Aske - yet another boomer shooter based on Quake

[taufan99]

From the itch.io page:

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Experience once again the first person shooter feeling in the same way you experienced it back in the '90s. A creation inspired by classics of the genre like Quake, Hexen, Unreal, and many others.

Aske features a mix of fast-paced action, blood, deadly creatures, and a varied weapon loadout including the blade, the assault rifle, the double-barrel shotgun, and the plasma gun. The dark environments carefully crafted and the industrial music along with the visceral sound effects by Romain Rope, set the perfect mood to annihilate everything that may get close to you.

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Currently the demo is playable in x86 and x64 Windows as well as MacOS.

 

A YouTuber trying out the demo:

 

Some screenies:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

[boris]

Looks pretty boring from a visual, gameplay, and level design perspective. The market ist really being flooded by those "boomer shooters" by now. And no, just using low poly and unfiltered low-res textures doesn't make a good game.

 

Also it's not based on Quake.

[Aaron Blain]

Is there anything interesting going on here, in terms of gameplay, or is this about having a fun theme? I skimmed the video but don't see what they're going for. I'm intrigued, though. I just bought Wrath and I'm thrilled with it.

 

Also - does my memory fail me, or am I seeing a lot of Quake assets? Not that I mind personally but it seems problematic.

[Bridgeburner56]

  On 11/9/2020 at 12:07 AM, boris said:

Also it's not based on Quake.

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It's definitely inspired by Quake. I was approached to make maps for this before Selewi decided they wanted to do everything themselves.

[Biodegradable]

This discount Quake knock-off looks pretty lame, if I'm being honest here. There's being inspired by something, and then there's just cutting off its skin and fashioning it into a gauche hat. 

[taufan99]

  On 11/9/2020 at 12:38 AM, Bridgeburner56 said:

It's definitely inspired by Quake. I was approached to make maps for this before Selewi decided they wanted to do everything themselves.

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That'd have been a good opportunity, methinks.

 

On the other side, I'm somehow fond of this game for whatever reason. Maybe it's the Quake 2-styled gore where you can gib enemies after they die. Though I also wish the game was more expanded, for example the SMG sound could've been a tad more satisfying.

[AtticTelephone]

I'm not sure if this will go very well, it looks pretty lame.

[Spectre01]

Looks like an alpha version of an amateur Quake TC. The purple sky looks like it's straight ripped from Quake and the model/animation/sound quality isn't on par with the game they're trying to imitate.

[Nevander]

Wow lots of shit being given for literally no reason. I think it looks great and I always welcome more shooters like this.

 

I completely disagree about there being too many games like this. You don't like it? Then go away and stop complaining about somebody making a new game they want to. Maybe a new Call of Duty would interest you more.

 

I look forward to playing this, as with many others. Added Aske to my list of revival shooters.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Nevander

[Artman2004]

What engine does this run on?

[taufan99]

  On 11/9/2020 at 2:50 AM, Artman2004 said:

What engine does this run on?

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Unity.

[boris]

  On 11/9/2020 at 1:35 AM, Nevander said:

Wow lots of shit being given for literally no reason. I think it looks great and I always welcome more shooters like this.

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On the one hand we have maps like Tears of the False God for free, on the other hand we have levels that look like the first test map done in Trenchbroom, that they (eventually) want money for... yeah, I'm calling them out on it.

[seed]

Not this time around baby, this definitely looks like "Quake, but much lower budget" to me. Sticks too close to it, looks, and also sounds boring.

 

I'll pass.

[Bridgeburner56]

I've seen lots of positive feedback from people that have played this. Play it yourself before you cast judgement. It's also ok to not want to play it (I fall into this category).

[ReaperAA]

Not really much impressed with this so far from the video I watched. The level design and the aesthetics don't do it for me. Modern Quake mapsets are far more impressive looking than this.

[lazygecko]

A recurring thing I've noticed in these projects is how the weapon models don't look nearly as good as the Quake 1 weapons. Their polycount seems lower and more simplistic, and also uses very pixelated low res textures smeared over the entire thing whereas in Q1 I think the models had noticeably better quality textures (they're meant to be right up in your face after all), and also better geometric detail on the meshes to help differentiate different elements rather than leaving that work entirely to textures over a simplistic shape.

[MFG38]

I do dig the Quake-esque low-poly aesthetic, but the gameplay and level design look pretty embryonic. From what I gather, it's just running around in relatively bland-looking areas shooting at shit. The only weapon that looks remotely satisfying to use is the shotgun. This one's gonna have to do something more interesting before I deem it worth the investment.

[selewi]

Hey hello everyone, ASKE dev here.

