Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Armored Core Nexus

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Armored Core Nexus

    For those that have got it early, due to the cheeky Hong Kong chappies who break the Japanese street date, feel free to wax lyrically on how absolutely ****ing brilliant it is.

    #2
    Waxing lyrical is delayed due to the huge amounts of jizzing man-milk i've deposited all over the lounge. Some clean-up time is needed...

    I hope to give some proper thoughts shortly, though initial impressions are very positive that Nexus has not only developed the series, but moved and progressed the design aspects to a different fundamental basis. It's the same game but not, though i dare say both AC veterans and new comers alike will find mecha joy to be had.

    Comment


      #3
      Ha Caco you are a bad boy; i just read the "First Play Guidelines":
      Usage

      Once you have purchased a newly released title, and have played enough to post hands on impressions then look here to see if there is already a thread for it, if not, then feel free to start one off at which point it becomes the "official" thread for that game in this forum.

      If you have not played the game, please do not start a thread on it, use General Gaming instead.

      What not to post.

      DON'T start threads here until you have actually played the game and can provide hands on impressions.
      I'm not sure beta copies count here...

      Anyway back on topic;

      Armored Core: Nexus Format NTSC-J
      Latest iteration of the series. Two disks, the main one which is a progression with various changes to parts, new missions and layout. Its new but still good olde "Blow up teh stuff!" fare (spelling intentional). The second disk is a homage to all games of the past, with revamped (using new physics and graphic engines) missions; fight Valyrie, 9Ball, protect the train playing from both sides, and MoA and PP missions which never got a PAL release etc. Then there are the numerous unlockables such as game posters, all the music from the series, FMVs, all the intros and design drawings - quite a massive plus for any fan, and i dare say the first game equivelent of LoTR's super large servings of DVD extras!

      Of most benifit to newbies is the fact it supports dual analogue sticks for the first time ever (game reviewers are still crap, they used to blame the controls for how sucky they were ), and has LAN play support via the ethernet network adapter, and/or hub i guess. I assume this means some AC hacker junkie will do a online mod at some point!

      To veterans the biggest change is the implementation of heat generation from boosters, and OB startup heat. Overall heat is a bigger design issue, but its a good thing IMO

      Initial impressions are very favourable. Highly recommended to any mecha-genre liking people!

      Comment


        #4
        Not at all, I have a beta of the game but an NDA prohibits me from going into specific detail. In any case, I was trying to get you to vent forth on this

        Comment


          #5
          My copy finally arrived, and I can say that this a damn fine game. Like Zed pointed out, booster heat plays a huge part now and has to be studiously catered for (especially considering that radiators take a direct hit off your generator if you **** up, meaning that you could perpetually red-zone). Overall, it's a meaner game but it makes the whole experience that much more addictive. The Revolution disc is amazing though.

          The only downside is that, visually, there are no "new" parts. All the design work from Silent Line has been lifted into Nexus. Admittedly the stats are very different, for the most part, and the graphical engine has been given a major overhaul, but I wanted some fresh Kawamori designed goodness.

          More impressions after I have finished the game.

          Comment


            #6
            A lot of the bonus parts are new; Dragon energy gun, some of the cores, radars, smaller MGs, the midget plasma gun and midget GL. But it isnt the big change i went from AC2:AA to Silent Line.

            Similarly the style/gameplay isnt as big of a change, while balance seems a whole lot better (like arm versions of backcannons are always a bit worse) there isnt too much new fundamanetal changes. hangers dont make a very big impact really, and heat is just another thing to design for. But it does play really, really well. I think OBing might have been slapped a bit too hard, however i havent really tried to make a big OBing tank, which i'm guessing should be viable.

            Most silly/fun design i've done so far was an AC i dubbed "The flying brick-**** house". A really ugly tank, using all the best low drain parts with hover extensions. I could fly about (slowly at 200 speed) lobbing missiles from really high up. Air hang time was about 3 minutes!

            No-one else interested or got this yet?

