GameSpot Q&A + Screenshots

[Lon Matero]

Online here:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/prey/preview_6124152.html

Three 1024x768 screenshots too.



- Lon Matero
prey.apogeegames.com (http://prey.apogeegames.com)

[Ivan]

Wow! Marvelous to my eyes! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

[Gryph]

w00t!! I just saw this on Shacknews and was about to see if it was reported here.

[Yatta]

O_o

[Vexed]

Hawt!

[Orochi Avlis]

It's going to kick some major ass.

[Soilwork]

Prey looks so much better then Doom 3, Quake IV.

They should not be compared.

http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

And after reading the Gamespot article, it sounds better in every way possible.

Go 3DR and HH!

http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[TerminX]

What's up with the floor texture in the first shot? It looks incredibly low-res, especially next to all of the spectacular shit in the same shot. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Gryph]

In that second shot with the guy throwing his arms back, does that look like HDR?

[PlayfulPuppy]

ARGH, spoilers!

[Parkar]

Gryph said:
In that second shot with the guy throwing his arms back, does that look like HDR?



Just a regular bloom like effect I believe but it looks freaking awesome non the less. That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. The pcg article mentions that this is a shot of a spirit walk so my guess this is what the world looks like when you are floating around as your spirit.

[Eclipse]

Some nice juicy details in there http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Karthik]

Doom 3 using portal tech?! A really God-Like PC will be needed.
Edit is it me or does this scene remind me of Event Horizon:
link (http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2005/130/reviews/198340_20050511_screen002.jpg)

[Gryph]

Parkar said:

Gryph said:
In that second shot with the guy throwing his arms back, does that look like HDR?



Just a regular bloom like effect I believe but it looks freaking awesome non the less. That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. The pcg article mentions that this is a shot of a spirit walk so my guess this is what the world looks like when you are floating around as your spirit.


Oh damn...I was hoping it would be more than just bloom. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Steve]

PlayfulPuppy said:
ARGH, spoilers!


Yup http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

I'm not going to look at another pic. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

[Spooger]

Neato pics, and a pretty good article all around. One of the things I'm getting really excited about is the amount of detail that's being put into the environments. It's starting to sound like we're in for some pretty incredible sights!

[Brian Karis]

Parkar said:

Gryph said:
In that second shot with the guy throwing his arms back, does that look like HDR?



Just a regular bloom like effect I believe but it looks freaking awesome non the less. That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. The pcg article mentions that this is a shot of a spirit walk so my guess this is what the world looks like when you are floating around as your spirit.



Thanks. It's a post-processing effect, one of many we have. You're correct, that's what the world looks like when you're in spirit walk. The effect itself is a combination of a lot things.

[lvlmaster]

Parkar said:

That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid







Glad someone noticed http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[megarust]

Nice work gang. I'm expecting some video footage once E3 comes around. That's much more exciting http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Gryph]

megarust said:
Nice work gang. I'm expecting some video footage once E3 comes around. That's much more exciting http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Yeah man, E3 should rule. Can't wait for the Prey stuff.

[Hudson]

lvlmaster said:

Parkar said:

That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid




Glad someone noticed http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif



Haha http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Goddamn this looks badass http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[hell-angel]

Karthik said:
Doom 3 using portal tech?! A really God-Like PC will be needed.
Edit is it me or does this scene remind me of Event Horizon:
link (http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2005/130/reviews/198340_20050511_screen002.jpg)



Not really, so it is just you. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Great movie though. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I must say that this game looks damn good guys, the effects are looking amazing and after reading the interview I am more anticipated for prey then ever. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Keep it up HH and make us proud. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Hudson]

Karthik said:
Doom 3 using portal tech?! A really God-Like PC will be needed.



You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?

