The Rise and Fall of Just Cause | Documentary

[Music] [Music] not too dissimilar from a b-tier action movie franchise Avalanche Studios just cause series never Rose far above its station it earned varying degrees of success across four entries thereby enjoying a comfortable status quo that many of its double A counterparts would aspire to however such Comforts came and went liberally especially with the launch of a fourth installment in December 2018. the first just cause made an attempt at raising the stakes for the open world genre popularized by Grand Theft Auto III gorgeous Vistas and a go anywhere and do anything Mantra meshed perfectly with avalanche's goal of providing players with tools to instigate chaos as they saw fit but just causes stunning environments and free-form gameplay could only pull so much weight in a digital world that felt as unpolished as it played great strides were taken to improve upon the core mechanics and subsequent outings which Avalanche realized rested squarely on the back of the Havoc players could unleash with explosions Vehicles high-powered weapons and the constantly evolving grappling hook some would argue it was never enough avalanche's debut title failed to move the needle commercially yet Just cause two swung onto store shelves and sold like hotcakes in 2010. unfortunately sales tapered off from that point forward nonetheless the development crew never wavered pushing the envelope in terms of its technical prowess at every turn but with just cause 4 performing below expectations franchise faithful were left to ponder whether protagonist Rico Rodriguez had many more Adventures ahead of him this is the rise and fall of Just Cause [Music] 20 the first company is it's a long story and story we were naive and young yeah that's a short story that is the short story actually frustrated by the thought that their bosses at Paradox interactive prioritized money over creating games developers Linus blomberg and Christopher Sundberg left the Europa universalis team and founded Rock Solid studios in 2001. the Stockholm headquartered outfit quickly Inked to deal with vivenda universal to produce an Italian game based on Tremors the comedy horror film franchise and TV series Rock Solid entered production on the tie-in during the Spring of 2002 then unveiled the project that August with plans to eventually release it across PC GameCube PlayStation 2 and Xbox despite licensing IP for its Market debut the studio built many software tools from scratch by crafting a proprietary RSS Tech Graphics engine to power the unnamed Tremors Adventure the technology most notably boasted an advanced geometry system for detailed Landscapes and smooth transitions into indoor environments which garnered the attention of codemasters who licensed the engine for its canceled MMORPG Dragon Empires amid all this excitement were Rumblings that Enclave developer starbury's Studios had expansion Ambitions involving the acquisition of Rock Solid star Breeze ultimately breached the acquisition agreement allowing the deal to fall apart and thus thrusting both companies into bankruptcy the failed merger resulted in financial ruin for the blomberg and sunberg founded firm worst still shortly after the starbury's deal went cold vivendi pulled the plug on Tremors and left rock solid with no choice but to permanently close up shop sunberg later admitted in a game and former sit-down that their biggest mistake with the First Development house was in trusting the wrong people but with so much more to give the pair started Anew by founding Avalanche Studio several months after Rock Solid sudden shuttering [Music] blomberg and sunberg established Avalanche studios in 2003 on the heels of rock solids collapse despite having only a handful of other developers on board work on what would later become the Avalanche engine kicked into high gear early on the patented game engine spawned from technology blomberg had spent years iterating on technology tailor-made for the sandbox Adventures the team dreamed of creating they described it as an advanced landscape engine capable of rendering huge settings that showcased everything from small insects to volumetric clouds an intricate weather system targeting realistic and Moody settings further facilitated the path towards an open-ended opus speaking with Game Informer avalanche's founding members insisted their interest in sandbox games predated the meteoric rise of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto blomberg in particular mentioned the frontier Elite Series when addressing a desire to build worlds that ventured far beyond the boundaries of physical Hardware such Ambitions held firm even though no one on the crew had any experience with the then burgeoning open world genre setting background limitations aside the main goal for avalanche's future projects hinged on player Freedom principal designer Magnus netfirst told game Brain as much and a making of interview highlighting how barring a few scripted sequences the original just cause aimed to break the mold of Simply tasking players with following instructions the developers looked to classic arcade games and sophisticated strategy titles for inspiration but were mostly influenced by other forms of media Comics action movies and Pope