Crackdown 3: Microsoft Details How the Cloud Enables a "Truly Massive Destructible World."

During a panel at GDC 2017 in San Francisco, that DualShockers attended, Xbox Azure Gaming Proncipal PM Joseph Cusimano gave more information on how cloud compute will work in the upcoming Crackdown 3.

[Nitrowolf2]

If that images to go by anything that's really impressive if I'm honest to be able together a performance boost like that

Microsoft has been talking about the cloud for a very long time with nothing to show for it and people are still waiting. Crackdown 3 is probably Microsoft most important title to release because it has so much to prove on a technology level.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

If the cloud based destruction works out well, I would love to see the tech used in a BatteTech game.

[Kingthrash360]

So is this gunna work for the xbox one or no?

[JackBNimble]

They said a high end pc with a 980 ti drops to 10 fps with out the server and 30 fps with the server. The xb1 isn't even close to comparable with that.
Looks like you will need a Scorpio if you want to play this game.

[freshslicepizza]

Lol, it will be working on the Xbox One, some of you really don't want to believe.

[JasonKCK]

First it was denial trashing and now it's "but but will it" lol

[donthate]

This is the single biggest change to how we do multiplayer game in a long time, and will give the sort of boost to the Xbox One that no other console can do thanks to the cloud. This level of destruction and awesomeness won't even be possible on a high end top of the line PC.

Super excited for Crackdown 3.

[Sunny_D]

I mean even if the cloud for Crackdown 3 finally works, it's not something to be clamoring about when it's the 4th year of the Xbox one and we're just NOW getting this? I mean what will the cloud be doing after CD3 releases? MS touted it so much, so it's pretty anti climatic at this point.

[mikeslemonade]

I don't need any of your pity help when I play Crackdown 3 on my 1080ti.

[JackBNimble]

All I know is if a pc with gtx 980 ti can only handle 30 fps with the cloud, then your precious xb1 will most likely shit the bed with or without the cloud.

MS does nothing but bullshit you guys and eat it up even after they prove to you that they are nothing but liars.

[super_bruno]

hmmm...

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img...

[Cyfyxtfg]

So you guys think microsoft is gonna release crackdown 3 which was announced way before scorpio, as a now, scorpio exclusive ? 🙃 What do you guys think the cloud is for?

[indysurfn]

How many year's is the cloud going to be used to trick people into thinking a inferior console will be able to do enough to be more powerful?

[Tumaras]

XB1 has been out for 3 1/2 years now, with promises from the beginning of how "cloud" was going to make XB1 40x more powerful than PS4. To date not a single game on XB1 has used it. It's funny that they would even still try to carry on this marketing.

I work in IT in a large datacenter with cloud. For those that aren't up to speed on it, cloud is great but really has specific use cases where it helps. Console gameplay isn't an area that would seem to be one, which is probably why we haven't seen a single XB1 game use it yet. Cloud is good for sending data someplace to store, maybe like save games. And in the workplace it's good for large job processing where you send a large batch of data to the cloud, let it process it over time, and then send the results back. But that's definitely not an immediate thing. It's more useful when doing engineering or running large reports. Kind of apples and oranges with low-latency gameplay. So my opinion back then when XB1 launched and Microsoft started the cloud marketing hasn't changed, and if anything has proved my point, that it's more propaganda than practically useful in the console world currently. In a few years when everyone has Gigabit broadband internet connections at home, maybe. But now...that's just not something cloud will be good at. So it makes Crackdown 3 seem more like a tech demo that won't really use cloud in a really practical game way, but that they'll just use for marketing to say it's technically using the cloud.

[TheColbertinator]

Fascinating. Thanks for the info.

[Aenea]

To be honest, they could get it to actually work. Thing is, it won't be usable for physics calculations that you need right away, but for things that will happen a few seconds later can easily be done this way. Thing of when the player fires a rocket, the game knows where it's going to end up and what it hits, it could then immediately send a request to the server and the result can be back for the player sees the rocket hit a building...

[darthv72]

To be fair, i don't think they actually made any reference to another platform in comparison to that 40x more powerful comment. i seem to recall they said the power of the cloud would just make the xb1 more powerful because the bigger processing would be handled by the cloud while the xb1 was freed up to process the smaller stuff.

No other comparisons were made but I could be wrong though.

[rainslacker]

The premise is sound, and there are ways to make up for the lag issues. But it's still fairly early for being used for these kinds of almost real time computations.

I said before this gen started, it'd be years before we saw any meaningful release for showing off cloud tech, and CD3 is pretty much proving that true.

If CD3 proves itself, then I'd imagine it'll be at least a couple more years before it starts getting implemented sporatically by shoehorning it into games in early development now, and then another 3-5 years before it becomes a common thing. Obviously, those who want to believe won't believe this, just like they didn't believe it several years ago.

