SOMA

[joonior_bmf]

SOMA Interview: ‘Our Goal Is To Revitalize The Horror Genre Just Like Amnesia’

http://www.somagame.com/index.html

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[Mahdi]

Sorry all for the silence! We're closing in on Beta and everyone's working hard to get there. Once that's done, we'll reveal more!

In the meantime, here's a new screenshot for you to feast your eyes on:

[Mahdi]

After much blood, sweat and tears we can now inform you all that SOMA is finally in the Beta stage! This is a huge thing for us and easily the biggest milestone prior to the actual release of the game.

So what does it mean? Well it means that we now have a build of SOMA that contains all of our desired features. There are still a few bits of art, a few sounds etc. missing, but the game is pretty much complete content-wise. We've sent this build out to around 40 people to test and once we start getting feedback in we'll discuss how best to spend our remaining development time. At this time in development there isn't much room to make big changes. If it turns out that something doesn't work at all, we need to figure out a not-too-drastic tweak that can make it work, or consider cutting it entirely.

Important to note is that we've already had two big tests prior to this, one vertical slice and one Alpha, so we're pretty confident on the major decisions of the game. We've already tried many different ways of doing things, and honed in on the stuff that works. So while the time for major overhauls is now over, we'll not end up in a situation where half the game turns out to be broken. I'm quite confident that we've created a very special experience, but before the verdict comes in, it's still scary to not know for certain. Especially now when we are at the point of no return.

Once we've decided on how to best spend our time, our days will be all about polish and improvement (and possibly some cutting here and there). In its current state, all of the game's big problems have been solved, so what's left is to make sure that what's there is as good as it possibly can be. Adding effects, improving the art, ensuring stability, making it more intuitive and so on. That's what just about all of our remaining work is about. That and fixing all those annoying bugs that are sure to crop up.

An interesting side-note on this Beta thing is how the number of bugs always sky rockets near an important deadline. Long-existing issues that have not been a problem for months (or years!) seem to pop up an hour or so before it's time to send out the build. Here at Frictional we call this "entering the event horizon". Just like approaching the singularity of a black hole, outside time goes increasingly faster, things frantically break and the known laws of physics cease to work. For instance, over the last week we've had two hard drive failures, geometry disappearing for no reason, SVN breaking, editors not loading updated files and several much-tested features starting to crash. It's exactly the same every time and yet you're always just as surprised when it happens.

Now that Beta is done, our next deadline is Release. Before we can announce that we have to wait for the Beta feedback to come in and then make plans for our remaining time. The time when SOMA is finally out is really close now, though, and we'll let you all know a date in the near future!

Edit: bonus screenshot and concept art.

[Mahdi]

After almost five years of blood, sweat and tears we can finally make the following announcement:

SOMA, our upcoming sci-fi horror game, will be released on the 22nd September this fall on PS4 and PC.

And to celebrate that, here are 12 minutes of uncut gameplay footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syhcF0Mx0j0

Now for three quick bits of trivia about the video:

1) When the video starts we are about 1 hour into the game.

2) The protagonist is not an amnesiac. He has an established past, knows who he is, but isn't at all sure about the situation he's in.

3) There are lots more things to explore in this level than what's shown in the video. For instance, you can avoid the robot attack completely by acting differently.

That's it for now! We hope you like the footage and we're looking forward hearing what you think about the game after release!

[Cetateanu]

Arata f bine, bun setting, insa nu pare prea scary, robotelul ala e chiar simpatic. Poate Outlast a ridicat standardele prea sus la genul asta de jocuri, dar sper sa ma insel si sa apara chestii cu adevarat scary prin joc.

edit: btw, aia cu Routine n-au mai apucat sa termine amaratul lor de joc de atata amar de vreme, si SOMA apare intre timp cam cu acelasi setting (gen System Shock, space horror, nu cred ca se potriveste ceva mai bine, cu exceptia azilului de nebuni parasit) si le mananca painea. R.I.P. Routine...

[Waaagh!]

Outlast e o prostie. Grobianismul abordarii iti inspira indiferenta, iar penibilul povestii, odata descoperit, poate ceva zambete jenate.

