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[Amir0x]

You gotta do what you gotta do. But I am not going to let 900p stop me from enjoying a game I want to play. Of course that does not mean that I have to agree with the stupidity of their statement or reasoning. Regardless, I have the game pre-ordered on PS4 and will play it because I think it looks both beautiful and fun. Not going to deny myself that over this mess.

Yeah, I mean, do you man. I'm just saying that it's just the sort of behavior Ubisoft wants to validate their shitty practices. It is undeniably what they're counting on, and I'm sure you realize that. I can't expect anyone to care about 180p, but I wish people would consider the larger implications of allowing a company who literally admits they fucked a huge portion of their customers so as to avoid "a debate" (i.e. satiate Xbox fanboys tears) to just do what they want in such a case.

I don't know when people draw lines, but I hope more people draw the line where I will. It impacts everyone

 

[Randam]

You gotta do what you gotta do. But I am not going to let 900p stop me from enjoying a game I want to play. Of course that does not mean that I have to agree with the stupidity of their statement or reasoning. Regardless, I have the game pre-ordered on PS4 and will play it because I think it looks both beautiful and fun. Not going to deny myself that over this mess.

Wasn't even going to buy a console version.
Wanted to get it in pc.
But nah, f that.

 

[alexandros]

Yeah, I mean, do you man. I'm just saying that it's just the sort of behavior Ubisoft wants to validate their shitty practices. It is undeniably what they're counting on, and I'm sure you realize that. I can't expect anyone to care about 180p, but I wish people would consider the larger implications of allowing a company who literally admits they fucked a huge portion of their customers so as to avoid "a debate" (i.e. satiate Xbox fanboys tears) to just do what they want in such a case.

I don't know when people draw lines, but I hope more people draw the line where I will. It impacts everyone

"Fucked" is a very strong word for what amounts to a minor inconvenience. Square Enix making Tomb Raider exclusive, that was indeed fucking. This is not really that big of a deal in practical terms, not to mention that it might help the PS4 version achieve a rock solid frame rate.

 

[Amir0x]

"Fucked" is a very strong word for what amounts to a minor inconvenience. Square Enix making Tomb Raider exclusive, that was indeed fucking. This is not really that big of a deal in practical terms, not to mention that it might help the PS4 version achieve a rock solid frame rate.

Fucked is exactly the right word. It's not a "minor inconvenience" in the sense of its actual implications. Yes, 180p is not the end of the world - that in of itself is "minor." However, having a company admit they're fucking you in the name of appeasing bitchass fanboys is a perfectly fine reason to end a purchase of a game. It's insulting to huge portions of their customers, shows a huge level of disrespect to gamers in general, and is simply grotesque behavior from a company like Ubisoft.

And if they get the message this is OK, then the slippery slope can begin to include any such anti-consumer behavior in the future, even events much larger.

"Oh, remember when gamers complained about that and did nothing? Well, I guess it really doesn't matter how many social media campaigns they have, does it? Let's just fuck them harder next time."

 

[alexandros]

Fucked is exactly the right word. It's not a "minor inconvenience" in the sense of its actual implications. Yes, 180p is not the end of the world - that in of itself is "minor." However, having a company admit they're fucking you in the name of appeasing bitchass fanboys is a perfectly fine reason to end a purchase of a game. It's insulting to huge portions of their customers, shows a huge level of disrespect to gamers in general, and is simply grotesque behavior from a company like Ubisoft.

Is it, though? Is it that wrong for a company to want its game being judged without resolution being the huge factor it apparently is? Obviously that backfired but the original intent is not to fuck over anyone, I believe. I think it's more likely that publishers aren't that happy with resolution becoming the sole focal point each time a new game is being released. They probably want everyone to be excited for the game, not fighting on forums over which version is the best. Again, it obviously backfired because the Ubisoft guy came out and said it but I understand the idea behind it. I think more and more publishers will end up following that route in the future.

 

[Randam]

Why is it ubisoft's problem, when one console isn't capable of providing the same experience as the other?

