LAIR Thread - * Rules: post #469

[Archgamer]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Wow, this game has been delay after it has gone gold a week ago.

 

[Ben-Nice]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Wow, this game has been delay after it has gone gold a week ago.

Doesn't surprise me. It could be a good thing for the game in reality.

 

[Arwin]

Probably a good thing, but man ... This does seem to bring a lot of good games together in one month. And what have we got to look out for now in August? They better start releasing some more cool demos soon! I hear the Ratchett demo is pretty much finished, so that'd be a nice start ...

Then again that should bring it even closer to the European release date, so I can probably ignore the import option, which is probably a good thing anyway. And the US may get less of a head-start on the global leaderboards.

 

[djskribbles]

i heard theres going to be a GRAW2 demo tomorrow, Ratchet demo "soon" and a Dirt demo before release, so probably sometime in august. i'd be happy if all of those demos showed up in August, but hopefully there will be more.

 

[Rockster]

Doesn't surprise me. It could be a good thing for the game in reality.

Especially if the concerns about the frame-rate in the review copies was true. I was really looking forward to playing this, but my attention will now turn to BioShock first.

 

[patsu]

Grrrr... it's 4+ weeks instead of 13 days. Hopefully they fix any lingering gameplay issues, plus a patch 1-2 months after release.

 

[Arwin]

i heard theres going to be a GRAW2 demo tomorrow, Ratchet demo "soon" and a Dirt demo before release, so probably sometime in august. i'd be happy if all of those demos showed up in August, but hopefully there will be more.

Seems you heard right, was just confirmed on threespeech. 1up was already playing the demo of Ratchett, so that shouldn't be too far out either.

 

[morlock]

Too bad, I have it preordered and was looking forward to it. Have i waited this long I sure can wait two weeks longer.

Is this delay due to implementation of Thropy-system, I heard that this HOME-integration tools would be in August update of the SDKs.

 

[Silent]

Huh how can the game be reviewed when there are some parts missing even if its a leadersbord ?

 

[pipo]

Huh how can the game be reviewed when there are some parts missing even if its a leadersbord ?

Probably some 'after Gold' bugs called for drastic measures...

 

[Todd33]

Huh how can the game be reviewed when there are some parts missing even if its a leadersbord ?

Games are reviewed all the time when they are not 100%. Some games are review with MP portions cannot even be tested because there are no servers or people to play with. There was a funny review of Shadowrun done by IGN Australia, they could not even play a game online. I'm not sure leaderboards would have any effect on a review score anyhow.

 

[morlock]

In Insomniacs lates podcast, they have Julian Eggebrecht on the phone talking Lair. Lots of talk about the framerate and some stuff about the EGM-review among others. Supposedly Julian and EGM are gonna duke it out about the controls soon, where they have very different views on the subject.

Worth listening anyhow.

 

[PARANOiA]

Games are reviewed all the time when they are not 100%. Some games are review with MP portions cannot even be tested because there are no servers or people to play with. There was a funny review of Shadowrun done by IGN Australia, they could not even play a game online. I'm not sure leaderboards would have any effect on a review score anyhow.

FYI I believe the IGN AU review was on the full retail game. They just (rightfully) complained that it was pretty much impossible to find a game in Australia, making Shadowrun an awful exercise in watching menus waiting for a match. I grabbed the demo and had massive issues trying to find a match... pity, since it looks like a lot of fun and I enjoyed playing with bots. Plus it's a "budget" title over here.

Cheers

 

[Todd33]

From Takuhi on a Neogaf Lair thread:

We (Play) received the same review copy that I assume all the other mags did, which had optimized frame rates in the earlier missions, but poor frame rates in the last few missions and several bugs. We contacted Factor 5 and asked for all known issues and Julian himself replied with a detailed list, promising that the later levels were being optimized for frame rates, the bugs were being fixed, and that one aspect of the control would be improved. They said they would have a gold master candidate ready by our ship date, so I wrote the review on the assumptions that their promises would be kept, got the gold master candidate right before we went to press, and played that version for a few hours to confirm that they had addressed the issues. That gold master candidate was dated roughly a month ago, and as far as I know represents the game's final optimization.

