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A couple devs claim Switch patch sizes can be sometimes limited & other hurdles occur

Uhyve

Member
You're arguing a game released at 7GBs and with missing modes being immediately wanting to be patched down to 3.5GBs in size instead of 7GBs isn't an accurate description of a rushed release?
Nintendo's patch systems don't seem to allow devs to reduce a games size. There are many things wrong here.
 

Bakercat

Member
I'm gonna side with Nintendo on this. There is no need for publishers to put out such large and bloated patches for their games. I absolutely loath this practice so much on PS4 since it just eats away at the 500gb on the system.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
yeah bruh ������this is 2017 �� get that weak 720p screen out of here ������give me 4k ��or give me death ����

Need that 4K resolution and a Forza7 like 100gb installation size if you wanna be modern...lol.
Nintendo's patch systems don't seem to allow devs to reduce a games size. There are many things wrong here.

For now - yes, the plattform is still new so i guess thats something that will be optimized down the line.

BUT...thats something that every developer will have known after signing to be a Switch dev and getting devkits. Blaming Nintendo now because they didnt plan things out better from the start wont get this fixed any faster. Other devs manage their updates just fine.
 

c0de

Member
I'm gonna side with Nintendo on this. There is no need for publishers to put out such large and bloated patches for their games. I absolutely loath this practice so much on PS4 since it just eats away at the 500gb on the system.

I don't think that you can say that devs do these large updates to annoy people. There is something related to the systems, how they work, even the middleware devs use to build systems.
I mean, it's nice from Nintendo trying to make the world better with some things but in the end it's affecting customers already in a negative way.
 

jmizzal

Member
Since it's a new page I'll ask again:

Does anyone know what the certifications and policies are for Sony and MS regarding patches? We know there are certifications involved so clearly they have some rules. Do we know for a fact Nintendo's rules are stricter (especially considering the devs got an exception for the patch file size)?

Xbox one games def get patches after PS4 games a lot of the times, mostly smaller games, big AAA games prob update the same time
 

Theonik

Member
How much is an ipad pro, and does it throttle?
Too much but that's beyond the point. You don't pay for the specs and even then the expensive part is the screen there, and a much more premium build. Apple makes a killing on the things regardless. Anyway I don't see much value in this argument.
 
Too much but that's beyond the point. You don't pay for the specs and even then the expensive part is the screen there, and a much more premium build. Apple makes a killing on the things regardless. Anyway I don't see much value in this argument.

Then why are you attempting it?
"Hurr I bet my phone can play botw durr" is not a new trolling attempt on this site in any respect.
 

Shiggy

Member
For now - yes, the plattform is still new so i guess thats something that will be optimized down the line.

BUT...thats something that every developer will have known after signing to be a Switch dev and getting devkits. Blaming Nintendo now because they didnt plan things out better from the start wont get this fixed any faster.

Reducing file size of the main game isn't something the developer has to do, it's something they want to do for the user. If it's not possible due to Nintendo, then it's a bit strange to blame the developer in this case for trying to do something that benefits the user.

But of course, if you want to defend Nintendo, then developers may not try to reduce file size after launch and just say "oh, it's out, who cares now?". Just saying "they must have known beforehand" doesn't really change anything about this being an issue, if it's indeed not possible as the developers claim.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Are you joking? There already has been very big content updates for several games. But these had a reason for being so big. It obviously depends on the game and the update. The game this thread is about has just lazy developers.

It's good that Nintendo does not encourage bad development practices like these. Looking at the statements of the developers and the patch size of this game its very clear that they are just unprofessional.
Since its elease, Hearthstone has had three giant updates to do things such as:

1.) Remove all non-local localization files in an effort to reduce file size, causing the whole game to be redownloaded (1.5-2.5 GB patch).

2.) Switched engines from Unity 4 to Unity 5 about a year after release (1.5-2.5 GB patch) to improve performance, stability, compatibility, and ease development.

3.) Massively overhauled the Android version to halve file size and the size of future updates (1.5 GB patch).

Could Blizzard have done any of this on Switch? #2 not being doable would have caused the game to shut down on the platform.

Now, we could consider Blizzard a trashy or lazy developer, but if you want their games, they do things like this.

