EA and Crytek have announced a new Crysis game, due later this year for the PC:

In Crysis Warhead, players will don the Nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known as �Psycho�, one of the most memorable characters from Crysis. More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience Psycho�s parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho�s Nanosuit is just as capable and he�s equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customizable weapons and new vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any situation. Aside from this new, exciting single player campaign, Crysis Warhead will also feature new multiplayer content. Stay tuned for more details this winter.

This press release comes almost hot on the heels of the recent revelation that further development on the original Crysis has ceased; plans for the 1.3 version have been canceled and the anticipated Linux server sounds like it isn't coming either - bad news for people hanging on to hopes for fixes to the multiplayer.

and the anticipated Linux server sounds like it isn't coming either

Whoa, slow down there! Are you saying they didn't release a linux dedicated server for such a major game at all!?

Were they deliberately trying to prevent the game from catching on from a multiplayer perspective?

There were memorable characters in Crysis?

What's Crysis?

I can't find the actual interview copy - but back in 2003 I went to San Francisco to a Far Cry press event. I spoke to Cevat Yerli, one of the CEOs, and (as I have an obvious interest in the server stuff), I asked him what the plans were for dedicated servers (something I ask every developer I meet that is making multiplayer games).

He paused for a bit, and then said something like "we haven't even thought about that yet". So it was obvious that, at that point in the Far Cry development (couple months away from release) there'd be no dedicated server. This was true of the final release, so we had to upload the ~4gb of content to be able to run a server.

This was, I believe, directly responsible for the poor multiplayer reception and I'm completely unsurprised to see that they're still having problems with multiplayer stuff, because it seems to really be considered as an afterthought of the development process, rather than something that really needs some serious time and thought devoted to it.

you have to wonder how they can spend millions on development and not think something like a dedicated server is important . .. ..

... because people will buy the game anyway, unfortunately :/

Well the thing is, it's proven to be NOT important in terms of sales enough times that they can get away with it. Gamers aren't yet discriminating enough when it comes to that sort of thing to know when they should and shouldn't buy a game.

Arguably Crysis isn't first and foremost a multiplayer game, and it surely does work to some extent - its just that w/o a decent dedicated server system no multiplayer game is ever going to be competitive against other ones that do have one (see: every game with the Tom Clancy logo).

If you really want to play multiplayer games the way they SHOULD be played, before you buy a game make sure you hit up the developer forums and let them know why a standalone dedicated server is a must-have - especially for Australians who don't want to play an FPS on a US server w/ a 300ms ping.

perhaps if they had more of a multiplayer focus, people would be less inclined to pirate the game . .. . .

It sucked on single player, god knows why anyone would subject themselves to a multiplayer version of Crysis.

What we should do is select a day where we dont buy any games at all even new releases. The gaming companies will lose millions on this day and this will show them that we as gamers wont stand for such silly things.

Whos with me?

i didnt think crysis multiplayer was too bad, loved running up to people and punching them out

Well the thing is, it's proven to be NOT important in terms of sales enough times that they can get away with it. Gamers aren't yet discriminating enough when it comes to that sort of thing to know when they should and shouldn't buy a game.

I blame the reviewers.
Too many sites give glowwing reviews to everything, its almost like they have to give positive reviews.

Aren't they stopping work on this because they were dirty on piss poor sales? They blamed it on piracy and no console version as opposed to the real reason that no one could run the c*** and it was boring as f***.

I blame the reviewers.
Too many sites give glowwing reviews to everything, its almost like they have to give positive reviews.

Somewhere in some dark place (I think it was penny arcade) I read that the reason behind this is that the reviewers get a beta version of the game which is not yet complete/has all the features. So the reviewers assume certain things will be complete/certain bugs will be fixed. Sometimes this results in really inaccurate reviews.

Thats why I love places like ausgamers that wait till the game's out and then review it.

Well I'd imagine the average reviewer who just got his hands on the game would play a few levels and try to get a review out ASAP.

