I'm glad you mentioned this, however, they're not building a complete 360 version from the ground up and that is the definiition of a port to 360. No matter what you heard, the second team is only dealing with the pc coding transfer to 360 and the required code base optimization. The only differences between the two releases are graphic quality and code optimization for the respective platforms. The delay in the 360 release is so the pc version can iron out most issues before they let the 360 version go gold. This is so it makes smaller patches for the 360 in the short term before game expansions. Your right they're not going to play on the same servers at the same time but it's not because they're 2 different games.
Are you special?
Sinjin as a Maritimer you should just inherently know it. lol
* Life is not black or white, it's shades of grey. But, at it's best/worst, it hints at 32bit color. -Me (a.k.a. RuthlessTimes)
* I do not need to know how to make a better game than you. I just need to know how to cancel my subscription. -Antarious(a slight misquote but the sentiment remains)
I agree about Brad McAlmightyHeavenlyFather, Shannia, and your point was just what I tried to say in my original post. It didn't seem that personal to me at first, until it became so. Anyhow, he's confident in his opinion and gets respect for it but I'm also equally confident in mine and nothing excuses a direct personal attack. You just need to respond in kind and grin back.
Not you Tordak. Feel free to post your mind. I was referring to the OP to this thread who decided his first two posts on MMORPG.com were going to be "Doom and Gloom, I hate AoC" threads. I've been around the block a few times with you in discussions and respect your opinion. I wasn't calling you out.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
I actually didn't think that you were. I was just trying to clarify my intent, with that previous post. Fearing they'd be taken out of context and/or order later, as it seems to happen often with other peoples.
* Life is not black or white, it's shades of grey. But, at it's best/worst, it hints at 32bit color. -Me (a.k.a. RuthlessTimes)
* I do not need to know how to make a better game than you. I just need to know how to cancel my subscription. -Antarious(a slight misquote but the sentiment remains)
This has already came up and the game was firstly designed for the PC. Thus the reason it will be released for the PC before the Xbox. The combat system was set up to be easy for both which is also a mass appeal to gamers in general and not aimed at a specific format but instead to be easy for everyone to learn and love. Xbox = mini gaming pc so it will handle the graphics just fine. The main things that can be an issue is size of the world in comparison to how much disk space is needed to play on Xbox. Which is why the release of the Xbox version is not until later.
this is absolutely a valid concern and one we should not dismiss summarily.
most of the time a publisher / developer has attempted to make a game that satisfies widely different and multiple target markets they have failed miserably.
if the design effort is focused on a particular platform and then "ported"/"modified" to another the receiving platform audience suffers --- i.e. the efforts to take PC designed RTS games to consoles - Battle for Middle Earth, C&C, etc. Or in general any FPS designed for the PC is complete rubbish on consoles.
or the reverse where console designed games are thrown the PC bone and suffer; good on consoles, rubbish on the PC - i.e. NFS series, Halo, the new Rainbow six stuff etc.
the times where the developer actually tries to make a superb game for multiple platforms is where we usually get games that stink across the board or the game is never as good as it could have been had it not made sacrifices to one audience or another..., and that list of games is nearly immeasurable - Deus Ex Invisible War, Mass Effect, etc.
what I worry about in AoC specifically is this:
-smaller zones due to design limitation in dealing with small memory footprints
-Longer load times and frequent zone transitions
-Lack of depth in environmental details; smaller amounts of inadament objects to improve world feel
-Reduced texture resolution by limited graphics memory and processing power
-HUGE TEXT
-Clunky interface controls due to having to map to a controller
The only games IMO that did a good job serving multiple masters were Oblivion and Bioshock. And even as great as those games are, both still had clunky console interfaces and suffered from zone load issues - and neither were MMO's.
so in summary I concur that AOC has shown signs of consolitis (a disease ravaging the gaming community). I just hope it doesnt actually contract the disease in full.
Stop calling the Xbox 360 an Xbox. That's like refering to the Wii as a Gamecube. The Xbox 360 and the the Xbox are two completely different systems with completely different specs.
