Rage

[shon]

My graphical issues are fixed but now when I try to load different areas the game crashes. 

[CeeKay]

why the launch didn't go well for the PC. 

[CeeKay]

new patch came out and added in some new graphics options plus other fixes:

RAGE Patch Release Notes - October 8th 2011
-------------------------------------------

RAGE defaults to lower video settings to allow the game to work on a
wide variety of hardware and software configurations.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to anticipate all possible graphics
driver issues in combination with unique end user hardware and software
configurations. For this reason RAGE does not automatically increase
video/graphics settings as this could result in negative side effects
on specific hardware and software configurations. The original release
of RAGE does not expose many video/graphics options for people to tweak
because some of these settings, although desirable from a quality
perspective, simply will not work on specific configurations either due
to hardware limitations and/or driver bugs. Due to popular demand for
more video and graphics options, this patch updates the video settings
menu and exposes several quality and performance settings. However, not
everyone may be able to increase the settings due to hardware limitations
and/or driver bugs.


VSync
-----

The new "VSync" option in the video settings menu allows you to remove
screen tearing. There are three options: ON, OFF and SMART.

When VSync is turned OFF you may experience screen tearing.

When VSync is turned ON you should not see screen tearing. However,
any time your frame rate drops below 60 frames per second you will
get a sudden more severe drop to 30 frames per second. This is how VSync
inherently works. If your computer cannot maintain 60 frames per
second and you miss the synchronization to the vertical retrace of
your monitor then you will miss a whole frame and synchronize to
the next frame instead.

Some graphics drivers now support a so called "swap-tear" extension.
You can try using this extension by setting VSync to SMART.
If your graphics driver supports this extension and you set VSync
to SMART then RAGE will synchronize to the vertical retrace of
your monitor when your computer is able to maintain 60 frames per
second and the screen may tear if your frame rate drops below 60 frames
per second. In other words the SMART VSync option trades a sudden drop
to 30 frames per second with occasional screen tearing. Occasional
screen tearing is usually considered less distracting than a more
severe drop in frame rate.

If your graphics driver does not support SMART VSync and you set VSync
to SMART in the video settings then RAGE will automatically fall back to
turning VSync OFF and you may experience screen tearing. The "swap-tear"
extension is brand new and may still present some issues on certain
graphics hardware. If you experience any problems using SMART Vsync
then set VSync to either ON or OFF. We are actively working with the
graphics hardware vendors to improve the "swap-tear" extension.

If changing VSync in the RAGE video settings menu does not appear to
make any difference then make sure you are not overriding the VSync
setting in the graphics vendor control panel. You can find the
graphics vendor control panel by right-clicking on the Windows desktop
and selecting the " control panel" option from the pop-up menu.

If you force VSync to the 'on' setting in the graphics vendor control
panel then you should not see any screen tearing in RAGE but you may
get a more severe drop in frame rate if your computer cannot maintain
60 frames per second.

If you force VSync to the 'off' setting in the graphics vendor control
panel then you may experience screen tearing no matter what setting you
use for the VSync option in the RAGE video settings menu.


Texture Cache
-------------

The new "Texture Cache" option in the video settings menu allows you
to increase the texture cache size to keep more texture data in
video memory.

If the Texture Cache is set to LARGE then RAGE will keep more texture
data in video memory. This may not only significantly reduce blurry
textures and texture popping, it will also allow complex scenes to be
rendered with more texture detail.

However, this may not work on computers that do not have enough system
or video memory, or you may experience a significant drop in performance.
If you experience issues due to hardware limitations you will have to set
the Texture Cache back to SMALL.

If after changing the Texture Cache to LARGE you experience a crash or
texture corruption (like a partially or completely blue world) then
the graphics driver may have run out of memory.

We are actively working with the graphics card vendors to resolve
any crashes.

If you do not experience a crash but you see texture corruption then you
may be able to get the large Texture Cache to work by accepting the change
and restarting the game. If you still experience texture corruption after
restarting the game you will have to set the Texture Cache back to SMALL.

You may also be able to improve the memory situation on your computer by
changing the Windows paging file management. Note that making changes to
the Windows paging file management may change the performance characteristics
of your computer. Any changes you make to your system configuration are
at your own risk. Always make backups of your system and revert these
changes if you notice undesirable side effects.