novels included this amalgam of influences converged to inform the creation of Rico Terror in the tropics the code name for an action adventure game where in mexican-born CIA agent Rico Rodriguez infiltrated a South American dictatorship to overthrow the ruling despot of the fictional San Espirito the Caribbean setting was chosen not for its obvious tropical Beauty but rather as a result of the late night in a bar with part of the development team enjoying lots and lots of rum according to the sunberg and blauberg interview with Andrew Roger in September of 2006. later Avalanche fittingly landed on the just cause title based on a historical operation of the same name in which U.S armed forces invaded Panama to remove president General Manuel Noriega from power in December 1989. striking a deal with idos interactive the UK publisher behind Tomb Raider and Hitman allowed for exponential Studio growth and the just cause creators needed as many hands on deck as possible to see their ambitious Vision through to completion Sundberg told IGN during E3 2005 that avalanche's overall Vision centered on providing a realistic world where users could creatively dismantle a regime with the help of nearly Endless Possibilities player Freedom factored into every facet of the open-ended experience as a result from completing missions and traversing the island to performing stunts using land sea and air-based vehicles vehicles and weaponry weren't the only tools designed for navigating San espirito's various obstacles Midway through production the developers brought Rico's now iconic grappling hook into The Fray mostly in hopes of facilitating the use of parachute mechanics that were fun but not widely practical for the minute to minute action netfirst couldn't recall the grappling Hook's Inception during the game bring discussion yet remembered it evolved from one developer mapping out the idea before building an in-game prototype rendering the wire and figuring out other intricate details such as slack and the line presented quite the challenge but outside of balancing technical specifications Avalanche didn't spend much time exploring the grappling system's full potential due in no small part to the mechanic entering the fold so deep into development little did developers know it would later grow into a key touch tone for the franchise [Music] thank you in October 2004 idos interactive advertised plans to publish just cause in 2005 for PC PS2 and the original Xbox the head of European external development at idos March in all times expressed confidence in the partnership yielding a great game to the publisher Avalanche seemed a good fit for its future slate of original content the public wouldn't learn why for several warm months the first details about the open world project circulated at E3 2005. during which time the company's premiered a tech demo showcasing Forest Landscapes City environments vehicular travel and the day night cycle its promising E3 showing aside just cause wasn't ready for its previously scheduled 2005 release window idos announced the delay later that year while reporting a six-month loss of 51 million dollars which soon thereafter contributed to the company's stock hitting a record low Avalanche stayed out of the public eye until early 2006 when word of just causes next-gen version on Xbox 360 hit the airwaves slated to launch alongside its PC and PS2 counterparts the 360 iteration promised something really special according to Studio co-founder Christopher Sundberg however the added next-gen benefits merely provided enhanced graphics and achievements irrespective of their platform of choice not many were impressed by Just Cause as a whole the game shipped in September 2006 after roughly three years of production inviting players to assume the role of CIA Black Ops agent Rico Rodriguez as he dismantled a fictional South American regime suspected of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction avalanche's engine earned praise for rendering a vast open World accentuated by an impressive day night cycle and plenty of exciting ways to roam yet middling reviews and tepid player reception showed few could ignore the emptiness of the sandbox it's lacking visuals and subpar animations weren't worthy of Applause either add to that the repetitive missions had just causes first outing felt bereft of Polish Above All Else still it would eventually enjoy lifetime sales of a reported 1.1 million copies its debut performing well enough to secure a sequel and with that sequel Avalanche Studios finally understood how just cause could differentiate itself in a market brimming with free roaming action titles for a while enjoy the ride [Music] Avalanche began brainstorming ideas for Just Cause 2 not long after deploying the original fully aware of the nascent franchise's unfulfilled potential taking the widespread criticism into account the crew outlined the trouble spots and in doing so identified three key areas of improvement lead game designer Peter Johansson detailed all three during an interview with videogamer.com telling the publication at an exorbitant amount of time went into Rico's new stunts specifically in figuring out ways to integrate them into regular in-game actions Johansson noted that while the first outing featured