Comments 1,690

Re: Divinity Dev's Comments on Generative AI Trigger a Total Social Media Sh*tstorm

MFTWrecks

If you don't think AI can be useful, or you think it's pure evil, or you think that it's not already deeply a part of many creative processes, you are a fool. It's here. It's being used whether you like it or not AND it can actually be very helpful, yes, even in creative enterprises.

It is, simply put, another tool in the toolbox for a vast number of creative industries and professional roles. Hell, its use is mandatory at many a software company.

Yes, it CAN be bad and dangerous, but it doesn't need to be nor is it so automatically. It can, and is, in fact a very powerful TOOL. (A knife cuts both ways, so they say.)

If anything, supremely early in the creative process IS where we should want it used, not later. We don't WANT it replacing full jobs or reaching production, surely. But if you think for one second there aren't artists the world over using it to help influence their creative ideation, you are literally a fool.

I say this as someone in software design who themselves is very hesitant about it. But even I know full well that it can be useful and is ever present whether I like it or not.

Anyone shrieking about its use does not understand it and/or doesn't work in a field where it has shown its usefulness.

Re: 'These Claims Are Not Accurate': Activision Denies Complete Call of Duty Rethink After Sluggish Black Ops 7 Sales

MFTWrecks

Here you go, Microsoft:

Reframe the entire suite to operate more like Fortnite in structure. Make Call of Duty a F2P platform.

Multiplayer as we know it, Zombies, and Warzone would operate as the main pillars/modes within that platform. Operate a singular, evolving store of cosmetics to generate the primary revenue stream alongside battle passes.

Produce co-op campaigns that would be purchased for, say, $20-30 a pop on whatever cadence makes sense development-wise. The campaigns would provide unique, mini battle passes with cosmetics and goodies to entice players to purchase them.

The key is that, once it's all a singular platform, they could finally just let the studios cook on whatever they are best at instead of having them all juggle between support and lead and whatever else. And they could let things like skins carry across weapons (again, like Fortnite), which would then carry forward for years instead of being thrown away every year or two.

Seasons could switch up map rotations and guns. Chapters could switch up thematic elements like timelines.

They could still establish seasons with unique mechanics for those that like that. Fortnite does it all the time.

They could also experiment with new modes here or there and really flesh out what it means to play CoD. (Yes, I'm still bitter DMZ died with barely any support.)

Clearly, there are cracks forming in the foundation of what CoD offers consumers. They should just ape what Fortnite doe. You can dislike Fortnite as a game, but its platform is pretty much rock solid, especially from a development perspective.

Re: Free-to-Play FPS Highguard Closes Out The Game Awards, Coming to PS5 on 26th January

MFTWrecks

@crossbit But that's the thing: it's only a dud in YOUR opinion. Not everything is made for everyone. That's life.

We are out here as a community just pissing on people's enjoyment for no good reason. This is a hobby that is meant , like any, to elicit joy and to let people have some fun. It's okay to not like everything everyone else likes. But to always be jumping into conversations just to ***** on something that isn't to your tastes is wild behavior that has, for some reason, been normalized.

Look, not everything they announced was to my tastes. So be it. I don't go to articles about those games just to say I think it's dumb or looks bad. Like, what is even the point? Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy.

Mega Man? Does nothing for me. Resident Evil? Doesn't register. Hell, the GOTY means ABSOLUTELY nothing to me because of the style of game it is. And that's okay! I don't need to go and tell everyone else that I think those games suck or try and argue about whether something looks good/fun/cool, as it's all subjective.

Why we, as a community, think it's totally normal behavior to try and tear down the things that don't match our tastes 100% is just... it's wild to me. It's sad. And it sucks for those of us that do like the stuff no one else seems to. It's so tiring to feel like we all have to defend our personal tastes at all turns. If ya don't like something, there is literally no need to "call it out." Just don't buy/play/engage with it. Silence also speaks volumes. I wish we'd all just let each other alone and stop picking apart the things that we may not personally be into.

It's like we've come so far as a medium and as a community, but after decades of being outsiders, we're cool kids now. Everyone plays games. Awesome. But now we don't have anyone bullying us for being videogame loving nerds so we have to turn inward and pick on each other. It's messed up.

And no. I don't know why this happened to hit me so hard as it did. It's not like this is the first time it's happened. I dunno... it just really sucks, I guess, and I'm tired of engaging with a community that seems to hate itself.

Re: Open World RPG Shooter No Law Announced for PS5

MFTWrecks

@tangyzesty Oh. Right. Because comparing two completely different games by different developers with different gameplay styles and different ambitions was crystal clear.

It looks cool as hell. Gives strong Cyberpunk vibes with fluid combat. If you don't think it looks cool, why even bother commenting?

Re: We'll Soon See Whether Heavy Rain Dev's Live Service Multiplayer Gamble Pays Off

MFTWrecks

@Sketti The point is developers NEED to try new things, otherwise the entire market stagnates. (As do creative minds.)

Like it or not, the answer to success is NOT "doing the same thing forever." Especially artistic endeavors. They must evolve and change to survive.

It's fine if the result is not to someone's liking, but hating the fact new things get made should excite us all. That's how the broader market pushes forward.

You want the old thing? Go enjoy the old thing. But plenty of people want to see new IPs, new gameplay, and new experiments by devs they enjoy. To me, that's far more exciting than COD 128462 or Assassin's Creed 3735.

The irony that Fortnite - the heavy hitter everyone is chasing - ITSELF was a brand new experiment by its developer should not be lost on anyone.

No one will make the game that becomes the next Fortnite by building the same old ***** that Fortnite already crushed. They will make it by trying something new. Period.

