Flying Vehicles.

[Divoid]

Flying Vehicles.

​

In viewing the announcement trailer for the game, my initial excitement stemmed from the world presented and the possibilities presented by that world.

My first thought was that this could potentially live up to the one gaming experience I've always wanted but have never had, and that's effectively Grand Theft Auto : Futuristic City. The closest games to live up to this dream of mine are few in number, stemming from games like Jak II, Jak III, the Mass Effect Series and Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but none of these have really been the game I'm looking for.

This game is effectively Skyrim, but set in a fully futuristic, gritty and interesting Sci Fi world. Essentially, Blade Runner : The Game.

One of the main mechanics that I've wanted from this, is the possibility of driving flying vehicles through a sprawling, lived in Sci Fi city. I still don't think the technology is even at this point yet, because clearly open world fantasy games are a lot easier to make then science fiction games, but I'm hoping this game will be the first to foray into that spectrum.

I'm rambling, but I guess what I really wanted to talk about was that mechanic, would you like to see this in the final game? Do you think the flying car seen in the trailer should be some indication that we might be able to pilot it? Do you think a game of that scale is even currently possible?




Let's discuss it.

 

[blank_redge]

I'm rambling, but I guess what I really wanted to talk about was that mechanic, would you like to see this in the final game? Do you think the flying car seen in the trailer should be some indication that we might be able to pilot it? Do you think a game of that scale is even currently possible

Possible? Of course. There's GTA games and clones (Saints Row comes to mind) that have flying vehicles in it.

Doing it well is another matter entirely. The game engine for vehicles in the GTA / Saints Row series is pretty video-gamey. While I don't expect vehicle physics on par with, say, Project CARS or a flight sim, I'd like something a bit better than the standard arcade-y physics that usually go with sandbox games.

I'd settle for vehicle physics on par with GTA V. Above and beyond that would just be icing on the cake for me.

 

[Divoid]

The flying vehicles in games like GTA are still somewhat limited in the capacity I'm thinking of, which is something far more grounded and realistic, something like the VTOL in Saints Row is definitely on the right track though, all you need is more diversity, an influence on the environment and vice versa and some more immersive gameplay as a result.

 

[Maelcom404]

There are good chance you'll be able to drive an AV at some point, in 2020 it's already pretty common, I figure it would be the same in 2077.

 

[blank_redge]

...something like the VTOL in Saints Row is definitely on the right track though, all you need is more diversity, an influence on the environment and vice versa and some more immersive gameplay as a result.

I never did get around to picking up Saints Row IV, but if they kept the VTOLs and hover bikes from III, that means SR IV has VTOLs *and* powered armor / mecha (or, ACPA from the Cyberpunk PnP.)

I still find the vehicle physics for SR more arcade-y than GTA, but again, I only hold out so much expectation for vehicle physics in any game that's not specifically dedicated to driving / piloting vehicles.

 

[Divoid]

I never played IV either, only III. I have no idea if they had those elements, but Saints Row also happens to look like a cartoon, whereas I'm hoping for a game that's as realistic as possible, but with these science fiction open world elements that we're talking about. And yes, those vehicles were also physically cartoony in the way they controlled and impacted the environment, whereas I'm hoping for something far more versatile, gritty and impactful.


If this is a truly open world game, then I'd expect we will need a Sci Fi traversal equivalent to The Witcher 3's horse mounts. My hope, is that it won't simply be a flashy Dredd-like motorcycle.

 

[animalfather]

this is what i want.

 

[Divoid]

this is what i want.

Exactly.

 

[Suhiira]

You could easily use a Harrier type engine system to create these flying cars.
There are some problems however.

SERIOUS fuel usage when hovering as you do so on pure power (even a helo uses aerodynamics via it's rotor blades).
The jet blast anywhere close to the ground (specially since it's funneled by buildings on either side of the street) would be impressive, to say the least.
Since most city streets are usually asphalt rather then concrete you'd made some nice hot bubbling tar pits on take off/landing.

 

[blank_redge]

Hm. If they're counting CyberGeneration as part of the canon, I recall part of the tech being aerodynes that used rotors mounted on frictionless magnetic bearings. Provided most of the lift was from the rotors, and not from exhaust blast as with vectored thrust, I think that could be a viable substitute for the old vectored thrust aerodynes.