Now, I happen to have an xbox 360. It's not really so outdated as you say. Graphics and performance are still respectable, and probably will run some games better than the 'average' pc.
The pc version of AOC will be playable on a variety of hardware, ranging from average to hardcore most likely. But the Xbox 360 version only needs to be optimized for one system, which seems like an advantage to me.
At any rate Xbox 360 version may never even see the light of day. If it is ever released, I don't see how more choices for gamers can be bad for the industry as a whole. There are a lot of people who prefer the console over pc, merely because they don't want to wrestle with all the incompatibility issues and frequent/costly hardware upgrades.
The Xbox 360 version only needing to be optimized for one system is an advantage i feel. They also have Microsoft for support in making the game work compared to having to contact dozens of companies to try and hope the game will work on a PC with so many different possible system configurations. Which is really why I'm holding out for the 360 version. Less bugs to deal with most likely, less frame rate issues, intergraed voice system via the system, etc.
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My only major concern is if the Xbox 360 version ever comes out is what will the world population be like. Will players be able to interact with the PC players? I hope the two versions aren't isolated.
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Smaller areas is a concern as well. If the install is as large as people say what kind of compression, streaming, or install will the game have. The Xbox at the least comes with a 20gig hard drive but really only half of that is available to the user at the start. You have to delete video that comes on it to free up more space. Will certain aspects only be installed with the rest being run off the disc? What about expansions will have you have to change disc if you enter an expansion area from an original game area etc?
I have yet to like any game that has been ported or created for one platform to another. I hated Oblivion on my Xbox 360, but loved it on my PC. It's also part of the reason why I didn't like AOC beta. Not the primary reason, but certainly would have kept me from liking the game even if I didn't have a problem with other aspects.
With PvE raiding, it has never been a question of being "good enough". I play games to have fun, not to be a simpering toady sitting through hour after hour of mind numbing boredom and fawning over a guild master in the hopes that he will condescend to reward me with shiny bits of loot. But in games where those people get the highest progression, anyone who doesn't do that will just be a moving target for them and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money for the privilege. - Neanderthal
I never thought about the xbox factor when i played aoc, but it definately explains the awkward controls and all of the instancing.
AoC just doesnt feel like a real pc mmo like eq, vanguard or daoc. im not saying their idea for a combat system is bad, im just saying it feels like they sacraficed fluid controls/movement for graphics that can be run on a xbox.
From what I've seen of the beta, I think Funcom is going to have to scale the game's graphics down considerably if they have any hope of running it on an Xbox. In its current state, the game is too much for most high-end computers and the Xbox will have trouble running even in low settings...
As for the combat system, I think the PC controls are better overall for this type of game. Players will be better able to use all of their abilities if they have all of them available. On an Xbox controller, I imagine players will have to scroll through abilities somehow.
Overall, I think the PC was their main focus from the beginning. The Xbox seems more like an afterthought and I am still curious to see how well it will pan out.
The PC version is going to be the optiomized better version. Microsoft was stupid and released the X-box 360 without the technology to run Direct X 10 so basically the system is bottlenecked. Notice how no new X-box 360 game ever stays exclusive and is always ported to the PC with better graphics and features? That's why.
The 360 version of Conan will be less cool and desigined for the consle. Only thing that might be more reliable is performance since PC range and 360's are pretty much all the same.
I don’t fink AoC will be designed specifically to work on da Xbox. I DO fink dat it will likely to designed to be playable on olda systemz, as dis ensurez dat da game will reach a wide audience. I dunno too much about PC-Console portin’ but I imagine it would be possible to reduce da graphical component without too much of a problem. Afta all, da adjustment between "low" an’ "ultra ’igh" graphic settingz in any new game is extremely noticeable. From da screenshotz an’ videoz dat I’s seen, da graphicz look to be pretty good (for an MMO) .. I’d reserve judgement ’til da game actually comez out.
seriously it hurts to read your post. WHY!!! WHY?!?! WHHHYY!!?!!
