Gaming Thread

[Tareim 343]

capped at 30fps on pc? really? I'm sure someone will come up with a 'fix' for that at some point

[TTR 509]

17 minutes ago, Tareim said:

capped at 30fps on pc? really? I'm sure someone will come up with a 'fix' for that at some point

Obviously a console port then. Kinda disappointing :-\

[rob275 1817]

Well we all knew it would be a port, but quite a few ports are actually coming with good video options these days. I'd of thought it'd be a no brainer to uncap the fps for PC but clearly not. They will probably p0atch it themselves because the steam reviews are not looking good right now lol. It has more negative reviews than positive.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/360430/#app_reviews_hash

[rob275 1817]

UPDATE [10/6 / 6PM PT]: 
We currently have a patch running here at the studio that includes 30, 60, and unlimited frames-per-second options in the video menu, among other improvements for the PC version of Mafia III. We’re verifying the patch now to ensure everything is working as expected. If everything goes well, we expect the update to go live this weekend. We will be keeping the PC community up-to-date on the status of the patch throughout the weekend and thank you for all the feedback! 

[TTR 509]

Just now, rob275 said:

UPDATE [10/6 / 6PM PT]: 
We currently have a patch running here at the studio that includes 30, 60, and unlimited frames-per-second options in the video menu, among other improvements for the PC version of Mafia III. We’re verifying the patch now to ensure everything is working as expected. If everything goes well, we expect the update to go live this weekend. We will be keeping the PC community up-to-date on the status of the patch throughout the weekend and thank you for all the feedback! 

It's amazing how quickly companies can work when they get bitten on the arse by the gaming community. Props to them for actually listening though.

[kurosagi01 41]

I haven't got my copy yet but i will be getting it on PS4 instead,however i am going to wait until Tomorrow as i need take the car for quick check up and see how much change i got left for the game..hopefully there will be enough reviews posted by then by users or even critics. Otherwise i'll be waiting for a sale,a lot of the metacritic review on Mafia 3 on PC side from users all negative because of the 30fps cap lol.

[rob275 1817]

Well console peasants will know no different because their games are capped at 30fps regardless, using a noobstick aswell means you don't turn as quickly so it's not so noticeable. With a KB&M it would literally give me motion sickness and my head would be down the loo.  I can't play most games on anything less than 85fps.

Console will remain capped at 30fps because it can't handle any more than that.

[kurosagi01 41]

14 minutes ago, rob275 said:

Well console peasants will know no different because their games are capped at 30fps regardless, using a noobstick aswell means you don't turn as quickly so it's not so noticeable. With a KB&M it would literally give me motion sickness and my head would be down the loo.  I can't play most games on anything less than 85fps.

Console will remain capped at 30fps because it can't handle any more than that.

That is true lol although i mainly play games like these on a console which is i why i prefer it,i mainly use the PC for exclusive games or even games that go for cheap and for FPS if possible.

[Willtl 54]

Been playing my first action game on the PC. Using my PS4 controller and plugged into my TV, this plays just as good as playing on my PS4 with the extra benefit that Shadow of Mordor that I'm playing, only cost about £3 from Steam. If I can continue to get the games this cheap and my PC is good enough to play the games I want, this could be the last gen I buy a console.

[kurosagi01 41]

On 10/8/2016 at 8:37 PM, Willtl said:

Been playing my first action game on the PC. Using my PS4 controller and plugged into my TV, this plays just as good as playing on my PS4 with the extra benefit that Shadow of Mordor that I'm playing, only cost about £3 from Steam. If I can continue to get the games this cheap and my PC is good enough to play the games I want, this could be the last gen I buy a console.

 

I'm slowly thinking about shifting to PC games only to be honest aswell after this gen,the only reason i'll probably buy on console is for exclusive titles.

[Ztox 230]

I don't think console exclusive are worth worrying about anymore. The benefits of PC gaming far outweigh the negatives and then some IMO. One the the biggest negatives of PC gaming used to be how often you had spend money on it but that's less of an issue nowadays, until recently I had been running the same graphics card for 5 years or so.

