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Ubisoft/Assassin's Creed devs love Blu-ray disc

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
It's from a user on B3D.

Assassin's Creed guys (Nicholas Cantin and Alex Drouin). It's in Dutch, so translation mine:

OPM: How's your experience with the storage media of the PS3, the HDD and the BluRay disc? And do you have any comparable experience with HD-DVD technology?

M.M.: Our focus is 100% BluRay, so I cannot compare with HD-DVD. I can only say that the new BluRay disc format is truly awesome. The capacity is immense, and the Data Transfer Rate is way beyond what we are used to. And that's really important, because Data Streaming (OPMED: where the console constantly loads new data from disc) is truly the only way to push next-gen games to the limit. The Playstation 3 HDD is something that we have so far given less attention to, because it hasn't been certain all that long yet that it will be standard on every console. Decreasing load-times by copying a part of the game to the HDD is one possibility, though it doesn't matter all that much for a streaming game like ours. But there are tons of other applications, such as the possibility to as it were record your whole game, to be able to watch a replay of it later on. We intend to use the HD optimally, but how, I can't tell yet currently.

Also interesting is this question:

OPM: What do you think about the performance of the graphics chip, the Nvidea RSX?

M.M.: The RSX-chip is also a beast. Not only is it incredibly fast, but just like in the PS2 you can have each Cell-core cooperate with the RSX independently. Other graphics chips also have decent Noraml Mapping- and Shader-capabilities, but RSX adds a lot of additional specialised filters and possibilities, leading to fabulous results in the graphics department. And what is really convenient is that Nvidia has been a market-leader for years, and everyone knows the technology and way of thinking through-and-through. This decreases the learning process considerably.

So basically they are streaming the game a la GTA:SA? It's good to see devs developing their games from the ground up with Blu-ray in mind.

What do you guys think about this? Good move, bad move?

Oh and this is from a Dutch magazine. Here's the link their website.

http://www.opm2.nl/start.php3?flash=installed
 

sharukins

Banned
i dont think its wise to think "just like PS2 cpu-gpu connection" is a great thing

bad move for sony because sony will justify bluray for a higher game price and average joe doesnt like high prices especially in US
 

Draft

Member
Push it to the limit!

the limiiiiit!

Past the point of no return
don't look back you gotta move on
until you win it

Push it to the limit!
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
i think that's definitely a good sign for the PS3 as far as its functionalities and how the hardware works. it'll be interesting to have "replays" of our gameplay on the hard drive though heh.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Are they supposed to say something bad about Blu-Ray?

Anyway, it's nice that they're trying to utilize PS3's strengths well... it might as well.
 

Xrenity

Member
Source: Official PlayStation Magazine.

Still wondering when other versions will be announced.

Please let there be a PC version!
 

neptunes

Member
"The Playstation 3 HDD is something that we have so far given less attention to, because it hasn't been certain all that long yet that it will be standard on every console. Decreasing load-times by copying a part of the game to the HDD is one possibility, though"
Anyone else think that the HDD inclusion of the ps3 was announced to devs pretty late, like the motion sensitive Dual Shock? Like GDC late?


edit: oh, it's an interview with OPMUK, were you expecting a different reply?
 
Amir0x said:
Are they supposed to say something bad about Blu-Ray?

Anyway, it's nice that they're trying to utilize PS3's strengths well... it might as well.

No they're suppose to say DVD's are just fine for another generation.
 

snatches

Member
If you believe either of the two things listed here, read the spoiler below for another shocker:

1) Assassins Creed is a PS3 exclusive
2) Assassins Creed will look noticeably better on PS3

SANTA CLAUS IS REAL!!11!!1!!one
 

sharukins

Banned
snatches said:
If you believe either of the two things listed here, read the spoiler below for another shocker:

1) Assassins Creed is a PS3 exclusive
2) Assassins Creed will look noticeably better on PS3

SANTA CLAUS IS REAL!!11!!1!!one

3) It was shown on PC at E3 and just like at E3 2005, thier praising the hell out of the timed exclusive platform, wait till E3 2007
 

Vark

Member
All they said was that it holds lots of data.

We knew this :p

Then they said the transfer rate was good. Which wasn't compared to anything and is sort of questionable given everything I've heard.
 

snatches

Member
Vark said:
All they said was that it holds lots of data.

We knew this :p

Then they said the transfer rate was good. Which wasn't compared to anything and is sort of questionable given everything I've heard.

Yeah cuz you're not working on a PS3 version of Oblivion :p
 

Mrbob

Member
Nerevar said:
hmm, Sony must be very close to buying the exclusive rights to the game.

