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Prey: Mooncrash DLC and main game updates

Started by Blue Jam, June 11, 2018, 03:32:25 PM

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Blue Jam

After lots of strong hints that Bethesda would be announcing the "Prey on the moon" DLC at their E3 press conference, they did, and it is now available to buy, while the main game has a few big updates:

https://youtu.be/ySVBHI2OeAg

The Mooncrash DLC is a new single-player campaign. You start as an employee of Transtar's rivals, Kasma Corp, who are engaging in a bit of industrial espionage. When the transmission from Transtar's not-so-secret moon facility goes dead, you are tasked with paying a visit to find out why (probable cause: fuckloads of Typhon).

There's a procedurally-generated element, which I wasn't so sure about at first, but it seems it's about making enemies, loot and hazards spawn randomly rather than anything like No Man's Sky. This is intended to make every playthrough different and keep the game replayable, and to me it makes sense, given that in the original game Talos I is a simulation- though I'm not sure if the moon base is also supposed to be a simulation. I also like the idea of the mimics having a bit of fun with all those moon rocks...

Updates to the original game are:

Story Mode: A lower difficulty level where the Typhon don't attack, leaving you to just enjoy the story. Sounds a bit like Soma's Wuss Mode Safe Mode, but I'm not sure what the point of it is here when combat is a much bigger part of Prey, and that combat is nothing like the unsatisfying and annoying combat/stealth elements of Soma. Prey has a good story and it might be fun to explore Talos I at leisure but I don't think this particular game really needs this.

Survival Mode: A harder mode with extra hazards, where you have to worry about broken bones, blood loss,  oxygen depletion, and your guns jamming. This one makes more sense to me, as Prey isn't meant to be played like a typical shooter, and you're supppsed to rise to the challenge of scarce resources and difficult situations.

New Game +: As far as I can tell, this just lets you carry over all your neuromods from one finished game to the start of a new one. Could just make you crazily OP... or it could be fun to have the Typhon neuromods from the start...

I'm trying to avoid spoilers before I get back home to play this tonight...

Blue Jam

Also it looks like a future update will add an online multiplayer mode. Thankfully Arkane and Bethesda have resisted going along the Battle Royale route and this new mode will be one human vs five mimics. Sounds like it could be fun... but I'm much less keen on all this (click to enlarge):



I know developers of these expensive open-world sandbox games probably need to add some scope for microtransactions if they're to survive, but fuck's sake, I don't want to see mimics wearing cute little hats, thanks.

biggytitbo

Prey wasn't a massive success sales wise was it, but hopefully the continued good word of mouth about it (it really is a great game) and the fact Bethesda are still releasing new stuff for it means maybe it will eventually do well enough to warrant a proper sequel? Unfortunately I won't be able to play this for a while as I have a big backlog of games and am currently stuck trying to get through Dark Souls.


I actually want to replay the whole thing with the lady Morgan, are there any big differences between the two?

Blue Jam

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 11, 2018, 04:06:41 PM
Prey wasn't a massive success sales wise was it, but hopefully the continued good word of mouth about it (it really is a great game) and the fact Bethesda are still releasing new stuff for it means maybe it will eventually do well enough to warrant a proper sequel?

Bethesda/Arkane really botched the marketing with the original release. Developing a reboot of the original Prey, then releasing a completely different game and still calling it Prey may not have been the best idea, then there was the major issue of the PS4 and PC editions being released before a load of bugs had been ironed out.

This time round I suspect the primary aim may be to try and sell more downloads of the Digital Deluxe edition, getting newcomers to buy the whole package rather than getting existing fans to buy the add-on. I hope it sells well this time around, it's a great game which deserves a bigger audience and I'd love to play a proper sequel eventually.

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 11, 2018, 04:06:41 PM
I actually want to replay the whole thing with the lady Morgan, are there any big differences between the two?

Two different voice actors providing the voices of Morgan and January. That's about it. They've both got the title "Dr" so that makes things simpler with the script, and the relationships with other characters don't change (I think everyone on Talos I is bisexual). The one big thing I noticed is that the game felt a lot less immersive when I played as Man Morgan- hearing a masculine grunt every time my character took some damage was a bit distracting after I had become used to playing as Lady Morgan.

Actually, now I think about it, Man Morgan has a tie rack in his apartment, while Lady Morgan has some pretty necklaces. Lady Morgan puts the toilet seat down, while Man Morgan puts it up. Really:

http://toilet.games/post/160343552091/prey-morgan-yu-awakens-one-beautiful-morning

I loved that level of detail and how much fun the devs appeared to be having with it. I'll be looking out for more of this sort of thing with Mooncrash.

bgmnts

I liked the original Prey that was an Xbox360 launch title I think. It looks like absolute shit but still has a great opening sequence where you are being lifted up into the spaceship along with the rest of the bar patrons to Don't Fear the Reaper.

