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

[Alzaire]

On the subject of inventory's. Does anyone know the reason behind Capcom's overhaul of RE's inventory in 1.5 ?

They obviously went back to the nice, tidy and superior one that worked perfect in RE1, but I always wondered why they even bothered to change it to that cluttered mess we see in 1.5 videos and pictures.
I'm guessing they were probably just trying something new out and would most likely of put the original back in place when 1.5 was to be released.
Be good to have a real answer though.

Pffft, 1.5's inventory design was better, only slightly ahead of RE1's, whereas retail RE2's was worse than RE1.

[Marvin]

Pffft, 1.5's inventory design was better, only slightly ahead of RE1's, whereas retail RE2's was worse than RE1.

Actually I like RE2 menu more than RE1, but the RE3 inventory is da best. In every sence.

[braders1986]

Pffft, 1.5's inventory design was better, only slightly ahead of RE1's, whereas retail RE2's was worse than RE1.

It did look to have some nice touches but I'm a fan of the simplistic clean look of RE1's. I agree that RE2's was worse than 1's. 3D model viewing in the inventory amazed me back in 96. I was pretty annoyed they removed that in 2.

I guess it's down to personnel preference in the end.

[Lanzagranadas]

Uhhh.....the inventory would be there from the beginning. They started with basically RE1.

Could be in that case, if they started with the same RE1 inventory, however, like we see for example in BH1 Alpha and RE Revelations pilot version for example, both of them has no inventory, so apparently Capcom normally adds this feature in more advanced development stages.

Regarding the plot, the info we have is that BH1.5 story was not very good and because of that the scriptwritter didn´t approved. Anyway, apparently there are many common elements between BH1.5 and Retail RE2 plot, I mean, the biohazard outbreak, the RPD. William Birkin as the main boss, Sherry. I wonder if the G-Virus was present in 1.5`s plot or it was added later in the final script.

[Darkness]

Could be in that case, if they started with the same RE1 inventory, however, like we see for example in BH1 Alpha and RE Revelations pilot version for example, both of them has no inventory, so apparently Capcom normally adds this feature in more advanced development stages.

Regarding the plot, the info we have is that BH1.5 story was not very good and because of that the scriptwritter didn´t approved. Anyway, apparently there are many common elements between BH1.5 and Retail RE2 plot, I mean, the biohazard outbreak, the RPD. William Birkin as the main boss, Sherry. I wonder if the G-Virus was present in 1.5`s plot or it was added later in the final script.

It was. G-Vaccine is in the item list. So is T-Vaccine.
Sherry is infected with the G-Virus from william. Marvin is infected with the T-Virus from a zombie supposedly.

[Eteponge]

Regarding the plot, the info we have is that BH1.5 story was not very good and because of that the scriptwritter didn´t approved. Anyway, apparently there are many common elements between BH1.5 and Retail RE2 plot, I mean, the biohazard outbreak, the RPD. William Birkin as the main boss, Sherry.

With most of the *known* RE 1.5 Plot apparently being repeated in RE 2, I don't really see how the new writer really changed all that much significant in the "total rewrite", except to turn Elza into Claire Redfield looking for her missing brother (to keep another connection to RE1), inserted the stock "reporter looking for a scoop" we've seen a kazillion times in films and games, make a conspirator villain out of the police chief, killed off Marvin and Tony / John at the start of the game (and turned Roy into Marvin basically), and basically tried to make the game look and feel like a cinematic hollywood blockbuster zombie horror action film than a pure survival horror. It worked though.

I guess the original script was like a slow-paced scary Romero flick (comparing to zombie films), when the director and producer wanted a more action packed cinematic hollywood Dawn of the Dead Remake approtch.

[Dust]

Elza's bike?

[BiohazardFE]

Elza's bike?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7944[/ATTACH]

Wow, I never thought about that. It wouldnt surprise me, there's lots of little things in the games.

