Anyone notice lack of crosshairs?

[MidnightMarauder]

While watching the new Big Daddy video I noticed that there was a lack of a crosshair on it. Personally I don't think of this as a problem and think it would be cool to play a fps like this without one, since obviously in real life you would not have a crosshair floating around. But I can also see people being upset about not having one seeing as it would make it more difficult to aim.

I guess my question is would you guys be upset if there was no crosshair, or do you think it would be fine without one (our am I loosing my mind and there is a crosshair I can't see)?

[Uponemandus]

I noticed the giant text that said WORK IN PROGRESS ;)

[MidnightMarauder]

Well if you watched the first demo then you would have noticed the fact that there was a crosshair. Again I'm not complaining about a lack of crosshair I think it would be cool and hope the finished product does not have it because it would add a sense of realism.

Again I'll restate the question. What are your feelings if the game did not have a crosshair? (I'd rather play this 6:00 work in progress than over half the games on the 360)

[Uponemandus]

Well, if there's no traditional crosshair, I'd want a simulated reticule of some kind, like an 'aim' firing position I suppose. But I don't see why they would exclude it- of all the things to leave out, I can't imagine that would take long to implement. I'd imagine it's either left out to make the game look more cinematic, or because it's being worked on.

If they DID leave it out, I'd flounder around very much like the player did in the video, and be a bit irritated :)

[MidnightMarauder]

LOL yeah I did notice the player completely miss the Big Daddy a few times with the shotgun.

[Adabiviak]

They should leave it up to the player to have it on or off.

[Corgano]

They should leave it up to the player to have it on or off. That's exactly what they did for that demo I'll bet... She probably just shut it off so we could get a better look at things. I like the crosshairs personally. I'm not that great of a shot unless it's with a fire-ball or something where I can be off by a few. :) Crosshairs please. TY.

[Necros]

I guess my question is would you guys be upset if there was no crosshair, or do you think it would be fine without one (our am I loosing my mind and there is a crosshair I can't see)?
Did you notice that there was no HUD either? Should we start speculating about that too? :D They just wanted to show us as much as possible, so they've turned off everything. And because it's a FPS (FPS 2.0 exactly :D) it would be suicide if the crosshair wasn't be avalaible. But the option to turn it off would be nice. :) I wouldn't turn it off but some people might like it that way.

[jackinthebox]

Did you notice that there was no HUD either? Should we start speculating about that too? :D They just wanted to show us as much as possible, so they've turned off everything. And because it's a FPS (FPS 2.0 exactly :D) it would be suicide if the crosshair wasn't be avalaible. But the option to turn it off would be nice. :) I wouldn't turn it off but some people might like it that way.

i don't think it would be a big problem if a crosshair wouldn't be available, but i guess you can turn it on/off or they made the vid more cinematic... if there is no crosshair, you get used to it^^ it worked too in Red Orchestra...

[ComradeP]

As Necros already stated, there was no HUD and/or UI either. They probably switched it off, as some of the earliest screenshots show a HUD. Some movies also show a HUD when pistol ammo is being changed.

[Lucas78]

Yeah, well, as far as I know, HUDs are one of those elements which are changed quite often during the development cycle, from totaly overhauls to small adjustments. Beside the "wow" factor given by an "empty" screen, they probably didn't want to let us speculate on something that could be entirely modified in a short while.

[a rabid chicken]

I think that at the moment (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the game has NO crosshair. I think this also means there is no option to turn on a crosshair. There are ironsights however, judging from a recent screenshot. I think this is good, at least on the PC. When I turn of the crosshair in PC games I find that it is not terribly difficult to aim, but it seems, judging from the video, that with a gamepad it is rather difficult. I don't think this is financial suicide, because Gears of War had no crosshair and it sold very well. I think it would be really cool if the game had no HUD whatsoever, but I'm sure whatever the devs decide to do will be the right decision, since we have never even touched the game and they are probably all experts by now. I will be interested to see what they decide to do about this.

