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Scarlett. · 13-06-2008, 11:25 AM

Tom4784 · 14-06-2008, 09:34 AM

September is waaay too long a wait!

Scarlett. · 14-06-2008, 11:47 AM

Aye but it will be well worth it!

Blink_Me · 14-06-2008, 02:30 PM

Looking forward to the new Silent Hill.

Scarlett. · 14-06-2008, 02:31 PM

Aye I am glad the overhauled the combat, before the fighting as too "2D" now its fast and more exciting

The free camera is a good idea too

Scarlett. · 16-06-2008, 08:04 PM

I did a comparison between the original Silent Hill's Alchemilla Hospital and the newest incarnation within Homecoming's on another site sometime ago. I didn't see any thread concerning this, so I've thrown my hat into redoing it. And the original post certainly isn't as in-depth as this one is.

Please note - the only floor shown on the video is the 2nd. Unfortunately, nothing more than that can be addressed at the moment. Also, with no units of measurement or scale, we have to go purely on visual reference. One last thing: the program I used to screencap the SH5 map, left it stretched for some odd reason. It's not as long/wide as it appears in the screens below. Without further ado.. oh wait. Beyond this line - I'm pointing out rooms and other locations - so possible minor spoilers at any given point (but given the video, I'm 100% certain the 'assumptions' are correct). YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Especially if you're oversensitive about such things.

P.S. - I'm leaving speculation --for the most part -- out. Too little is even known about Alchemilla at this point to really poke fingers (I'd probably just get them cut off).

-

- - -

There are quite a few differences, so evidently the town has been busy (hmm..) in the timespan between Dahlia's failure and Alex's overwhelming despair. Or, Alex simply see's the hospital differently from that plucky Harry Mason. Given the amount of construction, if it's in the real world, I'd be hardpressed to say it's under 3 years between the two events. God only knows on the upper limit of that. You decide on the timeframe, dear reader.

Below are the maps:

Silent Hill 2nd Floor Alchemilla Hospital Map (rotated)

Silent Hill: Homecomings 2nd Floor Alchemilla Hospital Map

[/spoiler]

Section 1 - Notable Additions

1. Brand spanking new storage closet that accesses both restrooms.
2. West stairwell that combines the (for all we know...) 3rd floor storeroom and 1st floor conference room.
3. The most notable/obvious addition to Alchemilla: 2nd floor Operation Theatre.
4. Room 207 in the east hall.

Section 2 - Changes in Structure

Silent Hill Alchemilla

1. Room dimensions altered to distribute area evenly.
2. Added doors to both east and west hallways.
3. Intensive care unit dramatically slashed in size to accomodate operation theatre.
4. Rooms 205, 206, 207 are (re)made.
5. Elevator entry and shaft moved to create Room 207.
6. New position of elevator.
7. Areas that will be demo'd and extended to create longer restrooms, storage area, operation theatre, and the accompanying west stairwell.

1. The current operating room was formerly the "Operation Prep Room."
2. The "original" Operating Room.
3. Intensive Care room ... just 1/8 it's original size.

4. Before being Room 207, this area served as the original elevator and entryway areas.
[/spoiler]

Section 3 - Alex's Journey ... in Pictures

Where each little splatter is placed happens to be his starting locations relative to the preview vid. Originally, he starts at the Operation Theatre (which is assumed to be the VERY beginning of the game, after the QTE of escaping the gurney), and moves into the corridor just outside of the Operation Room.

The video then cuts forward to the Nurse's Center. He grabs the map, and moves into the west hallway, and proceeds to room 203.

1 - Operation Theatre

2 - Operating Room

3 - West Hall (just prior to Room 203)

4 - Entrance to Room 203 aka, Neo-Natal Care

Well, it's been fun posting this, but it's come to it's inglorious end. To those who have enthuisiasm for these tidbits, I thank you for any comments and c&c in advance.

Taken from Silent Hill V forums

Scarlett. · 19-06-2008, 11:47 AM

Opening with a short, violent descent into a blood-spattered vision of hospital orderly–staffed hell, this could be only one game — Silent Hill: Homecoming, the fifth in the emotionally disturbing survival-horror series.

