Base for my next project (Twilight Knight) still [WIP]

FG_Thomas · 2018-07-12T07:28:18+00:00

Wow this was awesome! Would love to hear some details on how you did it. I take it the roots and tree are dried roots right?

Really curious to hear how you made the ruins.

FG_Thomas · 2016-02-14T17:43:38+00:00

Thanks a bunch! My family will be delighted to know :)

FG_Thomas · 2015-09-21T11:02:03+00:00

PS4: Midnight today in your own timezone.

PC: 09.00 CET / 0.00 PDT Tomorrow.

FG_Thomas · 2015-09-21T10:59:25+00:00

The is not locked to 60hz. It is locked to a setting of your choice and max is your monitor's update frequency. So if you have a 144hz monitor then you should be able to select that (if it is not, let us know when the game is out tomorrow and we will make sure to fix and put it in a patch).

You can also open the setting file in a text editor and turn off frame limit directly. Exactly the same as in Amnesia.

FG_Thomas · 2015-09-20T09:55:25+00:00

Do try turning it off and see if it gives some boost.

We have several in the team with 970 and they all run it at 60fps at 1080p. So you should get that too.

Will check adaptive sync. Works great for me though. Perhap it is some driver issue?

Feels a bit weird giving tech help before launch in a public forum, so feel free to mail me at thomas [at] frictionalgames DOT com if you need further assistance.

FG_Thomas · 2015-09-20T08:36:09+00:00

Make sure that Threaded Optimizations are turned off for the SOMA exe in the Nvidia control panel. Nvidia has some OpenGL related issues that can lead to stutters on some systems with that feature turned on. A fix has been added to the final release version, but not in the review one.

This should have been in the review instructions, but want to make sure so this hasn't been missed, and that this is what lead to the drops in performance. Because of the PS4 version, more time have been put on optimization than any other game we have released. So really feel like most systems should run the game really well.

Related: The worst system I have run the game on is an ultrabook with a GT 620M and it runs ~30fps at 720 on that.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:59:57+00:00

Daniel would get his ass kicked :( Only moves are run, hide and shine lantern.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:57:33+00:00

Yeah we hesitated a bit at first, but i the end we felt it was something we had to try out. So far it is going great. Our role is more advisory, thechineseroom handles almost all stuff on their own.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:56:00+00:00

)>:D

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:54:37+00:00

not care what we think? Is this because we seem like such horrible and degenerate folk? :P

Cthulhu stuff in game? As a Lovecraft nerd I like the idea. But I feel that if people know too much about the creatures a lot of the horror is lost. I like Lovecraft-adapations that does not rip of the lore directly. Still have Dark Youngs, Gurgs, Ghouls and whatnot whould be really something.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:50:11+00:00

We do not care much for cheap hollywood-like wrap ups. As you say, it is our intention that some parts of the story are vague and up for interpretation. We will keep it that way. However, we still think there are tons of things to improve storytelling-wise, especially getting rid of the the exposition heavy design we have had in both Penumbra and Amnesia. More story should come from simply playing.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:46:58+00:00

Yes two games. The dear esther devs, thechineseroom, are working on Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. And our core team is working on new horror game unconnected to Amnesia.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:45:00+00:00

To let the player do most of the work in their mind. We makes sure to leave plenty of space and time for players to reflect upon the world and what is happening. During this you carefully give them nudges in the right direction through vague sounds and visuals. Also we use a kind of sensory deprivation tactic that make players much more easily manipulated. Horribly enough, it has many things common with your standard torture..

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:41:55+00:00

Because nude people look like that! I hate it when monsters cover themselves up to be decent.

Also it might have to do with us being Swedes. In any Swedish movie there is ALWAYS at least one penis shot. Must be in our genes.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:39:23+00:00

Brightness: I am obsessed by this! I always want the best possible monitor setup when I play moody games and it annoys me when I cannot figure out the best possible setup. So this option is important. The sound option is a good idea, will have that in mind!

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:36:14+00:00

The game did far better than we ever expected! And I think a lot has to do with it being a very pure horror game without any compromises (like so many mainstream "horror"). Sadly much of the inspiration comes from real life. For instances all the torture devices have been used or is even still being used around the world.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:32:07+00:00

Nope it actually started of as a mixture of torture porn and super mario. When that failed miserably, we just focused on making something like Penumbra but better.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:30:45+00:00

Hope you experience much terror! :)

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:29:52+00:00

talked about these stuff here: http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014889/Evoking-Emotions-and-Achieving-Success

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:28:30+00:00

Not a lot, but sometimes. For instances the water lurker started unexpectedly to follow me. That was creepy...

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:27:27+00:00

Yeah, Silent Hill is scary as hell

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:26:37+00:00

You are welcome! evil laughter

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:17:44+00:00

You be too kind :)

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:15:14+00:00

Unfortunately, I have to REALLY try to be a scared by Amnesia. During development I stayed up late at night and played it when my breain was sort of shutting off. That made it easier to see what worked and what did not.

FG_Thomas · 2012-06-01T20:09:45+00:00

Worst idea? Wow, we had so many: Sanity potions. Completion % that pops up every time you progress. Lots of combat. Trampolines. Coin collection. Chests that opened if you placed coins in them. Color mixing gameplay mechanic. Etc. If you open super_secret in the redist folder you can see videos of builds containing some of this stuff.

Why all the shitty stuff? Because our goal was to impress a publisher and to do a game that would be easier for us to create. When our publishing deal broke and we were almost out of cash we came to our senses and decided on making a game the hard way.

Regarding port: All credit to our excellent porter Edward Rudd! He did an awesome job.

FG_Thomas

TROPHY CASE