DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

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Xaser
 
 
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DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Xaser »

This is a bit of a copypasta from a Doomworld post of mine, but since we don't yet have a thread about it here, check this out:


For the lazy, DUSK is an indie shooter that debuted at PAX West recently. Kinda "Quake meets Blood" sort of deal. It's also friggin' great.

I got a chance to try it out at QuakeCon and was blown away by how good it felt. All the usual buzzwords (fast, etc.) actually apply here -- it's the closest thing to Quake since Quake, really, and the dev (David Szymanski) is a cool dude who actually knows his reference material (Quake, Blood, Doom, etc.).

The big thing that's setting DUSK apart from things like STRAFE is that the creator's actually taking the time to do Real Level Design(tm) rather than pulling the procedural generation switch like so many retro attempts tend to (e.g. STRAFE, Ziggurat, ...and then Devil Daggers which had none whatsoever ;). I only played the invasion mode myself, but I got to watch someone play through the first campaign map and it's hella promising.

re:Graphics, it's lovably ugly IMO. It actually looks authentic to a game of its "time" (mid-late 90s) rather than falling into the "retro-inspired-but-clearly-modern" trope that 99% of the indie market follows. YMMV, but to me it looks "correct" for a game of its type, even though those pointy model edges are quite eye-gouging. :D

tl;dr: DUSK has a seriously high chance of actually pulling off Real Oldschool -- moreso than any of the other contenders do/did for sure. I'd advise skeptics to keep an eye on this one regardless.
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4thcharacter
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by 4thcharacter »

inb4 DUSK for G/ZDoom and ÆOD.

But seriously, this is good.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Nevander »

I need new pants. That high jump and flipping upside down was incredible.

My only criticism is the graphics, but as you said, it's lovably ugly. The fact that it looks like a late 90s game made in 2017 instantly makes it a gem, provided it will run smoothly and not be filled with bugs and crashes. IMO the graphics are always the last thing on the checklist for me, I want a game to be stable first. It was weird at first seeing the graphics but after I finished the trailer I didn't care and had an overwhelming nostalgia rush.

So... Quake + Blood + Redneck Rampage = Dusk? :wub:
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by leileilol »

looks less like a 90's game and more like a bad 1997 Quake TC played in a source port, angle-less level included. Reminds me of Shrak, After the Fall, and even Obsidian (that also had twin winchesters)


also the use of embers in the trailer is a modern trope and seems to be leaning heavily on the 'remember this classic games haha we do by making our graphic crapy retro fps is about big pixel's' marketing.missing the point once again. kinda like how toxikk revised 1999 gaming to be a ut3 and sadly that marketing was just as effective at hypebuilding

we'll see


Oh by the way it's made in Unity
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by LkMax »

I love a lot of things about 90's gaming, but early 3D graphics isn't one of them. I wish indie devs would stop using "retro" as an excuse for not caring about graphics and aesthetics. Shovel Knight is retro, Shakedown Hawaii is retro, Dusk is just ugly.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Project Shadowcat »

leileilol wrote:Oh by the way it's made in Unity
I fail to see why this is a problem. :|
Or why it's even a problem in the first place. Can someone fill me in on this? A lot of consumers seem to bitch about it, but I've not heard a single major programmer say anything wrong about it. Another game I am looking forward to (BattleTech) will also be using Unity.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by cambertian »

Heard about it, got excited, but didn't watch the trailer until just now. Hoo boy... they've got a lot of kinks to iron out with this one.

Also, uh... Is that Heretic's Ethereal Crossbow I see?
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by YukiHerz »

Project Dark Fox wrote:
leileilol wrote:Oh by the way it's made in Unity
I fail to see why this is a problem. :|
Or why it's even a problem in the first place. Can someone fill me in on this? A lot of consumers seem to bitch about it, but I've not heard a single major programmer say anything wrong about it. Another game I am looking forward to (BattleTech) will also be using Unity.
Because of all the asset-dump projects that exist and plague the market, people just buy the license, hoard on market assets and place them down to make something that resembles a survival game, then sell it to make a quick buck, yet they're all probably rich kids that didn't even need the quick buck in the first place :V.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by LkMax »

leileilol wrote: Oh by the way it's made in Unity
Big woop, so is Subnautica and it's shaping to be a very good game (I know, I've played it and witnessed a few updates).
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Scripten »

HazeBandicoot wrote: Because of all the asset-dump projects that exist and plague the market, people just buy the license, hoard on market assets and place them down to make something that resembles a survival game, then sell it to make a quick buck, yet they're all probably rich kids that didn't even need the quick buck in the first place :V.
That's all well and good, but it's also pretty much irrelevant when the game in question isn't doing that, right? Hating on specific tools/engines seems a bit weird to me, to be honest.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Hellser »

Not a fan of it, sorry. The FOV looks like crap, the models look like crap.. and it's obviously trying to grab the attention of the Doom-era players like us. It's.. not working, sorry.

If I say sorry again, I'll turn 100% Canadian! Sorry.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Shadelight »

Wow, that FOV looks hideous. What were they thinking when they recorded that video? It makes it look even worse than it is. The gameplay looks rather generic and more like it's trying to cash in on the hype of all of those games it mentions.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Zanieon »

I don't think it's all that necessary to even bring the same graphics from that age, making at least the gameplay in the same way would suffice, it's like Left 4 Dead, if you take reloading and incapacitation as exceptions, all the gameplay the game is pretty oldschool had people love it for that plus zombies FTW, Doom 4 also tries that with exception of their shameless copy of Brutal Doom's fatalities renamed as "glory kills", i'm talking about Campaign of course and let's not forget Serious Sam 3 and Hard Reset.

Also don't blame the engine for most of the people who uses it being a bunch of stupid people, there's good games made in Unity, they are just a rarity between all the sea of shitty cashgrabs.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by YukiHerz »

Scripten wrote:
HazeBandicoot wrote: Because of all the asset-dump projects that exist and plague the market, people just buy the license, hoard on market assets and place them down to make something that resembles a survival game, then sell it to make a quick buck, yet they're all probably rich kids that didn't even need the quick buck in the first place :V.
That's all well and good, but it's also pretty much irrelevant when the game in question isn't doing that, right? Hating on specific tools/engines seems a bit weird to me, to be honest.
I should include a disclaimer in my post saying that i don't agree with throwing all unity games in the same bag.

Though i'll agree with the negatives on this thread, kinda hoping this retro-inspired visual mess trend stops.
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Re: DUSK - an actually-authentic retro shooter wtf

Post by Xaser »

re:FOV, there's like a zillion graphics options in the game, and it'd be nuts if FOV wasn't one of them.

I do think the trailer leans a bit heavy on the references, but it's succeeding in gathering media attention for that reason. Necessary evil. For we goofballs that already "get" oldschool gaming, hopefully some playable snippets surface soon so there's some substance to the "this one's actually good" argument aside from some guy's word. :P
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