Shattered Horizon

The minimum requirements are rather steep. Recommended are even worse :D.
 
Never heard of it but I could run the game at full graphics with no trouble. God I love my computer! :)
 
Yea, he did. It was more of an overview as to what to expect.
 
i bought it
25% off cuz id purchased one of their benchmarks, so only 15 bucks
ill tell u guys how it is
 
Biggest "problem" is 4 maps and only 1 gun on release.

If you can live with that, I'd highly recommend buying it ;-)
 
I found a decently objective review of the game: http://www.yougamers.com/previews/26247_shattered_horizon_beta_impressions/




By: Jarno Kokko Oct 23, 2009

A Bit Thin...

While Shattered Horizon succeeds in many ways, it is not perfect. Personally my biggest worry about Shattered Horizon is that no matter how you count it, it is a bit thin in content. Mind you, it is supposed to be priced accordingly and the gameplay is fairly strong even with the amount of content that is included, but the obvious question is - what are the plans post-launch to support the game and the community? All the really important parts are there with some truly unique aspects that make things entertaining, but as usual, gamers always want more stuff.

So I poked the FGS guys with this very question and got this back from the Marketing Director;

Our community is very important to us. For example, there are several features in Shattered Horizon, and even a whole level, which were designed and added to the game as direct result of feedback from our beta testers. After Shattered Horizon launches we will continue to listen to our community and support the game. We'll be making an announcement about our post-launch plans for Shattered Horizon soon.

And yes, it is true - a lot of good things were done during the beta and as far as levels go, "The Arc" was pretty much developed based on beta feedback, so if that is any indication...
Tech Bits

Fighting inside the "spine" of ISS, there is a ton of detail at the highest settings.

Shattered Horizon may not be the first DirectX 10-only game (I think Stormrise grabbed that title), but it is one of the first ones developed from ground up around DX10. That means it will require Windows Vista or Windows 7 to run simply because DX10 is not available for XP. Minimum requirements ask for Core 2 Duo E6600 / Athlon 64 X2 5600+ paired with GeForce 8800 GT / Radeon HD 3850. Not really that much by today's standards, but obviously a step above your average DX9 title.

Personally I played mostly using two systems - one with a GeForce 9800GTX 512MB and one with a GeForce GTX 285 1GB. Both with Intel Core 2 Quad (Q6600 and Q9650). On both systems the game ran without issues when suitably configured - Q9650/GTX 285 combo allowed me to max out all settings at 1920x1200 while the slower Q6600/9800GTX setup didn't quite manage that and "medium" setting worked out better. I think the highest texture settings actually eats up more than 512MB of video card memory when AA/AF is enabled, so cards with more than 512MB may fare better at maximum settings. Also, in my experience the video card is the bit that matters the most. Naturally this is all based on the performance of the last two beta builds - it is quite possible that the performance is still getting tweaks before the release.

It should also be noted that the game used to run a lot worse during the early days of the beta, so if someone tells you that you need a monster rig to even play the game, take it with a grain of salt. It may have been true two months ago, it is not true any more. A fast dual core and a good "midrange" DX10 card (9800GTX/GTS 250, HD 4830) will do just fine at acceptable settings, even if it may have trouble with maxed out visuals. Some have actually played on something as low end as GeForce 8600 GTS, even if such a card does struggle quite a bit.

At this time (at the end of beta) SLI was supported while Crossfire was still "being worked on".
Hey, This Is Different

The Moon - slightly worse off after a little accident, but it really gives a cool setting for Shattered Horizon.

Anyway, while Shattered Horizon is fundamentally "just another team-based MP shooter", it manages to stand out from the crowd with some genuine innovations. Zero-G is not just a gimmick - it really changes the gameplay, requiring a whole new learning curve. Luckily the controls are well thought out and help you adjust.

The other really impressive bit is the visual style. I can't recall any other recent game that has managed to capture the look of space - harsh lighting and dark shadows - so well. The only unrealistic bit I can think of is that the starry backgrounds are too visible compared to the NASA imagery - in reality reflected sunlight from Earth and from any nearby objects would drown out the stars from the view - but I guess a pitch black background wouldn't work in practice. In every other way Shattered Horizon is visually probably the closest thing to "being there".

So, not perfect but a very impressive and decisively unique multiplayer shooter. Can't really comment on the value side as final price has not yet been announced, but if priced right, even the "lack of content" (as far as we got to see during beta) is not really a huge deal - I'll take innovative gameplay over dozens of useless toys any day. In summary, not bad for a small development team working on their first game, not bad at all.


Want to know if your PC runs Shattered Horizon? Try our Game-o-Meter
To see the game in action, check out the "Raid on Moondust" Trailer
For more, visit the official Shattered Horizon website - http://www.shatteredhorizon.com
 
woot, 3 people have it now
seems like the above reviewer would've been quite satisfied with the $20 price tag, plus the preorder discounts
 
Also, they have said there will be free DLC packs with new maps and possibly weapons... moreover the preorders get to test them early, so it shouldn't be bad over time hopefully.

I just hope it takes off well in the beginning and doesn't die prematurely.
 
Did they say how many players the servers will support?
 
32 total, 16 per side.

Dedicated servers available on release.

I really hope this game takes off.
 
i hope it does well too, but it hasnt even been on steam's top 10 best sellers list yet
you would think if it was gonna do well enough people would buy it to get it on there but it isnt
 
A lot of people don't want to install Windows 7 / Vista just for this. I've seen quite a few posts like that.

I don't blame them... lulz.

The hardware requirements are also kinda steep for the general population.

Well... it might be another one of those games where 3 people play consistently and there's only one server up, but oh well.

Maybe in a few months if they do good DLC's and after a free weekend it might pick up - or when/if they release a demo.

Edit: Preload is on yay!
 
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