I'm not sure what version the OP played—ours were never labeled "Preview Code", but a print mag's Review Code is sometimes a web site's Preview Code. Our last-received version of the game does not run at a rock-solid 30 fps, but I did not consider the frame rate problems to be an issue at all. I don't mind a few frame rate dips into the 20's here and there, if it's for the purpose of making an otherwise amazing looking game. I'm certainly not as sensitive to frame rate issues as the OP, but I don't think the average game enthusiast is either.

Just something to point out to the people who want to hate on Lair here—Sony and Factor 5 went all out to make sure the print mags got review copies as early as possible and frequent updates so that they could have reviews out before the game's release (which was at that point supposed to be August 8th, I think). Companies do NOT do that when they don't have a lot of faith in their games, so clearly both Factor 5 and Sony thought they had a critical hit on their hands, and any suggestion that they're trying to bury it or "send it out to die" is absurd. And having written the 9 review, I (obviously) agree.

I'm still excited about this game. I am expecting a summer blockbuster movie type feel. It seems the anti-Lair FUD is very thick on the net, the final state of the game should put it to rest soon.

 

[ultragpu]

does anyone know is the lighting in Lair volumetric?

 

[patsu]

In Insomniacs lates podcast, they have Julian Eggebrecht on the phone talking Lair. Lots of talk about the framerate and some stuff about the EGM-review among others. Supposedly Julian and EGM are gonna duke it out about the controls soon, where they have very different views on the subject.

Worth listening anyhow.

They should really carry the game all the way till the end. Giving any (let alone _all_) reviewers lousy preview code will most definitely hurt them. I am surprised Sony did this at all. Can't they arrange for proper review game copies despite time pressure ?


EDIT:
Thanks Todd33 for posting Takuhi's comments. It's reassuring to hear a reviewer stand up for his work. Essentially, Wounding Chaney is correct to say that Lair in GDC still has framerate issues even though F5 may have rectified it in the final version. Still I hope Sony can find a better way to release their games for review. It doesn't make sense to labor for so long and then fumble at the last minute.

 

[ninzel]

Some guy on the latest 1up podcast really slams the game saying it's basically RS with dragons. No evolution but just better graphics,possibly worse playibng thnan the RS games.
Also the rumour is Factor 5 is working a Wii game.

 

[Archgamer]

The 1up podcast were the EGM reviewers.

 

[fallguy]

Hopefully they fix the control issues. Every review Ive read, has talked about them. You can only use the sixaxis control, and not the analog sticks. They said its very hard, and clumsy to control, and the main gripe about the game.

 

[Arwin]

Hopefully they fix the control issues. Every review Ive read, has talked about them. You can only use the sixaxis control, and not the analog sticks. They said its very hard, and clumsy to control, and the main gripe about the game.

As above, the guy in the 1up show actually didn't have a gripe with the controls. He just thought the game was far too much like Rogue Squadron, without the radar and the cool licence, and that the graphics although technically impressive looked as if they've had chocolate poured over them. He mentions the game even has a scene where you use some kind of grappling hook to topple a big mammoth like creature just as you do in Roque Squadron. He felt that Factor 5 was basically making the same game over and over again and without fixing any of the original issues to boot (even making some worse).

He did also say that he liked a bunch of stuff, like the huge battles, wreaking havok with the dragon on the ground armies, and such. But in the end he said it was a lot like a dragon fanmod for roque squadron. Another thing he mentioned was that the difference between shooting fire or lasers was ... not there really.

Now I can't say the Roque Squadron bothers me, and probably shouldn't bother a whole lot of other people either, because not that many people had GameCubes (I certainly didn't). But it does bother me of course that he keeps remaking an old game without doing new stuff.

That said, the reviewer didn't impress me very much, and considering how much he loves Bioshock, it's already clear to me that our tastes vary hugely. Because no matter how impressed I am with what Bioshock does, it's gameworld has not just a neutral, but a negative appeal to me. My girlfriend would love it on the other hand (she enjoys that kind of setting), but then I don't think she'd enjoy the gameplay very much.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for a good review. It doesn't have to be positive, but it does have to be good ...

I guess I'll have to play it myself though. Mind you I'm not saying that EGM is wrong with their score per se, but the guy had a bad angle on the game compared to where I'm coming from. The game lacked soul, according to him. That's fine. But did he even play it a lot? He was probably just bummed with every minute that took him away from Bioshock.