By then, MS won't likely be the only one who has the tech at their disposal to use it as a big marketing tool. Sony already has rackspace as a partner. Amazon and Google's cloud is more than capable of this same thing. Azure is available to all.

I give credit for MS to be so ambitious in making a case for how it can improve games. But I still know it's not really there yet in terms of actual implementation. That aside, infrastructure is going to be an even bigger hurdle, because utilizing these techniques will limit the worldwide potential market without building in ways to play in a meaningful way for those who don't have access to the good internet.

Anyhow, the only real issue I see with CD3 is that fully destructible environments sounds cool on paper, but can be a nightmare in actual implementation, and even modestly destructible environments don't equal fun. I think CD3 has a lot to prove, and hopefully it can pull it off, because cloud itself is a solid way to move forward for certain gaming applications. My only hope is that it's not used to the point of being annoying for those who don't actually care to connect online, because the truth is, more people play SP games overall than online games. Online games just have more longevity.

[Chano]

@tumaras "To date not a single game on XB1 has used it" were you living under rock? .-. Titanfall 1, all forza games, gears of war 4, and halo 5 use the cloud .-.

[n4rc]

The amount of work done on the server doesn't translate to data sent to the user.. some calculations take a super computer weeks yet the final answer could be 1. Lol.. exaggeration but it how I see the bandwidth problem.. it's not sending textures etc, it's a steaming text file..

[XanderZane]

Hhhmm.. that's not entirely accurate. Forza Horizon 2, 3, Forza Motorsport 5 & 6, Titanfall, Halo MCC, CoD Ghosts, CoD AW, & Sunset Overdrive have all used the Azure Cloud servers for AI and multiplayer processing. Crackdown 3 will be the first to show what it can do graphically as well. The Azure cloud tech is available to all 3rd party developers.

https://consequenceofsound....

http://www.polygon.com/2015...

So you're wrong. It has been used in several games.

[2-bit_hustler]

For the reason you’ve cited (latency), running physics in the cloud is a challenge; and that’s partly why Ken Kutaragi realized the Cell Broadband Engine. [1]

It’s flexibility [2] and scalability [3] make it an ideal architecture for performing real-time physics [4][5] and graphics rendering [6][7] in the cloud at interactive framerates sufficient for VR. [8][9][10]

People don’t need gigabit internet in their homes, and I suspect SIE is months away from proving it.

[1] see last paragraph http://www.gamespot.com/art...

[2] see slide 27 https://www.research.ibm.co...

[3] see slide 13 http://media.corporate-ir.n...

[4] see slides 3, 7, 8, 9 & 24 http://sti.cc.gatech.edu/Sl...

[5] see slides 13, 14, 15, 16, 21 & 24 http://sti.cc.gatech.edu/Sl...

[6] see video & full video description https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[7] see video & full video description https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[8] see video at the end of article http://www.gamerevolution.c...

[9] play 2:51 – 6:34 https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[10] see blog entries 13:59 & 13:51 http://www.roadtovr.com/gdc...

[Unspoken]

You forgot to insert, "With my limited knowledge of offloading computational tasks, I believe..."

What do you do in the data center? Clean toilets?

An endeavor such as this was never going to happen over night. Again Microsoft on the frontier of tech taking risks, when in another article on this uninformed site apparently MS never takes risks...

Why would anyone not want this tech to come to multiplayer gaming?Anyways, it's here, it's being researched and developed and you will see one of the first implementations of this tech in Microsoft's game. As it matures it will branch out and improve on itself.

Quit crying and go play a video game or something.

[Cyfyxtfg]

That may be true but unless the company you work for is Microsoft you cant say what they can and cant do. Are you in their RND rooms and seeing what breakthroughs and strides theyve made? No. So we'll seemwhat happens. Dont be a downer cuz YOU cant fathom this working

[2-bit_hustler]

I made an error in my initial reply. Reference [1] should’ve been sourced as:

[1] see 1st & 2nd Q & As http://techon.nikkeibp.co.j...

Partial excerpts of the 1st & 2nd Q & As are as follows:

--So you are saying that exchanging data among stand-alone computers is not enough?

Kutaragi: … I am not denying the high processing capability of computers that establish our current networks… The reason is neither attributed to fiber optics nor to the "Last One Mile" task of connecting high-speed lines to households. The fact that servers and personal computers have the same LSI is the greatest bottleneck that is hobbling the realization of interaction among computers. Merely connecting one personal computer to another directly by fiber optics is easy. However, if we were to connect one personal computer to ten, what would happen to the server that positions in the center of the networking? In a case where the server is also required to function as a switchboard, we must lay out legions of clusters even when we have a centralized networking topology. Furthermore, the server would collapse should we try to shape it in the form of a complete network…

--Will CELL be a resolution to solving the bottleneck you mentioned?