I have no doubts about my system being able to handle it, however (most likely) many others are.. is this something HH/3DR can answer? Or is this "Area 51" territory http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Lengis]

Great read. This game will be good

[Enragiated]

Time to upgrade the PC boys

[Ronald McDonald]

OMG @ the screenshot with wall-walk!!!
High-res texture heaven http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

Quake IV, eat you heart out http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Parkar]

lvlmaster said:

Parkar said:

That new spinning portal thing looks a little cooler then the old one seen in the 98 vid




Glad someone noticed http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif



hehe, actualy I noticed it was the spnning portal already on the tiny pic in the pcg scans http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[George Broussard]

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[hell-angel]

George Broussard said:

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Are the settings set to high/low/mid?? just curious. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Good to know at least what you guys are using, then the rest of us have something to aim for. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks for that GB http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/thumbsup.gif


(well, not me anyway since I guess my GF6800 ultra OC, 3.4 GHz pIV and 1Ghz ddr2 will run the game just fine. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

[ADM]

George Broussard said:

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Cool, those specs are pretty reasonable http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Steve]

ADoomedMarine said:

George Broussard said:

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Cool, those specs are pretty reasonable http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Surprising really. A system like that is VERY affordable. Even in New Zealand.

[Parkar]

George Broussard said:

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Cool, you just mentioned my system pretty much except I only have a 2.4. Heck my system has not been upgraded for over a year except an extra 512 megs of ram.

[Agulf]

1 gig ram... Hehe.. Can't even fit that into my comp http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Looks like he's setting traps with the portals http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

[Karthik]

I guess GEForce 4 Ti is out then.

[Sayantan]

Man o' man. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif Is that something or what? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

F*** you Q4 http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif. I want Prey. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woot.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woot.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woot.gif

[Spooger]

Karthik said:
I guess GEForce 4 Ti is out then.



Not *necessarily*. You won't be running it great, and you sure won't be turning on many features, but the Doom III engine (at least, the Doom III engine that powers Doom III) was surprisingly well optimized. It could run on even a GeForce 3 in low settings - which still look great.

Obviously, I'm not pretending to know what Prey is gonna require. I'm sure that it'll be more demanding than Doom III is. But, even low range cards may have a chance if other parts of your system are fairly up-to-date. Of course, I could be wrong, and even if I'm right the best way to experience games running on the Doom III technology is a higher-end (ati 9700/geforce 6600 level) card.

[HairBall]

i think the screenshoots look like a doom3 expansion... beleve me, they are cool, but if they had been posted on a dom3 site people would think they where from doom3..

[Antosa]

I want it (Prey)http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

[dark_angel]

HairBall said:
i think the screenshoots look like a doom3 expansion... beleve me, they are cool, but if they had been posted on a dom3 site people would think they where from doom3..



So Prey is a DooM3 expansion pack!
and Quake4 is a DooM3 expansion Pack!
and Whatever game that uses the DooM3 engine is a DooM3 expansion pack!

I wonder when we will see a game using the DooM3 engine that will look like HL2?
http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dopefish.gif

[FireFly]

Never.

[Karthik]

I think the reason why it looks like Doom 3 is because of the enviroments the screenshots are taken in. Once we see more enviroments maybe it'll look different.

[Mr.DJ]

Ok, now I'm going to say something, because I fear that Humanhead/3drealms will do the same(IMO) mistake Valve did with HL2.

IMO, I think it would serve the game best in the end, if Humanhead/3drealms don't unveil/explain anymore of Prey's technical surprises. Those features are far more rewarding/have bigger impact on the player, if people discover them during playing the game.

The Portal tech was maybe unavoidable, because of the exposure from the late 90's build of the game.

Other than that, I think the developers should really limit themselves to only show some action scenes from the game involving maybe a few(non high profile) enemies, a few pretty explosions and pretty looking enviroments and leave the rest to surprise the gamer.

The reveiwers around going insane(plus a demo), should be enough to catch the attention of the gamers, that doesn't already know of the game yet.

Don't do like Valve did with HL2.
Meaning, releasing videos showing off all the game's vehicles, almost all the enemies, gameplay twist/surprises like being able to control ant lions, and many of the weapons including the game's much discussed gravity gun.

All of this, left the player to only discover the games ending and play through the remaining few maps not already been shown.
This took away the games "wow" factor and really left a minimum of interesting gameplay for the player to discover. This is why "I" think some people wasn't THAT impressed by the game, after having been awed by the early impressing videos from the game...

/rant off

Ok, I'll shut up now, but had to get that out of my system, as I really don't wish this to happen for Prey! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Cheers!

[Malgon]

Alright! Some high resolution shots rather than mag scans, this is going under my 3DRealms\Prey folder! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dopefish.gif

Thats cool, the interview didnt give away to much info imo. It basically just went into a bit more detail about what we already know. But I now I'm more excited than before. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good to hear the specs arent ridiculous, even though it isnt final until WID! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hhg.gif

[Gryph]

George Broussard said:
I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Woohoo! That's the system I have! But I hope to do either a CPU+RAM or video card upgrade by the time Prey comes out.