Or perhaps UBI wants to expand their reach on another platform. We already know UBI does a good job on Xbox platforms. I think this may not be so much a moneyhat as it is UBI trying to extend their reach on a Playstation platform with a highly wanted title. UBI wants to increase their Playstation marketshare.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
I don't think he's really saying they're building the game around Blu-ray, fundamentally anyway. Taking added advantage of it, perhaps, but not to the point where it couldn't be done at all on DVD, or multiple DVDs at least - if a game is multiplatform you have to at least make sure it'll work on another system

element said:
that is the direct opposite that I keep hearing.

I think he's referring to current-gen systems. Although there seems to be some wider confusion over how it compares to 360's data transfer rate. Some people say Blu-ray's is constant, and a higher constant than 360's minimum rate, which is what you'll typically have to code around in situations like this. I don't know how true that is (?)
 
Mrbob said:
I think this may not be so much a moneyhat as it is UBI trying to extend their reach on a Playstation platform with a highly wanted title.

Sony's probably throwing out moneyhats at an unheard of rate after not securing GTA4 as a time exclusive. So they just make up for it by getting other games completely exclusive. :p
 

sharukins

Banned
gofreak said:
I don't think he's really saying they're building the game around Blu-ray, fundamentally anyway. Taking added advantage of it, sure, but not to the point where it couldn't be done at all on DVD, or multiple DVDs at least - if a game is multiplatform you have to at least make sure it'll work on another system



I think he's referring to current-gen systems. Although there seems to be some wider confusion over how it compares to 360's data transfer rate. Some people say Blu-ray's is constant, and a higher constant than 360's minimum rate, which is what you'll typically have to code around in situations like this. I don't know how true that is.

No. Fundamentally he is saying that. thier building the game for bluray, they would never hype it like that if they were not going to use it. 360 has varied transfer rate which is better for the developer and the disc itself. for the developer they can vary its speed according to situation prolonging the life of the drives , same for dvd playback. But then again that feature is common in all DVDs. I guess varied speeds is not a feature in Bluray discs.
 

Mrbob

Member
SolidSnakex said:
Sony's probably throwing out moneyhats at an unheard of rate after not securing GTA4 as a time exclusive. So they just make up for it by getting other games completely exclusive. :p

This is possible. And I think this is a good idea. For the price of GTA4 sony may be able to get 5-10 exclusive games. GTA4 pull won't be as strong as the game sales on Playstation 2, so this is money better spent.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
sharukins said:
No. Fundamentally he is saying that. thier building the game for bluray, they would never hype it like that if they were not going to use it.

The game has to be on Blu-ray, my point is they're not going to make the game fundamentally dependent on it such that it could not be done on 360, if it's a multiplatform game!

sharukins said:
360 has varied transfer rate which is better for the developer and the disc itself. for the developer they can vary its speed according to situation prolonging the life of the drives , same for dvd playback. But then again that feature is common in all DVDs. I guess varied speeds is not a feature in Bluray discs.

I thought DVD's variable transfer rate wasn't something you had control over, as such. You might be able to control the rotational speed, but the transfer rate at a given speed..?
 

sharukins

Banned
Mrbob said:
This is possible. And I think this is a good idea. For the price of GTA4 sony may be able to get 5-10 exclusive games. GTA4 pull won't be as strong as the game sales on Playstation 2, so this is money better spent.

true and Ubisoft still has to announce Naruto
 

neptunes

Member
Is there any specifications on the Blu-Ray drive to be used in the ps3?

Like Transfer rate, avarage seek times etc...?
 
But there are tons of other applications, such as the possibility to as it were record your whole game, to be able to watch a replay of it later on.

Oh shit, oh shit!! I Kame!

:O :O :O

That's going to be awsome for games like Burnout, Madden, and Devil May cry.


- Your own PS3 will be able to host a blog/bulletin board of sorts, that your buddies will be able to access (remember, always-on, always-connected). You'll be able to put photos and video on this blog, as well as recordings of your best moments from games. Termed as "lifestyle servers".


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3047445&postcount=1

LifeStyle Servers for the Fucking win!
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
PhatSaqs said:
So this is why the game is being built from the ground up on PS3 right? Oh wait....
It will probably have to be re-progammed from the ground up to properly work on PS3, though. At least the CPU code - graphics code doesn't matter as much in this case as they are probably running the demo build on a NV card.
 

Mmmkay

Member
gofreak said:
I thought DVD's variable transfer rate wasn't something you had control over, as such. You might be able to control the speed, but the transfer rate at a given speed..?

CAV drives spin at the same speed. So the closer you reach to the rim of the disc, the faster the data rate. Consequently pushing your content to the edge is a method of 'controlling' transfer rate. I've no idea what the christ sharukins is talking about.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Moneyhats2k5 said:
But there are tons of other applications, such as the possibility to as it were record your whole game, to be able to watch a replay of it later on.

