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

[CardinalPiggles]

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.

Unless it's CD Projekt RED making the two versions. The Witcher 2 is amazing on both Xbox and PC.

Games only suffer from this because most games are not given enough time to develop properly.

 

[Domogo]

I'll tell you something I am part of that consumer base haha I am all for this

 

[Doom972]

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.

Better hardware doesn't only mean good graphics. More RAM, means bigger areas, better CPU means better physics and AI, installing the entire game on a HDD means that loading times aren't as much of an issue, etc.
With the PC being an upgradable platform, developers have more freedom to make the games that they want to make, rather than what the console allows them to.

OT: I'm excited for this game, but I'm a bit skeptical and afraid that Chris Roberts might pull a Peter Molyneux on us. The fact that it's a PC exclusive and crowd-funded gives me hope that it might turn out as he promises.

 

[gardian06]

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.

your first paragraph: you are stating that the Xbox and PS3 have limited RAM, but make up for it by also having efficient memory management.

it is the other way around they have limited RAM which requires the developers/programmers to facilitate for it by including the efficient memory management that you are talking about. this is why Skyrim get almost unplayable on the PS3 because the memory management isn't designed for the system right, and the reason it isn't getting fixed is because they have to re-write the way that they do memory management almost taking the game back to square one, and would technically have to re-release the game to fix it. it isn't that the systems have the memory management it is that the systems require memory management to be a forefront principle of development.

your second paragraph is for the most part accurate, but that is still a developer thing with streaming, and draw distances.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

your first paragraph: you are stating that the Xbox and PS3 have limited RAM, but make up for it by also having efficient memory management.

it is the other way around they have limited RAM which requires the developers/programmers to facilitate for it by including the efficient memory management that you are talking about. this is why Skyrim get almost unplayable on the PS3 because the memory management isn't designed for the system right, and the reason it isn't getting fixed is because they have to re-write the way that they do memory management almost taking the game back to square one, and would technically have to re-release the game to fix it. it isn't that the systems have the memory management it is that the systems require memory management to be a forefront principle of development.

your second paragraph is for the most part accurate, but that is still a developer thing with streaming, and draw distances.

Hen or the egg, strictly speaking then?


Captcha: skynet knows

Edit: But it is still a question about limits imposed by the hardware on the imagination of the developer, and when you have a space sim you want HUGE areas, take X3 for example it will eat up up to 7.3 GB of RAM (despite being a 32 bit program) in the right scenarios.

 

[Rainboq]

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.

SPPPPPACE!
OT: Pretty much this, while PC gaming is expensive as hell, the money is worth it.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

I want that game...

I want that game so bad...

Yeah, a modern PC is OBJECTIVELY better than a console in terms of raw power and high end of graphics. The current generation is still using being held back by six year old hardware that developers have to keep squeezing harder and harder, using everything they can to just get a drop of better preformance out of the Xbox 360 and (to a lesser extent) the PS3.

I am glad PC gaming appears to be having a resurgance.

 

[Mrkowi]

Considering that the budget of every game is limited, and he sets out to make a fairly complex game by today's standards, i think that visual fidelity shoudn't be his utmost priority.

If you can afford to have all 3 (great story,graphics and gameplay), then more power to you, but i doubt the amount of cash he raised is enough for a game so ambitious as Star Citizen. Especialy considering that creating hight fidelity graphical assets takes a lot, and i mean A Lot of time and money.

In a video game only thing that can hold player's attention for a long time is gamepaly, also story, but only for a 1 playtrough i recon.

I don't know, maybe i'm pessimistic, we'll see.

 

[TrevHead]

Why do the bad guys always get the coolest spaceships?

Why is he a bad guy? He is only stating the truth, just like shooters on the Wii compare poorly to whats on the 360 & PS3. Only difference is that the Wii never held back the quality on other platforms unlike the 360 and PS3 do for the PC.

Not saying that all games suffer like this (theres fantastic games on every platform), but some do.

Considering that the budget of every game is limited, and he sets out to make a fairly complex game by today's standards, i think that visual fidelity shoudn't be his utmost priority.

