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[Mass Effect]

I think it depends. I really rather not play some awful sub-30fps game. That kind of stuff kind of hurts my eyes, so something like that I do care about quite a bit. But still, I find these things interesting. I think like Orayn said, just don't get too emotionally invested in it.

It tends to be the PC crowd upset about all these things because of how much the rigs cost.

*Looks at every DF Face-off thread in the past year*

Yeah, no. Take a step into one of those threads and see who are the ones obsessing. Hint: not the PC crowd.

 

[nynt9]

If you only own a single console, then you have no option but to deal with whatever technical flaws the game releases with. And no one is forcing you to go into threads about it.

But if you have the option to run a game with better performance why would you not look into it? It's always a noticeable difference and significantly enhances the gameplay and/or ones enjoyment of it.

 

[Lomax]

I'm glad the options are there, I just wish games were better at automatically detecting what will run best on your hardware rather than having to spend so much time trial and error figuring out what has the biggest impact.

 

[piccolo85]

And everybody should be ashamed who uses the wonders of science and engineering without thinking and having mentally realized not more of it than a cow realizes of the botany of the plants which it eats with pleasure. - Albert Einstein

 

[Neo Child]

neogaf has taken a lot of fun out of playing games for me

 

[Kuga]

There is no reason to give lazy, incompetent, or ignorant developers a free pass for unacceptable work.

NeoGAF is comprised mostly of the "hardcore" gaming segment. It's our M.O. to be vocal and nitpicky - are those traits fundamentally different from any other enthusiast group?

 

[DoktorEvil]

A completely ignorant assumption.

Have you really not been around the past year or so, ever since the new consoles came out?

Anyways, I care about technical details a reasonable amount and I don't find it exhausts me at all. I'm perfectly able to enjoy my time gaming.

How is it ignorant? Most PC owners buy in and shelve console because of the jump in graphical quality and lower prices of games. There's much more control and options for dealing with graphical issues as well as the luxury of updating the GPU. I understand why those gamers would be more upset about frame rate issues than a console gamer.

Note: I said more upset. Console gamers would presumably also be upset about frame rate issues, but it's not like the average console gamer would be able to unlock frame rate locks and push their consoles to 60 if they so choose. They don't have that option, but that's why the dedicated console is cheaper than a PC rig.

Edit: I never followed those parity or comparison threads, so my assumption could be flat out wrong.

 

[Mozendo]

It tends to be the PC crowd upset about all these things because of how much the rigs cost.

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong places, but from what I've seen the people who constantly complaining that games aren't running at a certain resolution and FPS are console gamers, especially here on GAF.

As me for I don't care never really did. I play most of my games on PC as long as it's playable with no constant frame rate drops, stuttering, etc I'm perfectly okay with it. It's really shocking that people will completely ignore a game they never played because it's not 1080p60FPS.

 

[Zaku]

Bought Natural Doctrine for PS3, not PS4.

Honestly, if the option is there for me to play a game better and it doesn't cost me anything outside of my initial, console investment, I'll take it. Naturally. I'll obviously play a game where it's best to play it.

And as a consumer, I can understand why people would gravitate towards platforms which give them the best experiences. Who wants to play Street Fighter II with a 3-button Genesis pad or play a 30 fps Tomb Raider when you can double the FPS by buying for another platform?

I don't lose sleep over it, though. Technically all the multiplats which come to PC would look better on a sufficiently-upgraded PC, but I've not yet justified the cost to myself.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Nothing ruins the beginning of a new game like miserable framerate, tearing and texture quality from the 90s..

!!!

...but seriously: booting a new game for the first time, watching the cool intro cinematic and then loading the first level to find it looks terrible* has put me off quite a few games so far.

* 'terrible' being a complete subjective term.

 

[nkarafo]

Normally, i'm with you but some games just don't let me sink in. For instance, i can't enjoy 30fps racing games anymore. I played a lot of 60fps ones in the past and the 30fps ones feel completely off for me.

 

[nynt9]

There is no reason to give lazy, incompetent, or ignorant developers a free pass for unacceptable work.

NeoGAF is comprised mostly of the "hardcore" gaming segment. It's our M.O. to be vocal and nitpicky - are those traits fundamentally different from any other enthusiast group?

