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

[DannyBoy451]

Jesus, just buy a moniter and a VGA adapter and stop whining.

Does it say somewhere on the box "Monitor and VGA adapter required"? No? Then this is a failure of customer service, plain and simple. When you buy software it's implied that the hardware you need is clearly explained on the packaging. If it's not then they've screwed up.

If they were serious about retaining customers they'd at least offer a refund, but instead they're doing what everyone else does and leaving customer service up to Gamestop, who will gladly adjust the market value of their game by buying up "used" copies.

I'm sure they'll continue to complain about and attempt to damage that regular source of bailouts.

If you refuse to update the redundant system that you're using, then you lose all right to moan when developers don't make allowences for said redundant, outdated technology.

Seriously, you're using a tv that opperates by firing electrons at a fluorescent
screen.

Sorry if this is a double post. Actually LCD TVs don't work like that.

I assumed he was trying to play the game on a CRT monitor or TV.

Jesus, just buy a moniter and a VGA adapter and stop whining.

Some people don't have the money for that.

A cheap monitor like the one I have will set you back 70-80 pounds, with about 20 pounds for the cable.

If you can afford a current gen system, you can afford that, there is no excuse.

 

[Credge]

They can fix it. They don't want to fix it.

 

[Knight Templar]

I wonder how much effort would it really take? I mean does anybody who works in games or even the Escapist tech-team know if it realy is an issue that would be hard to fix?
It doesn't seem like it would be.

You know it's a little funny, Dragon Age won awards for being so adaptable to diffrent settings, but the very next Bioware game gives people with 20/20 vision a had time if they don't have the lattest Tech in TVs. Funny, but not in a way that makes me smile.

BioWare's got it right. You can get an HDTV for less than $200 new these days. Pony up or shut up.

Where I live it's around $3000 for a new HDTV (between that and $2000 for the most part), which is close to twenty games and more than I make in a year (my brother makes that in around eight weeks but he doesn't have school and spends his money on less transitory things). Most people I know would rather have an old TV with lots of new games to play rather than a HDTV with no new games to play.

So you have cheap HDTV's and enough disposable income to buy them, don't assume everybody is as well off as you and don't punish them when they are not.

 

[Becoming Insane]

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.

My SDTV is around 32" (diagonally) and I have this problem. Luckily it's reaching the end of its 40-some year lifespan, so I'll probably have a new TV soon.

 

[Treblaine]

Jesus, just buy a moniter and a VGA adapter and stop whining.

Does it say somewhere on the box "Monitor and VGA adapter required"? No? Then this is a failure of customer service, plain and simple. When you buy software it's implied that the hardware you need is clearly explained on the packaging. If it's not then they've screwed up.

Well it doesn't have the exact words "Monitor and VGA adapter required" but on the back of all XBox 360 games in the UK at least (sure about round the world too), there are a list of supported resolutions like: 720p, 1080p, 1080i.

Even though these are not native resolutions, most need to be scaled up (or down) to those resolutions, but this is the GUARANTEE of what will WORK.

SD resolutions of 480p and 576p are not on there and so cannot be guaranteed, the console MAY support them. You seem to be running on a LOT of assumptions, just because one product (the Xbox 360) claims it supports SD output, that DOES NOT mean every matching product (the games) have to explicitly explain work around solutions. Only list the plain facts of compatibility.

A matter of fact, at what point did Bioware EVER advertise ME2 as a game to be played in SD?

So this is under the assumption everyone starts off with the funds to buy an HDTV and squanders it? Classy, man. Real classy. As a college student I barely had the extra scratch to afford my 360, and I have to play it on the dorm television.

For the TENTH FRICKING TIME, Use A VGA Cable With a computer monitor!

It Adds up to less than $60 after shopping around on eBay, the price of a new game like Mass Effect 2, just a bit more than a renewal of XBL Gold membership.

That gives you HD resolution with ALL of you games so don't act like that amount is too much for one game. Hell you could probaly just lend a monitor of a friend or relative, people just accumulate them as every computer upgrade often a new monitor, old one gathers dust, any monitor from this side of 1999 will do.

Think about the added benefit, you can keep your 360 in your room so less chance of theft, play it ANY time you like and for as long as you like, now judging gawpers, the resolution, the response time. GRRRRR, it pisses me off how wilfully ignorant people are about the 360's single most useful feature to budget gamers, that being cheap HD with VGA.

I can't believe you don't know about it already, you obviously don't care that much about gaming in HD otherwise you would have done the research and found out for yourself. You just want to be "outraged" at perceived HDTV elitism.

