Quantum Break's Live-Action Episodes Are Streamed To Save Hard Drive And Disc Space

If you get the Xbox One version, you'll have the option to download the massive files if you have the space.

[DarkOcelet]

I really thought they were on disc since its size is 44gb. I honestly wished they were in the disc.

People with bad internet connection wont be happy with this decision.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah it's the only thing I'm really unsure about with the game. I get it's trying to be a TV series but you don't need live action scenes, seems a waste in my opinion

Would be probably better if they did a good half an hour prologue and release it the week before it comes out

I never liked some of the live action stuff in Alan Wake but at least then it was kept to actual TV screens and the like.

[OldGuyStillGaming]

I hope there's a option to skip them because apparently they're 22 minutes long after each 2 hr chapter

[DarkOcelet]

I dont think its a waste of potential, i enjoyed the live action sequences very much in Alan Wake and the live action sequences here looks like they will be great.

[Erik7357]

Not a waste, only if its half assed.

It seems to be very well made and the actors in the tv series are the same actors portraying charaters in the game...

[darthv72]

seems to be no different to someone who is familiar with netflix. And as for live action alan wake... anyone remember the webisodes that were released on xbl? I think I have them all still on my 360 hdd.

[donthate]

This melding of TV show/live action and game with a deep story is quite innovative and new approach to gaming.

Why would we want them to make a traditional game. We already have that with Uncharted and Tomb Raider.

I want something fresh even if it is at risk of failing, because you can't get greatness without risk.

Bring it on Quantum Break. I am ready!!!

If you don't like it, don't worry, I will enjoy it for you! Your loss, not mine.

[Neonridr]

On the flip side it means that the game itself is that much bigger.

It does mention you can download them on the X1 version so you could always take the required time beforehand to download everything that way you can experience it all together. But yeah, slower internet users may be affected by this news.

[DarkOcelet]

Also that means the game will have higher replay value as people will want to go back and see different outcomes that what they decided the first time.

I love the idea.

[christocolus]

@Dark

Over 40 different live tv segments were recorded according to Remedy each will play uot depending on choices made by the player so i agree. there will be a lot of replay value.

[Christopher]

On principle I don't like this and believe a single player experience should all be on the disc. I understand the reason, but this essentially becomes what some of us fear, and that is SP games reliant on an Internet connection, let alone having a large data download requirement.

[rainslacker]

Not to mention makes it worthless for long term collecting.:(

Might be a while, but I doubt 20 years from now, the servers providing these videos will still be available.

Maybe they'll make a way available to download them to actually play off the hard drive. Edit:Apparently you can download it to the XBox hard drive, so at least there is that. Not sure why it wouldn't be available to download on PC though. While the filesizes may be substantial, it's not like PC gamers are adverse to storing large amounts of data. I mean, streaming or downloading...does it really make a difference to bandwidth?

If the game is already 44GB, then I can understand why they couldn't fit them on the disc though.

[DarkOcelet]

On the bright side, XboxOne owners can download the segments to their harddrive instead of streaming it.

Cant say the same about PC gamers.

[joel_c17]

Ah another way for developers to make sure that we are always online. Classic microsoft.

[stiggs]

@joel_c17

Of course, blame Microsoft for a decision made by the developers of the game.

Why not, right?

[melrex]

so you can stream or download the tv show part of the game to your harddrive,but can't download movies/tv shows you buy from xbox live to your xb1 harddrive yet. my old 360 can do it, thats BS MS.

[DarkOcelet]

You can download them on your XboxOne btw. You just cant do the same to the PC.

[stiggs]

@DarkOcelet

It's 2016.

Are you actually suggesting that there are console owners with internet speeds so slow that they can't stream video content? C'mon now...

[ritchi45]

Those people do exist. Plus download caps won't help either.

[DarkOcelet]

Yes, mate. I have a 1gb capacity everyday right now where i am and then the internet speed goes down to 256kb and what is even worse is that this is the best internet in the whole damn country.

