[HariSeldon]

So I picked up Prey recently and started playing it tonight (the original one).

So I've never played it before. Thought I'd see what all the fuss was about, and decided to go get a copy which ended up coming with an unused Steam key.

The resolution was crappy but opening the config file in Notepad (https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Prey - thanks @Grisham) sorted it out pretty quickly.

So, an hour in and I'm honestly loving it. The portal stuff is very very clever, and the world is properly weird and fucked up. As such it's a shooter, fairly standard in many ways, it rewards you well for accuracy with a good headshot, in that regard it's a fairly old-school shooter that expects you to wield your mouse with skill (no controller pussies here). The big thing for me is the creepy atmosphere. It comes with plenty of jump scares, plenty of outright gross and disgusting things (the sphynctre doors), and man it's just dripping (literally) with atmosphere, the organic design of the ship is extraordinary and the playing with dimensions is fantastic. Go get yourself a copy.

 

[regawdless]

Loved that game, glad you enjoy it!

Be sure to download the HD textures mod for some more detailed textures

HD Texture pack

An enhaced HD textures pack.

www.nexusmods.com

 

[TaySan]

Got my self a Steam copy a few years ago and it's underrated. It's delisted, but you can still find it through 3rd party sites.

And who can forget the vagina doors lol

 

[HariSeldon]

Loved that game, glad you enjoy it!

Be sure to download the HD textures mod for some more detailed textures

HD Texture pack

An enhaced HD textures pack.

www.nexusmods.com

You know what? Honestly, I absolutely don't mind the textures as they are. The game still looks fucking fantastic and it's 16 fucking years old. How does that make any sense?

 

[mcz117chief]

DOOM 3 engine games are so rare. There are like 4 of them from the top of my head: Prey, DOOM 3, Quake 4 and Scavenger sv-4.

 

[TaySan]

DOOM 3 engine games are so rare. There are like 4 of them from the top of my head: Prey, DOOM 3, Quake 4 and Scavenger sv-4.

And Wolfenstein(2009)

 

[HeresJohnny]

It's surprisingly good. I always hoped they'd remaster it. That opening sequence with "Don't Fear the Reaper" is great.

 

[HariSeldon]

It's surprisingly good. I always hoped they'd remaster it. That opening sequence with "Don't Fear the Reaper" is great.

Yeah must admit when that came on it was just fucking awesome. The music just fitted the moment perfectly.

 

[mcz117chief]

And Wolfenstein(2009)

I haven't played that one so I'll have to take your word for it.

 

[Kadayi]

I never finished it, but I enjoyed what I played of it. Still gutted that the original Prey 2 got cancelled (along with my homeboy @Husky )



FU Bethesda. I bet the tech exists to realise it now.

 

[El Rey]

This game has vaginas and buttholes? I'm sold.

 

[gameragodzilla]

I fucking love this game. It's one of the most imaginative FPS titles I've ever played. Lots of weird and cool ideas. It even did portals before Portal did.

 

[OuterSpace]

I replayed this last year and it was still very fun. I've never been a fan of the game trivializing death to where it's just a time waster minigame but that was my only real complaint. Game is a good length for what is it too. Any longer and it might have become tedious. Also "nice" to have graphic child killing back when you could still show that.

 

[regawdless]

You know what? Honestly, I absolutely don't mind the textures as they are. The game still looks fucking fantastic and it's 16 fucking years old. How does that make any sense?

For a game that doesn't have very artsy visuals, it aged pretty well. Some texture improvements that keep the original aesthetic make it even better, but enjoy your low standards. You conspiracy theory texture quality denier.

 

[HariSeldon]

For a game that doesn't have very artsy visuals, it aged pretty well. Some texture improvements that keep the original aesthetic make it even better, but enjoy your low standards. You conspiracy theory texture quality denier.

I think I probably have a higher than average tolerance for old graphics - I do after all enjoy Atari ST games. I'm also a bit of a purist at heart, preferring to stick with the artists vision.

