I know gifts are not inherently bad but...

Does anyone else get nervous when publishers try to over-sweeten pre-orders with "gifts" so people buy a game before they see or before reviews come out?

I'm still amazed at the expectation of publishers in the gaming industry, and that people easily succumb to the idea, that customers should buy software before seeing the final product.
Especially when we are told the demo is not like the final build nor the level like it is in the game context, whatever that ambiguity means.

Then 2K games keeps responding to questions on bugs, on the forums, that not much has changed since the demo and that the demo should reflect what to expect. I know the dangers of multiplatoforming all to well, not to beat a dead horse, but common sense logic still dictates there is alot of extra resources wasted and game features cut to multiplatform, in the same or lesser time frames. So I just can't jump in with both feet after playing little more than a tech demo.

Not that I want to slap a gift horse in the mouth, but I've been bit by those horses before.
I guess I have been burned too many times with hype, so when publishers start adding on gifts to sugar cote the deal, in order to buy sight unseen, when the game alone should sell itself, I start wondering.

Found this on the Mafia site...
Q&A - http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1018260#post1018260

Gamer - 15. Will the PS3 have less screen tearing/jaggies because of the graphical details removed?

Publisher - For all versions of the game, the demo is largely representative of the final build of the game. There may be slight improvements that you notice for all these issues, but overall, you should judge the demo as you would the final game.

The in game AA is horrid.
I got AA working on GTX 480 with full scene 4x SGSAA and it looks amazing, the way it really was meant to look.
It absolutely changed the game impact for me outdoors, it was that significant.

It took me a long time to find the one combination that got AA working full scene for me, I hope they either fix their AA or don't break the workaround I found in the final release.

I actually had to mix in game AA and a couple NVIDIA profile hacks to get SGSAA working (some text strings).
If anyone with similar HW is interested, let me know.

I have this funny feeling with Mafia2 that there are things behind the curtain that I should wait and see before getting to into it. The one thing that was a bit of a let down, after a few plays, was realizing the cops offered very little actual challenge in game while driving or on foot, in my experiences.
There is a lot to like, I just want to see a little more of what what is actually under the skirt, I don't like those kinds of surprises.

UConnBBall wrote on Aug 17, 2010, 11:50:
It is sad. Mouse and keyboard are best for: Strategy, FPS, RTS, MMORPG (IMHO everything). Why did they have to stop supporting Windows Gaming so that they could do XBox????? I thought money was money. I bet you that it would have stopped a ton of people switching to OS X or Linux. Only reason I have Windows is to play some games.

It's the open nature of the PC that I think is both it's best asset and it's Achilles heal.
The open nature of PC allows some real 'out of the box' games that could be dreamed up and could not function on more closed and limited systems.

Those games, their future innovation and the passion to make the best of the best with all the capabilities of the PC architecture is what is slipping away. In the desire to sell the most on as many platforms as possible, I think that is what we have lost in quality and innovation in recent past, and further into the future.

Silent Bob wrote on Aug 17, 2010, 11:40:
Not surprising at this stage of the console life cycle. Xbox 360 growth is flattening so they look to PC games for additional revenue. It won't last long. They'll turn all of their attention back to the next gen Xbox in a couple of years.

The attention never shifted. I think they are just trying to get more into the coffer from other avenues of revenue that console cannot, by telling people what they want to hear, IMO.

M$ PC Gaming of the future...

Only $9.99 a month to play our PC games, and because we make you pay for it, you know we have to be the best!

When you can get so many people to pay M$ monthly, on top of your ISP, for your console to touch the holy M$ servers, it is not an easy stretch for M$ to know that MMO's are the only kind of PC business they want to really be in.

Did anyone ask the far more powerful console division at Microsoft before Luehmann started spouting this PC gaming nonsense?

"Luehmann argued that the Windows house can't expect third-party developers to support the platform if it's not willing to itself."

Oh I get it...
So the key is to lie to people and tell them you really do support Windows gaming, but not at the sacrifice of the console division, wink wink.

Wildone wrote on Aug 17, 2010, 11:26:
China?

No doubt!

LOL

It's a new perspective, it's accessible, welcome everyone to Flight console!