a decent helping of over-the-top Tricks most users ignored such exploits because they never felt necessary permanently binding the grappling hook to a dedicated button standing in for Rico's left arm movement supplied one resolution to the stunt's problem in question the enhanced grappling hook along with an overhauled parachute mechanic thus became the former CIA agent's closest allies arguably this notion was best realized with the so-called slingshot maneuver which could be activated by hooking Rico onto an object reeling him in then opening the parachute for a boost to let the character seamlessly glide through the air Avalanche similarly inserted this level of control into just cause 2's car surfing stunts tuning the movement so that shifting between positions atop moving Vehicles enabled offensive and defensive Maneuvers during gunfights as a result car chases gained a dimension of complexity that ventured far beyond the standard and stale mounted gunfare refining combat occupied the secondary of focus the studio placed special emphasis on ensuring every enemy encounter felt challenging and tactical a feat accomplished with an all-new aiming system and revamped AI while just cause included lock-on aiming its successor benefited from free aim mechanics the developers approached free aiming with two objectives in mind maintaining the fast-paced action and adhering to Simplicity these parameters began to hybrid system whereby users control the weapons crosshairs until a bit of assistance kicked in whenever the reticle Drew close to the Target understandably refining enemy AI for the sequel required more of a development effort as opposed to building upon their original work Avalanche rewrote the AI and based it on a sophisticated planning system that supplied Rico's adversaries with a host of New Tricks Just cause two foes could in turn use their environment strategically call for backup and protect important objects and installations the AI advancements covered combat encounters as well with enemies gaining the ability to shoot out windows during car chases fire off shots with greater accuracy and force players into evasive or cover based maneuvers and it all facilitated the Adaptive Difficulty system because of its non-linearity the just cause follow-up featured a difficulty framework capable of gradually scaling in accordance with a player's actions throughout the game late game missions for example included a heightened security presence because the government battling Rico had to adapt to the chaos he Unleashed in previous missions the structure and size of the open world constituted the final pillar of improvement Rico's debut Adventure strung together missions in linear fashion with lots of ground to cover between each objective and not much to do while making the trip to address this uniquely open world issue developers removed the disconnect between the main story content and side activities by ensuring every task drove the game forward side quests such as stronghold takeovers at random free roaming events like disrupting pipelines all contributed to Rico's efforts of destabilizing a de facto dictatorship Avalanche banked on this marriage between story and sidequest guaranteeing that users never roamed too far before finding interesting activities wrong hands it's gonna be one hell of a firestorm back in Washington wow the natives are restless someone doesn't like this but now in military I recognize the Flash on Hiatus from the agency Rico Rodriguez had taken a South American vacation cut short by his old partner convincing him to accept one final job an objective that involved tracking down and possibly eliminating his former Mentor Tom Sheldon but the premise of Rico pursuing a suspected rogue agent played second fiddle to the action-packed gameplay and massive open world the fictional island chain of panau served as Sheldon's Refuge of choice its topography primarily influenced by Hawaii and New Zealand Avalanche full inspiration from the varied climate zones that comprised both locales as such Canal included biomes ranging from sandy beaches jungles and snow-capped mountains to deserts and urban environments Just Cause 2 setting additionally created a Melting Pot of Asian cultures predominantly borrowing from Malay culture while also tipping a hat through Traditions across China Japan and Thailand the studio accomplished this much and more courtesy of avalanche engine 2.0 an advanced version of the old engine no longer hindered by the restrictions of sixth generation Hardware higher resolution textures upgraded destructibility detailed characters and a brand new animation system were all powered by the advanced technology but even with remarkable tools at its disposal their crew faced challenges Magnus netfer's game director on Just Cause 2 divulged in a Game Zone interview that's supporting free roam experiences across a 400 square mile map densely populated with activities proved particularly difficult play testing only added to the Grind since no one player engaged with the world in the same manner as their counterparts factoring in hundreds of activities designed to facilitate just causes theme of instigating chaos only exacerbated the play testing related strains the creative process that fueled the Project's production