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[plagiarize]

You know which game deserves this kind of reaction and then more? Bioshock Infinite. The gameplay reveal for that game promised almost a whole different experience than what the game actually delivered. Not just visually. At least Watch Dogs is still the same game from what we've seen.

Looks the same to me with a different TOD/weather.

Then watch_dogs is better looking than this trailer makes it look, but it's still worse looking than we were originally lead to believe. It still looks like ass during certain weather / time of day conditions.

Which makes this trailer and their reaction to the audience's response so far a spectacularly bad piece of marketing.

 

[Liha]

, what happened to the game we saw at E3 2012?

The game has never existed, it was just an expensive Tech Demo.

 

[RealityPales]

Is there any reason to believe the game will turn out to be garbage? The previews I checked were very positive.

Garbage is a strong word lol. But I don't think it'll live up to they hype. Just like AC1

 

[Marcel]

The game has never existed, it was just an expensive Tech Demo.

Yeah. This is where I lean at the end of the day. It was probably a well-done proof of concept demo meant to create a hype cycle that ultimately bit back hard with the delay and this downgrade controversy. Even in the unlikely chance this all turns out to be nothing, Ubisoft fucked up on letting the issue spiral out of control. It's not going away and the development team giving non-answers only makes things worse.

 

[Neuromancer]

Edit never mind

 

[DieH@rd]

Late to the party but I'm sure I can use this gif for future megatons/betrayaltons/downgradeatons.

Magnificent. Good use of Flash origin story video.

 

[TheLight]

Isn't false advertising really a problem when money has been invested? It seems more this visceral backlash is due to personal expectations rather than Ubisoft "doing" anything to you.

 

[teknix]

As it stands with the current evidence gathered up by people in here, the 2012 footage was a bulltrailer. Not entirely unexpected but disappointing. Ubisoft could easily show the same mission with the same weather effects to effectively contain the issue but they chose not to.

They'd rather tell us about how suppressed guns are in the game. Earth-shattering.

The problem was the E3 2012 was presented as gameplay. The camera actually zoomed in on the player holding the controller and moving the character. This is why it seems more deceptive than a CG trailer. They set the expectation we would be able to play in a city with windy trees and cans rolling down the street. How will I explain this to the children?

 

[Chaplain]

Isn't false advertising really a problem when money has been invested? It seems more this visceral backlash is due to personal expectations rather than Ubisoft "doing" anything to you.

I think that the visceral backlash is due to expectations set by Ubisoft when they announced the game. For some, the visual bar was given and influenced a certain group of people into wanting to upgrade to PS4 earlier than previously expected because these people wanted to play the game Ubisoft said required Next-gen hardware to play on (the next-gen vision/version that debuted and won 80 awards at E3 2012).

 

[TheGrue]

Isn't false advertising really a problem when money has been invested? It seems more this visceral backlash is due to personal expectations rather than Ubisoft "doing" anything to you.

Exactly. It's not like they hid all footage since E3 and then released the game, you got it home, and it looks horrible. You haven't put any money down yet and if you did via the pre-order process, you should really do some self reflection and ask yourself why you throw money at things ahead of time when you can wait and get it after it has released to see if the game is any good.

 

[Camp Lo]

They need to keep tech renders out of E3, it always sets up for disappointment.

 

[sunnz]

While the game does have some problems from a graphics point of view, I think we can all agree the foliage for an open world game is pretty damn great looking, one of my main wishes going into this gen ( ps4/xbone). Proper foliage, no more flat grass textures or boring trees.

 

[Neuromancer]

I finally got around to watching the video with the infamous San Francisco rush shot. Yeah it's definitely a downgrade, no question about it, but the game still looks like a lot of fun and I'll be looking for another open world game around the time it comes out. So I'm still getting it, but my hype meter has taken a hit for sure.

 

[cackhyena]

While the game does have some problems from a graphics point of view, I think we can all agree the foliage for an open world game is pretty damn great looking, one of my main wishes going into this gen ( ps4/xbone). Proper foliage, no more flat grass textures or boring trees.

I did notice the grass was a step above most games you see. Looks like proper lawns for once.

 

[Loakum]

I think a lot of crow will be eaten come the release of the game.

That's a very real possibility.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Do you think they built that 2012 demo with the sole intention of bullshitting customers? That's what they were aiming for and that's what existed at that time. Obviously something happened along the way that made that impossible and they're trying to deliver what they can.