[Da Bubs]

there are crosshairs and a hud in the first gameplay video. they are probably turned off so you can see the action better and because they probably cheated. If you watch the first video his health bar is complelely gone at one point

[Necros]

I think the player should have the choice to turn crosshairs/HUD on or off. This way everyone would be happy. :)

[a rabid chicken]

Da Bubs, one of the developers (chris kline?) recently said that at the moment, crosshairs are OUT. They are not in the game in any form (assuming this is still true). This means that they are not "turned off." They are simply not in the game. Whether or not crosshairs will be in the final game, they were probably not an option in this demo at all.

[Uponemandus]

Could you please provide the quote?

[a rabid chicken]

I will look. It's on ttlg somewhere. I'll post when I find it.

[a rabid chicken]

I found the quote. It is AlexxKay responding to the question, "There are no crosshairs in the new stuff from the Spike VGA trailer. Is this indicative of the final game?" His response is "not necessarily," but it reveals that at the point when this footage was taken they were "out". Here is the quote:
"You shouldn't take any of the interface elements shown so far as "indicative of the final game". We spend a *lot* of time trying out different interface ideas, and the ones from the videos are already gone. Crosshairs have come and gone a few times already, and I don't know yet if they'll be part of the final mix."

[Uponemandus]

I found the quote. It is AlexxKay responding to the question, "There are no crosshairs in the new stuff from the Spike VGA trailer. Is this indicative of the final game?" His response is "not necessarily," but it reveals that at the point when this footage was taken they were "out". Here is the quote:
"You shouldn't take any of the interface elements shown so far as "indicative of the final game". We spend a *lot* of time trying out different interface ideas, and the ones from the videos are already gone. Crosshairs have come and gone a few times already, and I don't know yet if they'll be part of the final mix."

sounds to me like a whole lot of maybe.

If they do leave it out maybe there's another option- weapons are supposedly upgradeable...maybe you could fashion a crude laser sight or something- a flashlight on the barrel.

[Da Bubs]

if crosshairs arnt going to be in the final game that means that iron sights probably are and either way is fine with me

[MidnightMarauder]

Yeah I noticed the lack of the hud after watching the vid for my 3rd time so your probably right in that their just trying to make it a more cinematic experience. I still think it might be a cool idea to not have the crosshairs, but yeah it's probably, just missing for the video.

[a rabid chicken]

Midnight Marauder, have you seen any of the recent screenshots? None of them have crosshairs or HUD, so whether or not there are crosshairs or a more obtrusive interface in the final game, those things certainly aren't in right now.

[MidnightMarauder]

Yeah I notice that now. I guess I was looking to closely at the enemies and just didn't notice it. We will see what comes of this, but personally I think this a good idea. And having played Call of Duty games using the 'iron sights' should make the lack of crosshairs a non problem for all gamers. Of course they have plenty of time to change their mind since we won't have it until 8/21.

[somecut8]

Well there arn't any crosshairs because they probably took out the HUD in the video. As you notice, nothing pops up when you do things. Things like "push X to turn off" didn't even show up.

I'm willing to bet that the game will have crosshairs when it is shipped. However, I won't be surprised if the crosshairs is a customizable option, as in you can turn it on if you want - kinda like in brother's in arms.

I personally like crosshairs.

[ffanxii4ever]

As I would be playing it on the 360, i definitely want crosshairs, even if it is just a tiny little dot, not even the regular + sign

[D'Sparil]

I play games on both my computer (which is out of date) and my xbox360 (the system in which I reserved a copy), and aiming is ridiculously easier on a mouse and keyboard control than a gaming controller. This game would be very difficult indeed if you had no easy visual reference to where your shots would register in addition to hokey-pokey gamepad controls.

Huds are also the best when they appear only when nessessary; changing ammo or abilities, health increasing/decreasing, ect. and then fade to continue the cinematic experience. Its true that some HUDS can become burdensome and too bulky on screen, a visual eye-sore. But they also provide the player with important information and I'd rather not have to pull up a status screen or what not to find out whats going on.

[entertainer]

I hope there will be no crosshairs.

[v.dog]

I think a lot of the calls for no crosshairs are based on the fact that we don't see them in real life. What if there was an augemented reality plasmid, that improved your sense of self (health and plasmids), gave you the ability to count every single rounds fired off (ammo), and gave you the ability to have dead on aim (crosshairs)?

