The evening Inbox worries that 60fps will never become a gaming standard, as one reader questions whether people really want better AI.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
Crowded race
RE: Thorn and Destiny 3. I sort of feel sorry for Bungie here as Forsaken is actually pretty good in my eyes (not perfect, but much better than Destiny 1 and has course corrected).
I totally agree with you that if Activision push more microtransactions then thats basically going to do more harm than good.
But I dont agree they should expedite Destiny 3 – not unless we can continue with our progress from Destiny 2. A huge barrier for me getting the second one was all my time from the original being basically forgotten and then loads of the weapons from the original being available to aquire again (in some instances for the third or fourth time). I want my character and my gear to move forward. The thing that stops me using them is because new ones are more fun/interesting not because Bungie dictates it.
Anyway, will see what they do but with Anthem, The Division 2, and Borderlands 3 (any news on this!?) coming out at some point, the market for this type of game is a lot more open than it was. Not to mention just lots of good new games in general already out now/due out over the next couple of years.
Keep up the good work GC and hope Im not too early but thanks for all the excellent content this year!
James
GC: Thank you. Theres still no word on Borderlands 3, but theres a VR version of Borderlands 2 out next month – which may be the prelude to an annoucement.
Never standard
RE: Next gen consoles. Have you ever tried selling a console based on the CPU being better or improved frame rates?
Developers have found over the years that console gamers are swayed by visuals in most cases, and Insomniac were once quoted as saying they abandoned 60fps in favour of 30fps and better visuals, as their research found that better visuals sold games.
Cant see Sony/Microsoft or developers prioritising 60fps as whole at all, as its hard to flog someone a new £450 console for 60fps based on adverts and static images, and casual gamers will not perceive differences in this way.
I am really in favour of 60fps and more powerful CPUs will definitely make this more feasible in many cases but a much improved GPU will be required, especially if they decide to aim for native 4k and 60fps even at current visual levels, never mind if they improve visuals.
I think we will still end up with 30fps in most cases, as those CPU improvements will be used to increase draw calls to GPU and offer improved visuals, physics and AI, but that some games will be able to offer 60 fps more easily or in more stable way when designed for ground up to achieve 60fps.
Kiran
Easy target
Regarding better artificial intelligence in the next gen, its something that could probably be done much better already but I think most people dont want this. Games already can have a pretty decent level of AI; look at any sport sim, racing game, or strategy games such as XCOM for good examples of how far AI has come.
Even first person shooter F.E.A.R., that was released many moons ago, has better AI than most modern shooters, but does the general casual gamer want to win or get hammered by superior AI?
Mal
Advertisement
Advertisement
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Satisfied purchase
Obsidian Entertainment are responsible for some of the greatest role-playing games currently available, including the Pillars Of Eternity series. Pillars of Eternity II is my favourite role-playing game ever.
They also did Fallout: New Vegas. Their talent is undeniable.
I appreciate their games wont be everyones cup of tea, but Im just glad to see what they can do with real money behind them. They created the Pillars games through crowdfunding. Im surprised they lasted this long before being snapped up.
Well done Obsidian and Microsoft.
r-s-w (PC)
Worth the risk
RE: Divinity: Original Sin II. Although I picked this up a fair few weeks ago I only started this a day ago. Id been finishing up Assassins Creed Odyssey and then I bought and finished Red Dead Redemption II (longest epilogue ever?).
What I needed was a palette cleanser and this game was perfect. Out of my comfort zone, Ive never played a CRPG, and totally different to my recent gaming. Its taken me about six hours but Im now comfortable with the controls and invested in my team.
Very much looking forward to the next hundred hours. For anyone sitting on the fence I say give it a go. It oozes quality.
TheRatman5469 (gamertag)
GC: We always love getting these sort of letters. Were glad you took the chance and enjoyed it.
What was your first clue?
I am beginning to think it will not be too long before we even start to begin to see the end of the Xbox Ones lifecycle. With the release of the Xbox One S and Xbox One X this is following a similar pattern before the Xbox 360 life cycle ended, after multiple revisions of the Xbox 360 such as the Xbox models with HDMI, the Elite, then the slim and then not long after that we got the Xbox One announcement.