Kutaragi: Exactly. CELL will transform the fundamentals of the network topology… Each CELL would be the broadband network itself. Just to give you a picture, it is like 1,000 units of computers at one company functioning as one server. In such a networking world, one would only see the overall strength of power decline when one computer drops out and vice versa. It sounds like a human society.

[2-bit_hustler]

Also, reference [10] should've been sourced as:

[10] see blog entries 14:59 & 14:51 http://www.roadtovr.com/gdc...

[just_looken]

Is there really any difference between this destruction and the old pandemic games mercenaries 1 and 2 and the red faction games were you can level a town?.

I mean lets pause for a sec you destroy a building its 10fps? my original xbox in merc 1 i can destroy a dam town.

[Sparta07]

Shhhhhhh!!!!
Don't tell them!!!

[SmielmaN]

I loved red faction for the destruction

[Immorals]

Huge differences in the level of destruction. I used to love destroying stuff in mercs 1/2 but that was basically exploding a building until it changed from a building into a pile of rubble. The crackdown damage is on a mother level and I really hope it goes well and we see it in other games!

[Why o why]

@ immorals

'on a mother level'.....was that a typo or the most original way of implying giving birth to......🤔

[Chano]

Just_looken watch the tech demo so you'd see? merc buildings don't have rooms inside everything just breaks off in big chunks like just cause 3 that don't need much rendering/calculation. Crackdown 3 is the most realistic physics&destruction wise. I'd love a link to merc 1 or red faction showing someone knocking down a building and that building falling on to another building - just rooms and walls smashing into other rooms and stuff. https://youtu.be/rFWIpAPvF-...

[pandehz]

LOL DONT EVEN COMPARE IT TO ANY OTHER GAMES' DESTRUCTION

WATCH THESE. NOTHING COMPARES.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Bobafret]

I am sure all of the folks working around the clock on this are kicking themselves, if they had only listened to just lookin.

[oasdada]

Im just wondering how many servers are there to support the game.. what gappens when too many players are playing this game will tgere be enough resources to support all of that much computing?

[alb1899]

Let them worry for that.

[sinspirit]

You know what is quite obvious about this demonstration compared to the local machine(with the 980ti)? They clearly didn't properly offload any physics to the GPU, So, if the graphics aren't pushing the card, then clearly the physics aren't taking advantage of it. They mention the GPU to mislead anyone that knows that it is a strong PC part. In reality it's obviously running them on the CPU that they tasked poorly.

There is no way a 980ti would dip so low for such poor graphics if it were processing the physics. The physics, while affecting vast amounts of objects, are noticeably quite basic for each individual object.

[oasdada]

@sinspirit
was thinking the same.. I also have a 1070 which is roughly the same as a 980ti

[rainslacker]

Cloud works on a spillover principal where resources are allocated as needed. Obviously there is a max load limit to spill over, which in the case of a third party would mean what they're willing to pay to use, and MS likely allocates something similar to it's own internal divisions, but given the nature of the data itself, and the capabilities of the servers, it shouldn't have much trouble with resources. Biggest issues are going to be normal server lag which happen in almost any MP game when they're overloaded.

Quite a few games run on similar cloud servers, so that's about what you can expect.

@Sin

I'd probably agree overall. It'd require reworking the entire workflow of the game to actually use GPU compute, so it seems like wasted effort on their part just for a demo. 980ti is capable of some pretty impressive physics with GPU compute, and thinking deeper on it, if the objects on screen do require that much computation then I wonder if they've maybe gone overboard with the actual destruction. There's a reason games limit where the player can go, and there's a reason why constraints are put in place on what can be destroyed. Most of it isn't due to the physics capabilities of the processor. Most of it is due to the fact that the more that can be destroyed, and the more a person can do, the less interesting it becomes, and the more of a headache it is on the development side. I'd imagine testing this without any constraints would be a nightmare, with most problems having a hard time being replicated. Games like this will get tons of bug reports from the end user after launch.

Anyhow, getting back on topic, even with all those computations being offloaded, regardless of where, there are still tons of variables and objects which have to be accounted for in each frame render. That kind of thing is going to be more tasking than the actual physics computations, which were basically just an inertia and positioning computation based on what the devs said about it a while back. That additional time to render so many objects could have more time given to it by offloading to cloud instead of using GPU compute, basically freeing up resources.

Hard to imagine it's freeing up approximately 66% of the GPU though. That seems excessive, and no one's internet would be capable of handling that much data, so who knows. Xbox hardware still has to draw whatever the server sends back. That's going to be the bottleneck IMO.

[Angeljuice]

"Crackdown 3 is probably Microsoft most important title to release because it has so much to prove on a technology level."

