Yeah Deadlocked has definitely risen in my personal ranking of the games as I realized how genius it is. I kind of wish we got a deluxe version of UYA and Deadlocked that fleshed out the parts of the game they didn't have time to develop, although with how they handled the remake of the original game, I'm not holding my breath.
The way Deadlocked's ricochet was implemented on the dual vipers was very satisfying. It's a big inspiration for the game I am working on. Great vid as always VG.
Sweet video, wish the audio was a bit better though. A lot of the time you sounded very muffled/quiet/drowned out, especially when there was lots of background noise. I love the idea of filming out in natural locations but it would def help to have a better mic out there.
It's all audible, but it could sound a lot better, although it's nice to hear that it didn't give you any issues @SkipperFPS. Unfortunately, that's just the outcome of filming where I did, the actual mic quality is fine (the entire video is recorded with the same mic), the cicadas here are just *VERY LOUD* this time of year, and there's a lot of processing done so they're not incredibly distracting. Now, that's not an excuse, the real solution is to record in quieter locations, it's why certain sections sound markedly better than others, the intro/outro especially. In any case, they should be quieting down now, they really only that distractingly loud for a couple of months
@@VersionGamma oh i totally get it, im aussie too and live in Canberra, so i know about cicadas in the summer. Just thought id point it out as some constructive criticism since i love your channel and work. BTW gladiator > deadlocked any day; and fuck the "future" suffix. Also im interested as to why you didnt look into size matters at least briefly because of how indepth the armor mod system was; though i suppose you might be reserving that for a future video on armor in the RAC games.
If I'm honest, I've never played it. Well, that's not entirely true, I played it briefly cause my brother owned it, so I didn't have enough history to discuss it. I had totally forgot it had weapon mods until someone pointed it out in the comments, although I still probably wouldn't have included them. If I ever do anything on armor, I probably will talk about Size Matters, because that's the part of the game that's actually interesting (maybe the only part, idk I haven't played it a lot). Also it's finally happened, someone has mistaken me as an aussie, it's never happened before. As a kiwi I should be massively offended, but I'm just surprised it took this long /s. (does /s work in youtube comments as well? Hopefully, sarcasm doesn't come across well in text)
On one hand I agree and on the other it's a uniquely natural take on a video. I did have captions on to be on the safe side since there was the odd muffle which can't be helped in a windy area with singing bugs
Deadlocked is my favorite weapon mod system in the entire series. Even with its flaws it was thorough and implemented pretty well to so you can actually feel like a different weapon with every customization
Good shit. I thought I was the only one that ever cared about things like UYA being automatic, or deadlocked's customization. On a side note: it's pretty cool to see you doing lag jumps, flail cancels, and even doing the SI on Siberius for the platinum bolt. I didn't even notice them at first because I've done them so many times I don't even think about it much anymore.
Just because I don't speedrun anymore doesn't mean I can't bust out the speed tech, cause it's so much fun. I can't play the original 3 without lagjumping/sideflipping anymore, it's just not possible, I have to do it
*sees there's a new Version Gamma video* *day instantly becomes much better* Really enjoyed it, although the wind was a bit loud for some of your outside scenes. Appreciate the amount of effort you put in to these videos though!
Absolute Gigachad for the Ratchet Deadlock praise. *Also great points on the constructor weapons. It does seem like the loadout stuff might've been something planned, but might've not worked to limitations.
Another excellent, well-researched video! My only critiques would be the drop in sound quality during the outside segments and the script repetition (sections around 10:51 and 13:12 covering the same subject in a way that doesn't feel necessary), but it's otherwise great! Keep up the solid work, mate!
Thanks! I will say that the quality between outside segments and gameplay (fun fact, everything is recorded outside, so the change in sound dynamics isn't as drastic) was something I knew was an issue from the very first second I started editing, even when I was shooting for a little bit, but there's only so much sound reduction you can do to the incredibly loud cicadas this time of year, other than choose different locations (it's why the intro/outro and UYA sound the best, they where the last ones shot). Ultimately, the buck still stops with me for that. As it does for the scripting error, which I went to not really sure which part you where talking about, but as soon as I heard the first part I knew exactly which section you meant. Just some flaws in the way I write/edit scripts I need to iron out, really I should have referenced the first part of the script (10:51) in the second (13:12) instead of repeating myself.
