Have bad pc ports gone by the wayside?

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stoney_titan

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There was a stretch in PC gaming that made me want to give it up. Gita IV, Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War come to mine though some will swear they worked fine for them.

Coming off of playing Far Cry 3, Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite I have a lot more confidence.

I guess this thread is simply to say hallelujah. Maybe it's the fact that we're competing with 6 year old hardware. Competing is not the right word but I hope that new consoles won't bring about another rash of terrible ports.
 
If the question is whether or not the overall quality of ports is improving, then I would say yes, overall improvement. Hard to quantify that, though.

There is still plenty of garbage out there though. Simcity comes to mind as a recent stinker.
 
biggles said:
If the question is whether or not the overall quality of ports is improving, then I would say yes, overall improvement. Hard to quantify that, though.

There is still plenty of garbage out there though. Simcity comes to mind as a recent stinker.
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But, SimCity5 wasn't badly done on PC because it was a console port... SimCity5 was just a half baked idea served uncooked and badly done.
 
There are plenty of examples of poor PC ports and I doubt its going to stop. The next generation consoles will be much more powerful than the current generation without question (except the weak Wii-U). But the laziness of developers and the dodgy publisher relationships with PC gamers will continue I'm sure.

Although there is an outside chance people will pass on this next generation of consoles in favor of the PC because the newer consoles have some pretty nasty sounding always on DRM that many PC games do not , currently.

My brother is a hardcore 360 gamer but after hearing Microsoft's current stance towards used games for the next gen Xbox , he's going to switch to PC gaming. Something I never thought he would do.
 
The new "cool" thing to do is leave PC centric features off like Lan support and in game voice communications. For the life of me I can't fathom how Battlefield 3 or any MMO can launch without these features. Well anything with multiplayer deserves in game voice communications imo.
 
Its impossible to play an MMO without voice chat unless you are a lone wolf (which makes no sense since MMO's are just chat rooms with pretty graphics).
 
It's sad to think how well Max Payne 3 was ported to the PC, yet GTA IV is a pain and a half to get running.
 
Godmachine said:
There are plenty of examples of poor PC ports and I doubt its going to stop. The next generation consoles will be much more powerful than the current generation without question (except the weak Wii-U). But the laziness of developers and the dodgy publisher relationships with PC gamers will continue I'm sure.

Although there is an outside chance people will pass on this next generation of consoles in favor of the PC because the newer consoles have some pretty nasty sounding always on DRM that many PC games do not , currently.

My brother is a hardcore 360 gamer but after hearing Microsoft's current stance towards used games for the next gen Xbox , he's going to switch to PC gaming. Something I never thought he would do.
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wut?

PC games generally have the most intrusive DRM, and not allowing used games is really no different than say buying a game with steam or origin.

the PS4 doesnt sound like it has the DRM and its not official from MS.

last thing i read about the MS always online had to do with keeping the system online all the time to keep the system up to date automatically without someone having to download an update, it would just do it in a low power state and keep your system and your games updated so when you do sit down and play you dont have to wait on game updates or a system update it will already be done. it never directly mentioned the always online being used to prevent used games. that assumption was thrown in by the media.

someone hears the words "always online" and they jump to DRM conclusions without thinking that being online has other benefits.

worst case scenario is they do implement linking games to your live account. but that wont stop you from playing the game offline it would prob let you link hardware to your live account for offline play and if that system dies you can easily unlink hardware from xbox lives website. the same way you can connect different hardware to a netflix account. but in the end its no different than steam or origin or uplay.
 
I thought it was an anonymous developer that said the 720 was going to require an installation code and a hard drive install system for games bought on disc. If your installation code is used then you can't install the game. Of course the machine will have to "phone home" to MS to verify the authenticity of the code. Now if this was made up to shock people and get more web clicks, I don't know. But I do remember reading something similar to that.

I don't buy console titles and pay less attention to their news, other than to see how much horsepower do they have, so I can figure out what requirements the newest port is going to require.
 
I wish I could say no ..... but there will ALWAYS be crappy console ports as long as consoles exist.
 
Godmachine said:
There are plenty of examples of poor PC ports and I doubt its going to stop. The next generation consoles will be much more powerful than the current generation without question (except the weak Wii-U). But the laziness of developers and the dodgy publisher relationships with PC gamers will continue I'm sure.