Oh shit, oh shit!! I Kame!

:O :O :O

That's going to be awsome for games like Burnout, Madden, and Devil May cry.


- Your own PS3 will be able to host a blog/bulletin board of sorts, that your buddies will be able to access (remember, always-on, always-connected). You'll be able to put photos and video on this blog, as well as recordings of your best moments from games. Termed as "lifestyle servers".


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3047445&postcount=1

LifeStyle Servers for the Fucking win!

The whole "lifestyle blog" thing isn't confirmed, but Phil Harrison has confirmed you'll be able to record footage from games. It sounds more like something that's part of the OS, though, than something implemented by the game..though who knows yet.

Mmmkay said:
CAV drives spin at the same speed. So the closer you reach to the rim of the disc, the faster the data rate. Consequently pushing your content to the edge is a method of 'controlling' transfer rate.

This makes sense, but you'd have to be selective about what data you put there obviously if space is tight. Basically different data can be retrieved at different rates on a DVD versus a constant one on Blu-ray? Or..?
 

sharukins

Banned
gofreak said:
The game has to be on Blu-ray, my point is they're not going to make the game fundamentally dependent on it such that it could not be done on 360, if it's a multiplatform game!



I thought DVD's variable transfer rate wasn't something you had control over, as such. You might be able to control the speed, but the transfer rate at a given speed..?

I think in modern dvd players you can have varied transfer rates
 
Mrbob said:
This is possible. And I think this is a good idea. For the price of GTA4 sony may be able to get 5-10 exclusive games. GTA4 pull won't be as strong as the game sales on Playstation 2, so this is money better spent.

I think its smart, at the least get games like time exclusive. Assassins is already generating alot of hype for a game that was really only shown behind closed doors. Although it does make you wonder how much GTA4 would've cost to secure.
 
It will probably be like Xbox1 "customized soundtracks", where the Devs have to implement it. Sony can only offer the ability to do it, where as the Devs have to actually use it.
 

Mrbob

Member
SolidSnakex said:
I think its smart, at the least get games like time exclusive. Assassins is already generating alot of hype for a game that was really only shown behind closed doors. Although it does make you wonder how much GTA4 would've cost to secure.

Well after Xbox 360 gamers get a taste of Crackdown, Rockstar will be crawling back to Sony for a timed exclusive on GTA4. ;)

Of course I would trade GTA4 exclusive to PS3 for both Assassins Creed and Mercs 2 on 360. I'll get GTA4 eventually but I'm a little worn out on the formula. It won't be as exciting as AC or Mercs 2.
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Mrbob said:
Well after Xbox 360 gamers get a taste of Crackdown, Rockstar will be crawling back to Sony for a timed exclusive on GTA4. ;)

Of course I would trade GTA4 exclusive to PS3 for both Assassins Creed and Mercs 2 on 360. I'll get GTA4 eventually but I'm a little worn out on the formula. It won't be as exciting as AC or Mercs 2.

Bob when are you gonna tone down on the Crackdown viral marketing?
 

Amir0x

Banned
kaching said:
Are they "supposed to" be as positive about it as these comments indicate?

yeah actually i think they probably are. i mean i don't think they explicity say 'you must be X amount positive', but i think it would probably be pretty stupid not to be as positive about the platform you're using as the lead development environment as humanly possible. Just makes sense, for a game you're gonna be trying to sell down the line.
 
Mrbob said:
Well after Xbox 360 gamers get a taste of Crackdown, Rockstar will be crawling back to Sony for a timed exclusive on GTA4. ;)

Are they crawling because they've fallen ont he ground laughing? :p

Mrbob said:
Of course I would trade GTA4 exclusive to PS3 for both Assassins Creed and Mercs 2 on 360. I'll get GTA4 eventually but I'm a little worn out on the formula. It won't be as exciting as AC or Mercs 2.

I think Rockstar is going to have some interesting things planned for GTA4. People are really underestimating it for some reason. They never called VC, or SAS GTA4 because they wanted there to be a huge improvement over GTA3 and none of those games really offered it. This isn't going to be GTA3 with prettier graphics by any means. Whether or not it'll be as interesting to some as Assassins or Mercenaries 2 remains to be seen, but I definetly don't think people will be shrugging it off once they hear details on it.
 

Acosta

Member
The question is, if they go for 100% Blue Ray (50 Gb?) how are they going to put all that on a DVD if there is finally other platform versions? magic?

I still find hard that developers that profits 100% of Blue-Ray capacity can port so easily their game without loses of any type.

Other thing is that with other type of developmench approach they can get the same results, sure. But what happen when they use an approach thought for PS3 and try to port that to other systems?
 
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