Batman Arkham Knight - with x86/GCN consoles, how come we're still getting terrible ports?

[orangpelupa]

with windows 10 is free upgrade for legit users and windows 10 insiders is free even for pirates and pirates will pirate to the latest windows available to look cool...

i think the adoption rate will be nice.

but back about batman, can someone with the game check it whether it is only running in DX 10? im curious

 

[Arwin]

The question then is will developer have the guts to push DirectX12 by releasing that version first. If they do it a few times in the first year when upgrading is still free, then they may really help speed up those adoption rates along with Windows 10 already being a free upgrade which in itself should be helping too of course, AND that Windows 8 wasn't a very popular version compared to 7.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

And the reason for the issues seems to be sadly obvious:

http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/devel...t-pc-port-was-outsourced-to-a-console-studio/

12 people from a console studio handling a PC port.... WTF?

I wouldn't be surprised if this was partly the company jumping a bit too much on the Nvidia hype-train for Gameworks. So easy to use. Plug and play. We build the effects and modules for you, so you don't have to worry your pretty little heads about it.

Add to that it's UE3 which is heavily Nvidia sponsored with Gameworks, and I'll bet someone in upper management figured they could save a few bucks by just using Nvidia provided bits and bobs as is and it would all just magically work. And I'm sure Nvidia was more than happy to tell them, that they'd help make sure everything worked perfectly.

Only things didn't...and stuff happened.

Anyway, since Rocksteady Studios is a developer I will never ever buy anything from since that whole debacle with Batman: AA, I'm at least not in any danger of having paid them for this steaming pile of a port. Hell and if someone tried to gift it to me on Steam (how I got Batman: AA), I'll probably just give it right back.

Regards,
SB

 

[DJ12]

And Lord Gaben spoke and decreed BEGONE FROM MY MONEY MAKING PLATFORM.

(Translated: Arkham Knight removed from Steam)

 

[pjbliverpool]

Many PC games still target DX10 to get a bit wider audience. Unfortunately this means that you cannot do all the things as efficiently as you can do with consoles. If the game ships on last gen consoles (Xbox 360 is DX10-), the PC might be a mix of current and last gen code. Creating two different PC versions is quite expensive.

The problem in this case is that the game reportedly uses DX11 as standard but then reverts to DX10 when NV Gamesworks features are activated. I've no idea how true it is though, perhaps just a bug in how its reported?

 

[lanek]

I dont remember the last time something like that ( stop the sales, remove the game from sales ) have happend.. This story is a complete mess.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was partly the company jumping a bit too much on the Nvidia hype-train for Gameworks. So easy to use. Plug and play. We build the effects and modules for you, so you don't have to worry your pretty little heads about it.

Add to that it's UE3 which is heavily Nvidia sponsored with Gameworks, and I'll bet someone in upper management figured they could save a few bucks by just using Nvidia provided bits and bobs as is and it would all just magically work. And I'm sure Nvidia was more than happy to tell them, that they'd help make sure everything worked perfectly.

Only things didn't...and stuff happened.

Anyway, since Rocksteady Studios is a developer I will never ever buy anything from since that whole debacle with Batman: AA, I'm at least not in any danger of having paid them for this steaming pile of a port. Hell and if someone tried to gift it to me on Steam (how I got Batman: AA), I'll probably just give it right back.

Regards,
SB

Sadly, i think you are right spot on.

Look like performance was a big problem as even features present in the console versions / PS4, X are not even present at high setttings

http://wccftech.com/batman-arkham-knight-pc-tested-high-pc-version-lacks-console-features/

 

[pjbliverpool]

I dont remember the last time something like that ( stop the sales, remove the game from sales ) have happend.. This story is a complete mess.

To be honest though I think it's the right approach and has gained them a little respect back from myself at least. Yes this game will no doubt be the poster child for "crap console port" for years to come, but the studio has an opportunity here for it also to be "the right way to deal with a crap console port" for years to come.

1. Acknowledge and apologise for the issue
2. Stop sales of the game in acknowledgements of just how terrible it is
3. Go away and fix the game
4. Release a much better product when it's ready - but don't take too long!

It is yet to be seen what they will actually do with the game and when we'll see a re-release, but so far they are on the right track. If they follow through with the plan above they may gain back a lot of respect from the market - especially if the final product has some added extras.

 

[lanek]

You are completely right and i aggree totally with you on this. I know a lot of other situations where tthe studios have completely deny the things, even putting the fault on hardwares used by the consumer instead of assuming the situation.

This said, this show a real problem on how the things have been handled from them too. It is surely the most ambitious game of the series, at least it is how it have been sell so far.. And they are not able to get the desire to handle the pc version release port correctly ? They have never check what was happend with the studio in charge of the pc port ?

 

[Rurouni]

Probably unlike other next gen titles (which probably developed with PC in mind, thus respecting PC limitations), this game is a console game first. The more you optimize it for console, the harder it get to port the game to PC (especially without DX12 level API). I don't think the studio porting the game is lazy, it just that there are probably lots of stuff that can't simply be ported without RS helping them. Hey, at least the Gameworks stuff runs fine.

 

[lanek]

Probably unlike other next gen titles (which probably developed with PC in mind, thus respecting PC limitations), this game is a console game first. The more you optimize it for console, the harder it get to port the game to PC (especially without DX12 level API). I don't think the studio porting the game is lazy, it just that there are probably lots of stuff that can't simply be ported without RS helping them. Hey, at least the Gameworks stuff runs fine.

From the few informations we get, i got the feeling that the complete process was a mess, they was recieve the build from console at every change and they was in a short time to applied it to the port, and in addition put the gamework featues on, but they dont control the gamework features they need to send their feedback to Nvidia team and then when it come re include them in the port, impossible to do in a so short frame times .. they will have need delay the pc version of at least 4 months for be in a good time line after the final console versions have been released ...