Another issue with the Constructo mods in ACIT(which ties in with the point about how they get outclassed by later weapons in the game) is the fact that you have to explore around areas to find them. Now while on paper, that sounds like an incredible evolution to how they were handled previously, having exploration reward you with more options to deck out your weapons; it basically means by the time you get even a fraction of the mods of any one weapon, you'll have no reason to use that weapon anymore since you'll have used it enough times to have levelled it up to V5. By this point in the series; Ratchet fans have been trained to not waste any time using an already levelled up weapon and focus on one that isn't levelled up in order to make good use of the experience. Takes away a significant amount of the concept's range until getting the Omega weapons on challenge mode which even then wouldn't fix the other issue brought up about the limited versatility, having to swap in between mods and such on the fly. Since this idea never comes back after ACIT, this must've just been an experimental phase of theirs that once they realise didn't work as well as it should've, they dropped it altogether. Although frankly it is better than the Raritanium mods we end up with afterwards which is a shame IG never saw it that way.
Here's a couple ideas that could fix that: You get two loadouts you can equip on the quick select to quickly switch between, and rather than leveling the constructor weapons themselves, you level the mods. Boom. I admittedly never played ACiT, didn't get a PS3 until like 2011, so I dunno how those ideas would gel with the rest of the game, but they seem like from a design perspective it could work.
Mate this was a good watch, thanks for an interesting video. I'm probably tied with 2&3 being my fave games because my mind is at war with different levels, mechanics and features they both try to mess with. That said, Gladiator (yes) is definitely the best when it comes to weapon mod implementation and experimentation, no two players play it the same. I too feel that the raritanium system always felt like a grindy MMORPG type of mood because you just end up growing a skill tree that isn't much different to just earning them on a normal level up.
The raritanium upgrade trees are actually my favorites in the series, cuz they're easier for me to comprehend compared to the confusing mods in Deadlocked
The Alpha Mods are great, by they're automated enough you don't have to bother with them before Challenge Mode and I didn't understand them at all my first few playthrougs as a kid
If anything, i love that the mechanic changes so much. In Solana, they work like this. In Bogon, they work like this. In Polaris, they work like this. In the secluded Shadow Sector, we got your absolute favorite!
Ok, this is definitely something to take into consideration for my own big-eared platform-shooter. Ratchet & Clank was a notable influence on it. This would also explain why I preferred Darksiders' "Enhancement" system over its more convoluted loot equivalent in Darksiders II.
Interesting video this is. There aren't many that dive deep into the combat systems of 3D platformers like this. It can definitely get explained in videos, but videos like these go really in-depth in explaining what exactly makes it tick or not. I hope that the future will bring forth other such videos about the combat systems in games like Maximo 1 and 2, Kya: Dark Lineage and what-have-you. I've heard here and there that combat is difficult to get right or make work in 3D platformers, so i'm interested in seeing what others might think of it or what solutions could be brought to the table. Regardless, thank you for the effort on the video. Bar the sound differences (which have already been brought up in other comments) it was a pretty dang good one. Though i'm a stranger on the internet, i wish you good luck and fun on whatever future projects you might have.
I think UYA handled having a multi-levelling the best by utilising mods and slowly giving more functionality into the weapon before the defacto final upgrade which is still a more significant change, although that's not to say I prefer the lack of having collectibles contributing to gameplay or having optional weapon mods that you obtain with an effort that isn't using said weapon
Dude I've fallen in love with your Rachet and Clank Video series. Could you make more videos, perhaps discussing each world and its designs, maybe giving your opinions on your absolute favorites. Just more Rachet and Clank Pleasseee!
He skipped Size Matters. Shame because it was cool that the mods in that game actually drastically changed the appearance of the weapons, such as adding an extra barrel to the Dual Lacerators making them twice as effective as prior whilst also making the weapon itself look far more powerful.
Very good video. Love that you explained all the implementations in the series, for those of us who only play the PS2 games. And of course that you had so many good points to make about the effects of the differences. I didn't own Gladiator as a kid. Although I did as Dallas would tell me: "Go to a friend's house!" This year I've finally sat down to play it properly, as DLC for my childhood. I think the mod system is extremely interesting in that you have to use your brains to get the most out of it. Not only that, you have to be paying attention to effects of your setup, before going back to the drawing board again. The compromises do indeed make it genius. What I don't like about Gladiator's modding is that playthroughs on higher difficulties beg for you to swap the best mods mid-fight to the weapon you have equipped or still have ammo for. That's a bit cheese, and it breaks immersion. Some kind of friction would be great, like only being able to tweak between challenges - a feature that's missing anyway. I like that you've bought the exact amount of Alpha Mods that you could possibly ever need, haha! I did some experimentation, and the inventory can only hold a maximum amount (255 I believe) before it resets to zero again. So if you remove a certain type of mod from your weapon, and it pushes the inventory counter over the maximum, it will actually rob you of your mods!
