Dumbing down for consoles... grrr... - by Raj
Iroquois on 15/10/2009 at 18:51
It wouldn't be that much of an issue, if developers gave two shits about PC ports anymore. Remember the days when fiddling with the settings made the game playable in a range of different machines? They're borderline insubstantial these days. If you lower everything, it *might* play and still look like shit.
But hardware manufacturers may also have something to do with this; business must be booming when they're flooding the market with a 50 different graphics cards every other week.
Whatever happened to OpenGL?
jtr7 on 16/10/2009 at 00:38
Queue: Yep. I won't be playing the game, so I'll be paying attention to trends in player comments and watching gameplay videos to see if it's worth my money, let alone a new system I won't have.
Bakerman on 17/10/2009 at 05:31
Quote Posted by Captain Spandex
Is it really accurate to say that most PC games are dumbed down compared to their console counterparts right now?
I mean, I have a reasonably powerful gaming PC, but it has nowhere near the processing power of an Xbox 360 - with its three separate on-board processors or what have you. Honestly, I think it's the expense of having to upgrade your computer to remain 'top-of-the-line' that's dumbing PC gaming down, if anything.
Interesting thought, but I'm still seeing lots of comments about how PC versions of games look better. Maybe it's just the benefit of being able to run better resolutions? But also, that's only graphics. Not sure what those three processors could do towards managing, for example, an ArmA 2-style simulation.
But overall, I do think it's accurate. Look at, like I said, ArmA, and that other military shooter (forgotten the franchise), compared to ODST or Gears. Fair enough that measuring the amount of 'dumbness' is a bit of a subjective thing, but I think it's safe to draw a line in this case.
Quote Posted by jtr7
It's the mainstream consumerists who not only settle for dumb, but beg for it, that's the cause. It used to be tech, now it's ingrained in the buyer expectation.
What's this about games having to be fun? :nono:
Don't worry, I agree with you ;). While I do think games should be fun, I think fun can come from more than big explosions and a lack of frustration.
Mortis on 19/10/2009 at 06:38
I wouldnt mind if it was dumbed down for consoles a little bit though not as much as TDS was. As long as it has decent size levels, a good storyline and gameplay mechanics that are atleast adequate, then I will be happy PROVIDED they release a good editor and decent mod support so that we can tweak the game to get the best thiefy experience possible.
Platinumoxicity on 19/10/2009 at 17:41
Yep, as long as they release a full SDK, the fans of the originals can create the real Thief 4 on top of the "Super ultra action Thief 9000"
Or if the devs are really generous, they could release a patch for PC that updates the game to what it should be. A patch that removes all the handicap-accessibility features and returns the game to it's preferred state, more like "Thief" and less like "Need for Speed".
sNeaksieGarrett on 19/10/2009 at 18:52
Quote:
Or if the devs are really generous, they could release a patch for PC that updates the game to what it should be. A patch that removes all the handicap-accessibility features and returns the game to it's preferred state, more like "Thief" and less like "Need for Speed".
Hmm, now that's an interesting idea. I just wonder if they'd actually do it.
Bakerman on 20/10/2009 at 01:14
Wishful thinking: that the devs might actually treat the PC and console versions different right from the start. Which would save them the work of patching it, and keep both camps happy.
jtr7 on 20/10/2009 at 01:38
"Both camps happy..."
Not if work is div ided, which is one of a handful of points being hammered until its existence, its reality, is no longer ignored or disbelieved.
Captain Spandex on 20/10/2009 at 06:53
Quote Posted by Bakerman
Wishful thinking: that the devs might actually treat the PC and console versions different right from the start. Which would save them the work of patching it, and keep both camps happy.
They could approach it like BioWare did Mass Effect: take extra time on the PC version, finesse it until it's ready... then release it after the console version. The PC version of Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed were both released about a year later, but are categorically head-and-shoulders above the console versions.
PC fans might cry fowl due to being forced to wait, but ultimately, the final product is all that matters.
Namdrol on 20/10/2009 at 08:24
That's a strangely seductive idea.