 

[Amir0x]

Is it, though? Is it that wrong for a company to want its game being judged without resolution being the huge factor it apparently is? Obviously that backfired but the original intent is not to fuck over anyone, I believe. I think it's more likely that publishers aren't that happy with resolution becoming the sole focal point each time a new game is being released. They probably want everyone to be excited for the game, not fighting on forums over which version is the best. Again, it obviously backfired because the Ubisoft guy came out and said it but I understand the idea behind it. I think more and more publishers will end up following that route in the future.

It is absolutely wrong to give a huge portion of gamers - in fact, the majority of gamers who actually own next-gen consoles - an inferior product to appease people who purchased an inferior piece of tech. It's one thing if you cannot actually improve it; it's another to admit you're gimping a version so that fanboys in diapers won't have to whine about the fucked up purchase they decided on themselves.

And you are being pretty naive if you think Ubisoft has any positive ulterior motives here. Ubisoft doesn't give a shit that people view resolution as important. Half their games are built on pimping visual prowess, and if they could make AC: Unity 1080p on XBO, you think they wouldn't? Of course they would. It's mighty convenient that they get to selectively choose when visuals, resolution or framerate is important, but what they don't get to choose is to fuck a portion of their customer base and think they'll get away with it unscathed.

I mean, reading your comment, you actually brought into their initial nonsense excuse hook-line-and-sinker, as if that's actually an appropriate path. Obviously, if someone thinks that, they're going to disagree entirely with the use of the word "fucked." But such a person has views so diametrically opposed to the positions being argued against Ubisoft that it's essentially impossible to reconcile. They are people who clearly don't care that they themselves are consumers and don't have enough perspective to see the big picture of what allowing Ubisoft to get away with even something as "minor" as this means.

It means that at any point they can arbitrarily decide to dick over huge portions of their customers, when a company pays them to, when enough fanboys cry, when they decide not to put in the effort others do every day. Any excuse is viable! Sure, 180p difference is not that much, so why not 200p? 400p less? Why stop there? Do we really need HD? As long as the fanboys aren't "debating," right? Because they were so fucking daft that they didn't realize the system they were buying was hobbled by shit technology and they should have brought the one that didn't have those issues if they were going to complain? But no, the people who find that sort of thing important who made a logical choice based on the information before us are the ones that get to be punished.

Pretty much ridiculous on any level.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

When I look at PC graphic options, the TLOU's framerate slider that limits shadows for 60fps, and H2A resolution drop for a novelty feature... all I see is dumbfuck abritary limitations from the higher ups.

Unless a game runs like shit at the target 900p/30 frames, I see no reason for there not to be a 1080p/60 option. Don't force 5,000? on screen AI characters and shadows on me.

I'd like to know why Alien Isolation is 30fps on consoles. It's a preformance friendly beast on PC.

 

[Radec]

Holy shit...yea I think i'll handle the OT, a negative OT wouldn't be very fun for those who're actually excited for the game. ._.

Crossing Eden
Yves Guillemot's secret GAF account


lol

 

[justsomeguy]

pathetic Xbox fanboys

Wow

fanboys in diapers won't have to whine

Double wow

 

[mangasus90]

Is it, though? Is it that wrong for a company to want its game being judged without resolution being the huge factor it apparently is? Obviously that backfired but the original intent is not to fuck over anyone, I believe. I think it's more likely that publishers aren't that happy with resolution becoming the sole focal point each time a new game is being released. They probably want everyone to be excited for the game, not fighting on forums over which version is the best. Again, it obviously backfired because the Ubisoft guy came out and said it but I understand the idea behind it. I think more and more publishers will end up following that route in the future.

Might be true, might be not. We never know their real reason. However, if all the multiplat games are at the same spec of the weaker consoles then what's the point of buying a stronger console for?

Customers vote with their wallet, and this gen they go for Ps4, which is stronger than X1. They deserve to get games that fit the Ps4's engine power. I don't think there'd be problem at all if Ubi just silently went and did it; but they announced it openly and Ps4 owners feel unfair.

I personally don't really care for this particular case, but i believe customers have their right to go against such action from devs, now and into the future.

Now that i'm done. Sorry for my bad English. >__>

 

[TAJ]

Wow

How else would you describe people crying for someone else's game to be gimped so they don't have to experience buyer's remorse over a purchase from a third party?

