Some cool 1.5 exclusive screenshots (**As seen on TV!**)

[Graco]

For the record, I actually like IGAS's custom room backgrounds. The 1.5 RPD can't just be the same gray/blue, empty rooms -- that would be such a boring location to play in, and it lacks personality. I happen to like retail's RPD in general. For the most part it conveys just what you'd expect a municipal building in an old, isolated town to look like. In fact, some of the rooms even retain the character of 1.5's RPD, such as the East and West offices. The only parts of the retail RPD that I feel are "unrealistic" are the obviously ridiculous rooms, namely the library (1.5's shooting range is something you'd actually expect to see in a police station) and the chief's hidden dungeon. These places just wouldn't be in a police station, and that's what I always liked about 1.5's RPD. It was more "realistic" in the sense that it only contained rooms that would reasonably be in a police station.

Of course, with a game like Resident Evil, which is so heavily focused on exploration and puzzles, a completely modern and realistic location just doesn't work. Even 1.5's station has unrealistic elements -- who ever heard of a sliding puzzle with shooting range targets, or inserting something into the chief's diorama to get a secret key? There need to be gameplay mechanics in place to allow the player to explore the location piece by piece, by sealing off certain areas or forcing them to backtrack to newly unlocked rooms. The problem with retail's RPD (in my opinion) is that it didn't try to disguise these elements like 1.5 probably would have. I remember playing RE2 when I was 12 years old and even then I found it weird that I had to move library shelves in a certain order and collect four chess themed keys to unlock the sewers.

A decades old art museum doesn't make any more sense than modern facility for a Resident Evil game though. In fact, it makes less sense. You could make an argument if it had been designed that way from the beginning, but from what I understand it was just a simple attraction with nothing shady behind its inception. (though I suppose you could argue that Umbrella/Irons had it renovated) The problem with 1.5's police station was that the original scenario for the game hindered their ability to implement puzzles, secret rooms, traps, etc. which was resolved when Sugimura opted to have Irons be a crooked cop corrupted by Umbrella. Umbrella could have easily funded a new precinct for the town implementing these things into the design plans giving a plausible explanation for the mechanics necessary for a Resident Evil game. The change of concept to the museum was unnecessary and a matter of personal preference by the development team.

1.5 does a much better job of making the gameplay elements "blend in" and seem like they're a normal part of the location. Retail makes you unlock rooms with keys designed after playing card suites (reminiscent of the first game's sword/shield/armor/helmet keys), while 1.5 uses coloured keycards -- something that makes a little more "sense" in a real world location in the middle of a city. So long as IGAS sticks by this philosophy, I'm happy

I appreciated this and the change to medicines as well, among other things. It gave the game a little more individuality where as retail feels more like "if it ain't broke don't fix it" in comparison to several aspects of 1.5 when looking at RE1 as a base.

Off topic a little: is it just me, or does the pacing feel a little more logical in 1.5 than it does in retail? I've been playing through the MZD build, moving through rooms in the order that you'd visit them in game, and the progression from RPD > Sewers > Factory > Lab seems much more natural in 1.5. 1.5's RPD is quite small, but it seems like the locations are similar to the first game in that you'd spend a comparable chunk of time in each one. The sewers and factory are actually decent sized locations in their own right with their own puzzles and exploration to experience, while in retail they're just areas you briefly pass through on your way to the lab. Once you leave the RPD in retail, it feels like you're just sprinting to the end of the game, whereas when you climb out of 1.5's sewers into the factory yard (for example), it looks and feels like you've arrived in a whole new area that you now have to explore.

I always found it funny in retail when you get to the marshalling yard and you pick up the "Dead Factory Map" on the wall. Why is that map even necessary? The factory in retail is literally a linear progression through four rooms. It's like they originally intended there to be more of it (enough to warrant hiding a map of it somewhere) but ended up stripping most of it out. In my opinion, that really hurt the pacing.

Agreed completely, and one of my chief complaints of changes during the transition. While they did a good job of never peaking before the end of the game it would have benefited from having a more evenly paced progression. The factory had so much abandoned potential and it's a shame.

[Guest]

Not to mention the fact that you get the map after leaving that maps area. To make it even more weird is that they are linear paths. You must go through all rooms before getting the map. Same with the sewers for an extent. I guess their mentality to leave it in was so if the player just so happens to choose the correct turns to leave each of the two corridors, they can see on the map that the other pathways lead to dead ends.

I beg to differ retail being twice the size. Since the lobby of 1.5 is only 1 floor tall it opens a lot more space for the 2nd and 3rd floor to explore. That triple floor lobby in retail is very self centered. Unless your referring to physical size rather than the amount of rooms the station has.

1.5 pacing is better, especially the fact that the sewers has a man hole exit that leads outside like how a sewer cap would. It does feel like that particular sewer man hole exit just so happens to be near a factory. When I first played retail I thought this so called "factory" was just apart of a traditional sewage system access exit.

Including the prisons the 1.5 RPD has 40 rooms, including the streets the retail game has 56+ rooms (more if you consider the prison and taxidermy room). In 1.5 the RPD is spread across Stage 1, where as in retail it is spread across Stage 1 and Stage 2. Retail is almost twice the size both in the number of rooms and intended Stage progression.

