PC version

[free2game]

It's not going to be a straight port like most games today? That'd be a shame from a developer who's only done PC centric stuff in the past.

[mkreku]

Yeah, I hate this new trend of having to load "profiles" before starting a game. And "Press any key to start" screens everywhere (that screams of "Press Start to play" that all consoles have). Or badly implemented mouse controls that are inconsistent throughout menus and the actual game. And huge fonts that are designed to work on fat TV:s. And anorectic control schemes for people who can only use their thumbs and two fingers.

 

I'm sure Alpha Protocol will have all of that if only because I just mentioned it.

[player1]

Even having profiles is better then having none like in Mirror's Edge or Fear2, when two people can't play on same computer due to both lacking save slots and separate profiles.

 

And I hope there won't be fixed 16:9 picture ratio, like in both games listed above (worst case of "consolitis" infecting PC games).

[Hell Kitty]

And I hope there won't be fixed 16:9 picture ratio, like in both games listed above (worst case of "consolitis" infecting PC games).

 

Um, I guess you've never heard of widescreen monitors? That's not "consolitis", it's developers not supporting non-widescreen modes.

[Rostere]

I also hate it when it says "push B button" and you are supposed to understand the the "B button" is in fact K on your keyboard, or something like that.

[crakkie]

"Saving - Do Not Turn Off Machine"

[player1]

Um, I guess you've never heard of widescreen monitors? That's not "consolitis", it's developers not supporting non-widescreen modes.

Due to laziness to do proper porting form 16:9 TV view to all PC monitors types. Thus, "consolitis".

 

This leads to letterboxing for even 16:10 monitors, that are standard today.

 

I have yet to see PC-only game that doesn't support 4:3 or even 16:10.

 

And there is no excuse to not support 4:3. 3D games are not movies. Nothing really prevents rendering in 4:3. Either by cutting edges or by extending view up or down. In worst case you just need to rework HUD a bit.

 

Only in case of 2D games (like Braid), letterboxing can be acceptable. Or in cinematics.

Edited April 25, 2009 by player1

[Hell Kitty]

Um, I guess you've never heard of widescreen monitors? That's not "consolitis", it's developers not supporting non-widescreen modes.

Due to laziness to do proper porting form 16:9 TV view to all PC monitors types. Thus, "consolitis".

 

Um, you do know not all TVs are widescreen, right? The same problem exists for both PC and console users. If you don't have a widescreen monitor(PC) or widescreen TV(console) then you'll be forced to play in a letterboxed mode. It has nothing to do with consoles or porting, and everything to do with developers believing that the only true way to experience their game is in widescreen. Thus, not "consolitis".

[player1]

16:9 is used consoles mainly because it's only HDTV aspect. And in 4:3 SD it looks like crap either way. Not worth more time to get it right (at least for games that are supposed to run only on consoles).

 

I doubt that any developer really believes that 16:9 is only way to experience game. Not with 16:10 being actual standard on PC, and 4:3 still being very common. Even VOF doesn't need to be reduced with proper tweaking (just zoom out a little before cutting corners, and you get proper VOF).

 

 

 

EDIT:

Anyway, FEAR2 finally got proper 4:3 mod in patch, after raving letterbox dislike in it's PC forums.

Edited April 26, 2009 by player1

[Aristes]

I care about one thing in regards to console v pc gaming. I don't want my controls nerfed or otherwise impaired to make up for the fact that console players are forced to use a crappy analogue controler.

 

I don't have any animosity for console players. I just want my character to respond quickly and fluidly to mouse and keyboard controls.

[mkreku]

Um, I guess you've never heard of widescreen monitors? That's not "consolitis", it's developers not supporting non-widescreen modes.

Widescreen monitors are almost always 16:10. If the choice to force 16:9 (which is the format of almost all new TV:s today) isn't consolitis, what is your explanation for it being 16:9?

[free2game]

FEAR 2 was really bad, it had really bad design issues with it's UI. It had that bad letterboxing and then everything around the in game parts had that awful overdone hud going around the screen giving you a bad case of tunnel vision. I have no idea in hell how a company as good as Monolith managed to put that piece of garbage out.

[DarkXaero]

I'd like to know that as well but I think its probably going to be a straight port.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

I think it's important not to confuse games for windows live with haphazard ports, even though they tend to go hand-in-hand.

 

Is AP going to utilize GFW live?

