What other retro fps game would you want to see remastered or remade?

[ReaperAA]

On 8/24/2023 at 9:04 PM, Artman2004 said:

The original Red Faction would really benefit from a remake.

There already exists Dash Faction, which is kind of like a source port that comes with many good QoL features that one would expect from a modern sourceport

And then there's also the RF Revised project in development. Being made by the same guy who previously made Kava (an excellent expansion pack of sorts). RF Revised intends to expand and improve on the original maps

[MrFlibble]

On 8/24/2023 at 10:20 PM, xScavengerWolfx said:

God seeing these models now a days is god awful.

I don't know, they look okay to me. Certainly not the best, I believe some of the game's contemporaries did somewhat better, but they're definitely not ugly and bring the characters across pretty well.

 

Of course, if the hypothetical remaster improves them without compromising the original look, I'd be all for it. But if it's more about completely reimagining the characters in a different, more "modern" style, I'm not sure I'd appreciate that very much.

On 8/25/2023 at 10:36 AM, Gez said:

Personally I'd say a remaster is an official port with real work put into more than just porting it to new hardware and OS. Having higher resolution or fidelity assets can be part of that work, but it's not necessarily the only way to make something feel like a remaster. Especially for video games where a few changes in the code can drastically modify the audio and video output anyway without touching the assets.

I just feel that the term "remaster" is simply used very loosely by different developers and publishers, becoming almost a buzzword of sorts.

 

In the past, there have been countless re-releases of PC games, sometimes not too long after the original release, which could very well be called remasters according to your definition. From what I know, this is especially true for technology transitional periods, such as the first appearance of VGA graphics, 3D accelerated graphics and the transition from DOS to Windows/DirectX. The transition from EGA to VGA would often involve complete replacement of the visuals (such as with Sierra's VGA remakes), and going to higher resolutions and accelerated 3D graphics could add interface/menu items redrawn at higher resolutions, replaced 3D models (which, IIRC, is the case with TIE Fighter re-releases) and upped quality of sound effects and music. However, these have not been called remasters back in the day, and there does not seem to be a reason to call them that now -- however, at least some of the recent re-releases of old titles seem to be gravitating more towards this kind of release, although with a bigger time gap in respect to a game's first appearance.

 

I would think that part of the problem comes from the fact that the very notion of remaster is borrowed from a different medium that has different standards and different expectations. Wikipedia defines a remaster as "a change in the quality of the sound or the image of previously created recordings", and a source port technically does change the quality of image if it increases the resolution (be it a 2D or a 3D/faux 3D game), even if the game assets are not actually altered in any way. I would not, however, call any source port a remaster based solely on this criterion. On the other hand, in the history of video games it was not uncommon that, for example, ports to different platforms would considerably change the visuals, like completely replacing all sprites and/or sound effects, while keeping gameplay and story (if present) very similar or identical -- which is not something you would imagine normal for a film or a musical recording. (For example, if a film was re-shot frame by frame with a completely different cast and then had a different soundtrack, I suppose this would result in two different films about the same thing, not two versions of the same film.) Thus we have quite different expectations of what may vary between versions of the same video game and what should stay the same, compared to cinematography or music.

 

That said, I'm inclined to call "true" remasters the kind of re-releases that preserve the original game mechanics to the point of 100% backwards compatibility while improving the quality of the original art and sound. That is, the art should stay as true as possible to the source material, and definitely not through the means of neural upscales alone. StarCraft Remastered, C&C Remastered Collection, Age of Empires 1& 2 Definitive Edition and Full Throttle are good examples of this. Bug fixes and QoL improvements are definitely something that is welcome, but the game mechanics should stay the same, like in a source port (although these remasters don't necessarily have to be based on the original source code).

On 8/25/2023 at 10:36 AM, Gez said:

A good remaster is made by people who are not just talented at remastering games, but also actually genuine fans of the game they're working on, and want to give it the treatment it deserves, including preserving its history and legacy.

Remember Warcraft III Reforged? I don't know the details but I got the feeling that it was made by very dedicated fans of Warcraft III -- it tells in how they reworked some of the campaign scenarios to better fit with later Warcraft lore, or how they added some purely cosmetic new models of certain buildings and other things. However, I don't think that, for all the good intentions and the excellent work of model makers, the result turned out to be a good game or a faithful remaster of the source material. So I really wouldn't count on genuine fans always doing the right thing, although of course in the case of C&C it worked out more than well, and kudos to all the people involved. But C&C generally has a very strong and robust community, with lots of talented and skilled modders and coders.

[taufan99]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:42 AM, SealSpace said:

That games seem like it has true potential to be remastered and remade. A game with such fluid firing or attacking animations and enemy sprites, damn...

The sad thing is that it was released many, many months after Resident Evil, by which time people mostly opted for RE for their dose of horror gaming.

