STEEP

[tapedeck]

No OT or interest for this?

With the games industry seemingly not bothered about winter/extreme sports since the early to mid 00's. I've been bitterly disappointed that no snowboarding games have been on the market since EA decided to fudge SSX on the PS3 and NAMCO gave us the charming and fun We Ski and its (admittedly great) sequel.

 

STEEP looked great at E3 and I've put a ton of hours into it since last week. I didn't get the chance to try the BETA but the thought of an SSX/1080 Spotify playlist while free-roaming mountains was too much for me to ignore. So did anyone else buy this?

 

PROS:

Fantastic graphics

Vast mountain range to explore

Variety of play styles with skiing/snowboarding/parachute/wingsuit

Free walking around the mountains is fantastic

Tons to see and do

Online play makes the mountain seem more alive

Controls are accessible and deep

Tons of custom gear to wear

 

CONS:

Online is required to play (ffs)

Missed opportunity not having social areas/meeting points/chalets etc

Only 3 players seem to be able to team up at once

DLC not out yet (Alaska range coming)

Can't create your own boarder

Hear doesn't add to stats - just looks different

[Hero-of-Time]

There's a topic here.

 

http://www.n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58534

 

There's not much interest in it though.

[S.C.G]

I was potentially, partially interested in playing it at some point.

 

But online required to play? Even single player?

 

Patch in offline support and we'll talk. :wink:

 

Honestly though, nothing will top the 1080° Snowboarding games for me.

 

So I'm happy to wait it out for either a Switch entry or the inevitable GC Virtual Console version.

 

1080° in 1080P That's the dream!

 

While I can appreciate that Steep is trying to do something different, basing it on real mountain ranges, focusing on realism, being able to go anywhere you can see...

 

...I prefer to see what developers can do by making their own courses from scratch, for that reason I have a lot of love for Snowboarding games which lean less towards realism and more towards fun; SSX is another series I've enjoyed on and off for that reason.

 

This wasn't meant to be a thread de-railer or me being down on a game I've never played but judging by the lack of posts in the other thread, I thought it best to at least post my initial reaction to Steep rather than nothing.

 

I'm not a monster though, if Steep was free on Plus further down the line then I'd give it a try... probably. :p

[Hero-of-Time]

The single player always online stuff is ridiculous. Gaf weren't happy during the launch as the Ubisoft servers went down, which meant that people were left with a game that they couldn't play.

 

I see For Honor ( Ubisoft again ) is also following this route. No thanks.

[S.C.G]

The single player always online stuff is ridiculous. Gaf weren't happy during the launch as the Ubisoft servers went down, which meant that people were left with a game that they couldn't play.

 

I see For Honor ( Ubisoft again ) is also following this route. No thanks.

 

Wow, I didn't realise they were using that model for other games as well.

 

Coming soon... Beyond Good and Evil 2! The highly-anticipated, in development for a decade sequel/re-telling to the acclaimed single-player game which defined a generation.*

 

*Only playable when connected to Ubisoft central servers, available 40%-50% of the times, reliability may vary, micro-transactions applicable, buy the season-pass for unlimited access.

 

It could be interesting to see if the game does make its way to the Switch as I don't think Nintendo would stand for those kind of requirements, surely? :wink:

 

Anyway yeah, Steep... maybe it should have just been Free to Play? With optional purchases, that model might have garnered more interest, especially taking into account that always online mechanic... I really can't get past that.

[Hero-of-Time]

Although not Ubisoft, I think Just Cause 3 had always online single player, as well. Why the hell do you need to connect online? Baffling.

 

Funnily enough I was talking to a lad at work today about stuff like this, DLC, loot boxes/crates and microtransactions. We were on about how China has brought into play where customers have to know the odds/drop rates for paid loot box items. I was kicking off about how this generation has been a disgrace for such practices. He's only 21 and was surprised to see him agreeing with me. I thought it may have just been me being an older gamer crying on about how things aren't how they used to be, Cranky Kong style.

 

Sorry, @tapedeck. It appears I've hijacked the thread. :P

[S.C.G]

Although not Ubisoft, I think Just Cause 3 had always online single player, as well. Why the hell do you need to connect online? Baffling.

 

Funnily enough I was talking to a lad at work today about stuff like this, DLC, loot boxes/crates and microtransactions. We were on about how China has brought into play where customers have to know the odds/drop rates for paid loot box items. I was kicking off about how this generation has been a disgrace for such practices. He's only 21 and was surprised to see him agreeing with me. I thought it may have just been me being an older gamer crying on about how things aren't how they used to be, Cranky Kong style.

