Assassin's Creed "Parity": Unity is 900p/30fps on both PS4 & Xbox One
- Thread starter Steverulez
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I assume as well it's probably more effort to make the game perform better on PS4 compared to making the game perform to the same level on both consoles
And while it would be nice for them to go to that effort they are not obligated to, they're a business and unless it appears that this will seriously hurt sales it doesn't make business sense to invest more money and effort into making the PS4 version a bit better just to appease a minority of the community
Also maybe one version being better will hurt sales overall, with gamers with both systems reluctant to buy the inferior version but happy to buy an equal version good game on the other system
It's a shame for gamers, but it makes sense for Ubisoft, who are a business after all
EventHorizon
Member
As has already been pointed out to you, it sure looks like UbiSoft has taken notice. Or maybe you thought they'd have made those 'clarifications' if this didn't blow up in their face.
Hmm.... When you're playing your Xbox One that has...
- 24 hour check-in DRM / Can't trade or buy used games
- Mandatory Kinect
- TV!! TV!! TV!! TV!! TV!! TV!! TV!! focus
- No Indie self publish games
- $100 more expensive
Uhh, that is the exact same thing. Lowering the resolution or not raising the resolution when easily possible are identintical. It's like how 4-2 and 4+(-2) are the exact same thing.
I think this is an excellent point. Good chances are they can run the game at 1080, but it still needs work to get it up to an acceptable fps. Basically, instead of having to put a gaggle on engineers on optimization, they're killing 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak, by not having to spend the resources, and keep all their business stakeholders happy(xb1)/a bit grumpy(ps4).
jimbobsmells
Member
Maybe Ubi should start using those GPU compute cores on the PS4 next time rather than getting throttled by the CPU.
Oh ok, thats true then, you're 100% correct there
Can i get a link to your source?
Omotesando
Member
Saying this outright in an interview without any thought, I am afraid these anti consumerism is ingrained in their culture now. But in the end it is about the business and we all know, we are all going to buy Unity, 1080p or not.
NegroNinja
Member
After playing Shadows of Mordor I can rest easy skipping this game. I'm tired of the whole parkour stealth and collecting shit forever gameplay anyway.
Never in my life have I heard anyone say "raising the resolution is easy" in a development context for what it's worth.
Rebel Leader
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Portugeezer
Member
It is when you are raising it on the console which is more powerful.
EmptySpace
Banned
that actually looks like a comparison table for last year's nvidia card and the upcoming one. the ones that you see whenever a new gpu is coming.
I disagree, and I think that commutativity is a bad analogy. If running the game at 1080p on PS4 was never on the cards (i.e. they decided very early on that the game would be 900p30 on both platforms), then it's silly to say that's 'the same as' them intentionally lowering the game from 1080p to 900p at some point in development.
For instance, if I have to write an essay for class and I deliberately decide not to put 100% of my effort into it, that's clearly different than if I put 100% of my effort into it and then intentionally make it worse once I've finished it.
Are you denying that we know that MS are in a marketing agreement with Ubi for the game?
Given that we know that MS are fond of shady, anti-consumer business practices, and they've become really obsessed recently with trying to make the difference in performance between their console and Sony's seem smaller than it really is, it's really not too much of a leap to suppose that they're putting some kind of pressure on Ubi to keep the PS4 version artificially hamstrung.
Speculative? Certainly. Implausible? I don't think so at all.
It would take a designer 5 minutes in their game engine to setup a reasonable scene that would bring the most powerful PC computer to it's knees.
Portugeezer
Member
EventHorizon
Member
You would be wrong with that assumption. The PS4 is the easier platform to code for and has more innate powerful hardware so even if the coding complexity were equal, the same code would run faster on the PS4. Have you not noticed why there are games that run better on the PS4 over the XB1 and not the other way around?
The fact is that if the XB1 and PS4 are running a non trivial game at parity, then the XB1 version required more development resources and optomization to get the game to that point. That is essentially why people are upset. We don't care if the XB1 gets the equivalent of the participation award by having Microsoft fly in their own developers to pick up the slack as they had to do with Diablo 3. We care when the developer does it internally at the expense of the PS4 as appears to have been done with UbiSoft.
Omotesando
Member
I am certain it will sell a shitload, and a high chance of it being the best selling AC yet, since it's the first true next gen title.
Rebel Leader
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that doesn't answer that how do you know "we all" are gonna get it
It's easy when the hardware can already run the game sufficiently at a higher resolution.
Omotesando
Member
Please read it in context. By ''we all'' doesn't mean my mother is going to buy it. It means 'it will sell alot, and maybe even record amount, in contrast to the outrage of the ''p'' on internet sites like Neogaf, the rest of the world won't care, so executive producer in the end doesn't care and just keeps blabbering out things like that just to spite us''.
First of all, it's a resolution change. It's not like they would be adding extra features or anything like that to the game. All they would be doing is optimising their engine properly for that specific hardware, things they should be doing anyway.
Who said it is a lot more effort though? One might assume that considering the Xbox One is the weaker system it required effort to get it running at the settings it currently is, right?