 

Also, pardon me for not bringing this one up earlier, but The Hidden Below could benefit from a remaster, and I mean it a lot. My reasons are:

• The game has an interesting development history, which sadly got hampered by DOOM's release by early 1994 in Germany. You can read more about the game and its developer on this fansite here.
• Unique engine features at the time, including but not limited to; slopes, security cameras a la DN3D (albeit in monochrome and with noisy graphics), footsteps, and others I'm most possibly not aware of.
• The engine even got used for another (not so solid) FPS game, a Wipeout-like racing game, and even a top-down shooter (!), showing just how versatile it actually is.
• Last but not least, getting the game to run on DOSBox is such a nuisance, from having to install it first to occasional locks when running the game.

 

[SealSpace]

7 hours ago, taufan99 said:

The sad thing is that it was released many, many months after Resident Evil, by which time people mostly opted for RE for their dose of horror gaming.

 

Also, pardon me for not bringing this one up earlier, but The Hidden Below could benefit from a remaster, and I mean it a lot. My reasons are:

• The game has an interesting development history, which sadly got hampered by DOOM's release by early 1994 in Germany. You can read more about the game and its developer on this fansite here.
• Unique engine features at the time, including but not limited to; slopes, security cameras a la DN3D (albeit in monochrome and with noisy graphics), footsteps, and others I'm most possibly not aware of.
• The engine even got used for another (not so solid) FPS game, a Wipeout-like racing game, and even a top-down shooter (!), showing just how versatile it actually is.
• Last but not least, getting the game to run on DOSBox is such a nuisance, from having to install it first to occasional locks when running the game.

 

I've seen a vid of this game on Wolf3d modding server I go to near the end of last year at least. Seems kinda interesting, if shabby and worn-down.

 

This was one of the two games that I hope my best friend was actually bashing and saying it had ugly graphics last year instead of RoTT, but sadly no. It had to be RoTT instead of these two. :/

 

[Garlichead]

Time splitters, specially the second and third entry in the series. Recently played through them with the dolphin emulator. Thee map maker would be a perfect inclusion now that we have internet connectivity plus playing on couch coop would be a dream.

[Marmiteman02]

11 hours ago, Garlichead said:

Time splitters, specially the second and third entry in the series. Recently played through them with the dolphin emulator. Thee map maker would be a perfect inclusion now that we have internet connectivity plus playing on couch coop would be a dream.

 

Timesplitters really would have done well on PC. What with mods and all that.

[Bucket]

EA really missed the boat with the rise of the "hero shooter" genre. This is what happens when you give IP hoarders your money.

[Master O]

A remake for either of the Blake Stone games.

[Marmiteman02]

The Delta Force and Rainbow Six games (Rouge Spear especially)

[SealSpace]

On 8/27/2023 at 12:16 PM, Master O said:

A remake for either of the Blake Stone games.

 

*inserts random gif saying "Why Not Both?"*

 

 

[Lila Feuer]

This is asinine but I would of loved to see what Nightdive could've tried with Blood II and Shogo. Unstable engine and tons of cut content including expansions for the latter.

 

Also regarding Unreal it's honestly better to just assume Septic are fucking assholes now and are somehow ashamed at the idea of being attached to a boomer shooter in their company history and probably wanted everyone to stop begging them for another installment. The stylized U in UE logo is just that now, a logo, with no game attached to it.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Lila Feuer

[Rudolph]

14 minutes ago, Lila Feuer said:

This is asinine but I would of loved to see what Nightdive could've tried with Blood II and Shogo. Unstable engine and tons of cut content including expansions for the latter.

I remember playing SHOGO back in the days, but I have no recollection of experiencing technical issues. I guess I got lucky.

 

I did not know about the expansions either.

[Lila Feuer]

@Rudolph I mean it barely ran on the operating system it was designed in and was fussy with every video card that was out at the time with something or other. B2 was also notoriously buggy without its eventual patching.

[,,,]

2 hours ago, Lila Feuer said:

This is asinine but I would of loved to see what Nightdive could've tried with Blood II and Shogo. Unstable engine and tons of cut content including expansions for the latter.

 

Also regarding Unreal it's honestly better to just assume Septic are fucking assholes now and are somehow ashamed at the idea of being attached to a boomer shooter in their company history and probably wanted everyone to stop begging them for another installment. The stylized U in UE logo is just that now, a logo, with no game attached to it.

Out of curiosity is Unreal Engine 5 still based on Unreal 1 under the hood (like how Source 2 is still based on Quake 1) or is it only related to Unreal in name?

[Kyle07]

I would like to see the Duke Nukem Forever 1998 Quake 2 build in Night Dive's Quake II Remaster. :P

[Master O]

Descent 3 would also be a good candidate.

 

Apparently, the game's source code cannot be released due to licensing hell:

 

If anyone from Nightdive is listening, please remake Descent 3.

