Topic: DESCENT FOR WiiWare ANNOUNCED

[Kaiaatzl]

Popular demand in this thread .
We all want to see it in there.

[Darkflamewolf]

then you must have misread my intentions Diedel. Its not the attention I want. Its the joy I get from other people enjoying my levels. The more people who view/play them, the more people who enjoy them, the better off I'll be. I'm just happy that people play my levels. So utilizing WiiWare to give Vignettes a more broader audience, the better. It is not for my own fame and glory, it is for my own personal satisfaction that others are enjoying my work, regardless if they know it was I who created it or not.

[Scyphi]

Hmm, afterburner in D1...I'm not sure I like the sound of that. Part of what made D1 fun and unique was the fact that you DIDN'T have things like an afterburner. That was always D2 and D3's bit, and in those instances, the levels were built to keep that into consideration. Not so with D1.

If they're going to surprise us, though, and also include some D2 levels (which, judging from what they've shown us thus far, I somehow doubt), then I suppose I'd be okay with that.

@ Omega: Actually, I think the extra key light you're seeing is just the bomb counter, but I suppose I could be mistaken.

@ Diedel: I agree, that new HUD definitely looks different, but as far as I can tell, it's just "prettification" and doesn't actually have any improvements. I think I might actually prefer the old dashboard more.

In fact, now that I look at it, it looks to me like they took a pic of the old dashboard and tried to make it look more sleek, which I don't like because it robs it of that robust feel Descent has. Furthermore, that new dashboard actually feels more like a step backwards the more I look at it. The shield and weapon screens look inferior in comparison.

Hopefully, they'll include an option that allows you to switch back and forth between the new and old dashboards. Y'know, like a "classic" view option.

[karx-elf-erx]

Its not the attention I want.

Well, be that as it may: Your efforts have been outstanding, and I am looking forward to your next production.

[Crash]

Well, I think the motivations for anyone who gives their labour of love away for free speak for themselves.
If the game I'm writing were suddenly thrust into the limelight, I would be very pleased that people were seeing my work and I really couldn't care about being remunerated.
Any exposure or an increase in the number of supportive emails that I get would be a very pleasant byproduct.

The graphical polish of the Wii version do seem to have been raised quite nicely. I have no love for consoles but I would be interested in giving this a spin.
The cockpit is a definite improvement if only in cosmetic terms but I can't remember whether the original Descent had the afterburner powerup as the Wii Descent seems to have.

[Foil]

Scyphi is correct, the original Descent did not have afterburner.  Seems odd that it would be shown on the HUD.

In any case, I'm looking forward to this. 

[Shroudeye]

Yea, there was no afterburner, which FORCED tri-chording... And those Escape sequences were much tense... (Level 13-Europa Mining Colony- had the longest run as I remember... If not correct me ) - Yet a good couple of burners is good to have

I also join Schypi about the new cockpit. All those punctures looks UGLY, and that energy counter looks less readable thanks to its size. And that bluish tint on the left&right screens was really necessary?

[Kaiaatzl]

Yea, there was no afterburner, which FORCED tri-chording... And those Escape sequences were much tense... (Level 13-Europa Mining Colony- had the longest run as I remember... If not correct me )

Yes it was.  I believe the strategy guide said level 9 had a terribly long and convoluted exit run but when I played it, it was short and easy.  In fact level 9 is one of the easiest in the game.

I've beat D1 on rookie without tri-chording, now I'm working on doing hotshot -- I'm on level 11.  I'm finding a lot of battles on hotshot easier than they were on rookie because the robots tend to come at you one at a time.  I've almost beaten D2 on hotshot as well (I'm on level 24 with 85 lives, but for some reason I haven't come back to it in a while -- probably because I don't like that level).

[VANGUARD]

on one hand, i like the cockpit. It looks like it's a bit better. "However", it doesn't really give me that "Descent" feel, and I think that's what's no good about it.
The classic had a neat design. That's my opinion.

[NUMBERZero]

There's a wierd split in the cockpit support beams. That was never there before. Not even in the cutscenes.

I think they should have just completely updated the original cockpit to today's standards.

Something (exactly) like Bubba's cockpit.

[karx-elf-erx]

I cannot see much of todays standards in that. It just looks like a more angular and high resolution version of the original cockpit.

A true 3D cockpit - that's what would be more of today's standards.

[Kaiaatzl]

And that's what we're getting in D2X-XL soon.
We will have one, it just isn't "Interplay official".  I actually think the new cockpit in the Wii version does look very cool, and we don't know that it's 2D.

@Schyphi If you look closely at the secondary weapons display in the screenshots you can see the bomb indicator there, so that's not what the fourth "key light" is.

[NUMBERZero]

Wazz, I mentioned that it was the 4th key light. Scyphi was the one to point out that it was the bomb light.

[Kaiaatzl]

That's what I meant.  If you look at the secondary weapons display you can see that the bomb display is there, underneath the missile indicator, which means that the fourth "key light" is probably not a bomb light.
Maybe it's an "objective light" that turns on when the reactor/boss bot is destroyed.

[Scyphi]

Hmm...it's a mystery. They must have had some reason for adding in the light...

As for the cockpit...heck, I'd be happy to have just something like Bubba's cockpit (which I again agree with Diedel as being okay but better could still be done) than that ugly thing they've slapped into D1Wii, which is why I'm hoping against hope that using it will be optional.

I think Vanguard nailed it when he said that it lacks the Descent "feel."

Of course, when you really get down to it though, the full graphical cockpit was for effect only, and when played in game, actually hinders your view a little or more. Actually might be better to play the game with that turned off, something I know many people, including myself, are already doing.

Darkflamewolf: seeing that you've already got a contact with the developers of D1-4-Wii, maybe you could inquire if the classic cockpit will still be available for use, and if not, suggest they keep it in, as I'd think that'd be the best thing to do to please all the fans.