 

[Sardukhar]

Hm. If they're counting CyberGeneration as part of the canon,.

They are not. It's in the FAQ. Nothing after Stormfront.

 

[blank_redge]

Right-o. Couldn't recall if they were or not.

I still think the idea of frictionless magnetic bearings is pretty whiz-bang, though.

 

[Sardukhar]

Right-o. Couldn't recall if they were or not.

I still think the idea of frictionless magnetic bearings is pretty whiz-bang, though.

I took a ride on the Chinese Mag Lev train, going some stupidly high speed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train

Verrry cool.

 

[Divoid]

The later Jak and Daxter games are a good example of what I'm talking about, they were close, but not quite there. In Jak II and Jak III you controlled flying vehicles that were driven in direct paths, sort of like aerial roads on which there were different levels of rotation. I'd want that but also with free roam flying, like a harrier I guess.

 

[blank_redge]

Mmm... never played any of the Jak and Daxter games, so no comment on that.

I do hope that if we're given vehicles, we're given full control of where we can go (ie, no invisible / artificial barriers or "sky tracks" that guide our vehicles on rails.)

 

[Divoid]

That would essentially fall in line with how the vehicles were in Blade Runner, which is what I'm hoping for.

Can you imagine chasing down psychos in a flying car chase through a giant futuristic urban sprawl? That would be incredible.

 

[blank_redge]

Hm. One potential dev issue would be number of objects / air traffic, vs. draw distance.

Though, even in 2077, I wouldn't expect air traffic to be as plentiful as ground traffic, so it might be a moot point.

 

[Divoid]

I can't think of a single game that's provided that kind of free form experience, it would essentially be the free roaming/flying vehicles elements from games like GTA and Saints Row, combined with the traversal and chase elements from the Assassins Creed franchise, combined with realistic and next gen elements in a Sci Fi open world city environment. I would fucking love if this game has environment traversal elements like parkour involved as well, but I'm not sure if that game will ever be made, because it's been my dream since I was a kid to have all of that combined.

Imagine a completely fluid experience, in which you completely customize your characters look, clothing, weaponry and abilities, you walk that personalized character into a crowded, dingy bar in the criminal underworld to acquire a mission, you step out of that bar into a crowded rainy street, covered overhead with thousands of neon lights and traversable environments, you walk through this habitat towards your flying car, hop in and immediately begin flying through this urban sprawl towards this target. No loading screens. No stilted animations. Immediate player driven gameplay. The target could then attempt to flee in a vehicle of their own, you chase them up towards the high rises of the upper levels, dodging the police, civilian vehicles and possibly robotic or criminal elements, until you end up on a garden rooftop, chasing them on foot until finally you complete your mission.

That. Would. Be. Incredible.

 

[Sardukhar]

That. Would. Be. Incredible.

Check out some of the ideas in these threads:

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/27177-Random-Events-You-won-t-even-make-it-to-your-car

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/27021-Safehouses-yes-or-no-or-how-to-make-them-work

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/27470-The-Wasteland-areas-beyond-the-city

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/27002-Nightclubs

 

[Divoid]

Jak 2 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl7cr8XDA1o
Jak 3 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUvFPrBCQzk

Prey 2 Cinematic Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufikwk7_AD0
Prey 2 Gameplay Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPkHZfjK5z4
​

These games had some of the elements to them that I'm describing in this thread, the latter to Jak games had traversable platforming like environments, flying vehicles, futuristic weaponry, diverse enemy types and two vast open worlds (A desert wasteland and a futuristic city at war in Jak III and just a bigger city not perpetually at war in Jak II).

Prey 2 looked like it was also going to have those elements (it's been since cancelled), but with more realistic graphics and more emphasis on traversing the environments on foot rather than using vehicles. It looked to have an open world similar to what we all seem to want, which is an open world sci fi urban sprawl with other diverse elements and locales involved. It was the first game I'd ever seen to truly attempt this, with the Fallout and Mass Effect games only ever including very minutely similar elements.

These elements, combined with the character customization and open world exploration from games like Skyrim and Fallout 3, is what I'm hoping this game will be, with with far more next gen and modern components, mechanics and details.