KoA: Reckoning - Demo Available, Steam Preorders Open

[azarhal]

The 360 demo was a lot more stable for me, and didn't cut out sound - and obviously the postprocessing effects were active. Also, the interface worked much better with a controller.

So, for the console audience - I think the demo is better.

I guess you were lucky, because from the KoA official forum I had the impression that the consoles demo were the worst. The PS3 being the crappiest of all. Hard locking consoles, FPS problems, textures problems, sound issues, etc.

As for the interface, maybe you just play too many console games now DArt and forgot how to properly use a mouse and keyboard? Hell, I saw somebody comment that it actually worked better with a mouse and keyboard on the official KoA forums. Lots of people seems to have problem with controlling the camera with the controller too...

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Diablo/WoW/Trine/Torchlight/Fable/Sacred

Uh. I would consider Trine rather as a "puzzle game" than any hack 'n' slay RPG.

Than any RPG at all.

Although I must say that I have only played the demo of Trine 1.

 

[Moriendor]

Uh. I would consider Trine rather as a "puzzle game" than any hack 'n' slay RPG.

Than any RPG at all.

Although I must say that I have only played the demo of Trine 1.

When I mentioned Trine, I had in mind the visual theme of the games, not the gameplay.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Ah, okay.

 

[DArtagnan]

I guess you were lucky, because from the KoA official forum I had the impression that the consoles demo were the worst. The PS3 being the crappiest of all. Hard locking consoles, FPS problems, textures problems, sound issues, etc.

If I'd been lucky, the PC version would have been the best one.

PS3 almost always gets the short end of the stick for simultaneous multi-platform games. It's just par for the course. By the way, I played all 3 versions - and PS3 is definitely very buggy - but it controls better and looks better than the PC version.

It's pretty clear from the Xbox 360 version that it's been the primary development platform. At least, I can't see it any other way. Maybe some source will prove differently.

As for the interface, maybe you just play too many console games now DArt and forgot how to properly use a mouse and keyboard? Hell, I saw somebody comment that it actually worked better with a mouse and keyboard on the official KoA forums. Lots of people seems to have problem with controlling the camera with the controller too…

You saw ONE person who felt that way? Wow!

If you really want to believe the PC interface is the best one, then that's your choice. I don't think you'll find too many to agree with you - though.

 

[sakichop]

I agree with him and im not the person he saw. So that makes 3 people.

 

[JDR13]

Which interface is most preferable is entirely subjective. I can understand why some people would prefer using mouse and keyboard, even if it requires more work.

 

[sakichop]

I don't mind controllers in games where i don't control the camera. For example sports games. Controlling the camera with right analog stick just feels awkward. I,ve just been gaming on pc so long k&m are like an extension of me.

Obviously it varies from person to person.

 

[DArtagnan]

There's nothing subjective about what the game was designed for. It can be a hard thing to establish in some cases, but in this game - it's INCREDIBLY obvious that the interface was designed for consoles first - and the PC port second.

If you can't see that, then there's little hope for you.

As for what you personally prefer, now THAT is subjective.

I'm talking about what kind of experience the demo is giving, and since it's clearly a console game at heart - the PC demo suffers. Unless, of course, you prefer ports over dedicated PC games.

 

[sakichop]

I don't think anyone would argue that the game was made for consoles first. At least I wouldn't.

But really most games are made for consoles first. Even witcher 2 had obvious console influences in the controls and ui. Despite being a pc exclusive at launch.

 

[JDR13]

What type of UI a game is designed for and what someone prefers are two entirely different things.

I feel sorry for anyone who can't comprehend something that simple.

 

[Maylander]

Finally tried the demo, and it really is Div 2 meets Fable, though it's leaning towards the latter. I was expecting a lot more Elder Scrolls in it, due to Ken Rolston's involvement. Ah well, it could still be enjoyable I suppose.

It seems to have a severe case of consolitis, so it's not going to be a top priority game for me. I'll play it when I have the time.

By the way, I still don't understand why it's impossible to make a different interface for different platforms. It's clearly a bit of work, but it could make such a massive difference. We've seen many examples by now where the PC interface is extremely slow compared to what it could be.

 

[darklord]

By the way, I played all 3 versions - and PS3 is definitely very buggy - but it controls better and looks better than the PC version.

The PS3 version looks better? This surprises me, PC's are capable of so much more.

Daniel.

 

[DArtagnan]

I don't think anyone would argue that the game was made for consoles first. At least I wouldn't.

But really most games are made for consoles first. Even witcher 2 had obvious console influences in the controls and ui. Despite being a pc exclusive at launch.

