thedevilsjester

Are any of the rewards actually useful, or are they all cosmetic? This game feels like a delivery system for viking cosmetic items already, the last thing I want is more.

@SweetSummerShunv I sure hope that Ubisofts "support" doesn't set a precedent. Its half-assed at best, an irritant at worst. That goes for all of the PS5 exclusive feature support in this title (Rumble, Tiggers, Activity Cards). I hope that it actually gets supported well by other developers, because this is just lazy.

@theMEGAniggle I am not sure. I do know that Astro worked fine, but I have mostly played PS4 titles thus far except for AC.

It only flip/flops between 0 and 40. I played another 3-4 hours yesterday, and it was stuck at 40% but right before I called it quits for the night, I looked, and it was 0% again.

Even if it "worked" the activity card (there is only one!) is completely useless. It's just a simple game progress indicator with the only listed task being to essentially play the game.

As for the topic at hand, I don't understand the adaptive tigger support in this title. It basically has a "stop" about...25% of the way down, and then it gets a little difficult to pull.

You would assume low power/strength at the stop mark, and full power as you pull it through, but thats not how it works. Power is more-or-less based on how long you hold the trigger (you can hold it at the 25% stop and get full power every time) no need to pull into the resistive portion.

It seems like Ubisoft is just doing the bare minimum here (just like with activity cards). I hope other developers actually put in effort.

@theMEGAniggle Eh, in this title, it's a gimmick. Even Astro's Playroom did better with their bow feedback than AC. The way they included it actually makes gameplay a little bit worse.

The bow has always been finicky in this game though. Often when I press the button to zoom/fire the bow, it does nothing. Now it takes more effort to do nothing. Not sure why it does this (I can't reproduce it in a vacuum) but its pretty regular.

Also, as an aside, ever since I started AC:Valhalla, the "Activity Card" (which is pretty useless in this game) flips between 0% and 40% complete. It's done this since hour 1, and still does this on hour...65?

@LiamCroft I think the problem (for many) is that there is no definitive definition (an exhaustive list if you will) of what exactly is racist, or sexist, or homophobic, etc... (just concepts) There are the extremely obvious instances, certainly (that anyone can point to), but then there are a lot of grey areas, a lot of things that one person may consider in that category, but another might not.

As a parent and a gamer I struggle with both sides of that coin. I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of nonsense and vitrol; but I also don't want them to have to walk on egg shells for fear of offending someone.

@Spoonman-2 You are not missing much. I am about 60 hours in and its just so...meh. About 70% of the content rewards are nothing but cosmetics. Cosmetics for your character, cosmetics for your boat, cosmetics for your settlement, cosmetics for your horse, etc... I find it all just underwhelming.

If it wasn't for the completionist in me, I would have stopped already. This will certainly be my last AC game, the story is good (as well as the writing for the side-quests), but the gameplay is just stale and full of busy work.

@fR_eeBritney They did, and what ended up happening is that games just never got patched. So you would have buggy broken games forever. I would rather have all games freely patchable with a handful that are unplayable day one, than have many many games broken simply because it's too costly to fix.

@Kidfunkadelic83 I think many are waiting for the actual PS5 version.

I don't really sympathize with those that got it on the PS4, simply because this isn't some big unexpected situation, it's had huge red flags for last-gen systems for a long time now.

I canceled my pre-order months ago; the writing was on the wall, and as much as I want to play this game right now, its not worth it, not until the current gen systems get a proper release.

@skxnkwxlkr I exclusively play Playstation, no PC, no multi-platform (unless you count one or two games on Switch), and taking last gen as an example have had well over 150+ games over the lifespan of the PS4, and never once have I had to delete a title (that I am still playing) to make room for another (and I haven't expanded my storage ever). Based on my own anecdotal evidence, backed up by Sonys own statements, I would say its a non-issue for most people. I can understand how it can be an issue for those that play a lot of Multiplayer titles, or those that have a big family/shared console; but for the rest, especially those that sit with an average number of games over the consoles lifespan (~9 IIRC), its not an issue that needs solved.

Unfortunately we don't get to pick and choose which games get to push the limits and which ones must stay within certain restrictions so it's an all or nothing proposition. One of the reasons I abandoned PC gaming decades ago was because the developers had zero incentive to make current hardware work great with the games, they just operated with a "well, they can always upgrade to play the game as intended" mindset. I would personally rather not have that mindset infiltrate the console space.

