Outcast
Outcast is a video game that consists of 0 releases
Critically lauded but commercially unsuccessful in the United States, Belgian developer Appeal's swan song was ahead of its time and has gained a cult following.
Cutter Slade, interdimensional bad-ass
Overview
Outcast is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by Appeal and published by Infogrames. It was notable for its use of a voxel-based engine to create rolling landscapes without hardware acceleration, despite the fact that hardware-accelerated polygonal graphics were emerging as the standard at the time. The game also featured complex AI routines for NPCs that helped to develop the illusion of a living, breathing world. Despite widespread critical acclaim, Outcast could not fulfill Infogrames commercial expectations, likely owing to the engine choice, steep hardware requirements and the diminishing appeal of the adventure genre. A Dreamcast port was scrapped, as was a planned sequel for the Playstation 2.Plot
Outcast focuses upon the misadventures of Cutter Slade, a hard-luck former Navy Seal. A parallel world called Adelpha is discovered, and the U.S. military sends a probe to investigate. However, an Talan native of Adelpha damages the probe, unexpectedly creating a rift in the fabric of spacetime that threatens to destroy Earth itself. Slade is charged with the task of escorting three top scientists to Adelpha to repair the damage and save Earth.Awakening in Adelpha with the hangover of a lifetime, Slade finds himself separated from his team, and mistaken for the Ulukai, the Talans' messiah and savior. Finding the probe will require Slade to earn the trust of Talans across six different regions of Adelpha, and thwart the armies of the tyrranical Fae Rhan, who has utilized fear and prejudice to turn the Talans against themselves.
Gameplay
Outcast is an action-adventure similar which emphasizes combat, interaction with NPCs and platform puzzle-solving. While the game does allow for a restricted degree of free-roaming and offers side quests which may be tackled in different orders, the game's story keeps the gameplay fairly linear. A few game-breaking bugs punished players who managed to accidentally experience certain plot-points out of order, but these bugs were rare.Slade must earn the trust of the Talans, who live in fear of reprisal for aiding Slade in toppling Fae Rhan's forces, and must earn their trust by helping them with myriad problems, from locating family members, to cutting off supply chains to Fae Rhan's forces. During his quest, Slade gains access to portals that will wisk him away to other regions on Adelpha, each with its own climate and culture, from the rolling riss fields
Some islands are best left alone.
The action takes place in third person, utilizing mouse and keyboard controls similar to other PC-based shooters. Slade has access to a nearly limitless inventory, thanks to a backpack which miniturizes all items for easy storage. When not in the thick of action, Slade can imprint his essence on a crystal called the Gamsaav, which allows the player to save the game. This process takes a few seconds to activate, and will cancel out if the player is attacked, thus requiring the player to be careful when deciding to save.
The social interaction takes place through in-engine cutscenes, based upon dialogue trees. Slade's choice of approach can help or hinder him with some of the more skittish locals.
Adelpha's Regions
Despite Adelpha being a parrallel world to earth, the world itself is considerably different. It consists of six regions, each of which is seperated by large seas of water. Since these waters seem to be uncrossable the only way to travel to another region is through the use of a portal, which are called Daokas. Each region has it's own distinct landscape and the inhabitants all have their own, distinct, way of life.Ranzaar
This is by far the coldest region in all of Adelpha. Covered in nothing but snow and ice, and extremely low temperatures, making it impossible for any creature save the hardened Talans to survive there. This is also where the player starts the game and learns the ropes of controlling Cutter.Shamazaar
This is where riz comes from, one of the Talans' largest sources of food. It's also home to four temples, each of which represents one of the essences of the Talan.Talanzaar
A large dessert with only one city, Okriana, which also happens to be the largest and busiest city in all of Adelpha. The city is divided in different areas, called boks, each one with its own form of merchandise. A major portion of the side-quests are found in Talanzaar, and it's also here that you find out more about the obvious absense of women and children.Motazaar
Dry mountainous region where the Talan mine for the precious metal helidium, which the soldiers need for their weapons. Rivers of lava cut through the landscape.Okasankaar
A marsh-like region, with a small town by the name of Cyana. The waters her are extremely dangerous, as venturing too far will cause you to be attacked by sannegtas, which can be best described as mutated sharks of sort.Okaar
Dense forest housing mysterious temples and the crash-site of Cutter's ship. The region is populated by a primitive tribe known as the Oogoobar who do not welcome outsiders.Graphics
Outcast utilized a software-based voxel engine (similar to that used in the early games in the Comanche series) to produce its rolling landscapes. Superimposed upon the voxel terrain were polygonal buildings and characters, also rendered entirely in software. The game does not support 3D hardware acceleration.
The snowy world of Ranzaar, demonstrating the engine's light bloom and particle effects, as well as organic landscapes.
The developers elected to utilize voxel technology to create a world with a more organic feel, as polygonal technology at the time only allowed for rudimentary shapes and most 3D accelerators of the time were ill-equipped to handle additional particle and reflection effects. The voxel engine utilized by Outcast allowed for curved surfaces, depth of field and bloom effects, and realistic snow and fire particle effects. Perhaps most notible was the game's rippling water with refractive and reflective properties that realistically changed depending upon the viewing angle. Many agreed that artistically, Outcast was far ahead of its time.
However, the graphics did not come without a price. The game was only capable of running in two resolutions, with a maximum resolution of 512x384, below the 640x480 and 880x600 resolutions that were standard for the time. Even at the lowest settings, Outcast boasted hefty hardware requirements that required players to have the latest in processor technology.
Despite the advanced graphics engine, the game was nevertheless maligned by some who criticized it for its lack of support for hardware acceleration, giving some the impression that Outcast represented an inferior product.
Sound
Outcast features fully-voiced dialogue, which was still unusual at the time for action-adventures of similar scope. The voice acting was considered to be excellent for the time, as was the music, which featured a sweeping orchestral score recorded by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. The music was further augmented by ethereal choral arrangements and well-placed cues that matched the score to the on-screen action.Snow in Ranzaar is notable as actually sounding appropriately crunchy when you step on it, something which is not often found in games.
Miscellaneous
Despite poor marketing in the US, the Outcast website featured a wealth of bonus content, including multiple reels of outtakes and bloopers, the latter mimicking blooper reels that are commonplace fodder for DVD releases.The soundtrack was available as Redbook audio on the second CD, and was later made available for download from the website.
Based upon rather poor PC sales, a Dreamcast port was scratched. It is unknown how far along in development the title was at the time of cancellation.
A polygon-based sequel for the PlayStation 2 was cancelled when developer Appeal went bankrupt; unable to secure funds, the developer closed its doors in 2002.
Members of the Development Team switched from Appeal and founded another Game Development Company called 10tacle Studios Belgium, working on the upcoming title Totems.
General Information
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| Game Name | Outcast |
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| Original US Release |
July 31, 1999
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| Original US Release | know the real date? |
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