gaston

gaston

Every game is better in vr

Comments 555

Re: GTA Publisher Laying Off 5% of Workforce and Cancelling 'Several' Games

gaston

... lays off only 5% of its workforce not 10% like the others (to spin this in a positive direction). It could also mean that development on gta6 is mostly done and these 5% are not needed anymore.

Anyway one can only hope that all these people who lost their job land on their feet and maybe start something new and fresh.

Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase

gaston

@Flaming_Kaiser I kind of agree. In terms of game and story the best parts of for example origins were the more linear, constrained sections in my opinion. The huge world on the other hand is full of repetitive tasks and not particularly deep and elaborate stories.

But the world itself as a scenery and something to explore was amazing, including the NPCs which fill the world with some life (although there is little to no interaction with the NPCs). In that sense I still would say, that ubisoft creates fantastic worlds. The gameplay typically lacks.

Re: New PS5 Pro Leak Points to Significant Graphics Push from Sony

gaston

Assuming the ps5pro will feature DLSS like upscaling, that is certainly a nice addition and the people who want a higher resolution will be served.

At the same time a ps5pro will reduce the visible gap between a ps5 and a ps6. The times that performance increases by a factor 10 from generation to generation are over.

Between the ps4 and ps5 there was maybe a factor 7. But from ps4pro to ps5 only a factor 3-4. If the rumored ps5pro specs are correct, one cannot expect a much bigger jump than a factor 2-3 from ps5 to ps6. So, I am really interested to see what Sony plans for the ps6. A paradigm shift and go full raytracing ? (unlikely). Hardware acceleration for nanite i.e. micro triangles? A significant price "reduction" by making it a cloud streaming stick?

Already the ps5 feels to many people just like a more powerful ps4 and it at least significantly reduced loading times and added the extra haptics.

Anyway I am really curious to see what would make a ps6 a must buy. But, we will have to wait another 4-5 years for that.

Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase

gaston

@Flaming_Kaiser I did not have the impression that origins or far cry6 for example had been overpriced or had been lacking content without the dlcs, also people like valhalla, in my understanding, and that seems to be a massive game even without the dlcs. Anyway what I wanted to say, without knowing what exactly You get for the asked price it is hard to tell whether it is overpriced or not. If it is as good as e.g. fallen order but has twice the content, the price would be justified. On the other hand If it is skull and bones in space it might be difficult to find the value.

Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase

gaston

@J2theEzzo I agree quantity is absolutely not equivalent to quality. But If You have a good game and a good game that has twice the content, twice the price is justified, I would say.

At this point it is not clear whether outlaws is a good game, looks good and is polished and has a lot of content. Therefore it is not clear whether it is worth the asked price. But, it is also not automatic a rip off. It could well be a good game with a lot of content. And here everybody assumes it is a skull and bones in space with a star wars price tag add-on, without having played a single second.

Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase

gaston

@J2theEzzo I haven't played helldivers but I am pretty sure that it is less expensive to create a game like helldivers than a narrative heavy game, with more "architectured" worlds. This does not mean that helldivers has to be automatically less fun. You also can have a lot of fun with minesweeper. But, if You take games in similar style and quality, then twice the price is justified if the game is twice as big at the same level of quality.

I don't think anybody here has enough idea of what outlaws and its scope is to argue whether it is overpriced or not.

One can argue whether ubisoft games typically have enough "quality" to justify the price. I haven't played all ubisoft games but I for example really liked the worlds ubisoft has created for origins and unity and also watch dogs legion. There are many things You can criticize about these games, but a lot of work went into crafting these worlds. You may not be interested in that and rather want to have well designed controls and more challenging or skill based game play, You may dislike that the ubisoft open world games are mostly a bunch of "mini games" "randomly" scattered over the map, but there is certainly a lot of content with high quality graphic and sound design and (mostly) okay story bits.

I don't think many people have played outlaws yet, so I doubt that anybody here knows whether your "greed" argument is true, or whether outlaws is indeed a very vast game with high quality graphics and sound design. It is unlikely that the control scheme and gameplay will be very different wrt. their other games, so if You don't like those, You will likely not like outlaws.

Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase

gaston

I guess a price of 2 * 70 $ is justified if You get twice the "enjoyment" from this game plus season pass than from smaller "similar" games e.g. if the enjoyment from playing outlaws is similar to the enjoyment You would get from jedi fallen order and survivor combined.

Anyway pay according to what You think is a justified price. If You only try to make a bargain You will at some point only get bargain games.