It doesn't really mean that it's a better experience playing a PC game with a console oriented interface. I think we can all agree that playing a PC game with an interface designed for PC is ideal for PC gamers.

My point is that the PC version isn't the best demo version, regardless of anyone still preferring PC controls in an obvious port.

Basically, I'm saying that they should have either not released a PC demo - or worked on a better version of it.

I'm not sure why anyone would argue against that, but so be it.

 

[Icefire]

Did anyone else have problems with the camera? When I first launched the camera would move so fast and the world would "blur". I turned camera sensitivity to minimum but the world still "blurs" whenever I move. Very annoying. Is that intentional or simply a bug? If intentional I will pass as I shut off the demo. Unplayable for me like it is.

 

[DArtagnan]

The PS3 version looks better? This surprises me, PC's are capable of so much more.

Daniel.

It looks better on PS3 if you have an AMD/ATI card, certainly. Because the post-processing effects won't work. For Nvidia cards, it might be a different story.

However, the engine glitches (disappearing meshes and stuff) seem a lot more apparent when playing on a PC - for whatever reason. I hardly noticed them on the 360 version, anyway.

But I think the interface is very ugly with the tiny font and what not.

Again, it's clearly a console game at heart.

 

[redman5427]

Hey Dart, I played the PC demo with an Xbox controller. Does that count?
I actually liked the experience and this is coming from someone who is a mouse and keyboard purist. Feeling the controller shake and rattle during explsions and battle is almost enough to convince me to use it when the game comes out. I just don't like how support is handled for consoles. Seems they always lag behind the PC in terms of patches

By the way, they have announced 1st and second DLC's with the first one coming in March and according to the forum, it will expand the world and quests. Not just silly weapon packs.

 

[sakichop]

It doesn't really mean that it's a better experience playing a PC game with a console oriented interface. I think we can all agree that playing a PC game with an interface designed for PC is ideal for PC gamers.

Yes, we can agree on that. Unfortunately most games aren't made that way these days. I had several debates about the witcher 2 and skyrims ui because the were not optimized as much as they should have been for mouse and keyboard imo.

My point is that the PC version isn't the best demo version, regardless of anyone still preferring PC controls in an obvious port.

I've only played the pc demo so I can't comment on the others and yes I agreed it's an obvious port as most games are nowadays. (which I think is a bad thing.)

Basically, I'm saying that they should have either not released a PC demo - or worked on a better version of it.

They don't have a better version of the pc demo to release. I think what we saw is exactly what we are going to get when the full game ships as far as controls are concerned. If your talking technically, it was pre-release code and I think the will have the glitches fixed in the final code.

As far as not releasing a pc demo. I think they would have taken far more criticism from the pc community as a whole for not releasing a demo at all vs releasing the one that they did.

I'm not sure why anyone would argue against that, but so be it.

I don't think we are arguing at all. I agree 100%. Pc games should be 100% optimized for m&k controls. Not only that pc games should be taking advantage of the extra horsepower that pc's have.

Unfortunately we live in the world of cross platform games. As long as console games continue to out sell pc games we pc gamers will be stuck playing console ports with limited k&m functionality.

 

[Thrasher]

It doesn't really mean that it's a better experience playing a PC game with a console oriented interface. I think we can all agree that playing a PC game with an interface designed for PC is ideal for PC gamers.

You should be clearer. Controllers work with PCs, so it's an interface "designed" for PC (maybe as a second thought, though).

I think what you mean to say is a mouse and keyboard interface instead of a console oriented controller interface is ideal for PC gamers. PC gamers usually prefer a mouse keyboard interface, but I believe there are games designed around a controller interface that just won't play as well using a mouse and keyboard.

 

[booboo]

….
I think what you mean to say is a mouse and keyboard interface instead of a console oriented controller interface is ideal for PC gamers. PC gamers usually prefer a mouse keyboard interface, but I believe there are games designed around a controller interface that just won't play as well using a mouse and keyboard.

Pretty much every PC comes with a mouse and keyboard, its the standard interaction mode. You can't assume people will have a gamepad. And yet that's what many studios do - they take a console developed game and fiddle the interface until it kind of works on a PC and that's what mouse+keyboard users end up with. While there are certain types of games where a gamepad may be 'optimal', games that have been fine using mouse and keyboard (such as our beloved RPGs) suddenly all seem to require controllers to play 'properly'. For a relatively small investment of time and thought they could produce a better interface than a slap-dash jury-rigged controller-centric interface for mouse+keyboard. This bad interface match is very evident in selection based tasks (like menus/lists) where a mouse (being a pointing device ;-) just works better. Instead, its become a hassle in may new controller-centric PC games - overly sensitive and fiddly.