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scalliano

Battlefield 2042 (and other botched launches)

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First up, some housekeeping:

 

@Rudolph Turns out you were right, and I was way off the mark. Not ashamed to eat crow publicly. Only solace I can take is that I didn't spend money on this farce. NEVER trust trailers.

 

So anyway, as we know there is an alarming trend in hotly anticipated, big budget games launching in a broken or unfinished state that has admittedly been going on for quite a while now, but in the last few years it seems to have gone into overdrive to the point that we have had two in the same week.

 

Aside from the absolute meme that is GTA:TT:TDE (dat acronym tho) I've been keeping an eye on the BF2042 trainwreck unfolding and it's gut-wrenching to me that we are now at the point where AAA publishers are in a position where they can charge full whack for what is essentially a platform for extracting more moeny from the player than it is a game. And the game itself barely works - I've seen players get downed and when the respawn timer expires - nothing. They just lie there, waiting to be either finished off or revived until they decide to quit out. Hard crashes (on Xbox especially), nerfed physics and animations, bugs out the arse and even lacking such basic features as a scoreboard. Progression is intentionally slow and grindy, resulting in the much-touted Portal custom mode creator consisting of basically nothing but XP farms up until DICE pulled the plug on XP in custom matches. TL:DR, fans are NOT happy.

 

But this whole mess got me thinking...

 

When Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077 launched, they were rightly roasted for how broken they were. But ultimately, in my experience talking to casual players IRL, these weren't really titles that were on their radar. GTA, CoD and BF, though, these are real mainstream names that even non gamers are very familiar with. The CTA remasters are FUBAR, BF2042 seems like a half-finished cash-grab and the UK numbers for CoD Vanguard came out this week and they're down 40% from last week (the biggest single week dropoff for the entire series). With this in mind, I have to wonder: are we reaching a tipping point? Personally I'd like to think that we are, but then I look at the numbers for the sports games and I facepalm. I get that there are people out there who play FIFA or Madden and nothing else, but every year there are a litany of Reddit threads going through the myriad areas where the devs have cut corners.

 

Thing is: the sports titles are par for the course at this stage, and with all of the exclusive licensing deals in place, companies like EA and T2 know that they don't need to innovate. Ultimately, enthusiasts like the people who frequent boards like this one aren't the main bread and butter of these big studios anymore. My question is: with such high-profile faceplants outside of sports titles seemingly on the rise (hey, even Nintendo screwed up their N64 pass on Switch), will the casual market take notice?

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The big wigs at these game companies are so completely out of touch with how long it takes to make a game and test it to make sure things run smoothly. It feels like they either vastly underestimate how patient gamers and would rather wait another couple of months in order to smooth out bugs or they don't care at all and rush out their product no matter what just to make their investors happy.

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The other possibility with Battlefield and Call of Duty is that people are just sick of them.

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6 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

The other possibility with Battlefield and Call of Duty is that people are just sick of them.

We can only hope.

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49 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

The other possibility with Battlefield and Call of Duty is that people are just sick of them.

At this point, how many Call of Duty games cover World War II? This alone should be getting people to just want something else already.

 

I'm amazed people just swallow and play what's essentially the same game every year. At that point, Call of Duty is no better than all of the yearly sports games EA Sports and 2K Games churn out.

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In general: botched up releases are only happening because of:

 

1) We the consumers decide to buy those games in pre-order anyway, so basicly those developers and publishers already have our money so why releasing a complete product ?? As long as people are stupid enough to pay upfront especially to companies such as EA and ActiVision, then botched up releases remain the standard instead of an incidental occurrence.

 

2) There are no rules & regulations regarding software products on the consumer/business market(s), at least not if compared to other consumer products such as cars, fridges, washing machines, washing dryers, drills, mobile phones, tablets, laptop, etc, etc. For all the latter, there are tons of rules & regulations in which the product have to comply to in order to have it allowed on the consumer market but for software, those rules & regulations simply don't exist with botched releases as a result.

 

It really is an interaction between (1) en (2) and as long as both are allowed to roam free, then it will only become more and more . . .

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On 11/17/2021 at 9:58 PM, OniriA said:

A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad. 

 

You really think these companies give a shit if their game is good? 

 

I'm hoping this is their slow deaths to be frank. 

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A lot of these feeling could be solved if people would just realize that most games are shit. You can't be disappointed if you weren't expecting anything good in the first place.

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I've been asking myself the same lately. I don't remember AAA games being released in such a problematic state. 

 

What happened to valuable concepts like Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control? According to a game designer the problems are:

 

1- QA is not a well respected position, 

2- there's a lack of communication between QA Testers and Game Developers,

 

Source: About — QA in the Game Industry

 

Just some food for thought. I, too, would like to know what's happening with some videogame releases lately. 

