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Post by AnDromedary on Jan 30, 2020 17:53:25 GMT
So, the ultimate edition of TD2 was on sale for $24 during the lunar sale (well, 20 bucks since I added the 100 Ubi coin 20% off thing as well). So I finally got it. Didn't get around to play that much yet. I am not beyond the point that I already saw during the pre-release beta. However, it struck me again how much less "real" Washington looks when compared to New York in TD1. I know both real life locations pretty well (been living in NYC for about 5 years and visited DC about 5 or 6 times). Midtown Manhattan looked stunningly close to the real thing IMO. They really got a lot of nuances right, down to the yellow knob pattern at the edge of the subway platforms. Also the lighting and atmosphere just felt crazy real. When I played it, I went so far as to take random pictures in real life and putting them next to screens from the game.While TD2 still looks really nice, it lacks that sense of reality. There is too much stuff in three that throwing me off. For one, what's up with that green smoke/vapor that just seems to be hanging in the air in some places? I think it's supposed to mark Hyena territory or something but it really looks weird. Also, all the vegetation is nice and all but often it doesn't really feel right, especially when you walk into it. Sometimes there seem to be invisible boxes around it so you can't bump into it, other times, when you can walk through it it doesn't seem to react to your movement properly. One would think since all the overgrowth was such a big artstyle thing in this game they would have implemented that a little better. I know, this is kinda nitpicky (as I said, the game still looks good) but still, so far, I think TD1 was kinda cooler (no pun intended  ). Well, gonna keep playing a bit. I am looking forward to seeing all the story locations. I've been to most of the museums and famous buildings in DC, so I am very curious how they implemented those in the game. Should be a lot of diversity and interesting locations there with all the art galleries, libraries, government buildings and different museums. |
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Post by tatann on Jan 30, 2020 20:27:14 GMT
I've only played the beta, but I also felt that, Manhattan looked real, just a wintery ransacked Manhattan, but Washington looked like a "sci-fi" version (not space sci-fi but more like anticipation). Maybe it makes sense in the story, I don't know how many years after TD1 the story is set.
I liked the new skills though, might give it a try if there's a new sale later this year
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Post by AnDromedary on Jan 31, 2020 22:42:07 GMT
I've only played the beta, but I also felt that, Manhattan looked real, just a wintery ransacked Manhattan, but Washington looked like a "sci-fi" version (not space sci-fi but more like anticipation). Maybe it makes sense in the story, I don't know how many years after TD1 the story is set. I liked the new skills though, might give it a try if there's a new sale later this year It is set about 8 months after TD1 I believe. Definitely in the summer after. I mean, the progression of events and that we now have more of a full-on post apocalypse setting makes kinda sense and is alright IMO. I also like that the new game is set in the summer and thus the atmosphere is completely different form the winter-y NYC. That's all cool. I just think they could have worked a little ahrder to make it just as real and ... palpable as the NYC setting. Some of the assets they used this time around just throw me off. But maybe you are right, maybe it's also the fact that it's a little more removed from reality in the setting, that's definitely possible.
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Post by tatann on Feb 1, 2020 7:12:47 GMT
I've only played the beta, but I also felt that, Manhattan looked real, just a wintery ransacked Manhattan, but Washington looked like a "sci-fi" version (not space sci-fi but more like anticipation). Maybe it makes sense in the story, I don't know how many years after TD1 the story is set. I liked the new skills though, might give it a try if there's a new sale later this year It is set about 8 months after TD1 I believe. Definitely in the summer after. I mean, the progression of events and that we now have more of a full-on post apocalypse setting makes kinda sense and is alright IMO. I also like that the new game is set in the summer and thus the atmosphere is completely different form the winter-y NYC. That's all cool. I just think they could have worked a little ahrder to make it just as real and ... palpable as the NYC setting. Some of the assets they used this time around just throw me off. But maybe you are right, maybe it's also the fact that it's a little more removed from reality in the setting, that's definitely possible.