 

[oni-link]

Unless a game runs like shit at the target 900p/30 frames, I see no reason for there not to be a 1080p/60 option. Don't force 5,000? on screen AI characters and shadows on me.

I seriously get the impression some people would rather play Pong at 60 fps and 1080p than any other great game at anything less

The huge number of NPC's is part of what makes the game appealing and unique, it might not enhance the game much, but that is something we'll have to see when the game is out

The fact you'd rather play in a 60fps and 1080p ghost town over the game as it was intended to be played mechanically is amazing

 

[Amir0x]

Wow


Double wow

I consider all fanboys to be of a similar low quality, so don't worry Mr. "works for MS." They share a mind often with children, corporate loyalty before consideration for their own needs or game quality.

There really is no other way to describe people who whine because other systems get superior versions when they should have fucking made the decision to buy that other system if it was so important to them. Instead, crippled by their fanboy nature, they stuck with their choice and now complain when others get superior products. I had a 360 all last gen as my primary system, 90%+ of all my game time was on it. You know why? Because on top of being cheaper, it had the best versions of most multiplatform games amongst consoles. I made the decision educated. You see how easy life is when you're not impacted by fanboy considerations?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

I seriously get the impression some people would rather play Pong at 60 fps and 1080p than any other great game at anything less

The huge number of NPC's is part of what makes the game appealing and unique, it might not enhance the game much, but that is something we'll have to see when the game is out

The fact you'd rather play in a 60fps and 1080p ghost town over the game as it was intended to be played mechanically is amazing

Ghost town is hyperbolic. What are you going to do with thousands of extra bots when you can only fight a handfull at a time? A hundred or thousand or so extra enemies is enough to populate the screen.

 

[MistaPropella]

These companies are so out of touch. I was on the fence about getting this game, now I won't at all.

Yeah, this game was one of the highlights for me this November, but thanks to Ubisoft and MS I won't buy it.

In fact, I canceled every Game from Ubisoft I had preordered.

 

[Swarna]

Dumb if they're really trying to force parity.

Really, it's my personal opinion that games should be designed around the television standard (1080p/60hz) and console hardware configuration (weak CPU) to begin with and not around shitty AI, open-world "scope", and "cinematic" effects with an attempt to re-tool and reach an "acceptable" resolution/frame rate later on. We'd have such a clean generation of games compared to what we got last time around. Most of the games we have would be the same except maybe looking trivially worse. I know this is never going to happen, though, because competing games will always try to push for visuals over everything else for better representation in marketing shots. You're generally going to be at a disadvantage if you're the only one sticking to your 1080p/60FPS principle while everyone else is pushing sub-1080p/30FPS and being able to put more glitter into their ad campaigns.

 

[justsomeguy]

How else would you describe people crying for someone else's game to be gimped so they don't have to experience buyer's remorse over a purchase from a third party?

There are many ways to constructively discuss the issue without taking that path.

 

[Amir0x]

There are many ways to constructively discuss the issue without taking that path.

what path? To describe fanboys as petulant whiners incapable of making decisions independent of their genuinely pathetic corporate loyalty? That it seems to me based on the evidence that this very same whining is at least partially contributive to the fact that Ubisoft decided to fuck the majority of their next-gen customers in the name of appeasing these frankly absurd individuals?

I find it hilarious you think this is offensive. When you become a fanboy, you sort of take with the territory all the negative implications that brings. Being a fanboy is inherently negative. That's why it's best not to be a fanboy!

Note: Having a preference != being a fanboy

 

[justsomeguy]

There really is no other way to describe people who whine because other systems get superior versions when they should have fucking made the decision to buy that other system if it was so important to them.

Just to be clear I have no problem with your point of view - I share the disdain for fanboyism. I just don't enjoy the way you phrase it with so much vitriol.

I also don't recall an awful lot of whining on GAF from xbox one owners complaining that the xbo version of game x is lower res, so I'm not clear what part of the community you're so upset about. It would help if you could refer to specific posters and posts when highlighting such behaviour.

