PowerSlave Exhumed Released

[xvertigox]

 

The day has finally come, Nightdive Studio's version of PowerSlave/Exhumed has been released! The game was originally released on PC, Sega Saturn and PSX. This new version by Nightdive strives to combine all the versions into a more feature rich and balanced game. It also has options that allow you to approximate the look of the original (including fixed point geometry for those wiggly polys) if you don't want the shiny modern look. If you want more info on the game you can check out it's store pages or the review below.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase from GOG

Purchase from Steam

Nintendo Switch

PlayStation 4/5 US & PlayStation 4/5 EU
Xbox One/Series

Edited February 11, 2022 by xvertigox
Added console store links, thanks Ed

[xvertigox]

I've been playing the game for only an hour but I'm enjoying it so far and I can imagine that will continue (I'm a slut for 90s fps but aren't we all). I'm playing with high res and no CRT filter so I can really get a good look at the sprites because I've noticed that they're actually quite detailed. It's also fun seeing the source for a lot of Doom mod sprites.

The game has metroidvania elements but I don't know if it's technically a metroidvania game because, from what I've seen, you can go from one map to any of the others, you don't need to actually run there. It's also not a hub system since you can go from A -> B -> D -> A etc. I'm not a fan of backtracking or being confused on how to progress so I'm curious to see how this game will handle that aspect.

 

On a technical note, can anyone explain the difference between the two lighting modes - subtractive and modulating? The visual differences are clear but I'm not sure on what it's actually doing to achieve those results. Sorry about how badly framed the example screenshots are.

 

Subtractive

Spoiler

 

Modulating

Spoiler

 

 

Edit: Having default values visible on slider is a nice touch (little yellow line)

 

Spoiler

 

Edit 2: Is there a way to turn autoaim off? I can't find it in the menu.

Edited February 10, 2022 by xvertigox

[Rudolph]

Sweet! And just as I was about done with another classic first-person shooter that involves fighting aliens in Egypt! :P

 

Joking aside, I am a bit confused about the "perfectly blending both the PlayStation & Saturn versions" part in the official description. Where there aspects of the Sega Saturn port that were deemed worthy of being included? Having never actually tried the Sega Saturn back when it was a thing, I was under the impression that it was generally a worse platform than the Sony Playstation. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Rudolph

[DannyMan]

True.

[Edward850]

1 hour ago, xvertigox said:

You can also purchase it on your consoles respective store

Nintendo Switch

PlayStation 4/5 US & PlayStation 4/5 EU
Xbox One/Series

 

12 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

Joking aside, I am a bit confused about the "perfectly blending both the PlayStation & Saturn versions" part in the official description. Where there aspects of the Sega Saturn port that were deemed worthy of being included? Having never actually tried the Sega Saturn back when it was a thing, I was under the impression that it was generally a worse platform than the Sony Playstation. 

Playstation cut back a lot of the level detail and some gameplay features to accommodate performance and it's lack of dual analogue sticks.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Edward850

[unerxai]

Combining the three versions into one is an interesting concept. I played the DOS game way back, but the Saturn version always seemed like the coolest one by far.

[Rudolph]

39 minutes ago, unerxai said:

Combining the three versions into one is an interesting concept.

I do not think the PC version was included in the mix since it is a different game altogether.

 

@Edward850 Ah, cool! Thanks for the clarification and also for the good work.

[unerxai]

11 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

I do not think the PC version was included in the mix since it is a different game altogether.

 

@Edward850 Ah, cool! Thanks for the clarification and also for the good work.

Oh I see. I thought it was the PC one too when I read "...strives to combine all the versions...".

[kwc]

I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention to release dates, I had no idea this was dropping today.
Congrats on the release @Edward850 and the other Nightdive dudes.
 

[Zaxxon]

Of course, here comes gmanlives with his obligatory rushed review :D 

[Daytime Waitress]

Really looking forward to getting into this on the weekend. Even though at the time I wasn't into FPSeses and I owned neither a Saturn or PSX, it's one that stood out for me in game magazines back in the day. Still not sure why something I never played left such a mark: I guess it's a mix of the vibrant palette and Egyptology being rad. 

 

EDIT: Caved and picked it up immediately.

