AC4 developer states that optimizing a PC port isn't necessary.

[GAunderrated]

Source:http://www.videogamer.com/pc/assassins_creed_4_black_flag/news/assassins_creed_4_producer_says_pc_optimisation_isnt_important.html

Article for those who don't want to click:

"Optimizing games to run more efficiently on PC hardware isn't important, Assassin's Creed 4 associate producer Sylvain Trottier has claimed.

Speaking to Edge about the ease in which the studio achieved results when working on the Xbox One and PS4, Trottier said: "The new platforms are a lot closer to PC, so my engineers could do the R&D on PC and we knew it would work fairly easily on next-gen platforms. It needed to be adapted, but everything does.

"It's always a question of compromise about the effect, how it looks, and the performance it takes from the system. On PC, usually you don't really care about the performance, because the idea is that if it's not [running] fast enough, you buy a bigger GPU. Once you get on console, you can't have this approach."

Assassin's Creed 4 is released for PC on Friday, November 22."


I for one find this developers attitude outright disgusting. It has pretty much sealed the deal about not purchasing AC4. I was on the fence previously but this helped me see that employees at Ubisoft still have animosity and disrespect for the PC platform despite all their PR nonsense that they have changed.

 

[shrekfan246]

*sigh*

Not that I'm surprised, considering none of the previous Assassin's Creed games have been properly optimized either, but it's disappointing to see someone say it out so plainly that they just don't care and expect their customers to just shell out more money for better hardware instead of them bothering to do anything themselves.

 

[Bravo Company]

ugh.

Since consoles are even closer to computer architecturally, we could see better optimized games for PC. That isn't going to happen, however, if devs keep this mindset.

However, mantle (new api but ATI) shows promise, and the new consoles are all multi-core. So maybe my i5 will be utilized fully, finally.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Well since Ubisoft is run by a bunch of cunts who openly hate and declare pc gamers pirates, I'll just let them continue shouting into their echo chamber. And continue to not buy their games.

 

[Foolery]

Oh? Since when has Ubisoft cared about PC? They don't. As an example, let me put it this way.

You run a business and are making a AAA game. You have potentially 5 million copies sold on console or a half million copies on PC. Developers will go where the money is.

Yeah, it sucks, but with the PS4 having sold a million units in 24 hours, I don't see it changing anytime soon. PC is not a priority.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Oh? Since when has Ubisoft cared about PC? They don't. As an example, let me put it this way.

You run a business and are making a AAA game. You have potentially 5 million copies sold on console or a half million copies on PC. Developers will go where the money is.

Yeah, it sucks, but with the PS4 having sold a million units in 24 hours, I don't see it changing anytime soon. PC is not a priority.

It's a self perpetuating cycle though. PC gamers don't buy their games because they're poorly optimized, so the developers don't optimize their games for PC since PC gamers don't buy their games.

If they did optimize their games better they'd probably make more money off the PC platform than the initial cost for optimization and testing.

 

[Nicholas Chandler-Yates]

The problem is that there are just millions of potential hardware combinations to optimize for, whereas for consoles there is just one. Hopefully Steam Machines will be able to avoid this issue by finally having essentially a PC with standardized parts, so that there are maybe 5 or so combinations to optimize for, at least initially, and will lead to optimized games for the platform.

 

[Foolery]

Oh? Since when has Ubisoft cared about PC? They don't. As an example, let me put it this way.

You run a business and are making a AAA game. You have potentially 5 million copies sold on console or a half million copies on PC. Developers will go where the money is.

Yeah, it sucks, but with the PS4 having sold a million units in 24 hours, I don't see it changing anytime soon. PC is not a priority.

It's a self perpetuating cycle though. PC gamers don't buy their games because they're poorly optimized, so the developers don't optimize their games for PC since PC gamers don't buy their games.

If they did optimize their games better they'd probably make more money off the PC platform than the initial cost for optimization and testing.

True. But I doubt Ubisoft cares that much. It's why I enjoy buying games from companies that do understand the PC market.
CD Projekt Red for example, or Runic Games.

 

[Mad World]

"On PC, usually you don't really care about the performance, because the idea is that if it's not [running] fast enough, you buy a bigger GPU. Once you get on console, you can't have this approach."

Wow... lately, I have been losing a considerable amount of faith in developers. Is this guy for real? What an ignorant statement. How can this guy know so little about PC gaming?