It wasnt like that in early 2015 but they decided to put fair use at the end of 2015 and now i am stuck with 1gb everyday and then the speed goes down to unbearable speed.

Its funny because its 2016, things should be better not worse.

[mac_sparrow]

I live on a new development and as such until the last year had 0.7 Mb. Streaming was not an option.

Luckily I now have 36 Mb, should be faster but we're 5 miles point to point from the nearest exchange. This is in a town, so it shows how little investment there is in infrastructure, even during construction when it is quicker and cheaper to install.

[FarEastOrient]

Yes!! I'm currently deployed to a country with a slow internet that is also metered. This game is no longer a buy for me due to the cost being way past the $60 price tag. Meaning that I'll pay more for the streaming/download content than the initial sticker price.

[stiggs]

The slowest speed offered from a major ISP (in my part of the world) is 3Mb/Sec from Comcast. This is still fast enough to stream video content.

Are the ISPs that you are using happen to be free? I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I just find it hard to believe that there are commercial ISPs in 2016 that are incapable of replicating the most often performed task on the internet.

[I_am_Batman]

Wow. So you can't even download the Live-Action episodes on PC? That sucks big time. That in combination with the Windows-Store is a big turn-off for me. I'll probably wait and see if MS decides to give us more options with that game on PC.

[Genuine-User]

I'll be downloading the live action episodes on the hard drive.

[crazychris4124]

"When asked if an option will exist for those wanting to download it, Louden says that it will only be offered on the Xbox One version, but the Windows 10 version does feature 4K resolution, making the video size all the more substantial. Quantum Break is set to launch on both Xbox One and Windows 10 April 5."

[Caedus511]

Did anyone not expect this?

[Christopher]

I actually didn't. Not at this level and not capable of at least putting a core storyline on disc for those who can't access the Internet.

[Kurisu]

It didn't even cross my mind, to be honest.

I have a pretty good internet connection though so I'll probably just stream them on Xbox One, but if for any reason I do get buffering then I'll download them.

[-Foxtrot]

Not really

It's like Halo making something like Halo Nightfall for the game and putting core plot points in those cutscenes.

"Oh well I won't download/stream them then"

<Much Later>

"Wait...did I miss something, when did they do that?"

They should be little bonus things to add onto the story, not core plot points.

Like I said above Alan Wakes was fine since it was just small scenery stuff like when the TV's were playing in the game but the full on plot.

Would have preferred at least an in game version of the TV scenes

[Caedus511]

Well for all those who didn't see it coming you must not understand how much space a high definition video takes up on a disc. Especially considering the show is tailored by the choices you make in the game. There's just no way it would all fit on one disc.

I dropped my cable shortly after getting my X1 so I stream and download all of my media, the streaming of this episodic content will fit right in. I'm also all digital this gen, haven't bought a single disc. For anyone unable to stream due to bandwidth or data caps hopefully they will come up with an alternate solution.

[ScorpiusX]

Cool either way , luckily we have External HD support.

[ShadowKnight]

What about the Xbox owners that don't have an external HD? They're going to be upset lol

[ScorpiusX]

Not to be insensitive , Get to updating people . lol

[Rookie_Monster]

Either way, Day one.

[MasterD919]

I think the episodes will be a nice chance for players to stay involved instead of just turning off the game when they're done since it becomes a t.v. show.

Plus, the actors involved in this game do deserve some screen time in a non-animated setting as well.

I wasn't planning on getting this day 1, but frankly, I love Remedy's work and I just dig the way this game is shaping up. I just may have to pre-order.

[Bathyj]

Well their only other option here would be to have 2 or maybe even 3 discs and then install them to your harddrive. Maybe they should have sucked it up and did that, I dont know. These files are going to be big, and theres multiple outcomes for each scenario. Is it ideal? No. But this isnt typical either and a bit of a different direction for games, so it is what it is and I'd cut Remedy some slack. Its good you can stream or download, but sucks a bit for people with slow internet.

