Comments 613

Re: Big Dragon's Dogma 2 Updates Incoming as Capcom Confirms List of PS5 Improvements

Ainu20

@NEStalgia Not to defend this, but it isn't really the ONLY industry. It's something that happens in software in general.

I work in software and while we don't deliver a "product" but a customized solution for each client, we're also bugfixing for months after go-live, even after hundreds of thousands of euros have already been paid. It's a poor comparison, but we're essentially also delivering a broken product.

It can and should definitely be better than we're currently seeing in the gaming industry, but software remains an insanely difficult (imo, impossible) thing to get right from day one, without the benefit of mass testing in a live scenario.

Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Slated for Adding Sinister PS5 Microtransactions at Launch

Ainu20

@C25CLOUD It's not just that, when microtransactions have an actual effect on gameplay and especially when it applies to limited resources, it becomes problematic.

There will always be the feeling that the game is designed to artificially make certain things slower, grindier or more inconvenient to encourage people to buy the microtransactions. That feeling might be totally unjustified (the resources in question were also scarce in the first game), but the damage is done.

Re: Rise of the Ronin (PS5) - A Safe, Outdated Open World Game

Ainu20

@Vash0125 I mean, sure, that's an opinion, but the Nioh games were both critically acclaimed (88 and 85 respectively on OpenCritic) and a commercial success as well. They're not perfect by any means, but if those games are considered "mid", than 90%+ of the gaming industry might as well pack it in and give up.

To add my personal opinion, I can't recall a single game that did melee combat as well as both Nioh games, and that includes all From Soft games. Whatever issues these games had outside of that were easily compensated by the joy of its combat system. There's a reason I put over 150 hours into each of em.

Re: PS5 Pro's Proprietary DLSS-Esque Upscaler Sounds Superb

Ainu20

@GravyThief How all of it works internally is beyond me, but in DLSS's case the basic idea is that it uses neural networks/deep learning to train a model using loads of extremely high resolution images. The model can then take low resolution frames and predict what a high resolution image would look like, which is done via hardware acceleration using the tensor cores found on RTX cards. Presumably, PSSR will be something similar.

As to the why now, I guess that's just the result of advancements in deep learning and the fact that we now have the hardware to do all of this in real time at high performance.

Re: Rise of the Ronin (PS5) - A Safe, Outdated Open World Game

Ainu20

Not a complete surprise I guess, although this particular score is on the lower end of what I expected. It's sitting at 75 on OpenCritic which just means it's not great but not terrible either. I can live with that.

As an enjoyer of Team Ninja gameplay, I'll check it out at some point anyway.

Re: PS5 Pro's Proprietary DLSS-Esque Upscaler Sounds Superb

Ainu20

@zebric21 DLSS doesn't solve everything, but it's arguably the most powerful tool available on PC hardware to marry advanced graphical features like RT, above HD resolutions and good performance.

Bit weird to state that image quality takes a serious hit. That's a statement that's true of something like FSR, but these days DLSS is virtually as good as native. Native resolution doesn't really exist on consoles anymore anyway, so DLSS-like tech is definitely a game changer.

Re: PS5 Pro's Rumoured Spectral Super Resolution Tech Could Be Transformative

Ainu20

@Frmknst The 8k stuff is just marketing fluff, something we should all ignore. The main draw of the Pro will be playing quality modes at higher performances.

Look at something like FF16, which drops down to 720p in combat in performance mode. It's clear that there are tangible gains to be made here, well before we're even entertaining the idea of 8k.

Re: Sony Reportedly Undertaking Internal Investigation Following Leaked PS5 Pro Specs

Ainu20

@ChrisDeku Was going to say the same thing, in the vast majority of cases the GPU is the limiting factor. CPU might come into play in certain games' performance modes, but the fact that quality modes running at 30fps or worse exist in those same games is evidence enough that they're GPU bound.

