Consoles Are a "Massive Barrier" for Crysis 3 Development

[Savryc]

As much as I'd hate to agree with the frothy mouthed PC bunch if you're going to ditch your home platform for teh moniez you can't really blame the outdated tech. You chose to work on consoles that are approaching the end of their cycle, suck it up or go back home.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Yeah, the console is less powerful then a PC. You know what else is less powerful then the average PC you build for? Most PC in the world. These guys engineer for the high end user. I'm surprised that they even bother for Console development I would think making the engine run on lesser hardware might have also been a viable option. Maybe both if they rebuilt the thing and didn't make too many console exclusive tweaks.

Yeah, it sucks to have to rebuild your engine but that's in your programming department's job description, so there isn't much to say.

 

[algalon]

Why is Crytek even worried about the console crowd? Anyone who plays solely on consoles shouldn't expect to see a Crytek game run and run well on dated hardware. I play both PC and console and am willing to admit to this. I have never played Crysis because I find myself constantly short on funds to build a computer capable of running it, and by the time I have a new computer I'd have lost all interest. When I'm making 100k+ a year, first I'm getting a new house, then maybe a Falcon NW, in that order. It is at this point that I'll even consider playing anything from Crytek. But until then I'm perfectly content with my WoW and Assassin's Creed 3.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I'm surprised that they even bother for Console development I would think making the engine run on lesser hardware might have also been a viable option.

It's CRYTEK for god's sake, to run Crysis properly at launch you needed hardware that hadn't been invented yet. Why aren't they sticking to that? Oh yeah, greed.

 

[Lunar Templar]

and ...?

so lemme see if i'm under standing this.

these guys go from making a PC exclusive FPS (know for the inhumane treatment of processors)

to the less powerful consoles, KNOWING FULL WELL, they consoles lack the power of said high end PCs.

and know they're whining about it and calling it a massive barrier? I'm just over flowing with sympathy for their plight [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FopyRHHlt3M]

 

[Nikolaz72]

No, I'm just a little tired of elitism. See my "do gamers have a bit of an ego" thread for more.

Oh, it's you!

When people talk about elitism as their hardware is being shit on, I have quite the feeling they're taking it personally. Nobody's acting like they're better than you for preferring PC, but the fact that the console hardware sucks and is a massive (con)strain on developers is just that - a fact, and people aren't too happy with consoles being the target of the vast majority of AAA games still.

Well, I'm tired of most games being shoved on consoles. It has nothing to do with you, or my ego.

Not a great way to start.

I wouldn't mind but people just go on and on and on and ON about it. You can never bring up the type of platform on this website without anyone ever going on how awesome PCs are and how consoles are crap in just about every field. It's like how most people react to Skyrim, ME3 ending and MLP threads, I'm just sick of them.

So what, are you saying everything should be shoved onto PC? (points to avatar) because I think we remember that always doesn't work that well either. Also, most games being shoved onto consoles? Unless this chart is lying, PCs still have the most exclusives. http://i.imgur.com/iTZtG.jpg If that's your problem with all due respect I think you're being over dramatic.

A guy who used two weeks made a mod which made me enjoy Dark Souls far more than I ever enjoyed Skyrim. Wanna know how?

First we have a few things I didnt really find that important...

60 FPS.
High Res.

but most of all. something SO SIMPLE you'd think the developer would have implemented it.

an option to hide the mouse cursor. I mean seriously, seriously. Nobody in there thought of this. Nobody at their company thought, that many. Just 'maybe' people would find it a tad bit annoying to have to look at the windows mouse cursor while in game. And its just 'one' line of code that changed it. I could have downloaded a 50kb utility program from microsoft to do it, and im a user not a programmer.

Dark souls was indeed a mess, but I dont blame the game for that. I blame the developers, and the developers 'can' be forgiven as they opened it up to modding. And modding fixed it up pretty good. Im still mad that they decided to charge full price for what was essentialy an unifinished game. That tends to be frowned upon but the hordes of console-players were ready to give it a free pass as the game wasnt unfinished on their console of choice.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Yep, it's one of the these threads again.

Last time I jumped in, I had to sort through my inbox for a day and a half because apparently being unable to build my own computer from scratch with no prior ability to do so makes me a screaming retard that is a cancerous growth on the gaming industry. And do it for less than $500.

Sounds about right, yes.

How hard can it be to find a few websites that sell components, stick them in your basket, and when they arrive, slot them in the only places they will fit?
In all my years building PCs, the only problems I've had is when mainboards first started using that extra lead from the PSU. Thing wouldn't start and I was all like "What the deuce?" and then I was all like "Of course!" and then no more tears.

Only dreams now.

 

[Zetatrain]

A good carpenter doesn't blame his tools.

True, but asking someone to put a game like Crysis 3 on the XB360 and make it look good is basically asking for a miracle and the guy ain't exactly Jesus the Carpenter.

However, the Crysis team did kinda put themselves into this position by agreeing to make the game for the consoles.