[News Bot]

With most of the *known* RE 1.5 Plot apparently being repeated in RE 2, I don't really see how the new writer really changed all that much significant in the "total rewrite", except to turn Elza into Claire Redfield looking for her missing brother (to keep another connection to RE1), inserted the stock "reporter looking for a scoop" we've seen a kazillion times in films and games, make a conspirator villain out of the police chief, killed off Marvin and Tony / John at the start of the game (and turned Roy into Marvin basically), and basically tried to make the game look and feel like a cinematic hollywood blockbuster zombie horror action film than a pure survival horror. It worked though.

I guess the original script was like a slow-paced scary Romero flick (comparing to zombie films), when the director and producer wanted a more action packed cinematic hollywood Dawn of the Dead Remake approtch.

A scenario is more than just basic event sequences.

[randomwab]

Elza's bike?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7944[/ATTACH]

Pretty sure Elza rode a sports bike, not a cruiser.

[SonicBlue]

Elza's bike?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7944[/ATTACH]

Elza's bike is something like this:



not that crap.

[Eteponge]

A scenario is more than just basic event sequences.

Yes. And the whole feel and atmosphere to the final RE 2 is quite different to what we see of RE 1.5 in footage and pictures, aside from basic event sequences. I do love the final product. They reused a lot of the same characters, events, etc, but the feel, look, and atmosphere is the most changed. And that more cinematic blockbuster feel you get while playing it, like you're actually *in* a horror action packed film of the year.

[RMandel]

Well, I've probably looked at the story end of RE15 a lot closer than anybody here save the high-up resident experts, and you're right in general - the overall plot is the same. The biggest changes came at the front end - i.e., the way the game starts and what assets you have/come across. Kamiya's original slow-start setup was jettisoned in favor of Sugimura's more condensed, faster-paced, cinematic approach - which was a better fit for what the higher-ups had hoped to achieve. This has been said before, but it's true - the way RE15 begins is too much like RE1. It's essentially RE1 in a police station, not a mansion. You start with nothing and knowing nothing, and having to put the pieces together from there. With RE2 you start knowing everything - well, everything you need to know about the situation that Leon and Claire are now in. You even start with weapons, and (fairly quickly) get access to more and extra ammo. Less mysterious and more action-oriented. The plot's being driven a lot faster in the way RE2 starts, whereas in RE15 it starts at a slow crawl and gradually builds.

Then there's the issue of the NPCs. Sugimura's revised story kept only those NPCs that were truly essential to the story (Linda/Ada, Sherry, Annette), reduced most of the others to glorified cameos (John, Marvin), and eliminated what was left (Roy) - those who were truly unneccessary. Any salvageable story material from the latter two cuts/rewrites was generally farmed out to the surviving NPCs or rewritten. Take Roy, for example. Marvin essentially becomes Roy in RE2, with only his character and his death scene having been saved from RE15 (I have my own theories about that). Same for John. Linda/Ada, Annette, and Sherry were the only NPCs that remained essentially untouched, storywise, because they're key to the story. That didn't save them from further revisions, though. Annette went from a loving mother to a bitch, Sherry got a costume change and got some of her side quests reduced/rewritten, and Linda/Ada probably went through the most drastic changes of all - in order to fit the new and faster-paced story concept. Speaking of Linda/Ada (and I'm deliberately mentioning the original name for the character, per the artwork notation), think about her from a storyteller's point of view. Most people wouldn't give a flip about her as another researcher. She's at best (!) an Annette clone with short black hair. Make her mysterious, though - an industrial spy - and give her a wardrobe change, and voila! Ada Wong as we know her today, and most of us wouldn't have her any other way.

The one NPC whose part got substantially rewritten and even expanded was Chief Irons. In RE15, he's essentially another Roy. He provides needed information and then dies. He's forgettable. I think most of here would agree that RE2's revised Chief Irons was a brilliant touch on Sugimura's part. To do that, many of the "mystery" aspects that were part of the main plot of RE15 were transferred to him in subplot form. He becomes an anti-John, to borrow an RE15 example. Instead of trying to help the situation, he's been actively trying to destroy it - and ultimately pays the price for it. Brilliant move on Sugimura's part, IMHO.

