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For those of you that have missed all the new information has been released for Red Dead Redemption 2 over the last couple of days:
Official Trailer #3
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Boxart revealed:
Screenshots:
Gallery
Gameplay details:
Rockstar recently showed several websites a hands-off 45 minute gameplay demo. While they weren't allowed to show any footage, they where allowed to give details and impressions of what they saw. (Bullet points and translations provided by http://gtaforums.com)
English Articles:
IGN:
- Arthur is the gang's "chief enforcer" and Dutch's right hand man
- This is "Arthur's story" - single protagonist confirmed?
- Arthur is made of muscle and provides the camp with food and supplies - he can "pick up a 5 point buck"
- Arthur can act as a mediator between brawling gang members
- Bill Williamson is whiny and wants to prove himself
- Arthur puts the gang first - they're family and the closest to family he's ever known
- Arthur was brought under Dutch's wing from a "young age" - age and circumstances not known - making him one of the few Dutch trusts
- RDR2 chronicles the "fall and fracture" of the gang
- Arthur is having an existential crisis
- RDR2 focuses heavily on player choice for the story and missions - " “We try to give you options within a lot of these missions to choose how you approach it, whether you'll send your buddies in first or whether you'll go in first,” says Rob Nelson, Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North, speaking to how players choices can affect interactions and missions."
- It is player choice how Arthur interacts with the gang - he can hunt and explore alone, or he can keep the camp fed and supplied
- Interacting with the gang can earn job and mission invites
- Unknown yet if these choices affect narrative, but they will affect gameplay, but cutscenes can change depending how much Arthur helps the gang
- Between Redemption and Redemption II: “It’s a companion piece,” Rob Nelson, co-studio head of Rockstar North, tells me. “They exist together. They’re connected. There’s a lot of connective tissue between the two stories and lots of characters that you’ve seen before that you’ll see again.”
- IGN saw a 45 minute demo - Bill needs Arthur's help on a small bank job in the town of Valentine
- RDR2 is technically a standalone and you don't need to have played Redemption to get the story
- Every NPC has a purpose in the world with work schedules
- Arthur's actions are connected to the world as Rockstar want players to live as him, not just play as him
- Home is the gang's camp, a living breathing community
- New gang members seen in the demo - Sean McGuire, Pearson (camp cook), Lenny, Karen
- Every gang member has a job within the community, such as cleaning clothes, collecting wood, which players will see happen naturally
- Gang spirits are higher if Arthur keeps the community well-fed through hunting or buying supplies
- If gang food is low, members get angry and start muttering about Arthur
- Camera doesn't cut away during interactions
- Rockstar is "blurring the lines" between main missions and side quests
- Missions and side questions are contextual i.e. depend on time of day and who you are with
- How NPCs react to Arthur depends on his choices in the world - each interaction offers a choice
- An example of choice seen when meeting an NPC was "Greet" or "Antagonise" and these dynamically change
- HUD was mostly switched off for the demo
- NPCs also react to how Arthur conducts himself within the world i.e. travelling with gun drawn or holstered makes a difference
- Farmers won't like Arthur travelling too close to their lands
- IGN witnessed Arthur looting from a nearby fisherman - fisherman's dog raised warning
- Arthur can choose how to deal with situations if caught stealing or commiting a crime - peacefully or forcefully
- Bounty for murder is higher than robbery
- Demo was set in an area called New Hanover
- Wildlife is rich - birds, deer, fireflies, bears, rabbits seen in the demo
- Horses are vastly improved - your horse is your companion rather than transport
- Arthur can bond with his mount - calming it when agitated, feeding it, grooming it
- Strong bonds with your horse can result in calmer personality
- Untrained horses are unpredictable
- Horses stay put when dismounting
- You can whistle for horse but only if you're nearby
- Horses carry supplies and larger weapons
- Different horse breeds have different personalities reacting to the environment and situations
- When hunting, Arthur can tie trophies to his horse or skin them first
- Skinning animations and sounds return
- Weapon seen in demo - bow and arrow for hunting
- Arthur can crouch when hunting
- Animal distress sounds are "brutal, bloody and exceptionally unpleasant" when hunting
- Dead animals left on the ground from the hunt decay over time so should be returned to camp
- When selling meat to butchers, you'll get more money for better quality i.e. less decay or less gun shot debris
- Other characters can ask Arthur what direction to complete the mission in
- Dead Eye returns and is mostly similar to Redemption in the demo
- The map is a large world sprawling from snowy wastelands in the north to swamps in the south with a city in-between
- No details of multiplayer were shared
Full article: http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/05/03/worlds-first-look-at-red-dead-redemption-2
The Telegraph:
- Arthur drops to his haunches to contemplate during player inactivity
- During the demo heist, Karen asks Arthur how to "behave" as a distraction
- A glimpse into Rockstar's perfection "“But the fact is, we don’t want to be better than anyone else. We want to be better than ourselves.”"