Although there is an outside chance people will pass on this next generation of consoles in favor of the PC because the newer consoles have some pretty nasty sounding always on DRM that many PC games do not , currently.

My brother is a hardcore 360 gamer but after hearing Microsoft's current stance towards used games for the next gen Xbox , he's going to switch to PC gaming. Something I never thought he would do.
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Well, to be fair, the next generation of consoles - both the XBOX and Playstation iterations - will use AMD chips for CPU and GPU, so in theory, development for consoles should be very similar to PCs. Granted, there is nothing about hardware architecture that accounts for the dumbing down of games and especially the crappy menu system and UI that comes from bad ports.
 
Basically the main platform for developers to develop on once again is the PC, then port over to the consoles. This is a cycle that continues to revolve. As more and more PS4's and NextBox's are sold and more money is being generated from those platforms you will guaranteed see again where developers will start developing first there, spending valuable resources and time optimized those closed platforms then porting as best they can to PCs.

So for now, enjoy it, because it won't last for probably more than a year or two. Same thing happened at the beginning of the last gen, circa 2005ish.

cageymaru said:
I thought it was an anonymous developer that said the 720 was going to require an installation code and a hard drive install system for games bought on disc. If your installation code is used then you can't install the game. Of course the machine will have to "phone home" to MS to verify the authenticity of the code. Now if this was made up to shock people and get more web clicks, I don't know. But I do remember reading something similar to that.

I don't buy console titles and pay less attention to their news, other than to see how much horsepower do they have, so I can figure out what requirements the newest port is going to require.
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Absolutely nothing about the Durango (720) specs are concrete, everything is rumor. Just yesterday Kotaku reported that the final controllers were in the wild with a final dev kit spec. The controllers are stripped, like prototype cars to keep them secret and help to reveal any would be revealers. The interesting point about this was on a Chinese developer forum, a developer for the 720 2 days earlier reported the extact same thing, AND they are now confirming that the Durango does in fact have a dual APU architecture. That was a rumor that started flying as far back as 2010 but as of late, people were dismissing.

Dual APU would be it would be far more powerful than the PS4 and/or have either ARM or full 360 backwards compatibility. But like I said earlier, nothing is concrete. Those rumors, the rumors about cd keys, no used games etc.. I mean the CEO of Gamestop just said yesterday that he saw the new Durango and its "hot" and can't wait to see peoples reactions when MS shows off what they're cooking up. That would imply the whole used game theory is probably out, but we'll see.

I suppose in general... we all just have to wait and said. Paul Therrot reported that the rumored April unveiling of the Durango has been postponed until May 21st. Thats 2 weeks before E3, and it seems like MS is going for the jugular.
 
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The PC/Console port issue has gone through all kinds of phases and right now I think it is really good.

2000-2006 - Games were made for PC and ported to console. PC version was better 90% of the time
2006 - 2009 - Games were made for console and ported to PC. The ports were neglected and buggy as hell. Playing PC games was clunky because they were built for consoles.

2009-Present - Something changed and games work well on all platforms. I think it has to do with Steam distribution (money + easy of distribution) and the xbox 360 controller working seamlessly with the PC. We even get some PC exclusive features from time to time.
 
Right now we're definitely in a good phase. The ports we're getting are looking and playing well, and still maintaining some level of polish, which is usually my biggest complaint. Games like Far Cry 3, Max Payne, Sleeping Dogs, Crysis, Bioshock, Tomb Raider, etc. are all terrific games and look like a million bucks.
I can always tell when we're in a boom because I haven't turned my Xbox on in months. Short of playing some fighting games on the PS3, I've been PC-only for roughly a year...and I've been happy for the most part, too.
 
cageymaru said:
The new "cool" thing to do is leave PC centric features off like Lan support and in game voice communications. For the life of me I can't fathom how Battlefield 3 or any MMO can launch without these features. Well anything with multiplayer deserves in game voice communications imo.
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I agree. I don't need the LAN support and I feel in today's world it really isn't needed (with current network speeds,etc) but how in the world a multiplayer game as big as BF3 and no voice communication. Counter strike has had this for 10 years, even Call of Duty.
 
