WipEout HD delayed due to technical issue

[Frances_Penfold]

For what it's worth, some links related to the rumored nature of the delay...

Westminster Hall debates: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/...8-07-01b.225.1)

Sixthaxis article: http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2008/07/...sing-seizures/

CVG article (= Lunar's article mentioned above): http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=193765

Another neogaf thread (for general amusement):
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328243

[Darkdrium777]

Haha some posts in that thread are just gold, like the Simpsons one xD

[Wip3ou7]

You know, this could be a real threat to the game... if the epilepsy test is really whats holding it back then it could mean a huge delay and a huge change in the game, or maybe even it not coming out at all, considering the nature of wipeout.

[Axel]

Hmmmmm is this epilepsy test a new thing or something? I swear the previous wipeout's (apart from WO3) were very flashy!!

TBH it doesn't sound like a "technical" issue, more like a "design" issue. So I don't think that can be the issue.

Heres to hoping they realised that the HUD would make the PS3 blow up and they have to revert back to the old one

Edit: Hmmm I think I know what it is. Did anybody here feel weird when looking at the vids with the crafts boosting forward? I don't know about you guys, but that "blur" effect made me feel sick

[mdhay]

That's probably it.

[rushin]

would be nice to think that was it, mostly because i didnt like said effect at all.

but doesnt really fit the 'very, very tricky technical problem that no region can fix' too much, surely they could take it out in 6 hours not 6 months?

[mangaroo]

i really hope its not that effect, i quite liked it! felt immersive - im just afraid if this epilepsy thing is true then they'll will decrease the amazingness of the games to get it to pass....

But, if there are any die hard epileptic fans of wipeout out there that otherwise wont be able to play the game, then i guess its all good under-the-superfast-hood

[Wip3ou7]

Come on Colin shed some light on this for us! The customer base is demanding a statement!

[eLhabib]

Let me restate that for you:
The hard core fanbase kindly asks for some hints in the right direction. Thank you.

that's more likely to produce results, but don't wait for it, I bet Colin can't talk about it, otherwise he would've.

[Rapier Racer]

I wonder if like someone suggested, if the this epilepsy thing is true that its the Zone mode causing the problems.

Would it really take 5 months for you to strip that mode out the game guys?

[SpaceCake]

I remember in the manual of wipeout 1 there was a warning about epilepsi. Can't they just bring out wohd and put in this same warning and let us find out

[Axel]

I wonder if like someone suggested, if the this epilepsy thing is true that its the Zone mode causing the problems.

Would it really take 5 months for you to strip that mode out the game guys?

Strip what? Don't be silly mate, they better leave that in there!!

[swift killer]

Well, seeing as it is a PS3 network game, it is possible to have different visual settings/options for those who suffer from epilipsy, or a second visual output.

If the problem is the epilipsy test, i just hope there is a solution which does not mean some of the visuals from zone mode will be removed.

[infoxicated]

This probably counts as a napalm+bridge post, but I've known about this for a wee while now.

Mostly because the game strobed so much it made me want to throw up watching other people play it, although it wasn't as bad playing it myself, I still felt pretty sick. I said often towards the end of last year that the environments were far too busy - too much strobing neon on the tracks that added very little to the feeling of speed because it strobed towards the horizon, effectively giving the feeling of going backwards at certain speeds.

The artist who created the track textures wanted to create a different texture for every track, which was admirable in terms of effort, but the patterns used in an attempt to make them all unique just gave me motion sickness. Add the patterns to the other strobing neon in the game and it should have come with a (probably designer) sick bag.

Unfortunately I'm pretty succeptible to that kind of thing, and most people didn't seem bothered, so I gave up commenting on it in the face of the usual mantra of "it's okay when you get used to it" (Intrestingly, it's the same thing that had been said when I commented that the steering was too sensitive at high speeds in the Formula One games. Funny that it every review said at F1 0x was "hard to control", yet none of them mentioned that "it's okay once you get used to it." Maybe it should have been put in the manual; "Yes, the steering is really sensitive and minor corrections at high speed will probably result in an unintentional crash, leading to frustration and the notion that you should just go and play Burnout or Race Driver instead, but trust us, it's okay once you get used to it." Yay! for Nick Burcombe who finally got that handling sorted out when he became lead.)

But I digress.