 

[fedexpeon]

what path? To describe fanboys as petulant whiners incapable of making decisions independent of their genuinely pathetic corporate loyalty? That it seems to me based on the evidence that this very same whining is at least partially contributive to the fact that Ubisoft decided to fuck the majority of their next-gen customers in the name of appeasing these frankly absurd individuals?

I find it hilarious you think this is offensive. When you become a fanboy, you sort of take with the territory all the negative implications that brings. Being a fanboy is inherently negative. That's why it's best not to be a fanboy!

Yup.
It is always better to acknowledge the pros/cons of your favorite product.
But a fanboy can't look past their brand loyalty, and they want everyone to suffer because of their choice.
Why drag other people into their misguided decision? So these fanboys can feel better about themselves and their purchasing decision?
If one product is able to be optimized and can run better res/fps, who cares.
Just deal with it, and let other people enjoy a superior product.
But demanding and gleeing over parity is dumb.
Wishing for downgrade and failure is dumb.

 

[alexandros]

I consider all fanboys to be of a similar low quality, so don't worry Mr. "works for MS." They share a mind often with children, corporate loyalty before consideration for their own needs or game quality.

There really is no other way to describe people who whine because other systems get superior versions when they should have fucking made the decision to buy that other system if it was so important to them. Instead, crippled by their fanboy nature, they stuck with their choice and now complain when others get superior products. I had a 360 all last gen as my primary system, 90%+ of all my game time was on it. You know why? Because on top of being cheaper, it had the best versions of most multiplatform games amongst consoles. I made the decision educated. You see how easy life is when you're not impacted by fanboy considerations?

I don't know man, based on the use of really harsh language one could easily come to the conclusion that you may fall into the category you described yourself. Whining because you got an inferior version isn't that different than whining because you didn't get a superior one.

Again, we have no idea if the PS4 was even capable of reaching 1080p. It may be the case that the XB1 reached 900p through the skin of its teeth late into development and there was no more time for PS4 optimization. I'm sure that the PS4 version will have a more solid framerate anyway. It really isn't such a big deal.

 

[boredandlazy]

Just to be clear I have no problem with your point of view - I share the disdain for fanboyism. I just don't enjoy the way you phrase it with so much vitriol.

I also don't recall an awful lot of whining on GAF from xbox one owners complaining that the xbo version of game x is lower res, so I'm not clear what part of the community you're so upset about. It would help if you could refer to specific posters and posts when highlighting such behaviour.

I think it's because fanboys are actually starting to potentially impact the industry in a negative way. In the past although they were loud, they were also largely ignored. This is one of the first cases of publishers/devs caving in to the bullshit.

 

[justsomeguy]

what path? To describe fanboys as petulant whiners incapable of making decisions independent of their genuinely pathetic corporate loyalty? That it seems to me based on the evidence that this very same whining is at least partially contributive to the fact that Ubisoft decided to fuck the majority of their next-gen customers in the name of appeasing these frankly absurd individuals?

I find it hilarious you think this is offensive. When you become a fanboy, you sort of take with the territory all the negative implications that brings. Being a fanboy is inherently negative. That's why it's best not to be a fanboy!

Note: Having a preference != being a fanboy

Ok this helps me understand a little better. I'd say that it was possible to discuss this without talking about diapers for a start ;-)

My take on the ubi comment wasn't that there were reams of "whining xbox fanboys" (as per earlier post I don't recall seeing a lot of crying about some xbox games being lower res) but more about the headlines that get generated and comments and df articles and on and on focussing on the resolution difference instead of the gameplay. That's just my interpretation though - clearly it's different to yours which is fine.

Don't take any of this as an endorsement of forced parity btw. It's not.

 

[mrklaw]

I love AC. I want it to do well. But the implication of the developer's comments, coupled with Ubisoft's shady practices in the past, do not leave a good feeling. This is a no win situation

1) If they do nothing the accusation of forced parity sticks.

2) If the PS4 Version is patched to 1080p the gates of Xbox fanboy hell will rain fire on them. They will be looked at with permanent suspicion from all sides for future parity issues.

They put themselves in this situation so the blame lies with them. But anyway I look at it their credibility is shot real bad.

