Watch_Dogs

[TheMightyEthan]

The director says PC on high settings is the same as next gen consoles.  Probably just marketing BS, because we already know it's running at 900p on PS4 (*Edit* - And 792p on Xbone), and even Ubisoft wouldn't make a PC port so bad it's limited to 900p.  Most likely the assets and such are identical, but PC will still be able to do higher resolutions, better antialiasing, etc.

Edited May 22, 2014 by TheMightyEthan

[TheFlyingGerbil]

As a non-PC gamer I'd not link resolution to graphics quality settings. so, e.g. someone saying, "I dropped the resolution so I could play it on high settings" would be how I imagine things. So it seems OK to say console = high PC settings even if the resolution is lower. also,it says there is an ultra setting for PC so you can have better quality graphics and at a higher resolution if your PC is up to it.

 

Having said all that and while I'm sure it will look lovely I do find it slightly disappointing still that "next" gen isn't 1080p as standard.

[TheMightyEthan]

I'm sure we'll get there.  We're still early days, before devs have really learned to take full advantage of every scrap of power.  Just look at how much better 2013's PS360 games look than 2006's did.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I'm sure things will improve - my only worry is, since the current consoles are so similar to PC architecture then they won't improve by too much as developers are not travelling in such uncharted waters as they were at the start of last gen.

[TheMightyEthan]

But they still can optimize for the hardware in a way that's just not possible on PC.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

The director says PC on high settings is the same as next gen consoles.  Probably just marketing BS, because we already know it's running at 900p on PS4 (*Edit* - And 792p on Xbone), and even Ubisoft wouldn't make a PC port so bad it's limited to 900p.  Most likely the assets and such are identical, but PC will still be able to do higher resolutions, better antialiasing, etc.

 

To your average person they likely will be effectively be the same.

[deanb]

http://imgur.com/a/iUCiV#1

 

Not my screenshots but stuff like the above is one of the things I quite like about Watch_Dogs so far. It really feels like an actual living world around you rather than a bunch of faceless NPCs walking around the streets on a pre-set path. There;s people chatting on park benches, taking pictures, walking by while chatting on thier phone, waiting for busses, having a party, listening to tunes etc.

 

It's quite fun to soak in the atmosphere.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, the world really does feel very alive.  Stuff like that picture, people talking on the phone and sounding like they're actually having a conversation, etc.  I've played ~8 hours and so far I've only heard a repeat NPC dialog once (not counting combat barks, but even those haven't gotten super repetitive yet).

[deanb]

I've heard a few duplicated audio-logs when you hack into phone conversations, but not much in way of general NPC or security types repeating conversations.

[FredEffinChopin]

The atmosphere is one of the only things I'm really appreciating. The little details of what people are doing are neat. I witnessed a few interesting things, including a freestlye battle and a sort of rooftop party, with two of its members slightly separated from the rest (down a staircase, but still outside with them), but occasionally shouting across to the others and laughing before going back to their private conversation. A lot of that goes to shit though, once you get into a car and 8/10 visible people decide that they immediately want to either cross or stand in the street aimlessly. The pedestrian behavior is just a bit bizarre once you're in a vehicle. I understand that most open world games have AI that are made to look casual as they interact with you in a special way compared to everyone else, but it's so painfully obvious in this game, to the point it's a distraction both for how much it kills the mood and for how annoying it makes the game to play at times.

 

To get back to the awesome in the atmosphere though: The map. Big, detailed, and gorgeous. 

 

I'm on the fence in general so far. I have some fun with things here and there, but certain elements are ruining the experience. The criminal convoys are driving me up the wall in particular... I think I'm gonna try to leave them alone for now until I have more abilities... Not that the ability tree looks especially promising or exciting so far. 

 

I can't shake this feeling that that this game is the uninspired child of Assassin's Creed and GTA. Even the shape of Aiden's stupid outfit reminds me of AC garb as I freerun through Chicago, and all 50 of the outfits available for purchase seem to be nearly identical so far. I don't know, it feels cheaply conceived, from the gameplay to the bland-as-fuck story and characters. Like an outline that a competent author handed off to some team to bring to life. 