To change the paging file management on Windows Vista and Windows 7, first
press the "Start" button, then right-click on "Computer" and then select
"Properties" from the popup menu. Then select "Advanced system settings"
on the window that appears. Select the "Advanced" tab on the
"System Properties" window that is displayed and press the "Settings"
button under "Performance". Select the "Advanced" tab on the
"Performance Options" window that shows up next and press the
"Change..." button under "Virtual memory". Now uncheck the option
"Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" and make
sure that the option "System managed size" is selected on the
"Virtual Memory" window. Confirm the change by pressing the "OK" button
on each window. After making this change you will have to restart your
computer for the change to take effect.

To change the paging file management on Windows XP, first press the
"Start" button, then right-click on "My Computer" and then select
"Properties" from the popup menu. Select the "Advanced" tab on the
"System Properties" window that is displayed and press the "Settings"
button under "Performance". Select the "Advanced" tab on the
"Performance Options" window that shows up next and press the "Change"
button under "Virtual memory". Make sure that the option
"System managed size" is selected on the "Virtual Memory" window.
Confirm the change by pressing the "OK" button on each window.
After making this change you will have to restart your computer for
the change to take effect.


Anisotropic Filter
------------------

The new "Anisotropic Filter" option in the video settings menu allows
you to increase the anisotropic texture filtering.

Anisotropic filtering is a method to enhance the image quality of
textures on surfaces that are at oblique viewing angles.

The anisotropic texture filtering in RAGE defaults to a low value to
accommodate for low-end graphics hardware. However, the anisotropic
filtering can be increased for high-end graphics hardware by setting
the Anistropic Filter option to HIGH in the video settings menu.

Do not force anisotropic filtering to the ‘on’ setting in the graphics
vendor control panel because this may cause rendering artifacts in
the game.

Note that increasing the anisotropic filtering may improve the
texture quality while it may also decrease the frame rate.


Patch Changes / Fixes
---------------------

- Implemented workaround for AMD driver crash right after intro cinematic
on Win 7 32-bit systems.
- Disabled UBOs because they are causing animation issues with AMD drivers.
- Don't allow swap-tear to be enabled on AMD while the extension is not
exposed because it may crash.
- Support for new video settings: "texture cache", "vsync" and
"anisotropic filter"
- Automatically adjust vt_maxPPF based on the number of available cores.
- Improved performance for SLI cards when GPU transcode is enabled.
- Fix for GPU Transcoding option being disabled after exiting gameplay.
- Added safe mode to restore video settings to default values.
- Allow g_fov to be changed from the RAGE launch options in Steam.
- Server now forwards text chat from clients to all other clients while
in-game.


Known Graphical Issues
----------------------

The following issues were found using NVIDIA graphics hardware with
the GeForce R285 Driver or AMD graphics hardware with the AMD Catalyst
11.10 Version 2 Preview Driver.


- If you turn up both the screen resolution and anti-aliasing settings
to high values in the video settings menu and/or you enable
"GPU Transcode" then the screen may no longer update on some hardware
configurations. This means your system does not have the necessary
video memory to run with these high settings. You can re-enter the video
settings menu and lower your settings to restart screen updates.

- If you turn up both the screen resolution and anti-aliasing settings
to high values in the video settings menu you may experience a crash
if your system does not have the necessary memory to run with these
high settings. To avoid this problem you will have to re-enter the
video settings menu to lower the settings. If you can no longer launch
the game after changing the video settings to high values you can add
the following to your RAGE launch options in Steam:

+com_safemode 1

The launch options can be found by right-clicking on RAGE in Steam
and selecting "Properties". Then click on "Set Launch Options" in
the dialog that pops up. Adding this option will reset your video
settings to the default values the next time the game is launched.
When the game is launched in safe mode the game will show "safe mode"
in the corners of the screen. Do not forget to remove the safe mode
launch option after launching the game once to make sure you do not
lose your video settings each time you launch the game.

- Using a NVIDIA graphics card on Windows XP 32-bit or XP 64-bit, you
may experience a crash or hang when changing the screen resolution in
full screen mode or switching from windowed mode to full screen mode.
This has been identified as a graphics driver problem. We have spent
significant effort trying to work around this problem and were
successful in reducing the frequency of occurrence but a driver update
is necessary to completely fix the problem. We are actively working with
NVIDIA to make a solution to this problem available as soon as possible.