 

[regawdless]

I'm also a bit of a purist at heart, preferring to stick with the artists vision.

This would be an argument for the HD textures, then.

Because for games of this kind, the devs created very detailed high res textures and art, which was their vision. Which then got downscaled to this blurry mess for technical reasons at the time, going against the vision from the artists.

With our currently available compute power, it's not a big issue anymore. But back then, it was the norm that the artists vision got totally fucked because of hardware constraints.

 

[Soodanim]

I think you just convinced half the forum to track down a copy. Including me.

 

[HariSeldon]

I think you just convinced half the forum to track down a copy. Including me.

I'm absolutely fine with that.

 

[Amorous Biscuit]

Game was so ahead of its time with regard to portals and playing with perspective, walking on ceilings and stuff was always awesome.

Was a nice change of pace to have a Native American as the protagonist, believe they even consulted a native to ensure they were not disrespecting anything either (which is crazy given this is a game where you walk through space anuses)

Plus, I'm always a sucker for working mirrors in video games and Prey basically opens waving it's massively engorged tech penis in your face with its mirror tech.

Great game.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

I never finished it, but I enjoyed what I played of it. Still gutted that the original Prey 2 got cancelled (along with my homeboy @Husky )



FU Bethesda. I bet the tech exists to realise it now.

I also never finished it. I like the game too. Might have to get back to it.

 

[Amorous Biscuit]

I also never finished it. I like the game too. Might have to get back to it.

Honestly, give it a shot. It may not hold up too well these days but it is most definitely worth your time.

 

[Vow]

No fucking way! I remember watching my drop out stoner friend exhibition play this from the beginning (or made me play it, can't remember) on his Xbox 360 in 2006 when I was absolutely boxed out of my skull and it freaked the shit out of me, I had no idea what it was or where it was going.

I have spent the last 16 years assuming this was some niche Xbox exclusive. Never knew it was on PC.

Just bought it here: https://www.kinguin.net/category/14608/prey-2006-steam-cd-key

Time to source some horrible skunk and relive some memories of youth.

 

[Vow]

Oh no. There are mods. I'm doomed.

 

[WesternBlood]

Got my self a Steam copy a few years ago and it's underrated. It's delisted, but you can still find it through 3rd party sites.

And who can forget the vagina doors lol

Seriously, I have lauded Prey's praises before. The use of Art Bell and the call-ins during the invasion and the rest of the game was genius. A total clash of cultures that went together like peanut butter and jelly. They took chances with the portal, and if Portal hadn't come out that year, Prey would have taken the glory of using this idea.

 

[Cravis]

Put me down as another one who loves this game. Seriously one of the greatest openings to a game of all time when you get abducted.

 

[regawdless]

Oh no. There are mods. I'm doomed.

I'm so close to reloading the game and playing it. You just layed out a strong case for doing so. Love mods and seeing those comparisons makes my female penis wet.

 

[Yawnson]

This, FEAR, and that FPS where you summoned demon monsters made XBOX360 seem like a breath of fresh air... it didn't last long

 

[WesternBlood]

This, FEAR, and that FPS where you summoned demon monsters made XBOX360 seem like a breath of fresh air... it didn't last long

The Darkness?

Great game, doesn't hold up as well, but I loved that and the sequel. Would love to see them venture back into the universe for a third installment, but it has to be done by those who actually care about the IP.

 

[HE1NZ]

Prey is a classic. Played it at the time of release. Was hyped for it because Human Head developed one of my favorite games ever - Rune. It was another Doom 3 engine game with a certain meaty and gritty aesthetic that all Doom 3 engine games had. It was great. The cancellelation of Prey 2 was a crime of the century.

 

[Vow]

OK, just spent the whole evening fucking around with mods and config files and now have the game in a state I'm happy with, looks great and is a rock solid 60fps.

I used this as the HD texture mod, which seems to include some kind of engine mod shader shenanigans and a reshade as well. Don't bother with the 'ray tracing' bullshit, it looks like someone smeared vaseline all over your screen and costs about 30fps.