*goes into car enthusiast forum*

"Man, all this talk about horsepower and stuff is just tiring, I just wanna drive cars!"

*goes into photography forum*

"Man all this talk about camera specs and lenses and exposure is just tiring, I just wanna take pics!"

Etc.

 

[Monocle]

I feel exactly the same way. As long as there aren't framerate dips that significantly affect the playability of the game, I have no interest in technical details.

 

[Hasney]

I don't even care that much about resolution since my screen is 720p, but give me 60FPS and I'll be much more likely to buy your game. Having real trouble with Driveclub only running at 30 may have been my final straw.

 

[Carn82]

When the game is really good I dont really care if its 720p of 900p. But I own a HD-TV; 1080p is pretty much the 'standard' now and for the next few years, so I would like to see that standard in gaming as well. Framerate is less an issue for me, as long as its 30+ and solid. I can imagine that competive games (fighters, certain shooters, certain racers) benefit from 60fps.

 

[Mexen]

The online discussions are, to say the least, exhausting, and I don't get anything out of them in terms of insight or knowledge.

I feel the same way.

 

[Gipsy Danger]

How is it ignorant? Most PC owners buy in and shelve console because of the jump in graphical quality and lower prices of games. There's much more control and options for dealing with graphical issues as well as the luxury of updating the GPU. I understand why those gamers would be more upset about frame rate issues than a console gamer.

Note: I said more upset. Console gamers would presumably also be upset about frame rate issues, but it's not like the average console gamer would be able to unlock frame rate locks and push their consoles to 60 if they so choose. They don't have that option, but that's why the dedicated console is cheaper than a PC rig.

Edit: I never followed those parity or comparison threads, so my assumption could be flat out wrong.

But that's just it. If there is a game that doesn't run very well we can just upgrade and it will. But if that happens on a console then you are shit out of luck. Which option would garner more complaints?

When the game is really good I dont really care if its 720p of 900p. But I own a HD-TV; 1080p is pretty much the 'standard' now and for the next few years, so I would like to see that standard in gaming as well. Framerate is less an issue for me, as long as its 30+ and solid. I can imagine that competive games (fighters, certain shooters, certain racers) benefit from 60fps.

But your TVs native refresh rate is 60Hz. Why is it a requirement for native res but not native refresh rate?

 

[inki]

I can still play and enjoy the game. I don't tend to get involved (vocally or other) if I dislike something. If something bothers me and I have no control there is no point in getting upset about it on the internet (or anywhere). I vote with my wallet, I give constructive comments and thank others for their hard work. I keep the condemnation to myself.

 

[Alx]

Anyone just get to the point where they just throw their hands up in the air and just not care?

Yup, did that a long time ago. Or maybe I even never really cared, although I used to follow such discussions in the past. But as of now, I actively avoid all discussions focused on specs and performance. I even stopped reading the digital foundry articles out of principle, since I consider they mostly add fuel to an unnecessary fire.

Having started playing videogames on a low spec PC, I think I always was fine with the idea of having fun with a non-optimal version of a game.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Quite the generalization you have there, friend. I don't recall the 155 page parity thread for a PC game.

*Looks at every DF Face-off thread in the past year*

Yeah, no. Take a step into one of those threads and see who are the ones obsessing. Hint: not the PC crowd.

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong places, but from what I've seen the people who constantly complaining that games aren't running at a certain resolution and FPS are console gamers, especially here on GAF.

As me for I don't care never really did. I play most of my games on PC as long as it's playable with no constant frame rate drops, stuttering, etc I'm perfectly okay with it. It's really shocking that people will completely ignore a game they never played because it's not 1080p60FPS.

I don't step into those threads, so I could be missing part of the puzzle of console owners complaining.

 

[sobaka770]

To each their own.

I actually enjoy dissecting the game, it's part of the fun for me. Ultimately it's true that personally I don't care that much if Destiny is 1080p of Xbox One and PS4 or AC:U 900p as long as the game is good and runs well.

However, I want the best product for my money so bickering about best practices, how games are optimized or not is part of voicing my concern.

 

[Nethaniah]

I don't step into those threads, so I could be missing part of the puzzle of console owners complaining.

A big part of the puzzle, not sure how you can even say it's PC gamers who get upset about this stuff and not have noticed console gamers doing the exact same, must be really oblivious or you just don't want to see it.

