Ratchet & Clank - Megathread

[Archeops]

Anybody encountered any glitches while playing Rift Apart?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=44X04tMcjaY

The only one that’s happened to me is some game-breaking bug involving one of the Blizon crystals on Blizar Prime. I’ll whack it and the level will freeze during the transition.

EDIT: After checking the video that glitch also happened to me as well, but it fixed itself after I fell off of the invisible platform, died, and reloaded.

 

[The Last Stand]

In honor of Jim Ward, here's a video about Captain Qwark's character arc:

 

[The Last Stand]

Can somebody explain how did pirates play a role in the Future trilogy?

 

[Frosted Snowflakes]

Sam Maggs thrives on controversy. She did that "I was raped in GTAO" bullshit and somehow it was Rockstar's fault which catapulted her into a BioWare position if I remember right. So I wouldn't be surprised if she prodded Xavier to speak up like this.

I hope Sam Maggs is one of the people no longer at Insomniac, I dislike them intensely and I imagine Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart worked in spite of her rather than because of her as seems the case with the drama story.

And she was on the Golden Joystick Awards 2021. God look at that smug face.

 

[SiccDicc]

And she was on the Golden Joystick Awards 2021. God look at that smug face.

It's very telling that she's only a "consulting writer". Almost like people can't put up with her for any real length of time.

 

[4ZURE]

Can somebody explain how did pirates play a role in the Future trilogy?

Late, but Lord Tachyon apparently created them to steal treasure, also known as the Lombax technology. The pirates themselves would be banished by Tachyon after stealing the treasure he wanted, thus giving them autonomy away from the diluted emperor. If I had to guess, they were probably used as some form of undercover work by Tachyon to make his power grab of Lombax technology less obvious.

The pirates themselves play major roles in Tools and Quest for Booty, where they are reoccurring antagonists that seem to just be there to steal from Ratchet as they were programmed to go after Lombax tech. Rusty Pete would become a reoccurring ally after Quest for Booty thanks to the demise of Captain Slag, having him get somewhat of a confidence arc.

I think Insomniac really just wanted pirates though. They clearly get the best levels in Tools and Rift Apart as the aesthetics and designs are just cool.

 

[The Last Stand]

I think Insomniac really just wanted pirates though. They clearly get the best levels in Tools and Rift Apart as the aesthetics and designs are just cool.

I remember Up Your Arsenal made a joke about "robot pirates" in one of the Qwark vid-comics. Now, they've embraced the joke in a serious manner. I didn't think much of it. I just thought they wanted to showcase the PS3 with shiny effects.

 

[The Last Stand]

One of the first trailer for (The Adventures of) Ratchet and Clank. I'm glad R&C was not a collect-a-thon platformer.

 

[The Last Stand]

So the R&C 2016 "re-imagining" was rushed to coicidene with a movie the development team had little involvement with. 10 months. That explains a lot.

All things considered, it was a functional product with bursts of fun. Just the writing and direction, especially from a seasoned series like Ratchet & Clank, ruined what could've been a great title.

Since 2016 was a "re-imagining" from Qwark's POV, does Rift Apart explain how Qwark ended up in that situation with Helix and prison? Or is that just a dangling plot thread that will never be addressed?

 

[The Last Stand]

TLW; a retrospective on the two PS3 spinoffs: All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault. A Crack in Time was meant to be IG's last hurrah for the series, meanwhile Insomniac expanded into a new studio location in Durham. That studio wanted to atone to promises made for cooperative (A4O) and competitive (FFA) multiplayer. Crunch after A Crack in Time led them to focus on less demeaning projects, hence these spinoffs.

 

[The Last Stand]

I cannot believe it's been a year since Rift Apart released. I'm relieved Insomniac Games has eliminated their crunch culture since the PS3 era.

I wonder what's next for Ratchet and Clank, if there IS a next time.

 

[Product Placement]

So the R&C 2016 "re-imagining" was rushed to coicidene with a movie the development team had little involvement with. 10 months. That explains a lot.

All things considered, it was a functional product with bursts of fun. Just the writing and direction, especially from a seasoned series like Ratchet & Clank, ruined what could've been a great title.

Since 2016 was a "re-imagining" from Qwark's POV, does Rift Apart explain how Qwark ended up in that situation with Helix and prison? Or is that just a dangling plot thread that will never be addressed?

No, and he really isn't in the game much guess due to them having to replace Jim Ward.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-mg21Hd0d4c
I cannot believe it's been a year since Rift Apart released. I'm relieved Insomniac Games has eliminated their crunch culture since the PS3 era.

I wonder what's next for Ratchet and Clank, if there IS a next time.

Well the end of Rift Apart does set up a next game, just a question when we will see it. Rift Apart did do very well, having biggest launch for a Ratchet game but still won't come close to the money the Marvel games they are working on bring in.

 

[The Last Stand]

Well the end of Rift Apart does set up a next game, just a question when we will see it. Rift Apart did do very well, having biggest launch for a Ratchet game but still won't come close to the money the Marvel games they are working on bring in.

I thought R&C2016 was Insomniac's highest selling title.

I see where Insomniac was going with having a stand-alone plot to cater to its multiple audiences. You have the PS2 fans that switched to Xbox 360 over the PS3. So, a lot of people didn't play the Future saga, myself included. You'd need a plot where people won't get lost in. (Halo struggles with that.)

Into the Nexus being a strange mainline title as it's an epilogue AND released at the END of a console generation.

 

[The Last Stand]

Yes, but requires several tricks and precise timing.

 

[The Last Stand]

Youtuber SomecallmeJohnny is finally publishing reviews for Ratchet & Clank games. His latest review, as of this writing, involves the High Impact PSP titles: Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank.

Yeah, it's safe to say that High Impact Games had growing pains with converting R&C gameplay on a PSP. No second analog stick.

 

[The Last Stand]

I never realized how UYA was practically a warfare game. I loved the Galatic Rangers missions, even if they were just repurposed multiplayer maps.

 

[The Early 2000s]

Wow I didn't know there was an R&C thread!

It's been a year but if anyone's interested, someone remastered R&C1's OST into stereo using AI. Turned out pretty great.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

Wow I didn't know there was an R&C thread!

It's been a year but if anyone's interested, someone remastered R&C1's OST into stereo using AI. Turned out pretty great.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zttt_rv87no

This is wonderful. The old R&C games had such a unique sound to them. Any time I remember them, I can always recall tracks from planets like Kerwan or Rilgar clearly. Such a great mix of different styles.

 

[The Early 2000s]

This is wonderful. The old R&C games had such a unique sound to them. Any time I remember them, I can always recall tracks from planets like Kerwan or Rilgar clearly. Such a great mix of different styles.

David Bergeaud really is a master at his craft. His music was about 1/5th of the reason why R&C was great; his absence in recent titles always sticks out.

There's a good interview with Bergeaud about his R&C work here.
For anyone unfamiliar, Bergeaud composed all R&C OSTs from R&C1 to Tools of Destruction (ToD's soundtrack isn't that great but I believe that's because Insomniac forced him to make only orchestral tracks).

 

[The Last Stand]

David Bergeaud really is a master at his craft. His music was about 1/5th of the reason why R&C was great; his absence in recent titles always sticks out.

This is news to me. Bergeaud's music for the trilogy was sampled from several techno dance loops of an album set. Now that's creativity.

The orchestral tracks from later games make the diverse worlds feel generic. I can see where they were coming from with the Future saga, but the PS4 remake sounds boring and stale.