Porting From PC to Console Is Doing Things Backwards, Says Rage Dev

[Deathfish15]

What a bunch of bull****!

If the game is good on PC, it will sell very well and people will buy it (sometimes much more so than console).

The Witcher 2 was (and is for now) a PC exclusive. 400k sold in one week on just that platform is nothing to scoff at.

Minecraft? Oh, you mean that game that just announced it's sold 2.5 million copies to PC users prior to it's actual release date?

Portal 2 had 400,000 retail (physical) for all 3 platforms (PC, Xbox360, and PS3) and an estimated 275,000 in Steam sales in just 24hrs. So, those day one numbers show that the PC sold more than console....hmmm.


If Rage was a good game and promoted well, it would sell well. However, from reading this, I can say that it sounds like foot-in-mouth is needed as the developer's just broke their own PC sales.

 

[Macrobstar]

Just don't blame pirates when no PC player buys a console port

I can tell you right now I won't be purchasing it, yet have plans to play it.

id wants to play the backstabber game, well they can live by that path. Battlefield 3 is proof enough of just how much shit they are full of.

And why should console players have to have a PC port?

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Snip

Second person to drop and scream before being hit. There was one - one - comment about how consoles are for children, and the comment was beyond stupid and should be ignored, as any stupid post should.

Now, if you consider bashing the consoles' technical capabilities as what you've described, the problem is with you.

A quick head count and I see 7 posts on the first page that drip with elitism, a respectable, not too high, 7.

I consider 'bashing' of any kind intolerable, if you want to make a point, make it, don't decry something without a second thought.

Just for clarification, I have a problem with all elitists, not just PC ones.

Snip

Indeed it is.

However, another reason for this trend could be the people who don't read these articles before commenting on them. This article had nothing to do with graphics or which version is better, yet I keep seeing posters talking about the console version's 'inferior' graphics instead of the logic for basing your early controls around the console first.

Honestly, I think hardly anyone really cares that much about graphics quality or platform, so long as the controls for the game are solid. I would love to play New Vegas/Duke Nukem Forever on a PC, but I don't have the rig for them.

There is a fair amount of gun jumping at the slightest hint that consoles may be a developers first thought... I found the article very reasonable, consoles were first priority, PC would be inevitably better.

I have a PC but it's such a universal machine, I find myself more prone to playing smaller indie titles than big triple A shooters (I've spent more time in Minecraft and Recettear than I have Unreal Tournament 3)

My computer is completely capable, I just prefer my Xbox as it's more social, I have 97 friends on Live, 8 of them are close friends IRL, I have 5 on Steam, 1 of which I know IRL.

 

[fundayz]

id wants to play the backstabber game, well they can live by that path. Battlefield 3 is proof enough of just how much shit they are full of.

/Waaah!

It's a company ffs, not your best friend. You can't get backstabbed by someone who didn't owe you squat. It's not like they swore an oath to PC.


Freakin entitled kids these days...


P.S. I think what he refers to is the design of the game(flow, button layout, etc), not the technical side of the game (graphics, fps, etc).

 

[bombadilillo]

Woot, go id!

Nice to see they have their priorities straight.

Q_Q

Priorities straight? Saaaaaaaaaaaaad! FPS on PC, 3rd person stuff on consoles

HHHMMMMM a samll point. I think its more the type of game. I prefer something atmospheric and exploration based on console. Like your bioshocks for example, that many people proclaim are "crappy" shooters. Twitch shooters must be pc no doubt.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

Hey hey.People chill.This isn't about graphics or what plays better.I found it a lot more offensive that they are currently testing on the PC but they use a controller.Why are they even testing on the PC in that case.And I don't know about you but the movement patterns on the videos showed looked like the character was standing on 2 autoban cars set on tracks...

What ticks me off on console developement is that there's a lot of FPS/3PS titles but they don't seem to have the same fluidity and movement that PC shooters have.But that's a personal opinion mainly based on watching videos of people playing on consoles rather than playing myself.I found myself yelling at the guy playing Bulletstorm stuff like "You just missed 500 points!Move you're in the open!What are you doing you had several perfect shots that would award a lot of points!"

 

[AgentBJ09]

Snip

Indeed it is.

However, another reason for this trend could be the people who don't read these articles before commenting on them. This article had nothing to do with graphics or which version is better, yet I keep seeing posters talking about the console version's 'inferior' graphics instead of the logic for basing your early controls around the console first.

Honestly, I think hardly anyone really cares that much about graphics quality or platform, so long as the controls for the game are solid. I would love to play New Vegas/Duke Nukem Forever on a PC, but I don't have the rig for them.