- Using an AMD graphics card, you may experience black flickering
artifacts on flags, banners and zip-lines if you run in full screen
mode. This has been identified as a graphics driver problem. We are
actively working with AMD on a solution to this problem.

- Using an AMD graphics card, you may experience black grid lines on
some graphical user interface (GUI) elements like the in-game mini-map.
This has been identified as a graphics driver problem. We are actively
working with AMD on a solution to this problem. If you find the grid
lines particularly distracting, you can add the following to the RAGE
launch options in Steam as a temporary workaround.

+vt_maxAniso 1

The launch options can be found by right-clicking on RAGE in Steam
and selecting "Properties". Then click on "Set Launch Options" in
the dialog that pops up. However, note that adding this setting will
lower the general texture quality in the game.

- If you have an AMD graphics card with a dual core CPU system you may
experience severe hitching and low frame rates. This has been
identified as a driver problem. We are actively working with AMD on
a solution to this problem. As a temporary workaround you may add the
following to the RAGE launch options in Steam:

+jobs_numThreads 0

The launch options can be found by right-clicking on RAGE in Steam
and selecting "Properties". Then click on "Set Launch Options" in
the dialog that pops up.

- If you are running RAGE in full-screen mode and you ALT-TAB to a
different application you may lose your VSync setting. When you
switch to a different application VSync stops functioning.
RAGE detects that VSync is no longer working and automatically switches
back to synchronizing to real-time to make sure the game time advances
in a consistent manner. We are actively working with the graphics
vendors on a solution to this problem.

[CeeKay]

so, what armor did people choose?  I'm leaning towards Crimson but it sounds like it puts the game in easy mode.

[MonkeyFinger]

so, what armor did people choose?  I'm leaning towards Crimson but it sounds like it puts the game in easy mode.

I just got to that same choice point in the game and backed out to see what the downside was to choosing the Crimson Elite armor. I guess that would be part of it... the qualities of the others combined may make things too easy. Plus it seems to run counter to all the advice I've been getting up to this point about 'blending in' and trying not to draw the attention of... The Authority. No clue if the latter is an actual in-game issue with that choice or if it's more about your actions. 

[CeeKay]

so, what armor did people choose?  I'm leaning towards Crimson but it sounds like it puts the game in easy mode.

I just got to that same choice point in the game and backed out to see what the downside was to choosing the Crimson Elite armor. I guess that would be part of it... the qualities of the others combined may make things too easy. Plus it seems to run counter to all the advice I've been getting up to this point about 'blending in' and trying not to draw the attention of... The Authority. No clue if the latter is an actual in-game issue with that choice or if it's more about your actions. 

the more I think about it the more I think it might not actually be easy mode and might be a trick, where the 'best of all worlds' is a hint that more people will actually be gunning for you because of the 'elite' status.

[edit] oh, wait, the Crimson Elite armor is part of the Anarchy edition:

The Anarchy Edition will allow players to access two special weapons, the Double Barrel Shotgun and the Fists of RAGE. Additionally, players will have access to the Rat Rod Buggy, which will replace your standard in-game buggy, and the Crimson Elite Armor, giving you an extra defensive boost.

so it probably isn't very OP or anything.

[Turtle]

The Crison Elite armor just combines the properties of all 3 armors you can choose from. However, the effect of the basic armors actually aren't all that different.

It's a 5% price reduction, a few more inventory slots, and a bit more health/armor depending on which suit you choose. Having played the game a lot, I'd say that it really doesn't matter. 5% off stuff means little, same for extra inventory slots, when the loot and crafting system isn't all that interesting or deep. It's basically just you finding components to make expendable items, instead of just picking up those expendables.

Likewise, while the extra armor can help, you'll be able to buy armor upgrades to any suit you choose.

[EngineNo9]

So what do you guys think of the vehicles and racing?  Are they well done and fun to drive? 

[CeeKay]

So what do you guys think of the vehicles and racing?  Are they well done and fun to drive? 

so far I've driven the ATV, buggy and Rat Rod (Anarchy Edition extra) and I have fun with the last 2; the ATV felt more like a placeholder until you got a buggy and really didn't seem to have any physics.  it felt more like a speed boost for traveling than an actual vehicle.  I've done a few races- a time trial (easy), a 3 lap race (also easy) and a minigun combat race (a bit harder but fun).  there are powerups laying around the track, like booster refills, shield and ammo, which as mentioned before makes it feel kinda like Mario Kart.  you have to complete races to get racing vouchers to buy stuff for your vehicle, and you have to race at least once to continue the main story so far.