That was ace!

However, Arkane are the tits so I shall definitely have to get round to playing this reboot thing.

Blue Jam

#5
Just permadied for about the billionth time... This is really fucking hard. A lot of fun though... Part of me could babble on about this all day, but after seeing spoilers for the base game (including that big twist when you escape Morgan's apartment near the start) I've enjoyed going into this blind and don't want to spoil it for anyone.

For now, I'll just say: I needn't have worried about the "procedurally generated" thing- as I had hoped, it's just the loot, enemies and hazards that are randomised, the map (which is huge) stays the same (and it still flits between pared-down utilitarianism and Art Deco decadence). All this means is that you'll be kept on your toes and a walkthrough wouldn't be of much use. New weapons are playful and inventive and a lot of fun, new enemies are satisfying, the moonwalk sections feel really nice with their low gravity and are properly agorophobic as a nice contrast to the bits inside the moon base, the serious scarcity of resources is a proper challenge, and best of all, we get The Starbender Cycle 2...

That online multiplayer player mode sounds fun, but I may give the VR experience a miss- I get jumpy enough playing this as it is:

https://youtu.be/dom4bcfQah8

Blue Jam

Quote from: bgmnts on June 11, 2018, 10:07:09 PM
I liked the original Prey that was an Xbox360 launch title I think. It looks like absolute shit but still has a great opening sequence where you are being lifted up into the spaceship along with the rest of the bar patrons to Don't Fear the Reaper.

That was ace!

However, Arkane are the tits so I shall definitely have to get round to playing this reboot thing.

FYI: It isn't really a reboot of the 2006 Prey. I think Bethesda bought the rights to the original Prey with the intention of making a reboot, then Arkane ended up making them a very different game, but they decided to keep the name because it was very fitting with the whole thing of being trapped on a space station with a load of things hunting you down as food. It is a very fitting name but maybe it should have had a different one.

Get it anyway, it's great.

biggytitbo


Blue Jam

#8
Quote from: biggytitbo on June 13, 2018, 06:26:39 AM
Is moon crash story based?

There is a story with the player character, but so far it seems to be more based around lore and things slowly being revealed than a linear story. It's being called a roguelite game but it's not that random and you don't lose all your progress every time you die.

Alright, spoilers ahoy:

You play as Peter, a Kasma Corp employee based on a sattelite which is being used to spy on Transtar. You're on a rather exploitative contract (thanks to the dodgy nature of your work) which warns you that if you don't fulfil your duty of finding out why Transtar's signal went dead you can kiss goodbye to your ride home and any hope of seeing your wife and baby daughter ever again.

This seems to be a minor part of the action, though: Kasma deliver a stolen operator and five connectomes (four from Transtar employees, one from a research "volunteer") and you use these to run simulations of the moon base. Doing this lets you play as five different characters who all have to escape the base in one of five (or maybe more) different ways.

The ultimate aim is to get all five characters off the base in a single run- you get one to escape, then play as the next one, etc. This is tricky when they can all permadie and you have a load of constraints like scarce resources and time limits.

Really you just have to piss about with this a lot, getting to know the map, building up your arsenal and skills (you earn XP for killing, hacking etc and you can spend this on weapons, plus all your neuromods carry over when you die), and figuring out which character to send on which escape route. For example, one is physically frail but good with the psi powers, another isn't so hot with psi but can fix anything and get far just by relying on turrets, while another is a mild-mannered janitor with no strengths at all and who can't install any neuromods. As with the objectives in the base game, there are numerous ways to do this and you need to work out a strategy that works for your play style- and bear in mind that the enemies and loot drops are unpredictable.

The lore is a lot of fun, with lots of nice callbacks to the base game- as well as The Starbender Cycle, there are more LARPers getting cabin fever and playing Fatal Fortress (and getting bollocked for misusing resources for their stupid game), and there's more evidence of Alex Yu's nepotism in the fact that the moon base head honcho is one Riley Yu. There's a lab I haven't managed to access yet because someone's blocked it in a hurry, and the presence of convicted criminal "volunteers" suggests that more of Transtar's morally dubious research is going on at the moon base. So far I've only unlocked the second character and it feels like I've seen a very rich and massive world already, with a lot still to come.