I've decided to register in this forum because it seems like I can learn a lot from you.

 

First of all, I'll take in consideration all your feedback about levels and I'll tell you this is an issue that I'm trying to address, this game is being made by two persons, I'm taking care of programming, modelling, texturing, animation, level design, and basically everything that is not sound related. One of the areas that I suck at is level design, you must understand that these are my first levels and that it's a process of learning/trial and error, my levels will (hopefully) get better at some point.

In the other hand, I'm dragging a lot of inspiration from Quake, but this is not Quake and I'm trying to create my own new thing here, otherwise, I would be doing a mod or maps for an existing game.

 

About the gameplay, please, consider playing the game because I've received some feedback from known people in the industry that told me that the player controller is really solid and engaging.

 

One thing I'd like to point out before leaving is that instead of being hostile, try to be more supportive. There's a lot of time and effort behind some games, devs that aren't being paid trying to do their best to make players have a fun time, and being constructive with them ends up paying off because they will bring a better product for YOU.

 

That's all, TYVM!

Edited November 9, 2020 by selewi

[MFG38]

  On 11/9/2020 at 1:36 PM, selewi said:

One thing I'd like to point out before leaving is that instead of being hostile, try to be more supportive.

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No one has really been hostile here as far as I can tell. Some of us just have fairly high standards when it comes to these so-called "boomer shooters", especially with how many games in that style have popped up lately. The low-poly style for one isn't everyone's cup of tea, and people in these parts aren't afraid to voice their opinions. But don't be discouraged by the negative feedback - part of making a game (or any other creative effort for that matter) is learning to take some things people say with a grain of salt. You simply can't please everyone.

[Aaron Blain]

  On 11/9/2020 at 1:36 PM, selewi said:

About the gameplay, please, consider playing the game because I've received some feedback from known people in the industry that told me that the player controller is really solid and engaging.

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See, this is exactly what I meant. I knew this game must have some goals in particular it was working toward. It was just hard to get a sense of them from the video above. Thanks!

 

Is there a blog or any in-depth reading material about the game and where it's headed?

[selewi]

  On 11/9/2020 at 2:56 PM, Aaron Blain said:

See, this is exactly what I meant. I knew this game must have some goals in particular it was working toward. It was just hard to get a sense of them from the video above. Thanks!

 

Is there a blog or any in-depth reading material about the game and where it's headed?

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By now this is a proof of concept, I have some ideas I'll chase but nothing is 100% clear yet, so there's still a lot of room for the community to give their own ideas and feedback.

[Noiser]

  On 11/9/2020 at 1:35 AM, Nevander said:

Wow lots of shit being given for literally no reason. I think it looks great and I always welcome more shooters like this.

 

I completely disagree about there being too many games like this. You don't like it? Then go away and stop complaining about somebody making a new game they want to. Maybe a new Call of Duty would interest you more.

 

I look forward to playing this, as with many others. Added Aske to my list of revival shooters.

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+1

 

If there's one thing that really bothers me on the internet is when people goes all negative just for the sake of it. It's even worse when it's shitting on an indie project that's not even completed yet. I really like the weapons and the low-poly style, my only criticism is that the maps looks a bit too much as Quake (brown castles, purple sky) - but the creator seems to be aware of that so that's great. I'm looking forward to it.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Noiser

[Aaron Blain]

I honestly thought the people saying it was made on Unity must be mistaken, because it looks so much like an in-progress Quake mod. Instead, what we're seeing is base engine work and an early proof of concept. Looking at it in those terms, the Quake-like feel, the movement and physics, looks good so far.

[seed]

  On 11/9/2020 at 3:21 PM, Noiser said:

+1

 

If there's one thing that really bothers me on the internet is when people goes all negative just for the sake of it. It's even worse when it's shitting on an indie project that's not even completed yet. I really like the weapons and the low-poly style, my only criticism is that the maps looks a bit too much as Quake (brown castles, purple sky) - but the creator seems to be aware of that so that's great. I'm looking forward to it.

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Excuse me?

 

Like MFB said above, some of us aren't easily impressionable and just having more of the same is not automatically good. No-one here was giving the developers "shit", we've simply voiced our opinions from what we've seen so far. And some of us think this game, in its current form, is not great. There's no point in even comparing it with other indie games that are completed or heavy in development as that would be outright unfair.

 

I'll watch it and see how the project evolves in time, but as it stands, it offers too little to stand apart from the crowd and it's too early WIP.