[Isgrimnur]

[360] I put in a grind of racing the other night to get enough tickets to upgrade my Rat Rod.  Upgrades (aside from cosmetic packs) appear to be by class rather than by vehicle, as both the Rat Rod and buggy are Buggy Class, and purchasing one upgrade took it off the purchase page for both.

Anyway, the races are a bit varied at this point, but a serious hour of grinding races made it pretty tiresome.  There's your standard time trial, standard races with weapons, and checkpoint chases with weapons.  Being in first early is rarely a recommended strategy in a track race, as they will all endeavor to make you pay.  Best bet is let the pack thin itself out, then work your way up through controlled demolition, then open up a huge lead so the seeking missiles can't catch up to you. 

It's certainly not going to replace Forza/GT, but it's fun enough in small doses.  You'll also get your share of car combat driving around the countryside from place to place, fighting off marauding bands.

[Morgul]

I have done all available races that are open to me to silver or gold.

I like the racing.   I also like the card game, but I seem to suck at it..   

[CeeKay]

I hate the dice game. I always get skulls, kinda like the game is cheating and using loaded dice.  of course I'm not above quickloading after losing either

[Sarkus]

I just finished the game. Steam says I played for 21 hours, though the last save I loaded (beginning of the last level) had me a 16.25 hours.

Ignoring the technical issues that took me a week to largely resolve, I'd say this is about a C+/B- game. It excels in the way it looks, the gunplay/combat, and some of the level design. The first time through Dead City was pretty epic. But the pacing is off, particularly the second half, which feels like they intended it to be a lot bigger. And I still think the game is somewhat unbalanced by the wingstick weapon - it kills just about everything - the end of game enemy was just me flinging wingsticks at them in the final open area.

And the story/setting? Well, ugh. Don't expect a lot of it make sense or to understand just why your character is going along with all of this. As someone who generally sticks to shooters with a story, Rage just doesn't deliver.  Throw in the reuse of not only levels but sometimes even quest hooks, and you get a game that could have been a lot better.

[CeeKay]

more texture fixes coming:

http://twitter.com/#!/ID_AA_Carmack/statuses/124916837791186945
http://twitter.com/#!/ID_AA_Carmack/statuses/125001438790287362

[EngineNo9]

Looks like this just may be a decent PC game by the time I get around to picking it up. 

[Arclight]

I just downloaded this on Steam. It told me I needed new drivers for my GTX460 card. Went and got the Rage optimized drivers. Made the artifacting and blurring worse. Went back to the official ones.
I can't  believe this is a game from ID after all this time in development. Because of the poor optimization of the code with current drivers the graphic for the most part look a few years old. Definetly not as good as most of the new games out there.

Can someone tell me where on the hud my health bar is? When I use a bandage I don't see anything changing on the screen and can't tell what my health is at...maybe thats another graphic problem, dunno.
So much like borderlands isn't it?
Not sure if I want to keep playing or shelve it in hopes of this game getting fixed. Carmac comment on viewing PC gamers as a dieing breed is a bit off-putting, but he's probably right to some degree.

First purchase in ages I regret getting.

[MonkeyFinger]

There isn't a health bar. As you take damage, the edges of your screen will turn red and creep inward. If you take too much damage (whatever that turns out to be) you'll die and get a chance to play the defibrillator game... provided it is charged. Stop taking damage and you'll heal on your own, use the bandages when you're in the thick of it and don't have time to heal.

Funny, I had gawd-awful texture issues with by GTX460s and the latest WHQL drivers, which it told me were "old". It wasn't until I threw on some of the recommended command-line startup options and loaded the beta drivers that everything smoothed out for me.

[Wargus]

I can't believe they released a PC game that is in this state.  It has known issues with the Logitech Keyboards (openGL conflicts), doesn't work well with many radeon video cards, among all the other issues (you can see the two that have annoyed me).  I find the game aptly named.  Very tempted to push for a refund, except it is ID and I suspect they'll fix the issues.