 

[Strazdas]

and yet you develop for it. If consoles are ancient (which they are) then stop developing for them. as lnog as you limit your PC players "Becuase console cant run it" consoles wont improve. they will only improve when they see that consoles are loosing games.
and no, consoles port arent your biggest moneymakers. that is, if you ever created a decent game.

Ah, this thread is already turning into the weekly asinine "PC vs. Console" yelling match, nice.

Guys: You won't win, each side will leave the argument feeling exactly the same, albeit frustrated from a useless debate.

the whole point of this "news" existing is that we already won.

 

[Freaky Lou]

A good carpenter doesn't blame his tools.

Umm he isn't. Tools would be the cry engine. He is complaining about the house that he is supposed to work within.

OT: You wanted console money, you gotta work for it. Deal with it

Actually it is kinda the tools, as the consoles sets the limit for what you can do, the engine would be more the materials - still at the moment using the current consoles' tech is like using a worn butter knife to cut out that ancient wooden oak cabinet in fine detail. It is gonna be ruggy, uneven, and more effort put into "tricks" and "imitation" than actually using your fine craftsmanship to its fullest and make a real authentic thing that you could proudly say "I did the very finest of a work I have ever done", but rather "I did all I could... This will not get any better".

Aside from all this, "a poor craftsman blames his tools" is a terrible saying anyway. Having good tools makes a gigantic difference, and if he's stuck with awful tools that does put a huge limitation on what even the most skilled artisan is capable of. One could still find some way to do something good with the shoddy materials, but it will probably not be what was envisioned with the quality ones.

 

[Frostbite3789]

No, I'm sick of PC elitists going on and on about how superior their gaming platform is to everything else. If you prefer the PC than fine, but for pete's sake every time individual game platforms are discussed we can never seem to avoid this and I'm freaking tired of it,

Can we take back years of 'PC gaming is dead and PC gamers should get over it' from the other then?

OT: Eh, as many have said, driven by greed to make the game for consoles, you get to live with the shackles you put on yourself.

 

[NoeL]

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT FOR THE WII U!? THEN THEY WON'T HAVE THE LIMITATIONS!!!

 

[DrBonBon]

Wow, I'm surprised no one blames EA on this. This is the Escapist-forums right?

 

[surg3n]

Some might say that consoles actually grounded the Cryengine to a level where more PC gamers could enjoy it. Key word there is ENJOY - With Crysis2, my PC could barely run it, even though it was far and away better than a 360. Now that consoles are a concern, they have to optimise, they HAD to rip the engine apart and optimise it - boo bloody hoo!, we all benefit in the end.

Now I'm sure that my current PC will deal with Farcry3 handsomly, shaders will look pretty and the whole thing won't play like some elaborate tech demo. If it wasn't for consoles, then we'd need to spend a lot more on our PC's to be able to play along. Like it or not PC elitists, your PC is probably a lot cheaper thanks to the 360, the console market has done more good than harm to PC's.

 

[Folji]

Wow, I'm surprised no one blames EA on this. This is the Escapist-forums right?

What is there to blame EA for here? Other than that it was definitely their idea to build Crysis 3 for the current console generation instead of holding out for the next one (because monies to be had)? It's pretty tough to be a developer like Crytek right now, only ever looking to push through the boundaries for what they can do with their games, when they have to make it run on hardware that's steadily coming up on its tenth year anniversary.

If a PC gamer were to come and rant about a game running poorly on their 7800 GTX[footnote]PC and console GPUs are hard to properly compare since PC hardware have to support multiple tasks and a wide variety of configurations, whereas a console's GPU only has to worry about one task and one configuration, so the console GPU gets a lot more breathing room and can squeeze way more performance out of the same crappy gear (a console GPU can pour itself 100% into rendering the game, that's really unusual for a PC GPU), yadda yadda yadda wibbly wobbly reasons and so on. But a 7800/7900/8800 GTX is close enough for comparison and it's old. Like seriously, it's "what the shits why aren't you just upgrading already" old, and yet it's still the kind of hardware that developers like Crytek need to cut corners for in order to fit games like Crysis onto![/footnote], that'd only end in laughter and a notion to piss off and upgrade.

 

[Hunter65416]

Even as a console gamer: I wish that devs would just stop trying to develop games for consoles.. maybe that way MS/Sony might get the message.

 

[karloss01]

Do you know what wouldn't make consoles a barrier?

Timesplitters.

where is it Crytek?

 

[Marik Bentusi]

and yet you develop for it. [...] and no, consoles port arent your biggest moneymakers. that is, if you ever created a decent game.

In every major AAA release I've been following recently, console sales were ahead by quite a bit, in addition to having a lower piracy rate (which doesn't equal lost sales, but contains a certain amount of them). Current AAA games are insanely expensive, and thus really high risks for a publisher to take. Thus, you gotta fine the largest audience possible to make back the money + some profit.

A really big chunk of that production cost goes into graphics, so of course Crytek will have the biggest problems with it. Meanwhile Activision laughs and keeps codblops profitable by not focusing as much on graphics as others, which also makes it accessible to a larger crowd with low spec PCs.