Posts by Thrik

Yeah, yeah. I did actually play through half of Crysis when it came out but my PC was being so consistently bummed in the gob I gave up.

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I still have that same PC.

Just remembered there's a console version of Crysis 1 now too. I'll look further into it when I have time, but does anyone know off-hand which console platforms are best for each Crysis game?

Quote from csyver

Just a myth AFAIK. It shouldn't make a great deal of difference whether you're focusing on a 15-inch or 50-inch screen if they're the same distance away from your eyes. Spending too much time staring at anything so close can (and is in my case ) cause you to become short-sighted, though.

This is also a myth I believe. do you have any data to back that up?

I think that also goes under the same myth that wearing glasses will make your eyes adapt to them (permanently), as if making your eyesight more dependent on them.

Well I don't know about permanent changes, I was referring to a temporary short-sightedness. That's what I experience: if I stare at a computer screen all day, my vision is basically shot all evening. If I stop using a computer for a few days it more or less reverts to normal, but it's so rarely I do that I'm virtually always short-sighted.

I think the proper name I was given was 'computer fatigue syndrome'. Basically anything that isn't really close to me becomes blurry, I really struggle to read the Deus Ex emails on my TV screen for example after a day of work, whereas if I play during the morning it's not so bad.

Quote from Chimeray

Thrik, regarding hardware for xbox360 and PS3. Do you mean actual specs or build quality? I can't argue with build quality (RROD lawl) but if you're arguing specs then I have no idea what you're on about PS3´s architectural choices haven't really helped them last generation... (As there's so much multi-platform going on). As a dev, I'm very happy that the PS4 is pretty much just a PC So it seems they are learning from their mistakes!

Sorry, yeah — I meant the build quality. IMO the Xbox 360 represents some of the worst standards I've ever seen in any console generation, not just the total console failures that need no introduction but also the pad. Its D-pad is so laughably bad I almost throw it through my TV sometimes, the battery compartment plastic/metal is relatively brittle and has caused two of my pads to be virtually useless as they can't get juice from the batteries, and I've had a stick on one go weird too.

My general experience with the 360's hardware has been bad, whereas my PlayStation has been going pretty much since launch with no issues whatsoever. That kind of goes for every Sony product I've owned though, they do seem to take a certain degree of pride in their physical products.

Really interested to see what Microsoft's response and offering will be now. To an extent I think Microsoft got lucky last generation: they were able to dominate with hardware of insultingly sub-standard quality and shit firmware, mostly because Sony shot themselves in the foot with a triple-whammy of overpricing, a significantly later release, and few interesting games.

Despite those things though, Sony actually did a lot right. Robust hardware, firmware that's still pretty great to this day despite hardly changing, and far better handling of non-game media than even today's 360 firmware — followed up with years of fantastic original IPs. The only real holes in their strategy have been online play and the store feeling a bit cumbersome.

I don't think they're going to make the same mistakes again, so Microsoft really have to be on their toes this time. Not only are Sony going to be working extremely hard to avoid any and all mistakes they made last time around, they might even be the first out the door depending on what Microsoft announce.

It is of course worth highlighting that I have no particular console bias and will be buying both.

Quote from dux

So a bad RPG and a generic FPS?

You guys are easy.

I think we're all seasoned enough to know that it's not really the launch titles that're important. They're rarely a good representation of what will come later, which in the PlayStation's case is almost certainly going to be awesome, creative IPs backed up by solid, high-quality hardware.

In some ways I personally just wanted validation that Sony aren't going to jump the shark and do some retarded Nintendo-esque release. As usual they're prioritising a hard push forward in terms of technical capability, which of course leads to many things beyond shinier graphics. Plus a mouse-like pointer being built into the pad, which I find a much more tantalising prospect than the Kinect-based shit I'm expecting Microsoft to showcase.

Those two things are more than enough to start an exciting new generation IMO, unlike Nintendo's attempt with the Wii U which is already starting to look hilariously misguided now we've seen what Sony's aiming for.

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Very nice, but wouldn't that fuck your eyes up sitting so close to a monitor that big?

Just a myth AFAIK. It shouldn't make a great deal of difference whether you're focusing on a 15-inch or 50-inch screen if they're the same distance away from your eyes. Spending too much time staring at anything so close can (and is in my case ) cause you to become short-sighted, though.

Good interview here:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-…-yoshida-on-ps4

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Eurogamer: One of the questions my readers really want an answer to is whether you're going to block the use of second-hand or 'used' games, because it's a huge concern for them.Shuhei Yoshida: Do you want us to do that?

Eurogamer: No. I think if you buy something on a disc you have a kind of moral contract with the person you've bought it from that you retain some of that value and you can pass it on. Do you agree?

Shuhei Yoshida: Yes. That's the general expectation by consumers. They purchase physical form, they want to use it everywhere, right? So that's my expectation.

Eurogamer: So if someone buys a PlayStation 4 game, you're not going to stop them reselling it?