PREY 2006 HD Textures

This mod increases the ingame textures resolution.

www.nexusmods.com

You'll need to download the latest reshade. I just downloaded all the shader options when installing. It's OpenGL.

I put the mod folder in the game folder and renamed it hdtextures then changed the steam launch argument to +set fs_game hdtextures so it loads straight away.

I then used this autoexec.cfg guide, had to remove all the 'seta image' settings and some others as just using it straight stopped the textures from loading, but it seemed to increase performance. Am using downsampling in the config file combined with the reshade FXAA.

Steam Community :: Guide :: ■ ■ ■ Resolution Fix + Ultra Setting + HiDef ■ ■ New Upd. 05.2023

+Third Person View +Fov Zoom +Display Setup Key´s + 05.2023 Tested Guide Setting with Windows 10 and NVIDIA Driver 531.68 !! All is working perfect! Made Changes for not tested 120 H

steamcommunity.com

Changed a few things from the guide like grenade key to mouse and 3rd person key to H, run to shift etc, also removed some bollocks light settings that looked bad.

Autoexec.cfg:

bind "SHIFT" "toggle pm_walkspeed 240 140; toggle pm_walkbob 0.6 0.3" //-----(6)
bind "MOUSE2" "toggle g_fov 90 60" // Weapon Zoom toggle!----------------------------------(4)
bind "h" "toggle pm_thirdperson" // Third Person - Ego toggle!
set g_fov "90" "60" // viewing angle def 90 40 ---------------------------(5)

seta com_machineSpec "3"
seta r_colorbits "32"

seta pm_thirdpersonRange "100"
seta pm_thirdPersonAngle "0"
seta pm_thirdpersonClip "1"
seta pm_thirdpersonHight "20"

seta s_noSound "0"
seta s_clipVolumes "1" // removes sounds which cannot be heard
seta s_useOpenAL "1"
seta s_libOpenAL "openal32.dll"
seta s_numberOfSpeakers "5" //(2/5/7) 5.1=5 same number as Win=>missing audio channels---(3)
seta s_useOcclusion "1"
seta m_smooth "0"

seta r_useStateCaching "1"
seta image_useCache "0" // if 1 crashing with windows 10
seta image_cacheMegs "256"
seta image_cacheMinK "32768" // Assuming you have 1 GB of system RAM

seta r_cgFragmentProfile "best"
// arbfp1, fp20, fp30, best
seta r_cgVertexProfile "best"
// arbvp1, vp20, vp30, best

seta r_forceLoadImages "1"
seta r_renderer "best"
// best, arb, arb2, cg, exp, nv10, nv20, r200, nv50
// ARB2 was the render path that Carmack had intended for
// NV30/R300 and newer cards to run on anyway......

seta r_ignoreGLErrors "1"

seta r_useStandardGL "0"

seta r_useIndexBuffers "0" // if 1 crashing with windows 10
seta r_useVertexBuffers "1"
seta r_vertexBufferMegs "1024"
seta r_useTripleTextureARB "1"

seta r_shadows "1"
seta r_useTwoSidedStencil "1"
seta r_useOptimizedShadows "1"
seta r_useTurboShadow "1"
seta g_showPlayerShadow "1"
seta r_useShadowVertexProgram "1"
seta r_useShadowProjectedCull "1"
seta r_useShadowCulling "1"
seta r_useDepthBoundsTest "1" // 1=supports NVIDIA's UltraShadow II

seta r_useLightCulling "3"
// [0,1,2,3] - Determines the light culling method. 0 is no
// culling, 1 is box culling, 2 is the exact clip of
// polyhedron faces, and 3 also includes areas. This should
// be set to 3 for optimal performance. Other methods can
// reduce visual anomalies with lighting but will reduce
// performance.

