Support NeoGAF

[Steve Youngblood]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Steam refund was refused because of playtime. I'm sitting at 21 hours but that was a struggle across a glitch infested campaign and I planned to get 100% for both the additonal ending. I also paid for season pass content which has been unusable for months.

Additionally my current save when loading the game is game breaking since I'm stuck moving along a X axis stuck in the ground as what appears to be a "free cam" with no possible way out.

Hope I can get a refund for this.

 

[Kezen]

If they can't get their act together for their PC ports they should just stop releasing them.

No they should not. Profits are there and it's still a better version in the end on high-end hardware.

 

[metareferential]

So, you want a free game, basically?

That makes no sense.

I want to be able to play a game I choose (just playing devil's advocate here, I didn't buy the game nor I intend to); since the PC offering is not playable, and since I want to play the game they offer, the only alternative is the console version.

So a refund is the legal way of solving the matter; the free console version (or a heavy discounted one) is a way of telling "we're sorry and you're a valued customer".

That's just marketing, really.

 

[alexandros]

Yes, and if they for some stupid reason they don't get their act together and stop being cheap, then is it really any better to release a broken-ass port over no release at all?

There is no "if", no alternative. They have to get their act together.

 

[Machina]

No they should not. Profits are there and it's still a better version in the end on high-end hardware.

Like what, a Titan X?

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

There is no "if", no alternative. They have to get their act together.

You are still not answering my question. Is it better to have a broken port or no port at all?

 

[Kezen]

Like what, a Titan X?

Nope, a 980 in my case. I posted benchmarks in another thread.

2015-10-28 20:30:49 - BatmanAK
Frames: 4670 - Time: 78266ms - Avg: 59.668 - Min: 56 - Max: 61

I'll gladly take that over any console versions, the PC version is everything but broken on my system.

So I'm glad WB did not outright cancelled the PC sku.

 

[alexandros]

You are still not answering my question. Is it better to have a broken port or no port at all?

A broken port, you can build on it for future sequels and learn some valuable lessons.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

I wonder if this means WB can induce other retailers like GMG to take refunds again. I'm not one to return games but if so, I just might.

Under EU law GMG should give you a refund, since this is admittedly a product that was sold broken and can't be fixed.

 

[roytheone]

You are still not answering my question. Is it better to have a broken port or no port at all?

I am playing this game and taking the horrible hitches for granted, because I am a huge fan of the series (arkham city was one of my favorite games of the last generation) and I don't own a PS4 or Xbone. So yeah, for me having a broken port is still better than no port at all. I would have been pretty pissed if I was unable to play the final chapter in one of my favorite series because they can't create a good pc version.

 

[R_thanatos]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

Same . I don't understand what can't be bug fixed after 4 months and assists from both rocksteady and nvidia.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

At this point it can only be the engine. As someone else said, it's not "unfixable", as there probably are a few things that they could do, but probably none of them are worth the significant investment they would be.

 

[manueldelalas]

Can I buy it now, play it, and return it before the end of the year?

 

[Kezen]

Same . I don't understand what can't be bug fixed after 4 months and assists from both rocksteady and nvidia.

Structural engine issues perhaps. The simple rain effects however should not remain bugged on PC.

 

[Zakalwe]

Scan.co.uk said no dice for a switch. They dismissed it as "game was free, we have no responsibility to help you", which I found a little off. Could have at least offered me a shitty noise may or tiny discount in future as a gesture of goodwill.

I bought this GPU specifically because the two games were offered with it. These companies are more than happy to use bundled games to gain revenue, but if the software is faulty it was "free" so they can just wave you away.

Poor practice, imo.

 

[Dictator93]

Structural engine issues perhaps. The simple rain effects however should not remain bugged on PC.

Working as intended, mate. The artists wanted it that way.

Spoiler

haha

 

[heringer]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

It's probably not that it's impossible to fix, but that it would be such a huge pain in the ass (like coding stuff from scratch) that it's financially unviable.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

It's probably not that it's impossible to fix, but that it would be such a huge pain in the ass (like coding stuff from scratch) that it's financially unviable.

Right, but even then, why? Keeping in mind that I already admitted to not being the most technical person in the world, why were they able to get these games up to acceptable performance on consoles, but not PC?

 

[Kezen]

Right, but even then, why? Keeping in mind that I already admitted to not being the most technical person in the world, why were they able to get these games up to acceptable performance on consoles, but not PC?

30fps is not 60fps.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Right, but even then, why? Keeping in mind that I already admitted to not being the most technical person in the world, why were they able to get these games up to acceptable performance on consoles, but not PC?

Acceptable on console != acceptable on pc. Standards.