this game will proberbly a very limited success on the pc because mr.averages rig wont have the hardware to run it well. ( i m sure it be popular with the hard core gamers with high spec machines the game itself looks rather good )my betting is that the xbox360 version will be far more popular for one simple reason everyone who has a consol will know they can run it . from what i ve seen of the gameplay it lends itself to consol play .
i have a mid range machine pentium core duo 3 ghz 4 gb ram and nvidea 8800 card . i m not a complete novice on the pc i turn off everything running in the background , defrag regulary know how to work my video card properly . although i could run conan it was nt at a level acceptable (even on lower settings)to me in citys like tortage . the inns espeacially froze up my system . i m still holding out hope that the release client might sort out some of these issues and allow me to play on the pc . if not given my system runs every other recently released game that i want it to at an acceptable level i see no reason to upgrade my pc just to play one game . so if thats the case the xbox360 will be the version for me and i m betting many others .
Comments
lol, where did you come up with this shit?
Are you special?
Sinjin as a Maritimer you should just inherently know it. lol
* Life is not black or white, it's shades of grey. But, at it's best/worst, it hints at 32bit color. -Me (a.k.a. RuthlessTimes)
* I do not need to know how to make a better game than you. I just need to know how to cancel my subscription. -Antarious(a slight misquote but the sentiment remains)
Not you Tordak. Feel free to post your mind. I was referring to the OP to this thread who decided his first two posts on MMORPG.com were going to be "Doom and Gloom, I hate AoC" threads. I've been around the block a few times with you in discussions and respect your opinion. I wasn't calling you out.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
Shannia,
I actually didn't think that you were. I was just trying to clarify my intent, with that previous post. Fearing they'd be taken out of context and/or order later, as it seems to happen often with other peoples.
* Life is not black or white, it's shades of grey. But, at it's best/worst, it hints at 32bit color. -Me (a.k.a. RuthlessTimes)
* I do not need to know how to make a better game than you. I just need to know how to cancel my subscription. -Antarious(a slight misquote but the sentiment remains)
This has already came up and the game was firstly designed for the PC. Thus the reason it will be released for the PC before the Xbox. The combat system was set up to be easy for both which is also a mass appeal to gamers in general and not aimed at a specific format but instead to be easy for everyone to learn and love. Xbox = mini gaming pc so it will handle the graphics just fine. The main things that can be an issue is size of the world in comparison to how much disk space is needed to play on Xbox. Which is why the release of the Xbox version is not until later.
this is absolutely a valid concern and one we should not dismiss summarily.
most of the time a publisher / developer has attempted to make a game that satisfies widely different and multiple target markets they have failed miserably.
if the design effort is focused on a particular platform and then "ported"/"modified" to another the receiving platform audience suffers --- i.e. the efforts to take PC designed RTS games to consoles - Battle for Middle Earth, C&C, etc. Or in general any FPS designed for the PC is complete rubbish on consoles.
or the reverse where console designed games are thrown the PC bone and suffer; good on consoles, rubbish on the PC - i.e. NFS series, Halo, the new Rainbow six stuff etc.
the times where the developer actually tries to make a superb game for multiple platforms is where we usually get games that stink across the board or the game is never as good as it could have been had it not made sacrifices to one audience or another..., and that list of games is nearly immeasurable - Deus Ex Invisible War, Mass Effect, etc.
what I worry about in AoC specifically is this:
The only games IMO that did a good job serving multiple masters were Oblivion and Bioshock. And even as great as those games are, both still had clunky console interfaces and suffered from zone load issues - and neither were MMO's.
so in summary I concur that AOC has shown signs of consolitis (a disease ravaging the gaming community). I just hope it doesnt actually contract the disease in full.
The Xbox 360 version only needing to be optimized for one system is an advantage i feel. They also have Microsoft for support in making the game work compared to having to contact dozens of companies to try and hope the game will work on a PC with so many different possible system configurations. Which is really why I'm holding out for the 360 version. Less bugs to deal with most likely, less frame rate issues, intergraed voice system via the system, etc.<br>
My only major concern is if the Xbox 360 version ever comes out is what will the world population be like. Will players be able to interact with the PC players? I hope the two versions aren't isolated.