I'm taking the first statement as truth and the second statement as a PR clean up. They said they intentionally kept the games at parity to avoid debate. That is saying parity was not a necessity technically.
Granted i said i assume it's more effort, but i don't know enough about game design, so i very well might be wrong with that assumption
I will say it will be funny to see what happens when the inevitable HD Release of Assassins Creed Rouge hits PS4 and Xbone
It would be weird seeing that at 1080p when Unity is at 900
Yes, I agree, but there's a difference between their targeting 900p to begin with for both, and between getting the game to 1080p on PS4 and then intentionally lowering it.
I don't think anybody seriously believes that they did the latter.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
He needs to tell us the winning lottery numbers while he's at it
The fact of the matter is anyway, the reason given for the parity wasn't to do with the effort required to get it running at a higher resolution, it was simply to stop the debates.
I've actually made a similar argument to yours, and that was to do with PC games. A high-end PC is far more powerful than any console, which means they could add extra features to the PC if they wanted to. Of course that certainly would require more time and effort because they are adding more features to the game.
It is fair to say they would be under no obligation to do so in that instance. As long as the game runs well and has the standard options PC gamers expect, there can be no complaints. However, if the game is an unoptimised mess or it doesn't provide the resolution options people expect, then PC gamers have a right to complain.
In terms of the PS4, if the game could easily run at 1080p 30fps, there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't allow that option.
They can, easily ... the problemn is that they are been paid to not do it.
Well if they couldn't get AC:4 out the door at 1080p at launch and AC:U is built for next gen, then it's probably not going to run at 1080p "easily" on PS4, and even if it can, they have shown precedent in the past with a post release patch
They may well put it out at 900p so the reviews don't say the PS4 version is the definitive one, then put out the 1080p patch at a later date, that's not great, but maybe that's how they plan to have their cake and eat it
Handy Fake
Member
As I recall, the 900p PS4 version was actually just a hiccup that got past the testers.
That is just as bad as "to stop debate" as an explanation
Well if AC:4 was tough to get to 1080p when that was pretty much a last gen game, and Watch Dogs could only do 900, and AC:U is also 900, maybe it's just that Ubisoft are struggling to hit 1080p at all, i mean, they reuse a lot of stuff behind the scenes to keep pumping out these huge open world titles on such a regular basis
Do we know what FC4 is going to run in?
corrosivefrost
Member
I think the word you were looking for was.... LOOKED.
Let's see how it looks after/if Ubi tells us that they did the same 900p, 30fps.
And don't you fucking forget it.
Well, you're talking of a game that came out not that long after launch.
Despite that, one might wonder as to the real reason for this now, after the bullshit excuse given this time.
Every game is different anyway. You can't really say, "well this game can do this, so this completely different game should be able to do this". The technical reasons for the issues may not be of comparison.
FairXchange
Member
This news was enough for me to cancel my preorder, I don't care of 'we all' are buying it because I don't consult 'us' before doing something with my money.
Jessie.Bristol
Member
Was this posted yet? Ubisoft has apparently clarified their statement, whether you choose to believe them or not is another matter: http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/07/ubisoft-clarifies-assassins-creed-unity-resolution-decision
Ubisoft said:
NickFire
Member
They (or the publisher who owns them) most likely do have an obligation to their shareholders not to piss on the shoes of 2/3 of the install base though. Long term sales of AC on PS4 are potentially far more valuable than whatever benefits they got from "avoiding debates." And for all the talk about casuals driving the market, how many franchises have really endured once they lost the enthusiastic audience?
Speak for yourself I loved AC4 yet I will not buy this game. When a company tells me they didn't put all their efforts. Why should I reward them with my hard earned money?
Biggest bullshit answer ever. Saying "We're CONFIDENT people will love the visuals" over and over will not actually make people forget what your little buddy slipped out and admitted to everyone. Also, exactly in what way has his extremely clear comments been misinterpreted? Don't you mean: He fucking misspoke?
If the two systems have equal everything in performance, you gimped the PS4 version. It's that simple. Any other excuse just means we have to make up more damning reasons why they're at the same level.
Omotesando
Member
Me neither, I stopped caring about other people's buying habits, especially when it concerns a product that shows anti consumerism. I am just saying that is how it works.
Handy Fake
Member
Well, no, it was a genuine mistake, which is why it was a day one patch. :/
It's not an awful lot different to their last statement. They didn't really clarify anything in regards to the PS4 SKU.
It's just another non-denial denial as far as I can tell.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
How tough could it have been to get ACIV to 1080p when the patch came out four days after release with perfect frame rate? I completely buy that 900p was an accident when it came to that game.
Omotesando
Member
I am not speaking for myself though.
I am not going to buy it myself, because I didn't love AC4, like you. It must be the best AC yet for me to even consider it. I am just saying people who are outraged about this in the end won't matter, because the 'p' thing won't affect the endsales as much as the game being good or not, or the quality of Ubisoft marketing.
NickFire
Member
I think they mean, "We are sorry some of you misunderstood our guy. We did not gimp the game after we made it. Rather, we gimped it while we made it. But don't worry, it will still look very nice. But now we think we might un-gimp it, but we aren't sure either way, so please don't cancel your pre-orders"
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