seta r_useCulling "2"

preyconfig.cfg:

unbindall
bind "TAB" "_impulse19"
bind "0" "_impulse0"
bind "1" "_impulse1"
bind "2" "_impulse2"
bind "3" "_impulse3"
bind "4" "_impulse4"
bind "5" "_impulse5"
bind "6" "_impulse6"
bind "7" "_impulse7"
bind "8" "_impulse8"
bind "9" "_impulse9"
bind "\" "_mlook"
bind "a" "_moveleft"
bind "b" "_moveUp"
bind "c" "_movedown"
bind "d" "_moveright"
bind "e" "_impulse54"
bind "f" "_impulse16"
bind "g" "_impulse25"
bind "h" "toggle pm_thirdperson"
bind "s" "_back"
bind "t" "clientMessageMode"
bind "w" "_forward"
bind "y" "clientMessageMode 1"
bind "UPARROW" "_forward"
bind "DOWNARROW" "_back"
bind "LEFTARROW" "_left"
bind "RIGHTARROW" "_right"
bind "ALT" "_strafe"
bind "SHIFT" "toggle pm_walkspeed 240 140; toggle pm_walkbob 0.6 0.3"
bind "DEL" "_lookdown"
bind "PGDN" "_lookup"
bind "END" "_impulse18"
bind "F1" "togglehelp"
bind "F2" "_impulse28"
bind "F3" "_impulse29"
bind "F4" "_impulse17"
bind "F5" "savegame quick"
bind "F6" "_impulse20"
bind "F7" "_impulse22"
bind "F9" "loadgame quick"
bind "MOUSE1" "_attack"
bind "MOUSE2" "toggle g_fov 90 60"
bind "MOUSE3" "_impulse54"
bind "MOUSE4" "_attackAlt"
bind "MOUSE5" "_impulse25"
bind "MWHEELDOWN" "_impulse14"
bind "MWHEELUP" "_impulse15"
bind "PRINTSCREEN" "screenshot"
seta radiant_entityMode "0"
seta gui_mediumFontLimit "0.60"
seta gui_smallFontLimit "0.10"
seta net_socksPassword ""
seta net_socksUsername ""
seta net_socksPort "1080"
seta net_socksServer ""
seta net_socksEnabled "0"
seta win_ypos "0"
seta win_xpos "0"
seta sys_lang "english"
seta s_useDeferredSettings "1"
seta s_minStereo "8"
seta s_deviceName ""
seta s_decompressionLimit "6"
seta s_useEAXOcclusion "0"
seta s_useEAXReverb "0"
seta s_useOpenAL "0"
seta s_libOpenAL "openal32.dll"
seta s_musicVolume_dB "-17.505222"
seta s_numberOfSpeakers "2"
seta s_doorDistanceAdd "150"
seta s_globalFraction "0.8"
seta s_subFraction "0.75"
seta s_playDefaultSound "1"
seta s_volume_dB "-22.593256"
seta s_meterTopTime "2000"
seta s_reverse "0"
seta s_spatializationDecay "2"
seta s_maxSoundsPerShader "0"
seta r_lowParticleDetail "0"
seta r_lowWorldDetail "0"
seta r_useFastSkinning "0"
seta r_showBatchSize "0"
seta r_shaderLevel "3"
seta r_correctSpecular "1"
seta r_cubemapNormalize "0"
seta r_normalizeBumpmap "1"
seta r_skipGlowOverlay "1"
seta r_debugArrowStep "120"
seta r_debugLineWidth "1"
seta r_debugLineDepthTest "0"
seta r_cgFragmentProfile "best"
seta r_cgVertexProfile "best"
seta r_forceLoadImages "1"
seta r_shadows "1"
seta r_skipBump "0"
seta r_skipSpecular "0"
seta r_skipNewAmbient "0"
seta r_renderer "best"
seta r_brightness "1.051471"
seta r_gamma "1.051471"
seta r_swapInterval "0"
seta r_useIndexBuffers "0"
seta r_customHeight "1620"
seta r_customWidth "2880"
seta r_fullscreen "1"
seta r_displayRefresh "60"
seta r_mode "-1"
seta r_multiSamples "0"
seta model_writePrebuiltModels "1"