didn't help either as Ned first put it the team preferred ironing out the details as production moved along complicating the day-to-day for producers who preferred when plans were mapped out in advance features such as the grappling hook received cost and iteration as a consequence yet few would argue with the results the commercial and critical success of the sequel showed avalanche's efforts paid dividends [Music] big guns for such a small island [Music] stayed by a real looking into what the core experience of Just Cause was and how we could evolve that into the sequel so one thing that we really wanted to concentrate on was the stunts and that you could do Rico's the main tools for that there's a grappling hook idols and Avalanche Studios formally revealed Just Cause 2 in January 2008 showcasing only a handful of screenshots at the time but promising a 2008 launch across PC PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. the announcements accompanying press release describe the new interactive Adventure as an over-the-top Hollywood Blockbuster of a video game the public wouldn't get to see it in action for quite some time though for reasons unknown idos postponed just causes sophomore effort to a nebulous 2009 launch window the project later slipped into March 2010 the details of its second delay similarly shrouded in mystery a significant corporate shake-up behind the scenes may have contributed to the prolonged development period in some capacity in March 2009 idos interactive shareholders accepted Square enix's bid to purchase the British publisher for approximately 120 million dollars U.S a deal that included Deus Ex Hitman and Tomb Raider assets just cause proved itself to be yet another valuable property the following year when the sequel's free demo generated an impressive 2 million downloads on PlayStation Network Steam and Xbox Live and despite arriving in the same month as Final Fantasy XII and God of War 3. the full release of Just Cause 2 also fared incredibly well on the sales charts Rico's second outing Drew praise as one of the most exciting open World Games in years critics labeled it a must play for Adrenaline Junkies thanks to the huge open world ridiculous stunts intense destructibility and of course the game-changing link between the grappling hook and parachute which made maneuverability an exciting Adventure in its own right Canal provided the perfect sandbox too featuring countless activities that waded into the realm of redundancy but still gave players a reason to regularly dive back in be it in short bursts or longer play sessions Just Cause 2 boasted a few blemishes as well shipping with a number of annoying hiccups that hampered the experience for many the infrequent checkpoint system represented the biggest stumbling block considering how longer missions threw exceedingly difficult challenges at the player with no room for grace in the saved game department the targeting system similarly marched to the beat of dysfunction as it turned the franchise's already Troublesome Gunplay into a tedious affair numerous technical woes the occasional frustrating Mission and a campaign that hardly held player interest underscored the problem areas yet these flaws were easily ignored given the Myriad other victories and those in-game victories translated to commercial wins that saw Just Cause 2 exceed sales expectations and move over 6 million copies in four years the Stockholm output built From the Ashes of Rock Solid Studios finally had a Bonafide hit foreign evity factored heavily into just cause 2's impressive sales figures with it thriving based on two noteworthy elements the PS3 versions Youtube upload feature and the PC modding Community the most popular videos uploaded by PS3 players topped 12 million views meanwhile modders implemented multiplayer features on PC encouraging Avalanche to release an official multiplayer mod in late 2013. naturally the creative team felt it Prudence to further explore Community features when crafting Rico's next dictator dismantling Endeavor but such an expansion wouldn't happen under the stewardship of the stockholm-based firm while the group behind just cause 1 and 2 directed its gaze towards the apocalyptic Mad Max Universe a new satellite Studio took the reins on Rico's return former Atari executive David grintz left the company in 2010 harboring dreams of establishing a game studio in his hometown of New York City grins chiefly envisioned a company that would help turn their Metropolis into a legitimate place for growing the gaming business the industry veterans old friend Christopher Sundberg assisted in bringing his vision to fruition in November 2011 Avalanche announced the founding of its Manhattan arm where co-founder David Grant served as general manager speaking with Game Informer for the December 2014 cover story sunberg explained that he cast his mind toward a third just cause game as soon as production wrapped on the sequel but the chief creative officer wanted a fresh perspective and thus after months of brainstorming the Manhattan office entered pre-production on what would become just cause 3. the goal from the start was to amplify and enhance all of the property's disparate parts from World density and core mechanics to destructive capabilities and