Re: Ubisoft Forward Is the Next Summer Gaming Event to Mark on Your Calendar

gaston

I guess I am alone with my opinion, but I think that ubisoft created some incredible worlds. I would like to see some of their old games brought to new live in VR. It is a shame that they distanced themselves from VR after the nexus launch. Anyway I'd love to revisit Paris (unity) and Egypt (origins) in VR. I also liked Yara quite a bit. Anyway that is what I would be most excited about ... unfortunately it will not happen ....

Re: New PlayStation CEO Hiroki Totoki Starts Temporary Role Today

gaston

@BeerIsAwesome studios are closed if they do not provide a compelling reason why they still should be funded. The name of the studio means nothing it is the team plus an idea. There is no guarantee for a successful sequel, in particular not because people are moving around frequently.

Re: Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade

gaston

The same could have been said about the ps4 pro but people favored a different narrative. Games looked fine on a ps4, but looked better on a ps4pro. Ultimately the games played the same and the differences where understated by people without a pro and overstated by people who had one. Anyway if there was enough untapped performance people would not boost about their master race pc, if higher resolution would not be relevant people would not count pixels and complain about blurry visuals, count blades of grass, marvel about slightly more realistic reflections because of more raytracing. Anyway I have the impression that the case is pretty much as strong as the case for a ps4pro was. But somehow people have decided to follow MS' narrative that there is no need for a mid gen refresh. In the end some people will want this extra bit of power and most people won't care similar to the ps4 refresh. Though the economic situation is different, so I guess less people will give in.

Anyway choice is good, and the mid gen refresh worked out for the ps4, so it will for the ps5. And since now more and more devs lean towards ps5 versions only, the games will still be crafted for essentially two systems.

Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Is Up to Three Times Faster Than PS5 as Specs Surface

gaston

I have a hard time to believe that a ps5 pro is 3 times more powerful than a ps5. I could believe that a ps5 pro has ~30 TF but the extra 20 TF are presumably special lower precision flops only useful for AI. I could believe that a ps5 pro has dlss like upscaling and maybe is 50% more powerful than a ps5. But I would be really surprised if it is 3 times more powerful. I don't see any technology that exists right now that would allow this if the power budget is ~200 watts.

Re: Nobody Wants to Die Looks Too Good to Be True on PS5

gaston

When I just saw the title image, I was not interested. After watching the trailer and knowing what it is about, now I am curious and looking forward to some gameplay reveal captured on ps5.

And yes a bladerunner-esque world in VR would obviously be awesome. I wonder how long we have to wait until enough VR enthusiasts invaded all studios and studios add VR modes against all odds ....

Re: Video: One Year Later, Is PSVR2 Doing Enough?

gaston

Did anybody expect that psvr2 will be positioned as something that will sell 100M and not as something that will sell 5M with luck 10M ?

VR is still a niche, will stay a niche for some time and will never reach everybody. So, to expect as many VR titles as flat titles does not seem to be realistic. psvr2 got 2 first party titles at the same time there was spiderman and the burning shore dlc on the flat side. I don't really understand what people expect.
No other headset got so many big titles during the first year even their lifespans.

Sure it would be nice if there was a new astro bot and an uncharted or last of us vr adaptation, and it is also puzzling why not all the remasters did not get a VR mode at the same time. But with respect to the expected market share, one can presumably not expect much more. Does meta do so much better in comparison with its 20M headsets sold ?

Re: Poll: What Do You Think of PSVR2, One Year Later?

gaston

playstation has demonstrated with gt7, re village, re 4, call of the mountain, NMS what ps5+psvr2 can do. And together with all the smaller titles, I would call this a solid first year for psvr2 titles.

Since playstation does not talk, it is now to be seen what will come next.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 516

gaston

I finished vertigo 2, which I really enjoyed overall. It is not half life alyx, and You see its budget. It has stronger and weaker sections, but a lot of variety and many ideas.

Not finding any psvr2 games at the moment I'd fancy, I started plague tale requiem, which I got through ps+. What a beautiful game ! So far, I really enjoy the story, the twists and turns. I am not fully on board with the button-prompt controlling scheme, though.

Obviously, it would be very cool if the beautiful world could be experienced in VR, maybe even with the dualsense on the couch in third person? One day we will be getting there and VR headsets will be just like higher resolution screens or streaming accessories, and motion controls like steering wheels for car games.

Re: Sony May Have Made the Right Call Not Copying Xbox Game Pass with PS Plus

gaston

@Kienda I am not sure how important owning a game really is.