 

Like I said, I'm on the fence. I'll like it for an hour, get stuck on a convoy for an hour and hate it, then watch a bit of cutscene and roll my eyes and shut it off. I have spent lots of time being entertained just by reading little details about strangers, but even that started to wear off. Anyway, here are my screens so far. 

[TheMightyEthan]

Hmm, the only time I've noticed pedestrians going nuts is when I'm driving down the sidewalk, but then that's kind of to be expected.

[deanb]

Actually yeah I've noticed that not all the pedestrian AI has 

"IF Car (heading towards me);

=Jump in opposite direction"

(p.s I can't code)

 

that most AI tends to have in open-world games. Which I guess is a bit different.

 

Looking through your photos. Man people really having a beef with the windows. Windows would either need to be actual windows, which means modelling the interior of every building, or act like mirrors and reflect everything which means plummeting the fps even lower. (Though I do agree it's a bit pants the baked in reflections being wrong is a bit odd.)

 

As for the hacker stuff, not sure how far you are in (I'm still on Act 1) but the impression I get is Aiden's the guy that's "in the field" and the actual hackers are off in some room somewhere with a dozen computer monitors around them. I'd always recommend UpLink if people want actual hacker-like game.

[TheMightyEthan]

As for the hacker stuff, not sure how far you are in (I'm still on Act 1) but the impression I get is Aiden's the guy that's "in the field" and the actual hackers are off in some room somewhere with a dozen computer monitors around them. I'd always recommend UpLink if people want actual hacker-like game.

Yeah, that's the impression I've got too. Aiden started out as a regular conman and has learned to use premade exploits created by other people, but doesn't do any real hacking.

[Strangelove]

 

Some of these problems are nitpicky and not very important, but some of it is ridiculous to think someone saw it and thought it was ok.

 

While it's cool that so much stuff breaks in the game, it looks really bad when stuff like fences and boxes completely disappear after running through them. Lots of games do this, but it's so obvious here that even I noticed it and I tend not to notice stuff like this.

The biggest clusterfuck is the way signs and telephone poles break. It looks awful. Its so bad it's almost good.

 

On another topic, has anyone brought up how lame the main character looks? It looks like something a really sad nerd thought would look cool(or a 1980s rapist). Trenchcoat, face bandana and cap.
I hope there's an unlockable fedora(trilby) somewhere in there for the fans.

Im ecstatic to see the inevitable 400lb white guy cosplay this shit.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Strangelove

[TCP]

Yeah he really does look like a sex offender. Some of those problems should be fixed with patches, maybe. Hopefully Ubi will do to Watch Dogs with Watch Dogs 2 what they did to Assassins Creed with AC2.

[TheMightyEthan]

 

 

And just for good measure:

 

[TheMightyEthan]

[deanb]

Yeah I understand most of the hackable items being networked, but the grenades make very little sense unless they're walking around with a block of C4 with a remote detonator in it stuffed down their pants.

 

Just going back to my very first post on this: The gun stuff is pretty much my most hated element at the moment. I'd love to be able to distract people, activate bombs, do the burst etc, and scare people off or what not, but instead there's been several times where you're pretty much forced in to a gun fight. Act 1:

I've just wrapped up the prison break and you've got to go around shooting the guys, there's only two bits that you can remotely hack to explode and such.

just feels out of place and like the devs could have put a bit more thought into it all.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, I agree, I wish there was more you could accomplish with the hacking.  Whoever on the previous page said it's just the equivalent of shooting a red barrel was pretty much right most of the time.

[TheMightyEthan]

 

Not sure why the first few seconds are so blocky, the rest is much better and the original video doesn't have anything like that.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I'm sure why. Because Youtube is absolute shit and more people need to realize this. The compression is terrible.

[TheMightyEthan]

But that doesn't explain why it's just the first few seconds.  If it were the whole thing I'd agree with you.

[TheMightyEthan]

[TheMightyEthan]

We need everybody's uPlay screennames for the app!  3 guesses what mine is.

[Chronixal]