[drsquid]

And I hope there won't be fixed 16:9 picture ratio, like in both games listed above (worst case of "consolitis" infecting PC games).

 

Um, I guess you've never heard of widescreen monitors? That's not "consolitis", it's developers not supporting non-widescreen modes.

 

as others have said please take the time to understand the difference between 16:9 widescreen and 16:10 widescreen. These are different widescreen aspect ratios. If a game is set to 16:9 on a regular PC widescreen display there are still black bars at the top and bottom

 

However in AP's case since it is using the Unreal Engine I serioulsy doubt there will be any resolution issues on the PC, since the engine is really a PC engine first and is very flexible ...FEAR 2 used a new version of Monolith Lithtech engine that as coded specifcally for the 360

[Dakar]

There are many 16:9 monitors. I'm using one right now.

 

People still use 4:3?

[mkreku]

There are many 16:9 monitors. I'm using one right now.

 

People still use 4:3?

Many? They're niche products so far.

 

I did a quick search on a Swedish site called Prisjakt (a site that collects information about wares, prizes and makes them searchable in a database) and sorted monitors on their picture ratio.

 

1048 products at the time of the search.

 

4:3 had 73 hits.

5:4 had 234 hits.

16:10 had 521 hits.

16:9 had 94 hits.

 

(the missing items are probably not defined in the database)

 

Not really scientific or conclusive, but it's a clear indication.

[player1]

Note that 5:4 is very similar to 4:3, and is more popular, due to very common 1280x1024 resolution (used for 19" monitors).

 

When I talk about 4:3, I usually include 5:4 too.

 

 

 

P.S.

For bigger resolution, wide aspect ratio is much more popular.

Edited April 28, 2009 by player1

[samm]

P.S.

For bigger resolution, wide aspect ratio is much more popular.

Yeah that's true by now, but what do you count as 'wide aspect ratio'? 16:9 isn't 16:10 isn't cinema standard isn't Imax etc. pp.

 

as others have said please take the time to understand the difference between 16:9 widescreen and 16:10 widescreen. These are different widescreen aspect ratios. If a game is set to 16:9 on a regular PC widescreen display there are still black bars at the top and bottom

You can stretch it though - for many monitors there's options in the OSD or if using the graphics card for scaling, in the driver. Not that I'd recommend that, but it probably wouldn't be too bad for 16:9->16:10.

 

However in AP's case since it is using the Unreal Engine I serioulsy doubt there will be any resolution issues on the PC, since the engine is really a PC engine first and is very flexible ...FEAR 2 used a new version of Monolith Lithtech engine that as coded specifcally for the 360

This argument is invalid, especially if it's true that Mirror's Edge only supports HDTV-resolutions, as ME uses the Unreal Engine as well. Not supporting different resolutions is pure lazyness on the dev's side, any 3D engine is basically able to render any number of pixels.

 

 

[edit]

Oh yes, as someone brought it up: If this would be a 'Games for Windows Live' game, this would truly be an unnecessary bothering of customers...

Edited April 28, 2009 by samm

[Humodour]

It's not going to be a straight port like most games today? That'd be a shame from a developer who's only done PC centric stuff in the past.

 

Amen.

[Aristes]

I'm curious about the controls. Will the PC controls be nerfed? ...Or will the controls be as sharp and responsive as a native PC FPS?

 

I'd like to get this game, but one hint that the controls are going to be made intentionally sluggish and I'll have to visit my money upon someone else.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

I assume it will be pretty standard Mouse/Keyboard affair. Tbh, every PC shooter on which I have found controls "sluggish" has turned out to be a (fixable) technical issue rather than a design flaw.

[Aristes]

I certainly hope so. Once I hear the controls are bad, I usually don't bother looking into the product further. Of course, that depends on the source of the gripe. The more reliable or more often the gripe, the faster my interest fades.

 

I like the idea behind the game, last I heard. Something along the lines of Half-Life in that the PC isn't some highly trained assassin or GI or the like.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

Something along the lines of Half-Life in that the PC isn't some highly trained assassin or GI or the like.

 

Well, he is pretty well-trained, but inexperienced. In true RPG fashion most of his growth occurs through the course of the game. At least, that's my interpretation of what we've seen so far.

[mkreku]

Oh yeah, another annoying 'feature' straight from consoles: the inability to name your save files. Pet peeve of mine. Especially for games like Fallout 3, where you usually want to make a special save file just before you leave the vault..