This happened to me as well. Even reloaded the checkpoint since I thought it was a glitch, then felt dumb.
Firewatch's PS4 performance is terrible
- Thread starter Diprosalic
- Start date
This happened to me as well. Even reloaded the checkpoint since I thought it was a glitch, then felt dumb.
Melchiah
Member
Actually, now that I read a patch is coming, I'm thinking about doing exactly that. Eventhough I really want to continue playing it tonight. I feel like keeping too many days inbetween the sessions might affect the experience negatively as well. If I manage to fight the urge, I'll play Destiny and RE0 HD instead.
You should try turning off auto save, and just save manually. Then this problem wont be possible, and it may improve general performance of the game to boot.
No crashes on my playthrough last night, but framerate could really use some improvement.. Im not too pissed though considering the quality of the game in just about all other aspects and the pricing
Melchiah
Member
Are you by any chance stuck in the point where there's a cable railway in the end of the path? If so, there's
a backpack hanging from a tree in the opposing direction
Yeah i watched a stream of PS Access and you could clearly see that the frame rate was all over the place. I thought "oh well, Unity", but the problems here clearly go beyond that.
Yeah, exactly. The Witness is also vastly superior tech wise.
GinoFelino
Member
I'm pretty sure it will be worth the (full-price) money once the problems are fixed...
Apart from PS4 performance, a lot of thought and effort seems to have gone into it.
M3Freak
Banned
I question anyone's sincerity that is ok with a game they've traded their life for (you spend your ife/time to earn money to buy stuff) that doesn't run without crashing. Frame rates drops are one thing, but outright crashes or glitches in controls - GTFO!
Freeman76
Member
All the people who blindly defend defective products are affirming that its ok for devs to release games that aren't entirely finished. The negative press it kicks up does bite them in the arse and it costs them in the long run.
Compare this game to The Witness, similar size island, one is 60FPS, one is far from it. The difference is the QC and care that goes into releasing a finished product.
I don't feel the devs need a lynching here, and I certainly don't feel that the game is shit because it has issues, but it's not fair that as a consumer I drop cash on a game to support the guys who put their time into it, only to feel the need to wait for a patch that makes it run as well as we can reasonably expect from a game of this scope on a PS4.
M3Freak
Banned
Maybe, but to ask people for money for a broken release is dirty. Any dev/publisher that does deserves no sales. But, since there's a sucker born every minute, the best I can hope for is much less sales!
Once there is definitive proof the PS4 release is OK, I'll reconsider buying it. For now, Firewatch is on my banned list.
Ninja Scooter
Member
The problem is that your definition of "broken" might not be everyone else's. People are playing and beating the ps4 version. Not sure how that qualifies as broken. Unoptimized is not neccesarily broken to everyone. That doesn't mean you have to buy it or that your criticisms aren't valid.
mistake corrected.
Those people are the worst. And the reason why the rest of us get fucked.
Oh, it's indeed a nice idea in theory. So, too, was Microsoft's 720p minimum for X360 games, although it wasn't strictly enforced (Halo 3 being the most notable example).
It didn't crash once from start to finish for me. *shrugs*
Calling people suckers for putting up with hitching is a tad hyperbolic.
There are people that can drive a broken car or live on a broken house. Their ability to cope with the misfortunes doesn't fix their cars and homes.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Okay.
Like the hat?
Banned
Just finally tried it. Going to wait for a patch. Stuttering is really bad, and it really kicks my ps4 fans in to high gear, whereas even games like fallout 4 barely ever make my fans go high.
M3Freak
Banned
I'm ok with frame rate dropping here and there. Constant frame rate issues, controls that aren't fine tuned and out right bugs that crash or hang the game are my definition for "broken". Since that's what's being reported here about Firewatch, it's broken in my books.
Case in point: Just Cause 3 has performance problems on the PS4. Some have been patched after release, others not. However, there were no reports of the game crashing or hanging. I didn't see anything bad reported about the controls. In general, the PS4 frame rate and loading issues weren't as bad as the Xbox One release. When I finally got a chance to play it, I was OK with the issues. It's less enjoyable and I don't think it's worth the full price because of the issues - sure. But, broken it is not.
