BioWare Can't Patch Unreadable Text for Non-HD TVs in Mass Effect 2

Greg Tito

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Sep 29, 2005
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BioWare Can't Patch Unreadable Text for Non-HD TVs in Mass Effect 2



Some players of Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-2-Xbox-360/dp/B001TORSII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278968926&sr=1-1] have complained that the text is hard to read on their standard definition televisions, but BioWare said they cannot fix the problem.

Even though many gamers now have HDTVs, there is still a significant amount of people who play using older standard definition televisions. According to some reports, the text in Mass Effect 2 is very difficult to read because of it's size. BioWare said that they are aware of the issue, and the they looked into fixing the game. Unfortunately, it is not something that can be repaired with a patch or a title update, in Xbox Live speak. The company representative did say that the designers at BioWare will keep the issue in mind when they make Mass Effect 3.

"We understand that on some Standard Definition TVs the smallest text in Mass Effect 2 can be difficult to read," said community representative, Michael Gamble, in a post on the technical support forum at BioWare [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/107/index/785123/16]. "While this was not an intentional result, it was a byproduct of enhancements to the user interface." He went on:

After investigating potential solutions, we have determined that while this issue does affect a small portion of SDTV owners, we are unable to resolve it for Mass Effect 2 through a title update.

However, we have taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as we plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise.

In the past, gamers complained about unreadable text on SDTVs with other games, and some were able to be fixed through patches, such as Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88320-Banjo-Kazooie-Update-Fixes-Small-Text-Problem]. It is unclear why Mass Effect 2 is unable to be patched in this way.

Perhaps it's because the game is set so far in the future that standard definition televisions are only a myth lost in the sands of time.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/bioware-unable-to-address-me2-text-issue]

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Premonition

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Jan 25, 2010
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So now I'll prolly be able to play it on my TV. Now let's see if I can play it on my Trey ^_^
 

tk1989

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May 20, 2008
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You would think that they would have thought about this when making the game? Come on, its common sense that not everyone has an HDTV
 

AceDiamond

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Jul 7, 2008
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tk1989 said:
You would think that they would have thought about this when making the game? Come on, its common sense that not everyone has an HDTV
You'd think that but there are many companies in the entertainment industry who seem to think that HDTVs are easy to get and are in fact the dominant force in the market.

Anyway I don't get what the problem could be either unless it's some way they coded the whole thing, in which case that was a bad design choice.

Though it doesn't effect me cause I'm on PC.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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tk1989 said:
You would think that they would have thought about this when making the game? Come on, its common sense that not everyone has an HDTV
You forget that common sense doesn't exist in buisness.
 

Slycne

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Feb 19, 2006
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ItsAPaul said:
Why do people buy bioware games on consoles? I'll never understand their logic.
Well despite Bioware being a long standing PC developer. The first Mass Effect premiered on the 360, with a PC release coming later. I don't see how it's that far outside of logic that many people would purchase the game on the console. I bought it on the PC, but some people simply prefer gaming on their consoles.
 

ryai458

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I'm one of those small portions of people without HDTVs, makes me ever so sad, not really...
 

SachielOne

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Aug 10, 2009
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I'd love to know the size of the SD televisions that are causing the complaints. If your TV is smaller than a computer monitor, then it's probably time to upgrade.
 

tk1989

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Irridium said:
tk1989 said:
You would think that they would have thought about this when making the game? Come on, its common sense that not everyone has an HDTV
You forget that common sense doesn't exist in buisness.
You make a very valid point!
 

FactualSquirrel

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Greg Tito said:
However, we have taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as we plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise.I think that the "s" in that sentence is the most important, it means they're considering more after ME3.

Just sayin'
ItsAPaul said:
Why do people buy bioware games on consoles? I'll never understand their logic.
Because, apparently impossible for you to understand, some of use prefer consoles.

dun-dun-DUUUUUUUUUN
 

AvsJoe

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May 28, 2009
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It's people like me who suffer from this. When I finally do get a gaming system I'll still be using my 23" non-HD telly to play my games. HDTV's are still far too expensive for my wallet.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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I'd suspect they simply don't want to contribute the time and money it would take to re-do the text for the game for free, when that time could be spent on making more DLC to sell.

That said I have my consoles hooked up to a standard TV, but I play Mass Effect 2 on a PC so it hasn't been an issue so far. I just hope it won't be an issue with the games I play this year because I'm not sure when I'll be able to afford an HD TV.

I dunno, maybe I'll make an Amazon.com Wishlist with one on it and then see if I can become a camwhore. Hawt pictures of a 34 year old overweight disabled guy with a dent in his head. Oh yeaaah....

That said, the only game I had real trouble with on my standard TV so far was Dead Rising.
 

shadow skill

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Oct 12, 2007
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They need to patch in a better menu system and colours that are actually readable. This is just more evidence that game designers are either complete idiots who need to go actually see what programmers in the wider computer world are doing, or they are smart people who need to go actually see what programmers in the wider computer world are doing.
 

Kenjitsuka

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Sep 10, 2009
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That is VERY customer unfriendly!
Unless the back of the box states a HDTV is a system requirement I think you can get your cash back?

The worst is the lack of effort to fix this.
If they wanted to fix it they COULD, no doubt about that!
 

Slaanax

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Oct 28, 2009
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I have 32inch SDTV I play my games on and the Text is unreadable in ME2. We have a 52 inch HDTV but its not in my room so I can't play games when I want to.
 

KSarty

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Aug 5, 2008
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factualsquirrel said:
Greg Tito said:
However, we have taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as we plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise.I think that the "s" in that sentence is the most important, it means they're considering more after ME3.

Just sayin'
They already announced there would be more games in the Mass Effect universe after ME3.