P.S. I play Ubisoft's games on PC so I don't care which console version is better but there is so much baggage on PC relationships with Ubisoft I'm not surprised that something is blowing up on the console side.

I agree with (1) but disagree with (2). Why would xbox fans rain fire on them for having a game running at the same resolution that many others do? Either you don't know the xbox is underpowered (so you don't care), or you do know and therefore should accept that games are likely to run with lower settings.

If I was an xbox fan I wouldn't be happy if another version was being held back just for parity. the xbox version isn't affected by that at all

 

[Amir0x]

Just to be clear I have no problem with your point of view - I share the disdain for fanboyism. I just don't enjoy the way you phrase it with so much vitriol.

I also don't recall an awful lot of whining on GAF from xbox one owners complaining that the xbo version of game x is lower res, so I'm not clear what part of the community you're so upset about. It would help if you could refer to specific posters and posts when highlighting such behaviour.

Not here much anymore, but it depends on the gap. I've seen people complain when the gap was considerable, like the way it was for FOX Engine games so far. In the beginning when the gen just started there were a lot of people who complained about it, but now most are resolved.

But I am not exactly sure what your point is with this since it is Ubisoft who is being impacted by this nebulous group. So, clearly they must have seen something, because you're not going to have a single PS4 fan complain about the fact that their multiplatform games are all superior. So, by process of elimination, which fanboys do you think are the whiners projecting this "debate" to make Ubisoft want to avoid it? Right, Xbox fanboys, by definition. If the shoe was on the other foot, I'd say the same.

I have really poor regard for fanboys because of just this sort of thing. They do not care about the best interests of the industry, or what's best for the game. As long as they can "score points" in their console war or get what's theirs, they don't care who is fucked along the way. And that's why my vitriol is the way it is. It's damaging to the industry.

Yup.
It is always better to acknowledge the pros/cons of your favorite product.
But a fanboy can't look past their brand loyalty, and they want everyone to suffer because of their choice.
Why drag other people into their misguided decision? So they can feel better about themselves and their purchasing decision?

And by the way, there are perfectly fine fans who don't seep into fanboy territory. That is to say, they acknowledge a preference - say, I love Nintendo games and that's just what I like to play most of the time - whilst not dismissing other consoles or products on the merit of their twisted brand loyalty alone. They certainly wouldn't be amongst the ones whining that one console gets a game at better resolution or framerate, when the technical limitations are what they are.

 

[Pennywise83]

Unity aside, are there any evidences about MS' contracts with third parties to enforce parity? The issue is very interesting and I think might be of great importance in understanding the topic. If anyone has some information please share them, thanks

 

[alexandros]

I think we should also consider the possibility that for Ubisoft, a multiplatform developer with no console allegiances, having part of its audience using its game as console war ammunition may be just as undesirable as having another part whining because the game has a lower resolution.

 

[justsomeguy]

Not here much anymore, but it depends on the gap. I've seen people complain when the gap was considerable, like the way it was for FOX Engine games so far.

To be fair the fox engine gap on the face of it IS bullshit 😄 720p vs 1080p is so out of step with every other publisher now that it deserves criticism. You can also give legit criticism without it being a whining fanboy in diapers, right? But that's off topic for this thread.

 

[alexandros]

Unity aside, are there any evidences about MS' contracts with third parties to enforce parity? The issue is very interesting and I think might be of great importance in understanding the topic. If anyone has some information please share them, thanks

There isn't any evidence.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

I tell you what. Even if they don't end up bumping up the PS4 version, it's still pretty damn gorgeous. I just saw more footage that left me quite impressed with the visuals, new animations, the traversal and the co-op. It shows off the game fairly well for a bite-sized 5 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbiJwqUV_j4

Framerate gets really ugly when there are 4 assassins fighting with smoke bombs and shit.

 

[Amir0x]

I think we should also consider the possibility that for Ubisoft, a multiplatform developer with no console allegiances, having part of its audience using its game as console war ammunition may be just as undesirable as having another part whining because the game has a lower resolution.

Yeah, where were they all last gen when every Xbox 360 game was often massively superior to the PS3 versions? Oh, that's right, they weren't anywhere. They kept their damn mouth shut and continued to let the difference exist in quite profound fashions because it was just rightly assumed that consumers make their choice, and they deserve to get the benefits of their platform.