I've deliberately held out John for the last. He's the most mysterious figure of all the NPCs in RE15. The way he looks is just a cover. According to the original game development notes, HE is the mystery figure behind the scenes. He actually works for Umbrella. He regrets what's happened. That's why he's trying to help Elza out. When he got reduced to a cameo as the gunshop owner (AND the infected trucker, if you look carefully at the RE2 opening cinema), his "mystery" aspects were transferred to Ada. That was a perfectly sensible move, given the way Sugimura rewrote her character. That's where the "spy" aspect of Ada comes. It was originally part of John's backstory (Robert Kendo in RE2). And as I mentioned earlier, Chief Irons in RE2 is a sort of "anti-John." The other part of what was originally going to be done with RE15's John was transferred - in reverse, mind you - to Chief Irons.

Now that you understand what happened to the story, most of the changes in the game should now make sense. Since there's no more "mystery" to solve in the RPD per se (what happened to the RPD?), we don't need the original design - which the higher-ups apparently didn't like anyway. We can make it bigger (upstairs), simplify the basement, make more old, gloomy, and foreboding than the original, rather clean (save for the blood), and more modern-looking RE15 design. We can eliminate or simplify a lot of the original puzzles: the various power puzzles (eliminated or simplified), the security shutters (greatly simplified), and so on. We can eliminate the Warehouse District level entirely because it's simply not needed anymore. The Sewers and Underground Lab are kept, but get minor reworking (and cutting of unfinished/partially working areas) and cosmetic changes. Monster and enemy designs are changed - and in some cases eliminated - to reflect the revised story and reworked/simplified levels. And so on, and so on, and so on ....

God, did I say all that? (laugh) I guess it needed to be said, and I'll sum it all up by reminding everyone that one of the main things that ultimately got RE15 killed was its story. At the risk of oversimplifying things, it starts at a slow crawl and then gradually picks up steam the farther you go. RE2's story starts at a dead run and keeps you running for quite a while before you get a chance to catch your breath. That's one of the things about it that has appealed to so many people, and has since been duplicated - to varying degrees of success - in later RE games. When a later game has started like RE15 at a slow crawl (RE4, anyone?), and made you "solve the mystery" as you go, it's often been criticized for it. "More action, less suspense!" the average gamers say. *sigh* It's the way the franchise has been trending all along. Not many of the later games have done it as well as RE2, though - and we can thank Sugimura's reworking of the original RE15 story concepts for that.

[Alzaire]

I've deliberately held out John for the last. He's the most mysterious figure of all the NPCs in RE15. The way he looks is just a cover. According to the original game development notes, HE is the mystery figure behind the scenes. He actually works for Umbrella. He regrets what's happened. That's why he's trying to help Elza out. When he got reduced to a cameo as the gunshop owner (AND the infected trucker, if you look carefully at the RE2 opening cinema), his "mystery" aspects were transferred to Ada. That was a perfectly sensible move, given the way Sugimura rewrote her character. That's where the "spy" aspect of Ada comes. It was originally part of John's backstory (Robert Kendo in RE2). And as I mentioned earlier, Chief Irons in RE2 is a sort of "anti-John." The other part of what was originally going to be done with RE15's John was transferred - in reverse, mind you - to Chief Irons.

NewsBot has already clarified that the John from RE1 was not the same as 1.5. He's just a civilian. The notes are of a sub-plot that was scrapped early on.

[News Bot]

The final BH2 had a lot more mystery than 1.5 ever would have had. The latter was straightforward pulp with no finesse. The plot was pretty throwaway and is barely enough for a single Outbreak scenario.

I've deliberately held out John for the last. He's the most mysterious figure of all the NPCs in RE15. The way he looks is just a cover. According to the original game development notes, HE is the mystery figure behind the scenes.

Nope.