Star Citizen Too Much Game for Consoles to "Handle"

[StewShearerOld]

Star Citizen Too Much Game for Consoles to "Handle"

Cloud Imperium's Eric Peterson has said that consoles "couldn't possibly handle" a game like Star Citizen.

Star Citizen has raised a butt ton of cash through crowdfunding. In fact, as of the last count, the game's fundraising efforts had accumulated more than $48 million or, if you want a more impressive sounding number, 4.8 trillion pennies. With all that money in mind, we might understand some gamers feeling a tad anxious about the end results. Will the game be good? Will it be worth the cash I invested in it when it was just an idea? Will I finally get the good multiplayer Wing Commander that I've always wanted? According to its developers, Star Citizen won't just be good, it'll be so damn good that a console version will be out of the question.

"Consoles couldn't possibly handle a game like Star Citizen," said Cloud Imperium's Eric Peterson. "Gaming PCs right now are formidable, with powerful CPUs and GPUs. Even next-generation consoles cannot be compared, their internal components are already older than what I could add to a gaming PC today." Star Citizen, will aim to exploit all the technical advantages that PCs have to offer. "We wanted to create a game that showed everyone the capabilities of PC, for those that have fun building configurations with double GPUs and liquid cooling, who no doubt were frustrated to not be able to fully use the potential of their machines."

Peterson's sentiments have been echoed in the past by Star Citizen's creator Chris Roberts who, to be "stupid" to not bring its game to consoles. So while you may never know the joy of playing Star Citizen on PS4, there's still a chance you'll be setting off into the stars with your Dual Shock (or Xbox controller) in hand.

Source: PC Gamer


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[VoidWanderer]

Seconded, and I do most of my gaming on my PS4.

I am looking forward to this game.

 

[Rozalia1]

A good joke, but a falsity one way or another most likely. Either they do well enough that Sony (because I don't think Microsoft has a hope of conforming to demands) bends over backwards to get them on side...or they do bad enough that they than have to exploit every revenue stream possible.

So considering a business would be foolish to be such large marks themselves, I'm taking this as them cutting yet another heel promo to get marks to buy the story before they debut on console.
I suppose that makes them the Fandango...sorry I mean Fahhhnn-dahhhnnn-goooo of the gaming industry

 

[Vault101]

If next gen is half the power of a 480, they'd have to cut out large swaths of the games so consoles can handle it. The recommended specs are well above what the consoles can give. Hell, it asks for 12GB of RAM.
.

ho-lee-shit....welp...thats me out

at worst this might be considered pandering (dumb down for a lesser platform..harr harr) but really what he's saying shouldn't exactly be a controversial statment

A good joke, but a falsity one way or another most likely. Either they do well enough that Sony (because I don't think Microsoft has a hope of conforming to demands) bends over backwards to get them on side...or they do bad enough that they than have to exploit every revenue stream possible.

so both sucess and failure will both seem them try and get on consoles? I don't know if its a false dychotomy but it doesn't sound right eather way

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

This was one of the main reasons I proudly backed this game's Kickstarter. A PC game with ZERO considerations to consoles, YES PLEASE. No bullshit controls and UI, compromised for joypads. No graphics compromises for inferior hardware. No constant loading screens because of tiny maps compromised for consoles poor memory. No compromises for consoles. I backed that shit so hard my wallet begged for mercy.

Honest to Heavens high poly models, textures that don't look like smears, high LoD, UI and controls designed for PC, yes, yes, yes , yes and YES.

Console owners can go play more Gears of War or Uncharted or whatever the cool kids are playing these days. Consoles have Activision, EA, Ubisoft and Squeenix exclusively pumping stuff out for them before (often shoddily) porting them to PC. We get one title. Two if we count Pillars of Eternity. Which we do.

 

[KillerRabbit]

"So while you may never know the joy of playing Star Citizen on PS4, there's still a chance you'll be setting off into the stars with your Dual Shock (or Xbox controller) in hand."

About that....

http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/controllerguide


But personally, I'll invest in my first ever own hotas setup for this game!