[CeeKay]

finally getting back to this after doing some upgrade work on my PC.  Transcoding is very nice, and I'm running it on a SSD so it appears the texture pop-in is totally gone.  the only hitch was the fact that the latest nVidia drivers come with a Rage profile that mistakenly forces v-sync off-  once I found that out I got rid of screen tearing.

went out on a mission with 1000 mini gun rounds, figuring that would be enough.  I was mistaken, and ended up having to outrun a bunch of bandits on the way back.  I guess next time I'll take at least 2000 rounds.

[Vinda-Lou]

First game I bought in a long time.  Can't play it.  First game I bought for $60 on the PC - that I can remember.  I'm so pissed.

I updated my GTX 460 drivers.  My computer runs everything else (nevermind the "display driver has stopped responding and recovered" error that won't do away).  Space Marine demo works fine.  Both RAGE and Space Marines on Steam.

On Rage I get that "Rage has stopped working" error.  I went to a dozen websites, and nothing so far works.  I managed to get out of the very first room.  I stepped outside, looked around, took two steps and BAM.  Back to desktop.  Once made it as far as the first guy who rescues me.  Sometimes don't make it past the first menu screen!  Now I'm thinking I'll wait on Skyrim...

[Arclight]

First game I bought in a long time.  Can't play it.  First game I bought for $60 on the PC - that I can remember.  I'm so pissed.

I updated my GTX 460 drivers.  My computer runs everything else (nevermind the "display driver has stopped responding and recovered" error that won't do away).  Space Marine demo works fine.  Both RAGE and Space Marines on Steam.

On Rage I get that "Rage has stopped working" error.  I went to a dozen websites, and nothing so far works.  I managed to get out of the very first room.  I stepped outside, looked around, took two steps and BAM.  Back to desktop.  Once made it as far as the first guy who rescues me.  Sometimes don't make it past the first menu screen!  Now I'm thinking I'll wait on Skyrim...

Can't help you much, but I do have the same card, and I have no problems running Rage...Windows 7 64bit

[Vinda-Lou]

First game I bought in a long time.  Can't play it.  First game I bought for $60 on the PC - that I can remember.  I'm so pissed.

I updated my GTX 460 drivers.  My computer runs everything else (nevermind the "display driver has stopped responding and recovered" error that won't do away).  Space Marine demo works fine.  Both RAGE and Space Marines on Steam.

On Rage I get that "Rage has stopped working" error.  I went to a dozen websites, and nothing so far works.  I managed to get out of the very first room.  I stepped outside, looked around, took two steps and BAM.  Back to desktop.  Once made it as far as the first guy who rescues me.  Sometimes don't make it past the first menu screen!  Now I'm thinking I'll wait on Skyrim...

Can't help you much, but I do have the same card, and I have no problems running Rage...Windows 7 64bit

There is a glitch somewhere in my computer... I always get "Nvlddmkm.sys Has Stopped Responding" errors, or games freeze - I  ctrl-alt-del to task mgr, and the games get chugging along again after a few cycles of this action.  Even older games.  Maybe Rage cannot recover from this like other games can?

[EngineNo9]

With the newer Nvidia drivers they have an option (in the Advanced or Custom install I think) to clean all old drivers before installing the new ones.  When you choose that option it will remove the old drivers and make you restart before automatically installing the new ones.  I would definitely give that a try if I were you and see if it fixes your problem.

As for those of you who can get the game running, have the patch updates improved the game significantly?

[Wargus]

I find the game is appropriately named. I also cannot play it.  I'm part of the group that has ongoing ATI issues.  Did they not have a beta with this game? The game stinks of sloppy programing & development.

[Vinda-Lou]

Progress!  I reinstalled the drivers while wiping out the old ones.  Then I disabled my anti-virus temporarily. 

I made it into the buggy of the guy who saved me!  He drove up the hill!  The game crashed...   FU id...

[TiLT]

Progress!  I reinstalled the drivers while wiping out the old ones.  Then I disabled my anti-virus temporarily. 

I made it into the buggy of the guy who saved me!  He drove up the hill!  The game crashed...   FU id...

You might want to look in your own back yard before complaining about id Software. You're getting graphics card related errors in Windows. How can you expect a game, which demands even more from the card, to remain stable? It sounds to me like you have a defective graphics card, either from overheating or from something else. That some games "work" (after a lot of nudging, apparently) should be attributed more to pure luck than to the skills of the game programmers.