[Hatesink]

...maybe you could fashion a crude laser sight or something- a flashlight on the barrel.It'd be cool if you could find a laser pointer in some conference room or office and work out a way of fixing it to your gun (although I'm not sure when the first working laser was actually created).

According to wikipedia:

The concept of the semiconductor laser diode was proposed by Basov and Javan. The first laser diode was demonstrated by Robert N. Hall in 1962. Hall's device was made of gallium arsenide and emitted at 850 nm in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. The first semiconductor laser with visible emission was demonstrated later the same year by Nick Holonyak, Jr. As with the first gas lasers, these early semiconductor lasers could be used only in pulsed operation, and indeed only when cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K).

Maybe Nick Holonyak Jr, Basov & Javan or Robert N. Hall were invited to rapture where the combined input of all of the Rapture geniuses accelerated the laser's development. If there was a rudimentary prototype It'd probably look pretty gnarly mounted to a gun.

Either way I guess it's always good to have some way of triangulating the position of a target.

Its true that some HUDS can become burdensome and too bulky on screen, a visual eye-sore. But they also provide the player with important information and I'd rather not have to pull up a status screen or what not to find out whats going on.I found the HUD in Thief the Metal Age particularly troublesome. I'd always play in the dark (at night with all of the lights off) and would try to adjust the gamma so that it looked as realistic as possible (so that my pupils would have to dilate for me to see the details in shadow). The thing is, unless I played on expert and made sure that I always had the blackjack selected while I was sneaking, the health bar and revolving sword icon would always give me night-blindness. I took to covering the bottom of the screen, but the light emitted would still wash across the the bottom part of my monitor.

One thing I particularly liked about Deus Ex was the option to change the colour of the HUD, since you could choose a dark colour.

Another thing that bugged me about the Thief HUD was that no matter how many times I toggled the compass on it would always somehow get turned off again. I used to wish there was a box I could check on the game configuration screen that left it on all the time.

[pn18]

there's no CH because they switched the HUD off. And why did they do that?
they used god mode when they recorded the latest video and it would look a bit wierd when the healthmeter stuck at 100 HP

[Hatesink]

I'd hope that the trajectory of the projectiles follow that of each gun barell, so that the further away a target is the further left on the screen it would have to be for the player to score a hit. Otherwise it just wouldn't feel right.

RE4 is like that and the RE series is so archetypal that it's likely to skew perception of gun to bullet path co-ordination. I guess it's too late now, but the weapons would probably have to be angled a little more towards the right of the screen.

I'd like a Cyclorama/Panorama Plasmid, that curves the left side of the screen (or maybe even both edges) so as to give a fuller range of vision. Eventually you'd just adjust to it and it wouldn't seem strange (like you eventually stop noticing low frame-rates and just automatically compensate). Because It's a plasmid, it's optional and the reviewers can't jump up and down on it.

Maybe it could be a Fish-eye Plasmid, and curve the periphery of the whole screen.

[a rabid chicken]

Pn18, I've repeated this many times. There is no HUD. They didn't "switch it off." They did not "switch off" the crosshair either. At least in this incarnation of the game, and probably the current version as well, there are no crosshairs or other interface elements that are visible during normal play.

[Uponemandus]

Pn18, I've repeated this many times. There is no HUD. They didn't "switch it off." They did not "switch off" the crosshair either. At least in this incarnation of the game, and probably the current version as well, there are no crosshairs or other interface elements that are visible during normal play.

You keep repeating your opinion, which is different from fact. That there is currently no HUD or no crosshair means nothing- it's entirely possible none of the hud is being shown because it's still a work in progress- just like the hacking screenshots were quickly pulled when they were leaked.

If you're going to keep insisting something is true, you need to back it up with concrete evidence. You may be right and you may be wrong, but don't expect people to believe you simply on how often or how loudly you state your opinion.