I think IG probably thought the same thing about the drawbacks of the raritanium system after ToD, which is why they had the constructo system in ACiT and then realised it would be a monumental effort to add to every weapon so they stuck with the three basic ones, and went back to raritanium in the later games. I like the raritanium system and in theory could be better than anything else just with a couple of tweaks. Just make the number of tiles you unlock limited and switchable, so it kinda works like the alpha mods from deadlocked except the mod types are respective to each weapon, but the raritanium itself is transferrable. Then it becomes a mini puzzle to unlock the bonus upgrades (by filling surrounding tiles) you want, or try and get the most upgrades possible; although this could be a bit tedious if you just want to quickly adjust something on the weapon. Maybe add a single extra mod slot, either like the Omega mods which are universal with a large selection or a small selection unique to each weapon like Constructo mods. Having raritanium used for all weapons gives pause for thought when choosing what weapon to upgrade, considering its level, power, usefulness and how much you think you will use it later. But as it stands it is just kind of a bolt on collectathon, without any tradeoffs in choice except for what to upgrade first.
Love the analysis RnC was my first game as a kid and ive always imagined a more engaging combat system and the mod system besides acit an deadlocked never hit a better spot and they never tried to improve those 2. I think a drasticly different system would revamp the game cus its basicaly unchanged from goin commandos formula which was great in 2003 but 20 years later it needs work. I feel rnc would be great as a true rpg kinda like borderlands mixed with new god of war. Light skill trees from bl one for ratchet n rivet to differentiate em and the buildcrafting of gows system. GC took huge steps towards it and then never advanced. I think every weapon should have a constucto mod system mixed with the rareitanium an alpha omega mod system. Every weapon would have 20 mods some unique to the gun and a few sharred ones like elemental dmg or extra ammo. At max level you can mix n match 10 of the mods to make your gun however you want it. The stat mods like ammo or blast radius fire rate would just be a single mod not a bunch of incremental ones and the other mods would do stuff like change the alternate fire with haptic triggers like an n60 storm with a shotgun barrel mod or gl a shotgun with a flamethrower underbarrel or change how a gun functions giving it a charged mode or burst fire mode or bouncer bombs tracking missles turning your bomb glove into a mini blachole pullin enemies in or freezing stuff etc. You would unlock 1 mod per level with 10 extra ones to find and buy. The generic elemental mods would be bolts while the rarer mods would be hidden with gadgets to backtrack on planets and one special mod per gun would be bought with a gold bolt. Mele weapons would also have a level system and mods that could be new combos an special moves. Armor was the most interesting in size matters but the defense level killled all choice you made an rift aparts armor is jus boring passive buffs with no choice in how its upgraded. Armor should have abilities and a resource system to use them. These abilities would be sttuff that doesnt feel good as a gun either cus its underwhelming or too broken like tesla barrier or holoshields or clank zapper synthenoids and the bombadiers. Your armor would let you choose your playstyle so if you wanna have shields up constantly you can but you give up on like a combat ability like an aoe slam that spawns ice crystals and generates health n ammo from hittin enemies. Armor would jus be light med and heavy varriants so you balance having more health or mobility or battery capacity for armor abilities.
For the Galdiator mod system, I would probly put all the ammo mods on the granades and afew on the sniper-riffle, and remove all the aiming mods from everything: expecially aoe weapons. (The way I use aoe weapons, aim mods would actually hinder me.)
While the mod system from UYA and Size Matters were fun, I do like the TOD raritanium system as that mechanic is great for improving the weaker weapons of any game, and is very similar to how most modern games have a gameplay mechanic that allows you to make a weapon and such better. I do however HATE how it is today as seen in the 2016 game and Rift Apart, as I feel like the games rely on it a bit too much and it only truly works when you buy a bunch of mods at once. Also those special mods don't feel special compared to the ones you can get in TOD. If it is going to stay around it needs a big redesign. I think it would help it was more like the TOD version again with how each weapons has a total limit of a dozen available modifications. There should also be a level up/tree system like thing where at first the modification upgrades are cheap, but after that they get more expensive but you are getting a stronger upgrade as a result. Like before buying certain upgrades can get you a special mod, but it should actually be special like for the pistol, you can get a special mod where you have a chance of paralyzing you enemy for a bit. Maybe they could add in a mechanic where you can equip/unequip certain special mods for a weapon. That could lead to some interesting skill points/trophies. The Constructo weapons were fun and IG should definitely bring them back one day with new mods. If they do they should make a new weapon one called the "Constructo Gun", a weapon similar to the Morph Gun from Jak and Daxter where you can quickly switch between several selected mods and its mods are more unique like it would have a sniper mod, flamethrower/freeze ray mod, and a net launcher mod.