seta model_usePrebuiltModels "1"
seta image_downSizeSoftLimit "0"
seta image_useHighRes "0"
seta image_downSizeLimit "1024"
seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "1024"
seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "1024"
seta image_downSizeBump "0"
seta image_downSizeSpecular "0"
seta image_useCache "0"
seta image_cacheMegs "256"
seta image_cacheMinK "32768"
seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "1"
seta image_useNormalCompression "2"
seta image_useAllFormats "1"
seta image_useCompression "1"
seta image_preload "1"
seta image_roundDown "1"
seta image_forceDownSize "0"
seta image_downSize "0"
seta image_lodbias "+0.65"
seta image_anisotropy "0"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
seta gui_filter_pb "0"
seta gui_filter_game "0"
seta gui_filter_idle "1"
seta gui_filter_gameType "0"
seta gui_filter_players "0"
seta gui_filter_password "0"
seta net_clientDownload "0"
seta net_master4 ""
seta net_master3 ""
seta net_master2 ""
seta net_master1 ""
seta net_clientMaxRate "32000"
seta net_serverMaxClientRate "32000"
seta m_strafeSmooth "4"
seta m_smooth "1"
seta m_strafeScale "6.25"
seta m_yaw "0.022"
seta m_pitch "0.022"
seta sensitivity "5"
seta in_toggleZoom "1"
seta in_toggleCrouch "1"
seta in_freeLook "1"
seta in_pitchspeed "140"
seta in_yawspeed "140"
seta gui_configServerRate "0"
seta g_levelLoadMusic "1"
seta g_subtitles "0"
seta com_guid ""
seta com_preloadDemos "0"
seta com_compressDemos "1"
seta com_product_lang_ext "1"
seta sv_punkbuster "0"
seta cl_punkbuster "0"
seta com_profanity "1"
seta com_videoRam "4096"
seta com_showFPS "0"
seta com_purgeAll "0"
seta com_imageQuality "-1"
seta r_aspectRatio "1"
seta net_serverDlTable ""
seta net_serverDlBaseURL ""
seta net_serverDownload "0"
seta g_mapCycle "mapcycle"
seta g_voteFlags "0"
seta g_gameReviewPause "10"
seta g_countDown "10"
seta g_password ""
seta g_exportMask ""
seta g_showBrass "1"
seta g_showProjectilePct "0"
seta g_showHud "1"
seta g_showPlayerShadow "1"
seta g_showcamerainfo "0"
seta g_ragdollDecals "1"
seta g_nightmare "1"
seta g_decals "1"
seta g_doubleVision "1"
seta g_bloodEffects "1"
seta g_projectileLights "1"
seta g_muzzleFlash "1"
seta ui_modelNum "0"
seta ui_showGun "1"
seta ui_autoReload "1"
seta ui_autoSwitch "1"
seta ui_team "Red"
seta ui_name "Tommy"
seta si_serverURL ""
seta si_spectators "1"
seta si_usePass "0"
seta si_warmup "0"
seta si_teamDamage "0"
seta si_timeLimit "10"
seta si_fragLimit "10"
seta si_maxPlayers "8"
seta si_map "dmshuttle2"
seta si_gameType "singleplayer"
seta si_name "Prey Server"
seta g_nogore "0"
seta g_runMapCycle "1"
seta ai_printSpeech "0"
seta ai_showNoAAS "1"
seta ai_hideSkipThink "1"
seta g_crosshair "1"
seta sys_savedPosition ""
seta g_roadhouseCompleted "1"
seta g_jawflap "1"
seta g_tips "1"
seta g_spectatorChat "0"
seta net_clientLagOMeter "0"

