SD forums and Bethesda Forums ?

(zenstar) #21

Agree with the 1 forum with platform specific subforums. But there’s no reason to release the PC version later if time is managed correctly. They just need to make sure they have people working on the platform specific interfaces when it’s appropriate. Games like Deus Ex managed to release across all 3 platforms at the same time with a tailored PC interface (and they were just as “under the gun” to release).
It doesn’t take much to make the interface “right” for the PC. Unfortunately nowadays even that small effort is often overlooked. At least a lot of games are happy to leave the modding community to tweak things. Brink, unfortunately, wasn’t and they didn’t leave much tweaking possibilities at all.

They should use the PC as a testing ground for ideas and tweaks, but also realise that certain things are unique to the platform. Holding off patches until all platforms are ready only makes everyone unhappy. Content releases: fine, I guess. Release all 3 at the same time. Patch releases: when it’s ready let them have it!

(wolfnemesis75) #22

[QUOTE=zenstar;391454]Agree with the 1 forum with platform specific subforums. But there’s no reason to release the PC version later if time is managed correctly. They just need to make sure they have people working on the platform specific interfaces when it’s appropriate. Games like Deus Ex managed to release across all 3 platforms at the same time with a tailored PC interface (and they were just as “under the gun” to release).
It doesn’t take much to make the interface “right” for the PC. Unfortunately nowadays even that small effort is often overlooked. At least a lot of games are happy to leave the modding community to tweak things. Brink, unfortunately, wasn’t and they didn’t leave much tweaking possibilities at all.

They should use the PC as a testing ground for ideas and tweaks, but also realise that certain things are unique to the platform. Holding off patches until all platforms are ready only makes everyone unhappy. Content releases: fine, I guess. Release all 3 at the same time. Patch releases: when it’s ready let them have it![/QUOTE]
Well, in a perfect world all that’s true and possible, and other game designers may have been able to approach it the way you say. But outside of deep pockets/funding, and with the handling of Brink in retrospect, it may be more feasible and an improvement and realistic compromise to do what I suggested instead.

(zenstar) #23

Fair enough. a 3 month wait with a proper PC-specific interface would have been better. That is true :stuck_out_tongue:

(tokamak) #24

Seriously Wolf, can your suggestions get any more random?

(light_sh4v0r) #25

If anything you should develop the PC version first and then dumb it down for consoles. Developing for consoles first and then making it fit for PC will always be an inferior game.

(zenstar) #26

It depends. Developing for PC first could result in a game that cannot run on consoles. Engines should be made to console specifications and then the textures and models can have their resolutions / mesh increased for PC. The only reason for this is the difference in hardware capabilities between PCs and consoles. You cannot have a beastly engine that runs at 2 fps on an xbox and expect to be making xbox games with it.

When it comes to controls they should be designed and thought out together. Who said it has to be one or the other first? Design needs to come up with quality controls right near the begining. You need to map out what your game will do and what controls you’ll be needing back in the design phase. You don’t get 1/2 way through coding the final game and then realise you need a button for jumping (if you’re doing things right). That should be figured out in design and/or prototyping phase. QA feedback may result in some tweaking but the basic layout should be set early early on.

And when designing the game you need to consider the end product. You should be deciding supported platforms right at the start and then working towards supporting ALL those platforms at EVERY decision point in planning and development. If you don’t properly plan for both then at least one of them will not work correctly.
Designing PC first can result in a bad console port (see ET:QW). Designing console first can result in a bad PC port (see complaints about “dumbing things down”).

(tokamak) #27

I don’t think anyone but the biggest graphic purists would be opposed to having a game graphically benchmarked on the consoles.

But that’s the only thing on which the PC version ought to compromise. After that both platforms need to branch off into their own direction

Really the way the weapons have been handled in this game is downright cowardly.