Is not the first time and Ubi already did with FC3. With precendents there's any doubt?.

Is also a not uncommon thing at all in the industry. EA with Madden or even Homefront:

"We spent about a total of eight months of our production time making a five minute demo that was … not an actual game. It was a very nice demo. But it was all smoke and mirrors."

"There is an expectation," explained one producer, "that if you spend eight months developing a demo for E3 that does really well in the press, then that's eight months well spent. Because you just sold another 500,000 copies of the game. It comes down to this very, very bizarre math. … No other industry would actually let you work like this. ... So a lot of people are abused in the gaming world. Especially for marketing and things like E3. And I think that's a business problem."

I think a lot of crow will be eaten come the release of the game.

You think the game will look like the 2012 demo?

 

[Cave Johnson]

Exactly. It's not like they hid all footage since E3 and then released the game, you got it home, and it looks horrible. You haven't put any money down yet and if you did via the pre-order process, you should really do some self reflection and ask yourself why you throw money at things ahead of time when you can wait and get it after it has released to see if the game is any good.

I don't get the post-impressions excuse: Whether or not the game will turn out fine is advocating for consumer risk - the publisher will essentially get the rewards either way. What we're trying to avoid is letting people reconsider what kind of message they are going to send if the solution is always to "test out" the game in the end. It's serves no purpose and it only paves the way for more bait-and-switch tactics in the near future.

All we want is the game to end up matching the reveal or surpass it, anything else should be called out. This is a game that won over 90 E3 awards and you better live up to such lofty expectations. The fact that this game got this reaction from a trailer 2 years ago is proof that there is something wrong with the game development.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Do you think they built that 2012 demo with the sole intention of bullshitting customers? That's what they were aiming for and that's what existed at that time. Obviously something happened along the way that made that impossible and they're trying to deliver what they can.

Bullshit. Bull fucking shit.. These aren't first time devs that bit more than they could chew. This is one of the biggest game publishers around and they at the very least had an idea of how much power they could expect from the next gen systems, not to mention Gen 7 versions.

This isn't some Hanlon's razor situation, at the very least that was tricking investors.

 

[Charcoal]

From the same video...

Ubi should have released a trailer like this in the first place. Maybe then all of this wouldn't have happened.

 

[MaLDo]

Ubi should have released a trailer like this in the first place. Maybe then all of this wouldn't have happened.

The car in the gif is not from a trailer. It's from a b-roll gameplay that was created by a drunked junior during a late party using bug scenes from the QA team.

Story trailer shows an awesome game that in a few aspects is superior than 2012 reveal. Those where reveal is better could be because a different TOD/different assets and scripts density being a early demo.

 

[chadskin]

You think the game will look like the 2012 demo?

Remember, Ubisoft says it'll look better than E3 2012.

"It's pretty much the opposite. What we showed at E3 2012 in a lot of respects was less good. I think it's in the details. So no, there's no scale down."

http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/watch...wn_since_reveal_creative_director_claims.html

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Gaf is too worried about graphics when we are consistently having 4000+ post threads about resolution and around 400+ post threads for actual game content...I mean shit we arent even discussing artstyle, just lighting effects, IQ, framerates , and resolutions.

Spoiler

Yes gaf is not a person, but it is important to be aware of currnt cultural norms within this community

Hopefully the whole 1080p/60fps/AA talk gets dimmed a bit so we can talk about game content.

I have a dream that one day three home consoles will be discussed in a community where they will not be judged by their resolution and fps but by the content of their games.

You're so not wrong xD. There are threads here with what you and I are looking for...but they sure as hell ain't this one.

 

[GQman2121]

Isn't false advertising really a problem when money has been invested? It seems more this visceral backlash is due to personal expectations rather than Ubisoft "doing" anything to you.

Personally, outside of the incredible visuals, the original reveal didn't do much for me. The game went from being a vivid looking world to a run of the mill shooter within a few minutes.

The cutting edge graphics were 99% of what made the game appealing in the first place. And if anyone on the internet thinks that that wasn't Ubisofts intention the entire time, well, they're delusional.

Marketing 101 teaches you that perception is key in controlling your product to deliver a desired effect. They showed something that they likely damn well knew they couldn't deliver on, yet, accepted the accolades. This thread is the cost (crazy people overreacting and all) of doing business in this space. But they know that too. This is honestly all likely going according to their plan.