Devilgunman
Member
Yeah, it's getting really ridiculous. Also most of the time the devs are fully aware that their game has issues but decided to release anyway.
JetSetRadio
Banned
Kinda sucks for the devs who seemed to be really excited yesterday around here.
They should have known better though but at least the theme is nice.
They should have known better though but at least the theme is nice.
GinoFelino
Member
As one of the most frequent posters in this thread.....
Angry hyperbole derails threads
*high five*
SlipperyMoose
Member
I was going to purchase this game as well but I will wait until a patch or maybe an Xbox One version if it comes. It's strange to think a game like this would struggle with performance on a PS4.
MassiveNights
Banned
I honestly don't understand how the dev could have put hundreds of hours into the PS4 version and found the issues 'minor'.
You are trying to create an immersive world with minimal UI, obvious design choices to make the player feel the surroundings but think stuttering, tearing, crashing and frame rate drops are acceptable?
Sure the game is playable, but is that our standard these days?
You can write this off as "another angry NeoGAF post" all you like but I rarely complain about performance in games. When you are going for minimalism it really heightens the problems for me and the devs should be self aware enough to figure that out. I can't get into it.
It's a real shame too because the premise, initial story, characters and general design are all really engaging.
You are trying to create an immersive world with minimal UI, obvious design choices to make the player feel the surroundings but think stuttering, tearing, crashing and frame rate drops are acceptable?
Sure the game is playable, but is that our standard these days?
You can write this off as "another angry NeoGAF post" all you like but I rarely complain about performance in games. When you are going for minimalism it really heightens the problems for me and the devs should be self aware enough to figure that out. I can't get into it.
It's a real shame too because the premise, initial story, characters and general design are all really engaging.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Like I said I don't think your criticisms aren't valid. Everybody's sensitivity to that sort of thing is different. Frame rate hitching I've found doesn't bother me personally as much as other people. The major issue is that we don't really know of these problems until after a game releases, so it makes it harder than it should be to decide if you should buy a game or not. This part sucks and from a developers stand point, is not good for sales if people are interested in your game but have to hesitate on dropping money on it because they aren't sure about its performance. This is especially true with digital only titles where you can't really rent it or sell it if it's not up to your standards.
M3Freak
Banned
As one of the most frequent posters in this thread.....
Angry hyperbole derails threads
I'm not angry. I haven't bought the game: I'm actually very relieved!
I'm only saying Firewatch isn't for me in its current (reported) state, I've defined what broken means to me and I don't think any dev/publisher deserves my money when they knowingly release games with big problems.
I'm a gamer. I pay attention to detail. I notice this shit and it matters to me.
OrbitalBeard
Member
The Witness on PS4 is the gold standard for me from a technical perspective as well. I'm amazed at how smoothly it runs and I haven't run into a single bug or glitch. It's "Nintendo-like" in its polish.
I'm sure it has some issues, but I honestly haven't had any problems.
Why did the game get so many 8 and 9's if its broken on PS4...is it really that bad...? I wanted to get this on PS4 but might go PC,even though my PC is similar to consoles in power(5 years old,660)
Barry Burton
Member
I've run into some tearing, mainly when I've been on the boat and moving fast. That's about it, though. It is super-polished.
I played about a half-hour of The Witness yesterday while I was downloading Firewatch, and it was jarring once I switched over. Two first-person adventure games with similar, very colorful art-styles but one is silky smooth and the other runs like ass...
GinoFelino
Member
Great post.
I think that's why it feels like you're 'ruining' the game for yourself by playing it in this state, moreso than other games with similarly bad performance.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
I wouldn't call Witness minimalist tbh. The game renders some pretty damn complex scenery and lighting, and almost everything is subtly animated. Grass and trees sway in the wind, clouds move, etc. On top of that the game has perfect reflections that are done by the good old re-render everything twice so the things look like actual reflection, and not some blurry shader hack. Despite that, the game has unflinching performance even when the complex scenery is reflected in the water.