I understand your point though, and agree. It's a zero sum game unfortunately, with no right answer; but its not a question that we should ever ignore or assume that our point of view is the only legitimate one (which was kind of the point of my original reply)

@Ward_ting It does this even if you are watching YouTube or Netflix. It doesn't matter what you are doing on the system, if there is a disc in, it will read it every 30-60 minutes, and its obnoxious. (I haven't let it sit on the home screen yet, but I would imagine it does it when not running anything at all)

@LiamCroft It's not the first Dual Sense controller update FYI. I had a controller update on day one (well, week two, since my day one was a bit late)

The bug I really want fixed, above all others, is the CD drive spinning up every 30-60 mins for no reason, even if you are not playing a game. The drive is very loud (even more when its sitting on a wall mounted shelf that doesn't absorb vibrations).

@skxnkwxlkr It depends on how you define quality. If I were to list my top ~20 games of last generation, at least 5-10 of them would be indie/non-AAA games, and their quality outshines a lot of AAA games. The same argument has been leveled against consoles for decades, with their extremely limited hardware compared to PC's; yet we have managed to get major block buster titles again and again and again.

Keep in mind that I am not trying to make the argument that we shouldn't have more storage this gen, just that there is certainly a case for anyone trying to make that argument.

@Netret0120 I think this mostly impacts people that play a lot of multiplayer games since there isn't any reason to keep most single player games around after you finish them, with exceptions for games that don't actually end of course.

Since I don't find any enjoyment in multiplayer games, I don't really run into any issues. I play a game, finish it, and delete it.

With proof of how good a Bethesda-like game can be when Bethesda isn't making it (The Outer Worlds) and the dumpster fire that is Fallout 76 (and their responses each step of the way) I don't have any desire to play another title made by Bethesda. I DO have the desire to play an ES-like game though...so someone...please make a good one for the new generation of consoles!

@Netret0120 Not to play the devils advocate; but it's pretty easy to argue against more storage. The more you have, the more they will use.

It's an argument as old as technology (and perhaps, far older). If there is no reason to make the effort (to reduce file size in this case) then they won't. Restricted hardware has made developers push limits on consoles that just didn't seem possible, when you relax those limits, you get immediate gain, but lose out in the log run.

That being said, since Xbox already has storage expansion, that genie is already out of the bottle this generation and we will need storage expansion soon on the PS5 side to keep pace.

I doubt I will ever use up the provided internal storage in the PS5, even with playing/buying 100+ games this generation, so it doesn't really impact me, but I would still like to see the situation fixed, at least archive to HDD on PS5 titles.

@Mostik The PS4/Xbox One generation is the first one to require discs to install to the HDD and just act as a "proof of ownership". The Xbox One did have a half baked attempt at eliminating the disc after install; but it got too much backlash before launch so they reverted it.

@Mostik Don't feel too bad. The PS3 (and earlier) played games from disc (didn't need to install most games), and for modern generations, there have been unsuccessful attempts allow you to install from disc, but then not require the disc again.

It seems like quite a lot of us are waiting on the PS5 version. That should have been on option on the poll.

@JigsawPieces Its not really "continuing where you left off" for trophies though. Its cloning your trophy list, and progressing on the clone, leaving the original list to stagnate in an incomplete state. Sony needs to force developers to merge trophy lists, or allow for us to delete them from our account.

@JigsawPieces that doesn't really help because you will still end up with an orphaned/incomplete trophy list for the PS4 version. Unless it works both ways.

My big question: Does the PS5 upgrade bring with it a separate trophy list? I never quite platinumed this and was considering going back but if the trophy list is separate, I won't be revisiting this world on the PS5.

Can we get a port of the first game? Does the source code even exist anymore? (Maybe a remake of the first game in the new games engine if the source doesn't exist?).

@andreoni79 This is actually a requirement; however they only have to do that if the game is not actually playable without the download.

If there is a version, even an extremely buggy, broken, incomplete version, that is playable from the disc then they are not required to.

@skxnkwxlkr Yeah, that seems to sum it up all right. I am Ok with that for now though because it means that the actual "on disc" game for the PS5 will be great without a day one patch.

@TheAdza the wording is redundant. A patch for the PS4 is also a patch for any PS5 playing a PS4 game in BC mode. There is no need to ever specify both unless there is some significance. I know it makes sense to you, but clearly, even though it's been stated dozens of times, many people are still confused about this, so adding to their confusion should be avoided if it can.

@Jaz007 @TheAdza
Normally I would think wording like that wouldn't be misleading, but too many people (even on this site) have shown that they don't understand that there is, currently, no PS5 version of Cyberpunk 2077, and there will not be one at launch (it will come "sometime later" according to CDPR), so it should be made clear.

I have (almost) never played a PS+ game (Contrast and Resogun being the exceptions).

That isn't to say that I haven't played a handful of the PS+ titles; but I played my own copies of them.

@d0a01xz Unfortunately, they don't. There isn't even a listing for the PS5 version yet.