[Keethos 842]

However awesome your PC might be, there's nothing worse than a game that's been poorly ported to PC, plus, just prefer the convenience of a console.

[kurosagi01 41]

I like japanese niche titles that are mainly exclusive to sony or Nintendo camp which is why i will still find myself purchasing their systems, these games will never get ported to PC and playing on console does put me in better mood as i don't feel im stuck in "work" mode when i'm on PC all day in the office. Games being poorly optimised just seems like a normal thing nowadays,day 1 patches or even a week later patches just proves developers are getting rushed by their publishers to get the game out of the door. 

The requirements to even need to keep upgrading your graphics card after 1-3 years is slowly fading away aswell which is a plus.

[S18 RSG 429]

The only reason I kept consoles was for Guitar Hero and Forza. Now Forza is moving to PC (although Horizon 3 seemed to be a flop at launch) and I have discovered the world of GH3 custom songs, I almost have no use for Xbox. If it wasn't for two friends I have who only have Xbox consoles, I would've sold by now.

A note on PC optimisation, and specifically PC porting. In my opinion, if a PC game is ported from console, it's not worth playing. Every developer knows the benefit of PC gaming, which is why 90% of games at shows (Gamescom, Eurogamer etc.) are played on development PC's with the relevant controller plugged in. I'm sorry, but if a developer makes a game for console, then ports to PC, rather than making the game as good as it can be on PC, then dumbs it down for console, then they're not a company I want to fund, as that logic is insane.

Also, while some exclusives may be worth getting on consoles (Uncharted series, Gran Turismo, Forza until this year, Gears of War etc.), in most cases there are equivalent games that you may not have heard of already on PC. I can understand being invested in the storyline of a series such as Uncharted, but aside from that, there's very little reason to play on a console these days.

Even the convenience factor, which used to be my excuse, isn't really relevant. Console gaming used to be great as you could press the on button and be playing within seconds, whereas a PC took a lot more effort to get into a game. But these days, what with the constant console updates and game updates, and how quick modern PC's boot up (mine literally takes 15 seconds to boot, and I have Steam in my startup folder), I can be in game on PC, playing with a controller if necessary, before my Xbox even wakes up.

[kurosagi01 41]

I can look past mainstream exclusive titles as most of them are not always worthwhile investing in,the ones that do for me are japanese only titles like Initial D on the PS3 for example which was only a Asia/PS3 release only.  Consoles have now evolved into more PC like systems with boot ups,OS updates and game patches which takes away the simplicity of console games. Peripherals should not be a reason to turn away from PC gaming now for console users since most modern games now support controllers on the PC.

[Ztox 230]

@S18 RSG Very well said, spot on for me really. Yea I just skip crappy ports @Keethos, which admittedly isn't the solution for everyone but I'm pretty picky with games these days anyway. I only really tend to play competitive multiplayer stuff.

[Willtl 54]

Developed for consoles? Yes, but the reality is that they are developed on a PC, which is what a console is these days, but with a proprietary OS. I have my PC connected to my TV with a 5 metre HDMI cable and play on it with my PS4 controller. I'm currently playing Shadow of Mordor at 1080p. My PC is not that great, but does the PS4 version run at that resolution? Even if it did, you wouldn't get the game for £3. I do like some of the PS4 exclusives such as Uncharted, God of War, Ratchet & Clunk etc so whilst the consoles get these exclusives, there is still a place for them. The consoles are also (or at least appear) more accessible so until that barrier is eroded they are going nowhere.

[kurosagi01 41]

PC games will always drop in price more compared to console market,i suppose its the difference in getting games digital vs physical still since most PC gamers will get the games digitally over physical and there are sites like CDkeys that will sell the product keys cheap during sale periods. Although i still prefer physical copy to this day still for collectable purposes and probably reason why console games keep their value a little bit more than digital releases,then again cost of disc and cases is probably peanuts to them.

