Why I have been stressing that PS2 needs to play well on currently owned PCs

Tatwi · 2012-11-11, 11:43 AM

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/d...et_Report.html

This year, the mainstream desktop PC category tied with the value PC category in the share of the global desktop PC market, with each segment projected to claim an evenly matched 46.9% by year-end. In comparison, performance PCs will be left far behind in third place, with a meager 6.2%. Meanwhile in the notebook computer space, the value notebook segment will take 46.8%, compared to 44% for mainstream laptops and 9.2% for performance models. IHS claims that the market calculus does not change in the years ahead, with performance PCs continuing to hold down a minority position compared to either the mainstream or value segments.

Normal people and even the majority of Steam gamers aren't using performance PCs. The best way to foster a healthy, active community is to lower the barriers to entry so people can enjoy the game with the least amount of fuss as possible. How is that done?

1. Free to play.
2. Have the game function well on modest PC hardware (or make it a console game, because it will obviously work the same for everyone who owns that console).

I have not had a chance to play the Nov 10th patch, but I can say that the previous patch did significantly improve my frame rate. It's not quite to where WoW is, but it is acceptable in medium sized battles now. Great effort, SOE!

At any rate, the things I quoted here show the reality that we are living and I would hope that the game was designed with this reality in mind, rather than the pie in the sky idealism of "hardcore gamers" and their performance PCs; I'd rather play PS2 with 93% of the PC user base than hope the 6% of "hardcore" PC users were interested in PS2.

Snipefrag · 2012-11-11, 07:15 PM

Well. Saying 'make it run well on modest PC's' is pretty easy to ask for... It's a lot harder to actually do. They know this is a massive issue, more people who can play = more money, they probably have a dedicated team of super geeks constantly trying to optimise the client code. Compared to where they were during tech test the game has come a long long way.

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sylphaen · 2012-11-11, 07:59 PM

When I joined beta, the game was close to unplayable on my machine. I have most things on low but what used to be terrible (10 FPS in battles) is now playable (casual drops to 25 FPS).

It's very impressive.

derito · 2012-11-12, 01:48 PM

It seems to work fairly decently on a proper gaming rig, but I have to admit it's hard to get friends to play when all they have is a laptop.

Cosmical · 2012-11-12, 02:35 PM

Think of Crysis man, its a game people always go back to just to see how it looks on their new PC. Im surprised they have the balls to build it for future PC's, but i think it will totally pay off in the long run.

derito · 2012-11-12, 02:54 PM

I really hope it will work, but SOE has invested a lot of money in this game and for the time being they need money from current gamers more than anything else.

Helwyr · 2012-11-12, 04:10 PM

Performance is one area I feel the Developers are doing a great job. It is something that more is always needed, but they've come a long way from when I entered beta with the bulk of the "PS1 Vets". When I first got into beta I was running between 0-9 frames in major battles, most recently it's around 30 frames, much more when there's less activity. This is on my dated PC that is close to minimum specs (dual core Intel, 8800GTS, 6gb of DDR2 ram).

I don't have a ton of confidence that the game will be balanced at release, but I do believe it will be playable.

EVILoHOMER · 2012-11-14, 01:49 PM

It is funny because I have 670SLI I7 970 + 16GB of ram and PS2 installed on and SSD and even have an Asus D2X sound card and I often only have 20-30FPS and have to switch off SLI cause it makes it worse. At night time though my FPS shoots up to 70-80.....

robonpc · 2012-11-14, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by EVILoHOMER

It is funny because I have 670SLI I7 970 + 16GB of ram and PS2 installed on and SSD and even have an Asus D2X sound card and I often only have 20-30FPS and have to switch off SLI cause it makes it worse. At night time though my FPS shoots up to 70-80.....

Something is fishy here cause I have a gtx 660 (non Ti and non SLI) and Im getting a constant 60 fps. I have a I5 3570k overclocked to 4ghz.