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Move over Crysis theres a new melter of systems incoming. More power to the PC players, but y'know, console scrub, so that counts me out personally. This must be how Wii-U owners feel... all the time.

 

[SanguiniusMagnificum]

This was one of the main reasons I proudly backed this game's Kickstarter. A PC game with ZERO considerations to consoles, YES PLEASE. No bullshit controls and UI, compromised for joypads. No graphics compromises for inferior hardware. No constant loading screens because of tiny maps compromised for consoles poor memory. No compromises for consoles. I backed that shit so hard my wallet begged for mercy.

Honest to Heavens high poly models, textures that don't look like smears, high LoD, UI and controls designed for PC, yes, yes, yes , yes and YES.

Console owners can go play more Gears of War or Uncharted or whatever the cool kids are playing these days.

Oh, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me for being just a poor, downtrodden, miserable and filthy console peasant, m'lord. I'll go and crawl right back into my primitive, Prehistoric cave and continue playing Gears of War and Uncharted (only games that I own, of course) on my 200$ Xbox 360 while letting the glorious PC master race live in it's ultra-high polygoned futuristic utopia.





Al right, now that my snark is out of the way I'm going to say that I mostly agree with your post. Except for that last sentence. You can perfectly flaunt the superiority of the PC without being a dick towards console gamers.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

If next gen is half the power of a 480, they'd have to cut out large swaths of the games so consoles can handle it. The recommended specs are well above what the consoles can give. Hell, it asks for 12GB of RAM.
.

ho-lee-shit....welp...thats me out

at worst this might be considered pandering (dumb down for a lesser platform..harr harr) but really what he's saying shouldn't exactly be a controversial statment

What spec is your system?

A good joke, but a falsity one way or another most likely. Either they do well enough that Sony (because I don't think Microsoft has a hope of conforming to demands) bends over backwards to get them on side...or they do bad enough that they than have to exploit every revenue stream possible.

so both sucess and failure will both seem them try and get on consoles? I don't know if its a false dychotomy but it doesn't sound right eather way

I agree, it doesn't make a great deal of sense. The game was entirely crowdfunded (my understanding that it's the most successful crowdfunded game to date) so all the development and infrastructure is already paid for by the backers. When the game comes to market, assuming every penny from crowdfunding went into development, on Day 1 RSI will have "broken even" I suppose (for lack of a better term). A single sale will therefore put it into profitability (excepting ongoing costs). When a publisher spends $20mill on development, that means a game has to make at least that much back before breaking even whereas as a backer I get the game, RSI owns the IP and on Day 1 have already broken even.

To port it to console, all the models and textures will have to be significantly downsized, new server farms for each "walled garden" (that is, XBL and PSN), the complexity brought down and most significantly, the back-end/engine will need to support the hardware and APIs of the different consoles (being X86 may help somewhat). On top of that, Sony/MS would want their cut of each sale (30%?).

Move over Crysis theres a new melter of systems incoming. More power to the PC players, but y'know, console scrub, so that counts me out personally. This must be how Wii-U owners feel... all the time.

Hey, what's wrong with you? You have grace, manners and kind words. You know this is an Internet gaming forum, right? Haven't even made an effort to start a flame war.

It's an interesting point tho about Crysis...that was really the last game that pushed boundaries and didn't make any compromises. Everything after that has been "lowest common denominator", made for the 360/PS3 then ported with the same low poly models, low res textures, small maps and bodies/decals that fade after a few seconds. I don't miss the "arms race" between Epic and Id but something was lost after Crytek said "No more PC exclusives". It's nice that at least one title is pushing development to its limits; I think there should always be at least one game on the horizon that showcases the best of what can be done.

 

[RoonMian]

[...] compromised for joypads.[...]

Well, it's gonna be input agnostic so there might be some tweaking, nerfing and buffing here and there that one particular control scheme won't be overpowered or unviable. See Warthunder as a cautionary tale.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

This was one of the main reasons I proudly backed this game's Kickstarter. A PC game with ZERO considerations to consoles, YES PLEASE. No bullshit controls and UI, compromised for joypads. No graphics compromises for inferior hardware. No constant loading screens because of tiny maps compromised for consoles poor memory. No compromises for consoles. I backed that shit so hard my wallet begged for mercy.