The designers, Col & Karl, had asked for the neon and strobing in WipEout HD to be toned down many a time, but the lead artist has his own vision of what he wants the levels to look like. Notice I say levels and not tracks - that's the way they are created; the fact that they're supposed to be race tracks is incidental - the artists are trying to craft an environment in a similar way to what they would if it was an adventure game.

Essentially the lead artist gets more say than anyone else. He's a good guy, not a bad guy, but as an art director at Studio Liverpool he carries a lot of clout and generally any attempt to suggest that the environments weren't quite working were dismissed, by and large. Probably because art is subjective. Certainly the way I perceived it is that you shouldn't question something you aren't qualified to understand as far as art style is concerned.

I qualify this by saying that I didn't like his vision for WipEout Pulse when it was first explained to me, but it ended up more my kind of thing than Pure. I was completely wrong in my initial thoughts that it was "yet another" utopian future re-hash, although I think some levels were more successful than others in terms of being race tracks and environments. Sometimes you have to trust the man with the vision, even when you cant picture it in a good light yourself.

Whether or not all of the above is at the root of the epilepsy problem, I don't know. Don't work there any more and I'm not privy to that kind of information. All I know is that the game made me want to barf six months ago, but since I had no intention of playing it (me buying a WipEout title with barrel rolls in it would be like Michael Moore attending a fund raiser for George W Bush's retirement) I felt I could shrug and walk away. No sense creating a fuss about something that, ultimately, wont affect me.

And as for David Reeves... I mean, **** me, he really should just shut the **** up. For good. He's worse than Phil Harrison when he was chugging the kool aid. Phil said some stupid stuff, but at least he came across as passionate for the brand, not a condescending buffoon like Reeves does. When Reeves is telling you that it's a "technical problem you wouldn't understand", he's really telling you he thinks you're beneath a proper explanation and should just sit down, shut up, and keep buying his product, m'kay.

Anyhow, I'm fairly confident that the folk at Studio Liverpool can fix the "very technical issues" with WipEout HD to the point where it wont leave you foaming at the mouth (assuming you're not doing that over the delay in the first place).

[Sausehuhn]

Maybe it should have been put in the manual; "Yes, the steering is really sensitive and minor corrections at high speed will probably result in an unintentional crash, leading to frustration and the notion that you should just go and play Burnout or Race Driver instead, but trust us, it's okay once you get used to it."

I laughed hard

[Axel]

Infox your a gem. Cheers mate, so now we know. Even when people were complaining about the effects making them sick, they still went on making it .

To be honest this is a good thing cause watching the vids with the boosting made me want to throw up, and thats just from a crappy vid.

[eLhabib]

of course there are people more receptive to this than others, but personally, I had no complaints whatsoever when playing the preview build. Anyway, I hope we will soon have a wipEout game that everyone can enjoy without having to fear seizures! And for god's sake, take out the frigging barrel rolls. noone would really miss them, but a lot of people are pissed off by them, so it's really an obvious choice to remove them, no?

[swift killer]

Welcome back Rob! Excellent post and I agree with you on the track environments, motion sickness and Reeves' comments to the press.

The track environments to me are abit over the top, to some extent it just doesnt look WipEout to me and I fear hd may be falling into the same trap as fusion interms of visuals.

I did get a play of the HD demo last year and while playing it did make me feel abit of nausea, now considering I now and again take part in the odd track day and sports car race, there is definately something wrong if that happens to someone who is generally use to high speeds and constantly changing light. I would'nt say it made it me feel as if I was going backwards, but it just gave me a weird wieghtless feeling, as if I was flipping over.

[offtopic] You said that the steering was abit sensitive at highspeeds on F1. Well, to SL's credit, this is actually what happens with cars which are heavily dependant on downforce, the faster you go, the more grip you have, this is why F1 cars have such pathetic turning circles at low speed! they rely too much on wings and aero! [/offtopic]

In response to eLhabib; replace barrel rolls with the good old hyperthrust from Wip3out SE?

[Sausehuhn]

The should simply throw some of that Neon out there (Neon billbards - hell yeah I love them! Neon on every pillar, tower, frame and brick - no, thanks).

And then add a few more "clear lines". More balanced textures (if you ask me, Pulse's Basilico is a mess), more identical and harmonic architecture.

Or with other words: Give us Wip3out HD.


And of course Barrel Rolls have to leave! They're not only used by almost no-one but the die-hard fans, but also add to the epilipsy thingie.


My two Cents

[Hellfire_WZ]

It seems I stand corrected on what I said earlier. Thanks for the info Rob, at least we know the final product won't make our heads explode