But certainly a subscription service removes freedom. As you mentioned you only get a certain selection not necessarily what You want (according to comments on pushsquare, most people hate every single game that is dropped on ps+ essential), additionally You often only have a time window in which the title is available. So you may feel pressured. Then, it is either all or nothing. You cannot stretch out games over a large period and do something else with the saved money.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 515

gaston

@Zuljaras For me, it is absolutely "yes". However psvr2 is expensive, and the game catalogue is still relatively small. I would not play Re village, re4 and GT7 on the flat screen. Non of these games would interest me enough. But in VR, they are amazing. And I feel the same for many smaller titles. PSVR2 is by no means perfect, but good enough to allow for VR titles which look nearly as good in VR as on the flat screen. Though, at the moment very few titles really exploit the hardware, and nobody knows what the future will bring. Anyway If You have the chance, try VR (quest, pcvr, psvr1/2, ... ), if You enjoy the additional level of immersion then I would say that psvr2 would indeed be a worthy purchase.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 515

gaston

Still playing vertigo 2 on psvr2, sometimes really good, great ideas, sometimes a bit repetitive and not super well balanced. In the end it is what it is, a game developed by more or less a single person and not a triple A studio with 100s of employees. I am also on my second playthrough of cyberpunk 2077. Unfortunately I remember it still too well, which takes away a little bit of the fun. And having started this time as a corpo rather than a street kit and a male rather than a female V, did not change enough. A rarely play games more than once, for this particular reason. So, no a real surprise. In the end I could hop directly into phantom liberty which I haven't played yet. Also flat games appeal less and less to me. I am pretty sure I would enjoy it more if there was a VR mode. Hopefully there is one in the sequel.

Re: Rumour: A New PlayStation Handheld Console Reportedly in the Works

gaston

Given the success of the switch and the portal, it is quite plausible that sony is working on a portable console which is at least ps4 compatible.
Though, I have a hard time to imagine, given how sony designed its firmware in the past, that something with less than the computing power of a ps5, could be ps5 compatible, and I do not see a portable device to reach 10TF anytime soon.

Re: Poll: How Would You Rate the Latest State of Play Showcase?

gaston

Very good pacing, very polished. Maybe no super big surprises and maybe not the largest variety. But overall a very good show.

For me the only (likely) disappointing bit is that so many of the shown games look like they would be awesome in VR or even tailored for VR ... but then do not get a VR mode. I also really would like to explore the world of Stellar Blade in VR. The world looks really interesting ... but that would be a very different game in VR, I guess.

Re: Talking Point: What Can We Expect in the Next State of Play Show?

gaston

@MFTWrecks In the best case there will be one psvr2 game of a similar scope as resident evil village / 4 remake or gran turismo 7. It is still a very small psvr2 player base. Thus, huge investments in psvr2 content is unlikely. If there is nothing in the current catalogue you fancy, the state of play will most likely not turn You over.

If you go quest2 You save a lot money, if You go quest3 You miss the psvr2 exclusives and will often get new multiplatform vr titles earlier. Most titles look better (often significantly better) on psvr2 ... after some patches. If You are more thrilled by the few quest exclusive titles than the few psvr2 exclusives, then a quest3 is probably a good choice. It is amazing what the developers manage to do with a mobile processor, but it is still low poly graphic with little visual effects. On the psvr2 side, first the processing power is multiple times larger and on top a significant amount of computing resources can be saved by the eye tracking assisted foveated rendering, which allows for titles like gt7, re4, re8 to look very close to the flat screen version, in some cases eventually even better. PSVR2 has this enormous potential ... it just needs to be exploited by developers.

Re: Spanish Sales of PS Portal Are Gaining on PSVR2

gaston

Feels like some kind of sport to see everywhere a sign that vr in particular psvr2 is dead. Maybe the portal just sells faster because it is cheaper? Or maybe it is just easier to understand what a portal does and more difficult to understand whether one likes VR or not without trying ? Also the portal does not require special versions of games to profit from a portal, so game catalogues may matter as well? Anyway, I don;t think sales comparisons between two very different devices make any sense.

Re: Publishing Exec Claims 'There Are Too Many Games'

gaston

Too many games and at the same time not enough (given last year's narrative ps has no games).

But I can understand that it is difficult to come up with some very new take on something and to spotlight titles among all the new high profile titles and the excellent old titles, which still look and play great and sometimes even better.

Re: Cyperpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Boasts Impressive Attach Rate, Deemed Commercial Hit

gaston

"Did you pick up Phantom Liberty, and if so, what did you think?" I really liked the ps5 version of the base game which I got for cheap after the disastrous launch, and now I got the dlc, and I thought how great this would be on psvr2.

It is such a pity that not enough people at cdpr think alike. I don't think a vr version would be a major commercial success given the relatively small player base, but I could imagine that an adaptation similar to what was done for Re4 would not be that expensive and could pay the bills. Maybe for the next version cyberpunk 2088 ?