Similarly a lot of people have expressed a desire for games like Star Wars: Battlefront on the platform, but DICE updates their engine when they release DLC to enable new types of gameplay and better visuals/performance, and that also causes giant patches (sometimes 4-8 GB) plus a giant content patch to hold all the new art assets and related work (5-10+ GB). This type of policy would also kill that dead.

I'm sure lots of people consider DICE a bad developer, but EA has a decade long exclusive Star Wars license, so it's them or nothing on the core game front.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Reducing file size of the main game isn't something the developer has to do, it's something they want to do for the user. If it's not possible due to Nintendo, then it's a bit strange to blame the developer in this case for trying to do something that benefits the user.

But of course, if you want to defend Nintendo, then developers may not try to reduce file size after launch and just say "oh, it's out, who cares now?". Just saying "they must have known beforehand" doesn't really change anything about this being an issue, if it's indeed not possible as the developers claim.

All issues can be resolved at the end - but the fact that they released a unfinished game and the patch isnt out yet is bad planning on their side. They knew the dev. environment on Switch when they decided to drop the unfinished game on the eShop.

Its always easy to blame other people if you mess up. That would be like SE announcing FFXIV to Switch/Xbox and then getting mad at MS/Sony because crossplattform with the PS/PC version isnt allowed.
 
Nintendo's patch systems don't seem to allow devs to reduce a games size. There are many things wrong here.

Apparently Mr. Shifty had it's game file size reduced, so this is false. Nintendo's systems do allow it, but some system the NBA Playgrounds developers are working with is preventing them from doing this. I'm curious if it's a problem with UE4 and the Switch, since Mr. Shifty was a Unity game.

Isn't NBA Playgrounds getting an update that is reducing the games file size? Source

Yes, that's what the last two quotes in the OP are talking about.
 
All issues can be resolved at the end - but the fact that they released a unfinished game and the patch isnt out yet is bad planning on their side. They knew the dev. environment on Switch when they decided to drop the unfinished game on the eShop.

Its always easy to blame other people if you mess up. That would be like SE announcing FFXIV to Switch/Xbox and then getting mad at MS/Sony because crossplattform with the PS/PC version isnt allowed.

This. The developers admitted to rushing out the game for the NBA playoffs and to beat 2k18 on the market. This is all on them for releasing an unfinished, rushed game. I will not be surprised when they announce that Shaq Fu will not be releasing on the Switch due to "technical limitations" since they offered that free deal.
 

Brinbe

Member
C'mon Ninty... It's 2017, FFS.

Not surprised to see so many supermaning for Nintendo though. They can do no wrong, it's always the devs at fault.
 

Honey Bunny

Member
Please provide more examples, if you're convinced it's a widespread issue. Otherwise refrain from making such claims.

Thank you for changing it.

Having large patches can be about a lot more than fixing rushed releases, not to mention some games have rushed releases for more complicated reasons than 'lazy developers.' Not to mention you're ultimately punishing the userbase for the mistakes of the developer even if they are simply being lazy.

Definitely not encouraging for big third party game support.
 

aBarreras

Member
C'mon Ninty... It's 2017, FFS.

Not surprised to see so many supermaning for Nintendo though. They can do no wrong, it's always the devs at fault.

Its funny how you "see" people "supermaning" for nintendo, and you dont "see" that the patch file size is no longer a problem.

Don't forget "Hurr my phone has more storage than the Switch durr!"


nonono the greatest one in this thread, "my phone is more useful than a switch"

LOL
 
C'mon Ninty... It's 2017, FFS.

Not surprised to see so many supermaning for Nintendo though. They can do no wrong, it's always the devs at fault.

Or maybe we have so little information from these developers that calling out Nintendo is simply jumping to conclusions.

Again, can anyone tell me whether or not Microsoft or Sony have similar restrictions/certifications for patches? Somehow I doubt anyone can.
 
C'mon Ninty... It's 2017, FFS.

Not surprised to see so many supermaning for Nintendo though. They can do no wrong, it's always the devs at fault.

Devs release a game with no online and promise it in a few days. Several weeks later there is no online an none of the patches other systems released either. Don't promise things before you know they are feasible is an unreasonable request?
 

Rellik

Member
Its funny how you "see" people "supermaning" for nintendo, and you dont "see" that the patch file size is no longer a problem.




nonono the greatest one in this thread, "my phone is more useful than a switch"

LOL

You think a handheld gaming console is more useful than a phone?
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Saber Interactive also works on Quake Champions, which is a game with frequent 10+ GB updates (like sometimes weekly) that Nintendo plausibly would want.