 

[Babel-17]

I'm guessing that the person, or people, in charge looked at what the porting team had and determined it was close enough to OK so that a patch upon game release would fix everything up. Kicking the can down the road might be what you have to do to keep your job. These are talented people and they have the awareness to know when a game is shoddy. For it to have been released like this is likely about how it was scheduled, and who was calling the shots. Maybe this seems obvious but I don't see this getting focused on when games are delivered in a sorry state. The actual developers grit their teeth and suck up the criticism because calling out their bosses for unrealistic schedules is not conducive to further paychecks.
I don't get it, we're talking about a successful franchise and with an ownership that is making great profits. How did it come about that management either wasn't hearing the unpleasant facts, or came to ignore them?
I guess you'd have to be a major stockholder in order to hope to have a chance to find out how it all really went down. Unless somebody leaks the truth, or there are firings/people quitting and they feel safe enough to talk.
This might have been doomed from the start, it could be that adequate resources weren't allocated and nobody had enough authority to get on top of things. So, all that could happen, given the schedule, were decisions to cut back on quality and testing.
A lot of branding took a hit with this, that's actually something of a big deal. A crummy port, not as much.
I'm amazed at how the opportunity to make lots of cash and burnish a reputation has seemingly seen so little oversight. Whatever happened to you have to spend money to make money? A company will spend a fortune on whiz bang technology, but salaries, cutting salaries is what's really in fashion.
I can't even fault the company's executives so much. Sure, the pioneers in eliminating jobs just to make yourself look good deserve criticism, but now it's a problem for society as a whole, and it needs addressing.

 

[lanek]

Well, we have some game developpers guys here, i will be happy to know what they think about this, if they are allowed to do it ..

The game industry is really a strange things .. many money who move from a pocket to another-...

 

[pjbliverpool]

Maybe this will be a good thing for the future. A shitty port getting such a severe backlash that it had to be withdrawn from the market at the cost of significant credibility (not to mention profit) to the publisher. Perhaps in future studio's will pay that little extra bit of attention? Even if it means PC's ports are delayed more in comparison to the console launches I have no problem with that. This whole "must play it on day 1" stuff is just nonsense anyway. GTAV is one of my most anticipated games ever and I still haven't picked it up.

 

[Rodéric]

All I know is that RPS (RockPaperShotgun) reports that they didn't get the PC version from WB in time to have a review before the game launched, and that it's usually highly suspicious...

From there to think that WB was aware of the problem and thought it could be fixed on day 1...

 

[Rodéric]

Maybe this will be a good thing for the future. A shitty port getting such a severe backlash that it had to be withdrawn from the market at the cost of significant credibility (not to mention profit) to the publisher. Perhaps in future studio's will pay that little extra bit of attention? Even if it means PC's ports are delayed more in comparison to the console launches I have no problem with that. This whole "must play it on day 1" stuff is just nonsense anyway. GTAV is one of my most anticipated games ever and I still haven't picked it up.

I'm not that sure about profits.
How many copies were pre-sold, and what's the sell curve like ?
If the highest volume is sold the first few days, WB already got most of the money...

 

[pjbliverpool]

I'm not that sure about profits.
How many copies were pre-sold, and what's the sell curve like ?
If the highest volume is sold the first few days, WB already got most of the money...

But with all the refunds wouldn't they have to be giving a lot of it back now?

 

[BRiT]

All I know is that RPS (RockPaperShotgun) reports that they didn't get the PC version from WB in time to have a review before the game launched, and that it's usually highly suspicious...

From there to think that WB was aware of the problem and thought it could be fixed on day 1...

But surely there was no Day 1 or Day 2 or Day 3 patch, hence why theres the deserved backlash.

 

[Malo]

Maybe this will be a good thing for the future. A shitty port getting such a severe backlash that it had to be withdrawn from the market at the cost of significant credibility (not to mention profit) to the publisher. Perhaps in future studio's will pay that little extra bit of attention? Even if it means PC's ports are delayed more in comparison to the console launches I have no problem with that. This whole "must play it on day 1" stuff is just nonsense anyway. GTAV is one of my most anticipated games ever and I still haven't picked it up.

IMO, Rockstar and GTAV is something that deserves to be picked up early and for full price. The latest game I bought for full price at release I think was Skyrim.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

Delaying the game is not the devs call, it's not their game. They are under contract and if they want paying at all they have to deliver a game that at least runs.

If your choice is not delivering a game or delivering a compromised game and getting paid, I doubt many people would chose the former option. People have mortgages to pay and food to buy.

Uhhh.. this could still happen even if they released the game and got paid. Contracts can be withdrawn and suits can incur resulting in a closed studio and/or massive layoffs. I've been there -- twice.

What I've learned long ago is just to hope for the best and prepare for the worst in the entertainment industry.

For me I'd rather lose my job and have a reputation of putting out stellar work, than to lose my job and no one wants to hire me because my work was known to be half-ass or subpar.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

For me I'd rather lose my job and have a reputation of putting out stellar work, than to lose my job and no one wants to hire me because my work was known to be half-ass or subpar.

In that scenario you're as likely as end up with a reputation for the guy who can't deliver. This is the problem of a lone person working with a system, the single person can't control the narrative. If you speak out to correct it, you gain a reputation as somebody who is indiscreet or can't keep his mouth shut.

As a lone developer, you're really in control of the narrative. This happens all the time, it happens with whistleblowers too. It never ends well for the individual. They get minutes or press attention then the press move on and you go back to looking for a job and trying to pay the bills.