 

Right off the bat, I love the '80's action movie/RotT-style badassery it exudes and the charge from Ramses him-fucking-self to acquire all the artifacts you need to defeat the ultimate evil. Remember when games built you up to want to take on the goddamned world right from the start? And then made you spend the first thirty minutes slaughtering popcorn bugs? lmfao

 

I'm also really enjoying the dynamic lighting on the projectiles from Anubis' boys. I can't overstate this enough: I have an absolute potato and some modern WADs make it cry, but here the lighting looks legitimately cool. I also appreciate it because the player hitbox is... yikes. Was that a thing in the original(s) - getting hit by stuff even when it was technically offscreen?

 

I can already feel that this is gonna be a significant adjustment process from Doom's finely-tuned gameplay. The canopic jars are flavourful as all get-out, but having to slap them twice just to pick up health and ammo is already a drag. And yet I'm definitely eager to see more past this first hour (and only wistfully wishing to be playing Misri Halek some of the time ;-)

Edited February 11, 2022 by Daytime Waitress
I boughted it

[xvertigox]

3 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

I also appreciate it because the player hitbox is... yikes. Was that a thing in the original(s) - getting hit by stuff even when it was technically offscreen?

 

 

Dude, the hitbox is ruthless..I'd love a mod to reduce the size of the players hitbox by ~33% (or something) and increase enemy projectile speed by ~33%. I've only played on normal and I'm guessing that on harder difficulties projectiles fly faster but I would really like the hitbox to be smaller. That being said, I've found that dodging projectiles by jumping above them is often viable, especially after certain items are obtained.

Edited February 11, 2022 by xvertigox

[kwc]

I assume the hitboxes were something necessary in order to maintain authenticity in the level design, as there are some puzzles with sprites/geometry that block progression, bypassing those would break the game unintentionally. 
Those large hitboxes do feel rather strange though, feels like there is a forcefield around the player.

Edited February 11, 2022 by kwc

[msx2plus]

i'd be curious to know about why some of the changes were made - the anubis enemy deaths seem to be the PC version (fall over) rather than the saturn/psx version (gibbing), things like that. is it a case of working with what's available, or something else?

 

it feels great and performs excellently, though. i'll boot up the original on saturn tomorrow to compare player hitbox business. it only started to feel especially wonky after i upped the FOV, it may have something to do with that.

[Kinsie]

33 minutes ago, msx2plus said:

i'd be curious to know about why some of the changes were made - the anubis enemy deaths seem to be the PC version (fall over) rather than the saturn/psx version (gibbing), things like that. is it a case of working with what's available, or something else?

Night Dive have historically taken a bit of a less purist approach to their remasters, blending together their preferred bits of each version of a game (ex. having both PC/Saturn spiders and PS1 scorpions in Powerslave instead of one or the other) alongside whatever tweaks and fixes take their fancy (ex. Lair of the Blind Ones in Turok 2 being made simpler/less famously horrible). Some of these changes are better than others (I can definitely take or leave those HD blood decals in Turok 2...) but they're typically more good than bad in my experience.

[Edward850]

1 hour ago, msx2plus said:

i'd be curious to know about why some of the changes were made - the anubis enemy deaths seem to be the PC version (fall over) rather than the saturn/psx version (gibbing), things like that. is it a case of working with what's available, or something else?

The key is both are used, so as to allow for more varied death animations. Gib deaths are now only used for explosives. Generally when we find we have multiples of something, we just include them all in different ways.

1 hour ago, msx2plus said:

it feels great and performs excellently, though. i'll boot up the original on saturn tomorrow to compare player hitbox business. it only started to feel especially wonky after i upped the FOV, it may have something to do with that.

FOV has absolutely no effect on your hitbox, the two sets of code don't even go anywhere near eachother. What you are experiencing is some kind of placebo effect. Player hitbox is just big.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Edward850

[CBM]

Pretty cool. Powerslave/exhumed (all versions) have always had a special place in my hearth! I did play the PC version mostly though.

[Wavy]

Been playing a bit of it on the Switch and I'm loving it! The affine mapping and fixed-point geometry options are small but add a lot to the games overall look and fele, which are the main highlights for me. So awesome that Powerslave gets to see the light again.