 

  On 11/9/2020 at 10:23 AM, lazygecko said:

A recurring thing I've noticed in these projects is how the weapon models don't look nearly as good as the Quake 1 weapons. Their polycount seems lower and more simplistic, and also uses very pixelated low res textures smeared over the entire thing whereas in Q1 I think the models had noticeably better quality textures (they're meant to be right up in your face after all), and also better geometric detail on the meshes to help differentiate different elements rather than leaving that work entirely to textures over a simplistic shape.

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I think I know why that is: Some of these projects are missing an important detail - that the games they're trying to copy may look crude and unsophisticated for today's standards and technology, but back then, they were high budget and very ambitious games. Quake, HL, Unreal etc, all of these were by no means low effort projects.

 

And simply tossing a bunch of low poly models and low def textures doesn't automatically make a game "retro". It needs to be done carefully, tastefully, and artistically, otherwise it turns into a lo-fi, pixelated mess that's hard to stomach, and that just isn't good.

Edited November 9, 2020 by seed

[selewi]

  On 11/9/2020 at 3:43 PM, seed said:

I think I know why that is: Some of these projects are missing an important detail - that the games they're trying to copy may look crude and unsophisticated for today's standards and technology, but back then, they were high budget and very ambitious games. Quake, HL, Unreal etc, all of these were by no means low effort projects.

 

And simply tossing a bunch of low poly models and low def textures doesn't automatically make a game "retro". It needs to be done carefully, tastefully, and artistically, otherwise it turns into a lo-fi, pixelated mess that's hard to stomach, and that just isn't good.

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Trust me, "tossing a bunch of low poly models and low def textures" is not tossing a bunch of low poly models and low def textures. Some of the models and textures took me more than 20 hours to make, take as example the grenade launcher.

 

 

There's a lot of love and effort in the project and it wasn't rushed at all. The demo took almost a year to be developed, there's a considerable amount of time invested in training, learning, and improving. It's not perfect yet I will agree, but it's not a bunch of rushed assets at all.

If you believe that today tech makes it easier to make cooler stuff than back in the days, let me tell you that you're completely wrong, art is a form of expression, nothing can improve it, you can have tools that help, but art is art, and doing it correctly takes time, training and it's a slow iterative process which I'm going through.

ASKE is NOT a low effort project, and there's a lot of research behind the scenes in order to make it feel welcoming to retro enthusiasts without sacrificing the benefits of modern tech.

[seed]

  On 11/9/2020 at 4:10 PM, selewi said:

ASKE is NOT a low effort project

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I never said it is.

[Noiser]

  On 11/9/2020 at 3:43 PM, seed said:

No-one here was giving the developers "shit", we've simply voiced our opinions from what we've seen so far.

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I'm also voicing my opinion, so potatoes. If you don't acted that way you don't need to feel hurt by my comment. I just wish to see more positivity on the internet as whole (EDIT: Probably not the best use of words here, my bad).

Edited November 11, 2020 by Noiser

[seed]

  On 11/9/2020 at 4:12 PM, Noiser said:

I'm also voicing my opinion, so potatoes. If you don't acted that way you don't need to feel hurt by my comment. 

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And I'm not, nice passive-aggressiveness you got there.

 

But I do think I have an idea what comments you were hinting at when you wrote that comment (so not just mine), hence my initial reaction.

[selewi]

  On 11/9/2020 at 4:11 PM, seed said:

 

I never said it is.

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Never said you said it!

 

  Quote

And simply tossing a bunch of low poly models and low def textures doesn't automatically make a game "retro". It needs to be done carefully, tastefully, and artistically, otherwise it turns into a lo-fi, pixelated mess that's hard to stomach, and that just isn't good.

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What I mean... ASKE was done carefully, tastefully, and artistically, it's sad I couldn't catch your attention, but I'd like to know your thoughts about WHAT to improve in order to make a better game, not just an empty critic on how every game looks based on a video or a few screenshots. If you didn't give a try to the game then you will find a hard time to tell me what's wrong with it.

 

I encourage you to give it a go! Trust me, will take way less time than it took to me to develop it, and your opinion will be really precious to me.

[GraphicBleeder]

  On 11/9/2020 at 1:35 AM, Nevander said:

Wow lots of shit being given for literally no reason. I think it looks great and I always welcome more shooters like this.

 

I completely disagree about there being too many games like this. You don't like it? Then go away and stop complaining about somebody making a new game they want to. Maybe a new Call of Duty would interest you more.

 

I look forward to playing this, as with many others. Added Aske to my list of revival shooters.

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It's not that we don't like shooters like this. I fucking love Quake, and Quake like games usually interest me, this just looks kinda lame and uninteresting to me. Maybe the creator can prove me wrong, I hope so at least.