So in 8 months (maybe a year after the start of the chaos) the vegatation can take control of a city like Washington ? And I thought Americans were using to many pesticides ^^ I don't dislike the summer setting, I also think it's easier to make a dark winter setting look realistic, it's just it looks like years post-apo |
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Post by AnDromedary on Feb 3, 2020 17:09:26 GMT
It is set about 8 months after TD1 I believe. Definitely in the summer after. I mean, the progression of events and that we now have more of a full-on post apocalypse setting makes kinda sense and is alright IMO. I also like that the new game is set in the summer and thus the atmosphere is completely different form the winter-y NYC. That's all cool. I just think they could have worked a little ahrder to make it just as real and ... palpable as the NYC setting. Some of the assets they used this time around just throw me off. But maybe you are right, maybe it's also the fact that it's a little more removed from reality in the setting, that's definitely possible.
So in 8 months (maybe a year after the start of the chaos) the vegatation can take control of a city like Washington ? And I thought Americans were using to many pesticides ^^ I don't dislike the summer setting, I also think it's easier to make a dark winter setting look realistic, it's just it looks like years post-apo Not sure how exactly the in game explanation goes but it's not like DC is completely overgrown in TD2. Washington (especially the area the game takes place in ) has lot's of parks anyway, so it makes sense that those would overgroew in that time frame. IIRC, the survivors also tried to actively grow edible plants and stuff, especially on the rooftops. The actual streets of the city are not that badly overgrown with vegetation, there is just a lot of clutter and garbage lying around. So all in all, I think the city visuals kinda fit the 8 month time frame more or less.
As for the realism part, I think your are right, it's easier to create a realistic cold and snowy atmosphere than to portray something like heat and humidity. Cold and frosty weather has more visual cues while heat and humidity rely more on senses that go beyond visual and audio. It's a tricky problem.
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Post by tatann on Feb 3, 2020 19:43:27 GMT
I'm not sure when I played the beta, I think it was at least a year ago, maybe I remember more vegetation than there actually is. Or maybe it's the contrast with the very urban Manhattan. I mean it's freakin Manhattan but I barely see the coast and Center Park is inaccessible. I guess that's voluntary on their part to make it more claustrophobic.
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Post by Andrew Waples on Feb 21, 2020 11:53:30 GMT
Well I bit the bullet and got both 1, 2 and all dlc. I got 2 with the dirt cheap (compared to 120) sale of the "ultimate edition" at 20 bucks.
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Post by dazk on May 8, 2020 2:43:43 GMT
So in 8 months (maybe a year after the start of the chaos) the vegatation can take control of a city like Washington ? And I thought Americans were using to many pesticides ^^ I don't dislike the summer setting, I also think it's easier to make a dark winter setting look realistic, it's just it looks like years post-apo Not sure how exactly the in game explanation goes but it's not like DC is completely overgrown in TD2. Washington (especially the area the game takes place in ) has lot's of parks anyway, so it makes sense that those would overgroew in that time frame. IIRC, the survivors also tried to actively grow edible plants and stuff, especially on the rooftops. The actual streets of the city are not that badly overgrown with vegetation, there is just a lot of clutter and garbage lying around. So all in all, I think the city visuals kinda fit the 8 month time frame more or less.
As for the realism part, I think your are right, it's easier to create a realistic cold and snowy atmosphere than to portray something like heat and humidity. Cold and frosty weather has more visual cues while heat and humidity rely more on senses that go beyond visual and audio. It's a tricky problem.
Did you end up finishing TD2? I managed to get to L8 first PT when it released but it didn't grab me. Second attempt more recently I got to L25 I think before I stopped, had hoped to play some Co-Op with my son but out times to play were out of synch and I got a bit tired of the grind. Part of it too was Washington just didn't have the same atmospheric feel as NY.
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Post by AnDromedary on May 8, 2020 22:04:19 GMT
Not sure how exactly the in game explanation goes but it's not like DC is completely overgrown in TD2. Washington (especially the area the game takes place in ) has lot's of parks anyway, so it makes sense that those would overgroew in that time frame. IIRC, the survivors also tried to actively grow edible plants and stuff, especially on the rooftops. The actual streets of the city are not that badly overgrown with vegetation, there is just a lot of clutter and garbage lying around. So all in all, I think the city visuals kinda fit the 8 month time frame more or less.