 

[coughlanio]

Scan.co.uk said no dice for a switch. They dismissed it as "game was free, we have no responsibility to help you", which I found a little off. Could have at least offered me a shitty noise may or tiny discount in future as a gesture of goodwill.

I bought this GPU specifically because the two games were offered with it. These companies are more than happy to use bundled games to gain revenue, but if the software is faulty it was "free" so they can just wave you away.

Poor practice, imo.

You actually expect them to do something? It's like asking for a discount on a good meal when the complimentary mint you get when you pay isn't good. If anyone should do something, it's Nvidia, as they were the ones using it as a purchase incentive!

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

Under EU law GMG should give you a refund, since this is admittedly a product that was sold broken and can't be fixed.

I just got denied from gmg for a refund since they declare the game fixed since the September patch.

 

[ryushe]

GMG isn't giving refunds anymore, I just got this as a reply:

Originally Posted by GMG
Warner Brothers have released a patch on the 3rd September which has fixed the majority of the gameplay issues customers were facing. As this game is now considered in a playable state, we are no longer honoring refund requests for this title as previously announced in our blog post.

This doesn't make sense. If WB issued this statement, why wouldn't they honor the refund? I'm still going to try my luck, but I'm not expecting anything positive which really really sucks.

 

[GoDLiKe]

That was really, really embarassing. Damn what a shame.

 

[Noray]

Right, but even then, why? Keeping in mind that I already admitted to not being the most technical person in the world, why were they able to get these games up to acceptable performance on consoles, but not PC?

They built a frankenengine out of Unreal Engine 3 that's optimized for consoles at 30fps. Their texture streaming tech was not built in any way to scale to various hardware configurations and not it can't handle 60fps unless you have an really good rig with a ton of RAM and VRAM. I'm not a technical person either but at a guess, they'd have to rewrite large parts of the code to change the entire rendering pipeline in order to get it to work properly on PCs without obscene specs. Which means lots of engineering, lots of work, lots of testing. Which they apparently didn't do in the last 4 months although they said they would.

 

[KingBroly]

This doesn't make sense. If WB issued this statement, why wouldn't they honor the refund? I'm still going to try my luck, but I'm not expecting anything positive which really really sucks.

They probably didnt get the memo and was probably made long ago

 

[Mr. Luchador]

I just got denied from gmg for a refund since they declare the game fixed since the September patch.

Reply to the email, ask to speak to their manager and link them to the updated response from Warner Brothers quoting the line 'things that cannot be fixed' and 'full refund'. Don't let the first response deter you.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

30fps is not 60fps.

Isn't the main problem, not the FPS, but the microstuttering that happens in either framerate target? That dosn't happen on consoles.

 

[Jesus_Christ_Almighty]

I just got denied from gmg for a refund since they declare the game fixed since the September patch.

That's horse shit. GMG needs to honour refunds.

 

[Schweinehund]

Conflicted on this, I held out on refunding it because I thought they'd be able to fix it, so I beat it even though it stuttered quite a bit on PC, now it sounds like they're unable to fix the stuttering that is still affecting it. I think I'll get a refund but this still feels like piracy on some level for me. I'll probably pick up the GOTY edition on ps4 at some point.

I could hold out and buy a new GPU down the line but it sounds like people are still having issues on higher end rigs, so there's no guarantee there. I just like that feel of glorious 60 fps free flow combat.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

In GMG's defense this was announced late last night and it's a Sunday morning now, so they probably haven't had a chance to review their stance on this yet.

 

[Kezen]

Isn't the main problem, not the FPS, but the microstuttering that happens in either framerate target? That dosn't happen on consoles.

Here's what DF has to say :

To enjoy high or even console-equivalent settings, you need a 4GB card. Here we're testing the R9 380 4GB. Note the complete lack of stutter, but also note that there's little improvement between the latest patch and the interim release.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-re-released-batman-arkham-knight-performance-analysis
30fps with RTSS should be stutter free if you have enough VRAM.

Haven't tested myself.

 

[Schweinehund]

In GMG's defense this was announced late last night and it's a Sunday morning now, so they probably haven't had a chance to review their stance on this yet.

Yeah if it's publisher mandated I see no reason they'd turn it down. I don't think there's any loss on their part. I'll check back with them by the end of this week.

 

[BassForever]

Wow just how shitty was the port/programing if the pc version that it literally has unfixable problems? When's the last time a major triple aaa game publisher has ever said a problem was "unfixable" like this if ever?

 

[Agent Matt]

edit: nvm

 

[Mr. X]

They lost a lot of money and goodwill by rushing this out the door. Irresponsible as fuck.

 

[SirMossyBloke]

Under EU law GMG should give you a refund, since this is admittedly a product that was sold broken and can't be fixed.