Honest to Heavens high poly models, textures that don't look like smears, high LoD, UI and controls designed for PC, yes, yes, yes , yes and YES.

Console owners can go play more Gears of War or Uncharted or whatever the cool kids are playing these days.

Oh, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me for being just a poor, downtrodden, miserable and filthy console peasant, m'lord. I'll go and crawl right back into my primitive, Prehistoric cave and continue playing Gears of War and Uncharted (only games that I own, of course) on my 200$ Xbox 360 while letting the glorious PC master race live in it's ultra-high polygoned futuristic utopia.

Al right, now that my snark is out of the way I'm going to say that I mostly agree with your post. Except for that last sentence. You can perfectly flaunt the superiority of the PC without being a dick towards console gamers.

I already added before you quoted me. Online messages lack the inflection of voice and mannerisms that let us discern mood and meaning. I'm not trying to be offensive. I was comedically highlighting console exclusives to which I don't have access. The whole surprising thing about this game is that it's doing something no other AAA developer is doing and ignoring consoles, pushing their game to the limit instead of compromising (Watch Dogs is a prime example). Considering how commonplace console exclusives are I find it amusing that such is the attitude, such surprise that an article is written "Game not coming to consoles! Read all about it!".

As a predominantly PC gamer, the only games I've had for years are the scraps developers can be bothered to port over from the console table. A hound who once had filet mignon by the fireplace now scavenging for leftovers, an afterthought after 360 and PS3 have eaten their fill. This is an almost singular occurrence in today's industry, that the PC gamer is catered to with the choice cut. And you bet I will enjoy it. Now return to your cave! ;-)

A PC game with a proper UI, high poly models, high res textures, no QTEs or frequent loading screens, I can't explain how wonderful that is. With the biggest publishers in the world catering to console owners, you can't give us this one little, teeny title? (By little and teeny I of course mean huge and ginormous).

 

[Strazdas]

too bad the gameplay demo they have now looks quite bad. and i wasnt one of those that expected this to be something great. i like how the ship damage is done though.

As it is, someone found that next gen consoles are well below the power of a GTX 480. That is ancient. The minimum requirement that is rumored is a 460 to run it on absolute minimum.

It was Slick from LinusTechTips who compared and found that he cant underclock 480 enough to match console performance. I dont watch Linus and i know this, i expected you of all people to know him

A good joke, but a falsity one way or another most likely. Either they do well enough that Sony (because I don't think Microsoft has a hope of conforming to demands) bends over backwards to get them on side...or they do bad enough that they than have to exploit every revenue stream possible.

So considering a business would be foolish to be such large marks themselves, I'm taking this as them cutting yet another heel promo to get marks to buy the story before they debut on console.
I suppose that makes them the Fandango...sorry I mean Fahhhnn-dahhhnnn-goooo of the gaming industry

so whatever happens they must get on consoles and anyone that does not use consoles are "marks". and then you proclaim being "neutral". yeah, you may end up being the first escapist ever to get to my ignore list.

 

[RA92]

Honestly, are console gamers missing out on anything? As far as I've seen, it doesn't even look that fun.

Elite: Dangerous, on the other hand...

<youtube=sFpE4o8kga8>

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

[...] compromised for joypads.[...]

Well, it's gonna be input agnostic so there might be some tweaking, nerfing and buffing here and there that one particular control scheme won't be overpowered or unviable. See Warthunder as a cautionary tale.

Yeah I know, the joypad wasn't what I meant specifically. Heck, for the X games I do the piloting/combat with one. Twin thumpads are great for the yaw, roll and pitch (f**k strafing, I can't do it right) and the buttons are usually *just about* right for the requisite combat options (eg. different weapons, missles, targeting, throttle).