The only thing I've found a bit problematic is the new time limit mechanic- the game gets harder the longer your character survives, and this gives you less time to explore/drink from water fountains until your health is restored, but this also makes sense because by the time you beat the game you'll probably know the map anyway, huge as it is.

The new weapons are a lot of fun too, especially the laser turret and the GLOO turret, and the turret-summoning psi power (the summoned turrets all have names, awwwww). A lot of people are complaining about the Moonshark, but I've found that turrets make light work of it, and if you can just bounce around above the surface with your Artax propulsion system you can just leave it to angrily throw rocks at you and make frustrated noises. It's certainly better than the fucking Nightmare with its angry Chihuahua noises.

Just buy it please Biggy, I need someone else here to be into this...

biggytitbo

You'll probably be done before I get round to this as I'm still stuck in Dark Souls. Was going to do a replay of the full game then do this.

Blue Jam

Get the update and do a New Game + then. I was planning to do a run with both Typhon and human powers to see how OP I could get on Nightmare difficulty and how much fun I could have with Phantom Genesis and Machine Mind  this looks like a real gift horse. Cheers, Arkane.

biggytitbo

That's what I was planning, replay but just hit the shit out of one ability, when I played it the first time I foolishly tried to create a 'balanced' character which meant I was never particularly strong at anything. As soon as you get any typhoon power that changes the game up quite a bit doesn't it? Scared the shit out of me at first when it causes the massive bastard to chase you.

Blue Jam

I was delighted to find that Tom Kenny is back as the voice of the irritatingly chirpy medical operators, a role for which the voice of Spongebob is perfect.

I was less pleased to realise that Alex Yu is no longer voiced by Benedict Wong. It seems that Errol was just in too much demand and had no time to be the voice of The Fat Man this time round.

biggytitbo

Ahh is Alex in it?


I was thinking Prey might be my favourite space station game, Alien Isolation is amazing in its vivid recreation of the original film and Dead Space is brilliantly single minded in its Cronenberg style emphasis on body horror, but Prey bests them both in sheer world building and atmosphere, its probably more similar to Bioshock in that sense. You's like to live in the world of Prey if it wasn't infested with shapeshifting black goo aliens wouldn't you?

Blue Jam

#14
Quote from: biggytitbo on June 16, 2018, 09:57:41 PM
Ahh is Alex in it?

I don't think he features too heavily (no pun intended). So far I've been round his office on the Pytheas moon base (and no, it isn't full of hoarded food and a neglected treadmill), that family photo is still about and I've heard his voice on one transcribe. Maybe he doesn't feature more than that because Errol wasn't available to voice him this time round. No sign of Morgan yet either.

In Mooncrash we get introduced to a new member of the Yu clan, possibly a cousin of Alex and Morgan, and further evidence of Alex's nepotism. Biggy, in the base game, how did you open the voice-activated door? There are two ways- if you find Danielle Sho before collecting the voice samples elsewhere she gives you a different voice code, comprised of insulting descriptions of Alex... "nepotist" is probably the least harsh...


QuoteYou's like to live in the world of Prey if it wasn't infested with shapeshifting black goo aliens wouldn't you?

I like the world of Dead Space 2 but I gave up on it because boss fights can fuck the fuck off. I will go back to it one day...

As for Prey, I like the way Arkane have gone for a stylised look in favour of grim photorealism, and how that doesn't make it any less immersive- it feels like immersing yourself in a rather stylish fantasy world. Also you'll be pleased to know that Pytheas has another gorgeous Art Deco crew quarters. I wish my workplace had a palatial staff area like that, minus creatures that disguise themselves as coffee cups and then try to kill you, obviously.

I'm also being reminded how much I love the sound design of this game. Even the death sound- it's very reminiscent of something I can't quite put my finger on...

surreal

Thanks for this - I think the Steam sale starts this week on Thursday(?) so I'll be keeping an eye out for any deal on Prey

remedial_gash

So how far has everyone (blue jam) got?

I've unlocked three characters and escaped via pod and shuttle 2 in one run, but don't even know where to start with the third type of escape, mass something?

It didn't help that I was on chaos level four and only had the volunteer to attempt it.

I'm enjoying it, and it's essentially a puzzle about what to do and in which order, probably worth buying if you like the base game though.

Zetetic

Quote from: Blue Jam on June 18, 2018, 02:25:32 PM
so you'll be pleased to know that Pytheas has another gorgeous Art Deco crew quarters. I wish my workplace had a palatial staff area like that, minus creatures that disguise themselves as coffee cups and then try to kill you, obviously.

I'm not sure how I'd feel if Arkane packed in the game development lark in favour of designing reasonably priced desks.