Results:

 

[regawdless]

OK, just spent the whole evening fucking around with mods and config files and now have the game in a state I'm happy with, looks great and is a rock solid 60fps.

I used this as the HD texture mod, which seems to include some kind of engine mod shader shenanigans and a reshade as well. Don't bother with the 'ray tracing' bullshit, it looks like someone smeared vaseline all over your screen and costs about 30fps.

PREY 2006 HD Textures

This mod increases the ingame textures resolution.

www.nexusmods.com

You'll need to download the latest reshade. I just downloaded all the shader options when installing. It's OpenGL.

I put the mod folder in the game folder and renamed it hdtextures then changed the steam launch argument to +set fs_game hdtextures so it loads straight away.

I then used this autoexec.cfg guide, had to remove all the 'seta image' settings and some others as just using it straight stopped the textures from loading, but it seemed to increase performance. Am using downsampling in the config file combined with the reshade FXAA.

Steam Community :: Guide :: ■ ■ ■ Resolution Fix + Ultra Setting + HiDef ■ ■ New Upd. 05.2023

+Third Person View +Fov Zoom +Display Setup Key´s + 05.2023 Tested Guide Setting with Windows 10 and NVIDIA Driver 531.68 !! All is working perfect! Made Changes for not tested 120 H

steamcommunity.com

Changed a few things from the guide like grenade key to mouse and 3rd person key to H, run to shift etc, also removed some bollocks light settings that looked bad.

Autoexec.cfg:

preyconfig.cfg:

Results:

Looks great, thanks!

 

[regawdless]

Ok fuck you guys. You did it. I don't own my physical copy anymore, so bought it for 1.50 bucks digitally.

 

[Vow]

Ok fuck you guys. You did it. I don't own my physical copy anymore, so bought it for 1.50 bucks digitally.

Welcome! Seems like this thread is inspiring an impromptu d-pad let's play party.

I added another mod. I'm sorry.

Impacts and Ichor

Impact decals stay for a long time after initial glow effects fade. Added persistent stains for acid (including dissolved enemies), crab grenade ichor and soulstains from removed enemies.

www.nexusmods.com

This one makes impacts stay longer and keeps bodies around longer. There's also a couple of optional files that look cool, and it comes bundled with something called sikkmod which adds a menu that allows you to fuck around with bloom and hdr and stuff.

I added the pkg files (except the sikkmod one) to the hdtextures folder and it seemed to work, although something odd happened when I loaded an autosave as it seemed to set me back a bit in a level so might be safer to start a new game with this one.

I am probably going to try and add sikkmod too and see if I can tweak the graphics a bit more.

It's so good to play such an old, solid shooter, feels great. They don't make games like this anymore.

I now get the sadness over Prey 2. What the fuck were they thinking when they killed it?

 

[HariSeldon]

Welcome! Seems like this thread is inspiring an impromptu d-pad let's play party.

I'm pretty happy with that.

 

[regawdless]

Still setting it up. Lots of flickering and bad AA, mhm.

Downloaded some totally new HD texture pack outside of nexusmods, doesn't work. Downloading one from nexusmods now.

 

[gameragodzilla]

I generally prefer forcing AA through Nvidia Control Panel for id Tech 4 games these days.

 

[MildWolverine]

I love both Prey's they really shouldn't have called the newer game Prey though, it didn't make a grain of fucking sense. The IP wasn't about what the newer game was, it's easy enough to make up a name, they created more bad faith by naming the newer game Prey.

I really loved the newer Prey, maybe I should replay it on my Series X, I originally played it on my PS4 Pro and it was a bit rough at times.

 

[Vow]

Still setting it up. Lots of flickering and bad AA, mhm.

Downloaded some totally new HD texture pack outside of nexusmods, doesn't work. Downloading one from nexusmods now.

Downsampling and FXAA got rid of the shimmering for me. The default cfg from the HD textures mod wasn't performant for me, not sure what combo of settings sorted it out for me but I did notice portal interiors not rendering as closely as before so that might be it. Try just whacking my files in once you're downloaded and see how it works. I also set up creative alchemy too so have dsound files in my base folder.

 

[Vow]

Still setting it up. Lots of flickering and bad AA, mhm.

Downloaded some totally new HD texture pack outside of nexusmods, doesn't work. Downloading one from nexusmods now.

Modding is mostly failing. A good lesson for life.

 

[WesternBlood]

Modding is mostly failing. A good lesson for life.