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Mortavian
February 15th, 2014, 12:38 AM
AKA the Predator game we've been waiting for since 1987. Didn't see a thread on this one yet, so let's get some conversation started. Feel free to correct me on any inaccuracies.

The Premise

EVOLVE is an upcoming asymmetrical first person shooter by Turtle Rock Studios, the development group that originally made Left 4 Dead. The basic premise of EVOLVE is that 4 players work together as a team of hunters tracking down a monster on an enclosed map, while a fifth player takes the role of the monster.

The Gameplay

Not a whole lot of details on matchmaking yet, but the idea is that each match will consist of 5 five players: 4 humans and 1 monster. The monster gets a small head start on the map, to run, hide, and find creeps (other random AI animals, monsters, etc.) on the map which the monster can eat to gain power and eventually EVOLVE into a newer, bigger, stronger form. The hunters come in a variety of classes (Trapper, Support, Assault, and Medic) and their goal is to track down the monster as fast as possible and kill the thing.

There looks to be a very strong element of hunting and hide-and-seek in this game. The hunters will track the monster by its footprints, by the carcasses of the animals it's eaten, and even by noticing birds and other animals being startled away from other parts of the map. The monster is, of course, most killable in the early stages of the game and most especially during the process of evolving into a new form, during which its supposed to be quite helpless. Of course, the hunters must also contend with the creeps on the map (which may attack the hunters and slow them or potentially kill them), as well as environmental hazards.

Win Conditions: Not entirely sure yet. It looks like the hunters' only goal is to kill the monster, while the monster can win by killing all the hunters or achieving certain win conditions on the map (kill all AI civilians, destroy a base, etc). This will probably change as development comes along. Speaking of changes, right now there seems to be only one map, one monster, and one character for each class in this initial build, but the developers have said that there will be more maps, monsters and characters as development continues. Possible release in third quarter of 2014 for PC, PS4, and Xbone.

The Pics

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Evolve_Trapper.jpg

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Evolve_Support.jpg

http://cramgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Evolve-The_Hunters-0004_1280x720.jpg

http://ic.tweakimg.net/ext/i/imagelarge/1391440556.jpeg

http://www.gamezone.de/screenshots/1280x1024/2014/01/evolve1-pc-games.jpg

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3983369/Evolve_-_Jan_First_Look_Screenshot__10_.jpg

The Trailer


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlaPT08Tmxc

Sweet cover of Danzig's "Mother" by an artist named Lissie in the trailer too, FYI. Other than Titanfall and Watch Dogs, this is the only other things that's really caught my interest for 2014, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.

Here's an additional video review and critique of the build so far, with a lot more visuals of the gameplay:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzWP05Jh0bg

es nes
February 15th, 2014, 06:01 AM
This looks interesting except the character design. They're modeling them for realism, but the designs are kinda goofy/not so serious/fit in better in boarderlands.

Yw-slayer
February 15th, 2014, 07:03 AM
Looks like it should be good fun.

Reynard
February 15th, 2014, 02:40 PM
I was coming here to start a thread about this myself. I knew nothing of it until this past Thursday and now it's right there with Alien Isolation as the game(s) I'm most looking forward to. If I didn't have a decent pc, this would likely be a next gen system seller for me. My only concern is what if the gameplay always works out to be that the first encounter between the monster and hunters, is the last. Being basically a "deathmatch upon first sight" game. Early enough & it's a quick kill for the team, late enough & it's the same for the monster. Somewhere in the middle and it's just a 5 minute (non AI at least) boss battle. I hope it works out where there are multiple encounters, skirmishes, retreats, healing, different strategies to try etc.

Mortavian
February 15th, 2014, 03:22 PM
They're modeling them for realism, but the designs are kinda goofy/not so serious/fit in better in boarderlands.

You telling me you don't love those muttonchops? :lol: As far as designs go, the only one I don't like is the girl. I know they have to pander to both the 13yo boy demographic (look, T&A!) *and* the female player demographic (look, a girl!), but let's get real. If you were going to include a woman on your team of testosterone raging badasses on a hunt for a five-story tall monster, you'd want a woman more like this:

http://unrealitymag.bcmediagroup.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/t2-014.jpg

:lol: To be fair, I actually liked the female character design in Left 4 Dead. Just kinda silly that female armor in SF settings always has to have that Ass Factor. Anyhoo, the sexy FPS girl panders to the kiddies and the muttonchops pander to the grognards, so at least there's something for everyone.


Being basically a "deathmatch upon first sight" game. Early enough & it's a quick kill for the team, late enough & it's the same for the monster. Somewhere in the middle and it's just a 5 minute (non AI at least) boss battle. I hope it works out where there are multiple encounters, skirmishes, retreats, healing, different strategies to try etc.