Nope. Just sent me an email saying the patch in September fixed most of the problems, so no refund.

Edit:

Hi,

Thanks for your ticket.

Warner Brothers have released a patch on the 3rd September which has fixed the majority of the gameplay issues customers were facing. As this game is now considered in a playable state, we are no longer honoring refund requests for this title as previously announced in our blog post.

To find more information on this patch and the changes that have been made, you can navigate to this announcement here.

Kind regards,

 

[Fardeen]

i got the game for free with an nvidia card and i still want a refund!!!

 

[MindGamingMantis]

No they should not. Profits are there and it's still a better version in the end on high-end hardware.

"A better version on high-end hardware". Right.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

30fps is not 60fps.

Acceptable on console != acceptable on pc. Standards.

There are problems that the PC version still has (for some) that are not present in the console versions, even when running the game at the same specs as the console versions. The stuttering is still happening for people will much better hardware than the console versions. It was definitely objectively worse than the console version on release day, and it's seemingly been random who it works properly for.

Here's what DF has to say :

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-re-released-batman-arkham-knight-performance-analysis
30fps with RTSS should be stutter free if you have enough VRAM.

Haven't tested myself.

And that quote doesn't exactly touch on how they couldn't get that to work on PC yet Rocksteady managed to avoid stutter completely on consoles. It's baffling.

This opinion is so wrong I can't even.

Asylum was perfection. All killer, no filler. Best in the series.

Anyway yeah. Refund this shitshow if you can. I can't. I got what I deserved I guess.

Asylum isn't better than its sequels, and if you're interested in putting together a rebuttal that goes beyond calling the game "perfection" and leaving it at that, here's a thread I made a while back about how Asylum is outclassed by City.

"A better version on high-end hardware". Right.

Yeah, I'm tired of Kezen pushing the narrative that the PC version is universally better on high-end hardware than the console version when there are people with worse experiences on 980TIs and above. I managed to get a decent experience the first time through performance-wise, but that seems like a fluke.

 

[dr_rus]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

I believe that this may be because of user h/w configurations. You obviously can't fix slow h/w on users end and there's so much you can do to make the game run on lower end configs.

 

[The Hermit]

wow

thats all I can say

 

[Zimbardo]

issues they can't fix eh? wonder what they are.

i'll pick it up for $5 someday and see how it is ...hopefully it'll work alright by then.

 

[Diablohead]

Mind you, I'm not the most technical person in the world, but it's really difficult for me to understand what issues exist that they literally can't fix. I got Batman free with my 980 Ti and I'm not even upset that I can't get a refund/didn't get another freebie. But I just honestly find this admission after months of trying to fix the game rather baffling. I mean, weren't all hands on deck after the failed launch? I remember hearing that Rocksteady was working on it and even nVidia was throwing resources at this.

And the conclusion is that some things are unfixable? Wow.

I'd have to say it's engine limitations and things like loading hitches and stutter are a result of making such a huge streamed world on an unreal engine designed for consoles back in 2006 with 1/8th the ram. It's how I see it anyway. Once you get unreal engine 3 to load huge areas and streamline it the whole thing has to stop and think or do something with the files causing pauses, gears ultimate edition doesn't run that great either and that's a port using the old engine with some tweaks.

 

[Revolutionary]

"A better version on high-end hardware". Right.

The console versions will never look or run like this, so he's entirely correct. It's not a flawless 16.6ms frametime but I'll take that over the console version any day of the week.

 

[Guri]

Nope. Just sent me an email saying the patch in September fixed most of the problems, so no refund.

Edit:

Like some people have said earlier in this thread, you should try again. Maybe ask for their manager and link to the new update from WB.

 

[Kezen]

The console versions will never look or run like this, so he's entirely correct. It's not a flawless 16.6ms frametime but I'll take that over the console version any day of the week.

Basically what I said, although I'll concede that I should not be so adamant and not speak for anyone. Those who do not tolerate stutter should not go with the PC version, and should probably quit PC gaming entirely as not a single game in existence does not, at some point, exhibit stutter.

 

[Itachi87]

This port is really bad. Even when it's running at 60 FPS the stuttering is present. I have a GTX 970 & i5 3570k and am running the game at highest settings, 1080p w/ all gamework features off. Together w/ frequent sporadic framerate that dips well into the 20s and 30s, it's a mess.

Not to mention the game itself is a major disappointment w/ barely any innovations to gameplay, terrible story & conclusion to the quadrilogy, repetitive and uninispired side missions, overuse of batmobile, and the list goes on and on. It's just not worth playing imo.

 

[Verendus]

Very generous of WB really. I have to hand it to them. At least they're looking after their customers.