With X games (certainly the two X3s) the joypad is great for the piloting and dogfighting while the mouse keyboard for ship/fleet management, trading, etc. By compromises, I mean in things such as Watch Dogs for example, or even Skyrim. Watch Dogs on console uses the D-Pad for weapons/gadgets. On PC we normally use number keys for such things. Did Ubisoft let us use hotkeys? No, we got the console weapon interface which is needlessly clunky. Why couldn't I use 1-4 or even 1-0? Because they designed the UI for consoles and ported it unchanged, just remapped. Skyrim only let me use 1-8. Why? Because that is the limit on consoles (8 things via DPad). No reason not to go all the way 1-0 (let alone *any other key on my keyboard*) except lazy porting.

The main issue with ported games is that joypads have 4 buttons, 4 thumb buttons, Start and Select. Keyboards have 36 alpha-numeric keys, a numpad, 12 function keys and a mouse with anywhere from 3-11 buttons (and a scroll wheel), on average. In PC games we've been able to use and map them how we like. On console ports, we get the Watch Dogs weapon wheel ported across. That's the compromise I meant, rather than the actual joypad interface.

I do have a 360 and in honesty prefer driving or Street Fighter style fighting games on console over PC every time *because of the joypad*. The joypad is also better for piloting planes and space ships (short of the full joystick kits some enthusiasts use). It's the "joypad limitations" for which UIs are designed copied wholesale across to a different interface that I loathe. I have a mouse that can click anywhere, why must I scroll through options!? I have number keys, why can't i use them as hotkeys instead of a weapon wheel!? Rarrgh gurgle growl rawr!

 

[BrotherRool]

This is what I fear most about kickstarters, not that the game won't be made or won't be good, but that the specs will be too high to run.

Seriously, console specs might not be elite but they're still higher than the Steam survey average. He's either BSing or backers are going to be left out in the cold.

 

[Vault101]

snip.

off the top of my head

GTX 680
8gb RAM
i7 processor which I think is only like 3.4 or something (forgot the numbers)

but yeah, I don't know what rules (if any) pretain to how the money is used but in this case its less risk so far as I can tell (unless they botch up the budget which is know to happen)

 

[KillerRabbit]

This is what I fear most about kickstarters, not that the game won't be made or won't be good, but that the specs will be too high to run.

Seriously, console specs might not be elite but they're still higher than the Steam survey average. He's either BSing or backers are going to be left out in the cold.

I'm pretty sure most that have backed Star Citizens know the demand the game will put on a PC. If they have not read what Star Citizen is about (pushing the graphics limit for Space Games)... well those will be disappointed but that's their own fault if they do not read up on what they throw their money at. However - on PC there is this cool graphic options so you could always turn down graphic settings to lowest and still have it playable.

And it's not that costly to build a budget/performance computer that will run the game on average details either.

What is lame though, is to try to compare two games between each other, when neither of them is released!

From what I can tell, both games look good and will find a good audience, I'll personally try out both!

 

[J Tyran]

As it is, someone found that next gen consoles are well below the power of a GTX 480. That is ancient. The minimum requirement that is rumored is a 460 to run it on absolute minimum.

It was Slick from LinusTechTips who compared and found that he cant underclock 480 enough to match console performance. I dont watch Linus and i know this, i expected you of all people to know him

You mean this video?
It only went up the other day, its not the most technically accurate thing ever and they could have chosen a better game. Watchdogs is almost nailed together and a right mess, still kind of funny that it compares best to that old card.

So much for that "supercomputer" and that other "supercharged PC" eh?

 

[BrotherRool]

This is what I fear most about kickstarters, not that the game won't be made or won't be good, but that the specs will be too high to run.

Seriously, console specs might not be elite but they're still higher than the Steam survey average. He's either BSing or backers are going to be left out in the cold.

I'm pretty sure most that have backed Star Citizens know the demand the game will put on a PC. If they have not read what Star Citizen is about (pushing the graphics limit for Space Games)... well those will be disappointed but that's their own fault if they do not read up on what they throw their money at. However - on PC there is this cool graphic options so you could always turn down graphic settings to lowest and still have it playable.

And it's not that costly to build a budget/performance computer that will run the game on average details either.

What is lame though, is to try to compare two games between each other, when neither of them is released!

From what I can tell, both games look good and will find a good audience, I'll personally try out both!

If you can turn the graphics down to put on a lower end PC, you can release a console game with those graphic settings