Now it's suddenly different? As I said, it's mightily convenient for Ubisoft that now they get to pick and choose this shit when they're partners with Microsoft for the first AC game ever, but whether it was a deal between them or MS or not, all I know is that it's fucked up for consumers. Consumers have a right to be mad, and Ubisoft deserves to be taken to task for it.

Since I'm a consumer and not a fanboy, I'm going to continue to want what's best for the games coming out and the systems they are on. When you pull anti-consumer nonsense like this, Ubisoft gotta deal with the heat. They've had to answer in PR no less than three times now, and each time they keep modifying it to slightly more appealing terms.

Now they're at "nothing is finalized yet spec-wise". So, a little more fighting, and they may just be forced to do the factually right thing. We've got these big companies to change before on issues like this, and we can get them to change again. There's no advantage as a consumer to desiring anything else.

To be fair the fox engine gap on the face of it IS bullshit �� 720p vs 1080p is so out of step with every other publisher now that it deserves criticism. You can also give legit criticism without it being a whining fanboy in diapers, right? But that's off topic for this thread.

Well, there is a distinct reason for that too. It was explained why Fox Engine takes a particular hit for XBO, and I think it had to do with the ESRam limitation being specifically prohibitive for the way Konami designed Fox Engine. I read it in detail before, I'll try to find a link.

But again, I'd only be angry if they literally could do better but didn't. From what I understand, MS is now working with them to try to figure out a workaround for their Fox Engine, because it is a problem with the XBO's limitations again.

 

[justsomeguy]

Well, there is a distinct reason for that too. It was explained why Fox Engine takes a particular hit for XBO, and I think it had to do with the ESRam limitation being specifically prohibitive for the way Konami designed Fox Engine. I read it in detail before, I'll try to find a link.

But again, I'd only be angry if they literally could do better but didn't. From what I understand, MS is now working with them to try to figure out a workaround for their Fox Engine, because it is a problem with the XBO's limitations again.

Link would be interesting; believe it focussed on deferred rendering or something like that? I am fully expecting ms to get fox engine up from 720p. Last post from me on fox engine as it's off topic

Spoiler

and I need to go to work

 

[Brad Grenz]

Unity aside, are there any evidences about MS' contracts with third parties to enforce parity? The issue is very interesting and I think might be of great importance in understanding the topic. If anyone has some information please share them, thanks

Well, last year AC4 had a resolution difference. This year Watch_Dogs had a resolution difference. But now that AC: Unity is part of an Xbox co-marketing deal, in a year where MS has gone to extraordinary effort to make sure The Xbox One did not have a resolution deficit for big games like Diablo 3 and Destiny, Ubisoft suddenly changed their stance to embrace "parity". Their attempt to give a technical explanation was totally wrong. It's is not difficult to see what has changed and where the pressure is coming from. Obviously we don't have access to actual contracts or back room discussions between Ubisoft and Microsoft, but the logical inferences are apparent.

 

[Lemondish]

That is not even remotely true.

If PC was the driver of AAA success, we would see it play out in the sales figures for these franchises. We would see PC ports (when they happen) with better options tailored to audience.

We would also have less PC master race insecure asshattery and port begging.

Like it or not, consoles play a huge role in the industry and their disappearance would be catastrophic for a while.

 

[RoboPlato]

Well, last year AC4 had a resolution difference. This year Watch_Dogs had a resolution difference. But now that AC: Unity is part of an Xbox co-marketing deal, in a year where MS has gone to extraordinary effort to make sure The Xbox One did not have a resolution deficit for big games like Diablo 3 and Destiny, Ubisoft suddenly changed their stance to embrace "parity". Their attempt to give a technical explanation was totally wrong. It's is not difficult to see what has changed and where the pressure is coming from. Obviously we don't have access to actual contracts or back room discussions between Ubisoft and Microsoft, but the logical inferences are apparent.

I personally doubt that there's any explicit deal in place but I could see a decision coming down from out of touch upper management thinking that it would make sense considering their partnership for this game. That's part of the reason I want people to make noise about this. Show Ubi and other pubs that it's more of an issue for them if they force it instead of just maintaining the expected results. If that happens, then I'll be glad that Ubi outright said it now so that the chances of it happening again are considerably smaller.