Pendulum has swung more in favor of the PC in recent times. Enjoy it while it lasts. Once the new consoles come out it'll swing back the other way.
 
Wildace said:
wut?

PC games generally have the most intrusive DRM, and not allowing used games is really no different than say buying a game with steam or origin.

the PS4 doesnt sound like it has the DRM and its not official from MS.

last thing i read about the MS always online had to do with keeping the system online all the time to keep the system up to date automatically without someone having to download an update, it would just do it in a low power state and keep your system and your games updated so when you do sit down and play you dont have to wait on game updates or a system update it will already be done. it never directly mentioned the always online being used to prevent used games. that assumption was thrown in by the media.

someone hears the words "always online" and they jump to DRM conclusions without thinking that being online has other benefits.

worst case scenario is they do implement linking games to your live account. but that wont stop you from playing the game offline it would prob let you link hardware to your live account for offline play and if that system dies you can easily unlink hardware from xbox lives website. the same way you can connect different hardware to a netflix account. but in the end its no different than steam or origin or uplay.
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Just go read what next generation consoles have plans for regarding used games and DRM. Its not something that will provide you confidence in turn. PC games always have more freedom in general attached to them in terms of what you can do. Console gamers HAVE to do whatever MS , Sony and Nintendo tell them to do otherwise they simply won't be able to game.

I don't preach that the PC platform is the holy grail but it offers more freedom of choice than next gen consoles will provide. Go search for Kotaku's story on one gamers giant frustration trying to get his new Wii-U (his old one bricked) authorized with his Nintendo account so he can access the hundreds of dollars worth of games he bought for the Wii platform. The end result? They give him back half the games he bought and told him that Wii-U accounts are tied directly to their physical counter parts. I don't see any PC games being tied into my physical components where if my GPU or CPU dies I have to call some third party and verify my account so I can have access to my steam , origin and Uplay games.
 
Nintendo is a different story than MS or Sony, they arnt dumb enough to make switching from a bricked console to a new one a painful experience.

Nintendo is still new to this whole online aspect of gaming.

and i have read what they plan to do with next gen consoles, and not one of them, MS or Sony said they would prevent used games. in fact sony said they wont be preventing used games.

and rumors about MS cant be taken seriously.

things change all the time and with them finding out Sony is not going to prevent them IF it was MS intention to not allow used games you can bet they are rethinking that stance now and will most likely not implement a no used game policy.

and even if they did.

again its no different than steam or origin. any game you buy will be tied to your xbox live account and where ever you take that account you take your games with you.
 
there are soo many benefits from a business point of view for MS and Sony to do a "steam" and not allowed used/pre owned games.

Why not? Again look at it from a business point of view ie $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
Ha, no there will always be ports, especially now the PS4 is supposedly a PC.
 
I bought Dark Souls thru steam last week, still looking for the green A and red B buttons on my keyboard.
 
I play a lot of cross-platform games on my PC and maybe I'm just lucky but it all usually just works for me.

I've recently played more than a few console originals that were ported and the developers were really good about checking the Steam communities for feedback and then correcting problems by patching the game within a week or so of release.

If a game isn't an RTS or FPS then don't use KBM, FFS.
 
cageymaru said:
The new "cool" thing to do is leave PC centric features off like Lan support and in game voice communications. For the life of me I can't fathom how Battlefield 3 or any MMO can launch without these features. Well anything with multiplayer deserves in game voice communications imo.
Click to expand...

They really don't need them. I don't want to be tossed in a voice chat with a bunch of random weirdos, judging by in-game text chat... if I want to talk to you, you already have my voice server info for the guild/clan/squad/whatever, or in an MMO can just be sent it in a whisper for you to copy/paste in. Public text chat is bad enough... why should a dev waste time on making a public voice one (Xbox 360 matches are more than enough proof of how bad an idea that tends to be!).
 
I'd say overall port quality has improved drastically in the last 3 years. There are still bad ports and there always will be, but now the expectation is for ports to be fairly good, or at the least decent and workable. The rise of services like Steam coupled with the extremely long console cycle have really put the PC in a good place right now. With the PS4 and Nextbox being x86 based it might mean we keep seeing this trend. That said, the PC is the smallest of the three major core gaming platforms so we're simply not going to be the primary focus of most studios or publishers.
 
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