Blue Jam

#18
Quote from: remedial_gash on June 18, 2018, 09:45:51 PM
So how far has everyone (blue jam) got?

I've unlocked three characters and escaped via pod and shuttle 2 in one run, but don't even know where to start with the third type of escape, mass something?

It sounds like I'm exactly as far into this as you (remedial_gash). I've got three characters unlocked and have got the first two out via the shuttle and the escape pod respectively, and while I haven't managed to do the "mass something" yet I think I've figured out how to do it, and that it will involve getting another character with different abilities to set things up first. I think I've also located the "something portal" but have no idea how to get near it without dying...

As for the corruption levels, I'm guessing that you just have to start with the weaker characters and work your way up... Or maybe Arkane have been absolute fuckers and will force you to play with the weakest character on the highest difficulty... I  also suspect that you will have to stockpile those hourglass things ahead of your final run, and stockpiling medkits probably wouldn't hurt either.

Actually, I think I've just found an alternate route to character #4, but every time I think I'm near to solving something in this game I fucking die- and that actually makes it a lot of fun...

Quote from: remedial_gash on June 18, 2018, 09:45:51 PMit's essentially a puzzle about what to do and in which order

Yep- I've learned not to worry about the timer and avoiding dying and realised that this game is about pissing about and dying loads in the course of figuring things out before doing a "proper" run to beat the game. It's also about exploring and finding bits of lore and piecing together the story- so anyone who liked those aspects of the base game will probably enjoy this.

Quote from: Zetetic on June 18, 2018, 09:53:14 PM
I'm not sure how I'd feel if Arkane packed in the game development lark in favour of designing reasonably priced desks.

Think more low gravity basketball courts on the f***ing moon...

I noted the same big framed portrait of JFK which featured in the base game, does the lunar module or the US flag feature at all? It would be lovely to have a moon landing reference, especially if it was a reference to a faked moon landing, with the looking glass technology and all that... and perhaps a golf driving range in addition to that basketball court... and it would be amusing to see a mimic as a second US flag... I've noted the very familiar shape of the footprints on the moon's surface, that's a nice touch.

As for that guide book of common birds, and the summoned turrets all being named after bird species (awwww), is that a James Bond reference or am I reading way too much into this? A nod to Moonraker would also be nice.

remedial_gash

Just as a pointer, and I'm sure you lot already worked this out, you CAN save and quit mid run - I thought you had do die/escape before saving.

Benjaminos

Finished this at the weekend, it's a belter. I did things slightly out of order, I think - managed to escape with all 5 characters in one run before I'd completed everyone's story objectives, so my last couple of runs were nice and relaxed.. had a clean slate of corruption levels to work with, and lots of time to potter around and explore.

The story is a bit shit compared to the full-fat Prey experience, but I was just happy to be in that universe again - I'd forgotten how intricate the systems are. I'd forgotten all about the Gloo gun and how it lets you solve things a bit more creatively, and I had a whole bunch of 'I wonder if this will work..' situations that almost always paid off. Working out an alternate use for one of the weapons is 90% of the battle here, hint hint.

A++ would mooncrash again. Now I'm going to replay the story campaign and murder everyone on Talos.

Blue Jam

Quote from: remedial_gash on June 19, 2018, 12:27:59 AM
Just as a pointer, and I'm sure you lot already worked this out, you CAN save and quit mid run - I thought you had do die/escape before saving.

Another pointer: You may have noticed that the game autosaves every so often, which I thought was a bit weird given the concept, but I found that if you permadie and then exit Prey before starting a new run, the next time you launch Mooncrash and hit Continue you'll find yourself back at the last save point, still in the same run but at some point before you died.

This is handy to know if you find yourself dying due to a stupid mistake, or you were very close to making it off the moon base and you want to grab a cheeky second chance. I don't know if this is a bug or if it's deliberate. In any case it's a faff and generally not worth bothering with given how the game works, but the option is there.

remedial_gash

Quote from: Blue Jam on June 19, 2018, 10:00:09 AM
Another pointer: You may have noticed that the game autosaves every so often, which I thought was a bit weird given the concept, but I found that if you permadie and then exit Prey before starting a new run, the next time you launch Mooncrash and hit Continue you'll find yourself back at the last save point, still in the same run but at some point before you died.

This is handy to know if you find yourself dying due to a stupid mistake, or you were very close to making it off the moon base and you want to grab a cheeky second chance. I don't know if this is a bug or if it's deliberate. In any case it's a faff and generally not worth bothering with given how the game works, but the option is there.

Ah, excellent to know - I presumed the shuddery bit was due to my less than optimal rig. Cool.