As for the realism part, I think your are right, it's easier to create a realistic cold and snowy atmosphere than to portray something like heat and humidity. Cold and frosty weather has more visual cues while heat and humidity rely more on senses that go beyond visual and audio. It's a tricky problem.
Did you end up finishing TD2? I managed to get to L8 first PT when it released but it didn't grab me. Second attempt more recently I got to L25 I think before I stopped, had hoped to play some Co-Op with my son but out times to play were out of synch and I got a bit tired of the grind. Part of it too was Washington just didn't have the same atmospheric feel as NY. Ha, actually I did finish it just last month (it seemed thematically appropriate ). Well, not really finished. I got my character to lvl. 30 and did all the missions until Wshington is freed and the Black Tusks invade. One might argue, this is when the game really starts. It's definitely not bad, Washington is again implemented very well and going through the Capitol is cool (I've done a tour once IRL, so I know they kept it very close to the real building). But I didn't have much interest to play when the map just reset in a rather anticlimactic way. It's just too much of an online GaaS game in that way and I am more in it for the story experience..
Also, somehow the second part just didn't capture me like the first did. One of the main reasons is that it feels much more like your standard post-apocalyptic setting now with huddling civilians trying to eek out a living on one side and predators that try to kill everyone and everything for either really stupid reasons or because they went insane on the other side. I've seen that too often in other movies and games and it's not really that interesting to me. What I liked about the first game was that it took place just after the outbreak happened and a lot of the missions were about still stabilizing the quarantine zone and potentially finding a cure for the rest of the world where things might not yet be as bad. You could still see civilians out and about here and there and there was much more interest in how we got there. Now it all feels much more generic IMO. I mean, it makes sense but it's not as engaging to me.
I'll probably get the Warlords of NY Addon eventually, when it's a bit cheaper. After all, I am living in NYC and I am still thinking, that's why I liked the first part better as well, because I knew everything very well and had a lot of connection to all the locations in the game world. Much more so than in Washington where I've only been as a tourist once or twice. So I want to see their take on southern Manhattan.
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Post by dazk on May 9, 2020 2:05:36 GMT
Did you end up finishing TD2? I managed to get to L8 first PT when it released but it didn't grab me. Second attempt more recently I got to L25 I think before I stopped, had hoped to play some Co-Op with my son but out times to play were out of synch and I got a bit tired of the grind. Part of it too was Washington just didn't have the same atmospheric feel as NY. Ha, actually I did finish it just last month (it seemed thematically appropriate ). Well, not really finished. I got my character to lvl. 30 and did all the missions until Wshington is freed and the Black Tusks invade. One might argue, this is when the game really starts. It's definitely not bad, Washington is again implemented very well and going through the Capitol is cool (I've done a tour once IRL, so I know they kept it very close to the real building). But I didn't have much interest to play when the map just reset in a rather anticlimactic way. It's just too much of an online GaaS game in that way and I am more in it for the story experience..
Also, somehow the second part just didn't capture me like the first did. One of the main reasons is that it feels much more like your standard post-apocalyptic setting now with huddling civilians trying to eek out a living on one side and predators that try to kill everyone and everything for either really stupid reasons or because they went insane on the other side. I've seen that too often in other movies and games and it's not really that interesting to me. What I liked about the first game was that it took place just after the outbreak happened and a lot of the missions were about still stabilizing the quarantine zone and potentially finding a cure for the rest of the world where things might not yet be as bad. You could still see civilians out and about here and there and there was much more interest in how we got there. Now it all feels much more generic IMO. I mean, it makes sense but it's not as engaging to me.
I'll probably get the Warlords of NY Addon eventually, when it's a bit cheaper. After all, I am living in NYC and I am still thinking, that's why I liked the first part better as well, because I knew everything very well and had a lot of connection to all the locations in the game world. Much more so than in Washington where I've only been as a tourist once or twice. So I want to see their take on southern Manhattan.
I may go back to it again just to get to the end of the story but it just didn't grab me like the first game which I couldn't wait to finish and completed completely solo. The second game I just found really inconsistent in terms of playing solo, I'd be really comfortable for a few hours then all of a sudden I'd have to call for help all the time. I still find it funny watching the news when I see a shot of times square or some other location and think oh that's where I fought that named NPC or did that quest etc. 
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