It's all too late to be important at all. The cloud processing claim was there to convince people to choose XB1 over PS4, it's been so long in the making that it is now just a case of saving face.

Will Crackdown launch before Scorpio? If not it will barely make a mark at all (on the consciousness of non X1 gamers).

[SethBrundlefly]

I used the cloud once. Back in 1996. It was called "Hotmail".

[KingKionic]

"During the panel, a video was showcased comparing physics running on an azure cluster (you can see it in the picture below, on the left. Unfortunately filming was not permitted) and physics running on a local machine. Incidentally, the local machine is not an Xbox One, but a pretty high-end PC equipped with a GTX 980 TI, a powerful processor and lots of memory."

So hope Thu puts to rest the nonsense that a 980ti could even handle the physics.

They needed multiple servers of compute to boost the physics on every area the players at.

Crackdown 3 represents a major shift for gaming!

It really could change everything.

This makes even physx seem barebones.

E3 is gonna be lit!

[2pacalypsenow]

Where does it say a 980 Ti can't handle the physics? It just says they were using 980Ti's to demo.

[ShottyatLaw]

I believe that 10fps "local machine" is just the 980ti rig, w/o cloud compute.

[KingKionic]

The local Machine is running at 10 fps it says.

I think thats proof enough if you read the article theres a picture.

[2pacalypsenow]

Is it a real time demo, or just something put together?

[ShottyatLaw]

I believe it is a video of their prior demo. This was for a gdc panel, so I'm not expecting to get much info.

[TheCommentator]

The 980ti drops to around 10fps in the demo, so do you qualify that as handling the physics?

[Sparta07]

Making stuff up?😉

[TheCommentator]

Making what stuff up? It's a direct quote from the article.

[JackBNimble]

Read the article like everyone else

[Unspoken]

Research the technology like everyone else. /s

[chrisx]

Ms has said this about the clouds for years now, but we aint seen nothing yet till date

[yarbie1000]

So many morons have no clue how many years it takes to build a game

[slavish0]

He is a self admitted troll

[chrisx]

So many morons believe wateva spits out of ms mouths and I can see that includes you and that's why things are this way with ms, slavish I can see your on my a$$ again as always keep the kisses coming

[2pacalypsenow]

MS has talked about the cloud making games perform better since 2013 almost 4 years and the cloud has done nothing to improve Framerates or resolution or anything other than online game servers, and now they are releasing a more powerful console. Do you really believe everything MS says? Seeing is believing.

[Muzikguy]

"So many morons" lol. I just LOVE when people talk sh!t but in the process talk about themselves. Can you not see how one would consider someone a moron for waiting this long to see proof of something MS has been claiming since the beginning of the generation? 😂

[Nitrowolf2]

Yes it takes years to make games, but they came out touting the technology, and 4 years in we only have 1 title? (Tf2) and even then the tech isnt as ground breaking.

If the tech wasnt ready they shouldnt have hype it up at the start. At this point its just a server rental system

Even with this, its not an xbox one showcasing it, its a pc

[Rude-ro]

Well, if it is not a cookie cutter franchise... it seems to take Microsoft over 6 years and counting

[Why o why]

[email protected] think you didn't quite understand why MS fed its fans this concept. ..It was to counter the perception regarding power. If the fact its almost 4 years doesn't even give you the slightest reason to question MS then what more can be said. Smoke was blown up a fanbases rear end and boy did they run with it.... definitely amusing.

[rainslacker]

And how many years after CD3 releases before we see it again. Assuming that CD3 delivers.

Luckily, CD3 doesn't have to sell well to prove the tech involved. Lots of creative types out there who can put this kind of stuff to good use if it works, but it's going to take time.

If it works, I predict it'll have some cursory implementation in other games like COD or what not, and maybe in 3-4 years it'll be coming out in games designed around making the tech a major part of the design. Hopefully for something more than just destructible environments....which, while cool, shouldn't be the only thing developers think of when making their games.

[Angeljuice]

But Microsoft put a BIG emphasis on cloud computing AT LAUNCH!!!

They said it would make the X1 4x more powerful in an attempt to dissuade people from buying a PS4. They didn't say "but you will have to wait years until we're ready to launch a new console before you can access it".

So did Microsoft not know how long it takes to build a game? Or were they being dishonest when they suggested it would be a factor in the lifetime of the X1?

X1 receives it's pre-birth promise on its deathbed, and the bots rejoice because it proves that not everything Microsoft says is a complete, downright lie, some of their statements are technically true (however dishonestly marketed).

