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[Nibel]

Microsoft’s vision for the future of application development and distribution on Windows, dubbed “Universal Windows Platform” (UWP) and “Universal Windows Apps” (UWA) is currently the most controversial subject in PC gaming. Universal apps first came to our attention with the Windows Store version of Rise of the Tomb Raider missing display settings available in the Steam version, and escalated with Epic Games co-founder Tim Sweeney criticizing universal Windows apps as a closed platform that “can, should, must and will, die as a result of industry backlash” if Microsoft doesn’t open it up.

This article aims to clarify what UWA is and and provide my own perspective on the matter. The first part will deal with the current state of the platform and all the problems and limitations you should be aware of before buying a game on it. After this objective analysis, I’ll provide my more subjective commentary as a long-term PC gaming enthusiast and modder on the potential impact of Universal Windows apps.

You can read the piece here

For the "who?" people

Peter "Durante" Thoman is the creator of PC downsampling tool GeDoSaTo and the modder behind Dark Souls' DSfix. He has previously analyzed PC ports like The Witcher 3, written about why broken PC ports are unacceptable, and written an open letter to game developers about the features PC gamers want.

 

[Dictator93]

Thx for the link Nibel.

/reading

 

[Hastati]

Thanks for the the heads up, will give this article the attention it deserves. And thanks in advance to Durante for devoting your time and energy to writing it.

Edit: as expected, that was a great article. It will be interesting to see which developers Microsoft manages to rope into their efforts at a closed system monopoly. A lot of companies have been pulling this shit over the past decade, Autodesk, Adobe, MS, Apple, it's amazing that legislation has fallen so far behind. I guess there's no law that prevents MS from turning their own product into an even more tightly controlled anti-consumer money maker as long as alternatives exist.

 

[Eiji]

Thanks, reading it now 8)

 

[Kaako]

Durante article? Sign me up, reading now.

 

[demosthenes]

Thanks for linking.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Thanks for the link OP.

My goodness all this MS/windows talk recently 😗

 

[Kama_1082]

Fantastic article.

 

[Flandy]

I'd be surprised if there was anyone on Gaf who didn't know who Durante is

 

[Banana Aeon]

UWAs are unacceptable, and Microsoft should fuck off trying to promote this anti-consumer, restrictive shit.

 

[GRaider81]

Fantastic stuff.

My favourite gaffer. Just knows what he's talking about.

 

[FX-GMC]

Fantastic article.

Agree. I much prefer this method of bringing attention to this issue than what we got previously.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Great article.

 

[Maximo]

Giving a bump and a read, deserves it.

 

[LiK]

I'd be surprised if there was anyone on Gaf who didn't know who Durante is

if they don't, they should be ashamed.

 

[DSN2K]

Good read, PC gamers should be alarmed and need to make it quite clear to MS we don't approve to these measures.The only way we can do that is not buying games on the Windows 10 store. PC has done just fine without MS full support during their console adventure, now that the Xbox brand is struggling a bit they want use the PC market again...I don't buy it.

 

[Htown]

Good shit, Durante.

Well done, as usual.

 

[Suzushiiro]

I see the Windows store working out like Origin has- people will put up with it for the sake of playing the few games they can't get anywhere else, but for everything else they'll use Steam. As long as that holds I don't see it being a huge threat to the PC ecosystem as a whole.

A++ article, though unless there's a PC port of Vesperia I don't know about I think you named the wrong Tales game.

 

[Kama_1082]

I'm supportive of MS bringing in their previous Xbox One only titles to the PC, but not like this. Sure, WIN10 can and should have their own storefront, but not crippling the games as they are doing right now. I'm perfectly fine with having the exclusives on the store, but not at this price.

 

[Tain]

Great piece. Clear and thorough.

 

[Durante]

I don't go into it in the article because fully explaining the background of it would have made an already long article even longer, but I'd like to note that signing applications is not inherently a bad thing. However, what needs to be front and center with that is user control, and more than that, user control with a convenient interface. Users should be able to exert full control over which software signatures they trust and which they don't, as well as retaining full control over the execution state and files of any program or game they own.

UWAs, at this point in time, put Microsoft's control and decisions over those of the system owner, and while that's standard for consoles it is not what the PC platform has ever been about or should ever be about.

 

[FSLink]

Of course, it’s not just these visual modifications which are affected. Game-specific mods like the recent Tales of Vesperia 60 FPS fix or my own DSfix would equally be rendered impossible to accomplish – or at the very least far more difficult both to develop and for the user to apply.

I didn't realize Tales of Vesperia came out on PC. ;P
Should be Tales of Zestiria.

Great article of what I've read so far, just thought I'd point that out.

 

[Azar]

I'd poke fun at the thread title, but I like Durante being a spokesman for PC Games, anyway.