 

Sorry, @tapedeck. It appears I've hijacked the thread. :P

 

Just Cause 3 has that? I didn't even know... another game I got for cheap around release but haven't played yet, tempted to just sell it now. :p

 

Yeah, stuff like this is really scummy practice from the developers, I'm glad to hear that it isn't just us more experienced gamers who are getting up in arms about these kind of things and longing for how games used to be, back in the day...

 

*cough* but erm yeah... this new-fangled Snowboarding game, perhaps I'll buy it when the price isn't so... steep. :awesome:

[bob]

You can switch to offline mode in JC3, but it's a bit rocky and it keeps trying to reconnect every so often.

[tapedeck]

Thanks for the OT link. Interesting how few folk are into snow sports games. I think they are perfect video game fodder.

This is definitely the closest I've come to a 1080 game since the original. I've never played AMPED 1/2 but people speak highly of them as well. Loving the first person view on this. Surprisingly involving and just loving cruising about with the 1080 (N64/Avalanche) and SSX music blaring out. Takes a bit of getting into but yeah. Very enjoyable to me. Just done an immense challenge where you had to make your way downhill through massive woods to the goal. 5mins of carving snow for a gold medal. Love it.

@RedShell did you pick this up?

Edited December 15, 2016 by tapedeck

[Hero-of-Time]

GAME are now selling this for £25, for those interested. That's a stupidly fast price drop. I guess that says it all in regards to how well the game is doing.

[RedShell]

@RedShell did you pick this up?

Not yet, no. But I definitely want to get it at some point.

And having just seen H-o-T's post above, that might be happening pretty soon.

[Ganepark32]

Really enjoyed the beta but was waiting for a price drop due to being tight on money and that deal in GAME hit just the right note. Was finished with Battlefield 1 (fed up of squad leaders not giving objectives and squads/teams that don't either attack or defend points but rather sit and snipe. Back to Titanfall 2 for me) so traded that in and picked it up yesterday.

 

Didn't play much yesterday but managed to get myself up to level 7 already and nab quite a few gold medals from events. Still every bit as enjoyable as the beta. Love just setting up a ride and seeing where it takes me, the chill music picked, and letting the speed and the scenery take me in. When you're doing that, it's a fantastic experience. When you get to doing the tricks and some of the more technical stuff, it's still not great and doesn't really come close to the likes of SSX but it's still decent enough.

 

I'm even taking to the wing suit now and I wasn't keen on it in the beta. There's just something exhilarating about grinding the crack and coming out millimetres from the ground. Paragliding is still crap but I'll quickly get those out of the way so I can stick with the skiing/snowboarding and wing suit events.

 

It's something I can see myself playing for quite a while as I haven't been setting up my own routes or events yet. Some of the areas where I thought of doing it were too quick and too bumpy that you'd be hard pressed to even make it to an end point without crashing. Still, there's plenty of opportunity on that front so I can't wait to see what secrets I can find in the Alps

[tapedeck]

Still enjoying this and with the update patch, being able to set the ambience (I.E: night time) has made this even more enjoyable. Love late evening and night skiing in the vast woodlands. I've struggled to complete golds on a fair few tracks but the quick restart with zero loading times is a god send. It needs it too as it's difficult to nail the big tricks.

With the update patch, having all new events in the menu streamlines things more, making a gargantuan game like this even more accessible. A great surprise and even the wingsuit and paragliding give me Pilotwings vibes.

[RedShell]

Yeah, this game is pretty awesome once you get into it.

I thought I'd purchased a £25 coaster at one point though, as it would crash literally every few minutes after the latest patch.

But thankfully, deleting and reinstalling the game fixed that problem.

 

Had a go at your tactical race, @tapedeck (more like 30 ) but couldn't beat your time. Was going to try again but couldn't get it to load up the next time I played.

 

I've only shared a jump/trick challenge so far (mainly because it was so silly) but will do a checkpoint or tactical race soon. Just need to find the right spot.

[tapedeck]

Glad you were able to access the race @RedShell

Creating challenges is great but I was unsure if friends could access it. It definitely takes a little time to get into but I'm sure you'll be destroying my times tropical freeze style soon enough hah.

[tapedeck]

Glad you were able to access the race @RedShell

Creating challenges is great but I was unsure if friends could access it. It definitely takes a little time to get into but I'm sure you'll be destroying my times tropical freeze style soon enough hah.

 

I see that in the 'options' menu you can quickly access/view friend challenges via R1/L1 which is handy. Better than scouring the mountains looking for friend challenges. Should have had the options menu at launch as it was mentioned in a few reviews that it was easy to get lost in the mass of options presented to you. It gives the game more structure too. Much appreciated and player-friendly. (QoL or whatever is trendy to call such additions at the moment.)

 

Anyway @RedShell how did you get near 6k in your 'one jump' challenge?! I spent a good 15mins but could only get 3k maximum.

