by in
Hello again folks, first things first TS 2.2 isn’t being called 2.2 anymore. We’re going to call it 3 instead. It’s partly because we’ve got so much stuff in there that the jump in version names seemed appropriate and partly because we’re running out of numbers for the internal betas. You know it’s time to stop when your internal beta versions start looking like : 2.19.12. Also, the general consensus among the team and testers was that it sounded cooler. Sadly, no-one agreed with my suggestion of calling it TS Alpha EX 3 : Revenge of the Specialists, which, when all is said and done, is probably a good thing.
Secondly, I’ve gone and asked the two newest additions to the beta team to post their thoughts on some of our new features. People who’ve been playing new betas since a few months after the release of 2.1 tend to lose track of all the changes, to the point where our brains melt and we can’t remember whats what anymore. So, I got orgun and our newest tester, exobot to give their thoughts on some of the new features. Below each one is a brief description of what it is, followed by the guys comments.
The blue slow motion effect
Entering slow-mo now tints your whole screen a light blue colour, it’s a handy visual indicator and it also happens to look cool.
orgun: Took a bit to get used to, but it’s a nice feature, gives you that extra bit of warning when someones about to attack you in slow pause too.
exobot: This was probably one of the changes that you first notice, as slow motion and slow pause are used frequently. After playing with it for a short time, it blends in really well into the gameplay.
The fading slow motion and slow pause
Ah, now, everything doesn’t just slow down instantly, you activate the slow-mo powerups and things gradually slow down from normal speed.
orgun: specifically in slow pause, just seeing all the bullets fire out ahead of me and slowly slow down into a cloud of metal death was just quite awesome.
exobot: Yes, the new slowmotion effect seems to highlight the new tracer-style bullets, making them look even better.
The particle effects
All manner of new particular goodness can now be found in TS:3 return of the akimbo toting maniacs (the subtitle is still a WIP).
orgun: Having all the broken glass fly with you after diving through a window, or having bullets colliding with glass in slow motion is just an amazing sight.
exobot: When I first tried it, I spent a long time throwing grenades in the lobby atrium, then running upstairs and watching the glass getting blown out by the explosion.
The bullet ‘whizz’ sound
Simple one this, bullets make this awesome zipping sound when they fly past your head.
exobot: You don’t notice it particularly until it happens to you, upon which it makes you stop and think ‘wow’, then realise if it was that close then stopping in awe probably isn’t the best idea.
orgun: The first time I heard it, knowing a bullet had just missed my head by an inch, I dived to the ground and rolled for cover.
Sounds slowing down in slow motion
orgun: When I heard glass breaking in slow motion for the first time, that really made me think ‘wow’.
Visible laser sights
You can now see other players laser sights, it’s most atmospheric.
orgun: They’re a fairly new addition to the beta but it looks so damn cool when you see them flicking up and down corridors and poking out around corners. The game is so fast paced they never really give you away anymore than they used to, but I guess it could screw over the odd camper; is that so bad?
The first person kung fu model
You can see your arms and legs in first person when using Fu now.
orgun: It just seems so necessary now, I can’t imagine using kung fu without it, but when I first saw it ingame it seemed really jaw dropping. I had worried that it’d be clunky and clumsy but it’s not really at all.
The contender
TS:3’s new weapon, the single shot hunting pistol.
orgun: This, of course, was one of the first things both of us tried. Visually it looks great and it’s very lethal, reload is fast enough to make it useful too.
exobot: Again, after seeing screenshots of it, I was worried about how useful it would actually be in game, or whether it would just be there as eye candy. In game though, it looks great and is great fun to use.
Wall diving
A new stunt for your usage, scale a wall, spin 180, hit dive and you’ll launch yourself away from it.
orgun: This has created some very unique and useful stunting opportunities, especially in the more multileveled and cluttered locations, such as parking and metro.
exobot: Definitely. The ability to do kung fu during walljumps makes for much more varied fights too.
So, hopefully thats given you a bit more of an idea for whats happening with version 3 and given you some idea of how the thing actually plays. We’ll be throwing out some more media in the coming weeks and hopefully getting on with RC testing at some point in the not too distant future as well.