Rico's personality Just Cause 3 would usher in an evolutionary shift for the brand one made possible by the Manhattan team's decision to bring the protagonist character Arc full circle the 2006 title painted somewhat of a Goofy image for the hero he gained a sleeker Edge for the 2010 installment taking on a Persona consistent with the Scorpion nickname mercenaries used to identify him even then sunberg admitted the worlds of Just Cause as earlier outings constituted the strongest characters meaning Rico had long been two for a deeper personality this notion manifested in the creation of Medici a fictional Mediterranean Republic the protagonist escaped amid a military coup during his adolescence the loss of his parents during the Takeover led by General de ravello marked the Catalyst that led to his CIA recruitment thereby starting the character on a path of dismantling dictators the world over at the behest of childhood friends that path pulled Rico back into medici's borders where his knack for toppling oppressive regimes presented him an opportunity to liberate his homeland from diravello the town of Costa Del pot on there when he comes he contacted the insignificant kill his friend [Music] a mediterranean-esque locales seemed ideal for examining both Rico's past and the new technical advancements rendered possible by The Avalanches upgraded engine select Assassin's Creed entries aside the Mediterranean boasted a lot of untapped potential in gaming thus the developers borrowed from the sites and topography of Sicily Malta Greece and Monaco each location provided a guide for mapping out a world pact with more terrain denser areas and air friendly navigational possibilities all informed by the Manhattan office's vision of pushing for verticality avalanche's versatile terrain system constituted the most significant Improvement to its engine between the 7th and eighth console Generations as such though Medici bordered on the same size as panau it featured small Islands Mammoth mountains and cities spread across five biomes including coastal areas pastoral Fields blooming with flowers scrub lands forested zones and ice-capped mountains better yet the new height map system sidestepped merely emphasizing a top layer of terrain to instead permit volumetric terrain capable of realizing 3D formations suddenly Rico's navigational prowess extended to caves overhangs and tunnels the newly implemented verticality also engendered the Advent of another vehicle for air travel the wing suit game director Roland lesterlin pitched wingsuit mechanics early in development according to lead player mechanics designer Joey Shakura the idea worked theoretically yet its first iteration crashed and burned failing to befit the action of Just Cause 3. ishakura said that in its infancy activating the wingsuit with the Press of a button felt like sudden Transportation into a different game altogether several rounds of trial and error supported the Mastery of the feature's final glider-like controls opening the door for a second slingshot grapple maneuver the boosted Avalanche engines approach to destruction similarly elevated the core tennis of Just Cause gameplay especially since explosions had long become an integral part of the experience tearing down statues and blowing enemy airplanes out of the sky produced detailed visual feedback but the upgraded scale of destructibility benefited the action in Far grander fashion for instance players chased across a bridge by an enemy Convoy could blow up the bridge with the right tools then Escape while leaving their pursuers behind in the literal dust and Rubble reactivity played its own part in avalanche's vision of a living breathing open world such that it extended to how Rico responded to player inputs and how civilian NPCs reacted towards the protagonist's behavior lesterlin noted in a venture beat interview that a reactive World meant players would never feel the need to Halt their movements each button press was intended to elicit some kind of reaction as for the game World itself reactivity evolved in a way that ensured Rico couldn't wing suit across a field without farmers down below pausing to catch sight of what soared above them Avalanche had taken the Simplicity of the original just cause and dialed it up to 11 yet saving space for the growth of Rico and its World design shops didn't prevent the company's Manhattan from from staying true to the zany tone of the franchise Rico's tragic backstory may have been the backbone of the third game but developers insisted Just Cause 3 in no way constituted a story-driven rock The overarching Narrative represented a tool for teaching players the rules and tricks embedded in the world around them lesterland told Game Informer the team hoped users would learn about the likes of dual tethering during the campaign then feel motivated to test the same mechanic by dual tethering something outrageous along the lines of a helicopter and ground vehicle a brand new upgrade system supplemented the over-the-top action inspired by the dedicated modding community on PC that contributed so significantly to the sequel's longevity simply referred to as mods the upgrades weren't aimed at enhancing Rico per se as Avalanche saw it the action hero had already become plenty powerful players