Freelancer - Pre-Release Discussion

Yes thank you for that explanation. I know all you guys have said the same thing. I’m done talking about it. I had a option and my statement and you guys are acting like I’m stupid. Let’s just wait and see.

no man don’t say your stupid ok i know you want the mode but ioi haves to improve it more ok buddy

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I am quite sure a shooting range is a very small part of what Freelancer consists of. So for the majority what that mode is about, it might be something we never saw before. That is why people are confused by your statement.

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I don’t think you’re stupid dude. We all get excited about our games.

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don’t worry pal it come im excited too

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Well, you seem to not be getting it on both points, and that’s why we’re talking to you like this.

  1. IOI did not lie about when Freelancer would be released, because they did not promise when they’d release it. They always said that it was currently planned or expected to be launched in spring. They were wrong about when they thought they’d be ready and rescheduled. That’s nothing at all like lying.

  2. No Hitman game has had anything like Freelancer mode, ever. You’re thinking of safehouses, and while there’s been a few of those, that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what Freelancer is, just because it contains a safehouse. That’s like saying there’s always been a sniper mode in every Hitman game just because you could use sniper rifles; not the same thing.

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Yo they got 4K support!

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It’s like mobile games, only the ad is 4K. :joy:

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Same goes for the Training area in Contracts.

I wonder if Freelancer is going to be used as a sort of testing ground for Project 007. Not in mechanics, but in plot. Think about it; normally, 47 goes to a location, kills his target, and that’s it, it gets done, on to the next job. Yeah, sometimes he has to kill a few targets to get to a particular one over the course of a few stages, but they’re all in fairly close proximity to one another. With Freelancer, one single mission is multiple stages and 47 has to not only kill targets, but collect intel, data, learn locations, collect equipment and gadgets from people undercover, etc., in order to identify the leader and learn where they are (in-universe; we players will decide where they are when choosing the map orders).

And when you think about it, that’s pretty much the plot of a James Bond story. He starts off going to one place on MI6 orders, finds a suspicious fellow, whom he then follows to another place and fights/kills him, goes off the little info he got from that fellow to another place with another person, usually a woman this time, he learns about the wider conspiracy, follows the woman to yet another location, and ends up finding and meeting the big bad and learning his plan, and spends the rest of the story trying to stop him.

And while the second half of WoA had that same kind of flow, the way Freelancer has been described sounds like it’s going to hedge a bit closer to that Bond formula, setting aside the fact that we know exactly where we’re going next. IOI might be trying to see if they can pull off that usual Bond plotting formula well enough for people to like it when Project 007 comes down the pipeline. If we’re ok with the formula in the Hitman setting, probably no issues in Bond world.

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Good times right there….:wink:

i very hope they gonna update freelancer news in August
little after the shooting Ambrose Island

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That’s an interesting take. The 007 game could still have unique missions though. Maybe a driving mission or two. It could also be more cover based when it comes to shooting. There surely has to be a little more shooting even if it’s just a level or two. I am interested to see how it shapes out but I kinda think it will be less sandboxy and more linear with maybe one sandbox level where all of us just say “oh it’s a hitman level in a bond game.” Looking forward to it in any case.

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Unsure on driving as they would have to develop a whole new engine for that or heavily overhaul Glacier with that support. But Cars are now part and parcel of Bond so perhaps they have that in development or getting third-party for that engine (Sumo Digital does have experience in Kart Racing games :smiley: )

Reckon it will be more Absolution based in structure with a few modest sized Sandbox levels in -between the set-piece areas. Given interviews mentioned that the rights-owners didn’t want Bond to be gunning everyone down reckon a mix would work best , given the early part of a Bond film has some element of social stealth to it.

If they want to do a trilogy for this series and self-publish I think they will likely release the game with a free-pack which includes the home-hub (Q-Branch, Jamaica Home etc…) and from there release extra content and missions to connect more smoothly compered to the Hitman trilogy.

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Project 007 is explictly told to be worked on Glacier on the job listing on ioi.dk

  • Use IOI’s proprietary tools prototyping and setting up gameplay and scripted events, displaying the intended operation of the fully working game systems
  • As a Gameplay Programmer you’ll work primarily in C++, creating code, systems, and visual building blocks for our designers to be used in Glacier, our in-house technology, via our integrated Visual Scripting Language.

And vehicle are hinted at, but with the added caveat that IOI seems to still be on the “concept testing, prototyping” stage. So subject to change, or not kept.

  • Specific experience with one or more of these areas – 3Cs, AI, traversal, game economy, balancing, vehicle physics and controls
  • Experience with using game editors; can build test levels to demonstrate new features in-engine
  • Creating gameplay and menu flowcharts as documentation and means of conveying your design ideas
  • Can write and verbally communicate design ideas clearly, and in a visually compelling way; can sell these ideas to senior management and to other disciplines
  • Flexible – can take feedback from others (either on their own team, from management or other disciplines), and adjust course as necessary without compromising the core goals of your designs
  • Experience with creating prototypes to prove game features, and what it takes to turn those prototypes into final, shippable features

https://career.ioi.dk/ad/game-designer/uyxr9g
https://career.ioi.dk/ad/gameplay-programmer/v3hsdf


On the Freelancer will be used for prototyping, I agree with @Heisenberg.
I also think that, depending on who is working on it, in which studios, it might also be a way for IOI to iron out their communication, their inner working, and management between international studios. Not an easy task, and a medium size project is a great testing ground. Also works for Ambrose. But we will see that when we will have a look at the credits.

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My wishlist for Freelancer:

  • Day night cycle: For example, we can play in Sapienza or Marrakesh at night, Chonqing in the morning, Haven Island during the storm or even a snowy Whittleton Creek (sigh, i need a snow map).
  • “SWAT NPCS”: The armored guards that we face during Untouchable or in the Wrath termination return to freelancer missions. In the last mission of the campaign, they roam the level as they protect the leader of the Sindicate. They can´t be easily taken down with a firefight, so an additional difficulty challenge
  • Weapon customisation: more than a wish, just a theory after playing Ambrose Island. If you look closely at the guards during the level opening cutscene, some of their weapons have sights that can´t be found ingame.
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I like the 2nd and 3rd bullets.
Number 1 will never happen though. It’s a lot more complicated than just changing the ambient light in the sky. You have to adjust the number of NPCs, change the lights in the buildings, signs, etc., move routes around (unless we’re OK with just having the exact same level but “darker” for a night effect). It’s effectively a different map, just with the same structure to be convincing.

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I forgot about agent Smith randomly being in danger in each final campaign mission. Your rescue him, you get bonus merces.

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That’s also a lot of work. You’ve got to place him in a feasible location, place guards nearby, put a key somewhere, include hints as to his location and so on. To say nothing of routing people around that location or towards it.

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