Your average online FPS match typically ranges between 7-12 minutes, maybe a little more, and I imagine this wouldn't be too different. The monster is supposed to have much higher mobility than the hunters, whereas the hunters only have one class that can "pin down" the monster to force an engagement. Seems pretty obvious then that a bad monster player who allows himself to get trapped is going to take a beating, if not lose outright, at the beginning, whereas a bad hunter team who can't pin the beast down and force an engagement in its early forms deserves the pounding they'll likely take in the end game. Either way, you're absolutely right: the juiciest fighting should go down at the midpoint of the monster's evolution.

Edit to clarify: Reynard, I think you're probably right that there will be multiple skirmishes. It would suck for the monster to get killed outright if it gets pinned down in the beginning, so I imagine the hunters' goal will be to skirmish early to knock down HP from a growing health bar (maybe?) when the monster levels up. That would balance out the midway battles. If the monster reaches its final form, I imagine hit and run tactics by pinning the monster down will be even more vital, forcing multiple small engagements. All just conjecture, of course.

es nes
February 15th, 2014, 06:00 PM
Lol, the female is the only one I like. But she reminds me of the girl from star craft ghost.

Mortavian
February 15th, 2014, 08:34 PM
I ain't gonna lie, I like a girl in armor as much as the next guy. Just thought she was a bit out of place with the hyper macho crew they're going for in this scenario. I'd totally be OK with a completely bromo-erotic group of muscle dudes like we had in Predator, but I realize that doesn't sell games quite as well as molded armor butt plates on a lady. :lol:

thesameguy
February 19th, 2014, 08:44 PM
Meh... she's clearly the medic in that image. She's probably not equipped for real fighting, and armor tends to get in the way of administering medicine. If the medic is always female, or only the female medic is denied combat gear then you've got something, but in an of itself the doctor not having enough barrels or steel plates doesn't seem like a problem to me.

Hopefully over time there are some gameplay variables... 4 on 1 seems to me to have limited life. I'd like to see bigger fights (10 on 3) or possibly better equipped humans in smaller numbers, or a mess of weak swarming monsters, or maybe some sort of infection/cure scenario where humans could be claimed by monsters and then reclaimed. That'd be cool. But just four on just one always doesn't seem like a key to long term enjoyment, unless you have just four friends in your life and you'd get together every week for a game... If only there was a game suited to exactly five people!

Yw-slayer
February 20th, 2014, 12:40 AM
Meh... she's clearly the medic in that image. She's probably not equipped for real fighting, and armor tends to get in the way of administering medicine. If the medic is always female, or only the female medic is denied combat gear then you've got something, but in an of itself the doctor not having enough barrels or steel plates doesn't seem like a problem to me.

Hopefully over time there are some gameplay variables... 4 on 1 seems to me to have limited life. I'd like to see bigger fights (10 on 3) or possibly better equipped humans in smaller numbers, or a mess of weak swarming monsters, or maybe some sort of infection/cure scenario where humans could be claimed by monsters and then reclaimed. That'd be cool. But just four on just one always doesn't seem like a key to long term enjoyment, unless you have just four friends in your life and you'd get together every week for a game... If only there was a game suited to exactly five people!

Well, the huge sniper rifle suggests "clearly not equipped for CQB", although this begs the question of whether a sniper can be an effective medic, or vice versa.

Mortavian
February 20th, 2014, 02:34 AM
Well, the huge sniper rifle suggests "clearly not equipped for CQB", although this begs the question of whether a sniper can be an effective medic, or vice versa.

Guessing in this game the medic is going to be more at the periphery of the battle waiting for her teammates to come to her, rather than rushing in to help her comrades. This is just conjecture, but given that the other three classes are Run-n-Gun, Shield-Defense, and Pin-Down-the-Monster, it seems like the game is going to force the hunters to use wits and tactics to stay alive (e.g. hunters actually communicating with their teammates, coordinating, and players harassing the monster to give their buddies time to withdraw and heal). So maybe we'll see the complete opposite of the CoD style of medic who runs out into the thick of action, revives a dead teammate, then jumps into the combat.

Kchrpm
February 20th, 2014, 03:39 AM
It will always be 4 on 1, with different kinds of monsters and different main characters with different attributes.

The medic is described as being needed to be constantly healing the team, not waiting for them to come to them.

Mortavian
February 20th, 2014, 04:11 AM
A sniper rifle seems like an odd weapon to give someone who's gonna be in the thick of it, but I'm sure there's a method to the design choice.