would instead start the game with a number of pre-existing abilities then build upon those skills with Mod unlocks interestingly the unlocks were tied to a range of challenges completing wing suit challenges began wingsuit mods destruction based tasks awarded grenade mods and so on all in all this approach offered player choice beyond that of past just cause installments leaving developers certain they'd produce the ultimate sandbox a gamer's game as lesterland once described it if the 2010 title had raised the IP's profile its successor seemed poised to reach Greater Heights many would argue it came up short to shoot your guns you play at War and they burn our own so listen to him we have to do this got no choice borrowing a brief tease Just Cause 3 enter the Limelight in November 2014 when Avalanche partnered with Game Informer to announce the Magazine's December cover reveal such news combined with the Stockholm office's planned rollout of Mad Max suggested 2015 would be the company's biggest year since Inception the team especially drove home that point upon debuting gameplay footage of Just Cause 3 during Square enix's E3 2015 presentation viewers were in awe of the high octane action and explosive fun if nothing else the just cause brand new how to entice audiences with masterful showpieces and the anticipation that blessed from the reveal held public interest through the game's December 2015 launch on PC PS4 and Xbox one but when compared to its universally beloved predecessor the third release struck out Rico Rodriguez's Mediterranean set mission was met with middling reception from critics and fans alike there arguably existed no better sandbox on the market at the time the tuned gameplay mechanics and genuine sense of Freedom intersected to unleash picture-perfect chaos such that players could replicate their most bombastic Hollywood Blockbuster dreams it may not have hit the same standards of quality that other major 2015 titles such as bloodborne and The Witcher 3 wild Hunt set in place yet crisp visuals and an almost unmatched fun Factor compensated for several shortcomings still the hiccups proved far too distracting repetitive missions often got in the way of The Thrill Ride For example particularly when it came to the much loathed escort objectives unintelligent friendly and enemy AI caused a fair few problems as well egregious bugs and mostly console-based frame rate issues added to this Symphony of errors that revealed Just Cause 3 as an unpolished cut below its Forerunner Square Enix never disclosed concrete sales numbers for Just Cause 3 yet the Publisher's early 2016 Ernie reports said its so-called solid performance along with that of Rise of the Tomb Raider helped boost Revenue considerably it evidently performed well enough to Warrant Square Enix signing off on a fourth chapter in The Saga foreign that gives you a pretty good idea of the extent of the world so Solis is the new word of just cause it's the biggest word you have to uh to date and it's also the most diverse uh it's inspired by landscapes in South America and here for example you can see uh at the bottom of the grasslands inspired by the apartment not unlike other sequels Just cause two and three fleshed out what it come before in terms of gameplay and World design Avalanche Studios essentially relied on the same approach when crafting the force game but deviated in ways that longtime fans may not have anticipated marketing speak for previous entries notably drilled home the notion that just cause by no means offered a story driven experience Studio co-founder Christopher Sundberg shared insight into why story played a secondary or tertiary role in a series of Tweets in 2013 wherein he questioned why Games should focus on storytelling when the data proved that consumers didn't care Just Cause 2 provided one such data point with a developer divulging that only 18 percent of players completed the second games campaign bearing those numbers in mind Sundberg argued story-driven AAA games no longer made commercial sense though the likes of the last of us were the exception evidently this train of thought held firm throughout just cause 3's production cycle it changed by the time the 2018 installment entered development however game director Francesco Antolini noted during an interview with variety that in terms of Storytelling just cause 4 marked avalanche's attempt at being more plausible rather than campy the game itself still built on the sandbox gameplay and other core strengths of the franchise because developers knew what audiences wanted yet they also tried their hand at delivering a relatively in-depth narrative thereby allowing players interested in the story to deeply explore Rico Rodriguez and the new foe he faced to a certain extent then the crew set out to deviate from the Brand's classic structure the first step manifested in the formation of a proper narrative team which devised the villainous Gabriella Morales and the mercenary outfit she ran the black hand for her part Gabriella represented the perfect foil to Rico his penchant for chaos matched against her orderliness where he prioritized intuitiveness she thrived on strategy Avalanche wanted an antagonist who could competently challenge their leading man to approach obstacles differently