Ubisoft... Just Stop

[zacRupnow]

Far Cry 4 and Watch Dogs

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2014/06/17/with-this-far-cry-4-news-ubisoft-seems-determined-to-alienate-their-pc-fanbase/

 

Far Cry 4

"Softpedia originally quoted Hutchinson based on his appearance onMajor Nelson’s podcast, leading with the headline “Far Cry 4 on PS4, Xbox One Equivalent to PC Ultra High.” I’ve listened to the podcast personally, and, in Hutchinson’s defense, at no point did he actually say this. What Hutchinson did say is that Ubisoft primarily develops on PC with the exception of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which is developed using the console as its lead platform. The exact quote was ”But because we develop on PC, you’ve never really seen on console the ultra-high PC version before.” He never explicitly states that the next-gen console versions are equivalent to PC Ultra high quality settings, even if he does vaguely infer it later.

What Hutchinson says next is what has me concerned as a primary PC gamer.  ”So even out of the box, even day one, we just stuck the code on the new consoles and we were able to dial it all the way up. So as a console player you’re already getting by far the best version we can ship.” [emphasis added]"

 

Watch Dogs

"A skilled modder recently discovered graphical effects files buried in the PC code of the game which, when enabled, puts the visual fidelity of Watch Dogs on par with its stunning initial unveiling in 2012. But as Rock, Paper, Shotgun discovered, switching on these buried enhancements can cripple performance and severely limit visibility. That was clearly a decision made by the developers to add emphasis on playability and not eye candy."

 

“But as Rock, Paper, Shotgun discovered, switching on these buried enhancements can cripple performance and severely limit visibility. That was clearly a decision made by the developers to add emphasis on playability and not eye candy.”  - That is not true, not a single person who used the mod (the entire PC user base) had any performance Or stability issues. I also pointed this out on article comments.

 

Assassin's Creed

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-very-confident-assassin-s-creed-unity-pc-won-t-be-delayed/1100-6420671/

 

We would rather have a well optimized game than the same release date as consoles.

 

"It can be challenging," she said. "PC has a variety of different hardware configurations that you can't necessarily predict. On a console you know what's in the box. Every customer has the same configuration for the most part, and first-parties push firmware updates so everyone has what you're expecting to have. PCs are nowhere near as consistent. So it can be extremely challenging to try and support as many of those permutations as possible."

 

PC development is not as hard as they make it sound, especially when you need to use a PC to develop even if it's for a console only title. This is a basic summary of how PC compatibility works: The processor (CPU) needs at least 'x' number of cores or more and needs to run at 'x' Ghz or more. You need 'x' Gb of memory (RAM) or more. The graphics card (GPU) needs to have 'x' Gb of memory or more. The overall PC needs to run on 'x' version or higher of 'x' operating system.

 

PC has a variety of different hardware configurations that you can't necessarily predict. On a console you know what's in the box.

This quote only means optimization will be easier on consoles.

[AlwaysFSX]

Most condensed version of what we already know. Thanks to Ubisoft for ruining PC.

[Kevin_Walter]

I think you're oversimplifying the way PC optimization works. Yes, every game has minimum and recommended hardware specifications, but even certain configurations that exceed those expectations can have problems running certain games that don't specifically support that hardware.

 

It seems pretty simple to me, however, that Ubisoft is a console developer with little PC development experience. At least not since the first Tom Clancy games. 

 

At the end of the day, if you don't like it, don't buy their games. Vote with your wallet. I personally didn't buy Splinter Cell Blacklist because of the way they handled that game. I loved the series... I purchased every previous title in the franchise, and even loved the changes they made to Conviction. However, they did things with Blacklist I didn't agree with, so I never purchased it. I would play it if someone were to give it to me for free, but I refuse to spend money on that game. There is zero chance my efforts made any difference, but if the majority of people would just refuse to purchase anymore Ubisoft games on PC, they may actually get the hint and hire some developers who know how to develop games for that platform.

 

Until then, they'll just continue making console ports.

[whatsavet]

It's sad because I was actually really looking forward to both games. Loved the previous ones in both series but I can't bring myself to buy games that are only encouraging developers to become lazy with making games run well on PC.

[Dumbpants]

I was just about to make a thread about his because I am fed up with this.

 

"So even out of the box, even day one, we just stuck the code on the new consoles and we were able to dial it all the way up. So as a console player you’re already getting by far the best version we can ship."

 

That line scares the heck out me. So, my gpus are gonna be running at like 1%, and the game is still gonna look terrible? Thanks a lot, Ubisoft. I was really excited for Far Cry 4, but I'm scared to even buy it at this point. I definitely lost my money on watch dogs, after that terrible performance and vram stutter even with my 3GB's of vram. Ubisoft is digging their self into a hole for PC gamers, and I'm not sure how they are gonna get themselves out of it. 

 

On another note, EA seems to be coming around, with frequent sales and free games on origin (got dead space and a few other games for free), and free multiplayer weekends, and a renewed focus on pushing out a great game no matter what instead of deadlines.