PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS

Illfonic’s asymmetrical multiplayer title Predator: Hunting Grounds was a flawed game in more ways than one, but for fans of the property, there was some fun to be had in getting to play as a Predator. With multiple different Predator types to play as and unique abilities to make use of with each of them, the game certainly had some interesting mechanics up its sleeve- even though not all of them were as well executed as they should have been.

Friday the 13th actually turned out to be a fun game to play – at least with friends – against all odds. The issue was more that the game launched in a buggy, half finished state, which meant that people had to put up with a lot of nonsense to unearth the fun in the first place.

The good news is, the developers have been hard at work releasing updates to address all the failings and flaws with the game since, and it is actually far easier to sit down and play now than it was then. Take this newest update for the game, for instance- it addresses the game’s memory leaks, makes improvements to matchmaking, rebalances gameplay and maps, and even increases the resolution of textures on the Xbox One version- among other things.

You can check out the full list of updates and improvements for yourself in the patch notes below. Friday the 13th is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

PATCH NOTES

Stability

Overall stability should be drastically improved due to a number of crash fixes and a major memory leak fix.

Parties/Invites/Matchmaking

• Disallowing party leaders to join game session invites to sessions that do not advertise (private matches). This is due to not being able to search for sessions that do not advertise, which prevents party members from following their leader into them.
• Party leaders can now follow public game invites, bringing members with them.
• Steam Matchmaking tries harder to find lower-pinging matches. PS4 matchmaking up to 6x more efficient with tighter ping requirements.
• Fixed XB1 matchmaking bugs.
• Fixed a number of issues with how the game handles Party Invites and Matchmaking; there are still a few issues out there that are rare but it is much improved.
• Fixed a number of issues on how canceling matchmaking was handled that could leave players in a state they could no longer matchmake.
• Party members now see their party leader’s matchmaking status and time.\
• Various improvements to error messaging.

Maps

• Added Small Maps for the existing maps; Packanack Small, Higgins Haven Small, and Camp Crystal Lake Small.
• Increased the density of Kill locations on all maps.
• Adjusted collision on Maps to prevent people from standing on water.
• Adjusted collision on piers to prevent cars from driving on them .
• Added a Map Icon to Campfire Kills.
• Fixed a number of kill spots that were not functioning.
• Fixed an issue with not being able to fix boat propellers based on boat positioning on the dock.
• Placed collision under piers to prevent people from swimming under them.
• Fixed a number of areas that the player could get out of the map.
• Fixed a number of areas that Counselors could get to that Jason could not.
• Added better collision around Boat Exits to prevent Jason from getting to areas he shouldn’t be in.

Gameplay

• Team Killing changes.
• Team Killing is no longer possible in Public Matches.
• Cars can still cause damage to the players if they are hit.
• Traps can still hurt and/or kill the player but there is no longer an XP penalty for the person that placed the trap in Public Matches.
• Private Matches have not changed.
• Fixed an issue where the Counselors breath wouldn’t start to recharge if the user continued to hold the button after breath was depleted.
• Fixed an issue with Fear being canceled if pulled out of a car.
• Fixed an issue with the Police Objective happening when it shouldn’t be.
• Fixed a number of issues regarding objects falling through the ground.
• Fixed an issue where Damage and Stun chance were only being calculated on the first attack.
• Jason can no longer block through traps, firecrackers, flare guns, shotguns, and the Police.
• Fixed reliability of perks that spawn items at the start of the match.

Misc Fixes

• Increased texture resolution on the XB1.
• Fixed the PhD for Murder Achievement/Trophy.
• Improved intro and outro cinematics.
• Fixed player muted states sometimes getting “lost” after level change.
• Can now unready in Private Match even when the countdown is low.
• Fixed a hitch caused by the video settings savegame after signing in or changing those settings.
• Localization added; EFIGS+J+P+R

The cancellation of Silent Hills still rankles, more than a year later, and almost two years since we first learned of its existence. The game, which was made available in the form of a playable teaser, was going to be a reboot of the classic survival horror franchise, helmed by auteur Hideo Kojima, collaborating with Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus. In other words, it sounded like it was going to be the perfect horror title- but then Konami had to go and cancel it.

In a lot of ways, the reputation of Silent Hills has only grown since its cancellation, since it will now perennially be a ‘what if’ scenario, a mythical, mystical legend that people will build up in their heads based on their extrapolated expectations based on P.T. On the other hand, Silent Hills‘ very existence and subsequent cancellation saw a revival of horror games, as developers of all sorts flocked to fill the void with their own games.

We decided to ask one of those developers, the team behind the Friday the 13th game, what their take on the cancellation of Silent Hills was. Overall, it sounds like they have come to terms with it and made peace with it.

“There are lots of team members who are fans of the Silent Hill games. Of course those who are fans are disappointed by the cancellation, but we know that business decisions need to be made for any number of reasons and hope that more Silent Hill games will be made in the future,” they said, in an exclusive interview GamingBolt had with Illfonic lead producer David Langeliers, president and co-founder Charles Brungardt, lead artist Shane Stoneman and producer Bryce Glover.

Business decisions do need to be made, of course. Sadly, they are often at odds with artistic vision.

GamingBolt spoke to Illfonic lead producer David Langeliers, president and co-founder Charles Brungardt, lead artist Shane Stoneman and producer Bryce Glover to learn more about the asymmetrical multiplayer experience.

"Our main game mode most closely mimics the movies, where the campers are locked in a desperate struggle to survive against Jason using all means possible."

Concerning the 1 vs. 7 multiplayer experience – how do the campers win? How will their fears towards Jason affect their progress? Will there be a variety of game modes to put a spin on the gameplay?

