at Crytek for that specific reason. He said, that he wanted to make shooters and not murder simulations. Which sounds funny at first, but it is the destinction between making a game that people can have fun with and making a simulation to help people to actually better kill other people for realz.

siapnar wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 20:05:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something?

Only one I can think of is Kingdom Come: Deliverance

yeh i wish they would get that finished sometime this decade

the alpha was fairly promising a couple years ago

Jamil20 wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 23:23:

siapnar wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 20:05:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something?

Only one I can think of is Kingdom Come: Deliverance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CryEngine_games

Well I'll be damned! I had no idea that so many games used the Cryengine!

swaaye wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 17:00:
I don't know what Crytek was thinking with Warframe.

Warface, not Warframe.

I actually played a bit of it. Very strange game. The monetization was over the top, IMHO.

siapnar wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 20:05:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something?

Only one I can think of is Kingdom Come: Deliverance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CryEngine_games

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something?

Only one I can think of is Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Beamer wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:51:
edit - This part here, if I recall. Not even fun to watch. And wow, I don't remember Far Cry looking that awful.

And that right there is why i never played the game again. that was fun to watch, thanks.
"fucken shit. All that hard work for nothing" roflcoptr

Creston wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:37:
It never made sense that they opened so many studios when they had sold exactly two games in like six years.

I vaguely remember them opening way more studios than made sense. Now that they're closing "five studios in five countries" the first thing that came to mind was where the hell are all the games. The only recent one I remember is The Climb which has a tiny potential customer base.

Beamer wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:51:
This part here, if I recall. Not even fun to watch. And wow, I don't remember Far Cry looking that awful.

That part was insane. It was such a struggle the first time and playing on hard, I still remember the pain, never again. Every time I played it after that I'd cheat and gave myself infinite ammo lol.

Far Cry looked stunning in it's time. Great bump mapping and shaders all over the place with shadows thrown in for good measure. I remember waiting for Doom 3 to wow us with it's graphics at the time but Far Cry popped up first but also had outdoor areas so massive it needed vehicles. There were loads of moments/places in Far Cry where all those things came together to create some jaw dropping scenes for the time.

Then they even added HDR with a patch and if I remember right it was one of the first games you could play with realtime HDR, even if it looked crazy in some situations.

Hey I remember the chair-in-the-door trick for that Far Cry mission too!

I don't know what Crytek was thinking with Warframe. That F2P stuff baffles me. I suppose the Crysis series wasn't bringing in enough money and etc. Making games is an impossibly difficult industry to win at.

Rigs wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 15:44:

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 15:12:

Kxmode wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 11:46:
I wonder if CIG's siphoning of CryTech engineering talent has something to do with it. Or perhaps leaving CryTech to join CIG is a result of financial issues with CryTech. Kind of interesting considering Derek predicted CIG would be bankrupt by early 2016.

Nope. CIG was only able to poach staff because Crytek had major financial issues and couldn't pay staff. It's why Crytek had to sell Homefront: The Revolution to another publisher back in 2014.

As for Derek, he predicted a lot of things and none of them have been accurate. He's simply a troll, jealous at the notion that anybody could produce better games than him. I'm assuming he was molested as a child, as he is not right in the head.

I'm starting to think you're Chris Roberts in disguise...or maybe Sandy...

I think Blues has been infiltrated! We need to institute PLAN B, everyone to the panic room!

Anyway, Crysis is still the benchmark after all these years, believe it or not. People still say #canitruncrysis when they buy the latest toaster. I thought Crysis 3 was pretty damn good...well, the first part, up to a little past the middle, then it was a slog. Same with Crysis 2. Like they could always make an interesting first half of a game but it just always went on too long, like a bad movie. And the first Crysis had this. You power through all the way to the mountain, thinking that the big finale will be there and NOPE! You still have a whole 'nother act, brotha! Fuck!

I never finished Far Cry, I maybe did about 10% and lost interest. I should go back to it. It was the first thing, aside from Half-Life 2 that I got on STEAM (not that I needed it, I had already bought it - twice)...

=-Rigs-=

Yeah, I think that sums up Crysis 2 for me: felt great, then became a slog. Just too long. I know some here refuse to buy a game if it isn't 20+ hours long (some demand 60!), but after 10-12, these FPS games really wear out their welcome for me. They go from "this is the best thing ever!" to "Jesus, just end!" I don't know why I don't walk away.

To your point about there being a whole other act, yes! I vaguely recall this for Crysis 3, but that was the single thing that bothered me with Far Cry 3. I felt like I was finally accomplishing something, and I was ready to be done, then suddenly it springs a second island on you. It's a faster island, and it had some very fun parts, and I still consider that the best game of that year (probably, I really loved that game), but I was just ready to sit back and smile at something well done, not keep doing it.