[AngelicIceDiamond]

So right for months upon several months the cloud is no longer real because nobody seems to be talking about it according to little fanboys such as yourself dismissive the cloud compute was scrapped or no longer in use for whatever dumb reason. Its obvious Major Nelson, Shannon and even Phil aren't gonna speak about stuff even they're unclear of and simply leave the devs to do what they do, pressuring them will only lead to screw ups something MS absolutely can't afford at the moment. This is the very first cloud heavy game that MS been talking about for almost 4 years now obviously its a challenge since its taking this long.

MS is doing the right thing letting the devs again the DEVELOPERS speak about CD whenever they feel they're ready to do so. Either wayy the game and the azure cloud compute sound like they're coming along great but fanboys like you will make excuses and dismiss it anyway. What are you gonna say if the game is successful? "My favorite console can do it to" The hell outta here.

"So many morons believe wateva spits out of ms mouths and I can see that includes you and that's why things are this way with ms, slavish I can see your on my a$$ again as always keep the kisses coming"

So any type of news or updates MS releases are lies. I guess Scorpio is a lie according to you.

You're a pure bread retard kid....

[chrisx]

If I'm a lttle fanboy, that makes you a big fanboy right? The hell outta my mentions u be kissing ma a$$ all d time, keep following me from post to post, big fanboy

[Sparta07]

@ Angelic, bad day!? 🙄
Why the name calling?
You down play anything Sony. Pretty funny you on here complaining about what you do.
" Incidentally, the local machine is not an Xbox One, but a pretty high-end PC equipped with a GTX 980 TI, a powerful processor and lots of memory. "

It's not even running on Xboxone. Why are you so excited? We seen this before.

You guess get mad at the guy for stating facts.😂

[Muzikguy]

Pure bread? Lol. Insult backfire. It's "bred" 😂. This is a funny day....

[guyman]

I would like some of this pure bread please

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Stupid You're in every major XBOX post doing your usual fanboy thing and downplaying stupid ass. You keep saying stupid crap Imma get at you faster than lightning kiddo keep it up Im not going no where you keep finding your way in here I'll be sure to make you look stupid af believe that kid. I don't give a crap about you fanboys think I'm scared lol ok I'm shaking. How can I fanboy in articles that I'm interested in? If I was a fanboy I would be in EVERY major PS article spreading crap kid DO YOU SEE ME FANBOYING IN PS articles? exactly get a life. Pay attention of habits of a fanboy seeing how you clearly don't know. They praise their console at the same time trash others. Example you, since I see you in every Xbox article downplaying and thats fact.

@Sparta "You down play anything Sony." Oh do ?I Please show me an example of downplaying.

"It's not even running on Xboxone. Why are you so excited? We seen this before.

You guess get mad at the guy for stating facts." But...the game will ship on X1 will the cloud azure so your point is useless. Mad at nothing except the fanboys having no buisness being in here [lus you're a fanboy to you have no buissness being in here no way.

[SpaceRanger]

"...pure bread..."

Lmao!! Calling other people retards and can't even spell a four letter word? 😂

[Why o why]

Chill people... it's only video games..... way bigger and more important things in life to get vex over .

[pinkcrocodile75]

@chrisx - English Mother **** do you speak it?

On topic, I really want to educate people about this issue. Someone further up suggest cloud compute won't work as he works in a datacentre and know cloud. Where in fact he most probably works with VMware vSphere or Acropolis etc for virtualisation of systems and data storage.

Cloud compute is running on a different layer within Azure's Elastic Cloud Enironment.

The point I was going to make was that the local console spec's don't matter, as resources are dynamically assigned when required.

Does that make sense to you guys?

[trooper_]

Pure bread...?

That's...an interesting insult.

Lol.

[stuna1]

That's because it's the old bait and switch Microsoft is known for! Scorpio is going to show the power of the Cloud because the computations will be performed on Scorpio side because of the hardware. From there Microsoft is going to pass it off as something that's being performed sever side, because mark my words the Xbox S is not going to show gains anywhere near Scorpio's gains. Microsoft's response then is going to be the bandwidth that Scorpio has is the reasoning for this.

This is why it has never been shown using Xbox hardware. Why is that?

[Chris12]

Clueless. Completely clueless.

[stuna1]

@Chris12

Here's my reply LoL.

[TheCommentator]

You don't understand any of this, do you? The Cloud is offloaded, meaning it ISN'T PROCESSED BY THE CONSOLE AT ALL. Cloud processing doesn't care what it's enhancing, XB1 or Scorpio, and the processors to enhance either are the same BECAUSE IT'S ON THE SERVER. Besides, what you suggest MS is doing would be false advertising. Seriously, pretend the Cloud works? Lol. I guess the developers of Cloudgine are just going to lie for MS too, but seeing as how it's 3rd party middleware that could be run on a PS4 as well I fail to see the benefit of a 3rd party involving themselves with some "MS conspiracy.

If you want to talk about a bait and switch, talk about PS Now cancelling compliance with most of the electronics already purchased by consumers. That's a bait and switch.

