Via Ripten: Save points are truly a spear in the side of any modern gamer. It's 2007, we have the latest in bump mapping, anisotropic filtering, and the best of mipmaps. We've got the graphics, so now it's time to look beyond superficial beauty. We need to fix problems that have plagued our media for far too long, namely, sparsely placed save points.
When the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S first launched all the way back in 2020, console sales were not what either platform manufacturer wanted them to be. The pandemic slowed things down more than ever before, even though in the case of each next-gen console, all the units that were manufactured, sold.
Of course that didn’t last, and soon manufacturing limitations on the consoles were a thing of the past, and sales started to leap forward. For one next-gen console platform, at least.
I can see why Microsoft is putting their games on PlayStation with these numbers
Imagine how many copies of future games like Elder Scrolls VI, Blade, Indiana Jones and more they could sell if they went fully multiplatform.
Sony would probably be selling more if they stopped sending mixed signals about their future. Putting games on PC because you are taking data analytic advice from Microsoft about the future of consoles is folly and has limited their potential sales. Microsoft want Sony and the world to believe that consoles are done as a business so companies like Sony and Nintendo etc can end up serving Microsoft's platform. Remember when it comes to Microsoft "It is us or no one and the three E's" Don't fall for it.
Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.
i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.
its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.
They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.
They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid
The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.
And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.
Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.
THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.
The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.
Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.
"They want you to believe the devs under them are super stoked to work generative AI into their processes," continued Gaider, "but I assure you what they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair not unlike the time that team was informed of their new 'really cool' live service mandate.".
I think anyone with some common sense knew this, im glad i don't support their games anymore, what a sh!t company.
I said this yesterday. AI isn't what we want when it comes to crafting artistry. Alas, these soulless corporate morons don't care about their work, only about cutting corners as much as possible.
"Let the golden age of difficult games die with the arcades that bore them."
Wow...just wow. So according to this writer, the ideal game allows the player to respawn in the same position immediately before the death occurred.
That takes away any sort of penalty for dying, which is absurd. I don't even think I have to go into more detail with this, it should be obvious to everyone.
Yea that's a bit rediculous. Games are getting easier and now this guy wants them even easier. Having to struggle for a save point offers you a very real challange to the game itself. I know if I'm allow I take way to much liberty on saves. Mass Effect I almost started saving everyother min. Granted I'm playing on Hardcore mode and it's a lot tougher but what happened to the days of old rpgs where only one guy in one town could help you save the game. Any dunegon or your next random encounter could mean you die and have to start over way back when. Real consequenses when you die. Makes you want to be better in the game then just running thru it. Prey and Bioshock are perfect examples of how it is a great game but lacks on the ability to envoke hardtimes. You don't die in those games! You can attack a Big Daddy with a wrench and die 6-7 times and he'll keep the damage you slowly give him until finally he falls down.
Checkpoints are one thing but being able to save whenever where ever takes away a big chunk of difficulty.
Low-skilled idiots and console FPS games are killing modern gaming, why make the games easier?
There's 3 extremes of bad save type and respawn and I hate them all...
Mass Effect... 'The Mulligan'
Any game with a big focus on story needs to have a save/respawn system that compliments the world the devs have created. Mass Effect should be an immersive game, but I found that every time I died to have the area 'reset' broke that immersion. It was pretty obvious they had no idea how to handle save points in the game. Why would I save part way through a level, only to have to redo it when I die regardless of where I saved.
BioShock... 'The Big Easy'
This is the other extreme to 'The Mulligan'. I could take one point of damage off a Big Daddy, die, respawn, and do it all over again a thousand times until I win. It may have been realistic in terms of the game world, and even explained by the storyline but it just didn't feel right. I can understand that it makes the game slightly more casual friendly, but different save/respawn strategies should have been implemented depending on difficulty level.
And finally... 'The You Ba$tard'.
Any game which makes the player re-watch a non-skippable cutscene every time they die makes me think the developer is some sick ba$stard with no QA process. Save points should come after the huge chunk of (boring) exposition. I'm fine with being forced to watch a cut-scene once... but to be forced to watch it every time I die is just horrible and has no place in modern gaming.
There's no easy solution. Saving and respawning in games has to be appropriate to the type of game and seamlessly implemented. A lot of what developers are doing is following cliche's and established principles set out in the movie business. The difference is the hero in a film always prevails, whereas in games the hero (through players lack of skill) do not.
Either developers have to build in 'excuses' for players to respawn... for example in Mass Effect there could be a generic cut-scene showing Shepherd waking up in the infirmary on the Normandy, having been dragged to safety by a party member followed by some excuse to have the level reset, such as Pirates called in reinforcements. Or developers need to find their own direction for making sure the player achieves their goals, feel the risk/reward on which most games hinge, but not lose that immersion if a player fouls up.
It really shows how young and imature the industry really is, that we are only now addressing these issues..