my opinion: weapon upgrades in the first game are the best. they are super limited, which helps keep the balance of the game at a certain difficulty even after purchasing the upgrade, they are hard to find, so it feels like an achievement to even find the place that sells them, and they each add a unique characteristic to the weapon that fits its mechanics like a glove (of doom lol). second game upgrades feel like a total waste of budget. sure its "cool" but its just a feature, that feels kinda redundant... adding electricity or poison to weapons that have no business including these elements in the first place, also being generic, as these upgrades are common with all the weapons, just feels like its something that was added last minute to make use of the rare bolts instead of just thinking of how to uniquely upgrade each weapon like in the first game... third game was cool with its upgrades, each felt unique and made you invested in upgrading to the last level to see the evolution of the weapon, just like in the first game. the problem here is that unlike in the first game where you collected bolts and could choose what to upgrade, here you just had to play with the weapon you wanted to upgrade, which made it so that as soon as you level up a weapon to max, you wouldn't want to use it anymore since it'll be a waste of exp. this is bad game design which opposes a core element of the game which was "using different weapons for different situations". i like to think of combat in the ratchet and clank games like another form of puzzles, and you have different solutions for each puzzle depending on the situation. in the third game, the solution to every combat was to use your least upgraded weapon, opposed to using the best fit weapon to handle the situation like in the first game. didnt play deadlock enough to reach the weapon upgrade system there so i dont have an opinion on it. overall my take is that the first game landed the weapon upgrade system perfectly, and the only thing that could have made combat feel better would have been Z targeting integrated into the game.
Personally I like Rift Apart's raritanium upgrade system. Raritanium is rare enough, and the intervals between vendors are long enough, that each stop has a big decision to make, as there's usually only enough for one or two gold cell upgrades across multiple weapons. It also removed the resource farming upgrades that ToD and 2016 had, which are fun and addictive at first, but remove choice in favour of STONKS!
Excellent analysis. For the raritanium system and constructo weapons systems, you hit the nail on the head for how I feel about them. While I do dislike how Deadlocked's weapon leveling suffered by becoming only damage increase instead of functionality, I can say that I did get enjoyment out of experimenting with alpha modification. That being said, eventually I found myself maximizing ammo mods and switching to the time-bomb mod when possible on the harder difficulties for the same reason I would prioritize ammo upgrades with the raritanium system, so it isn't perfect by any means. This is going to be controversial, but I actually like the weapon mods in Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank, as bad as those games are. While only being purchased by bolts rather than titanium bolts is a missed opportunity, I think the way they modify weapon functionality and appearance with attachments is something I wish the rest of the series did. A large part of the appeal of Ratchet and Clank weapons for me have always been anticipating how weapon appearance and functionality will change upon upgrade, which leaves a lot to be desired with incremental damage upgrades. This has gotten to the point where playing through Rift Apart made me annoyed at how an upgrading weapon would put the game in slow motion and show a contextless meter rising for weapon stats.