Shuhei Yoshida Aaaah. [Asks PR adviser.] So what was our official answer to our internal question? [Consults adviser.] So, used games can play on PS4. How is that?

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Eurogamer: [At this point I'm hassled to wrap things up, so I asked for one more question.] Recently a lot of small or medium sized developers have moved away from home consoles to Steam or iOS or Android. What are you doing to bring them back? Is the self-publishing thing an example of that?Shuhei Yoshida: Yes, that's a big part - a digital platform. There are many things we can do better to make it much more developer-friendly, instead of publishing on PlayStation Network, so it's more our focus - how we can make it easier for small developers to work with us to bring the content to PlayStation 4.

Eurogamer: Have you defined how the self-publishing process will work? Do you need a developer kit to develop for PS4 if it's based on PC architecture?

Shuhei Yoshida: So we are doing something like that with PlayStation Mobile and it's purely software development.

Eurogamer: So it will be possible to develop for PS4 even if you don't have a developer kit as well?

Shuhei Yoshida: Aaah, so we have to see... It depends on how we define the layer. The way we are approaching PS4 now is allowing developers to go really deep onto the metal, so Richard [Leadbetter of Digital Foundry] will know how that availability to the deeper hardware makes the console games way better than some PC or mobile approach. But if we do that, it will definitely require hardware to develop games.

It's so hard to know whether or not to take these insider leaks seriously. All you have to do is reference some well-known things that actually happened and suddenly your words are taken as gospel by the megashit sites like Destructoid and Kotaku. If I were trying to troll people I'd totally be able to come up with something as authentic-sounding as that based on publicly known lay-offs, etc.

Also it really says a lot about Destructoid that someone actually wrote the headline 'Anonymous Aliens whistle blower blows whistle anonymously' and presumably found it humorous.

Man, I really need to get Crysis 2 out of the way. I am so behind.

Only watched the Killzone trailer but it's impossible to deny that looked fucking amazooooong. It's not so much these launch videos that excite me, but the fact that so much hardware power is going to be available to developers. I'm still reeling from the epic city vistas in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, so if that's what they can squeeze out of 2006 hardware I'm practically jizzing myself imagining how good a Deus Ex sequel could look. Watch Dogs looks about as close to that as we're getting for now though, although I've not seen the newer video.

I'm also delighted to see that the controller matches the leaks. Still the classic shape we know and love, but with some ergonomic refinements and built-in Move.

It's actually the Move stuff that excites me most of all, I think it's going to seriously change how accuracy-based games like shooters are experienced on consoles, as well as finally open up genres like RTS and simulations — genres I suspect would still be popular if they were actually playable on consoles. There's a distinct chunk of the gaming space that's disappeared due to consoles' stranglehold on which kinds of games get serious funding. Things like Black & White. Plus with people surely getting a certain degree of shooter fatigue it's a good time to do it.

lol that's bigger than the TV in my living room.

Speaking of which, might have to upgrade that to complete the ownage of the next console generation.

Just pre-ordered five.

Haha that baby one was so disturbing. Sony have put out some great ads over the years though, I still love these:

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Wow they have a pretty weird definition of 'adventure games' there.

While I don't doubt for a moment that today's announcement will be for the PS4, can you imagine how cripplingly disappointing it'd be if it turned out they're announcing something else and the hype simply got out of hand due to the Kotakus of the world? That'd pretty much sink the PS4 before it even launched.

I played the demo and it was actually really good. Excellent production values and graphics, engaging cutscenes, and an interesting continuation of the Metal Gear Solid lore — looks like after MGS4 things move towards human-shaped robot PMCs, a logical next step after the partially organic ones in MGS4.

While it's a side-story, I guess this is how Kojima envisions the post-MGS4 world so in that respect it's still interesting to see. The next proper MGS game(s) might not even take place after MGS4 so it might be the only glimpse we get in the remote future. A lot of work has clearly been done to satisfy the story needs of MGS's existing fans.

All that said, I won't be buying it. The gameplay is completely along the lines of something like Bayonetta or the earlier Devil May Cry games, in that it's fucking hard. I don't mind hack-and-slash, but I prefer the more accessible approaches of games like God of War and Darksiders. This on the other hand is proper hard-as-knackers shit. The boss fight in the demo was so difficult I was practically in tears of frustration and turned the console off in a huff.

So basically, if you love MGS's storytelling and hardcore hack-and-slash games, this is likely a great buy. Hell, even if you don't care about the story this is probably still a great buy. But if you're expecting anything even vaguely like the past MGS games' gameplay you'd better throw those expectations out the window.

Following months of development, Shawn 'FMPONE' Snelling has released his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map 'CS_Museum'. In this article he explains how he took a somewhat improvisational approach to its production, a risky way to map but one that ultimately paid off. Discover and learn from the various processes that went into making what is inarguably one of the game's finest-looking maps.

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In all honesty I'm pretty much expecting £400–£500. At this age I don't really consider that too much considering the immense joy I've gotten out of every single console I've ever owned. Except the Wii.