80°

STN Opinion: The trial of the day one patch

STN:

Ok, so you've bought a game, you take it home and it's more error ridden than you could possibly have expected. You hear that there's a day one patch, but since you are in the minority which can't connect to the Internet, you're stuck with an inferior product, are you happy about this? Of course not. You wouldn't pay for a leaking bottle of coke, would you?

dazbobaby4187d ago

if you're not connected to the internet, how did you find out about the patch?

wotta4187d ago

Friends, 3G who knows haha :D

Starfox8114187d ago

Really nice piece. I completely agree about how they are generally a bad idea as it means that game development is no longer a finished process. It's also detrimental to the game when you're handed a review copy and it's before release and the patch so you're essentially reviewing a broken game. You have the knowledge that a day one patch should fix these issues, but a finished game shouldn't ship unfinished.

caseh4187d ago

I always remember an analogy a programming lecturer gave me once regarding programming and how its impossible to write perfect code. Just like buildings, we've had experience of building them over hundreds, thousands of years yet even today they still fall apart or require maintenance.

It doesn't matter how well you write or test your code, there will always be something you miss or a part of it that can be improved. As for day 1 patching, most games could live without it and the problems it fixes are probably something you wouldn't have noticed unless raised in the patching documentation...with the exception of Bethesda games. :)

dazzrazz4187d ago

You're not gonna tell me Danger Close studio (in case of Medal of Error) could miss on such a critical bugs in such a simply linear game like unresponsive controls or completely dead AI which stops you from moving forward.... Either way their Q/A team was spending all that time on blow and hookers or somebody told them to not give a fuck because there is a deadline to meet and it can be fixed later or never

caseh4186d ago (Edited 4186d ago )

@dazzrazz

I couldn't say in all fairness, don't know what their testing methodology is.

Things can be missed quite easily in testing, imagine the difference of lets say 10 people in general testing compared to in excess of 100,000 people playing it on its day of release.

Had a good example of an IP phone that was in testing at an old company I worked for. When you pressed a certain button 1000 times, the display shifted to the right by 1 pixel. 256,000 presses later the display was completely off the right hand side of the screen. How do you knowingly test for something like that and whats the threshold?

Some games are just shoddy builds full stop so I guess no amount of testing will iron the issues out.

Starfox8114185d ago

Oh yeah totally. I'm not expecting any game to ship as perfect. I have no issue with patching a game post-release, especailly as day one patches are actually - in some cases - a month since the game was finished.

But my problem does come when a game is released basically not finished, so the patch can 'finish' it. Thus utilising the time between finishing up the final code and it releasing in stores to finish the game and get it out quicker.

They shouldn't go to press until absolutely ready and the patch can solve some small bugs here and there, not completely sort a game out.

angelsx4187d ago

Any one got input lag on ps3 or just me?

mydyingparadiselost4186d ago

Developers need to start finishing their games or the consumers need to be able to start getting refunds for opened games.On PS3 I had a Mass Effect 2 bug wipe my mass effect saves and then corupt my whole hard drive (which was supposed to be fixed in a patch but wasn't, Skyrim was an awful mess and still is (DLC issues), Borderlands 2 glitched my B.A Rank and pretty much ruined the game for me and so many other awful bugs that DON'T get fixed in day one patches. Even the systems don't work or or have their own internal problems that aren't fixed with patches, like the 360 which wiped my hard drive after signing up for Live 8 months after I got the console. I've stopped buying new releases b/c of these things (Nintendo being the exception b/c of the reasons in the article but even that might change) and I know there are many people who feel the same way. In the end, these patches and the low quality testing done before a game or consoles release hurts the gaming industry by forcing consumers to wait 6 months to a years before buying anything just to make sure it works

50°

Mugen Souls Retro Review – Sexy Demon Space Adventure

Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.

Read Full Story >>
pslegends.com
130°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."

ChasterMies12h ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

just_looken7h ago

Here here

Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.

I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing

CrimsonWing6923h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker22h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo22h ago(Edited 22h ago)

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing6922h ago(Edited 22h ago)

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

Gameseeker_Frampt10h ago

Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.

2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.

just_looken7h ago

It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5

Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.

120°

6 Fun Games Where You Actually Play As The Bad Guy

While the mainstream media always sees things turning in favor of the hero, here are 6 games that own being a bad guy.

Profchaos1d 4h ago

Pretty much all of these games listed are based around a morality system you don't have to be bad and you don't have to be good.

It seems to have left out some real amazing games like red dead redemption 1/2,ass effect and true crime la/ny

Tacoboto1d 3h ago

Armored Core VI?

Ok, I'm really missing something here. Just beat chapter 3 earlier this evening, unlocked A-rank Arena fights. I'm not seeing or sensing any branching paths or morality system and I've done every side mission and arena fight available to me up to that fight.

Is something big coming soon to branch the story?

banger881d 3h ago

No mention of Grand Theft Auto? Saints Row (original trilogy), Manhunt? Also The Suffering (depending on the ending you get).

ChasterMies17h ago

Trevor in GTA 6 is a sadist and psychopath who dabbles in cannibalism. Should be top of the list. These game “news” sites should hire people that know games.