I disagree with your takeaway from ToD's Raritanium trees: sure, it is a progression system because it's incentivizing you to get more Raritanium to complete the tree, but: A) that works for incentivizing exploration as well (something only GC's system does to a similar degree, and, even then, the limitations of both the currency used and the "tech tree" itself clearly leave a completely different impact and leave the player with a completely different feel) B) the short-term decision-making absolutely matters, both because which upgrade you pick directly impacts your gameplay (especially if you opt for more Raritanium upgrades and more ammo ones) and the currency you get is obtained at a different pace than simply leveling your weapon (so unlike Deadlocked's Alpha Mods), again tying it back to exploration, rather than just grinding your weapon up so that you can unlock more mods and more slots So yes, it won't matter much for the post-game, where you have enough resources to unlock everything, but it absolutely does during the in-game/short-term; that is also the nature of the more heavy RPG ties the series started to adopt ever since 2/GC. Now, I don't disagree that such Raritanium trees shouldn't get too bloated (well, the mere name "Raritanium" becomes more and more ironic with every entry, technically), and it's best I don't even start talking about how Rift Apart completely removed any more in-depth weapon improvement from base leveling to put it in the trees... Eugh; perhaps that's also why I'm not super fond of Deadlocked's system as well, as it essentially does the same thing, only using Bolts instead of Raritanium as the currency. I also think, since you pointed out menuing as a flaw of Constructo Mods, that flaw is shared with Deadlocked's: I rarely messed around too much with the Alpha Mods in that game, in no small part because switching them around required quite a bit of menuing (after the "grinding" required to even get a significant pool of both mods and slots to mess around with in the first place), so, once I found a loadout that worked for me, I pretty much kept it for most of the playthrough(s).
I also like the TOD raritatnium system, but I hate how it is now in the 2016 game and Rift Apart. Hopefully they can make it more like it was in TOD again one day or maybe something new.
Funnily enough i really like how size matters made the weapons fundimentally different. Each mod made the way you used the weapon new. The repulsor shield could leave behind a decoy when it breaks to give you time to escape. Or the acid bomb glove holding enemies in the acid so they cant run away from it. Sadly such a superior idea alongside the armor is stuck in the third worst ratchet game
Hate automation so 3 is out. 2's was simple but optional. Gladiator was the best for choices optional or not depending on what bonus you want and lock on for either was always a plus to me and Crack in Time was good even if a lot of effort and customisation it was a fair idea (better than 3's skin use for bolts that's for sure, just sucks that the weapon use was eh with leveling on level repeats. At least when I play it I want to grind in the arena nope can't repeat a past one the bar doesn't fill up, it's a big I have and it sucks only new levels to play on allow the bar to increase on any weapon not just one it ruined the guns for me besides the good things it does of course in the rest of the game to change the Ratchet formula before chucking it in the bin the cowards and fans that aren't appreciative of Crack in Time's challenge moons and talk about the story so much I get it it's good) but collecting, placement, coming up with yeah it's a lot of work. Tools/Nexus/2016/Apart are all skill trees and make me want to ignore them. Unlike say Size Matters armour where it was very unfair of protection and you really need it unlike 2&3 where you can beat them without armour 1 hit KO if good enough the controls aren't good enough to be possible I find at least PS2 or PSP version. Tools+ is follow the industry and stats I never care for/notice like in RPGs being why I don't play them. Besides I want instant satisfaction not 1%< 1.1% 2% no thank you. Give me the actual stats of 5 ammo not 1% ammo. Resistance to robot or certain aliens, sure I guess but to me a slime, fire, ice, mega bomb or electricity is more interesting thank you Rift Apart look at Size Matters a good system in that game than generic following the industry Resistance and not really changing much if enemies are easy anyway because it's an action adventure game not an RPG the stats aren't that high so stop making me think there is depth or trying to be an RPG when your not and your RPG systems in the past were better and show in 10 months than in 2 years of Rift Apart and 2016's 10 months graphics changes of the times or not it still sucks. A great look at each system I always pay attention to them because game design matter not the story and humour they already did the job if I have a boring time playing the game 'Rift Apart' then I would move on.
Maybe I'm more of a casual fan, but personally, I never engaged in the weapon mods system, and don't even like the leveling systems. ... The former is too much manusia that takes away from the action, and the latter is just inflates numbers and dosn't add anything for me. ... I collect gold bolts and equivilent purely to collect them. I have zero intrest in the bonuses they give, and negitive intrest when they unlock cheets.
Just a simple question: why are you so insistent on calling Deadlocked by its European name, Gladiator, when you use the American names for the rest? (UYA would be RAC3 And Going Commando RAC2). Just seems odd to me you flipping the region name choices
I'm not really sure, it's the only time the PAL name has been at least as good as the NTSC U/C name, and for some reason it seems to reflect the game better in my eyes (it was the name I knew the game as) more than Deadlocked. I can't say the same about Rac2, "Locked and Loaded" is a terrible subtitle compared to “Going Commando”, and UYA was technically called “Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal” in my region, so dropping the number isn't much of a stretch.
@@VersionGamma you sir taught me something new (about the PAL UYA subtitle) and I totally forgot they called Going Commando Locked and Loaded. I enjoy both their names. I am glad they were able to keep the most current games with the same name for all regions.