 

[Quadraphonic]

There's no hard evidence Ubisoft had an incentive from Microsoft to do it, but it's pretty fucking obvious that they did.

The timing is too perfect, the stated reason is completely wrong, and it's probably the best negotiations that Ubisoft could give MS.

MS: "So, how's ACU looking?"
Ubi: "Well, it's running at about 900p/30 on the Xbox One..."
MS: "And the PS4 version?"
Ubi "1080p/30"
MS: "Let's see if we can help you guys optimize your shit to get our game up to 1080p, too.
Ubi: "We'd love that!"

Time passes... they realize they can't for whatever reason. (Too many god damn AI people)

MS: "Well, we're in a tough spot here..."
Ubi: "Yeah. Sorry."
MS: "Well, we gave you all this money for marketing. It'd seem awkward if our game didn't hit the same resolution as the PS4..."
Ubi: "We like money."
MS: "Well, if we can't get it up to 1080p, what about... and I'm just spitballing here... what if we say... I don't know... made 900p the standard for the game."
Ubi: "And if we say 'no'?"
MS: "That contract we gave you, with all that money? Yeah, we'd pull it."
Ubi: "900p parity it is!"

 

[oni-link]

Ghost town is hyperbolic. What are you going to do with thousands of extra bots when you can only fight a handfull at a time? A hundred or thousand or so extra enemies is enough to populate the screen.

Atmosphere, and it's not something that's been done before, it might mechanically change/improve chase sections etc

Like i say it might not improve the game, but it might, stamping down on everything that is new in favour for performance will just get us the same games as last gen but in a better resolution and with a better framerate

 

[GhostTrick]

If PC was the driver of AAA success, we would see it play out in the sales figures for these franchises. We would see PC ports (when they happen) with better options tailored to audience.

We would also have less PC master race insecure asshattery and port begging.

Like it or not, consoles play a huge role in the industry and their disappearance would be catastrophic for a while.

The driver of AAA success is first and foremost the industry as a whole. I can't think of any AAA game not getting a PC port nowadays, and there's often a lot of great options made for PC.

As for the second part... I don't think that's something meaningful to comment.

Also, the disappearance of consoles would be catastrophic... if they didn't had a replacement. PS4 and Xbox One just proved a good point in my opinion:
-Multiplatform AAA titles are the biggest driver of the sales.
-The line between PC and console is starting to disappear.

What prevents the console industry to move into a new form factor, aka small PC box, which they actually are, running this time on Windows and open to other softwares ?

 

[boredandlazy]

The driver of AAA success is first and foremost the industry as a whole. I can't think of any AAA game not getting a PC port nowadays, and there's often a lot of great options made for PC.

As for the second part... I don't think that's something meaningful to comment.

Also, the disappearance of consoles would be catastrophic... if they didn't had a replacement. PS4 and Xbox One just proved a good point in my opinion:
-Multiplatform AAA titles are the biggest driver of the sales.
-The line between PC and console is starting to disappear.

What prevents the console industry to move into a new form factor, aka small PC box, which they actually are, running this time on Windows and open to other softwares ?

Destiny?

 

[TetraGenesis]

Why do I keep coming back to this thread? It might as well be the front page of Gaf for me these past couple days.

 

[Lemondish]

Yeah, I mean, do you man. I'm just saying that it's just the sort of behavior Ubisoft wants to validate their shitty practices. It is undeniably what they're counting on, and I'm sure you realize that. I can't expect anyone to care about 180p, but I wish people would consider the larger implications of allowing a company who literally admits they fucked a huge portion of their customers so as to avoid "a debate" (i.e. satiate Xbox fanboys tears) to just do what they want in such a case.

I don't know when people draw lines, but I hope more people draw the line where I will. It impacts everyone

This reference to '180p' is a little deceptive. It's a difference of 633,600 pixels or a reduction of 30% from 1080p.

 

[aspiegamer]

I think it's because fanboys are actually starting to potentially impact the industry in a negative way. In the past although they were loud, they were also largely ignored. This is one of the first cases of publishers/devs caving in to the bullshit.