That being said, am inceput si eu sa gasesc obositoare momentele in care trebuie sa eludezi un adversar invincibil. Inca astept horrorul care sa ma tina in pragul infarctului fara nici un inamic in nivel.

Oricum, atata timp cat nu se afixiaza in propriile sale pretentii, precum masina de tocat porci, o sa fie un joc interesant.

Spoiler for HUGE REVEAL:

ZOMG, sunt convins ca si protagonistul e o masinarie cu o constiinta umana implantata in ea, realitatea corpului biologic fiind de fapt o iluzie.

[Cetateanu]

Outlast face Amnesia sa para copilas in genul asta de jocuri, gameplayul a fost cu o clasa peste, iar povestea mi s-a parut f bine gandita, strop de originalitate

Spoiler:

ai parte de experiente groaznice, vezi testele Rorschach etc, devii pacient, inlocuitorul perfect... genial

Au fentat omniprezentele concluzii supranaturale in mod perfect si ar fi fost penibil sa se termine totul cu bine, dar fiecare cu ale lui.
Daca SOMA va fi la macar 2 treimi din atat, ma declar multumit, desi probabil ma voi multumi oricum, avand in vedere cat de rare sunt astfel de jocuri.

o chestie pe care o observ acum si mi-e teama ca va rupe din imersivitate: personajul principal vorbeste...

[joonior_bmf]

btw, aia cu Routine n-au mai apucat sa termine amaratul lor de joc de atata amar de vreme, si SOMA apare intre timp cam cu acelasi setting (gen System Shock, space horror, nu cred ca se potriveste ceva mai bine, cu exceptia azilului de nebuni parasit) si le mananca painea. R.I.P. Routine...

I don't know man, setting-urile sunt indeajuns de diferite incat sa nu se ciocneasca. N-am inteles exact ce ai vrut sa zici, dar SOMA nu e space horror.
Btw, Routine n-a murit: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=885&p=24371#p24371

[Cetateanu]

N-a murit, dar din pacate toata lumea a uitat de el, daca il updateaza cu cate 2 poze pe an inseamna ca nu o duce prea bine.

Unde are loc actiunea in SOMA de fapt? statiunea aia de cercetare nu-i prin spatiu?

[joonior_bmf]

Unde are loc actiunea in SOMA de fapt? statiunea aia de cercetare nu-i prin spatiu?

E subacvatica AFAIK.

[joonior_bmf]

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[Mahdi]

Preorders are open. Release date: 22 September.

[joonior_bmf]

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[tnt]

Hmm, asta nu-i de bine...

https://steamcommunity.com/app/282140/d ... 866177508/

E cel mai anticipat joc pt mine, chiar daca nu-l voi putea juca o vreme. Avand in vedere ca jocurile din genul asta superb, reinviat de Amnesia, sunt cu adevarat o raritate (ce a mai fost notabil? Pigs, Outlast, Alien Isolation), ar fi mare pacat sa esueze. In cel mai rau caz, are elementele sa se transforme iarasi intr-un joc de cult, dar genul si Frictional au mare nevoie de worldwide acclaim. Sper sa fie totusi acu, 2 days left to tell.

[Mahdi]

Interesant, dar o să-mi formez o opinie după ce-l joc. Lăsând la o parte văicărelile legate de grafică (irelevante pentru mine), se pare că urzicarea maximă e din cauză că nu e la fel de scary ca Amnesia. That's like old news, producătorii au zis de la început că nu mizează pe asta.

[Waaagh!]

Presimt ca o sa fie meh, nu ma grabesc sa-l cumpar. O sa astept pareri de pe aici probabil, ca reviewurile in general sunt complet cretine.

[Mahdi]

Review thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments ... iew_thread

Diseară îl încerc și eu.

[Waaagh!]

Wow, ce de reviewuri necretine. Acum chiar nu mai stiu daca sa-mi beau berea in Barbarian Invasion sau sa vad si eu daca-i vreo minune, mai ales ca pot sa lungesc noaptea asta. Wat do.

[.chester]

Baga SOMA, ai timp sa mai joci 3000 de ore de Rome Total War si maine.

[tnt]

Si revino numaidecat pe aici cu descrieri si impresii sa avem ce citi