Colonel Klink on 1/4/2010 at 19:28

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I agree. I think for immersions sake, after you become more machine than man, there should be subtle indicators of your transformation. Obviously visual cues are a good choice, but maybe something like the sounds of pneumatics and actuators whirring and hissing when you grab something. Or perhaps have the NPC's around you react differently based on said modifications. They did something similar in Oblivion, though I would hardly call it extensive reactivity, since people generally only really reacted to you when you talked to them. A system where people flee in terror when they hear/see this "Golem" wandering the streets, or come up and ask questions, would add immensely to the atmosphere.

And here's to hoping that Eidos remembers that this is 20 odd years before Deus Ex, and doesn't make the Mech-Augs more advanced than they should be. It's one thing to dress up things because of advances in technology. It's another thing to allow that to influence your design decisions to the point of disregarding pre-established material completely.

Illuminatus on 2/4/2010 at 13:09

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There's no evidence in Deus Ex of any old physical augmentations more advanced than what you see on mechs, regardless of the political/economic crisis. It actually makes far more sense that the technology from 25 years earlier would be even more primitive than Anna and Gunther's augs. Your character would have to be one of the earliest mech models, so it's a bit of a stretch to give them JC-like abilities.

Ostriig on 2/4/2010 at 17:33

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With regards to aesthetics, I'd have also preferred a more gritty Gunther-like approach as I think it would serve to further visually emphasize to players the extent of the changes that Jensen undertakes, willingly or otherwise. But considering that the setting is a supposed to be a near-future highpoint in the development of human society it does make sense that there would be a lot of focus on making prosthetics or other augmentations as sleek and non-repulsive as possible. And the idea that this is all happening before a great worldwide depression does provide enough cover for the ulterior appearance of mech augs in DX1.

From a functional standpoint, though, I'd also hope EM practice restraint so as to keep things consistent with DX1 and the presumed evolution of technology, but I think we also need to be realistic about the marketing considerations with DX3 - the publisher/devs won't want to cut down on potentially "awesome" features, which could be used to pitch the game to newcomers to the franchise, just for the sake of keeping us old fans 100% satisfied. I can't really fault them for that.

I'd only realistically ask that they keep the tech sci-fi sensible and consistent with the game's setting. For instance, I'd have a hard time seeing how a pure mech could regenerate living tissue as easily as a nano-aug, but I'd also see the mech pull of great feats of strength a lot easier. I think there's enough wiggle room. Not that DX1 didn't have some phenomenal problems with its tech making reasonable sense - for instance, the way the Cloak aug works.

Illuminatus on 3/4/2010 at 09:24

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That's pretty unlikely, considering who's actually running and funding UNATCO (and investing in JC and Paul, far from a low bid). Shadow superpower MJ12 has been pumping trillions into augmentation research and development in the years leading up to Deus Ex (and the Depression wouldn't have slowed them down, since they rose to power through it). I think it's reasonable to believe that their aug technology present in the first game is the best there's ever been, seeing as it was designed with global domination in mind. This is why, although EM obviously have some leeway, playing a Neo-like character decades before UNATCO/MJ12 even have someone like Gunther is a real stretch.

ZylonBane on 9/4/2010 at 00:52

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I'm thinking World of Warcraft.