PPU coding? ... whats the point

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orkan

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 9, 2002
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Considering that many big name developers (EA) can't release a game that isnt full of bugs to begin with... It should be interesting to see the NIGHTMARE of crashing systems and memory hog applications to ensue when they have yet another add-in card to try to code for.

Anyone else besides me think that this industry has been putting the wagon before the horse for a while now?

Granted, I'm just picking on one publisher here... but if EA/Dice can't make a game that isn't full of bugs with our current hardware... how can we expect them to EVER be able to do it as our systems become MORE modular and more complex?

I'm basically becoming content with the fact that the console will completely squash PC gaming over the next few years... no matter how badly I don't want it to. I've been playing PC games since Wolf'3D... and lately... I am completely and utterly disgusted with the state that games are allowed to be released. EA's last 3 "battlefield" titles have shipped with buggy/non-functional server browsers and filter screens. And that is one of the hundred or so bugs they are always released with... most of which existed in the prior title as well. We are talking a 6 year time span here... and they still can't get it right?

Many other developers/publishers are at fault as well. How many more of you will continue to spend thousands of dollars on high end gaming systems... just to have buggy GARBAGE software titles shoved down our throats?
 
orkan said:
Considering that many big name developers (EA) can't release a game that isnt full of bugs to begin with... It should be interesting to see the NIGHTMARE of crashing systems and memory hog applications to ensue when they have yet another add-in card to try to code for.
Click to expand...

Who says they will have to code for the card? They should just have to code for the PhysX engine, which is already used in existing games anyway (though only version 2.3+ supports the PPU). Vista is going to try and do the same thing with Graphics via DirectX 10. Any game that is coded for DX10 should work on any DX10 complaint card or else its not a DX10 complaint card. Once this happens there will be more of a “Standard platform” to develop on which should even things out with the console a bit.

Anyone else besides me think that this industry has been putting the wagon before the horse for a while now?
Click to expand...

Hardware comes out before the games that take advantage of it, that’s just the way things work. The alternative would be to have games out before the hardware to use all the features? I don’t know that that really makes any sense or would even really be possible. The developers would at the very least need to have beta hardware to work with while they made the game such as X-Fi support in BF2.

Granted, I'm just picking on one publisher here... but if EA/Dice can't make a game that isn't full of bugs with our current hardware... how can we expect them to EVER be able to do it as our systems become MORE modular and more complex?

I'm basically becoming content with the fact that the console will completely squash PC gaming over the next few years... no matter how badly I don't want it to. I've been playing PC games since Wolf'3D... and lately... I am completely and utterly disgusted with the state that games are allowed to be released. EA's last 3 "battlefield" titles have shipped with buggy/non-functional server browsers and filter screens. And that is one of the hundred or so bugs they are always released with... most of which existed in the prior title as well. We are talking a 6 year time span here... and they still can't get it right?

Many other developers/publishers are at fault as well. How many more of you will continue to spend thousands of dollars on high end gaming systems... just to have buggy GARBAGE software titles shoved down our throats?
Click to expand...

I feel your pain regarding BF2. I was at the nvidia launch event for the 7800GTX which was also the day BF2 was released and they gave everyone a free copy. There, at the LAN, was the first time BF2 hosed my windows install. Only recently and after the one of the recent patches did it finally work on my box without major problems.

But for every game like BF2 there are others that seem to be coded very well. I don’t think I’ve had any source based game crash on me, ever. I don’t recall having a single problem playing Fear, Quake4, Doom3, etc etc etc. Even World of Warcraft seems to have it’s shit together now, at least on the client side.
 
Many other developers/publishers are at fault as well. How many more of you will continue to spend thousands of dollars on high end gaming systems... just to have buggy GARBAGE software titles shoved down our throats?
Click to expand...

There's plenty of crappy console games out there that people pay 500+ dollars for.
 
I know.

Trust me I am a PC advocate... but we ourselves LET the games be crap.

Tell me... why do you say it is NOT the fault of lazy devs when games release with obviously broken peices that you KNOW were never even beta tested? This is the core of my argument. If the people that made the game are not accountable for releasing crap... then who is?

I would like some viewpoints on this. How is it not the devs fault for releasing bugs?
 
Since the topic is PPU's... and how they will introduce yet another variable into how games are screwed up, combined with all the talk of how physics calculations will be turned over to video cards... I was conflicted about which to put it in. I'll leave it for you to decide.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
Dont buy buggy games, simple as that ;o)
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Then I'd never get to buy a game.

I'd rather they KEEP the title and NOT release it for 2 years if thats what it took. Look at HL2. They didn't launch until it was done. CS:S... well that's another story. Point being... no matter how bug filled it is... we still buy it. In the case of EA's "battlefield" series, for the last 6 years it has been the exact same BS.

They release a game... it is so full of bugs you can barely play it, if it runs on your system at all. Then... they release a patch after about 3-4 months which usually breaks as much as it fixes. Then... they release expansion pack... which has more bugs. So they release a "hotfix" to make it so people can even play. THEN they wait another 3-4 months to patch all the crap that was broke in the expansion, which usually breaks things in vanilla or accross all expansion packs.

Then, after the community has had enough BS and is bored of the game... they release yet ANOTHER expansion pack with more bugs. All the while... the consumer is spending upwards of $1500 - $2500 on their computer to play these buggy POS titles and the flood of expansion packs.

We keep buying them. Title after title... all the expansions... all the new hardware...

Every time... we are the ones made to compromise.
 
Could you name some other games besides the BF series that you have a problem with? You keep focusing on BF, which I have never had a problem with.

Yes, the PPU will add another layer the the already complex world of game programming, but, I don't think that's the issue. The issue is with certain game developers (In your point being EA) not putting proper quality control on their products. Which, is a justifyable reason to be heistant about their future games when it comes the physics, because like I said, it will add to the complexity.

Certain companies like Valve, id and Blizzard work on games until perfect, but like it was said before, think about how long those games (HL2, Diablo 2, Starcraft, Quake 4 and DOOM 3) were in development. Others don't follow this motto.

I, don't see this as having ANYTHING to do with the PPU and more about companies views on their game content and quality control.
 
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