Re: The Much Maligned PS5 Shooter Marathon Returns for Another Playtest in December

MFTWrecks

I want this to be good so badly. I don't hold water for Bungie, I simply love the art direction and want it to be as fun to play as it is to look at.

At this point, I have little faith in it living up to anyone's expectations, but hopefully we can all be happily surprised by it. I'm just real worried with it not (afaik) incorporating any sort of meta progression, which I think helped make Arc Raiders the hit that it is.

Re: Horizon MMO Uses AI 'Extensively' in Development, Says NCSOFT

MFTWrecks

If you expect your software to be developed with 0 AI usage nowadays, you don't understand the transformation that is happening/has arguably already happened throughout software development around the globe.

It's everywhere, people, whether you like it or not. Vote with your wallet, you are free to, but sooner rather than later software developed with 0 AI will be as rare as brand new NES carts.

If you don't like AI in your software, go grab yourself a rotary phone, a paper map, and get your pen and paper ready to be writing letters to your friends. It's everywhere, y'all. Simple as.

  • someone in software development at a company where its usage is literally mandatory

Re: Fortnite Introduces Sidekicks, Pet Pals That Join You Throughout the Game on PS5, PS4

MFTWrecks

These feel like the evolution of the animated pet backblings from years back. I'm willing to bet they will be annoying as hell in-match and most people will turn them off because they will inevitably give away your location or block your line of site/bullets at extremely inopportune times, making them a simple cash grab and battlepass filler and literally nothing more.

Kids will love them, they'll sell a ton, but the hardcore players will loathe them and Epic will give up on the concept in a few seasons.

Re: Talking Point: Is PS5 Really in Competition with TikTok?

MFTWrecks

This is the stupidest argument. Everything you do competes with everything else. It all competes with the limited, finite, unknown amount of time we have in life. Period.

What you choose to do at any moment has won against everything else you could have done. Period.

So very literally: yes. They compete. There is no argument.

Re: Halo Confirmed for PS5, Remake of First Game Out in 2026

MFTWrecks

Never in a million years would I only want the campaign of a shooter known for its multiplayer.

And no, I'm not a Halo hater. My first Xbox was the translucent green Halo edition and I played every Halo game up until Infinite because I don't own a Series X, but I did try the multiplayer on PC.

I just don't like being asked to pay, again, for less of the content I enjoy.

Re: This Is Why Xbox Is Bringing All of Its Games to PS5 Now

MFTWrecks

Anyone else think a business adjustment such as tweaking GP as a service to more closely resemble PS+, where first party titles don't appear for months, would have been smarter than what they did?

They basically spent billions only to turn around and immediately undercut their ability to output content that can help them recoup that investment. It's like they shot themselves in the foot twice.

Now, they remain on the hook for software that excites consumers, but have fewer titles to offer AND they added a bunch of sunk costs to their bottom line.

Meanwhile, Sony is improving margins and selling gangbusters on their software and are able to continue to invest in their subscription platform.

Xbox should have simply pushed 1st party releases back from day one release on GP to entice the biggest fans to spend money. Maybe give them a 10% discount on all purchases or something as a benefit to subscribers. That would help soften the blow of having to buy more, but the hardcore would pay and margins would have improved. I feel pissing off hardcore GP subs and potentially sacrificing subs after what is essentially a price hike would act more like what streaming services suffer through: a few lost subs, but most just continue on.

They could have always then just kept tweaking GP in ways that enticed more purchases and retained their software teams - again, the personnel responsible for creating product in which to buy in the first place.

What's sad is, I don't think this is a hindsight 20/20 situation. I feel like it was the clear path forward. Unfortunately, Microsoft, like most software companies, is extremely poorly run and continues to simply fail upward.

Re: For a Fleeting Moment, It Felt Like PS2 Gangster Game Scarface Could Be Getting a Re-Release

MFTWrecks

@Mikeg1965 It was weird, but GTA had appeared on Nintendo consoles before, it was just that they were all Gameboy/handheld versions of the titles iirc.

I've always kicked myself that I never finished Scarface. I got it on Wii but then shortly after getting it, I got a PS3 and pretty much abandoned my Wii and ended up selling it without ever finishing Scarface (among many other non-classic Wii titles). Big whiff on my part!

Re: PS Portal Still a Huge Success as Sony Reportedly Preps PS6 Handheld

MFTWrecks

I was in the market for one after my buddy told me how much he liked his, but I slapped a new Bluetooth controller onto the iPad mini we already had in the house and saved myself a bunch of money. Wasn't willing to go all in for a streaming-only device when I don't use it all that frequently as a function.

Excited for the 6's rumored handheld, though!

Re: Heavy Rain Dev Announces Competitive Multiplayer Game Spellcasters Chronicles

MFTWrecks

It's a 3v3 MOBA. I don't understand why companies shy away from descriptors that succinctly describe what players should expect.

Battleborn did the same thing by inviting comparison to Overwatch, which it did not resemble in gameplay nearly as much as people claimed, and it muddied the entire discussion about what it actually was, which certainly helped kill the game by not attracting the players it should have (MOBA fans).

Re: Control Dev Remedy Issues 'Profit Warning' Over Live Service Spin-Off FBC: Firebreak

MFTWrecks

While playing Control (a personal favorite of this generation), I literally couldn't stop thinking about how fun it would be to play with others. It subtly captured the feeling of having legitimate super powers in a game world that reacted to you in fun, dynamic ways (combat-wise). I wanted to experience that with buddies! I wanted an X-Men Danger Room-like setup or something.

I was stoked when this was announced, but why they made it a boring FPS with rote L4D-like gameplay without really doing anything to innovate or excite is beyond me. The general "weirdness" was never going to carry the game and that's literally all it had to set itself apart. The whole release and "vision" of it makes no sense.

Just a huge fumble all around.