Fast forward from 2013, eight years later and to 2018 as of present now and we are seeing the exact same thing happen from the previous Xbox 360 generation the Xbox One, Xbox One S, and now the Xbox One X. Its the same pattern and my guess is the Xbox Two will be with us by 2021. I can see some games being developed in the early stages in 2019 so these will be ready for the Xbox Twos launch title line-up.
Has Microsoft even begun to plan what hardware will be in the Xbox Two, if Microsoft calls it that, and when their development kits will be ready to be shipped out to developers? I am hoping the big publishers like Rockstar Games and Activision will be planning some new games for this system at launch, so we can look forward to newer titles from franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Call Of Duty, etc.
I am also hoping various indie developers from Xbox One will have new games ready so that we get a solid line-up at launch. Although I will admit I am curious to see how they will implement Xbox Live on the Xbox Two and what this will offer thats different to the previous Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
GC: It seems impossible to imagine the Xbox Two wont be released by at least 2020, and probably 2019. Halo Infinite and the new Fable are almost certainly next gen games.
Swimming against the tide
I agreed with the letter from A Daniels about games demanding you are always online. Although I have fast broadband the connection does occasionally dip or even disappear. This once affected my saves on Dragon Age: Inquisition, one of my favourite games of last generation, and lost 17 hours of progression after I replaced an older save with one corrupted as my Internet had gone down, booting me off the EA servers. Why in Sobeks name would I need to be online while playing the single-player part of the game?
I also hate the fact that without the Internet my Xbox One becomes an inert box not even allowing me to play games on disc. I am not sure why we as consumers have to put up with this. Maybe one thing the next gen of consoles could be is future-proofed against long term Internet disruption and (shock horror!) actually just work without the Internet.
Lord Leaping Lynx
Advertisement
Advertisement
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Current gen problems
RE: Next gen consoles. What I would like is to see them working properly everyday of every week. Lets be honest there, this is still a regular issues with Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I have both and Xbox have been the worst over here in the UK. Always going down. Takes days to repair. Or there is server problems because they rent instead. No game tester at Microsoft anymore and the prices from Xbox are so much more than PlayStation 4. So fix your servers and digital content, connection should be better and all PvP games need to have a speed cap.
Cause in games like Call Of Duty: WWII the better connection you have the fast your character will shot and aim. No, this shouldnt be like this. When it first released we were all not happy with the server lag we were all getting. Where I would move to cover on my screen but the other player would still see me in the open. Then I will die behind a window. These are the things they need to get right first. I have super fast fibre and I was still having these issues.
Microsoft, rather than fix the issue or have it fair by putting a cap on it, told us to hard wire instead to help with this problem. Well some people cant hard wire because where the router is set for the whole family. To me they need to get their products working right before they move on to a new one.
Another thing, stop causing issues like the signing in problem that we had for two days before I could sign in. Why? Because they updated the console that was working fine, so never needed the update. If its not broken dont fix it! Ill end with this then, Microsoft need to sort their house out. As Ive had more problems with the Xbox One than I had in five years with 360.
Anon
GC: Whats always going down? Not Xbox Live, in our experience. This all sounds like a problem with your broadband connection.
Inbox also-rans
I know this is a busy time of year for you but I was wondering if youll get a chance to review the Spider-Man DLC that came out last week? If not have you had the time to sample it? My sons been hinting hed like it but I refuse to buy DLC if its not worth it – which it is never is to be honest.
Chris
GC: We already did, although its much more than a week old. The next ones out next Tuesday.
Digital games take forever to download. I will never going fully digital. I like to sniff my manuals. Digital games have no resale value. Digital prices are extortionate. All correct to a degree! Current physical Xbone games: 13, current digital: 221. Oh dear, that snuck right up on me!
big boy bent
This weeks Hot Topic
The subject for this weekends Inbox was suggested by reader Gilo, who asks whats your favourite open world game?
With Red Dead Redemption II just out, and games ranging from Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to Assassins Creed Odyssey offering up some of the largest and most interactive worlds ever seen in a video game, we want to know which is your favourite game featuring an open world environment.
What does a good open world add to a game and what do you find are its limitations? How would you like to see this style of game evolve in the future and do you think there are too many at the moment or not enough?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Advertisement
The small print
New Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
If you need quick access to the GameCentral channel page please use www.metro.co.uk/games and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.
Advertisement
Advertisement