 

 

 

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39 minutes ago, CrocMagnum said:

I've been asking myself the same lately. I don't remember AAA games being released in such a problematic state. 

 

What happened to valuable concepts like Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control? According to a game designer the problems are:

 

1- QA is not a well respected position, 

2- there's a lack of communication between QA Testers and Game Developers,

 

Source: About — QA in the Game Industry

 

Just some food for thought. I, too, would like to know what's happening with some videogame releases lately.

I would add a third option: non-existent and/or "economised". I don't think that QA troubles are the sole reason for botched releases, I do think that people should look into the direction of (big) publishers such as EA and ActiVision. They are ones who are funding the project and at a certain point, they want to have a return of their "investment". The rest is known history and if you are a small developer, you simply don't have the means to do anything about it . . .

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A few months ago I got fed up with the industry and bought a Switch, I haven't looked back since. I pay $50 for first-party titles, put the cartridge in the machine, and that's it. At most, I might have to wait for an update that takes two minutes to download.

 

I have about 20 games now, ranging from huge open world titles like BotW to Mario platformers. I haven't encountered one game-breaking glitch, UI problem, broken update, or technical issue. It turns on instantly, load times are extremely short, and the UI is snappy and minimalistic.

 

More importantly, the games are actually fun. They take experimental concepts that you would normally have to look towards indie titles to get, while having the polish and graphical sheen of a AAA title. I don't have to deal with the shitty, slow interface of the PS4 or Xbox, I don't have constant, time-consuming console and software updates, I don't have to worry about compatibility with my PC, and I'm having more fun with Mario Odyssey than I would be with Call of Duty: Back to WWII or Battlefield: Generic Future Combat.

 

For me, the industry started losing my interest when games were focused on graphics over innovation and fun. That's still the case. When the most highly-anticipated games are simplistic FPS and broken remasters that run at 30fps on a PS5, count me out. I couldn't give a shit less if Battlefield or GTA works or not, and I don't feel sorry for the people that pre-ordered them or bought them knowing how broken they are.

 

The industry is still focused on rushing out "graphical powerhouses" that don't even look graphically impressive in 2021, broken multiplayer titles, and marketing nostalgia to kids who aren't even old enough to drink. The corporation with the most money wins, and the consumers willing to spend money without doing research deserve to lose. They'll complain about Battlefield and buy Call of Duty instead while the youngsters are downloading GTA Remastered.

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On 11/21/2021 at 6:03 PM, Crystal-Hawk_D00M said:

A lot of these feeling could be solved if people would just realize that most games are shit. You can't be disappointed if you weren't expecting anything good in the first place.

Games can be shit. Shitness is ultimately a matter of taste. The issue is whether or not they function. Ride to Hell Retribution is remarkably stable as a program, but the game itself is terrible.

 

21 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

The industry is still focused on rushing out "graphical powerhouses" that don't even look graphically impressive in 2021, broken multiplayer titles, and marketing nostalgia to kids who aren't even old enough to drink. The corporation with the most money wins, and the consumers willing to spend money without doing research deserve to lose. They'll complain about Battlefield and buy Call of Duty instead while the youngsters are downloading GTA Remastered.

There is a degree of irony about a Nintendo Switch fan mocking the other platforms for broken multiplayer when Smash Ultimate exists.

 

No shade, I love my Switch, but online is NOT Nintendo's strong suit.

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On 11/17/2021 at 2:58 PM, OniriA said:

A delayed game is eventually good,

 

Counterpoint: Duke Nukem Forever. 

 

On 11/17/2021 at 5:37 PM, PsychEyeball said:

I'm amazed people just swallow and play what's essentially the same game every year. 

 

What if the core gameplay is actually good, and I'm willing to fork over $60 a year to continue playing it? It's no different from an MMO with a subscription. 

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1 hour ago, Mr. Freeze said:

What if the core gameplay is actually good, and I'm willing to fork over $60 a year to continue playing it? It's no different from an MMO with a subscription. 

Personally I've always avoided MMOs because I don't want to keep paying money to play a game, but that's mainly a "me" thing.

 

I feel that one problem with yearly releases of games mean that typically, not as much work will go into the game as one would want and it'll be spotty whether the game series you enjoy will still be good next year. I'd honestly prefer if those game releases only happened once every few years and the developers would maintain those releases for a longer time with new content and quality of life updates. As it is, those games are rushed out, get a few updates and immediately are tossed aside to start next year's edition. In the case of some sports games, somehow new editions of these games lose features because they can't even get them done in time.

