New video game releases of 2/13-2/19
Indie Jeff's Weekly Pick: Gunpoint
Daily Filter: Mass Effect 3, Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Blizzard files opposition to Valve's Dota trademark
Twisted Metal promotion blows up Sweet Tooth's truck
LucasArts: 'We're Not Shutting the Door on PC'
by Chris Faylor, May 12, 2008 10:39am PDTThough LucasArts' physics-intensive effort Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is hitting every major system this fall except PC, the longtime PC developer has reassured fans that it is not abandoning the platform.
"We're not shutting the door on PC at all. For this project, it happens to be that we don't have a PC SKU," producer Cameron Suey told VideoGamer. "We do hear that complaint [that PC gamers want The Force Unleashed]. I definitely wish it had been possible."
While acclaimed PC developer Crytek has referred to piracy as "the core problem of PC gaming" and its reason to pursue multi-platform development, Suey attributed the missing PC edition of Force Unleashed to the platform's wide array of possible hardware configurations.
"[If we made the game for high-end PCs], someone with a low-end PC would have a watered down experience, they would have to turn all the settings down and it wouldn't be the same game," he continued. "On the other hand if we made that game for as many people as possible then it's not taking advantage of what those $4,000 systems can do."
While LucasArts is internally developing the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of The Force Unleashed, outside developer Krome was brought on to handle the PlayStation 2, Wii, and PSP versions, with n-Space behind the Nintendo DS iteration. All are slated to arrive on September 16.
But what of the time when LucasArts' delivered such notable PC efforts as X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Day of the Tentacle?
"There wasn't such a variance [in the past] and it made a lot more sense to develop on PC [then]," Suey concluded. "We're definitely not out of the PC market. It's just with our choice for this game."
Comments
Now that might be changing - Intel's developing a CPU which will have graphics specific features. It's not meaningful in any way except that its a new direction and a new solution, it might end up being the same story in the end but it seems that at the very least thinking about this problem at Intel is changing, an that's a positive sign. If Intel and ATI can supply the low end OEM market and shorten up that tail the difference between a high end and low end PC at any time might finally be scalable again.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 7 replies.
[/sarcasm]
"We really wish it were possible to code this game to PC specs, but alas, the laws of physics prevent it." This is the kind of insulting bullshit that makes me WANT to be a pirate.
At very least they could have been HONEST instead of outright lying to us: we don't see any profit in releasing this game for the PC.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
It's kind of sad how the last truly exceptional LucasArts game I played was KOTOR. Empire at War was half-baked Jedi Academy had good gameplay, but was very much lacking a cohesive story, and Battlefront was... Well, a fun Battlefield ripoff.
As for the whole "Too many people have bad PCs" argument... Just look at how many people play Valve's games. Source is an engine that scales incredible well, but it still looks great on the highest settings.
And $4000 PCs? What the heck are they smoking? Even if you're getting the best of the best, you shouldn't have to spend much more than $1500.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 11 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 13 replies.
And as PhysX has already already been implemented to run as an integrated part of Euphoria once, I don't see how the Big Green could afford to pass out on the first two "next gen" titles featuring the Euphoric sweetness.
As a new proprietor of Ageia's API, they simply have too much at stake; especially now that they're practically waging an open war with Intel on all fields including Intel's own physics implementation on Nehalem, the RayTracing ruckus, not to mention Larrabee which could effectively shut nvidia out of the integrated GPU/HPC desktop solutions of the future.
All the hush hush surrounding the GTA IV PC version and now this, could be simply down to some NDA practices. I bet we get to hear alot more regarding the future of PhysX and CUDA around Q3. Nvidia didn't acquire Ageia for nothing.
If I'm utterly wrong here, then Nvidia deserves to burn and there's truly no future for PC gaming, at least not in the [s]dumbed dow/s] high-end consolized section :P
make it like an ultra tough door man - you either have the goods or you don't, and if you don't, you just ain't gettin' in.
might even create an upgrade rush like in the days of voodoo or sound blaster... or cd-rom. except this time, all the required components will be electroplated in gold and laced with pcp.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 17 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
>:(
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 6 replies.
I love PC's and have been a PC gamer ALLLLLLLL the way back to the TRS-80 with its cheesy games and Im not sure if its my age but I feel like with the way things are regarding prices and devs reluctant to make games (or less games) for the PC and them looking and playing exactly the same on a console, it's hard not to feel this way. :(
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 23 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 8 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 8 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
If lowered graphics makes your game watered-down, you did a bad job. All they need to do is require a certain amount of RAM and a SM3 card.
"On the other hand if we made that game for as many people as possible then it's not taking advantage of what those $4,000 systems can do."
My PC has an 8800gts 512 (G92), 2gb RAM, and a dual-core processor. I play almost everything at 1680x1050 on high settings with no performance issues. It cost about $400 to build.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 7 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 17 replies.
Ask me if I give a shit when I see their logo on a box anymore. Lucasarts = Star Wars now. Nothing more.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 7 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
Just give us one of the following:
- a new Jedi Knight game with Kyle Katarn
- a new installment of X-Wing/TiE Fighter
- an adventure game
You can pretty much ditch the rest.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 7 replies.
and ffs every game has always looked and ran better with better specs...that's what makes pc gaming so unique...the experience you get is practically related to how much money you spend...any game you make for the pc will always be like that...what a total bs answer
Oh cool, so you will start developing PC games again when the gap between low-end and high end has decreased?
Isn't this why we have system requirements? So you can have your game look how you want, and everyone else can piss off, like PC gaming has always been?
Just say you don't think you'll make enough money for your liking and spare us this inanity. :P