I don't think the developers should make a game that can run on older pcs because this game wouldn't be so popular if it had crappy graphics or a low quantity of players. My Card cost me 230$ and the processor same. Well worth it for PS2.

Bear · 2012-11-14, 05:03 PM

When you look at the total number of PC's sold it's not surprising that "performance" machines aren't a very high percentage. There are MILLIONS of computers sold for people who want to browse the web or have a PC in their home office.

Gamer's are an entirely different breed. I'm willing to bet those numbers change dramatically when you narrow those purchases down to "gamers". When they buy PC's they tend to buy higher end systems and I bet a number of them purchase additional upgrades over the life of their pc.

Ruffdog · 2012-11-14, 05:21 PM

Fingers crossed it will live long enough to see "ultra" settings

Levente · 2012-11-14, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by EVILoHOMER

It is funny because I have 670SLI I7 970 + 16GB of ram and PS2 installed on and SSD and even have an Asus D2X sound card and I often only have 20-30FPS and have to switch off SLI cause it makes it worse. At night time though my FPS shoots up to 70-80.....

are you fkin serious?

robonpc · 2012-11-14, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Bear

When you look at the total number of PC's sold it's not surprising that "performance" machines aren't a very high percentage. There are MILLIONS of computers sold for people who want to browse the web or have a PC in their home office.

Gamer's are an entirely different breed. I'm willing to bet those numbers change dramatically when you narrow those purchases down to "gamers". When they buy PC's they tend to buy higher end systems and I bet a number of them purchase additional upgrades over the life of their pc.

The thing with PC is that you can build your own PC for half the price. Then you can upgrade it when in the future games like these come out.

I don't think the Developers should settle for a crappy game just because, the parts that complete your gaming engine are newer technology. I think games should continue to be pushing the limit of what technology has. So I wouldnt criticize them for this I would just go out and update my machine cause The games coming out are gonna need a 600 series gtx or an i5 or i7. For example Arma 3 or Bf4 or the Dayz standalone these are games im really gonna want. But yeah never buy a PC thats already built. If its for Gaming you always have to buy parts online on Newegg or Tiger Direct. Then you build it. Trust me its really fun and it gives you an adrenalin rush To build a pc.

Morsong · 2012-11-15, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by robonpc

The thing with PC is that you can build your own PC for half the price. Then you can upgrade it when in the future games like these come out.

I don't think the Developers should settle for a crappy game just because, the parts that complete your gaming engine are newer technology. I think games should continue to be pushing the limit of what technology has. So I wouldnt criticize them for this I would just go out and update my machine cause The games coming out are gonna need a 600 series gtx or an i5 or i7. For example Arma 3 or Bf4 or the Dayz standalone these are games im really gonna want. But yeah never buy a PC thats already built. If its for Gaming you always have to buy parts online on Newegg or Tiger Direct. Then you build it. Trust me its really fun and it gives you an adrenalin rush To build a pc.

Agreed. Five yrs ago when I built my first comp I knew it another five yrs I would have to upgrade. Surprise! It's been that long and I just ordered new parts. It's a realization that all pc gamers must have if they want to play the latest and greatest because technology doesn't slow down.

The thing is a lot of people will be on both sides of the pond. If games are pushing the limits then people will say "slow down, make it run on most hardware". If games aren't pushing the limit then people will say "I wish they made a game that just had amazing graphics, weather cycle, and huge multiplayer".

Either way people are going to complain. That's just from my personal experience of course.

SsapS · 2012-11-15, 03:05 PM

I play with ~ 15 people IRL, 2 of them are capable of playing planetside 2.

Of the other 13, tribes ascend, league of legends, TF2 etc works fine, and these people are motivated gamers.

Hopefully when the year changes and new computer products come out, the hardware will be inexpensive enough for this type of group to purchase the hardware needed to run PS2. But that's where it falls short.

The current PS2 model is almost like saying :

"To own a Ferrari, first your going to have to spend half a million dollars on a climate controlled garage to make sure it runs ok"