- Arthur can interact with every character he comes across
- There is no break between story and gameplay so players feel they are living as Arthur
- Players might find Arthur disagreeable at first but will get to understand him and his motives
- Arthur is a rough man but his actions speak louder and he has a moral "code" - suffering is unncessary if it can be avoided
- RDR2 has the honour system and affects the environment as before
- The world can be as hostile or as friendly as the player choses to play
- Every area of the map has a unique identity and seamlessly blends into one another
- Foliage has been hand-crafted and hand-placed
- Horses kick up dust, snow and mud depending on terrain
- Environmental sounds are vastly improved
- Flies can be heard buzzing around
- Arthur can find travellers on the road - lawmen, rival gangs, compatriots
- Some parts of the HUD were seen and it is completely customisable - all details can be removed
- Circular HUD map returns
Full article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/features/red-dead-redemption-2-exclusive-first-look-preview-comes-next/
Spanish Article: (Hobby Consolas)
- Arthur’s actions will have impact in story / environment.
- “An epic story about honor and loyalty”
- They didn’t talk about Red Dead being a videogame, “the landscapes have become places to visit”
- The environment is a completely organic ecosystem never seen before in a videogame.
- It’s the biggest and most dense map in all Rockstar’s games
- Arthur is the only playable character
- The footprints our horse makes can become puddles if it rains.
- The animal corpses will rot and the smell will attract predators.
- We will see how the railroad grows and connects more towns
- Arthur can be customized. Sometimes his clothes may change because the mission requires to.
- They saw Arthur with an elegant mustache (so it’s pretty much confirmed that you can customize your facial hair)
Full article: https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/avance-red-dead-redemption-2-ps4-xbox-one-exclusiva-198494 (In Spanish)
French article: (Jeuxactu)
- Point of view has been closer. Camera will change depending on what you doing (shooting, hunting, etc.). No words if the camera can be changed manually.
- Camps will need to be supplied with food, money, etc. More supplies there is, more the Dutch's men will be happy. If you don't provide what asked, it will be the opposite. This will not directly impact the storyline, but you will be rewarded if you do so.
- They will be activities at camps.
- They will be killcams.
- If you lose your hat on a shooting, you will be able to grab it back or you will need to buy a new one (it will not respawn later).
- You can go on houses, open the drawers, take the jewels. Jump on a moving train, rob a bag, etc.
- Hair and facial hair grows over time, you will need to cut them if you want. You can chose to cut only chin, moustache, etc. But if you do so, you will have to wait until they grow back to do another cut.
- No Native American.
- You can whistle to call your horse, but it will only work if it is nearby.
- Horses carry reserves and heavier weapons.
- Many animals are present in the game, including birds, deer, fireflies, bears and rabbits.
Full article: http://www.jeuxactu.com/red-dead-redemption-2-rockstar-repousse-les-limites-de-l-open-world-113716.htm (In French)
German article: (GamePro)
- New people will join the gang as the story progresses. Players can’t recruit new members freely in the game world (would not lead to bonding with fellow gang members, which they do want to encourage)
- Arthur Morgan is the only playable character
- The story is centred around Arthur but also closely linked to the development of the Van Der Linde gang (there will also be internal conflicts within the gang)
- The gang camp is a permanent retreat and serves as the player’s homebase
- With a press of a button you could talk with whomever within the camp at any camp
- The abovementioned interactions can/do lead to organic activities and missions
- Player’s horse will play a more important rule in RDR2 than in RDR
- Horse serves as a “mini hub” for various activities
- Game world is “much bigger” than its predecessor (How much bigger they couldn’t get him to disclose)
- In the New Hanover area people mainly live off livestock
- Game world is very detailed. Early in the demo a flock off sheep complete with dog and shepherd cross the road Arthur is on
- Arthur’s shoulder bag moved with each movement whilst he was on horseback
- How the horse will move will change depending on the surface area
- Arthur rides through a burned down forest in the demo hich according to the the dev is ‘uniquely crafted’
- Many dynamic events going on: At one point a bunch of people pulling up the walls to build a ranch were spotted. Which according to the dev may very well become a finished house later on. (real sense of progression of time?)