Making great eye candy don't have to break the bank and have a 200 man dev team, Hawken only has a 8 man team, Dishonered 19, This game and another space game Strike Suit Zero will have a very small dev team aswell. All of them say that the reason they can do so much is partly down to been lean and been smart in where they focus their enegies, plus the new dev tools and rendering / lighting capabilities of newer tools and hardware.

Sure some games like MMOs need bigger teams, but it seems that there is alot of bloat in these 200 man teams.

Besides, it's a space game they should look epic and have eye candy and effects, the lack of terrain and buildings means space games are rather easy to bling out .

 

[ResonanceSD]

Space Sim.

With PC-gaming in mind.


ladies and gentlemen, clear my schedule.


Like, forever.

 

[Entitled]

As an elitist, I feel that the focus on hardware and computing power is often overstated.

It's a fun EXAMPLE of how a PC is more flexible than a console, and IF YOU WANT TO, you can have lots of potential through optimizing your machine to your needs, but it's nothing more.

It's certainly not the main REASON why the PC is a superior platform. That's why so many of the best pc games that utilize the best parts of PC gaming, have weak graphics.

 

[Valok]

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"

Please, name a few for me? I am generally interested in these quality space games that stack up against Freelancer, X3, and the like.

Ever heard of Evochron Mercenary? This game will keep me busy on the months to come (Available on Steam)


And before you ask, yes, you can go down on planets to take a look, lol. The game is pretty sick IMO.

 

[RicoADF]

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"

Please, name a few for me? I am generally interested in these quality space games that stack up against Freelancer, X3, and the like.

Wing Commander 3 & 4, Colony Wars 1, 2 & 3 all on PS1
Consoles are just portable cheap PCs, especially the current generation. there's no reason it can't be done technically. its more to do with lazyness and a bad perception that console gamers only want cod, thus they think there won't be enough sales to justify the time and cost. also being arrogant doesn't help.

and before you call me a console fanboy, I have 2 powerful gaming I7 computers that play games on ultra, having a pc doesn't mean you can't enjoy a console or have to be degrading to others.

 

[RicoADF]

snip

I mentioned Freelancer and X3 because they are both highly nonlinear, they can allow you to go to other systems as you like and explore fight discover trade ect, whatever you want.

The ones you mentioned (as far as the Colony wars games, I wasn't familiar with them before googling them) after looking through them seem to have branching storyline but fairly firm control over where the player goes and what they do, but doesn't allow you to become a trader, or go to another system and hunt pirates if you so choose. Please correct me if I am wrong though.

Also I wouldn't call you a fanboy (if anything I prefer console gaming peasant :3) because publishers have uniformly seemed to write off most genres that dont have you shooting people with modern guns, which is nice to see things like Star Citizen, Wasteland 2, Eternity, XCOM, and Skyrim slap them in the face.

EDIT: And I wasnt degrading to others, I said I was interested in if there were any console games like I said as I honestly didnt know. Trying to educate myself does not mean I am talking down to someone xD

My mistake then.

Yes colony wars is like freespace and wing commander, abiet with a branching storyline. Unfortuently by the time freelancer and x3 (both of which doesn't use joystick unlike other pc space Sims) the genre was already on life support, and dead on consoles thanks to the stupid assumptions of publishers about cod games as stated previously

 

[RicoADF]

My mistake then.

Yes colony wars is like freespace and wing commander, abiet with a branching storyline. Unfortuently by the time freelancer and x3 (both of which doesn't use joystick unlike other pc space Sims) the genre was already on life support, and dead on consoles thanks to the stupid assumptions of publishers about cod games as stated previously

No worries, but to be fair X3 uses joystick as well as mouse and keyboard, though sadly freelancer was missing joystick support.

Hopefully we will see a resurgence of these types of games now.

Agreed, I've still got my PS games and have been thinking about making colony wars as a mod in Freespace 2, would be great to see these sorts of games coming back as I'm over 'realistic shooters'.