Blue Jam

^^^ It appears that the game autosaves whenever you go through one of those doors with the green touchscreens, the ones that take you to or from the crater, or between different bits of the moon base via the tram.

Quote from: surreal on June 18, 2018, 04:51:07 PM
Thanks for this - I think the Steam sale starts this week on Thursday(?) so I'll be keeping an eye out for any deal on Prey

GET IN:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/480490/Prey/

Weird pricing strategy there, but with this game you do get a lot for your money.

surreal

yeah, £9.99 for the game + £12.99 for Mooncrash

OR

£30 for the bundle...

Hmmm, let me think.

Blue Jam

Can everyone please just buy this so I'll have lots of people to discuss it with? I could talk about it all day...

On my last Mooncrash playthrough I got to the Crew Annex and heard another 80's song playing. It sounds like someone's been having fun with Neuromods again, installing them to get musical abilities so they can play at being a popstar. I love how much effort has gone into this game, with Arkane going to the trouble of producing a catchy pop tune as a tiny detail again.

I've also just gained the ability to summon a friendly Mimic as a pet, d'aaaawwwww.

biggytitbo

Quote from: surreal on June 22, 2018, 09:35:54 AM
yeah, £9.99 for the game + £12.99 for Mooncrash

OR

£30 for the bundle...

Hmmm, let me think.


That's from WH Smith.

remedial_gash

Okay BJ nearly gave up the other day trying to escape via the moon crash  fill it up with a shopping list thing. Got all the bits went to the controls and managed to get lost on the way back, also fell and had broken bones due to a fall - which I couldn't fix having dumped my entire inventory at the control panel.

Quit for a few days in a huff.

Next run managed to do it and also unlocked the cleaner. Did hers and unlocked the final character, 25 hours in and still enjoying it.

Blue Jam

#28
Yep, enjoying playing as the cleaner... and I had the exact same problem playing as the Security Officer with the shopping list thing, not realising that you can't jump off a staircase without breaking bones in the DLC... I shall have to try the base game on Survival Mode next.

The Mule Operator solves the problem of dropping your inventory to some extent, but the time limit on the Mass Driver challenge still makes it hard- trust Arkane not to make it easy. I also suspect that the correct order to beat the game involves playing as the stronger characters first, then the weaker ones after it gets harder... Bastards...

I'm loving the Mule Operator though, humming snatches of the Mind Game song from the original game, and demanding fistbumps. I wish the Spongebob Operator had some new dialogue but I guess you can't have everything.

25 hours? I've been playing it for about as long and it still feels like I've barely scratched the surface. I've unlocked all the characters but there are loads of Neuromods yet to install- I love the turret-summoning one but I haven't even had a go at the *Burrow* ability yet- that one looks a bit like Blink or Far Reach from Dishonored, should be fun. Still loving the new weapons, especially the *motherfucking lightsaber thing*, though I'm crap with the ranged attack on that one. Still got loads of story objectives to do and more places left to explore.

I don't get these people who are obsessed with speedrunning and beating the game ASAP and worrying about the new timer- it's very much a game for pissing about, and I'm loving it.

I totally get the "endlessly replayable" thing too, though getting all five characters off the moon and starting a new run with no weapons, no blueprints and no Neuromods might be a bummer. It looks like Arkane have no plans to do a New Game + mode for Mooncrash, as they have done with the base game.

Just got the extra difficulties with the dust storms and the depleted oxygen- how much more can this game throw at you...

remedial_gash

Yeah I'm really enjoying the extra problems it digs up as soon as you think you've solved something. There are still bits of the map I've never been to. I guess I got lucky in opening the last character as I'd packed enough time rewindy things to reach the top of the pytheas labs without really seeing more than a few level 1 mimics. The doors were all fine too.

Didn't realise upon starting how different the game can play - on my first run with the volunteer the entrance to the labs from the middle command centre was blocked by a tunnel collapse, so I just presumed it was always that way. Cut to 15 hours later and bothered to have a nosey down that way  - oh it's open!

I think it will be a struggle to get the volunteer anywhere near his proper exit as I basically turned him typhon immediately, so everything wants to kill him/me.

A few random thoughts;

I really like the fact that every run I seem to discover alternate paths, even though I am looking for them, they almost come about by accident - a poltergeist chucking me up near a run of pipes that leads me to a shortcut.

It is still often better to run away, even though a pimped q-beam can kill almost everything  during early chaos levels anyway.

Chaos Levels! Keeps you on your toes so you never feel OP even with badass equipment.

Just Arkane really.  They have produced two of my favourite games of the last few years and their dlc is actually worth buying.

Doubles all round!