[xScavengerWolfx]

7 minutes ago, Master O said:

Descent 3 would also be a good candidate.

 

Apparently, the game's source code cannot be released due to licensing hell:

 

If anyone from Nightdive is listening, please remake Descent 3.

God that sucks, i don't know the legal side of license hell but i know the Friday the 13th game is going through that right now and man, seeing classic games locked behind a gate never getting to be free and have millions of people play it. Real shame in my honest option

 

[Rudolph]

1 hour ago, Master O said:

Descent 3 would also be a good candidate.

 

Apparently, the game's source code cannot be released due to licensing hell.

If anyone from Nightdive is listening, please remake Descent 3.

Eh. If Nightdive could manage acquiring the rights to System Shock, surely they can pull off the same miracle with Descent 3 again.

[Master O]

10 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

Eh. If Nightdive could manage acquiring the rights to System Shock, surely they can pull off the same miracle with Descent 3 again.

 

I would also hope that would include getting Interplay to GPLv2 Descent 3 so a proper source port could be made for the original game as well.

[P_A_Z]

A remaster of Thief : The Dark Project, it's a dream but we have mods like HD Textures on moddb for Thief Gold. It's already that.

[Master O]

7 hours ago, P_A_Z said:

A remaster of Thief : The Dark Project, it's a dream but we have mods like HD Textures on moddb for Thief Gold. It's already that.

 

A remastered Constantine.... now there's a scary prospect.  The Cathedral part as well.

[Marmiteman02]

Heretic/Hexen.

 

Timesplitters.

[Master O]

 

[Panzermann11]

Some more games:

• Return to Castle Wolfenstein, with the Xbox/PS2 exclusive content and campaign and the cut Enemy Territory campaign, preferably by Night Dive. And please, no censorship, either. Censoring Nazi imagery, especially for a Wolfenstein game is a sure-fire way to drive off fans of your game. Just look at Commandos 2.
• A proper re-release of Duke Nukem 3D with The Birth, Sunstorm's expansions and Alien World Order, with plenty of quality-of-life changes and the ability to choose between the original MIDI soundtrack or the remixed PlayStation music.
• Heavy Weapon Deluxe, with the improvements and features exclusive to console versions of the game, such as seperate controls for driving and shooting and boss rush. Also an ability to choose between original music from the PC and Xbox 360 version, or the metal arrangements from the PlayStation versions of the game.
• Much like Heavy Weapon, I'd like to see PopCap's old games be re-released to modern platforms with features and improvements exclusive to the console versions of the games and proper widescreen support, but knowing PopCap and EA nowadays, it's hardly likely to happen any time soon...
• A modern port of the first 3 Elder Scrolls games, with Skyrim-like controls and Nightdive-like enhancements.

Edited May 20 by Panzermann11

[Garlichead]

6 hours ago, Panzermann11 said:

Some more games:

• Return to Castle Wolfenstein, with the Xbox/PS2 exclusive content and campaign and the cut Enemy Territory campaign, preferably by Night Dive. And please, no censorship, either. Censoring Nazi imagery, especially for a Wolfenstein game is a sure-fire way to drive off fans of your game.

Not the same, but I recently played through the realRTCW mod. It adds x64 support, better graphics and some of the console exclusive content (monsters and some weapons). 

 

Make sure to check it out if you haven't already

[Panzermann11]

1 hour ago, Garlichead said:

Not the same, but I recently played through the realRTCW mod. It adds x64 support, better graphics and some of the console exclusive content (monsters and some weapons). 

 

Make sure to check it out if you haven't already

Yeah, I know about RealRTCW. I just wish the console campaign is ported to PC.

[Rudolph]

How is Forsaken? I know it was remastered and I am considering buying it since I did not have to pay for Quake II Remastered - because I already owned it on Steam. However, I am still not sure what to expect of Forsaken, since I have never played it before and I still have not managed to get a satisfying answer as to what it is. Is it essentially like the Descent Trilogy? How does it differ from the latter?

[Roebloz]

Wolfenstein 3D would be awesome in my opinion. There is a lot of potential for a remake of the original events of Wolf3D and given how simple the levels are, could really be developed into something unique and original. (Akin to BLλCK MESA for HL1)

[Rudolph]

20 hours ago, Roebloz said:

Wolfenstein 3D would be awesome in my opinion. There is a lot of potential for a remake of the original events of Wolf3D and given how simple the levels are, could really be developed into something unique and original. (Akin to BLλCK MESA for HL1)

In many ways, I would argue that Return to Castle Wolfenstein does just that, minus Hitler as the final boss.

 

Also, for some reason, Wolfenstein 2009 brought back Hans Grösse.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

13 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

In many ways, I would argue that Return to Castle Wolfenstein does just that, minus Hitler as the final boss.

How is Wolfenstein 3D comparable to RTCW in the same way that Black Mesa is comparable to Half Life?