you forgot the worst part, GFWL
The game was probably near completion at the time of shipping the 360 version. I see no reason for this to be a sloppy port.Handle the port well, and we'll buy your game Remedy. Don't disappoint.
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.Haha. The point I'm trying to make is that I believe the scope - not the quality - of the game was lessened when it became an X360 exclusive.
Edit: I'll happily eat crow if Remedy come out and delineate why they changed the focus of the game and explained Microsoft's lack of creative pressure, but until then I'm filing it under "too coincidental to be coincidence". Is that naive? Perhaps. But when an open-world title becomes a linear (or "closed-world") game in addition to a console exclusive, that - to me - raises some flags. I will not argue nor pretend that Alan Wake would have been superior as an open-world title, but until proven otherwise I will believe that the game changing focus to an X360 exclusive was at least partly responsible for the game becoming less ambitious in scope.
Edit 2: Again, for clarity, do I care? No. I thoroughly enjoyed the game. And before somebody pegs me as one of those blokes who considers open-world titles a touch above everything else, let it be known that Portal 2 and Alice: Madness Returns are my two nods for GoTY. I hope fellow GAFers understand where I'm coming from when utilising the admittedly crude formula of (PC flagship title - PC release) / (X360 exclusive) = final scope of project.
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.Worst case scenario:
dx9
no aa (deferred engine you see)
16:9 locked aspect ratio
30 fps cap... but it dips!
graphics options: vsync, brightness
the same crappy bik cutscenes
360 textures
mouse lag
:O
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.
Worst case scenario:
dx9
no aa (deferred engine you see)
16:9 locked aspect ratio
30 fps cap... but it dips!
graphics options: vsync, brightness
the same crappy bik cutscenes
360 textures
mouse lag
:O
Except for the fact that the "open world" is just hills and trees. There's no sense of a larger town.
Except for the fact that the "open world" is just hills and trees. There's no sense of a larger town.
i still don't think that demonstrates a tech limitation though, if you get what i mean. and it's mainly hills and trees, but it's not JUST hills and trees. you could say Just Cause 1 and 2 were mainly hills and trees... but you wouldn't say they weren't open world.
reading a bit deeper into those early tech demos, screenshots, etc, we didn't see much in the way of a city, just a small town, surrounded by lots of hills and trees. i know the pacific northwest quite well, and the density of stuff vs hills and trees isn't that far from the truth looking at the cascade area that they based things on.
fall city, wa is about as big as bright falls for example (it isn't a city). i think things looked a little more populated in the early footage, but i just don't see any evidence of the 'technical limitations' argument. design direction forced on them by their new masters? completely plausible.
True, and that's why I think it got earlier "switched" than we may think.
Worst case scenario:
dx9
no aa (deferred engine you see)
16:9 locked aspect ratio
30 fps cap... but it dips!
graphics options: vsync, brightness
the same crappy bik cutscenes
360 textures
mouse lag
:O
you forgot the worst part, GFWL
Everybody who bought in to the Alan Wake hype is gonna be in for a disappointment. It didn't flop for no good reason.
Hopefully, Steam will have it for $4.99.
Dammit! I just paid $7 for the 360 version!!!! I would have much rather played it on my Tri-Fire 4.8GHz Tri-Fire 6950 setup. Heh. Well it was fun anyways.
It didn't flop for no good reason.
microsoft may well have pushed them to make a more linear story given game, but the Xbox didn't. as i understand it, the engine that runs Alan Wake is still an open world engine running on the 360. if they'd made that call sooner, i'm sure the game would look better than it did, but many of the levels are absolutely massive in the finished product.
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.
The amount of hatred in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. Alan Wake is, at least, a good game. I would love it if average games looked and played like this, because it's one of the most unique titles to come out this generation. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I for one I'm glad that more people get to experience it first hand.
Most complaints about the game are absolutely ridiculous. The linear vs sandbox debate has always amused me, as if making a more open game, especially in one as story-driven as this one, amounted to a better experience. It would have unarguably been a different game, for better or worse.
The resolution and tearing debate was understandable, but also out of control. The game looked great regardless; the resolution deficiency was only jarring during the daylight sections, which were less than a fourth of the game.
The major justified shortcoming of the game is the lack of variety in both enemy types and locales. Having said that, the core gameplay mechanics were polished enough that there was still fun to be had fighting the taken, especially in the higher difficulties.
I thought there was some truth to the tech limitation thing, weren't there some crazy ass weather/hurricane effects in that pc demo? I thought they were over a year and a half into the development of the pc version when the did that demo.
Also, no way they cap it at 30 fps...are you guys being sarcastic?
I thought there was some truth to the tech limitation thing, weren't there some crazy ass weather/hurricane effects in that pc demo? I thought they were over a year and a half into the development of the pc version when the did that demo.
Also, no way they cap it at 30 fps...are you guys being sarcastic?
Unfortunately, anything is possible in the world of PC ports .
Finally I can test out my quad core CPU!
while many of the above may come to pass, i don't believe the engine is doing deferred rendering. i know it had 4xMSAA on the 360. i didn't think the 360 could do MSAA on games that were doing deferred rendering.
-It is true that we have used a lot of recent Graphics and physics Technologies in our home-made Engine. For example, we have used SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Oclusion) a technique to use very close shots and not loosing quality or sharpness. We also have used the benefits of the Deferred engine (Lights engine). In Alan Wake we have tried to combine the best technologies and we are very happy with the actual result.
Unfortunately, anything is possible in the world of PC ports .
My PC is hooked up to my 40" TV so comfy couch am ready!
Will so buy this.
Capping at 30 or 60 would make more sense than fluctuating FPS however...
FORCING a cap at 30? It would NEVER make any sense at all.
Giving an OPTION? I'd very much like that.
The amount of hatred in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. Alan Wake is, at least, a good game. I would love it if average games looked and played like this, because it's one of the most unique titles to come out this generation. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I for one I'm glad that more people get to experience it first hand.
Most complaints about the game are absolutely ridiculous. The linear vs sandbox debate has always amused me, as if making a more open game, especially in one as story-driven as this one, amounted to a better experience. It would have unarguably been a different game, for better or worse.
The resolution and tearing debate was understandable, but also out of control. The game looked great regardless; the resolution deficiency was only jarring during the daylight sections, which were less than a fourth of the game.
The major justified shortcoming of the game is the lack of variety in both enemy types and locales. Having said that, the core gameplay mechanics were polished enough that there was still fun to be had fighting the taken, especially in the higher difficulties.
Will the PC version still allow you to run past the majority of the encounters in the game?
I found it weird that when you reached a checkpoint all the enemies despawn. Enjoyable enough game though, will buy when it drops in price.
They vanished, but they came back if not destroyed in the light or by Alan.