Having said that, I'll never understand why John Carmack insists on using OpenGL. Even he has admitted that Direct3D passed OpenGL a while ago, so there's no reason for them to stick to that technology any longer. It's barely supported and has been outdated since the early 2000's. Odds are Rage would only show the same symptoms as your other games if it ran on Direct3D drivers.

[MonkeyFinger]

As for those of you who can get the game running, have the patch updates improved the game significantly?

I never had an issue getting it to run, running well was another issue. However, all that took was loading the latest beta drivers for my GTX460s and passing in some command line options. This before any patch was issued.

[Sarkus]

I got it to run pretty well in the end on an ATI card, but that took many many hours of tweaking and trying different drivers, etc.  Without doubt the most work it's taken me to get a game running in many years.  

And then I discovered its not that great of a game anyway.  

[Vinda-Lou]

Progress!  I reinstalled the drivers while wiping out the old ones.  Then I disabled my anti-virus temporarily. 

I made it into the buggy of the guy who saved me!  He drove up the hill!  The game crashed...   FU id...

You might want to look in your own back yard before complaining about id Software. You're getting graphics card related errors in Windows. How can you expect a game, which demands even more from the card, to remain stable? It sounds to me like you have a defective graphics card, either from overheating or from something else. That some games "work" (after a lot of nudging, apparently) should be attributed more to pure luck than to the skills of the game programmers.

Having said that, I'll never understand why John Carmack insists on using OpenGL. Even he has admitted that Direct3D passed OpenGL a while ago, so there's no reason for them to stick to that technology any longer. It's barely supported and has been outdated since the early 2000's. Odds are Rage would only show the same symptoms as your other games if it ran on Direct3D drivers.

While my computer has problems, everything runs- all programs.  Sure there are hiccups, but all games work.  Rage does not.  I am not the only one with the problems I'm encountering.  So holes in my own backyard or not, this game has many issues regardless of the state of my computer.  I see them as parallel problems, not one causing the other.  Crysis 2 ran very well on my computer.  And I love id.  I've bought every single one of their games since Wolfenstein 3d.  So I feel I have the right to complain this time. 

[CeeKay]

finally getting back to this on a regular basis, but I'm not sure I'm feeling the love for the shooting sections.  I went to the Dead City to find the hospital and it felt like the only real challenge was making sure I had enough ammo (which I did since I bought a ton beforehand and there was plenty laying around).  I was surprised by the lack of enemies with firearms; other than 2 occasions I never really felt threatened compared to the Wasted Garage, and the boss fight for the city section was a joke.

all in all it is feeling like they didn't really put much effort into the game.  enemies and their weapons fade away after they die (including ones you should be able to pick up), annoying invisible walls and definite monster closets are all detracting from what could have been id stepping up their game.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm on 360 and pretty much putting Batman and Battlefield on the back burner so I can finish it and sell it back to Amazon.

[Ridah]

I'm about 8 hours into the game so far and loving it. The texture issues still annoy me once in a while, but otherwise the game looks incredible and the shooting is very satisfying. The weapons have a good weight to them, the sound effects are appropriate, and the animations of the enemies make shooting them down very satisfying. The world is very attractive, id did a great job of nailing that Mad Max post-apocalyptic setting and I'm soaking every moment of it in. The mix of personalities are interesting and fun to interact with. Plus, I find myself enjoying the driving portion of the game much more than I thought I would. I'm having fun upgrading the dune buggy and participating in races and Fed Ex missions.

This game doesn't push any gameplay boundaries, that's for sure, but it's a highly polished FPS with a wealth of personality. I haven't even gotten into the card game stuff, which I've heard is quite fun. 

Makes me sad that the multiplayer didn't pan out.

[Sarkus]

I'm about 8 hours into the game so far and loving it. The texture issues still annoy me once in a while, but otherwise the game looks incredible and the shooting is very satisfying. The weapons have a good weight to them, the sound effects are appropriate, and the animations of the enemies make shooting them down very satisfying. The world is very attractive, id did a great job of nailing that Mad Max post-apocalyptic setting and I'm soaking every moment of it in. The mix of personalities are interesting and fun to interact with. Plus, I find myself enjoying the driving portion of the game much more than I thought I would. I'm having fun upgrading the dune buggy and participating in races and Fed Ex missions.