I hope this addresses the topic clearly and fairly for everyone interested. I think it's a more complicated subject than many people realize, and I'm still hopeful that Microsoft surprises us with some consumer-friendly changes to the platform at Build. Until then, I want to be fair but critical of what we know.

 

[Dictator93]

So many tidbits in the article which point out the dire state current apps on the store have, and the possible future which they invite should they supplant the venerable win32 .exe.

I can only hope people at MS are reading articles like this one and pay heed to the comments of Tim Sweeney regarding the future of UWA distribution and user configurability. I do not want MS to steward some store that is synonymous with an application format/API . I do not want the inability to modify game files to my liking. I do not want PC gaming to approach console gaming in the aspects as mentioned by Durante in the conclusion.

I completely fail to see the "benefits" for users and developers that this system should apparently provide in its current state. Nothing is preventing the ease of use of win32 applications in their current state: Steam Big Picture Mode shows how simple these things really are with out radically curtailing user freedom and otherwise.

 

[ponpo]

However, a unified programming and distribution platform is no help at all to your corporate strategy when no one is using it, which brings us all the way back to gaming: why not use some of your investment in console games to try and increase the popularity of your new platform?

I don't know much about this Windows situation, but aren't they already doing this seeing as several of the previously XBO exclusive titles are now also coming to Windows?

 

[Durante]

I didn't realize Tales of Vesperia came out on PC. ;P
Should be Tales of Zestiria.

Great article of what I've read so far, just thought I'd point that out.

Right, brainfart. Thanks for the heads-up.

I don't know much about this Windows situation, but aren't they already doing this seeing as several of the previously XBO exclusive titles are now also coming to Windows?

Exactly, that was my point.

 

[Kama_1082]

I don't know much about this Windows situation, but aren't they already doing this seeing as several of the previously XBO exclusive titles are now also coming to Windows?

That's the only reason Microsoft is bringing those games to he PC. On their store and their terms.

 

[KingBroly]

So UWP's are like Console games...but on PC. You can't mod them, get custom settings, etc. That doesn't strike me as a good idea on a Platform where that kind of stuff is King.

 

[GametimeUK]

I see the Windows store working out like Origin has- people will put up with it for the sake of playing the few games they can't get anywhere else, but for everything else they'll use Steam. As long as that holds I don't see it being a huge threat to the PC ecosystem as a whole.

This! And I am guilty of grabbing Gears of War, but it's only the Xbone games that will get my money. However, could you imagine how much Microsoft would lose out on if people switched from XB1 to PC? No more 3rd party sales from them who would have bought those 3rd party games on XB1. I doubt this will happen obviously, but just funny to see them not try and future proof their strategy. It seems like a very temporary and disposable storefront.

Origin is decent now, though.

 

[Nibel]

I see the Windows store working out like Origin has- people will put up with it for the sake of playing the few games they can't get anywhere else, but for everything else they'll use Steam. As long as that holds I don't see it being a huge threat to the PC ecosystem as a whole.

But afaik Origin doesn't cripple its games like the Windows Store and UWAs do though, right? I think a large portion of gamers might skip some major games because of that, especially the PC crowd

I feel the big difference here is that the lust for control goes so far that it hurts both consumers and the actual games; Steam and Origins have their quirks for sure but none of them go as far as this one

 

[Dream_Journey]

That was awesome to read. I'm glad i don't like Microsoft exclusive games like crazy

Spoiler

(but i fear for Scalebound)

so no support from me but for people who like bad days on the way...

Spoiler

Hope not

Thanks for the link!

 

[Knurek]

UWAs, at this point in time, put Microsoft's control and decisions over those of the system owner, and while that's standard for consoles it is not what the PC platform has ever been about or should ever be about.

You say that you don't have access to UWA's filesystem...
That's not really true, is it? You can't access the executable, but the actual files are right there on the harddrive, not encrypted in any way as far as I can see:

Hitman GO $0.1 purchase from Windows Store - standard Unity datafiles, plain to see and tinker with.

 

[Kaako]

God damn my dude, that second page was absolutely MONEY! You explained your subjective stance very well and I agree given MS history.

 

[Htown]

I don't know much about this Windows situation, but aren't they already doing this seeing as several of the previously XBO exclusive titles are now also coming to Windows?

That's the only reason Microsoft is bringing those games to he PC. On their store and their terms.

Exactly.

Again, this is a repeat of what they did with Games for Windows Live. That's why Gears of War, Viva Pinata, and Halo 2 have PC versions. Of course, once the PC gaming audience rejected Microsoft's terms (in this case, paid multiplayer service like the console version of Live), the flow of titles magically dried up.

My fear is that, just like with GFWL, third parties will get caught up in Microsoft's new busted-ass system and we'll be dealing with this universal app nonsense for ages.

 

[Savitar]

In Durante I trust. In Microsoft I only expect them to find a way to fuck things up, as they seem to be about doing. Again. Don't they ever learn.