Our game is not exactly 1 vs. 7. Each camper is on their own. If they manage to survive the encounter by escaping or hiding (or get a rare kill of Jason), they win. They might team up with others, work on their own, or even sacrifice a friend to survive themselves.

Our main game mode most closely mimics the movies, where the campers are locked in a desperate struggle to survive against Jason using all means possible.

On that note, there have been a number of asymmetrical multiplayer games – both big and small – that haven’t quite panned out (Evolve, Dead Realm, Survivors, etc.). How will you be avoiding the same traps those games faced with Friday the 13th?

We are really focused on making playing as either a counselor or Jason fun in their own way. They both have a very different approach, but through play-testing we have found that lots of people actually prefer playing as counselors because it gives them that horror game feel. The Jason play style is the hunter instead of the hunted.

What has your experience of working on Unreal Engine 4 been like? How did it help to develop the game on a low budget while still maintaining AAA visuals?

It’s been great! It allows us to prototype really quickly to get things up and running. Then when we want to make the jump to production quality visuals, it is also a very seamless and easy transition.

"The most difficult part is capturing the film feel in the movies. Mimicking the quality of the film used, the lighting and color pallet to really give it that Friday the 13th feel."

What was it like to develop on both the PS4 and Xbox One compared to PC and did you notice any differences in hardware performance?

UE4 has a lot of the cross platform tools pretty dialed in. Really we focus on our target PC spec in the beginning and then really try to dial it in for similar hardware sets to the PS4 and Xbox One. We want people to have the same experience and quality bar on PC, PS4 and Xbox One but we also don’t want to hold back the PC as well. This is something we got really good at over the years at IllFonic is hitting a level of quality on the PC we are happy with them maintaining the look on console. With UE4 and next gen hardware they have made it a bunch easier to do this.

What obstacles and challenges did you face during development? It couldn’t have been easy to capture the right atmosphere and tone for a Friday the 13th game.

The most difficult part is capturing the film feel in the movies. Mimicking the quality of the film used, the lighting and color pallet to really give it that Friday the 13th feel. We have spent a lot of hours going over the movies and have many screenshots of various scenes we are using for reference. Most of the props on the game are referenced directly from the movies as well.

We’re very interested in a potential single player campaign for the game, especially with the chance to play as Jason throughout. Though backers missed the stretch goal, could this still be added somewhere down the line?

Funny that you would ask, because we have been discussing this quite a lot lately. It absolutely could be added somewhere down the line, and we are already brainstorming on what a single player campaign could be like.

For that matter, the offline mode versus bots – are there still plans to include this down the line, perhaps post-launch?

We have also been discussing offline mode with bots. There are a few different options that we have been exploring to make that happen. It may not be the exact same play experience that we have in multiplayer now with bots taking the place of players, but something close to it.

"We want this to be a real Friday the 13th game that both the team and fans alike can be proud of. It should look and play like the Friday the 13th game that fans deserve."

Are you using the 7^th core on the PS4 and Xbox One for development process? How has this helped for the game’s development?

We’re currently exploring the different ways we can use the console hardware to maximize performance and UE4 has been a big help in that regard.

What resolution is the game currently running or targeting on the PS4 and Xbox One?

We’re not ready to talk about target resolutions just yet but we want the fans to know we’re dedicated to making the best looking game we can on all platforms.

What is your take on Silent Hills? What are your thoughts on its cancellation?

There are lots of team members who are fans of the Silent Hill games. Of course those who are fans are disappointed by the cancellation, but we know that business decisions need to be made for any number of reasons and hope that more Silent Hill games will be made in the future.

As a Kickstarter project, what kind of production values we can expect from the game?

The team is shooting for a AAA experience through and through. We want this to be a real Friday the 13th game that both the team and fans alike can be proud of. It should look and play like the Friday the 13th game that fans deserve.

The new video game based on the very old movie, Friday The 13th, just got its first footage. Gun Media has released our first look at the upcoming video game, though they have warned us that this footage is a very early prototype, and they expect to use hardly any of the assets here in final production.

“This is a RARE glimpse into a game development prototype build that we’re using to test and prove out gameplay design concept,” said Gun Media.

“All of the assets, character models, animations, etc… are temporary assets, put in place so we can test in a reasonable context. The art, sound effects, music and gameplay are not final by any means and are not indicative of what the game will look and sound like at release. We are focusing on fun first and foremost during the pre-alpha stage, and using this time to nail an authentic Friday the 13th experience featuring Jason Voorhees. Models, animation, UI/HUD, etc… will improve as the project moves forward.”

You can check out the footage for yourself below. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Video games licensed and based on popular media properties, especially movies, are nothing new- what is surprising is how many we get these days that are based on movies that are nearly 30 years old. Last year, we got the terrible video game based on Rambo, and now, we’ve had a brand new video game announced based on Friday the 13th.

The game is currently in development, and will reportedly be an asymmetrical, co-operative and competitive multiplayer predator/prey horror experience that pits a small group of resourceful survivors against a single player in control of the immortal, relentless slasher icon- so it sounds a lot like a Friday the 13th skin for Evolve.

At least it sounds interesting- this will also be the first Friday the 13th game since the old NES game that came out in 1989.

So why now, then?

“With a new television series on the horizon and plans announced for the thirteenth installment of the film franchise, we felt the timing was right to finally explore Jason, Camp Crystal Lake, and the rest of the Friday the 13th story in interactive form,” explains Sean S. Cunningham, creator of the original film that is credited by many as the genesis of the slasher/horror genre. “We have some exciting new ideas for a game that supplies plenty of replay value, while delivering the kinds of thrills and scares that fans of the franchise have come to expect.”

Well… I mean, I guess, okay, then.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more.