ThanosReXXX

ThanosReXXX

Fighting the good fight... ;)

Comments 531

Re: Microsoft Hints At Potential For More Xbox And Xbox 360 Backwards Compatible Games

ThanosReXXX

Okay, Microsoft, how about Dead Man's Hand, Headhunter Redemption, Stubbs the Zombie, Azurik, Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter, Midway Arcade Treasures 3, Advent Rising, Sudeki, Zathura and Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast from the original Xbox?

As for the Xbox 360, seeing as I still have my original X360, I'm largely good, but I would like to minimize disc swapping, so seeing games like the simply brilliant RPG/action adventure Rise of the Argonauts (which is simply a must have if you're a fan of Greek mythology or of highly entertaining action adventure games) would be much, much appreciated...

EDIT:
I forgot all about the Lost Planet games. Those are also among my personal favorites on Xbox 360, so I'd welcome all of those as well.

Never mind, I stand corrected, because these are actually already on the BC list...

Re: Pick One: Which Of These Xbox Classics Would You Remaster? (#5)

ThanosReXXX

Crimson Skies, with JSRF as a VERY close second, but since I could choose only one...

The NFS Underground "let's put colored lights underneath our cars" hype has well and truly died out, and rightfully so. Because of that rather time-period specific theme, I wouldn't even know how to make a decent reboot of this, without turning it into something more modern and further removed from the original idea.

Re: Xbox Series X And PS5 SSD Differences Won't Matter That Much, Say Developers

ThanosReXXX

Exactly what I already thought all along. It isn't going to be of anything even remotely close to a decisive impact or difference, but as long as there is no proof yet, Sony supporters can still hold on to their last straw. Or no: straws, because they of course also have the superior sound thingy...

@GamingFan4Lyf Yeah, it was kind of a smart move of Sony, to partner with Epic, to make and show this demo, which automatically sent the internet, or at least the Sony-fan part of the internet, into a frenzy, but like you said, it's simply because there's no comparable material on Series X yet, but time will tell.

@Damo I wouldn't have pegged you for an Xbox supporter, to be honest, but glad I was mistaken. Always good to see a familiar name pop up in an article...

Re: Epic CEO Reassures Xbox Fans Following PS5 Unreal Engine 5 Demo

ThanosReXXX

@Grot No, your understanding of the word middleware is correct alright, but seeing as games can entirely be made with Unity as the standalone solution towards making that happen, I'd personally never class that as middleware. Otherwise, any other game engine would also be middleware, so I have to tell you that I'm kind of surprised at that description you quoted. That certainly puts any and all game engines in a completely different light...

Before, I only considered stuff like physics, gfx and audio engines as middleware, so for example Havoc, Nvidia GameWorks, RAD GameTools (Bink Video), ScaleForm, FMOD, Wwise and so on.

Re: Epic CEO Reassures Xbox Fans Following PS5 Unreal Engine 5 Demo

ThanosReXXX

@Grot Yeah, true. There's that as well. But he's got to maintain a business, and I'm pretty sure that Microsoft is throwing enough money their way to make it well worth the effort to also let Series X benefit from UE5.

On a side note: why do you label Unity as middleware? I always figured it was a full-blown engine. Mind you, I'm no programmer or developer, so with what little I know about it, I only ever dip my toes into topics like these.

Re: Epic CEO Reassures Xbox Fans Following PS5 Unreal Engine 5 Demo

ThanosReXXX

Well, that's not exactly like saying it'll look better on the Xbox's superior hardware, now is it? Still sounds a bit too pro-Sony and/or evasive of an answer to me. Typical PR blurb...

So, I'll first want to see it running on the ACTUAL Series X hardware, and THEN we'll talk.

On a side note: always a shame that none of these playable tech demos are ever released to the public. Back in the day, I would have LOVED to play around with that Zelda demo on the Wii U, for example. It still looks pretty cool to this day.

Re: Talking Point: How Important Is FPS To You On Xbox Series X?

ThanosReXXX

The truth of it is simple: YES, a higher frame rate can definitely improve a game, but on the other hand, it's also absolutely true that not every game needs a higher frame rate.

Games that will definitely benefit from 60fps or higher are racing games, fps or shooters, fighting games, air combat games/sims and other fast flowing games, so applying a higher frame rate in those types of games, makes perfect sense.

Games that have a focus on a more moderate tempo, such as adventures or RPG's, don't always need a higher frame rate, especially if we're talking turn-based RPG's or strategy games. And the same goes for puzzlers, board games, building sims, and so on.

So, personally, I'm not that hung up on it, and I just laugh in the faces of the "60fps or it is unplayable" crowd, because they're WAY too fixated on that one aspect, which is only a small percentage of what makes a game good or not.