There is a fair amount of gun jumping at the slightest hint that consoles may be a developers first thought... I found the article very reasonable, consoles were first priority, PC would be inevitably better.

I have a PC but it's such a universal machine, I find myself more prone to playing smaller indie titles than big triple A shooters (I've spent more time in Minecraft and Recettear than I have Unreal Tournament 3)

My computer is completely capable, I just prefer my Xbox as it's more social, I have 97 friends on Live, 8 of them are close friends IRL, I have 5 on Steam, 1 of which I know IRL.

Yeah. This is also why I've found games like Gothic, Mount and Blade, and some occasional high-res shooters for my PCs like Painkiller.

Consoles do get a bad rap as port machines, but as ID is pointing out here, if you're going to be multiplatform anyway, do the logical thing: Start with a PC build, set it to work with console controls, then get the game to run buttery smooth on consoles and PCs. You satisfy both bases that way. (Most of the time.)

Also, on occasion, some PC gamers will want to play PC games with a console controller or gamepad instead. You will also satisfy those folks as well if you do this because the controls are already mapped for those devices.

 

[ultimateownage]

That's like having the option of working on a 1680*1050 image and then downscaling it, or working on a 640*480 image and upscaling it.
It's common sense to work on the more flexible and powerful system first, and then it'll be much easier to fit onto the less flexible and powerful system. Which is why DICE are doing games on PC first.

 

[RA92]

Funny how PC gamers get hit with the '****' tag, but it's a console gamer that got banned in this thread.

I only come here for sheer irony.

 

[mrF00bar]

In my experience games ported from PC to console are fine on both platforms but when you switch it to console --> PC its always fallen apart, or that's what I have seen anyway. I guess we will see.

 

[Jordi]

I don't have any problem with focusing on consoles as the primary platform. But unfortunately what this usually means is not "we will focus only one third of the energy on PCs", but "fuck PCs, you guys are getting a crappy port".

If you want to reduce the input, graphics and options - I guess it makes sense to work on the easy version first.

Actually, if you have any intention of doing both versions right, I think it is a lot better to develop primarily for PC (but with a controller). Basically the PC needs extra features/complexity and it is far easier to make a console version from a PC game than the other way around, because you can just fix most of the settings at whatever will work for that console.

I think a more sensible idea would be to develop a OS-free version first and then have separate teams to stretch the game to each machine's strengths. If you're doing a run and gun game, then you've already got most of the main keys detailed from the history of those games. (Right Trigger / Left Mouse for fire etc.)

Having played with both sets of controllers recently: it's more to do with making the controls comfortable, whatever the handset, and then adding in the option to change.

Seriously, missing out V-Sync in options is just plain laziness.

I'm pretty sure that they will develop most things as OS-agnostic as possible. However, most graphic options will, at least to my knowledge (I don't own a console), only be available to PC gamers. So even though they might not use super anti-aliasing, high resolutions, HDR, etc. in the console version, they should still develop the game with those things in mind if they want them. Like I said, it's much easier to then say that the XBOX version will be fixed at a certain setting, than it is to later make the game run at higher graphical levels for the PC.

As for the controllers, I don't really think that the control schemes themselves are the biggest problems (although some PC ports are absolutely horrible even in this regard). The thing is that both controllers are better at different things and sometimes you need to adjust the gameplay for that. For instance, focusing on an enemy with a controller is much slower than with the mouse, so difficulty, number of enemies and possibly even the level design need to be "adjusted" to take that into account.
Also, navigating menu's on a high res screen that is right in front of you with a keyboard and mouse is much more convenient than with a controller, so a lot of console games simplify the interface (or let you carry less weapons) because of this. This can in turn have far reaching implications for the difficulty, etc. of the rest of the game (i.e. it's easier if you can optimize your character better or carry more guns).

Ideally, a game could be developed that is optimized for both, but I understand that sometimes that isn't really feasible. However, it would be nice to see developers at least make an effort to make the PC port decent.

 

[Nexus4]

Personally, I agree in regards to the marketing and their approach. If you go from PC to console you have to dumb down everything for the ports that may make the game clunky, difficult to control or just plain broken. If you go from console to PC, then you can focus your attention on improving the features, making it much more flexible and customizable for the PC audience without having to make drastic changes to how the game plays in it's entirety. The problem is that most developers skip over that part and just shift a PC port with no optimization for PC platforms which is a massive pain in the ass. If developers just spent a little time, at least changing the games so it doesn't tell me to press 'start' on the PC version of Crysis 2,on making the game on PC take full advantage of what PC can offer. Then I doubt people would really be in a position to complain so much and you would have a much happier PC fan base.