            Comment


              #7
              There are a few new parts, but for a new standalone Armored Core game it is a wee bit cheeky. I also think the overall handling and the (logical!) modifications to heat management are quite a big change, especially so for newcomers I feel. It makes the whole experience that much more realistic and gritty.

              I have almost finished the Evolution disc and have been pottering around on Revolution too. Overall, I am really bloody impressed.

              There is some slowdown though, which is a crying shame. They shouldn't have rushed the release.

              Comment


                #8
                Some information on upcoming Nexus merchandise:

                Armored Core Nexus Original Soundtrack (2CDs)

                The music for Nexus is utterly ****ing schweeeet in case anyone is wondering

                Armored Core Nexus Operating Manual

                Not sure what this is. It could be an artbook or a player's guide (it is listed under the former of From Software's site however)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Cacophanus
                  There is some slowdown though, which is a crying shame. They shouldn't have rushed the release.
                  Yeah, and shouldn't taken the beta Online option out Generally no slowdown for me, apart from certain complex maps as i said before.

                  Well it looks like the Japanese have Nexus up and running online:
                  Originally posted by Naitoh's site
                  It is net opposition possible with nexus.
                  Http://acnx.zive.net/arena/
                  The link takes you to a site which has this to say (my comments in italics):
                  Sight explanation
                  As for here from FROMSOFTWARE sale,
                  Method of Internet opposingwith Playstation2Soft "ARMORED CORE NEXUS ",
                  And, レイヴン it is the sight which does the ranking management of the one which is registered(schedule)here. (lots of unhappy Japanese punters? you can register your wins to be ranked?)

                  Necessary environment
                  [ Hard(ware i guess) ]
                  PC (in OS Windows XP/2003)
                  PS2 (+ network adapter)
                  The rooter & DHCP function are operating story is advanced with prerequisite. (you need a router with DHCP)

                  [ Soft(ware) ]
                  SoftEther (hypothetical ethernet system)
                  IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

                  ....

                  Speaking simply, You connect to the local network which is in the place where it is connected to Internet, is far, Participating in the network it comes out and being something which comes, it does.
                  This time, you call "LAN to LAN connection", local network and network are connected, Using the method of showing to one network, it actualizes the opposition of ARMORED CORE NEXUS.
                  The link has more extensive instructions, you'll need a translator.

                  But pretty much as i had said should be possible earlier on this thread. Unfortunately i only have a Apple Powerbook, so i need an alternative solution. I've asked on game forums, hardened AC forums and Mac forums. I've emailed the developers of the tunneling software for the Xbox, and nothing... yay for "Think different" ft:

                  So any NTSC ACers (apparently just YOU dear Caco) up for Silent Line? If it'll work on UK telephone lines...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Silent Line could work via modem versus, but I am pretty sure it only supports the PS2 USB modems (and they were only ever released in Japan). I think the best bet is to hunt down tunneling software for Nexus.

                    Oh, and that Official Operating Manual is ****ing ****e. Thankfully Softbank have forewarned us that Nexus contains a total of 426 parts, which matches the number I have already attained. Yay me!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Cacophanus, i assume you will/ have reviewed Armoured Core: Nexus for this site?
                      If so, how does it compare to Silent Line?
                      Looking forward very much to reading it.

                      However, what do you make of this "Free Mission" bug?
                      Does it hamper the game at all?

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by geektanic weezmacht
                        Cacophanus, i assume you will/ have reviewed Armored Core: Nexus for this site?
                        If so, how does it compare to Silent Line?
                        Looking forward very much to reading it.
                        Both Nexus and Silent Line have a comparable parts list (over 400 parts), but Nexus is more balanced whereas Silent Line has a trainable AI function. In any case, Nexus is very different for an Armored Core game and the changes just make the whole experience that much grittier and more immersive. Naturally, I will be reviewing Nexus for NTSC-uk.

                        Originally posted by geektanic weezmacht
                        However, what do you make of this "Free Mission" bug?
                        Does it hamper the game at all?
                        Not really, after all it's just a stat issue (as in how many missions failed) rather than anything that affects the gameplay. I am baffled as to why the development team decided to go and do this however.