It's certainly a bold claim to say that they're often CPU bound, and it needs data to support it.

Re: Best Final Fantasy Games

Ainu20

@nocdaes I think it's because FFVII's score is based on a higher number of user ratings than FFVI's. Either way, I'm happy to see FFVI up there, still the greatest and most timeless JRPG ever made in my opinion.

Re: Reaction: What Is Happening to the Video Games Industry and Why Are There So Many Layoffs?

Ainu20

There are obviously a lot of factors at play here but the biggest and simplest one is that there are more games than ever competing for a playerbase (and their time) that hasn't really grown - and possible even contracted post-covid, though it's hard to quantify that.

That is clearly unsustainable and there are only a few real solutions: either releasing fewer games, cutting costs or increasing revenue by reaching more markets or monetizing the current market more heavily. The first two of these inevitably lead to layoffs and the last one is the holy grail that eveyone has been chasing but almost no one has managed to find.

Re: Sony Studio Firesprite Accused of Alleged Toxic Culture in Exposé

Ainu20

@sanderson72 I think it's still too early to judge them, assuming they still have a future. The acquisition wasn't that long ago and before then, they were probably too small for larger projects.

I thought they were off to a decent start as a Playstation studio with Call of the Mountain, but this doesn't sound great. Time will tell what Sony's plan for the studio is, but I hope this isn't a sign that it's all downhill from here.

Re: Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Doesn't Want to Make Games Forever

Ainu20

@Ambassador_Kong The idea that the vitriol is merely a reaction to overzealous fans of the game is silly. The vitriol was there from day one, or rather, well before day one. No one should be getting attacked because they don't like the game, or don't like Druckmann as a writer and director, but I don't think that's what this is about.

When people are talking about the vocal minority that hates the game, it's safe to assume they are referring to the more extreme voices in the discourse. Those that aren't happy just to give their opinion on disliking the game, but make it their mission to attack and insult its creators at every turn. We all know they exist. As long as you don't count yourself among them, there's no reason to defend those.

Re: Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Doesn't Want to Make Games Forever

Ainu20

@ZhuckelDror Disagree, creatives should not just make what fans want or expect them to make. They create the games that they feel they want or need to create, and it's up to every individual to decide for themselves whether they want to play them. We don't get to make demands about story or direction.

Re: Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Doesn't Want to Make Games Forever

Ainu20

@Swirly Yeah, that is my main criticism of it as well, it drags. Too many drawn out combat encounters, which means that by the time you get to the final act, you're pretty exhausted. It's a minor criticism in the grand scheme of things for me personally, doesn't make me love the game any less, but it's still there.

Re: Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Doesn't Want to Make Games Forever

Ainu20

@themightyant It just comes across as incredibly immature. It's possible to disagree with certain decisions without completely dismissing someone's merits, or disliking someone's work without turning to insults or outright hatred. But not everyone seems capable of that.

Anyway, his credentials speak for themselves. He's been involved with 4 of the best games Naughty Dog have ever made, either as co-writer, co-lead writer, or co-director: Uncharted 2 and 4 and The Last of Us 1 and 2. The fact that he wasn't involved in any role in by far the most disjointed game they've made from a writing and directing point of view, Uncharted 3, also tells me much.

I'm not surprised he's thinking about how many more he's got left in him. These games are taking an incredibly long time to make these days, and it's probably not going to get shorter. But I think he's got at least one original IP game (something he's currently working on?) and a third The Last of Us game in him.

Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now

Ainu20

Good lord, some of the posts here go beyond the hysterical. Sure, there are valid concerns about their development pipelines and the sustainability of AAA development, but some of the doom and gloom posts here would have you believe Playstation is nearly dead and buried.

Despite the sparse amount of first-party titles, the live service stuff and the layoffs, Playstation is still in a healthy place at the moment. There are certain course corrections that need to be made and obviously the strategy is something that needs to be evaluated constantly, but if they make the right decisions now, I see no reason why they won't be fine in the foreseeable future.

Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now

Ainu20

@ZhuckelDror Define "decent visual quality". We've already seen stunning games run at 60 fps on PS5, some even with raytraced reflections. It is absolutely capable of running "decent" games at 60.

But as always, different developers use different tech and make different decisions when it comes to graphics and performance.

Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now

Ainu20

Commenters on here seem convinced that AA games are the answer, but based on what? We've already seen what is guaranteed to sell tons of copies on console: big AAA sequels. Simple as that. Even though gamers have no shortage of AA games from third party studios to choose from.

It's not about what your or I, the average Push Square reader, wants. Sure, if everyone was like me, those AA games would sell and the live service model would never have existed, but that's clearly not what the wider audience wants.

Re: Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Unlikely to Score Another Full Game

Ainu20

I've got nothing new or original to contribute here, just want to pay tribute to the man. His legacy speaks for itself. Here's hoping he gets to enjoy many more years of good health and sort-of retirement (I doubt he's the type to sit still).

And yeah, obligatory personal favourite: Final Fantasy 6. Terra's Theme, Celes' Theme, Locke's Theme, Dancing Mad, Phantom Forest, Forever Rachel, Searching for Friends, etc. Ridiculous.

Re: Video: One Year Later, Is PSVR2 Doing Enough?

Ainu20

@Neither_scene AR is great for a lot of stuff, especially in productivity applications, but gaming? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but when I think about what I want from video games, being transported to fictional, often fantastical or sci-fi worlds is still a major element.

Doing stuff in an augmented version of my own daily reality, well, I guess there's a place for that, but it's certainly not something I'd want from most games. I'd still want games to go all in on full VR instead of AR, or simply not bother and keep it on a flat screen.

Having said that, I agree with the idea that AR will become much bigger than VR, as it goes way beyond video games.

Re: Video: One Year Later, Is PSVR2 Doing Enough?

Ainu20

It's a tricky situation. On the one hand, you could make a valid argument that Sony should be creating more first-party content for their own VR platform. How else are you going to get people invested in it?

On the other hand, any first-party team that's creating VR content is probably not creating flat PS5 content, since a lot of those games wouldn't support both. With how much they're already struggling to get first-party content out, that would only exacerbate it and make a lot of regular PS5 customers feeling increasingly disatisfied.

I'd still give Sony credit for being the only major console platform holder that is willing invest in VR at all, and as a PSVR 1 owner I can say that some of the best video game experiences I've ever had were on that platform (Resi Evil 7 VR, Astrobot Rescue Mission). But sadly the economic reality of the situation means they're never going to be quite as invested in it as I would like them to be.

Re: Feature: Indie Publisher Neon Doctrine on the Importance of Culture and Improvements to the PS Store

Ainu20

At the end of the day, I just don't think console storefronts are a good place to discover new games. There are much better sources for that, such as your favourite gaming websites, YT channels or podcasts. Something like Skill Up's weekly news show where he will consistently shout out a small game in his "Put this on your radar" section.

On the other hand, I realize it's probably only a small portion of the console audience that spends time checking other channels. I really don't know what the best way to reach the rest of that audience is.

Recommendations via the store? Possibly, but based on what? People are much less likely to leave reviews on console storefronts than they are on Steam, where they are already sitting in front of the pc and keyboard. And I'm not sure a storefront that throws a lot of uncurated stuff at me is the ideal either.

Re: Outgoing PlayStation Exec Says Sony Must Continue to Entertain, Surprise, and Delight

Ainu20

As a gamer, I'll say I have more respect than fondness for him. I certainly didn't always agree with his ideas but he did manage to successfully navigate the platform through the most turbulent time in its history.

A 30 year career means he's always been involved with Playstation in some capacity since before the first one even launched, so despite my own personal ideas about gaming, it's hard to deny that he's a Playstation guy through and through.