Allow me to correct... optimization is still incredibly important. I think that most PC gamers can attest to the fact that with poor optimization, a fancy GPU (among other hardware) won't be enough.

The new platforms are closer to PC (so, yeah... he is implying that PC ones will be ports... no surprise there); that should make things simpler. However, that doesn't negate the need for optimization.

Developers--when it comes to releasing games on PC, anyway--are becoming more and more lazy. Well, he won't be getting any money from me.

 

[Simskiller]

I just saw this EXACT same thread on the ubisoft forums, here's Ubisofts response, basically it was taken out of context:

Spoiler: pic's a little too big

Here's the link to the RPS article mentioned for those curious: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/19/assassins-creed-4-review-pc/

[sub][sub][sub]inb4 this gets me a warning for not enough content in my post[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[FrozenLaughs]

It doesn?t really bother me. PC gamers always want the best of both worlds. They brag about how much more powerful their system is than consoles, and how many more awesome/exclusive games they get...

Then expect console developers to cater to them too, and whine when they don't get an awesome console release.

Meanwhile console players get to sit around daydreaming about all the awesome PC games and how we wish we could get a few. When we do it's typically a dumbed down version of the games that only appeal to small niche groups, like Sims 3 etc.


If you want these games so bad, buy a console. A PC player won't hesitate to tell you the same thing.

 

[WWmelb]

I just saw this EXACT same thread on the ubisoft forums, here's Ubisofts response, basically it was taken out of context:

Spoiler: pic's a little too big

Here's the link to the RPS article mentioned for those curious: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/19/assassins-creed-4-review-pc/

[sub][sub][sub]inb4 this gets me a warning for not enough content in my post[/sub][/sub][/sub]

I really hope everyone looks at this post, as yeah context is everything. Does definitely seem to be a case of bad journalism, and NOT Ubisoft being dicks.

 

[Battenberg]

I just saw this EXACT same thread on the ubisoft forums, here's Ubisofts response, basically it was taken out of context:

Spoiler: pic's a little too big

Here's the link to the RPS article mentioned for those curious: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/19/assassins-creed-4-review-pc/

[sub][sub][sub]inb4 this gets me a warning for not enough content in my post[/sub][/sub][/sub]

Wait are you saying a journalist sensationalised a story by taking an out of context soundbite that made an entire company sound bad? Heresy! A journalist would never do such a thing(!)

Regardless of how accurate this story is I expect console always has and always will get priority from Ubisoft for the Assassin's games. I loved 1 + 2 (yet to play 4) but it's hard to ignore how simplified they are as games, by and large relying on very basic gameplay mechanisms which is not the kind of thing most gamers buy/ build gaming rigs (at the cost hundreds of pounds and hours of time) for.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Taken out of context or not - It's always been clear that Ubisoft has no love for PC gamers, calling them all pirates and constantly delaying PC releases so more people will buy a much more restrictive console ect...

They can keep their console gamers, I'm having more fun than I've ever had playing games designed for pc players. Not only are they far cheaper than the standard "AAA" costs that are close to extortion at this point, but I can go on them for more than a few hours without getting bored and never play them again.

 

[Requia]

I just saw this EXACT same thread on the ubisoft forums, here's Ubisofts response, basically it was taken out of context:

Spoiler: pic's a little too big

Here's the link to the RPS article mentioned for those curious: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/19/assassins-creed-4-review-pc/

[sub][sub][sub]inb4 this gets me a warning for not enough content in my post[/sub][/sub][/sub]

His words don't match Ubisoft's back-pedalling, he explicitly stated the lack of optimization was because of the option to buy a better graphics card.

 

[GAunderrated]

I just saw this EXACT same thread on the ubisoft forums, here's Ubisofts response, basically it was taken out of context:

Spoiler: pic's a little too big

Here's the link to the RPS article mentioned for those curious: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/19/assassins-creed-4-review-pc/

[sub][sub][sub]inb4 this gets me a warning for not enough content in my post[/sub][/sub][/sub]

His words don't match Ubisoft's back-pedalling, he explicitly stated the lack of optimization was because of the option to buy a better graphics card.

Those are more or less my thoughts exactly. I'd love to give them the benefit of the doubt but when I look at the steam forums and see 100+ threads of getting low frame rates with beast machines ( we are talking titans here) I can't believe that they were "taken out of context."

 

[Chemical123]

Internet states that paying for crappy version of a game isnt necessary.

Not advocating piracy, just not purchasing.