Anyway, this game look so sophisticated and interesting that I hope a studio is able to deliver on it at some point this generation.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Is not the first time and Ubi already did with FC3.

Really? What happened? Cause I don't remember FC3 being all that great looking in its initial reveal.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

You think the game will look like the 2012 demo?

I'm not sure. I don't think it'll look quite as good.
But I think it'll be pretty close.
Someone will play the exact same bit we saw in the 2012 reveal once the game is released and I guess people will be really surprised.
I really believe it'll look near identical.

Lighting and weather effects make a huge difference and I think the game will just look better when the sun stands low and/or its rainy and the street reflects everything.

Edit: Ubisofts reactions and statements also sound like there weren't any significant downgrades. I don't think they would just straight up lie. I mean, they know that people would notice and they know that this could really harm their sales.

 

[chadskin]

Really? What happened? Cause I don't remember FC3 being all that great looking in its initial reveal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqnAbRpyqfI

 

[TimFL]

Really? What happened? Cause I don't remember FC3 being all that great looking in its initial reveal.

What? I remember everyone was stunned back when they showed the first footage of it. It looked really good (with the scene where you get thrown into the water with your feet tied to a brick or something). They downgraded the environment a lot, I have the game set to ultra / everything maxed out and I don't see the same environment.

 

[Charcoal]

The car in the gif is not from a trailer. It's from a b-roll gameplay that was created by a drunked junior during a late party using bug scenes from the QA team.

Story trailer shows an awesome game that in a few aspects is superior than 2012 reveal. Those where reveal is better could be because a different TOD/different assets and scripts density being a early demo.

I knew that that clip wasn't from a trailer. What I meant was that footage like that should have been in the trailer. Instead what we got was some San Andreas lookin bridge jump.

 

[velociraptor]

Rather baseless insight. This is hardly the metric of PS4 visuals. This one must have hit you hard, so you have my condolences.

To me, on the other hand, this looks like one of the least impressive games I have seen on next gen.

I feel so underwhelmed by the graphics of the PS4. Multiplatform games are really disappointing.

 

[DieH@rd]

From the same video...

From the same video...

 

[Marcel]

Edit: Ubisofts reactions and statements also sound like there weren't any significant downgrades. I don't think they would just straight up lie. I mean, they know that people would notice and they know that this could really harm their sales.

They have straight up lied many times and gotten away with it. Are you not aware of Ubisoft's history of bullshots and bulltrailers? It is a deceptive tactic that will likely stick around but should not be a thing at all.

 

[Jedi2016]

From the same video...

ooo... dem reflections. Now where the f* did they go!?!?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Late to the party but I'm sure I can use this gif for future megatons/betrayaltons/downgradeatons.

Awesome, bookmarked

From the same video...

Is there something wrong with my eyes? Cause this looks pretty good?

 

[DieH@rd]

ooo... dem reflections. Now where the f* did they go!?!?

That bridge jump video is obviously currentgen version, possibly from some old alfa/beta version. No matter what, whoever from Ubi approved that vid to be released into public is insane.

 

[SystemBug]

From the same video...

Where is this from?

 

[Uno Venova]

From the same video...

From the same video...

I don't know how this game is going to turn out by release, but one thing for sure is the amount of PS2 and N64 mentions in this thread are pretty fucking stupid.

 

[farisr]

This, i mean the apologist nonsense in this thread is reaching an all time high. If you screw up, you're going to get called out on it. I don't know how anyone is defending ubisoft.

On another note, one of the devs on twitter said "make your game then we'll talk" or something along those lines. I can't find the quote. When i read that, i was like WUT? This is one of the most stupid arguments i've ever read. When your peers are making better looking games, i really don't know what your excuse is.

I read that tweet. It wasn't a dev, I checked. Just some random dude. Devs would never get away with saying something like that. Gaf would have exploded if that was a dev who posted that tweet.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

From the same video...

From the same video...

Link to the video?

Looks great to me, can't wait to finally play it. My only concern is how repetitive the game will ultimately turn out to be.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

Where is this from?

Gameplay footage released 5 months ago.
Allegedly running on a Ps4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3iG2QlJXk

 

[Marcel]

Link to the video?

Looks great to me, can't wait to finally play it. My only concern is how repetitive the game will ultimately turn out to be.