Beamer wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:51:
edit - This part here, if I recall. Not even fun to watch. And wow, I don't remember Far Cry looking that awful.

Yeah that level was just bullshit. The way it's played here is basically the only way to play it. If you run out, you're dead.

Pr()ZaC wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 12:53:

Kxmode wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 12:35:

Pr()ZaC wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 12:04:
CryTech soon to be called CryCIG.

CryMore?

Only for backers.

Boom. http://i.imgur.com/WXj9dW8.gif

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 15:12:

Kxmode wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 11:46:
I wonder if CIG's siphoning of CryTech engineering talent has something to do with it. Or perhaps leaving CryTech to join CIG is a result of financial issues with CryTech. Kind of interesting considering Derek predicted CIG would be bankrupt by early 2016.

Nope. CIG was only able to poach staff because Crytek had major financial issues and couldn't pay staff. It's why Crytek had to sell Homefront: The Revolution to another publisher back in 2014.

As for Derek, he predicted a lot of things and none of them have been accurate. He's simply a troll, jealous at the notion that anybody could produce better games than him. I'm assuming he was molested as a child, as he is not right in the head.

I'm starting to think you're Chris Roberts in disguise...or maybe Sandy...

I think Blues has been infiltrated! We need to institute PLAN B, everyone to the panic room!

Anyway, Crysis is still the benchmark after all these years, believe it or not. People still say #canitruncrysis when they buy the latest toaster. I thought Crysis 3 was pretty damn good...well, the first part, up to a little past the middle, then it was a slog. Same with Crysis 2. Like they could always make an interesting first half of a game but it just always went on too long, like a bad movie. And the first Crysis had this. You power through all the way to the mountain, thinking that the big finale will be there and NOPE! You still have a whole 'nother act, brotha! Fuck!

I never finished Far Cry, I maybe did about 10% and lost interest. I should go back to it. It was the first thing, aside from Half-Life 2 that I got on STEAM (not that I needed it, I had already bought it - twice)...

=-Rigs-=

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 15:12:

Kxmode wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 11:46:
Kind of interesting considering Derek predicted CIG would be bankrupt by early 2016.

As for Derek, he predicted a lot of things and none of them have been accurate. He's simply a troll, jealous at the notion that anybody could produce better games than him. I'm assuming he was molested as a child, as he is not right in the head.

I know who Derek is and I'm pretty sure molestation isn't something he went through (you should take the high road and not stoop to such playground antics regardless of your loathing towards him). Regarding my comment, it was merely a nod to his past predictions, and how, like Harold Camping, his predictions never occur.

Kxmode wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 11:46:
I wonder if CIG's siphoning of CryTech engineering talent has something to do with it. Or perhaps leaving CryTech to join CIG is a result of financial issues with CryTech. Kind of interesting considering Derek predicted CIG would be bankrupt by early 2016.

Nope. CIG was only able to poach staff because Crytek had major financial issues and couldn't pay staff. It's why Crytek had to sell Homefront: The Revolution to another publisher back in 2014.

As for Derek, he predicted a lot of things and none of them have been accurate. He's simply a troll, jealous at the notion that anybody could produce better games than him. I'm assuming he was molested as a child, as he is not right in the head.

Crysis had great graphics for its time, so it could be used to benchmark hardware quite well. The gameplay though....oh man, I hated it.

Beamer wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:51:

Prez wrote on Dec 20, 2016, 13:07:
The Crysis games were love 'em or hate 'em kind of games - personally I loved them - but there's no question Crytek made some incredible tech. It's a shame nothing really interesting beyond the Crysis series made use of it. Unless I'm missing something? (And no, I'm not counting Star Citizen because from what I've read CIG has retooled it to the point that it is practically a new engine.)

I also loved Crysis. I think I played 1 & 2. Maybe 3? I remember getting a little tired of it in the middle of the second game, with some tedious passages.

Then again, saying that, I remember the end of the original Far Cry, where you had a sequence requiring you to fight something like 6 rocket mutants at once. I had to "cheat" by pushing a chair in the path of an auto-close door so I could run back halfway through for ammo and health. It... it just wasn't remotely fun.

edit - This part here, if I recall. Not even fun to watch. And wow, I don't remember Far Cry looking that awful.

Same here as far as Far Cry's graphics go - it REALLY didn't age well. I remember the later level with the multiple rocket mutants that you mentioned - I must have died 20 times before I finally beat them. Still, I have fond memories of that game. I just remember it looking much better than that...