perhaps with more thoughtfulness as a result Gabriella's black hand operation bore a lot in common with real world private military companies like Blackwater the development team insisted however that just cause 4 featured an apolitical narrative hence the creative decision to disguise militant enemies with face masks when questioned by variety about the ideals separating Rico's Mission from that of the black hand Antolini said Freedom sat at the center of the conflict Rico aimed to relieve the fictional South American nation of Solis from its oppressor Oscar Espinoza meanwhile the private Army enforced espinoza's rule without oversight according to the game director not even the player's actions inspiring a homegrown Revolution wore the statue of politics influenced storytelling ignoring the history behind the just cause name and the newer game's stated goal of conveying a deeper story campaign it seemed Avalanche had its sights set on marketing and experience focused squarely on pretty explosions and once again the studio re-engineered its technology to pursue such ends after spending years modifying the Avalanche engine the company shelved its old technology and started Anew with the bespoke Apex engine as stated by Francesco Antolini Avalanche didn't want the action series returning to market with the same troubles that plagued the 2015 entry he particularly highlighted just cause 3's console specific issues as one motivating factor behind the overhaul Engineers thus equipped Apex with a brand new animation system physics-based rendering better HDR lighting then unrivaled draw distances increased Fidelity of Destruction and a trove of bells and whistles that facilitated just cause 4's Most Daring feature Dynamic weather events impressively the engine's extreme weather system simulated tornadoes blizzards lightning storms and sandstorms none of which were scripted senior game designer Robert Mayer described the events as real physicalized simulations in the world during a late 2018 preview noting that the weather-centric technology demanded the most team effort since it involved cooperation from all internal disciplines every detail had to work as players would expect for instance the site of a tornado tearing across an airport wouldn't alone sell a sense of realism sitting airplanes needed to be sucked into the vortex's orbit then subsequently tossed around enemy forces were similarly designed to exhibit appropriate extreme weather behaviors and balancing it all counted as a key part of the equation otherwise the supposedly Dynamic moments could have rendered the game unplayable and unpleasant the open world naturally went hand in hand with the weather design baked into it Rico found himself exploring Solis in Just Cause 4. the IP's biggest playground beyond the map's massive size variety additionally played an integral role in world design a response to the relative homogeneity that pervaded just cause 3's Mediterranean inspired setting Solis contained four different biomes including the harsh and anti-slike Alpine environment a rainforest grasslands and a desert Locale each climate zone included an extra layer of diversity designed in hopes of regularly Conjuring up new discoveries for players story missions underwent an overhaul between games too making what Robert Mayer called a return to form in some respects the fourth title adopted just cause 2's open Mission structure yet still fell in line with a deeper narrative following the first set of introductory objectives then users would start operations a series of missions revolving around each biome and extreme weather event one biome-specific operation may have tasked Rico with unearthing the cause of tornadoes in the region and the open-ended nature of these missions allowed users to complete them in whichever order they preferred even pausing their tornado Arc to get a head start on say the sandstorm branch in keeping with the theme of variety Avalanche embraced this structure so players never felt forced to remain in one climate zone for too long as was the custom for Just Cause player choice came first thus the community's influence never wavered many gadgets and vehicles were inspired by the gameplay footage fans shared online from previous installments avalanche's dedication to providing a greater sense of Freedom Additionally engendered the advancement of the Beloved grappling hook in the third game adding up to six grapple tethers came by means of progression developers believed accessing all six right off the bat served as a good starting point for the fourth title grappling hook mods generated about twice as many tethers which could be outfitted with retractors for sticking targets together booster rockets and airlifters that worked like the balloons in Metal Gear Solid 5. it appeared as though Avalanche left no stone unturned in his pursuit of elevating the Marquee brand while efforts of this kind had paid off handsomely in the past just cause 4 ultimately sold below expectations how many deposed dictators later and you're still the same you were at 17. if I were 17 I wouldn't feel so banged up right now just cause 4 landed on PC PS4 and Xbox One in December 2018. six months after it's revealed during Microsoft's E3 conference the game's quick arrival failed to