[Darkside05]

Jesus, 1.5 still bringing out the idiotic statements even a year after the team's work got discovered.

[Rick Hunter]

Two years now.

[Lanzagranadas]

I reached the train part in less than an hour on my first time playing the MZD build (playing slowly, searching every room and using debug menu only to get unstuck from "Air Jesus") I was in the sewers at nearly 15 minutes. Can't see how the unfinished 1.5 would have better progression and bigger maps than retail.

We'd have to wait for the final version to see how much backtracking, unseen before rooms and puzzles it has to confirm if it's whether shorter or bigger than retail.

[RetroRain]

I understand that one can be impatient, and not want to wait a long time to see screenshots, videos, and/or a demo of some sort, but you have to be patient. Find something else to occupy your time. Get involved in your own mod, or do some other project, or play some other games or modded games.

It saddens me the immaturity of the people on this forum, but I'm not judging anyone by any means. We are all capable of being immature throughout life, whether at some points, or most.

The fact is, a project of this caliber could easily take anywhere between 3 to 5 years to complete. We should be thankful and appreciative that Team IGAS is doing this at all. Remember what the acronym IGAS stands for. They are most likely a small team, I'm betting 5 or 6 people at the most. Resident Evil 2 took approximately 50 people to develop in a year's time (not counting 1.5). This is a smaller team, and having done some of my own game development from scratch, and the modding project I'm working on at the moment, I can tell you that it could easily take this team that time span I mentioned above.

I want a demo very bad myself, but I just put it out of my head, and moved on to other things. When the demo is ready, it will be ready. And I'm sure it won't disappoint.

I'm making this post to help people who are impatient about waiting to see anything at all, because I used to be like that as well. Get yourself involved in something. I'm currently working on a Megaman 1 mod for the NES, which I started back in October of 2013. It is basically enhancing the ROM to make the game much much better for modders, and it is going great. When you get involved in a project of some kind, you will feel joy. You will have fun, and knowing that it is your creation will bring you great satisfaction.

Team IGAS, thank you for all of the work you are doing. It is appreciated.

[News Bot]

Two years now.

Fuck me. I feel old.

[Ultimacloud123]

And imagine another 2 years till we get a demo/full release. I'd be an old man by then or be dead by the time I "beat" the game. I'm exaggerating of course.

I'm actually half tempted to do some modding myself and re-texture Barry and Leon and work on a Gaiden remake. Too bad I have have no knowledge in coding/scripting.

[Jimmy_Jazz]

This is going to sound odd but a couple of years ago I remember reading an online article on 1.5 in which the journo stated that one of the ways 1.5 was different from the original was that zombies would only die if you took their head off with a shotgun and would always get up from pistol hits.

I never read anything like this in the original previews and it doesn't look like this is in the released build so I think the journo in question is wrong, but does anyone else remember reading that information before (I can't remember the site it was on) or know if there was any truth in what they said (maybe an extra difficulty setting)?

[Rombie]

Fuck me. I feel old.

You feel old?

[Upaluppa]

This is going to sound odd but a couple of years ago I remember reading an online article on 1.5 in which the journo stated that one of the ways 1.5 was different from the original was that zombies would only die if you took their head off with a shotgun and would always get up from pistol hits.

I never read anything like this in the original previews and it doesn't look like this is in the released build so I think the journo in question is wrong, but does anyone else remember reading that information before (I can't remember the site it was on) or know if there was any truth in what they said (maybe an extra difficulty setting)?

I'm certain that it was the "review" of 1.5 that popped up on the playstationmuseum website in 2007 where this was first claimed.
My guess is that the guy never bothered to keep shooting at a Zombie and then assumed that they wouldn't die from handgun bullets, only fall to the ground.

The Zombies in 1.5 are bullet sponges, probably, because their health had not been balanced yet in our early build.
The PSM build was the same build that we got through team IGAS.

[V Venom80]

Been quiet on this board latey.So how many of u will try and speed run 1.5 if it ever comes out?

I see alot of people speed run RE 2 wonder if 1.5 would take longer or shorter to speed run.

Also what RE game is everyone playing in the meantime...im currently playing through RE 5 again on Veteran...Pro mode is way too hard lol.

[Renard]

Been quiet on this board latey.So how many of u will try and speed run 1.5 if it ever comes out?

I see alot of people speed run RE 2 wonder if 1.5 would take longer or shorter to speed run.

Also what RE game is everyone playing in the meantime...im currently playing through RE 5 again on Veteran...Pro mode is way too hard lol.

I can think of a few people who are gonna try to speed run it. I hope IGAS adds a lot of randomization. It'll keep those speed runners on their toes.

I've been playing Skyrim and Titanfall lately.

[V Venom80]

I can think of a few people who are gonna try to speed run it. I hope IGAS adds a lot of randomization. It'll keep those speed runners on their toes.

I've been playing Skyrim and Titanfall lately.

I said what RE games. Don't think those are RE games lol.

[RaccoonSurvivor]

Its really been 2 years since the reveal? Geez.. How time flies..

I wonder how far IGAS have really come..