This is what worries me most. Kids can go console warring 24/7 for all I care (just not here, please!). It's their free time and angst. Giving into to an insane vocal minority is not good for business, stability or sanity. Please refer to the US Congress as an extreme real-life example of a handful of nutcases not based in reality completely fucking things up for pretty much the entire planet. At least a ton of money in that for those involved! So, hey, it could still be worse. Well. Either option is bad. It's either caving OR is money-related. Or both. Ick.

Unity aside, are there any evidences about MS' contracts with third parties to enforce parity?

There's no actual evidence implying contracts at this time. All we have is "well, the last AC shipped at 900p on both, too, but PS4 got a patch after release to 1080p and the same thing might happen this time" as several degrees of separation from anything beyond "gut feeling". So, right, nothing. There haven't even been any GAF insiders that have stepped forward to make a claim and they have collectively have connections all over the place.

You can be damn sure people will be looking harder than ever for evidence, though. This was a concern/fear/conspiracy theory that started all the way back during Resolutiongate.

 

[GhostTrick]

Destiny?

Oh, it'll come, you can count on that. That's one for... how much already ? Not only accounting that it didn't turned out really well in the end.

 

[ICPEE]

I don't remember any incident last generation (PS3/Xbox 360) where parity was even an option or something developers openly strived for. Games generally ran better on 360 and the gaming press and MS made no secret about it even though the 360 (arguably) was the weaker console.
Why all of a sudden has parity become such an issue.
One console is clearly the more easier to develop for and the more powerful. Shouldn't that console then be the easiest to push in terms of performance?
The 360 had no problem doing that despite it maybe being at a raw power disadvantage.

 

[vpance]

I wonder if Sony could release new firmware and SDK to protect themselves from future forced parity situations, like a "force internal rendering mode" override in the system settings. The SDK would force devs to code through certain API hooks so they can reliably facilitate the new menu options given by the firmware.

 

[chopstik]

There's no hard evidence Ubisoft had an incentive from Microsoft to do it, but it's pretty fucking obvious that they did.

The timing is too perfect, the stated reason is completely wrong, and it's probably the best negotiations that Ubisoft could give

People keep saying "that there's no evidence that Microsoft is involved in this", well no shit, I'm sure deals like these happen behind closed doors and dark windows. Anyone with common sense, logic and deductive reasoning can see it, hardly far-fetched when there's millions of dollars involved.

 

[ICPEE]

I wonder if Sony could release new firmware and SDK to protect themselves from future forced parity situations, like a "force internal rendering mode" override in the system settings. The SDK would force devs to code through certain API hooks so they can reliably facilitate the new menu options given by the firmware.

I don't think that would be an option. A developer has a clear goal in mind when developing a game. How much system resources it wants to use to achieve that goal is upto the developer. If they want (lazy example) 4K Pac Man or 720p Crysis 4 with extremely detailed environments, its totally upto the developer.
One thing I fear and its looking incresingly likely is that more developers are going to be forcing parity between the consoles. If that's going to happen I'm dropping consoles indefinately and setting up camp on PC. I plan in getting a PS4 in Feb next year and I'm keeping a close eye on future multiplats. Will see how things go.

 

[stryke]

I wonder if Sony could release new firmware and SDK to protect themselves from future forced parity situations, like a "force internal rendering mode" override in the system settings. The SDK would force devs to code through certain API hooks so they can reliably facilitate the new menu options given by the firmware.

That would just piss off developers.

 

[ICPEE]

People keep saying "that there's no evidence that Microsoft is involved in this", well no shit, I'm sure deals like these happen behind closed doors and dark windows. Anyone with common sense, logic and deductive reasoning can see it, hardly far-fetched when there's millions of dollars involved.

Its not that hard to see something fishy going on with this game.
Marketing deal with MS. Big multiplatform title. Ubisoft openly admitting parity to keep internet debate to a minimum. You don't need a slide rule to figure this out. Something went down somewhere between the two parties.
You don't want to advertise a big multiplatform title to the consumer when its at a performance disadvantage to your nearest competitor.