Kchrpm
February 20th, 2014, 05:21 AM
They wouldn't be in the thick of it (from what I can tell only the assault player would be willfully engaging in direct combat), medics have a "healing ray". I just meant that they won't be hiding out in a different corner of the map, waiting for someone to come up to them so they can throw a health pack at them or whatever. I'm picturing something akin to the medic+heavy relationship in TF2, where you stay back just far enough to not draw the brunt of attention while a bullet sponge fires a minigun.

http://kotaku.com/four-players-are-co-op-heroes-the-fifth-is-their-giant-1520094796


The classes all play very differently, and you'll have to dispatch with a full complement of the four classes: Medic, Assault, Support and Trapper. (You can't, say, dispatch with four medics.) There is simply no way to effectively fight the monster unless you stick to your class's designated skill: The medic must shoot a healing ray at injured party members, support must fire shields at the assault guy as he attacks, the trapper must smartly restrict the movement of the beast in order to let the rest of the team do damage. Teamwork is crucial, and communication is key. Without either of those things, the monster will destroy you, particularly since the monster player doesn't have to worry about either teamwork or communication.

I wonder what the supports fire shields will be like, but perhaps it will vary based on the different support characters.

GreatScawt
February 20th, 2014, 06:54 AM
There's an HL2 mod called "The Hidden". This kind of reminds me of that. Crossed with the Dota-style creep element.

:up:

Reynard
February 20th, 2014, 05:53 PM
But just four on just one always doesn't seem like a key to long term enjoyment, unless you have just four friends in your life and you'd get together every week for a game... If only there was a game suited to exactly five people!

Nonsense. You need not anyone else if like me, you're more interested in human hunting party slaying then monster hunting. :D That's one of the big appealing things when I first learned about this. Here's a multiplayer game that you can (hopefully) have a good gaming experience when you just want to play solo as well as when you have a couple of friends and want to do some co-op. Win win.

thesameguy
February 25th, 2014, 10:17 AM
Nonsense. You need not anyone else if like me, you're more interested in human hunting party slaying then monster hunting. :D That's one of the big appealing things when I first learned about this. Here's a multiplayer game that you can (hopefully) have a good gaming experience when you just want to play solo as well as when you have a couple of friends and want to do some co-op. Win win.

True, true.

I'm just a big fan of co-op games. I would have a really tough time putting together a reliable group of four people to FIND AND KILL YOU. :p

thesameguy
December 5th, 2014, 11:29 AM
Strongly thinking about preordering this game - but having a hard time deciding between the xbone and PC versions. I will for sure like the PC version better, I just wonder if the online bits will be easier to put together on PC...

Reynard
December 5th, 2014, 05:38 PM
If I get it it will be the pc version as I think I mentioned. The reason I say if is that I've got the Elite: Dangerous / Star Citizen bug at the moment and I think they may end up being my main games heading into 2015. After watching some gamestream videos from their open beta a little while ago, I'll probably be just watching to see what the longevity is for Evolve's game play once it's out in the wild. It certainly is a gorgeous game though.

21Kid
December 18th, 2014, 05:34 AM
Evolve tests creature features in open beta on Jan. 15 (http://www.joystiq.com/2014/12/18/evolve-tests-creature-features-in-open-beta-on-jan-15/?ncid=rss_truncated)


Evolve is doing another round of online testing to ensure a roaring launch in February, with 2K Games announcing an open beta to run January 15-19. The beta will test Evolve's giant goals on Xbox One with a curtailed selection of monsters – the "Goliath" and "Kraken" – along with 8 hunters and 12 different maps. (And as with all monster products, there's a premium: you must be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber to gain access.)

21Kid
January 15th, 2015, 12:17 PM
Evolve Beta Hits Xbox One (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/evolve-beta-hits-xbox-one/1100-6424668/)
All Xbox One owners with a Gold account can now try out Left 4 Dead creator Turtle Rock's upcoming monster-hunting game.

"There is no code required to play. All you need to do is download the 20 GB game from the Xbox Store and you're good to go."
All Hunter and Monster characters unlocked through the Evolve beta will carry forward to the full game when it launches on February 10. :up:

Yw-slayer
January 15th, 2015, 07:27 PM
I look forward to the reviews.

thesameguy
January 15th, 2015, 07:46 PM
It's almost done downloading. Somehow my xbone got turned off and it didn't start its download til I realized and turned it back on. I'm at 65%, probably won't get to play tonight.

Yw-slayer
January 15th, 2015, 09:39 PM
Cool. I am very leery of pre-ordering shit now, given the waste of money that was and is Beyond Earth.