Problem is, I actually found the first few levels of Crysis to be pretty good. Got to look at the purdy environment, give the nano-suit a run, drive jeeps and s*** around, choke people and throw them off a cliff, and have Far Cry moments but with insane graphics.

After a few levels it just became linear and that's when the downward spiral began. I bet most reviewers didn't even get that far before giving their opinions, much less try to rate the multiplayer.



last edited by parabol at 23:23:12 06/Jun/08

I enjoyed Crysis enough to play it all the way through.

i loved crysis. just didnt really like being in the alien ship or what ever it was

I enjoyed the SP of cyrsis, multiplayer was really fun too, what I don't understand is why they are punishing the people who actual shelled out 100 bucks for it, like I did, than turning around and going “Oh hay guyz we are dropping all support because of the evil pirates”.

I should have pirated it just out of spite, f*** crytek and f*** EA.

I gotta say, this is some dodgey s***. I guess you could see it coming, they obviously designed the game with sequels in mind, that ending should of been panned for delivering what was really an episodic game (and a half on top to bump it out of being totally pathetic) Dropping support for a game because you want to make an expansion and cant be f***ed supporting previous iterations sucks for people that actually supported the company.

It makes the few companies that heavily support games after their release (like the only ones I can think of are valve and stardock maybe, no real experience with them, just what I hear) seem REALLY rare and special.

In the PC games industry today, valve really are freaks.

Wait so even when its been only 8 months after the game is released, they completely stop development on the game because they announce that v2 single player is in the making...

They didn't even announce an expansion but a completely new game, whats going to happen to the multiplayer community? Whole new single player and whole new multiplayer as well.

That s*** is wack.

edit: Oops fixed.

last edited by sif greazy at 20:11:50 09/Jun/08

The game came out in November last year. It hasn't even been a year. Its the worst game I've ever paid full price for... gotta love the fact it doesn't even work properly. Won't be buying part 2 or 3.

There were memorable characters in Crysis?

There were actually other characters you could interact with? I just shot stuff...and got bored really quick. You can only shoot trees and birds for so long..

gotta love the fact it doesn't even work properly

What didn't work properly?

I liked Crysis, didn't LOVE it but the visuals were certainly pretty and there was plenty of great action. If I have one complaint about the game, it would be that there was no Co-op. That would have been sweet.
Also they need to fix the cloaking exploit. ie; I always switch back to Armour mode before I let off a shot, then switch back straight away saving all my energy and staying completely invisible.

Crysis is an awesome tech demo for an engine and an average game, defnitely will not be shelling out $100 for another tech demo Mr. Yerli, especially when you decide the last $100 tech demo you sold me is now dead and buried less than 12 months after release and with some pretty glaring flaws and serious multiplayer issues.

Try-before-you-buy-torrent-style for me on this one, have to be a lot better game to get my cash this time.

Thats why I love places like ausgamers that wait till the game's out and then review it.

Good to hear :) I should point out that our unwritten "editorial policy" for reviews (I do want to write it out at some point because I think it's important for people to know what it is) is basically that we try to play the game completely through (or almost, or as much as possible if it really really sucks) before reviewing it.

After reading our GTA4 review everyone was surprised that we gave it a "low" score (ie, not a perfect score); after playing GTA4 myself I would have given it an even lower score.

(I am planning some research into how and why users read reviews soon so stay tuned)

(I am planning some research into how and why users read reviews soon so stay tuned)

Please do. I think a lot of gamers put too much emphasis on game reviews when it should just support (or not) the buying of the game.

Also they need to fix the cloaking exploit. ie; I always switch back to Armour mode before I let off a shot, then switch back straight away saving all my energy and staying completely invisible.

How is that an exploit? Thats the way it seemed to be designed.

If it isn't an exploit then it is a major flaw. You can just wander through a crowd of enemies popping them in the head one after another, flicking back and forth between Armour and Cloak. So long as you don't run out of energy from movement, your a totally invisible force of death.