[RedShell]

I see that in the 'options' menu you can quickly access/view friend challenges via R1/L1 which is handy. Better than scouring the mountains looking for friend challenges. Should have had the options menu at launch as it was mentioned in a few reviews that it was easy to get lost in the mass of options presented to you. It gives the game more structure too. Much appreciated and player-friendly. (QoL or whatever is trendy to call such additions at the moment.)

 

Anyway @RedShell how did you get near 6k in your 'one jump' challenge?! I spent a good 15mins but could only get 3k maximum.

Pretty sure it was a complete fluke, as I also spent some time trying to improve it but couldn't get anywhere near to that score again.

 

If I remember correctly it was just a load of back flips combined with a grab, but I somehow managed to get much more airtime than usual.

[tapedeck]

Pretty sure it was a complete fluke, as I also spent some time trying to improve it but couldn't get anywhere near to that score again.

 

If I remember correctly it was just a load of back flips combined with a grab, but I somehow managed to get much more airtime than usual.

 

I did a 6k jump and still not sure how. Similar to you I got some massive air time. I think that the physics being a little wonky deters the game from being truly great as it's often the game deciding how successful you are on jumps and when landing. The GForce meter is extremely sensitive to this.

Still, spent four hours on it today with my nephew just trying to get golds on the wing suit challenges. They are fab and stringing a score together by playing close to the ground and cliffs is very fun in a :awesome:way!

[Ganepark32]

For anyone interested (@RedShell, @tapedeck), the free Alaska DLC for this is releasing this coming Friday (10th). A new region/mountain range with new challenges and such.

 

 

Looking forward to seeing what Alaska has to offer but even with wrapping up the platinum over the weekend, I don't feel as though I've even scratched the surface of the Alps yet as I keep finding these lines that take you through canyons (ones that aren't points of interest) and pose a huge challenge to stay on your board in them and once you're spat out the other end at speed. Spent ages the other day trying to perfect the line through one to set it up as a dare but just couldn't nail it, was proving too quick to handle at times.

 

But managing to nail the last 2 wingsuit events I needed for that platinum felt so satisfying. La Fieuse and Fallen Rocks are so tough but when I hit the line and managed gold on both, those were some sweet moments. Hoping for more like this with the coming DLC and with the rumoured Norway and Japan regions to come later.

[Ganepark32]

The Alaska DLC update has been delayed for 2 weeks. Should now be coming out on the 24th February, though even Ubisoft are being cagey with this date so I'm not completely hedging my bets it'll hit that date. Fingers crossed it does, especially as I was really looking forward to jumping in and seeing what Alaska has to offer in terms of lines for boarding and flying through.

[tapedeck]

The Alaska DLC update has been delayed for 2 weeks. Should now be coming out on the 24th February, though even Ubisoft are being cagey with this date so I'm not completely hedging my bets it'll hit that date. Fingers crossed it does, especially as I was really looking forward to jumping in and seeing what Alaska has to offer in terms of lines for boarding and flying through.

 

Was disappointed when I loaded the game up to play Alaska and then saw the delay online when looking for the new mountain. Meh. Still think this game is a fantastic chill out experience and the updates have made it a bit easier. Trying to get golds in paragliding and wingsuit. Love the snowboard/skiing too much so now getting better at those. They are great tbf.

Still just wish there were a few more sights to see and a bit of wildlife. Other than that, may double dip when it hits Switch. It's the perfect game to drop into and chill in.

[drahkon]

 

Announcing Steep: Road to the Olympics Expansion! Get a look at the very first full Expansion to the world of Steep, featuring the new real-world sports like halfpipe, slalom, and skicross!

 

Steep Road to the Olympics will be available just ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang Korea in February 2018.

Available December 5, 2017.

[Josh64]

I'm trying to enjoy this game but it's a struggle. I really like the actual events but hate traversing the overworld, I can't seem to fast travel many places so don't know how to get back up the mountain lol. And half the stuff is locked behind some damn need to look through bonoculars? More than anything that Mountain overview is just horrific man, what an awful way to display the game and different events. I just wanna play not trapse around ugh.

 

Also seems buggy as hell in places, I finished and crashed just after the finish line clipping me into some scenery so I couldn't move. 

[Josh64]

And always online is a right jip. I recorded a video, trimmed it and uploaded, when I went back to the game is had to start ALL OVER again 

[Mandalore]

Been playing this the last couple of weeks after getting it on PS+, it's pretty good for just playing in short bursts. It feels like it takes 1080, throws in a bit of Pilotwings and puts it in a Burnout Paradise style open world.

I can see @RedShell and @Cube on a few of the leaderboards, makes it a bit more interesting if I have other target times to beat. Anyone else playing/played Steep that I can add?