21Kid
January 16th, 2015, 06:58 AM
My download took forever last night. I didn't even get to play it. Hopefully I'll find some time tonight/tomorrow.

thesameguy
January 16th, 2015, 09:13 AM
It finished about 11pm and I got about 15 minutes to check it out. I got some amount of the way through the monster training but no further.

Initial reaction is... disappointment. But I need to temper that with knowledge that I really don't know how the game actually plays. The monsters are GINORMOUS, and you play them in 3rd person. The result of this is that everything on the screen but you is tiny. I wanted to play Aliens vs. People, but you actually play like Godzilla vs. Tokyo. It's less... intimate than I'd hoped. The controls seem cumbersome - it takes two buttons to do just about anything - but they also give you a good amount of flexibility in exactly how you move. With time, they'll probably feel more natural. Initially I was having a somewhat hard time being precise. Of course, as a 50' tall monster maybe precision isn't your thing, so whatever. I smashed rocks, snorted fire, smashed living creatures into puddles and then drank them. I see how it could be lots of fun, but it's not the hell yeah I was rather expecting.

Graphics look pretty darned solid for a beta and the game seemed very responsive. Things broadly work exactly how you'd expect them to work, which is definitely a plus for getting going. :) I *sincerely* appreciate the opportunity to check it out ahead of time. I hope you can play the hunters in the beta, because I'm left with a quandary - since the monsters are so imprecise, I don't see an immediate advantage of a keyboard & mouse. The run->jump->climb move, for example, would be very difficult I think. Console seems the superior platform here. But, if playing as people has a more FPS feel I'm gonna want that kb+m interface. Assuming, of course, I decide to buy it. :) Not sure at the moment. More experimentation is called for.

Yw-slayer
January 16th, 2015, 05:33 PM
Sounds interesting, but an unlikely purchase.

The real test is whether it'll be 40% off within 3 months. Like Beyond Earth.

Yw-slayer
February 12th, 2015, 03:00 PM
After all that cynical talk, I discussed it with some friends and bought the baller $100 version off Steam last night. Haven't started it yet but may try and install it on my Surface Pro 3 for kicks.

GreatScawt
February 13th, 2015, 01:44 PM
So after being super salty about Destiny and how you end up doing the same thing over-and-over again, you chose to buy the ridiculously expensive version of a game in which it's foundation is built upon repetition a la DOTA. :lol:
I just hope for your sake there's the required depth for that to not get old!

thesameguy
February 13th, 2015, 02:40 PM
I am not convinced there is, but if I had friends I knew I could play with I would probably go for it too. I like coop games, and especially like team vs team coop games. Unfortunately I don't know those people and my schedule is too unpredictable, so after the beta I became convinced Evolve aint the game for me.

Godson
February 13th, 2015, 09:33 PM
I may by this game. But it will be a while before I throw the money at it. Point being, I need an xbone first and foremost. Honestly, I'd rather put that money to paying off the truck, socking it away on school loans, new motorcycles, and planning retirement.

Alan P
February 14th, 2015, 09:31 AM
Although I haven't played it I get the impression from reviews that unless you do work together then you're basically dead within seconds. Lone Wolfing is suicide and that's a good thing!

Yw-slayer
February 14th, 2015, 04:16 PM
So after being super salty about Destiny and how you end up doing the same thing over-and-over again, you chose to buy the ridiculously expensive version of a game in which it's foundation is built upon repetition a la DOTA. :lol:
I just hope for your sake there's the required depth for that to not get old!

There are many differences here. They haven't yet consciously fucked up the economy or players who put the most time into the game. The enemy AI will always be a human and will be difficult to use cheap tactics on. If repetitive, it's a bit more like Titanfall.

Yw-slayer
February 18th, 2015, 08:42 AM
Managed to play a few games just now as an Assault or Medic class.

This game is pretty great. Each class has its own abilities and there is really a lot to be gained from good teamwork and communication. Medic seems to be best for me, with the healing ray gun. Assault is OK but not that fun to play, surprisingly.

Very good fun, and at least the unpredictable nature of a human (or even AI) opponent/support means that you're unlikely to play the same game twice. Recommended, not necessarily at full price, even though in my biased opinion, I can see why paying full price is entirely explicable.

We were playing in a fireteam with 3 headsets, with 1 random other dude with no headset. That was good fun. I can tell that playing in a team of randoms with no headsets would be a recipe for disaster.

thesameguy
February 18th, 2015, 09:16 AM
I feel like from the humans side Evolve would be a lot like Team Fortress or CTF Quake or Tribes would be - barrels of fun given the right group, with communication being important. Back in the pre-teamspeak days we all piled into my office to play these coop games on fast internet and being in the same room yelling at each other was a huge advantage over people separated by distance with no good way to communicate.