I didn't really mean minimalist in the complexity of the environment or animations. I meant its art style. AKA it didn't go for realism like an Assassins Creed or The Order, etc.
For the record I think it's a beautiful game.
This is 100% on point.
The game's presentation is basically ruined by this issue. It really shouldn't have been released in this state.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
So why do some continue to use Unity? Is it dirt cheap to license? Especially considering Unreal is free now isn't it?
Mudron
Member
I'm not usually one to notice (or care) much about frame rates unless they're pretty bad, but, yeah, this is pretty damned bad, though still playable (at least to me).
The two potential game-breaking issues I had were: getting arbitrarily stuck on a tiny rock that I stuck to like a magnet and couldn't walk or jump back off of until after 10 minutes of wiggling/glitching my way *through* the rock and back onto solid ground, and getting stuck on the loading screen for the last chapter of the game twice.
The two potential game-breaking issues I had were: getting arbitrarily stuck on a tiny rock that I stuck to like a magnet and couldn't walk or jump back off of until after 10 minutes of wiggling/glitching my way *through* the rock and back onto solid ground, and getting stuck on the loading screen for the last chapter of the game twice.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Super-easy to make ports for different platforms. Especially if you want to release for Mac/Linux with no extra work, Unity is one of the very few viable choices.
I would however wager that this dev would have been met with far better fortune if they just released this on PC/PS4 and made the performance the best it can be on both. I'd think any earning they'd get from Mac/Linux must be really minimal compared to the lost sales they're seeing from this backlash.
Also, you kind of need, well, better programmers if you're going to use UE, as mean as that sounds. You need people who are good with C++. In Unity, you create the game in C# and or Javascript.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Gotcha.
Steve McQueen
Member
Finished the game. Despite the stutter, pop in and framedrops it was a great experience. No crashes for me, but 2 times when I had to reload my save because the gfx became blurry after opening a box ( 2 times same box, 306 ).
I was afraid that, after reading the first impressions, the problems would ruin the game for me. But I was so looking forward to the game, that I bought it anyway. No regrets, but tbh it would have enjoyed probabky more without those problems.
I was afraid that, after reading the first impressions, the problems would ruin the game for me. But I was so looking forward to the game, that I bought it anyway. No regrets, but tbh it would have enjoyed probabky more without those problems.
I wonder how that bodes for VR since one of the big deals was that Unity made it a lot easier for anyone to make VR experiences.
JetSetRadio
Banned
Diprosalic
Banned
damn fine post.
Going through Day 2. No crashes, but I did have to forcibly quit the game once. At the end of Day One, I picked up a photo frame and laid it on the desk over the radio dock. When Day Two began, you need to pick up the radio, which I could, but then Henry wouldn't stand up to answer it. Nothing to do but close the game. Thank Christ you guys recommended I turn off autosave. Only had a little bit of progress to make up.
Jacksinthe
Banned
Price. UE is a sub with profit sharing per sale. Unity is a flat fee or free and Sony/MS have Unity licensing for their self publishing indie platforms.
I gave a brief rundown of Unity just this morning i think on a previous page on what I feel are its weaknesses and misuses from someone who uses it every day for PS4 development (me).
We do see Unity games run absolutely fine when the games are developed with Unity's constraints in mind. I play Drawn to Death whenever I can and it uses Unity. No performance issues but the usual alpha bugs occur which get fixed. No big. 99% of the mobile market uses Unity with great performance. Its a good engine, a good all-around engine best suited for its own walls. You stick with that and you're fine. Try to color outside the lines and you'll get problems.
dragonfart28
Banned
I'm playing on the Alienware Alpha, which is usually considered similar in power to the PS4, and it's running great.
I turned down shadows and bloom and using Nvidia vsync (adaptive) with everything else on Ultra and getting 45-60 fps.
Complicated
Banned
Kind of shocking to see something like this come from that set of dudes. I wouldn't expect them to allow it to ship in that state. Even more weird that it didn't get much exposure in reviews.
Jacksinthe
Banned
IIRC they said several review copies weren't final code so its possible they added, tweaked or fixed something that broke something else. That happens a lot, tbh.