For all the talk of graphics, mission structure/quality is actually Ubisoft's biggest problem in their open world games. AC3 is utter trash in this regard and AC4's actual main missions aren't that much better (ridiculous boat stealth).

 

[farisr]

Is there something wrong with my eyes? Cause this looks pretty good?

Nope, nothing wrong. That's footage of the game being played on the ps4 from last year which all people are saying looked fine (even if there was a downgrade from 2012 reveal). Parts of this footage looks similar to that crappy gif that started this whole mess, while other parts look great like the gif you're talking about.

It may actually be true that there really hasn't been a downgrade since last year, just that certain lighting conditions shown off in the broll make the game look worse than the previous footage we've had.

 

[lmbotiva]

looks worse graphics wise but still as fun to play, that's all that matter to me, we knew that the first 2 years or so we were getting cross gen titles so this is no surprise

 

[velociraptor]

I don't know how this game is going to turn out by release, but one thing for sure is the amount of PS2 and N64 mentions in this thread are pretty fucking stupid.

These gifs that are posted look much better than any PS3/360 open world game that is released.

 

[DieH@rd]

Gameplay footage released 5 months ago.
Allegedly running on a Ps4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3iG2QlJXk

Yeah, this vid. Devs confirmed that this was "PC set emulate PS4 specs". It has popup (especialy shadows), slight aliasing, but overall it is very good looking.

Here's another gif that showcases how well-populated city is:

Division is MUCH less populated with NPCs and cars, player does not have capability of fast movement [cars/trains/boats], so Ubi will be able to cram much more details into the environment (plus Division is nextgen only, no effort is wasted on oldgen). I would describe Division as "claustophobic" open world.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Gameplay footage released 5 months ago.
Allegedly running on a Ps4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3iG2QlJXk

Ok this footage looks so much better than the car gameplay or the shitty trailer. If this is how the game ultimately looks, I admit that at least I jumped the gun and the game doesn't look half bad. Not as good as 2012 which would make the line of the director of "if anything the 2012 version looks worst" still a bit of bullshit, but better than I expected after the trailer.

Yeah, this vid. Devs confirmed that this was "PC set emulate PS4 specs". It has popup (especialy shadows), slight aliasing, but overall it is very good looking..

Does that mean we can't expect this in the ps4 version, or that we can expect this since it was mimicking the ps4?

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Gameplay footage released 5 months ago.
Allegedly running on a Ps4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3iG2QlJXk

Thanks. Watching now.

For all the talk of graphics, mission structure/quality is actually Ubisoft's biggest problem in their open world games. AC3 is utter trash in this regard and AC4's actual main missions aren't that much better (ridiculous boat stealth).

Yeah, Ubi have serious issues with mission structure in most, if not all of their open world games.

Far Cry 2, FC3, all of the Assassins Creeds and even the Naruto games suffered from some shocking repetitiveness that killed any replay value and made finishing them a real chore.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

Yeah, this vid. Devs confirmed that this was "PC set emulate PS4 specs". It has popup (especialy shadows), slight aliasing, but overall it is very good looking.

Here's another gif that showcases how well-populated city is:

Division is MUCH less populated with NPCs and cars, player does not have capability of fast movement [cars/trains/boats], so Ubi will be able to cram much more details into the environment (plus Division is nextgen only, no effort is wasted on oldgen). I would describe Division as "claustophobic" open world.

Why is it PC emulate PS4 specs when the E3 2013 demo was running off a PS4 Dev Kit?

 

[Loakum]

From the same video...

^ That gif is more than enough for me to NOT cancel my pre order of Watch Dogs.

 

[DieH@rd]

Why is it PC emulate PS4 specs when the E3 2013 demo was running off a PS4 Dev Kit?

I think that someone said that even that E3 2013 demo was running on "PC attuned to PS4 settings" kit. I'm not sure, I know one of those two vids was 100% mentioned to be running on PC that is emulating PS4 settings.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

I think that someone said that even that E3 2013 demo was running on "PC attuned to PS4 settings" kit. I'm not sure, I know one of those two vids was 100% mentioned to be running on PC that is emulating PS4 settings.

Hmm, wasn't there a controversy that started after BF4 E3 demo was running on a PC and not Xbox One, and everyone started accusing Sony's E3 demos were all doing the same? But quickly developers like Jonathan Blow said on twitter "All games were running on PS4 dev kits". Anyways, thanks for the reply buddy.