Garner much critical praise evidenced by Metacritic scores whose averages sank lower than the 2006 debut explosive action neat weather effects and fresh customization tools offered only so much in a game that fans and reviewers felt employed none of these features to their fullest extent avalanche's attempted weaving a worthwhile tail didn't stick The Landing either nor did the revised Mission structure solve the issue of bland and redundant objectives performance hiccups and Technical glitches compounded the Myriad shortcomings and presumably had an adverse effect on sales Square Enix withheld specifics but confirmed just cause 4 sluggish start amid a February 2019 q a session with investors it sold below expectations enough so that launch sales couldn't offset development costs the publisher further attributed its operating loss of 1.7 billion yen in the HT game sub-segment to the fourth outing's poor performance adding that holiday sales of shadow of the Tomb Raider and Dragon Quest Builders 2 were also not enough to compensate for the shortfall of Just Cause 4. within three months of release Square Enix launched the experience on Xbox game pass many interpreted this series of events as the writing on the wall for Just Cause and the cancellation of Just Cause mobile probably won't ease those concerns announced during the 2020 Game Awards just cause mobile was touted as a free-to-play shooter boasting a story campaign 30-person competitive multiplayer and four player co-op it promised four distinct game modes and movement mechanics found in the core games including grappling hook parachute and wingsuit functionality originally slated for 2021 swearinix delayed the IOS and Android title to 2022 because of complications stemming from the covid-19 pandemic a second delay pushed it beyond the 2022 window without explanation upon terminating development the publisher removed just cause Mobile's Early Access builds from digital storefronts on July 3rd 2023 just cause 5 may wait in the wings though after unloading IP such as Tomb Raider Deus Ex and Legacy of Kane in a sale to embracer group Square Enix held on to the Avalanche created Property company president yosuke matsuda stated in a May 2022 financial report that in addition to just cause remaining part of the Square Enix family the publisher was also at work developing a new title in the franchise what the eventual release May entail eludes the public even Rico Rodriguez's potential involvement remains unclear still it seems that in spite of its pitfalls Square Enix is not yet ready to Sunset the Blockbuster action series Christopher Sundberg and other co-creators originally envisioned just cause as a game where people could Skydive onto the roof of a car and keep on going the basic concept morphed with each new iteration evolving and leaving space for even grander scenarios for some reason the thrill-seeking charm of Just Cause lost its luster over time the sandboxes grew larger and the action became increasingly more outlandish yet these advancements seemingly buckled beneath the weight of stagnation in terms of Storytelling missions and the lack of multiplayer support in short as gaming outgrew the standards established by Generations past just cause got left behind only beginning to catch up a little too late should the series receive a new lease on life it may take more than Rico's explosion happy Antics to reel in audiences new and old it's important everyone is passionate about what they're doing that's also mean why we choose to work on games that we are passionate about because then that's threats and organization and we know that all our staff that we have love to work on the games that we do and that's really important for us foreign this video has been brought to you by you the generous fans and patrons making all of this possible from having your name appear in the credits or even narrated by me to gaining Early ad-free Access to our entire library of content those who support us on patreon will not only become part of the awesome community that enables us to make these videos but receive a host of exciting rewards as a token of our gratitude if you are interested in contributing to our work and helping our Channel grow head over to our patreon page to discover all of the exclusive content and reward tiers we have on offer thank you for your support [Music] thank you for watching we'd like to take this time to thank by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our Hall of Fame rewards here Alex Moretti and those currently subscribe to our producer rewards here Brock PB Roto get wrecked.com Jonathan Kira May Landy K 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Channel: GVMERS

Views: 195,887

Keywords: Just Cause, Just Cause 2, Just Cause 3, Just Cause 4, Just Cause Mobile, Just Cause 5, JC, JC2, JC3, JC4, JC5, Avalanche Studios, Square Enix, Just Cause Documentary, History of Just Cause, Just Cause Retrospective, Rico Rodriguez, Just Cause Mods, Just Cause History, Just Cause 2023, Just Cause 2024, Just Cause 2025, Just Cause Reboot, Just Cause Remake, Just Cause Remastered, Panama Invasion, Operation Just Cause, Evolution of Just Cause, Just Cause Games

Id: C9fZvJO99kQ

Length: 44min 41sec (2681 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 07 2023