                        Oh, and inside parts can't be dropped in Nexus. Pretty logical that.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          From the Phantom Crash thread; i didnt want to sully that thread with more off-topic posts.

                          Originally posted by Cacophanus
                          How is the single player campaign in any way poor? There are almost a hundred very diverse missions with very disaparate types of enemies. I am still playing Nexus quite happily, simply because the missions can be attempted in an almost infinite number of ways due to the improved customisation (this helps to beef you up for versus too I should add).
                          The missions are find, good even. Though many are repeats again of the same old stuff, and i was hoping for some new genre-pushing ones. How about very large MT fights (as opposed to fighting large static ones), the ones on water are overly reestrictive, and very few mission fights against enemy ACs are useful for training for human vs action. Compare them to say AA's Zerm trio, 9B or AC1s giant MT for scope and excitment. And of course they do tire after a while.

                          But what i really was meaning poor in singleplayer VS for practice against real humans. The CPU AI is amazing bad; with the Free Arena matches limited to damage racing slugfests, and the CPU ACs available in VS, while having a diversity of maps, are again badly piloted and less effective designs.

                          What really grates is that its impossible to test how well your designs will function, because they do not seem to follow the heating mechanics you are subjected too; see top ranked tank ?OWL? where IF you manage to overheat him (which is amazingly difficult) he can still fire his energy weapons despite the fact he should have no energy.

                          Sure SL's top AIs cheated too (energy, AMS, weapon swapping) but at least they were fun. They should have either kept SLs AI maker (or done it more like MoAs ranker), though i hear the Japanese didnt like it, or had legal AI ACs with good designs, and make them all available in the singleplayer VS area (with all maps).

                          This is all of course my opinion, but some others agree with me: Kuroi Kenshin had this to say:

                          The thing that really gets me is, you're right, in SL it could still be fun to play against a cheating AI. In Nexus, despite the variety of design possible, it just isn't, or not for long.

                          It all ends up as virtually the same thing, despite the variety in designs possible the AI plays only one game, and the designers took steps to try and make sure you didn't get any ideas like not playing that one game. (damage race, ie kill the CPU before it overheats you) You're also either confined to crappy arenas or utter tripe in VS for opponents if you use VS so you can pick a decent arena location. Yeah, less variety is great, oh yeah...

                          It's become painfully clear to me that I play AC games over and over only when it's fun to fight the AI in the arena to hone my skills. MOA was still the best in this regard. SL was good but a bit annoying. Nexus falls painfully short, in how much fun fighting the AI is.

                          There's a few major failings of the arena IMO.

                          1. Player can't choose location - pointless designer taking away freedom from players. Lame. Don't put in any ridiculously imbalanced stages (parking lot) if they'll be unfair or too easy.

                          2. The AIs ACs suck and/or are cheating maniacs. If they have to include these cheeseball guys to spooge themselves, then include some fair ones for players who hate them, so we can ignore them.

                          3. The arena locations could still be improved a lot in general. Not enough variety, cover and size in general.

                          4. Playing the CPU does almost nothing to help your skills against a human. For me, this is the whole reason to have it in the first place, to then make it totally pointless for the purpose it's in the game makes it increasingly irrelevant.

                          I agree with SOD, in SL I only had two or three ACs I thought were fun to play and not boringly designed, and only one of those was top notch IMO. In Nexus I can make lots of cool ACs but don't have any AIs I enjoy fighting with.

                          Nexus is good for design tinkering as far as replay value goes, along with some missions especially Revolutions IMO. I get bored of missions 10 times faster than AI VS that is at a minimum reasonably fun. (SL) Nexus sucks when it comes to replayability fun vs the AI.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Zed
                            The missions are find, good even. Though many are repeats again of the same old stuff, and i was hoping for some new genre-pushing ones. How about very large MT fights (as opposed to fighting large static ones), the ones on water are overly reestrictive, and very few mission fights against enemy ACs are useful for training for human vs action. Compare them to say AA's Zerm trio, 9B or AC1s giant MT for scope and excitment. And of course they do tire after a while.
                            The MTs are no better or worse in Nexus than any other incarnation. Admittedly I would have loved to have seen Nine Ball raise his head in Nexus, but they had already done that in Another Age and more fans wanted a return to Project Phantasma than that of Master of Arena.