 

But hey, new game a year needs to happen because sales won't happen in the long haul otherwise. 

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4 hours ago, scalliano said:

There is a degree of irony about a Nintendo Switch fan mocking the other platforms for broken multiplayer when Smash Ultimate exists.

 

No shade, I love my Switch, but online is NOT Nintendo's strong suit.

You're absolutely correct, their online service is shit and isn't worth the measly monthly access fee. But it could be argued that the majority of Nintendo's games are more focused on local/couch multiplayer, as opposed to Battlefield and CoD where the main selling point is online multiplayer. Aside from that, at least Nintendo's games, even Smash Bros, have a worthwhile single player component, compared to recent Call of Duty and Battlefield games where it feels like an afterthought. So I'd say that the Big N at least delivers on their selling points, as to where other developers aren't at this point. I wouldn't knock Call of Duty for not having great splitscreen, as an example. It's just not what the majority of people are going to be buying it for.

Edited by TheMagicMushroomMan

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27 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

You're absolutely correct, their online service is shit and isn't worth the measly monthly access fee.

It's not monthly. It's yearly.

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7 hours ago, scalliano said:

Games can be shit. Shitness is ultimately a matter of taste. The issue is whether or not they function. Ride to Hell Retribution is remarkably stable as a program, but the game itself is terrible.

As someone who went into that mess willingly for their own sick enjoyment I will let you know that this is a bad example and most definitely not the case, the thing exists as a modern day tribute to the Build engine in how it barely clings to life (and more often actually doesn't cling to life).

 

Duke Forever is a better example, it hardly crashes but it's still as bland and unenjoyable as using flour as a spice.

 

-

 

As for the shitshows releasing it is because between A and B games got real expensive to make and corps are too busy trying to chase fads, the problem with fads is that they die so as far as they're concerned bugtesting and quality control is nowhere near as important as getting a quick dime out of the expensive abortion they shot out.

 

"Battle Royal", "Live Service Looter Shooter", "Hero Shooter" and more recently "Remake/Remaster" is the great new juicy looking pie and the corps are gonna get themselves a nice cheap slice if they can, if something comes out of their unwanted child then it's a "live service" they're gonna work on "improving" (See: finishing the fucking thing). Meanwhile aggressive monetisation schemes like battle passes, lootboxes, cosmetics and seasonal DLC (all that good freemium shit) are gonna drip feed them some juicy profit nickel-and-dimin' folks who actually play their shit product, timed stuff is also a great plan to "encourage" (force) players to come back for unique rewards (Fear Of Missing Outtm).

 

And everybody has noticed, but what they gonna do? Play the alternative? What alternative, like I said games are expensive now and most regular folks eat this half baked drek right up, last time an alternative popped up (Splitgate) they weren't ready and the servers shit the bed. They're not interested in a good product, all they want is as much for as little as possible, they're already shunned in the public eye (Why the fuck are 95% of AAA development studios filled awful people and literal rapists? Like actual criminals?) so who cares?

 

Endlessly fascinating really, it's like Hollywood 2.0 but so much remarkably lamer (so lame in fact it gets 2.0 on the end).

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11 hours ago, SteelPH said:

It's not monthly. It's yearly.

It's $3.99/month or $19.99/year. You're referring to their new service for N64/Genesis games, not their standard online access fee.

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I grew tired of these half-hearted, repetitive 'Triple A' games a long time ago. They used to be enjoyable, but now they've gotten stale. I'd much rather support people who actually care about making good games, such as indie developers, instead of paying ludicrous amounts every year. The idea that the gaming industry is going to continue down this path unnerves me a little.

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4 hours ago, Widosm said:

The idea that the gaming industry is going to continue down this path unnerves me a little.

It has happened before, a videogame crash. Maybe it's a good thing that it happens again ?? 

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A second videogame crash is never going to happen, it's a Reddit fantasy. The industry is too big and too ingrained in culture unlike the early '80s. 

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On 11/25/2021 at 4:29 PM, Mr. Freeze said:

A second videogame crash is never going to happen, it's a Reddit fantasy. The industry is too big and too ingrained in culture unlike the early '80s. 

 

That's likely true, but I think at least this BS is starting to impact sales, the new CoD is apparently selling much less than the last few, and I imagine Battlefield 2042 is underperforming after such a botched launch. Guess the best we can hope for is the camel's back breaking and that audience either diminishing or demanding better. 

 

But, like some others here, I have long since abandoned the AAA space, especially as military shooters might be the most boring thing on Earth to me and I don't much care for online gaming. Outside of that space, there's a lot of good out there. 

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