[mysteryperfecta]

Pretty good Q&A. The description of the "ship" sounds like gruesome fun. And those high res screens certainly improve on their magazine counterparts. Looks promising. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Eli Quinn]

TerminX said:
What's up with the floor texture in the first shot? It looks incredibly low-res, especially next to all of the spectacular shit in the same shot. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


You're right - we usually scale down the textures on the floor so they're really tight-looking. The problem with that one is that it has a capsule-like design and those have a tendency to show the aliasing more. It's sort of annoying sometimes because in order to create weird alien designs you want to lean more towards circular rather than squared-off patterns.

[Ronald McDonald]

OMG the whole HH team posts here http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[lonestar]

hey, nice to see a couple devs here. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

now, i finally see those shots in high quality and it looks indeed cool. not only graphics but also the art design.

question:
does prey make use of the pixel shader 3.0 model?

...actually, this also goes to george regarding dnf. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Kristian Joensen]

I think George answered that in the affirmative with regards to DNF and given that Prey is using the Doom 3 engine I should think that it too supports it.

Isn't that really a question about if the graphics API supports it ?

[Viper Knight]

Gryph said:

George Broussard said:
I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Woohoo! That's the system I have! But I hope to do either a CPU+RAM or video card upgrade by the time Prey comes out.


Lucky you. I only have one quarter of the amount of RAM George guesses that will run Prey fine. Not to mention my video card I bought a few months ago (ATI 9550) would probably be completely useless! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Brian Karis]

SM3.0 is directx. The doom3 engine is opengl. Our shaders use arb_fragment_program which is close to sm2.0. We don't really have a need for something like sm3.0.

Min specs: the system George mentioned will run the game just fine. Don't worry, our actual min spec is a bit lower than that. Expect a little higher than doom3's but not a lot.

[John]

I hope a 2.4ghz 512MB RAM and Radeon9600pro 256MB will work http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Ivan]

John said:
I hope a 2.4ghz 512MB RAM and Radeon9600pro 256MB will work http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tinyted.gif

I'm not going anywhere with my 64MB of RAM. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mryuck.gif

[TopDan]

George Broussard said:

You bring up a good question, do we have any idea what the system spec's will be for Prey? Or at least when they will be released?


I think you'll be in the ballpark and fine with something like a 2.8Ghz, 1 gig ram, and a ATI 9700Pro or 9800 card. More is better, but that's basically what the game is being developed on, and it runs acceptably on that range of system.

Of course, specs are not final until it ships http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Well you know. We get screenshots, an interview, hell even specs from G. There seems to be no area 51 or WID around Prey. Why is it then around DNF... You guys need a bit of consistency with your policies. Unless of course if Prey is close to shipping... Wasn't that. Start the hype around DNF with screenshots and ads when it's less than 6 months from the streets.

[X-Vector]

2K Games' press release mentions that Prey is "currently planned for a 2006 release", so the '6 months' policy apparantly does not apply to this game.

[The Count]

I think it`s obvious that the policies of DNF and Prey are quite different.
There are Prey-screenshots, some details of the story have been revealed, and not only the head of the developer-team posts here.
Obviously Prey is much closer to release.
Valve and id showed too much of HL2 and D3 before they shipped, but 3DR and HH surely won`t make that mistake.
Good to hear that I will only need a better video card for Prey in its full glory http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Viper Knight]

X-Vector said:
2K Games' press release mentions that Prey is "currently planned for a 2006 release", so the '6 months' policy apparantly does not apply to this game.


No, it could be a twelve month one.

[X-Vector]

It could also be an eighteen month one.
Of course, twentyfour months isn't out of the question either.

What was the principle behind this policy again?

[Kristian Joensen]

X-Vector said:
2K Games' press release mentions that Prey is "currently planned for a 2006 release", so the '6 months' policy apparantly does not apply to this game.



What 2K Games says is not official the official word, nothing is official until 3D Realms says so, in this case as usual it is WID.

[Tim. Just Tim.]

Kristian Joensen said:

X-Vector said:
2K Games' press release mentions that Prey is "currently planned for a 2006 release", so the '6 months' policy apparantly does not apply to this game.