                            Subjectively, I still prefer the PSone originals but both Silent Line and Nexus are unimitigated gaming genius.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            But what i really was meaning poor in singleplayer VS for practice against real humans. The CPU AI is amazing bad; with the Free Arena matches limited to damage racing slugfests, and the CPU ACs available in VS, while having a diversity of maps, are again badly piloted and less effective designs.
                            The Arena AI just does one thing; it tries to kill you. I know there are complaints about the damage race nature of Nexus, but Master of Arena was no better (probably worse, due to the ridiculous stun effects). In any case, there is a work around for this.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            What really grates is that its impossible to test how well your designs will function, because they do not seem to follow the heating mechanics you are subjected too; see top ranked tank ?OWL? where IF you manage to overheat him (which is amazingly difficult) he can still fire his energy weapons despite the fact he should have no energy.
                            Kyokaningen should have been pulled entirely from Nexus. The fact that heat plays such a large role now, to have enemies that can shrug that problem off does seem somewhat of an oversight. That being said, this brutality does make one a better player.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            Sure SL's top AIs cheated too (energy, AMS, weapon swapping) but at least they were fun. They should have either kept SLs AI maker (or done it more like MoAs ranker), though i hear the Japanese didnt like it, or had legal AI ACs with good designs, and make them all available in the singleplayer VS area (with all maps).
                            Well, you can enter Versus and select your own maps and AI opponents (this is what I do normally). This is good practice, though I kinda like being hammered by kyokaningen opponents and learning from that.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            This is all of course my opinion, but some others agree with me: Kuroi Kenshin had this to say:

                            The thing that really gets me is, you're right, in SL it could still be fun to play against a cheating AI. In Nexus, despite the variety of design possible, it just isn't, or not for long.

                            It all ends up as virtually the same thing, despite the variety in designs possible the AI plays only one game, and the designers took steps to try and make sure you didn't get any ideas like not playing that one game. (damage race, ie kill the CPU before it overheats you) You're also either confined to crappy arenas or utter tripe in VS for opponents if you use VS so you can pick a decent arena location. Yeah, less variety is great, oh yeah...

                            It's become painfully clear to me that I play AC games over and over only when it's fun to fight the AI in the arena to hone my skills. MOA was still the best in this regard. SL was good but a bit annoying. Nexus falls painfully short, in how much fun fighting the AI is.
                            The AI is based on the From Software testers though, and those haven't changed since Another Age. The difference is that Nexus leaves no room for error on the higher skill levels (after all there are easy arena opponents in Nexus). This is more to do with the increased shot speed and tracking rather than AI.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            1. Player can't choose location - pointless designer taking away freedom from players. Lame. Don't put in any ridiculously imbalanced stages (parking lot) if they'll be unfair or too easy.
                            Like I said, the versus mode has selectable maps and, in anycase, tournaments don't allow the player to select maps.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            2. The AIs ACs suck and/or are cheating maniacs. If they have to include these cheeseball guys to spooge themselves, then include some fair ones for players who hate them, so we can ignore them.
                            There are non-kyokaningen ACs, but they are relatively easy beacuse you can overheat them and they have finite booster power. The issue here is that of having ACs decked out with kyokaningen in a game engine that massively rewards that. AI isn't really something to criticise, because the ACs are just maximising their advantage.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            3. The arena locations could still be improved a lot in general. Not enough variety, cover and size in general.
                            Like I said, there are loads of versus maps.

                            Originally posted by Zed
                            4. Playing the CPU does almost nothing to help your skills against a human. For me, this is the whole reason to have it in the first place, to then make it totally pointless for the purpose it's in the game makes it increasingly irrelevant.
                            I don't know, you do get very good at dodging and you can customise fights against three tanks. That firms you up quite a bit.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Is there going to be a PAL version and if so does anyone know when it'll be released?

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X