 

[KingBroly]

Exactly.

Again, this is a repeat of what they did with Games for Windows Live. That's why Gears of War, Viva Pinata, and Halo 2 have PC versions. Of course, once the PC gaming audience rejected Microsoft's terms (in this case, paid multiplayer service like the console version of Live), the flow of titles magically dried up.

My fear is that, just like with GFWL, third parties will get caught up in Microsoft's new busted-ass system and we'll be dealing with this universal app nonsense for ages.

The only difference this time around is they don't have the balls to charge for online. Will it make it more inviting? Yes. But by how much?

 

[SunBroDave]

Glad that after all of the stellar articles Durante has done for PC Gamer, they've given him a platform to spread awareness on the subject so that people can actually have an informed opinion instead of blindly choosing to condemn or exonerate Microsoft. Reading now

 

[Jackpot]

This old slide made me more disgusted than anything.

 

[Htown]

But afaik Origin doesn't cripple its games like the Windows Store and UWAs do though, right? I think a large portion of gamers might skip some major games because of that, especially the PC crowd

I feel the big difference here is that the lust for control goes so far that it hurts both consumers and the actual games; Steam and Origins have their quirks for sure but none of them go as far as this one

The other big difference is that Electronic Arts and Valve don't have control of more general, operating system level aspects of the PC platform. Microsoft does. EA doesn't have the ability to decide that DirectX 12.1 features are going to be exclusive to universal windows apps. Microsoft does.

 

[Durante]

You say that you don't have access to UWA's filesystem...

I actually don't say that in the general case anywhere, because as you found out it does depend on the specific UWA in question. What I do say is that UWAs can restrict file access, and that the user "is limited in many ways". They certainly do restrict access to the execution state of a game/application.

 

[epmode]

MS found a way to make something worse than GFWL. I knew they could do it!

 

[Htown]

The only difference this time around is they don't have the balls to charge for online.

Honestly, I could even see them trying that again.

After all, if it's all one universal Microsoft platform, how do you justify charging for online play on one piece of hardware and not another? It's easier to either get rid of the fee on the one platform (not likely, considering how much money it brings in for them), or extend it to the other platform.

They even have a way to sweeten the pot this time, since Games with Gold is a thing now.

"Join Windows Gold and get Viva Pinata as one of your first month's free titles!"

 

[pompidu]

While I agree with everything in the article, what is different from apple store vs a windows store?

Why is it fair for Apple to do this and not Microsoft? Is it just because people want to continue status quo?

 

[CHC]

So much preemptive backlash to the UWA shift, it's great to see. I'm glad that people are trying to pull the brake on this train before it even levels the station because it's a bad direction and MS should know.

 

[GRaider81]

This will be the first time ever I will be boycotting buying games.

Its a shame because Id love to play Forza and Quantum Break on PC but at this point I'd honestly rather buy an xbox1 than buy these versions.

 

[Kezen]

Honestly, I could even see them trying that again.

After all, if it's all one universal Microsoft platform, how do you justify charging for online play on one piece of hardware and not another? It's easier to either get rid of the fee on the one platform (not likely, considering how much money it brings in for them), or extend it to the other platform.

They even have a way to sweeten the pot this time, since Games with Gold is a thing now.

"Join Windows Gold and get Viva Pinata as one of your first month's free titles!"

They are not deluded enough to believe PC gamers will accept that piece of shit.
Online = free on PC. No way around that.

 

[gelf]

I see the Windows store working out like Origin has- people will put up with it for the sake of playing the few games they can't get anywhere else, but for everything else they'll use Steam. As long as that holds I don't see it being a huge threat to the PC ecosystem as a whole.

A++ article, though unless there's a PC port of Vesperia I don't know about I think you named the wrong Tales game.

The difference with Origin is that EA has no control over the OS. They can't use means to force you to use thier store over any other. Microsoft does have that power.

It was suspicious the moment MS started giving away and even trying to force Win 10 on users. They must plan to make money from these users in a different way. If we're all just running traditional third party windows programs then Microsoft aren't getting a cent from anyone in this model. The plan is obviously to nudge or push us towards the store they get a cut from every purchase.

 

[Crayon]

.

 

[legacyzero]

Microft: "Fuck you Durante. We want our 30%."

Because screw quality games.

 

[iNvid02]

great article, echoes my own thoughts and covers pretty much everything there is to know about UWPs at this time

the ball is in their court

edit: this rang so true, i mentioned it in the winstore ot, sure its a "top down intiaitive to unify", but its to drive growth to the winstore so it can compete with apple and google, they're leveraging whatever they have at their disposal (xbox) to ensure its success

to make it clear that their primary strategic objective is to make sure that UWP and the Windows store is a success, not that gaming on PC is as good for enthusiasts as it can be. Once we recognize this, many of the design decisions which result in the limitations outlined in the first part of this article make sense.