 

[Sigma Van Lockheart]

Well it was a rant till I edited it so that it could just be this

 

[ramboondiea]

yay! this just makes me look forward to the game more and more, looks like they are putting alot of emphasise on the controls which is nice

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

OS-agnostic

Aside: I do love the idea of having a computer that philosophises on the nature of OSs.

Like I said, it's much easier to then say that the XBOX version will be fixed at a certain setting, than it is to later make the game run at higher graphical levels for the PC.

It really depends. Some PC specialist games have graphics options so far up the wazoo as to be unachievable at the moment. Beyond a certain point though, I think it's just fluff. In an FPS, how long are you going to pay attention to something before getting headshot? I'm still running on 1024x768.

Once you've got a general level of graphics that work across all the systems, then you can leave flourishes to post-production. They're the least important parts really, as they're the first things people turn off for a better FPS.

The thing is that both controllers are better at different things and sometimes you need to adjust the gameplay for that. For instance, focusing on an enemy with a controller is much slower than with the mouse, so difficulty, number of enemies and possibly even the level design need to be "adjusted" to take that into account.

True...hadn't thought of that. But still, does that make that huge a difference?

Ideally, a game could be developed that is optimized for both, but I understand that sometimes that isn't really feasible. However, it would be nice to see developers at least make an effort to make the PC port decent.

I think most developers (See Gearbox) are terrified of innovating because the base audience is looking for the no-scope, instakill as standard; and will return the game with a torrent of criticisms if it doesn't keep up to their standards.

I'm just thinking pipe dreams here, but how about if the consoles had a keyboard you could plug into one of the ports? Mad idea I know...

 

[Korolev]

Wow. A lot of hatred on this thread. Chill people. Chill.

PC gaming will never die, and neither will console games. Both have a place in this world:

PC Gamers, please realize that consoles are here to stay and have been around for a long time. There are plenty of good games on consoles: Mass Effect 1 was on the 360 first, and that was a good, intelligent game. So was Valkyria Chronicles and Metal Gear Solid 4 and L.A Noire and Gears of War.

Console Gamers: Why do you want PC gaming to die? Surely more platform options are better, right? How do games on the PC detract from games on consoles? And if you are replying to this thread, you must have a PC (or else really love typing stuff on your phone). So why not give some PC games a shot? Maybe you can't run the high-end stuff, but surely you'd be able to run some stuff.

I don't understand the level of hatred and angst. Consoles have a right to exist, and plenty of people have fun playing on them. They aren't going away. The PC market must adapt, like all things, to the new situation, and if it manages to do so then PC gaming will continue on its merry way.

Since gaming PCs exist, PC games will ALWAYS exist. Sure, maybe some games will be a bit more like Console games, but not all of them will be like that.

Calm down. Jeez.

 

[bombadilillo]

Funny how PC gamers get hit with the 'elitist' tag, but it's a console gamer that got banned in this thread.

I only come here for sheer irony.

What does the "elitist" tag have to do with coming online and cussing people out? Elist has nothing to do with personal disposition. Just irrational reverence for PC and looking down on people who enjoy their consoles.

 

[Evilpigeon]

That said, I bought a desktop machine off of Woot at a sale price of around $750. That's more than double what my Playstation 3 cost me, and yet my PS3 runs Portal 2 with the same graphical quality as my PC with a better framerate and overall performance. Which is pretty much why people prefer consoles. If you weren't some jerk like me that is platform agnostic and owns all three systems, then you'd have spent a small price on a gaming machine capable of running a ton of games at high quality for less money than you'd have to invest in a powerful enough PC.

You got yourself a really shitty deal on that Pc then. My laptop runs Portal 2 at console quality settings and it cost me £500, a tower I could've gotten way cheaper.

But you're stating the obvious, if it's more important that you never have to put any effort in to purchasing, upgrading or occasionally getting things to run then buy a console.

If you want a much larger selection of games, freer platform, higher quality graphics and the largest number of possible functions get a pc. The again, most people need a pc anyway....

 

[RA92]

Funny how PC gamers get hit with the 'elitist' tag, but it's a console gamer that got banned in this thread.

I only come here for sheer irony.

What does the "elitist" tag have to do with coming online and cussing people out? Elist has nothing to do with personal disposition. Just irrational reverence for PC and looking down on people who enjoy their consoles.

Poorly worded on my part.

I guess it should have been the '****' tag.