[donthate]

A lot of doubters is about to eat crow soon. I can almost taste the salt that will flow. Most powerful console with most powerful cloud processing for games?

Epic monster!

[stuna1]

Not disagreeing with you, but do you not see the dilemma here? Where does this leave the Xbox 1,Xbox S hardware!? Microsoft said the Cloud as well as CD3 were Xbox 1 focused! But from the looks of things that's not the case at all!

[Sparta07]

Says the man to ate crow for the last 4yrs 😂

[NatFanBoyRestricted]

If this was Sony, it'll be 40 years till they come close to establishing something like this

[tyasia0]

Showing video of a closed test performed under perfect situations is not the same as the real world.

Plus it seems they didn't even show anything new. This seems to be the same video they showed two years ago judging by the fact the demo shows the same 980ti.

[Automatic79]

For those that keep mentioning that MS has not shown anything regarding cloud, stop living under a rock. So far All Forza games have cloud tech, titanfall used cloud tech, Gears of War used cloud tech, this year crackdown. MS continues to show more as the technology evolves. So please cut the nonsense out regarding not seeing cloud tech or MS been saying cloud tech for years.

[j15reed]

It's MS you gotta expect the hate..

[2pacalypsenow]

http://gamingbolt.com/xbox-...

Still looking for those features and performance gains provided by servers...

[Sparta07]

" Incidentally, the local machine is not an Xbox One, but a pretty high-end PC equipped with a GTX 980 TI, a powerful processor and lots of memory."

What was that again!? 😂
This is nothing wrong. Is not even running on Xbox.

[jay2]

i'll be getting it on pc because i've got a lot better HW than the one on here and want the best experance pleased its still coming

[2pacalypsenow]

Ahh the Cloud is back

[Vasto]

Microsoft is the most innovative of the big 3.

Hololens / Mixed Reality ( Instead of going VR like everybody else they are going different )

Cloud Computing ( Crackdown is proving its real. )

Kinect was the most innovative motion control which again they went different from Nintendo / Sony.

Gamepass ( Phil wants this service to grow like Netflix ) looks awesome

Emulated Backwards compatibility that works awesome

Nintendo would be #2

Sony #3

Years from now when Microsoft has perfected what its doing people are going to see it.

[Ristul]

Hahahahahahahhahahahaha...

[RegorL]

innovative = taking someone else concept, making it more complicated to the point of it no longer working?

PSVR -> Halolens
Client+Dedicated server computing (cheating to handle latency)->Cloud computing (claims non cheating..?)
PS eye -> Kinect
EA Access -> Gamepass (just wait for it to break down)
Emulated Backwards compatibility have been done by hackers for years...

[XanderZane]

@RegorL
LMAO!!! What?!?!? Let us know when you've come back from Wonderland.

[Razzer]

LOL

[Injusticewarrior]

Cloud computing is the future and MS knows this....
This is good for all gamers.

Ps.
PS4 owner, never owned an xbox console.

[Sparta07]

Yes the future.
Not know. 😬

[ItMatters]

holiday 2017's going to come at you fast troll.

[rainslacker]

I play games in the present.

Also appreciate gaming from the past.

I'm open to the future, but don't consider something the future before seeing appreciable results and how the market reacts to it. Gaming for all it's potential from technologies from every concievable technology sector, still lives and dies by the customers desire for something. Publishers or devs can want something all they want, for whatever reason, but if they can't make a product that the consumers want, then there is no future for it.

If we really look at what is popular though, then we all know that mobile is the future, because it makes up the most revenue in the gaming industry. Yet we know that it's not the only thing that's there, nor did it supplant traditional gaming in any way.

Cloud computing has it's limits, and things with limits are held back by those limits until they're overcome. Problem with cloud, is it requires online, and a limit of removing potential customers is not any kind of stable future.

It can be part of the future, and have a sizable place in said future, but that doesn't make it the end all be all of what is to come.

[vega275]

Bu Bu Bu But Microsoft was lying about the cloud that's why they stop talking about

[MRMagoo123]

all they did was show the same demo again in the same closed environment, I fail to see your point. If the cloud lived up to the very high expectations you guys had, why even make the Scorpio at all ? let the cloud do the talking right ..... ? no I'm sure the cloud will change gaming forever 😂 it's been great so far with its doing nothing at all.

[Sparta07]

My lord you're delusional.
This wasn't even on an Xbox.
They wasn't allowed to take a video or picture. Hmmmm... wonder why. 🤔

[trooper_]

They haven't shown anything new, lol.

You guys keep harping over this 'cliud' and its the same old song and dance. 😂

[ShwaaMan]

I'd bet money MS is prepping Crackdpwn 3 as a Scorpio launch title and a technical showcase. Time will tell, only a few months until E3...