Still its very interesting and cant wait to see how it turns out and when I get to play it I will have an empty harddrive since its my first game so download for me.

[rainslacker]

or...they could life the full install requirement. Never understood why I need to keep copious amounts of data on a hard drive which is just as easily streamed from reading it off the optical media. Multiple discs would be likely though.

Fine enough for digital versions I guess...maybe they didn't want everyone download a couple hundred GB's for a game file.

[Caedus511]

Your hard drive transfers data faster than can be read from a disc, wish is why installs are required on PS4, X1 and PC. Not sure if the Wii U requires installing out not as I don't have one.

[rainslacker]

True, but that is irrelevant for streamed data such as movies for cut scenes. So long as the disc can keep up with the bit rate, it doesn't matter where they come from.

The mandatory install I speak of is that the entirety of the game has to be installed, regardless of if it requires fast transfer or access or not.

[Brohan]

Atleast they give you the option of downloading the files to your Xbox if you have enough space.

[GameBoyColor]

You get no options on pc though. Not even to configure the game to your liking.

[Caedus511]

Then get the Xbox version

[Kreisen]

PC players are forced to stream the episodes becouse of the file size? That is the most retarded thing ive heard in a while.
This one almost trumps the "24fps offers a better experience then steady 30 or 60fps" statement The Order devs made a good while back.

[I_am_Batman]

Agreed. Why don't they just let us download the same version the Xbox players get then. It doesn't make any sense. Just offer different resolutions.

[rainslacker]

As we all know, PC gamers do not have fast internet connections, do not download copious amounts of data on a daily basis, and have small hard drives, and would be completely against storing data on said hard drives for quicker access.

As we all also know, PC gamers love buffering screens, pauses in video when that buffer can't keep up, and that somehow, streaming is nowhere near as bandwidth intensive as a bulky download..because somehow, 4K streamed at X number of KBps is actually smaller than a file which uses the same KBps for it's bitrate....and that internet connections are always consistent enough to keep up with said bitrate.

/obligatory S for those who don't recognize it above.

Challenge anyone to go look up and stream a 4K video and see how well your internet connection does. That was the most logically flawed thing I've seen from a developer in a long time. All this does is pretty much insure that the vast majority will be watching these videos in 1080p. Heck, most people are likely to only be able to display that anyhow, so why not make them available.

[PHiSHLoC]

Do you have to watch them, I can't stand live action video in my games. I wish they cancelled it altogether. Either way have it preordered and can't freaking wait woohoo.

[metalgod88]

So if you're offline...no internet connection at all.. and can't download the files..then what?

[GameBoyColor]

You will be missing plot points and you'll be like "what? When did that go down?" every chapter.

[rlow1]

I can understand why the files are so big, because they had to film all the different outcomes. It will be interesting to see how it all comes together when it launches. I'm really hoping they nail it!

[ShadowKnight]

I have enough space on my PC anyway. I have two 2 tb (4tb) hard drives in my rig. More than enough lol

[xasz]

@QuantumBreak 10h
"FYI: Due to many versions of the show (based on your decisions) it's streamed. Of course if you wish you may download them and play offline."

https://twitter.com/Quantum...

[x800]

Yep, today we give you streamed only for some sections of the game and tomorrow/next game we are gonna fit the whole game on streaming.

[R6ex]

Ridiculous decisions by MS!

PC has much greater HDD space, so why don't allow the option to download massive files?!

Instead, X1, with its tiny drive, has option!

Illogical!

[Caedus511]

MS isn't developing the game, Remedy is.

[frostypants]

This is stupid.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

I wouldn't be able to get into this. Live action movies mixed in with gameplay? That'd make me as sad as the days when you'd see an amazing CGI cutscene then gameplay kicked in and graphics didn't match. That always sucked.
Now days cutscenes are blended so well (some games a lot better than others), why not just stay with in-game assets?