 

[Mrbob]

It isn't too bad. Takes me about 5 minutes to optimize my settings and then I'm done.

 

[mrklaw]

It sucks that someone has a gun to your head forcing you to worry over tech in games. I hope you can escape soon!

sometimes simply having the options there can be distracting.

 

[Gipsy Danger]

sometimes simply having the options there can be distracting.

Then OP needs to learn some damn self-control.

 

[SeanR1221]

I paid for a 1080p tv and current gen system so yes I expect things to be up to par. That's not obsessing its having an expectation.

 

[KojiKnight]

neogaf has taken a lot of fun out of playing games for me

....What? How? And if you truly believe that to be the case and you play games for fun, why even bother looking at threads here?

 

[Bl@de]

*goes into car enthusiast forum*

"Man, all this talk about horsepower and stuff is just tiring, I just wanna drive cars!"

*goes into photography forum*

"Man all this talk about camera specs and lenses and exposure is just tiring, I just wanna take pics!"

Etc.

Exactly. For me the technology behind 3D Graphics is a hobby. But it's funny too see how people fight over 100 pages about the difference of 900p and 1080p. That's not that important after all. But I learned to live with heated arguments and don't care anymore, because I know that with a PC you can fix (almost) every problem in a game.

But I can also sit down and have a ton of fun with 720p on my Wii U. I tend to buy consoles for games. Not for graphics, because well ... they are always inferior to a high-end desktop PC (I accept that for a lot of people consoles are great, because they don't build computers like I do and have no clue or interest about Nv Inspector, Afterburner and all the glorious tools of the master race^^

Spoiler

(jk on the last sentence. don't get mad gaf)

).

 

[Nethaniah]

Then OP needs to learn some damn self-control.

I just can't stop myself from cheating in Bethesda games, i mean the console command menu is right there! taunting me!

 

[Weetrick]

!!!

...but seriously: booting a new game for the first time, watching the cool intro cinematic and then loading the first level to find it looks terrible* has put me off quite a few games so far.

* 'terrible' being a complete subjective term.

I'm talking more about obsessing over details to get thing perfectly optimized. I've found that small tweaks to the default settings are enough to keep me happy. Constant setting changes, research and the placebo effect take away from the gameplay experience, ironically (IMO).

 

[martino]

It's important. But it would be great to do it with deep analyse of game mechanics and level design....even if it could be a bad thing for a lot of aaa games...maybe it could push more attention and expectations from them like it seems to have on resolution and framerate since the begining of this generation

 

[gelf]

I feel exactly the same way. As long as there aren't framerate dips that significantly affect the playability of the game, I have no interest in technical details.

Pretty much the same with me. I even feel fairly resistant to framerate issues in everything but fast paced action games.

I feel like technical details get undue importance put on them when there's a lot more then that involved in making a game worth playing.

Edit: And like the poster before me has said instead I wish we had more focus on things like mechanics, level design, art direction etc.

 

[Death Metalist]

Never cared then, never cared now. However, I can see how it would bother people so I'm glad things like DF exist so they can make a decision in what they want. At the end of the day, they are paying for something and if they feel it isn't worth it then they won't do so.

 

[SparkTR]

A good game is even better with all the technical issues sorted out, and with so many games releasing these days I'm probably only going to play it once. I'd want the best I can get for that, regardless of platform.

 

[DoktorEvil]

A big part of the puzzle, not sure how you can even say it's PC gamers who get upset about this stuff and not have noticed console gamers doing the exact same, must be really oblivious or you just don't want to see it.

I clarified my position. I should've said "more upset" to avoid the confusion.

To be honest, I never gave it much thought until I discovered GAF and the conversations that get heated over comparison and parity and these graphical terms I had no interest in before.

 

[Alx]

sometimes simply having the options there can be distracting.

Speaking of options, it would help a lot if we had an option to ignore and hide threads entirely. That way the "res war" obsessions would be less annoying for those who don't care. Even if I don't read those topics, seeing them on the first page with ever-growing number of messages doesn't help raising my appreciation of the gaming community.