I suppose you aren't to blame, all the adverts on TV are constantly saying "BUY A BRAVIA HAYCH-DEE-TEEE-VEEE!!!" as if a six-foot wide HDTV is the only adequate option, but of course they'd prefer you spend $20'000+ rather than less than $100, wouldn't they. Even in the article that stated this thread they act as if a big and expensive HDTV is the only way to get HD at ALL!

Computer monitors have been doing "High Definition" for DECADES before consoles or TVs did, and have been doing it cheaply, no "brand tax", real competition keeping the price down and quality up. Computer market won't be fucked around, they know how much the hardware is ACTUALLY worth.

 

[StriderShinryu]

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.

Also, some people do not have PCs that can do the games justice (if they can play them at all). I would have much rather preferred to play DA:O on my PC, but my PC is beyond out of date so I didn't really have a choice. It was either play the reportedly inferior version of the game or not play it at all.

 

[DonTsetsi]

Where I live only 2 channels are HD. It's almost pointless to get an HDTV here. That's also due to the fact that few people can afford blue ray players and movies. Especially since seeing a movie several times on the big screen is cheaper..... Also HDTVs are not 200$ in my country, try adding another zero.
It's a good thing I need a powerful PC with a big monitor for my studies (masters degree in architecture). Otherwise I wouldn't be a gamer, the cost for a PC or console just for gaming is not justifiable.
P.S. Not everyone has a PC, 100$ is not pocket change for everyone, games can be bought when the price comes down.

 

[Becoming Insane]

I'm sorry if this offends... no wait, I'm not.

To all you people telling everyone else to buy an HDTV or a monitor and cable: SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Seriously! Some people just don't have that kind of loose change, or maybe you haven't considered the fact that not everyone here has lots of money.

 

[DreamKing]

This is quite stupid on Bioware's part. The first Mass Effect dialogue lines were quite large and understandable on a SDTV. Saying that it is difficult to fix this is a cop-out as Rare has demonstrated that it could work with little interference or releasing the same game with no new content besides the text increase.

 

[Pimppeter2]

YOU BASTARDS!

I am upset, but heck, I don't blame them.

 

[Treblaine]

Jesus, just buy a moniter and a VGA adapter and stop whining.

Some people don't have the money for that.

A cheap monitor like the one I have will set you back 70-80 pounds, with about 20 pounds for the cable.

If you can afford a current gen system, you can afford that, there is no excuse.[/quote]

"Awww, but I don't wanna-aaaa!"

That's all I hear every time I suggest VGA cable to other 360 gamers stuck in "SD land". If it hasn't been advertised on TV, they will NOT do it, they simply won't.

All I have to say is this. If you have a 400$ console, and you buy 60$ games every other month, YOU CAN AFFORD A FUCKING HDTV. IT'S 2010, HDTV HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 5 YEARS. GET WITH THE TIME.

All I have to say is this: If you bought a console for 180 dollars used and buy 1 $30 game every three months, YOU CAN AFFORD A 500 DOLLAR TV THAT MAKES YOUR CABLE CHANNELS LOOK WORSE. IT'S 2010, LESS THAN 50% OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE HDTVS. GET WITH THE TIME.

Proof that people will ***** on the internet and even research the prevalence of HDTVs in the USA yet not do the TINY amount of research needed to find a solution.

ahem... now:

YOU DO NOT NEED A HDTV TO GET HIGH DEFINITION!!!

http://gear.ign.com/articles/703/703073p1.html

You probably have a computer monitor already, or a friend or relative who has no use for an old one, if the VERY unlikely scenario is that you don't have one then they are cheap and common as salt. Millions of PC owners have moved to widescreen in the past few years, and you don't need a widescreen monitor to get widescreen HD output, you just get letter-boxing = not a problem

 

[Kenjitsuka]

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

Um... and you know this... how?

I'm no expert on programming, but I'm fairly certain that fixing this problem is a hell of a lot more complicated than simply going in and bumping up the font size a few notches. It's not that simple. Just sayin'.

I have a degree as Master of Computer Science, yes.
For the past 6 years even...

I'm specialized in datawarehousing and business intelligence myself, but regardless a huge company like that has dozens of the best programmers around. They make games like ME2 from near scratch. You think they are actually stumped by a bit of text?

Trust me on this, if it would make game sales drop in any way there would be a patch in a few days.
But they know 99.9% of consumers of such huge titles don't exactly all hang out on forums like this one (which is their loss, I know)...

 

[The Random One]

This sucks, because this thingy that works as both computer monitor and video game TV for me has a nice 'HD ready' stamp on its side, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to make my 360 run in HD in it. Then again, it's much better than the tiny TV I had before, and it was a struggle to read anything in any game made by Microsoft, so I think I'm at least well prepared.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I'm surprised this wasn't fixed, considering it was also an issue with the first game (at least for me). I can't play either game for more than 45 minutes at a time without getting a massive headache. In ME2, the backgrounds seem brighter, which makes a lot of the text literally impossible to make out.