What 2K Games says is not official the official word, nothing is official until 3D Realms says so, in this case as usual it is WID.



DNF is 3DRealms's baby.

Prey is 3DRealms's and Human Head's baby. Its hard to say who the wife is in this relationship. But clearly 3DR isnt calling all the shots on Prey, because HH must have some say in it too. 3DR may have said that they have a 6 month-of-hype policy, but that might not apply to projects that arnt 100% their own.

Im sure Prey's release date is basically 'WID' too. Theyre not going to release it till its done. I cant see them wanting too, and I cant see 3dr letting them http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Kristian Joensen]

3D Realms own the IP on their own, unlike Max Payne.

[dark_angel]

Too bad Prey want be released this year!

We are eager to see something from 3drealms http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Kristian Joensen]

We don't know that yet.

[dark_angel]

What about 2K games' press release?

[Kristian Joensen]

That is 2K Games prediction, we still don't know either way since what 2K Games says is not the official word.

[mysteryperfecta]

I wonder if Humanhead gets a mite annoyed that much of the press so far gives the impression that Prey is a 3drealms game first and foremost.

[Kristian Joensen]

Maybe, but it still is both a 3D Realms game and Human Head Studios game.

[X-Vector]

mysteryperfecta said:
I wonder if Humanhead gets a mite annoyed that much of the press so far gives the impression that Prey is a 3drealms game first and foremost.



Same thing happened with Max Payne, even though Remedy (partially?) owned the IP they were working on if I'm not mistaken.
The way I see it, Human Head is to Prey what Ravensoft is to Quake 4.

As far as media exposure and release date policy goes, I don't think HH has any say on that - seems to me that's up to Take2/2K Games and 3DR.

[FireFly]

Anyway, George said 6 months to a year.

[Kristian Joensen]

On one ocassion.

[Eli Quinn]

mysteryperfecta said:
I wonder if Humanhead gets a mite annoyed that much of the press so far gives the impression that Prey is a 3drealms game first and foremost.


Well, that's the press, you can't always count on their accuracy. 3DR has been great about putting the spotlight on our involvement in the game. When it comes to getting attention in the press though 3dRealms is a much bigger name than us so putting their name at the forefront is a good idea for writers to do. At least that's my assumption, I could be totally off-base. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[zwieback]

Eli Quinn said:

mysteryperfecta said:
I wonder if Humanhead gets a mite annoyed that much of the press so far gives the impression that Prey is a 3drealms game first and foremost.


Well, that's the press, you can't always count on their accuracy. 3DR has been great about putting the spotlight on our involvement in the game. When it comes to getting attention in the press though 3dRealms is a much bigger name than us so putting their name at the forefront is a good idea for writers to do. At least that's my assumption, I could be totally off-base. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


it really is! you're not off-base http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[lonestar]

Brian Karis said:
SM3.0 is directx. The doom3 engine is opengl. Our shaders use arb_fragment_program which is close to sm2.0. We don't really have a need for something like sm3.0.




okay. thanks.

as far as i know, it's just there to make things faster but not really to improve visual quality.

[Kalki]

I don't think HH has to worry about 3DRealms stealing their press. In a similar relationship, Remedy managed to raise their own profile and my respect for them. This game, if good, will do great things for HH because it once was a very strong property from what I saw.

[CD Racing ZX6R]

Eli Quinn said:

TerminX said:
What's up with the floor texture in the first shot? It looks incredibly low-res, especially next to all of the spectacular shit in the same shot. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


You're right - we usually scale down the textures on the floor so they're really tight-looking. The problem with that one is that it has a capsule-like design and those have a tendency to show the aliasing more. It's sort of annoying sometimes because in order to create weird alien designs you want to lean more towards circular rather than squared-off patterns.



I just want to say that I think it's awesome that you guys are actually taking the time to answer questions and comment on posts about your work. That kind of interactivity is something rare now adays and its good to see that both HH and 3DR are in the busniess if keeping in touch with their fans.

[Karthik]

Question, why is Prey being published under the 2K Games label instead of GOD games?! Prey is an independently developed game so it should go under GOD games.....

[pjohnsonjr]

Gathering of Developers was bought by Take2 Interactive. 2K is a brand label of Take2 Interactive.