[S18 RSG 429]

Only just read through your reply @Willtl, a couple of things. You're right, games consoles are effectively PC's (always have been back as far as early consoles), the problem is, when developing a game for a console, regardless of using a PC as a development tool, there are too many limitations to make the game great.

Developing for PC, means they can go all out in the development stage, as most PC's these days are far more powerful than a console, then optimise and re-evaluate the importance of certain features for less powerful machines and consoles pre-release. But, at least they weren't too limited during development. Console platforms force developers to consider those inherent system limits during development, so they never even get to explore some features they may want.

I'm sure, over time, there have been countless thousands of ideas left on the cutting room floor due to console limitations, and that's why I will never take a multiplatform game seriously if it's been developed primarily for a console.

[Rich 378]

I generally prefer developing for console to PC, even during development, it's just much more straightforward. And especially when it comes to graphics programming, the tools are much better on console.

I guess that just makes me shit though.

[S18 RSG 429]

3 minutes ago, Rich said:

I generally prefer developing for console to PC, even during development, it's just much more straightforward. And especially when it comes to graphics programming, the tools are much better on console.

I guess that just makes me shit though.

Much more straightforward doesn't surprise me. Consoles are all the same. One Xbox is identical to another.

With PC development, you have to take into account NVIDIA and ATI graphics drivers, a broad range of programming languages and philosophies, not to mention making sure anything you implement doesn't clash with other software which could be installed on the machine and so on.

Console development is far more linear, but trying to develop within limitations must be frustrating. I have an interview published somewhere online, I believe it was on behalf of Yahoo, where I spoke to the guys at Projekt Red (guys behind the Witcher series), and one of my questions to them was exactly this subject. They all agreed that they preferred PC game development because they could push the boundaries of what's possible much further than with console tools.

[Rich 378]

PC dev makes developers lazy IMO. Game too slow? Tell them to buy a faster PC. Loading too slow? Buy an SSD. Etc. With fixed hardware you actually have to think about what you're doing more and push the development harder, rather than just assuming a faster PC will come along and solve your problems. So no I wouldn't say frustrating. Frustrating is trying to work out why your game doesn't work on a specific set of drivers and hardware when nothing is properly documented and the IHVs just give you blank looks.

It was even better before patching as you also had to make sure the game ran properly without the opportunity to fix it.

[TTR 509]

38 minutes ago, Rich said:

PC dev makes developers lazy IMO. Game too slow? Tell them to buy a faster PC. Loading too slow? Buy an SSD. Etc. With fixed hardware you actually have to think about what you're doing more and push the development harder, rather than just assuming a faster PC will come along and solve your problems.

I found that with AC:Unity. Was amazed how the Minimum spec was a GTX-680, it's like they just presumed everybody had a £450 video card.

[Keethos 842]

As others have said, even though consoles are like PC's now days and they develop them with PC's it not just about the hardware but the mind set, as the consoles are the money makers, they need to develop for the consoles primarily which means the games need to play well on console which means the game play and interfaces has to work well with consoles which mean if it just ports straight to PC, then you'll get a more clunky and awkward feeling game if that makes sense.  When I was working in compliance, I was glad to work in the Sony department rather than PC as you can just concentrate on testing the game and peripherals, where as the PC guys spent most their time installing and uninstalling one component or driver for another in between testing the games.  It's probably not really an issue now days but it was annoying when games wouldn't work properly on one PC but fine on another because there was a conflict with something somewhere, where as you know majority of the times console games will work all the time.....but I agree, all this constant updating can be a bit of an arse on consoles.....especially with Destiny, I can't believe that you spend more time waiting for it to think about downloading it and installing it compared to actually downloading it and installing it....like it needs to read in the already install 16odd GB of game data to verify it or something before it can start to download and install the next update etc.......does my nut in.

[will300 812]

Just installed BF1, got a healthy 60FPS @ 4K, looks epic graphic's wise