<br>
Smaller areas is a concern as well. If the install is as large as people say what kind of compression, streaming, or install will the game have. The Xbox at the least comes with a 20gig hard drive but really only half of that is available to the user at the start. You have to delete video that comes on it to free up more space. Will certain aspects only be installed with the rest being run off the disc? What about expansions will have you have to change disc if you enter an expansion area from an original game area etc?
<br>
I wish more information was out.
I have yet to like any game that has been ported or created for one platform to another. I hated Oblivion on my Xbox 360, but loved it on my PC. It's also part of the reason why I didn't like AOC beta. Not the primary reason, but certainly would have kept me from liking the game even if I didn't have a problem with other aspects.
With PvE raiding, it has never been a question of being "good enough". I play games to have fun, not to be a simpering toady sitting through hour after hour of mind numbing boredom and fawning over a guild master in the hopes that he will condescend to reward me with shiny bits of loot. But in games where those people get the highest progression, anyone who doesn't do that will just be a moving target for them and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money for the privilege. - Neanderthal
I never thought about the xbox factor when i played aoc, but it definately explains the awkward controls and all of the instancing.
AoC just doesnt feel like a real pc mmo like eq, vanguard or daoc. im not saying their idea for a combat system is bad, im just saying it feels like they sacraficed fluid controls/movement for graphics that can be run on a xbox.
From what I've seen of the beta, I think Funcom is going to have to scale the game's graphics down considerably if they have any hope of running it on an Xbox. In its current state, the game is too much for most high-end computers and the Xbox will have trouble running even in low settings...
As for the combat system, I think the PC controls are better overall for this type of game. Players will be better able to use all of their abilities if they have all of them available. On an Xbox controller, I imagine players will have to scroll through abilities somehow.
Overall, I think the PC was their main focus from the beginning. The Xbox seems more like an afterthought and I am still curious to see how well it will pan out.
The PC version is going to be the optiomized better version. Microsoft was stupid and released the X-box 360 without the technology to run Direct X 10 so basically the system is bottlenecked. Notice how no new X-box 360 game ever stays exclusive and is always ported to the PC with better graphics and features? That's why.
The 360 version of Conan will be less cool and desigined for the consle. Only thing that might be more reliable is performance since PC range and 360's are pretty much all the same.
Honestly I have serious doubts this game will ever run on an Xbox.
If they still decide to make it for the Xbox then they will have to dump down the graphics and do massive changes to the combat system.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
An Xbox 360 not Xbox. There is a big difference between the two systems. Have you seen some of the best Xbox 360 games graphic wise?
If you played Oblivion on the 360 you know about how long the load screens can be.
I invision massively long load screens for the 360 version of age of conan.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - Lord Acton
seriously it hurts to read your post. WHY!!! WHY?!?! WHHHYY!!?!!
He's roleplaying, hehe, sheesh!
this game will proberbly a very limited success on the pc because mr.averages rig wont have the hardware to run it well. ( i m sure it be popular with the hard core gamers with high spec machines the game itself looks rather good )my betting is that the xbox360 version will be far more popular for one simple reason everyone who has a consol will know they can run it . from what i ve seen of the gameplay it lends itself to consol play .
i have a mid range machine pentium core duo 3 ghz 4 gb ram and nvidea 8800 card . i m not a complete novice on the pc i turn off everything running in the background , defrag regulary know how to work my video card properly . although i could run conan it was nt at a level acceptable (even on lower settings)to me in citys like tortage . the inns espeacially froze up my system . i m still holding out hope that the release client might sort out some of these issues and allow me to play on the pc . if not given my system runs every other recently released game that i want it to at an acceptable level i see no reason to upgrade my pc just to play one game . so if thats the case the xbox360 will be the version for me and i m betting many others .