“You know Silent Hill,” explains Konami producer William Oertel. “You don’t explain a lot of things. Much of it is very deliberate. You don’t have to go into every single detail. You leave it to the fans to decipher…In a sense, the whole game is like a puzzle.”

Indeed, from its harrowing initial sequence — one that also introduces you to a new button-spamming mechanic you’ll have to employ to escape the restraints of a leather-strapped gurney — things definitely aren’t what they seem. As incredibly reserved protagonist Alex Shepherd, who’s just returning to his hometown from some mysterious form of military service, you feel like nothing is real — and in fact, you’ll be hard pressed to figure out exactly what’s going on even after you’re a few hours into the game. Everything from the trademark quivering, herky-jerky nurses to the empty hospital hallways to the sudden realization that everything up to that point might be a dream (D’oh! spoiler alert!) — it can all be seen as merely some physical manifestation of what may or may not be happening in Shepherd’s mind.

But while the storyline has always been the series’ most riveting bullet-point, Homecoming doesn’t exactly let up on the gameplay. The most notable newness comes in the form of combat — something that in previous games was pretty much relegated to “Smack that dog around with your pipe” or “Shoot the nurse!” This time out, the team at developer Double Helix (a.k.a. The Collective and Shiny merged together) has opted to make things more interesting with your ability to dodge attacks, inflict heavy or light hits, and execute massively brutal finishing moves. Deliciously, each weapon you wield harbors a unique finishing move depending on the enemy you’re facing — in the nurse example, the last blow is particularly grisly, as you plunge a knife into the creature’s chest repeatedly. Psycho.

All in all, combat seems…well, tougher than before. Timing and dodges aren’t common words in most Silent Hill fans’ vocabularies, so you’ll rely heavily on another feature new to the franchise — enemies’ ability to detect sound and light. Running into objects (like an appropriately rusted iron lung in a darkened hospital, perhaps?) shows off the game’s new physics system. Metal objects clatter to the floor, while discarded chairs and other bits knock around. All of them make the kind of noise that’ll set those stumbling bad guys into a frenzied hunt for your sorry hide.

Another mechanic that’s new to the series is the ability for conversations to “branch.” It’s not nearly as deep as, say, Mass Effect, but in certain situations, you’re prompted to ask questions from a two-choice list. Depending on what you ask, you may get more background or garner a slightly different reaction. You’ll have only one shot at each conversation (replay-value alert!), but the world itself is fairly wide-open. If you visited the City Hall earlier and you’re still in town, you can always backtrack.

But not surprisingly, the real meat of our demo was the storyline — hardcore franchise buffs should be happy to note that it’s all coming along swimmingly. With a few nods to previous series entries (Silent Hill: Origins trucker Travis shows up as giving the hitchhiking Alex a ride to Shepherd’s Glen) and the franchise’s trademark general weirdness intact, the team behind Homecoming is dead-set (heh, sorry) on making sure that the plot holds up in the tradition of Silent Hill 2’s psychological wake, rather than emulating any of the other, more literal-minded chapters.

Why is Alex’s hometown shrouded in fog and devoid of people (except for a handful of characters we saw during the demo, including his childhood friend, Elle; Elle’s mom, Judge Holloway; and a kooky junkyard owner named Curtis)? Why is Elle putting up a flier for so many missing townspeople? Where has your brother run off to, and why is your mom sitting around with a gun in her lap? And how the hell do you end up in Silent Hill? Well, we know the answer to that last one, but we certainly aren’t telling.

Tom4784 · 21-06-2008, 09:18 PM

oooh Sounds intriguing!

Scarlett. · 22-06-2008, 01:43 PM

Yah
Apparently we will play flash backs
and
[spoil]Alex's memories might not be real[/spoil]

Tom4784 · 22-06-2008, 02:05 PM

I beat it'll mess with you're head badly if you don't know the parts that you're playing is real or not.

Scarlett. · 22-06-2008, 02:10 PM

Speculation
[spoil]Aye, I bet he was never even a soldier, I bet he doesnt have a family (explains why he isnt in the family photo) and why there is such confusion over his family and little Josh wont be real either[/spoil]