More Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut details, dev quotes
Even more Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut details have emerged. The latest information batch covers gameplay changes, visual improvements, and more.
Here’s the roundup:
– More than a port
– Eidos Montreal says it’s the “ultimate edition of the game”
– Eidos is working with Straight Right on the game
– Deus Ex’s boss battles were originally outsourced
– The three bosses have had their map layouts reworked to provide players with alternative potential strategies
– New hacking challenges are available to players who focus on hacking, and stealth options are available to those who focus on stealth
– Barrett’s map has been reworked to provide a second additional layer so Jensen can hide, forcing his foe to lose sight of him
– Energy system is more forgiving on Wii U
– Can have two energy cell recharge by default on all but the hardest difficulty
– Players can now use Jensen’s augmentation powers more freely
– Improved AI for enemies to include the tweaks made for The Missing Link downloadable expansion
– Enemy cone of vision has been retrofitted into the entire game for the Wii U version
– Missing Link DLC originally looked better than the main game since the developers were more comfortable with their tools when they came to create them
– Missing Link’s improved visuals have now been applied to Director’s Cut full game
– Includes better shaders and revamped lighting system
– New fog system that “makes the atmosphere really stand out”
– Choppy shadows are now smoothed
– Visual improvements not possible on the Xbox 360 since there’s not enough disc space available
– Anti-aliasing also wouldn’t work on the console but is in for Wii U
– GamePad ued for new augmentation called Neural Hub
– The game’s Smart Vision augmentation, which allows players to see enemies through walls, was extended and fused with the GamePad, resulting in the Neural Hub
– Use the GamePad to see enemy health, armor type (heavy, medium, or light) and loot
– Can use the GamePad to navigate menus, display the map, augmentation system, inventory, etc.
– Swipe controls
– Grenade throwback: equip a proximity detector that alerts him to a nearby grenade
– If an enemy chucks a grenade at you, the GamePad will vibrate, and you can swipe the touch-screen to pick it up and lob it back
– Touch screen shows Jensen’s radar by default, which is a sort of hybrid between the main radar and the 2D map
– Can open the 2D map on the GamePad and use the stylus to write notes that will appear on the main radar screen
– Use the touch screen for the hacking mini-game
– Weapons that have a scope (ex: sniper rifle) will let you use your TV to center your target, then enter a precision mode using the touch-screen, which displays the cross-hair
– Around 8 hours of commentary from Eidos Montreal
– Icons dotted around the world can activate this voice over, and you’re free to continue playing as you listen
Head past the break for commentary from Deus Ex executive game director Jean-Francois Dugas and game designer Emile Pedneault.
“We went through all the boss battles and said, ‘let’s just start from the beginning.’ So that’s exactly what we did. We took the whole experience Deus Ex gave you and we applied it correctly to the boss fights.”
“They have to die, but the fact is you’re not forced to go full-frontal with them. You can just use some of the devices or tricks in the rooms to eventually kill them without having to spend your own bullets.”
“One of the criticisms we received back with the original release was, it’s cool you have all those augmentations, but it’s like at the same time we balanced it in such a way that we don’t want you to use them!”
“It’s not balancing it to make it super easy. It’s still Deus Ex. You still have to make your choices. But we wanted to give you more opportunities to have fun with all the augmentations you acquire.”
“It’s much sharper. There are more nuances between the light and dark places.”
“It’s more powerful on the Wii U. Even some of the graphics that were improved already on the 360 for The Missing Link, we were able to go a little bit farther with the Wii U, just because of the hardware. In terms of the shadows, which are smoothed out, it’s much different than the Xbox version.”
“One of the first CGI trailers we did in 2010 showed Jensen’s vision turning into Smart Vision, and you saw an enemy with all this information. Now it gets closer to that feel, that wasn’t present in Human Revolution. We used the GamePad to improve the immersion of the game. We found that this touch-screen, the GamePad and everything, is closer to the vision of Deus Ex, where you are someone who is augmented and you have systems implemented in you that give you the edge in combat in all situations.”
“All the systems are now linked to the Neural Hub. All your maps, your inventory, your augmentation menu, your mission log, are now systems in Adam Jensen. You have the impression when playing that the Wii U GamePad is part of Adam Jensen and one of his useful augmentations. It doesn’t break the pace.”
“It’s a new console. It has a lot of new interesting features in terms of the controller. But also in terms of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, we had been talking for a long time about creating this ultimate edition where there would be new content and we would have a chance to revisit some of the aspects of the game. We thought with the release of the Wii U it was a great opportunity to do that, to take advantage of this new console but also create the ultimate package for the game.”
“We really did quite a lot to make this package very unique, and give the old fans who already enjoyed Human Revolution a new purpose to enjoy it again.”