Ultimately, I'd say that a steady frame rate is, in many cases, FAR more important than an as high as possible frame rate.

Re: Assassin's Creed Valhalla Will Run 'At Least' 30 FPS On Xbox Series X

ThanosReXXX

@GamingFan4Lyf Good point, and might very well be the case. Personally, I'm not really bothered by it, because I don't believe in the "all games SHOULD be 60fps" trope. Fast-paced action games such as fighters, shooters, racing games and so on DO need it, and they also benefit from it the most, but turn-based games, slow-paced adventure games, puzzle games, and other types of less fast moving games can look and run perfectly fine in 30fps.

Anyway, all I meant to say with my earlier comment is simply that I noticed that it's the exact opposite of what Microsoft claimed, and if that statement was only true for their own titles, then they should have made that more clear.

Re: Chorus Dev: It's Easier To Develop For Xbox Series X Than Any Other Console

ThanosReXXX

@Vincent294 Yeah, I know, I was just over-exaggerating it a bit. Should perhaps have made that a bit clearer. Either way, that faster SSD alone isn't going to mean or do a damn thing, if the rest of the hardware isn't up to the task, and it certainly does seem like Microsoft has done a FAR better job of it, this time around.

It's about the sum of all the parts, and how well they "sing" together, not about the individual components being better or faster.

Re: Chorus Dev: It's Easier To Develop For Xbox Series X Than Any Other Console

ThanosReXXX

@Vincent294 But that's just the thing: it's not just about OG Xbox and Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, it's about ALL generations of Xbox being backwards compatible on Series X, and that IS a big thing. You should definitely not underestimate that.

If it wouldn't be a big thing, Spencer wouldn't be going all out on this. And he has already more or less confirmed that they will start adding new titles to it again, once they've got the console in people's homes, so that should already tell you something.

In comparison, Sony only has partial backwards compatibility, which apparently shows that it is basically more of an afterthought for them, whereas Microsoft wants you to feel like it doesn't matter which model Xbox you have, you'll STILL be able to play most, if not ALL of your previous generations Xbox games.

That's what they've been working towards all along, and that is basically also what smart delivery is about for the current generation, which will probably also be a thing for whatever comes after Series X.

On a side note: not saying that you claimed it would, but I firmly believe that the whole "faster" SSD thing will not be a game changer at all. If that is the only thing they can bring to counter all the stuff that Microsoft is offering in their hardware, then that's actually really pathetic:

Microsoft: we have the most powerful console this generation.

Sony: yeah, that may be, but we have a slightly faster SSD...

EDIT:
I'll just add this video, which goes into quite a bit of detail on both the hardware and the UI. It's an interesting watch:

Re: Chorus Dev: It's Easier To Develop For Xbox Series X Than Any Other Console

ThanosReXXX

@Vincent294 But is it 100% backwards compatibility with EVERY PlayStation generation? No, it isn't. From what I've read, it's predominantly just with PS4 titles, so regardless of their supposed larger library, that's not a point in their favor at all, because Microsoft is leagues ahead of them in that regard, with a FAR more extensive backwards compatible catalog.

@ThePrettySenshi And yet, he literally says "In the end it's easier to develop for Xbox Series X than any other console".

Seems like a pretty decisive answer to me, regardless of what he said later on in the interview...

He also didn't really say "no comment", he said he couldn't really go into detail and is only focusing on the Xbox Series X version.

So, that could mean either one of two things: he really doesn't know yet, which seems highly unlikely, or he doesn't want to speak negatively of the hardware, which is actually to his credit, because he's decent enough to not reveal even the tiniest bit of info about Sony's upcoming console, which could undermine their upcoming reveal.

On a side note: he also highlights the power and benefits of the Xbox Series X CPU several times in that interview, indicating that he actually IS comparing it to other platforms.

Re: Chorus Dev: It's Easier To Develop For Xbox Series X Than Any Other Console

ThanosReXXX

Normally, I'd take this with a pinch of salt as well, but this time around,
I definitely believe it has merit. Phil Spencer has made leaps and bounds, to tie down each and every loose end that was left last generation, or might possibly count for this generation, so making your platform very easy to develop for, seems like a given in that regard.

And the Xbox brand has something to prove, so a claim in favor of them would most definitely seem far more plausible than one in favor of PlayStation.

And until recently, Sony's platforms have also NEVER been easy to develop for, so there's that as well. They've always chosen weird hardware and weird CPU's and GPU's, so only since this generation, have they come to their senses, choosing more common components.

Having said that though, they're VERY quiet, and I'm not expecting them to hit anything out of any park any time soon, especially with inferior hardware, so far as I'm concerned, Microsoft has already won.

Regardless of a rather tepid first reveal this week...