Doom on the same technology stack actually switches executables to go between singleplayer, multiplayer, and Snapmap, so you can imagine what patching in that game was like, especially when they did major overhauls to things like Snapmap. Going from 1.08 to 1.09 alone was 19 GB and picking up a physical version a year later required over 36 GB of updates.
 

DJwest

Member
I'm gonna side with Nintendo on this. There is no need for publishers to put out such large and bloated patches for their games. I absolutely loath this practice so much on PS4 since it just eats away at the 500gb on the system.
So you'd rather have no patch for Switch releases right? And you guys will later complain that 3rd party support is poor on Nintendo consoles.
 

Turrican3

Member
Saver Interactive also works on Quake Champions, which is a game with frequent 10+ GB updates (like sometimes weekly)
I still don't understand how it is possible to have patches so huge AND frequent unless they are pumping lots of new content with tons of assets with little potential for compression.

I understand Fafalada is a developer and has already stated delta tools are not that good, but still... *shrugs*
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I still don't understand how it is possible to have patches so huge AND frequent unless they are pumping lots of new content with tons of assets with little potential for compression.

I understand Fafalada is a developer and has already stated delta tools are not that good, but still... *shrugs*
It's a mix of content and the type of updates that happen when you (for example) make edits to a map and need to ship the whole map again because of how you handle things like lighting.

A lot of developers will ship notable updates on at least a monthly basis these days and need at least a few GB to do it, even if we consider Quake on the extreme end, and that can often just be on the content side plus the technology updates needed to support that content.
 

Shiggy

Member
All issues can be resolved at the end - but the fact that they released a unfinished game and the patch isnt out yet is bad planning on their side. They knew the dev. environment on Switch when they decided to drop the unfinished game on the eShop.

You were quoting a user who was talking about reducing the file size of the main game, not the patch. And again, they do not have to make the game smaller, the game's already out at a size this big. It's just in the interest of end users to reduce the file size.

And if they reduced the file size but the current system does not support such a reduction, then Nintendo is the only one to blame for that as they created said system. Even if they knew about it beforehand, the problem still remains.



Thank you for changing it.

His thread title got already changed again, so you might be replying to the wrong mod.
 
What I don't get is why the game can't be updated to have a different major size, like, patches change files so why can't it change most if not all of the files like say a steam game update can.

The only thing I can think of is some weird license database that keeps track of files or locks them down to help stop hacking a d piracy.
 

Schnozberry

Member
So you'd rather have no patch for Switch releases right? And you guys will later complain that 3rd party support is poor on Nintendo consoles.

Nobody is saying they don't want patches or content updates. They're saying they want developers to release feature complete games that aren't crippled by bugs at launch. It's really two separate problems.

Nintendo needs to fix their policy on patch size, if it's as restrictive as these two developers make them out to be. The problem is that the two games in question that are being used as examples released in a state that required large scale optimization revamps. The original patch size for Mr. Shifty, according to a dev post on Reddit, was nearly a replacement download for the entire game. They had to do some compression and eventually got it worked out. The NBA Playgrounds team mentioned that they got an exemption for patch size, which is good, but other certification hurdles were still keeping the patch from release. Perhaps the patch has other problems that aren't being disclosed? People have been posting on their forums that online games are pretty much broken on the PS4 and XB1 versions because of frequent disconnects, and that the gameplay revisions broke the game balance.
 
I wonder if this policy was what caused the seemingly-last-minute change for Lego City Undercover to not necessitate a 10GB patch?

Policies like these are shitty when they are applied to every situation. Determining whether or not a large patch is a good idea or not should be why the vetting process exists in the first place, not a barrier keeping devs from updating their games.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
I'm gonna side with Nintendo on this. There is no need for publishers to put out such large and bloated patches for their games. I absolutely loath this practice so much on PS4 since it just eats away at the 500gb on the system.

Yeah, devs are really going to change the way they allegedly just don't care about patch size because of Nintendo.

This will only result in fewer games or less post release support.
 

wildfire

Banned
Unpopular opinion but all the bloat should have been reduced during development.



You say this because I'm assuming you never stepped into any thread about ISP bandwitdths or the pure DEVS making huge install sizes threads. It actually is common opinion that gamers don't appreciate this. For whatever reason people who don't like Nintendo are dominating the conversation.