[pn18]

Pn18, I've repeated this many times. There is no HUD. They didn't "switch it off." They did not "switch off" the crosshair either. At least in this incarnation of the game, and probably the current version as well, there are no crosshairs or other interface elements that are visible during normal play.

wouldn't make sense, because there are 5 different abilities mapped to 5 different buttons. nobody could ever keep every abilities in mind, because they will change very often.

[Da Bubs]

It'd be cool if you could find a laser pointer in some conference room or office and work out a way of fixing it to your gun (although I'm not sure when the first working laser was actually created).


shouldnt be too hard to work out, duct tape was around during that time period

[Raveness]

Hatesink, in the 50's it would be more historically correct to use the early microwave-based laser tech, or masers. Possibly a hydrogen based maser sight that continually discharges hydrogen atoms in a direct line of sight, probably at a small cost or reserved amount of Adam. The initial maser sights could be hydrogen or ammonia particles, and applying an upgrade gets you a better maser, be it Phosphorus or Rubidium based.

[Da Bubs]

Hatesink, in the 50's it would be more historically correct to use the early microwave-based laser tech, or masers. Possibly a hydrogen based maser sight that continually discharges hydrogen atoms in a direct line of sight, probably at a small cost or reserved amount of Adam. The initial maser sights could be hydrogen or ammonia particles, and applying an upgrade gets you a better maser, be it Phosphorus or Rubidium based.

I dont know nearly as much about masers as you do Raveness, but wouldnt a maser require a large amount of electricity and be to big to be practically mounted on a gun. come to think of it an early laser would have the same problem.

[Raveness]

I dont know nearly as much about masers as you do Raveness, but wouldnt a maser require a large amount of electricity and be to big to be practically mounted on a gun. come to think of it an early laser would have the same problem.
Right on both counts. I was suggesting a maser instead of laser to have a difference for a change, plus it would fit in better with the classic microwave tech of the time period, a nice steampunk article :)

Hopefully a Rapture physicist would be able to miniaturize the device, and contain the required energy input/output within.

[Hans]

well i think it adds to the relism and the deth of the game play to immers u into the world

[Hatesink]

...I was suggesting a maser instead of laser to have a difference for a change, plus it would fit in better with the classic microwave tech of the time period, a nice steampunk article :)

Hopefully a Rapture physicist would be able to miniaturize the device, and contain the required energy input/output within.Totally. :)

[irrationallevine]

The hunting the Big Daddy demo was made in Sept. Since then, we've entirely revamped the interface, for both 360 and the PC (different for each platform). There are reticles.

[jackinthebox]

The hunting the Big Daddy demo was made in Sept. Since then, we've entirely revamped the interface, for both 360 and the PC (different for each platform). There are reticles.

i knew it... ;) the lack of a crosshair wouldn't disturb me, but i just feel safer with one^^ (i hope you really are Ken and no hoaxer:rolleyes: )

[Raveness]

It's not like it's hard to add or take away the crosshair at any point in development. It's a dot in the middle of the screen for chrissakes. Even if they left it out permanently for retail release, I bet someone could just find the console command to turn it back on.

[Corgano]

It's not like it's hard to add or take away the crosshair at any point in development. It's a dot in the middle of the screen for chrissakes. Even if they left it out permanently for retail release, I bet someone could just find the console command to turn it back on. Shhhh! That sounds too easy, so there must be a harder way to do it! Sorry, I've been up a long time and need to get some sleep. That was funny though! :D

[Uponemandus]

It's not like it's hard to add or take away the crosshair at any point in development. It's a dot in the middle of the screen for chrissakes. Even if they left it out permanently for retail release, I bet someone could just find the console command to turn it back on.

Actually I think that was the reason for the delay to August :D

[DSroyU DOW]

As Necros already stated, there was no HUD and/or UI either. They probably switched it off, as some of the earliest screenshots show a HUD. Some movies also show a HUD when pistol ammo is being changed.

it would make sense that they turned it of in the hunting the big daddy vid case the x06 did have a hud and cross hairs but that would b cool if you could turn them off if you wanted to

[a rabid chicken]

Okay. Cool. It's always really great when someone from the team, especially Ken, posts. Thanks Ken!

[JBaums]

im pretty shure you can turn it on and off.

[Jeff]

Stop resurrecting long dead threads.