This game doesn't push any gameplay boundaries, that's for sure, but it's a highly polished FPS with a wealth of personality. I haven't even gotten into the card game stuff, which I've heard is quite fun. 

Makes me sad that the multiplayer didn't pan out.

Wait until you get to the end before making a judgement about the single player.  The game has its moments, to be sure, but the latter part of it is just not what it should have been.  And I'm not even talking about the final level.

[Ridah]

That's kind of vague, I'm at Subway Town right now. Are you talking about further ahead than that?

[Ridah]

I thought the latter "portion" of the game was excellent, however, the ending... 

[CeeKay]

worst non-ending since Halo 2 never ended.  seriously, they should have just slapped a 'to be continued in DLC' at the end.

overall I finished it just to see how the story turned out, but I feel very 'meh' about the game in general.  lack of variety in the bullet sponges enemies, crafting didn't feel necessary (the fun things like the RC cars were almost useless as the enemies would blow them up quickly) and the vehicular combat got repetitive.  they had a bunch of good ideas but they didn't mesh them together very well.

[Raintitan]

I just wanted to bump this thread to say that I picked up Rage for under $15 as part of the Steam holiday sale and it has been great fun for that price.

I have a decent but not hugely powerful system (Sandy Bridge i5, GTX 460) and it runs great. It isn't game of the year material, but the amount of artwork and textures in this game is absolutely staggering. My first walk through Wellspring left me stunned. The game play has been very id-like which means it is a shooter with some modern additions, but as an experience it is something I'm really glad I picked up.

If you get a chance to get it cheap sometime, I think it is worth it as a playable techdemo.

R

[metallicorphan]

Remember this game from October 2011?

Well new achievements show that there is incoming DLC which features an originally cut clan from the game named The Scorchers

360a.org

A clan that was originally cut from the full version of Rage, it looks like the Scorchers will be getting a new lease of life with an upcoming DLC, which has been exposed thanks to the discovery of the add-on's trophy list over on our sister site PS3Trophies.org.

What's more, it looks like the DLC will be something rather substantial, as there'll be ten new achievements added, with one awarded when you "finish the campaign on Ultra Nightmare difficulty".  The DLC includes an entirely new Scorchers job path to pursue, as well as some new mini-games to play.

Take a look at the trophy list below. Logic dictates that the achievement list will be the same.

Night Terrors - Finish the Campaign on Ultra Nightmare difficulty
Cavernous Stumble - Complete Hagar Caves in The Scorchers job path
Plans Refined - Complete Refinery in The Scorchers job path
Thrash Canyon - Complete Bash Canyon in The Scorchers job path
Fired Up! - Complete Scorcher Base in the The Scorchers job path
Lucky Charms - Bet and win on Green in the Roly-Poly minigame
Foursome - Win with a Four of a Kind in the Video Poker minigame
Wall Hack - Kill 2 enemies with one Railgun Slug shot through a wall
Rebar Pie - Pin an enemy to a surface with a Rebar ammo shot
Rite of Passage - Complete Wellspring Tunnels in The Scorchers job path


Having yet to be officially announced, Rage's 'The Scorchers' DLC isn't dated or priced at time of writing. Expect some kind of a formal announcement soon. Hopefully. You heard it here first though, yeah?

[Bullwinkle]

And The Scorchers is out.

I found the opening to OXM's review to be right on target:

The Scorchers is the most audacious punchline ever. It's like id asked you "hey, what's the secret of comedy?" at a Halloween party. Then, fourteen months later, at 2am on Christmas Day, your mobile rings. You panic. Who calls anyone at this time of night, on Christmas? Worried that you're about to suffer a harrowing Eastenders festive bereavement, you accept the call. It's John Carmack. He whispers the word "timing", and hangs up.

Of course, they gave it a 9/10, so it may be a punchline that's worth the wait.

[Teggy]

Heh, funny thing is that it adds more content to the first half of the game, when what was really needed was more content at the end.

I double dipped on Rage for $5 at Gamersgate the other day, figuring maybe the DLC would be included in the Steam sale. Unfortunately not. I'm sure it will go on sale at some point, and this will give me an excuse to play again with better graphics, and I can skip some of the races.