[IamTylerDurden1]

What other games are implementing this technology in such a significant way? Were the advantages it's giving worth the trouble it took to get there? CD3 has reportedly been having development issues and we haven't seen anything in a long time. I enjoyed the first CD though.

[Einhander1971]

Not this again Microsoft have been going on about cloud computing since xbone was released. And
Infinitely more power than ps4.

[rynodigital]

As a massive fan of the series, I worry that this game will just be one glorified tech-demo of what the cloud can do. Destructible environments are great, but if the gameplay and gunplay is bland then who really cares about a wall falling down accurately?

[Phill-Spencer]

At least then it will be a decent tech demo , IF it works. the crackdown games are mediocre at best.

[franwex]

This is the game that supposedly demonstrates xboxone's true potential.

[PhoenixUp]

How about showing off the single player mode for people who don't have internet connection but want to enjoy this game

[Psychotica]

Yeah right now I think white cloud has more potential..

[ItMatters]

Scorpio will increase the resolution on the game not the physics, it's handled by cloud compute. The game won't look as good on Xbox one S but the physics and destruction will be the same. It seems you Sony fanboys are always confused, you guys should get that checked out by a doctor.

[Ron_Danger]

Sony fanboy here just wondering if you can post a link regarding the information you just posted.

[ItMatters]

https://m.youtube.com/watch...
We know PC has better resolution and graphics than the Xbox one s.
We know that no high-end PC can run the destruction without the cloud servers.
Explosions in massive city still exist on Xbox one s, they just don't look as pretty as a Scorpio or high-end PC.
Watch the video it's very informative.

[Fishy Fingers]

Be good to see a video of the presentation.

[XXanderXX]

Awesome

[Godmars290]

And can only ask: why is Crackdown 3 the only major title that's using cloud distribution to this degree? Why has something that's suppose to make it easier to make games only been used to make one game in all this time?

[ItMatters]

Crackdown 3 is a pretty big risk with potential huge reward. It is a proof of concept, if it works other games and other developers and other publishers will jump on board.

[Godmars290]

Cloud distribution was suppose to be an XB1 cornerstone. Yet its only been used to minor extent for a Forza entry and something else at least by mention. And they haven't mentioned using it for anything else while at the same time expecting/wanting 3rd parties to use it.

You're not wrong that CD3 is a proof of concept, but the game itself, as a third entry, is hardly a risk. People into open area destruction titles, the Merc series, Red Faction or Just Cause, will be into it. But that's about it.

[rainslacker]

If it worked, I doubt other publishers or devs would be waiting for CD3 to release to realize the proof of concept. If MS hasn't been pushing for other devs to get on board already, then after CD3, you'll have years to wait before we see anything else.

CD3 is an ambitious project by MS, but a risk it is not. No more than any other established IP at least. This game is a test bed to make a case for why it's product is worth others paying attention to, and hopefully stimulate devs to use the tech for something.

So, CD3 is a marketing tool. A good one which can show some benefit for the gamer themselves, as opposed to say the Samaritan demo from Epic which was just pretty to watch. If MS makes it so gamers want the tech more, then publishers will look into it.

But it doesn't take 4 years for other devs and publishers to get on board with tech which makes their games better at a relatively menial cost, and should make development easier as it frees up system resources for other things, which means less time having to optimize, which means less money to make.

So on and so forth.

So, unless there are other devs lined up to announce their cloud projects this year, it means MS has yet to really sell it's product to the developers themselves. If that's the case, one has to ask, why aren't the developers on board yet?

Could it be that this is something that MS wants to be the future, and is pushing it as that, but others don't actually see it or feel the same? It's happened with other MS products. Who's to say it won't happen here.

Sure, I guess it makes MS innovative, but innovation means nothing without implementation or adoption. Right now, there is really no way to say where it will go, and the whole tech could flop big time. The fervor of MS fan boys does not a successful product make, because the fan boys aren't making the games, and if they are the only ones buying the games, then there aren't enough of them to make them a commercial success.

Never assume something will happen just because you're excited for it. That's not how things work in the real world.

[Liqu1d]

Assuming it works as intended, it's probably not as easy to implement as they want.

[Godmars290]

How isn't CD3 itself not going to work? 4 player online coop might be an issue but since its been done before, with titles like Red Faction, the only concern is that MS is aiming for large areas. Also think that enemy AI has always been piss poor in the series directly.

The only thing, I believe, cloud distribution is suppose to add is special effects during multiplayer. Creates and tracks more debris than will be in single player game mode.

Honestly, given that we're only taking about one aspect of the game, the wait for it doesn't seem justified. Especially when considering that cloud distribution is suppose to make making games easier if not by default quicker.