- Highlight of the trailer for them was the wildlife: with frogs leaping besides the riverbanks, ducks flying across the air and a burned down home infested with bats
- Animals will hunt / scavenge (for instance vultures will scavenge prey left out in the open
- There's a limit to what the horse can carry (no magical endless pockets)
- When pressing left trigger and talking to an NPC background will blur a bit and several dialogue options will appear: giving the player the option to threaten but also use other ways to compel the NPC
- Valentine (the setting for the bank heist) is quintessentially Wild West with a muddy Main Street and a sheriffs office, a saloon, shop and a bank lining the street
- Weapons selected via a weapon wheel
- Weapons can be upgraded
- someone in the camp plays guitar
- you can whistle to attract or distract animals and people
- the whole gameplay presentation contained no cutscenes, they were in control all the time, but it felt very cinematic and narrative-driven nonetheless
- there is a kill-cam highlighting great kills in slow-motion
- you can, even without deadeye, shoot a whole magazine in a few seconds (new gameplay mechanic)
- gunplay feels more mature and forceful in comparison to previous R* titles
- Sheriffs talk to you randomly if they suspect you will cause trouble and ask you to be law-abiding
- people will give you props if you have a great dead animal on your horse
- people may banish you from their property
Full article https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/red-dead-redemption-2-rockstars-beste-open-world,3329147.html (In German)
Italian article: (Everyeye)
- Set in 1899, at the end of the golden age of gunslingers, with cities starting to grow, natives brought back to order and the first cars coming from Boston and New York
- Arthur Morgan is the protagonist of this new adventure and he serves in Dutch's gang
- The premises with which the adventure begins are two: On the one hand the sense of defeat and the perception of the end; on the other, Dutch's obstinacy and his willingness to hold on, to start again, to return "fighting" because in the end "this is his nature"
- Arthur Morgan is a very prominent member of the gang and he shares everything with the other members
- The gang's base is a traveling bivouac that moves between various territories of the West, and in which Arthur will meet his fellow adventurers. Here we can plan train robberies, city banks raids, or hunting trips to replenish camp food supplies.
- According to the developer: "Come back to this area after a while and find this building completed and in operation", also adding "Red Dead Redemption 2's world is, in some ways, evolving, in which railways will be built and the towns will expand"
- It's not yet time to talk about Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer
- Animals' bodies must be picked up and brought back to the encampment in time, else they'll rot and attract flies.
- Rockstar is focusing alot on realism
- The horse has now a much more important role, as it can carry heavy weapons and animals' bodies, but at the same time we'll need to be close to it in order to call him by whistling
- "We wanted to do more, to fuel other ideas, to propose something really new, so we rewrote entire sections of our engine from scratch, working more consistently on an aspect that for too long had been 'stuck' on standards a bit outdated: artificial intelligence".
- Arthur can talk and interact with every single NPC that he can meet in the game world. Although we can't choose what to say, we can select our attiture towards them
- Arthur doesn't want to end his outlaw life at all, and this is why he decided to partecipate in the bank robbery with which the game begins
- Missions can take a different turn depending on how the player acts during them
- The aiming system seemed similar to GTA's, although the developer has confirmed new control mechanics.
- The demo ran on a regular PS4 at 1080p resolutom
- "The musical notes seem to change by taking into account an impressive number of factors, alternating melancholic notes at sunset with almost painful chords as we pass through a village destroyed by flames"
Full article: https://www.everyeye.it/articoli/anteprima-red-dead-redemption-2-vi-raccontiamo-epopea-western-rockstar-in-esclusiva-38572.html (In Italian)
@humanity: Pretty much. That's why I said to no surprise. @jjbsterling: No details have been given by Rockstar yet. All they've said it that the game takes place in "America’s unforgiving heartland." However, it does look similar:
To no surprise, (At least to me) Rockstar Games announced today that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been delayed until Spring 2018. Rockstar also stated that more game details will be released this summer. Along with the delay announcement, Rockstar also released 7 new screenshots:
Gallery
http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/60210/Red-Dead-Redemption-2-Is-Now-Coming-Spring-2018
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