Star Citizen Creator: You Can't Do That On Consoles

[Andy Chalk]

Star Citizen Creator: You Can't Do That On Consoles

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Chris Roberts says current-gen consoles just don't have the sand to deliver a proper Star Citizen experience.

Chris Roberts has been an enthusiastic and unapologetic cheerleader of PC gaming since his recent return to the business with Star Citizen [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120049-Wing-Commander-Creator-Unveils-Star-Citizen], but there's more than just nostalgia for the glory days of Wing Commander and Privateer at work. There's a practical aspect to it as well, specifically that current-gen consoles aren't powerful enough to do what Roberts is doing. Powered by the CryEngine 3, he claimed Star Citizen will offer realistic physics and graphics with "ten times the details of current AAA games."

"You can't do that much with 512MB [of RAM on a console], so that constrains a lot of your game design. If I'm building a PC game, I'm going 'Yeah, you need 4GB on your machine'," he told Ars Technica. "Of course you're not going to get all 4GB because Windows is a hungry beast, but you're getting a lot more than 512MB so it kinds of open up what you can do, what you can fit in memory at the same time, and it changes your level of ambition."

"You can do most of it on a next generation console, but I can promise you a top-end PC now is already more powerful than what a next generation console is going to be," he added. And, he pointed out, when Star Citizen comes out in two years the high-end gaming rig of today will be a middle-of-the-road setup.

"I have an iPhone and I can watch The Dark Knight Rises on it, but I don't want to watch The Dark Knight Rises on my iPhone - I want to see it in IMAX on a big screen, and I'm willing to spend $18 to see it on the big screen in IMAX versus downloading it for a couple of dollars on my iPhone," he said. "I definitely think there's a PC gaming audience like that."

Source: Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/star-citizens-chris-roberts-discusses-upping-the-ante-on-pc-gaming/]


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[gardian06]

Who really wants to watch movies on their iPhone?

to paraphrase "Gaming Consoles have limited capabilities..." (starts stroking self) "...to the pinical of perfection that is PC..." (begins to moan) "...gaming in all its glory. that should be revered as a..." (spurts across the desk) "...god of gaming"

and now Chris Roberts is done. I think that I might go play my Wii game console.

 

[newwiseman]

If graphics were the only thing required to make a good game then Square-Enix would be doing a lot better than it currently is.

I do prefer gaming on my PC but clearly not as much as this guy.

 

[loc978]

And here I thought he'd at least mention available peripherals... it's kinda hard to play a proper space sim without a flightstick (with at least 10 buttons, throttle, hat and twist controls) and a full keyboard.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

If graphics were the only thing required to make a good game then Square-Enix would be doing a lot better than it currently is.

I do prefer gaming on my PC but clearly not as much as this guy.

He's complaining about the amount of RAM since he mentions 4 GB and Windows eating some of it.
Granted Xbox and PS3 have far more efficient memory management but apparently it's not enough this time around.

More RAM will make the maps larger and more complex, more detailed and have things load faster and/or less frequent.

 

[DonTsetsi]

Small RAM size on consoles is a huge problem for gaming as a whole. It makes the developer choose between open environments and graphic fidelity. For example, wouldn't it have been cool if Bioshock had more diversity in room size? Or if Skyrim had a bigger texture palette? Since most games are ported between different systems, all platforms suffer for the constraints of the others.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Huh. That trailer offers better spaceships than some science fiction shows. Too bad Allen Cameraface and people still look fairly awkward. It's almost to the point of being able to use a game engine to do special effects, though, and that's interesting.

Shame then that graphics aren't the only thing one desires in gaming.

 

[Rufus Shinra]

If graphics were the only thing required to make a good game then Square-Enix would be doing a lot better than it currently is.

I do prefer gaming on my PC but clearly not as much as this guy.

He's complaining about the amount of RAM since he mentions 4 GB and Windows eating some of it.
Granted Xbox and PS3 have far more efficient memory management but apparently it's not enough this time around.

More RAM will make the maps larger and more complex, more detailed and have things load faster and/or less frequent.

I'd suggest you check the CIC (Wing Commander main fansite at www.wcnews.com), they've got a loooot of data about Star Citizen if you're interested.

 

[thiosk]

Why do the bad guys always get the coolest spaceships?

Same reason evil wizards get cooler magic and the dark side of the force comes with lightning.

 

[gardian06]

Haters gonna hate the glorious master race.

BUT NAY, THEIR HATE IS IN VAIN FOR WE HAVE THE SPACE. WE HAVE ALL THE SPACE. AND YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SPACE.

2 years from now. Let there be space.

(Looks up to side) "daddy. When do we get to go into space?"
"soon son, soon. When the pretentious PC gaming crowd finally realizes that you can have good quality space flight on a console."
"when will that be"
"I wish I could tell you, but first it requires them getting their heads out of the own asses"

 

[Skeleon]

Durr PC gaming is deaduuuh...
Regardless, I'm the kind of gamer who doesn't care too much for graphics. System Shock 2 is still one of my all time favorites and that game was ugly as sin when it was released.
Now, the physics-aspects of this are more interesting if they actually affect gameplay in novel and important ways. But if it's primarily about graphics, then I don't really give a toss, despite how great this indeed looks (assuming that's ingame graphics).

 

[Imre Csete]

Wow, there are obvious hardware limitations out there, but as usual, both sides are justifying their stance in a rather condescending fashion.

*goes back to play with his PS2 after a 3 days long LAN party*

 

[BoogieManFL]

I still fail to see why console fans get in a tizzy about stuff like this.

What does it matter? Sure PCs of several years ago can be lightyears ahead of any current or planned console system but who cares. Games are typically different between console and PC so it's just about what you're in to and what you grew up with more.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Is it me, or does this guy come off as a bit of a wanker?

Anyways, I prefer the PC myself and am looking forward to this game but it will all be for naught if those shiny graphics make it unplayable for those lacking the most elite gaming computers.

And again I must ask, is your only role as a fighter pilot or do you get to command the mothership as well? And in this mothership can you walk all around it?

 

[MonkeyPunch]

... so it kinds of opens up what you can do...

Misplaced 's'.