It will take a few more years for some of us to forget how M$ eliminated Aces Studio so they could 'envision' more multi-platform games that blow.

Watch that 'Windows exclusive' will change, and they will come out with a few words explaining it was in the fans best interest. It will change like Alan Lake changed, it will change Like halo changed, it will change like their exclusives always change to make more money.
It will not be "windows exclusive", watch how they lie so you don't have to fall for it.

I was an incredibly huge and dedicated fan of SupCom but knowing what I know, I won't bother with SupCom2.

Ever since SupCom there were wet dreams of SupCom2 which later turned into disappointment rather than the anticipation it should be for me. But it will likely be commercially successful enough.

Every now and then I make opinions about games I haven't played because I know enough about them, there goes one.

This comment was edited on Feb 4, 2010, 02:13.

Next big thing???

The last big thing never really matured in the code to the big thing it should have been.

Last big thing was TA from Chris and Cavedog.
GPG has been running on that hype too long.

SupCom2 downgrade to console isn't even worth my time to demo.

This comment was edited on Feb 3, 2010, 13:59.

Yeah, All n One's were always a bit of a risk IMO, so I gave them a wide birth for many years and advised against them.
Mathematics and the law of averages catch up with you, kind of like doing raid 0 with more drives, eventual failure may hit sooner for the entire array. Some people can ignore a broken fax/scanner/copier but I'd likely have to replace the whole thing when the time came.

The risk has lessened over the years and I just got my first all n one in a Canon MX860, the first one where I won't need a separate photo printer since it is really nice. That's what won me over really, a quality printer without too much compromise.

I like the MX860 but I know all too well that one of them will fail first and the big hunk of expensive plastic will need replacing even though the other functions still work.

If only All n One's were more modular, sections then could be easily replaced like to fix a scanner/printer.

This comment was edited on Jul 28, 2009, 09:56.

It's not that drifting isn't liked by some people, it is.
It just that it doesn't need to be tagged on to every game to try and sell the game to 'drifters' and upset the other customers (demographic of soon ex-customers that don't like having to drift while driving).

The problem is EA and the minds behind NFS are trying to have every little racing buzz feature so that they can sell as many copies off the shelves. Trying to please the most racing demographics possible in a single game ends up really pleasing few with the final package. While it will sell off the shelf at first, eventually people will realize what EA is doing and that the games really not that great.

You end up with an amalgamation of racing features instead of an ultimate racing game (what NFS was many years ago).

An IP that has lost itself and is still wildly floundering around trying to find itself.

It's hard to convince a publisher to stop playing sales and focus on making the best games because undiscriminating gamers keep buying what they are fed.

This comment was edited on Jul 11, 2009, 17:08.

Why am I not surprised?

The IP has been drifting into the garbage for some time.
The decision makers on this IP are clueless, but that won't stop the sales in console channels.

HardCore where are you getting your facts from? I can tell you now without doubt that the same people who made SupCom1 are the same ones working on SupCom2. And the reason I know this is because Chris Taylor is a good friend of mine. Fact!

Then it must be "fact!" he didn't tell you.
I spoke w/ several key folks during the project, I know of their exodus, and I know where they are now. They are working on their own game which is coming along.

Besides, being made a multiplatform console game right out of the gate it has 1% chance of being a great successor to the original.

This comment was edited on May 29, 2009, 21:35.

Any idea where they went? I don't follow that stuff much, but I really liked SupCom's interface and engine (pathing issues aside). They did a fantastic job on it. Wonder what they're doing now.

Close to a year ago now. Some of them left during Demigod development and quite a few banded together to make their own company. Devs, leads and some mgmt.

"It's the same developer, guys. Squeenix is just publishing."

Except many of the heavy hitters and mgmt. that worked on SupCom are gone, including the mastermind behind the engine.

I guess you can say "same company" for as much as that means.

Consolitus to the extreme!

What's does Ubuntu give you tangibly that Windows with applications loaded doesn't?
It's a serious question.

I stopped recommending Norton several years ago when it hampered performance alot as well as broke some programs from working without warning. Kaspersky or Bit Defender are likely better in most regards.

This comment was edited on Apr 9, 2009, 07:39.

"The Impulse client has had its user interface significantly improved and updated..."

Is it finally user friendly and intuitive?