 

[Rains]

When the xbox one and ps4 where released i was worried but as long as the games are smooth and look good am happy i could do not care any more been playing FH 2 loads and even tho its 30fps the game plays fantastic but i must admit i like my first persom shooters at 60fps

 

[rjc571]

What's exhausting is obsessing over the technical details which prevent games from running at 1080p and 60 fps. So many developers kill their game's performance by implementing superfluous background details and unnecessary graphical techniques which barely even provide a tangible benefit to their game's overall look. ANY game on modern hardware can look great running at 60 fps. The developers just need to stop wasting processor cycles on pointless crap that nobody actually cares about.

 

[Nethaniah]

I clarified my position. I should've said "more upset" to avoid the confusion.

To be honest, I never gave it much thought until I discovered GAF and the conversations that get heated over comparison and parity and these graphical terms I had no interest in before.

No problem, i just think it's amazing you managed to steer clear of the biggest threads this forum has to offer lately.

 

[REV 09]

I do care about specs, but the actual gameplay, features, and story matter much more. I don't understand anyone "boycotting" a game because it's 900p or 30fps....that seems to me like they're missing the point of this hobby and getting too wrapped up in idealism.

 

[TGO]

AC1 and Silent Hill Collection bothered me but I have heard people say they can't play a game unless it's 60fps, I feel bad for them and a lot....no all of it is an over exaggeration and most the time they ain't got clue.
I'm annoyed at the AC:Unity thing but only because the reasons for it, still buying it.

*Looks at every DF Face-off thread in the past year*

Yeah, no. Take a step into one of those threads and see who are the ones obsessing. Hint: not the PC crowd.

Please, "PS4's would melt" the PC crowd derails every thread with their BS and makes out any advantage 50x more then is, and if runs bad it's a terrible game.
I haven't seen anything like it since Nintendo fans in the GCN era.

 

[Zarx]

And yet here we are, still obsessing.

 

[gelf]

I do care about specs, but the actual gameplay, features, and story matter much more. I don't understand anyone "boycotting" a game because it's 900p or 30fps....that seems to me like they're missing the point of this hobby and getting too wrapped up in idealism.

Yeah I sooner "boycott" Ubisoft games for bland open world and skinner box design then any concerns over parity and resolution.

 

[Recall]

The moment a games resolution or framerate get brought up its the moment the conversation just isn't for me. It happens so frequently and I guess it is cool its so important to some but it is the last thing in the world for me to worry or even care about.

 

[ISee]

I am not with you. Gaming/Technology is just a hobby for me, but one I really enjoy and I like to talk/read about it. And I also like to talk with certain friends/my brother about that kind of stuff, just like others enjoy to talk about their favorite sports club or their car.

Maybe it's because I grew up as a PC Gamer (my parents thought my brother and me needed that PC for learning...) and stuff like that was and will always be very important in PC gaming.

Meanwhile, as an adult, I also have a 'current' gen. console besides my PC (PS4 atm), but nothing changed. I still like to read about GPUs, CPUs and to look at Benchmark numbers etc. for me it's a big part of this hobby.

 

[Goldmund]

I love obsessing over the details while playing. It's no either/or. This isn't even limited to graphics: sound design, game design, production history, market success, personalities involved etc. They don't subtract from my enjoyment, they enhance it, even if all the judgments to be made are negative. I realized that while I was playing (and disliking) Shovel Knight.

 

[kinoki]

Just 1080p and locked framerate will do. V-sync is a nice bonus. I just wish both hardware manufacturers had 1080p in mind when they designed their consoles.

 

[DoktorEvil]

No problem, i just think it's amazing you managed to steer clear of the biggest threads this forum has to offer lately.

It's hard to find interest in something that you claim ignorance on. I'm not knowledgable enough to enter those arguments on graphical fidelity and framerate.

But that's just it. If there is a game that doesn't run very well we can just upgrade and it will. But if that happens on a console then you are shit out of luck. Which option would garner more complaints?

But your TVs native refresh rate is 60Hz. Why is it a requirement for native res but not native refresh rate?

You know, now that I think about it, I'd like to see the numbers on PC overall costs vs Console overall costs.

I was tempted to say that buying console meant buying cheaper, but there's probably a way to buy into PC and justify the costs with cheaper games.

 

[ShaoranWright]

As long a game is playable (framerate of 30 fps or more) I'm ok, I don't really care for anything else.

 

[Celegus]

I've never cared. If the game is fun, I'll play it.