[msx2plus]

6 hours ago, Edward850 said:

FOV has absolutely no effect on your hitbox, the two sets of code don't even go anywhere near eachother. What you are experiencing is some kind of placebo effect. Player hitbox is just big.

oh yeah 100%, i didn't mean to suggest that. what i meant is that seeing more off to the sides just makes it feel like you're "bigger" when you're not. good to know that's just how it is though! and good call on the gibs - i didn't actually get far enough to grab an explosive weapon, it just caught me by surprise.

 

love the additional video options btw, the fixed point geometry looks bloody fantastic and the alternative lighting is super cool.

Edited February 11, 2022 by msx2plus

[Kaiser]

Unfortunately, the level design in this game is built around the wide hitbox. So changing it would affectively break the game.

[Gez]

So this version is now officially called "Powerslave Exhumed" to distinguish it from the Build engine original that's just called "Powerslave".

[Kaiser]

Also the Saturn/PSX versions were released under different names in the UK, which was Exhumed.

[amackert]

Very cool, glad to see this be released. Just snapped it up on Steam! 

 

Edit: Whelp.. There are no quicksaves as far as I can tell. Bummer. I was really hoping that would have been something added in this version.

Edited February 11, 2022 by amackert

[msx2plus]

oh yeah, i was going to inquire about a quicksave / save state system of some kind as well. the autosaves do happen semi-frequently, but being able to save and quit whenever would be awfully handy.

[amackert]

32 minutes ago, msx2plus said:

oh yeah, i was going to inquire about a quicksave / save state system of some kind as well. the autosaves do happen semi-frequently, but being able to save and quit whenever would be awfully handy.

 

Wait.. Does it autosave multiple times per level? I've only had a minute to fire it up so far but if there are occasional checkpoints then that's a relief. I just wasn't looking forward to having to do some of the late game stages in one swoop like in the classic console versions, heh.

Edited February 11, 2022 by amackert

[xvertigox]

After playing for a bit I've got a few suggestions, curious to hear what other people who have played think.

 

• Smart Y axis billboarding toggle - items that are spheres should billboard on the Y axis but not for most sprites. If you jump over an urn it looks really strange when it's still facing you.
• Subtitles for when Ra speaks - it's hard to understand him at times and it would be a nice accessibility option to have.
• Autoaim toggle - There's no way to turn off autoaim currently, I'm not sure why this would be omitted, it seems like there must be a reason?

 

Edit: I just tried playing with a controller and wow, this game(/engine?) has really, really nice controller support on PC. The aiming feels very fluid and free whereas I find a lot of other games, especially PC games, feel stiff and heavy. This release is very high quality, Nightdive have so fully hit their stride. I can't wait to see which game they re-do next or what their own IP will be like.

 

Edit: @amackert - Nightdive had added checkpoints to the maps. You can disable them in the settings menu if you wish.

 

Edit: I edited the OP to include this DF video, it's an illuminating watch, I highly recommend it whether or not you're playing through the new version or not
 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by xvertigox

[amackert]

3 hours ago, xvertigox said:

Edit: @amackert - Nightdive had added checkpoints to the maps. You can disable them in the settings menu if you wish.

 

 

Haha, I just finished the entire thing in one sitting, and yep, checkpoints are there! There were a couple of parts where they bit me in the ass, but for the most part I think it was a pretty good balance of being forgiving with deaths, but not being able to abuse the system/save scumming.

 

Great work overall on Nightdive's part, but what's new? This package is awesome. Easily the best way to play the classic console version of Powerslave.

[Rudolph]

10 hours ago, Gez said:

So this version is now officially called "Powerslave Exhumed" to distinguish it from the Build engine original that's just called "Powerslave".

It is a clever name in its own right!

[Wavy]

Just want to note that setting the Darkening Strength to 100% when using subtractive lighting creates these line artefacts. This occurs in the Switch version, but it may also occur in other versions as well (can't say much as I only own the Switch port).

 

Looks especially nasty when in low resolution:

Spoiler

 

A video of the bug action:

Spoiler

The Switch's egregious video compression doesn't help at all though, but it gives a rough idea of how it looks.

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Wavy
whoops

[Edward850]

Then don't do that. (Probably some division error that's occurring, I don't think it was meant to be set that low.)

Edited February 12, 2022 by Edward850