Don't let them make you believe most people are getting annoyed with the way devs have been patching games in the last decade.
 

Uhyve

Member
Apparently Mr. Shifty had it's game file size reduced, so this is false. Nintendo's systems do allow it, but some system the NBA Playgrounds developers are working with is preventing them from doing this. I'm curious if it's a problem with UE4 and the Switch, since Mr. Shifty was a Unity game.
If it's a Unreal issue, then I stand corrected.

I just thought it was kinda funny that people were getting at these devs for rushing something to market, when alot of the Switch's online capabilities weren't even there for launch, I thought this patch thing might have been one of them.

I'm pretty sure that's the same at least on PS4. Dunno about Xbox though.
I don't think it is for the PS4 but the PS3 had a pretty awful patching system IIRC. I'm fairly certain the PS3 didn't download "patches" so much as replacements for any altered file, so some patches could be huge.

Honestly how this can work in a Switch physical copy. The devs were expecting Switch install the games like PS4 & XONE? lol
This I hadn't considered... it obviously adds some complexity to the patching system.
 

fernoca

Member
I wonder if this policy was what caused the seemingly-last-minute change for Lego City Undercover to not necessitate a 10GB patch?

Policies like these are shitty when they are applied to every situation. Determining whether or not a large patch is a good idea or not should be why the vetting process exists in the first place, not a barrier keeping devs from updating their games.
Is really doubtful that Lego City stopped recquiring a 10GB patch at the last minute. Typos happen all the time on covers and Lego City on Switch has actually been praised for how good it is.
 
Gotta say, appreciate Nintendo sticking to their guns here given the bullshit practice of "release beta product with grand promises, patch to infinity" that is far too prevalent these days. Your gonna have some collateral damage, but it should make a few devs think really hard before pushing out unfinished product (see NBA Playgrounds for reference of what not to do)
 

Tripon

Member
*shrug*
It's not like BOTW is available elsewhere to compare anyway. What I had in mind was the A10X on the iPad Pro actually. It's smaller sibiling on the i7 Plus might struggle.
The iPad Pro is $650.

People on neogaf were mad that Nintendo sold the switch for $300. You want the switch to be compared to a system specs that costs more than twice as much?
 
Nintendo is not going to change the entire gaming landscape with their patch policy. They're just hurting their users by ensuring that third party ports end up worse on their platform, as in this case.

If Nintendo can't secure enough components to expand their internal storage, ship the Switch with a damn SD card! Yeah, I know that will drive up cost, but the bottom line is the console needs more storage.
 
So go buy an SD card?

I think you missed my point. If Nintendo's policy is based on the low amount of internal storage out of the box, they should either pack in more storage somehow or accept that people can do exactly what you recommend I do. Either way, this policy is nonsense in 2017.
 

diablos991

Can’t stump the diablos
Finally a new thread title that isn't biased.



Well, for online it is. Nintendo thinks so since you'll have to use one.

Yeah. We saw this one go from fuck Nintendo to fuck developers. Looks like we finally landed at neutral.

I can see this policy really impacting third party developers though. This policy needs to be reviewed.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
A downside of basing the next Nintendo platform on portable. I wonder if it will limit it on some Xbox + PC crossplay game opportunities, being a nintendo item already limit it on third party games.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
Nintendo is not going to change the entire gaming landscape with their patch policy. They're just hurting their users by ensuring that third party ports end up worse on their platform, as in this case.

If Nintendo can't secure enough components to expand their internal storage, ship the Switch with a damn SD card! Yeah, I know that will drive up cost, but the bottom line is the console needs more storage.

Except for the fact that plenty of Switch games have received patches so far, and only two developers ran into this issue. At this point, I'm starting to question whether such a policy actually exists, and if it's as strict as some here are making it out to be. Saber was very vague with what exactly the issue was.
 
Patch size limits are definitely... limiting. I don't really understand Nintendo's perspective here. Either they want to be a console with third-party support or they don't and it certainly looks like they don't if they can't allow 7gb updates. Of course, I would also like to hear Nintendo's side of the story.

Similarly, I don't like the trend of devs releasing unfinished games.I shouldn't have to wait for online functionality to be added to a sports game. It's something I just expect to be in the game.

And I think these two general ideas are shared by just about everyone. Except somehow it ended up being a "one or the other" situation. Both suck.
 
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