 

[Treblaine]

I'm sorry if this offends... no wait, I'm not.

To all you people telling everyone else to buy an HDTV or a monitor and cable: SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Seriously! Some people just don't have that kind of loose change, or maybe you haven't considered the fact that not everyone here has lots of money.

How can you not afford a cheap ass computer monitor while remaining an Xbox 360 gamer? I can almost guarantee you have an old monitor lying around or you have a friend or relative how has an old/disused one they will gladly lend you.

There is "not got a lot of loose change" and then there is just being stubborn.

This monitor solution is cheap and effective. This has NOTHING to do with money, especially if you are an Xbox 360 gamer, if you were that cash sensitive you either wouldn't be a gamer or you'd stick to PS2/Wii. This has everything to do with you being:
(a) comfortable with Standard Definition and stubbornly wants hold everyone back, and
(b) too lazy to go to the effort of getting a monitor setup to work.

There is NO REASONABLE EXCUSE to not play all your Xbox 360 games in HD.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Jesus, just buy a moniter and a VGA adapter and stop whining.

Some people don't have the money for that.

A cheap monitor like the one I have will set you back 70-80 pounds, with about 20 pounds for the cable.

If you can afford a current gen system, you can afford that, there is no excuse.

"Awww, but I don't wanna-aaaa!"

That's all I hear every time I suggest VGA cable to other 360 gamers stuck in "SD land". If it hasn't been advertised on TV, they will NOT do it, they simply won't.[/quote]

It's been a long time since I actually got offended at something someone posted in response to me, so I'm going to take this as calmly as I can.

I bought my 360 back before I came to university, when I had a lot of spare money floating around, and was thus able to afford purchases like this. I am now at university, and the sum total of all my money in the entire world number at under a hundred, which has to last me for at least the next two months, what with the job market up here being terrible.

Yes, I could afford an XBox, emphasis on the past tense, I cannot afford to just splash out 100 pounds to update a system which frankly shouldn't need updating just for the purpose of playing games. I'm rather fond of eating, it's something which has grown on me over the years. Never assume anything about the person you're talking to. It's got nothing to do with wanting to or not, it's got to do with fiscal ability.

 

[Becoming Insane]

I'm sorry if this offends... no wait, I'm not.

To all you people telling everyone else to buy an HDTV or a monitor and cable: SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Seriously! Some people just don't have that kind of loose change, or maybe you haven't considered the fact that not everyone here has lots of money.

How can you not afford a cheap ass computer monitor while remaining an Xbox 360 gamer? I can almost guarantee you have an old monitor lying around or you have a friend or relative how has an old/disused one they will gladly lend you.

There is "not got a lot of loose change" and then there is just being stubborn.

This monitor solution is cheap and effective. This has NOTHING to do with money, especially if you are an Xbox 360 gamer, if you were that cash sensitive you either wouldn't be a gamer or you'd stick to PS2/Wii. This has everything to do with you being:
(a) comfortable with Standard Definition and stubbornly wants hold everyone back, and
(b) too lazy to go to the effort of getting a monitor setup to work.

There is NO REASONABLE EXCUSE to not play all your Xbox 360 games in HD.

Actually for me, it is a problem of money. I'm not, as your first point insinuates, "trying to hold everyone back." One person not having an HD set is not going to change anything at all. Additionally, I've seen side-by-side comparisons of SD and HD and see no difference whatsoever, hence my unwillingness to drop around a thousand bucks I don't have on a new TV (yes, the size I need for the location in my house requires a large set). As for the monitor setup thing, I just don't see it being comfortable for me at all. The only room in my house with that I can game in is my basement; having a monitor in my lap while I play wouldn't be very comfortable. And again there's the problem of money. I'm currently unemployed, so a monitor plus whatever other crap I'd need to make it work is just too much.

 

[9NineBreaker9]

I postpone all reading and party conversations until I can play on an HDTV because ME2's text is so damn hard to read on any other TV in the house <,<

Sorry for wanting to enjoy your game, Bioware... I'll be better next time I SWEARS! D:

 

[Wakefield]

There I go wishing for an update so I can read the damn game.

Maybe someone with an HD TV will be super nice and take all the text in the game and put it on the internet for poor people like us to read.

 

[Blade Chunk]

Why do people buy bioware games on consoles? I'll never understand their logic.

Because some people like to hit L2 and Triangle and navigate the menu like a fat failed English teacher who trolls video game forums for spelling errors instead of hitting the -I- key.