[ItMatters]

@godmars some added debris ? Lol cloud compute makes entire building get destroyed and cascade into other buildings, in turn damaging or knocking them down also possible. You don't know what you're talking about at all. The amount of downplaying a game gets is directly related to how bad that game scares the fanboys on the other side.

[gedden7]

But then if someone has crappy internet or servers go down... What do you have??? Stupid developing practices.

[ItMatters]

You need less then 10 MB per second internet speed. If you don't have that, too damn bad.

[guyman]

"If you dont have that, too damn bad"

The very fact that you need an internet connection to fully experience a game that has a strong focus on an offline campaign is poor practice if you ask me. Having a console, you should be able to plug and play. It's much like quantum Break - an entirely single player offline game - requiring internet to download episodes. It's not what console gaming is about

[Cussing]

I want it to work. But I'm extremely skeptical.
*cough* DX12.

[Liqu1d]

Did MS ever hype DX12 up though? I thought it was just extreme Xbox fans like MisterX who did that.

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

All the buildings will fall down..great...but what else is there to the game?....

[guyman]

It seems like this is all Microsoft is promoting for crackdown... does it have compelling characters? A great and lively open world? A great story? Fun gameplay?

Until I see this proof I'm not sold on the so called cloud capabilities at all

[ItMatters]

So you never played Crackdown I see.

[Destiny1080]

unless things have changed this is what it will look like

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[frostypants]

Is it 2014 again?

[Fist4achin]

Impressive, but bigger isnt always better. i mean the game world that is,... uh yeah.

[utosser]

the physics of the destruction looks very good
but as its a cloud base its going to fail big-time.
if the ps3 can do this type of destruction which it can do very well the best on a game called red faction
why is it then that the xbox one wont be able to handle it.
as its a lot more powerful.

[SynestheticRoar]

I cloud going to make it rain. lol.

[InTheZoneAC]

with horizon and zelda out, crackdown might as well cancel, that game is going to feel like tech demo from 8 years ago.

[NecoTehSergal]

I don't trust what they're trying to imply with 'images' and no statistics behind it... LOCAL MACHINE vs Microsoft Azure? Oh fuck off. Like, it's the same shit we see with Commercial products of 'BLAND DEODERANT' vs 'Our sexy product' and they deliberately try to make every rival product look like shit in comparison to them, twist it to make only their product look good. 'This vs Local Machine?' LOCAL MACHINE? The fuck does that even entail, Eh?

It's why I got tired of seeing Cleaning commercials where it shows people act incompetent with handling simple fucking tasks like opening pickle jars or that they use Swiffer vs a Wet Mop from the 1950's and go "DON'T YOU HATE WHEN THIS HAPPENS?! BUY SWIFFER!"

There's just something off about Microsofts' pushing of 'Cloud', especially since they got quiet for so long and it's been mostly dead...

[zivtheawesome]

the fact that it's a 980ti means nothing as the main issue of the game is the CPU load. they could have used a super weak cpu for the demonstartion.

[BIGBOSS08]

The destructible world is nice but why does crackdown 3 look like a ps2 game or early 360/ps3 game?

[Platformgamer]

Ok, you can destroy pretty everything... that's it?

[Lily5Fry]

my co-worker's sister makes $65 hourly on thecomputer. She has been without work for 9 months but last month her payment was$14458 just working on the computer for a few hours.

look at this site.... www.OnlineCash50.Com

[Razzer]

Ok.....hopefully the game is fun to play. Cloud tech isn't going to make a shit game good.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

Wow talk about damage control. I guess after Sony releases exclusive games like Yakuza 0, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn and Nier Automata while Nintendo releases the beast that is Zelda Breath of the Wild, Phil has to hype his fans up with more cloud talk. I love my Xbone and Gears 4, Quantum Break, Ryse etc, but this guy is sounds nervous. I would be too. I'm sure within the last two months they have lost loyal fans due to their lack of games. How anyone could own just an Xbone when there is also PS4 and now Switch is beyond me. Unless you're limited financially, otherwise why wouldn't one want access to all of the best games possible? On a side note, looking forward to Crackdown, hopefully they can deliver on what they promise. I have a feeling it's destined to be a Scorpio title. The Xbone version will be gimped.

[deerain]

You know, if they get this working it would be a great way to justify a subscription hike :)

[merciless]

So what happens when you can't play it online and access the cloud?

Digital foundry is about to have a field day!!!!!

[psuedo]

The only game that will utilize the cloud, and even so when the service goes down (trust they will make sure it does) the game wont play or not normally.

[opinionated]

I can't wait, I hope it works like it's supposed to. The first crackdown was great.

[WharenPeace]

lol, Microsoft needs to stop with their cloud nonsense. No one is buying it anymore. Just deliver on the games, and stop trying to pull the wool over your users eyes.