What they said is: "your PS4 copy of the game will work on PS5 on launch day" and then followed that up with "A later upgrade to Cyberpunk 2077, taking full advantage of the next-gen hardware, will be available for free"

No solid information about when the actual PS5 version (or PS5 upgrade patch) will be available, just that they made sure the PS4 version worked on your PS5 (via Backward compatibility).

@Robinsad I didn't say that they weren't useful (though they have yet to be useful to me), I just said that they don't solve the problem of picking the game back up weeks or months after putting it down. As @NEStalgia said, you have a momentum (in story, skill, mechanics, etc...), and once interrupted, it's hard to get back.

@LiamCroft Those that play multiplayer games are more likely to use a digital store front for those games (since a retail copy of a game that generally requires online services to function is pretty pointless) which means its always going to be heavily skewed towards multiplayer games. Just looking at digital store sales isn't going to paint a very accurate picture.

I am not saying I know what that picture looks like; just that my gut instinct is that, when you take all sales into account, over the long term, its very much in favor of the solo gamer for overall game sales.

@LiamCroft I disagree. The most important part of a console is not the number of consoles sold but the number of software titles sold and I would wager that the COD/Fifa/Fortnite crowd did not have nearly the same attach rate as the solo experience crowd. So while they might have pushed the console sales, that metric is meaningless without the software sales to match. Do you have actual numbers (total revenue gained by Sony from multiplayer gamers vs solo experience gamers) or is it just your gut? Because my gut tells me otherwise.

I don't know. I think this is a solution looking for a problem.

Yes, people often put a single player game down for awhile, come back months later, don't know what they were in the middle of, and it turns them off of playing it. However a few activity cards that give you a few quest/missing objectives isn't going to solve this.

The reasons behind this issue are much deeper. Single player games are generally about story and atmosphere. Having a few activity cards that tell you the progress on some activities you could be doing, isn't going to give you a run down of the story thus far, reminding you why you are playing, what happened to this point, and where you were headed. Most of the time I stop a game for a few months, I end up starting over (sometimes a daunting task) just to refresh my memory about the story.

Nor are they going to give you your skill back. I can't count the number of times that I stop playing a game for awhile, come back months later, and because I am later in the game (where its more challenging) I just don't have the skill to play in the areas I am currently in. You can push forward and have a miserable time until you find your rhythm again, or start over.

Neither of these are solved by Activity cards, and in my opinion are much bigger contributors to never going back to a game if you stop playing for a bit.

(Also: Those cards are way too large, they take up too much space to scroll through horizontally)

That being said, I like the idea of the cards (if they were more compact); but I don't think it helps solve this problem at all.

@Quintumply Any information on the PS5 release of Cyberpunk 2077, or is that still TBD?

@BrbImCarrying I have played many (modern) games at 30, 60, and some at 120 (on a supported display of course) and I cannot honestly tell the difference between 30 and 120 let alone 30 and 60.

That being said, I am not a visuals junkie either. While I can appreciate the effort the goes in to the visuals (details, not resolution) I am just as happy playing a retro 8 bit looking title as I am the latest 4k ray tracing title; so I trust the developer to make the choices that make the most sense for their game.

@gbanas92 I will be on the lookout for a LRG release.

Is there a planned retail release or is this digital only? I can't seem to find any information about that and it's a deciding factor for me.

My gut instinct is that the lack of information means that it's only digital; which would be a bummer.

@graysoncharles I hear a lot of great things about Ghost of Tsuhuima; but for me it doesn't even make the list of games I would play if they were free because the theme doesn't appeal to me. I don't say this to talk trash about the game; just offer up an opinion on why it might not have captured the top spot when TLOU2 did.

@djape Seriously, seeing spoilers like that is not cool. Not everyone has had the chance to play it yet. I don't think you intended any harm by it, but please be more careful in the future if you are spoiling major plot points from a major AAA story driven game that's less than 6 months old.

@DotM All of those solutions are going to end up hurting regular buyers that happen to fall into one of those categories.

Capitalism in this form is broken, unfortunately I don't think this is something that can be solved on the initial sales end of things. Targeting the mechanisms that allow scalpers to resell the products at inflated prices is the best way to combat this.

When we are not in pandemic mode, this kind of issue doesn't usually last more than a couple months (and having in-store pick up only, limits its impact) but the current world makes it worse than ever.

@DotM You know that you can create an unlimited number of PSN accounts, right? You can also get around any "one per address" restrictions quite easily as well. Its not that easy of a problem to solve on that end.

The only way to solve the problem is on the other end (eBay, for example). There are a lot of things you cannot sell on eBay, and restrictions about the things you do. It wouldn't be very difficult to come up with a policy that prevents scalpers from selling goods on eBay. eBay makes too much money from this though so its unlikely to ever happen.

The value of $1 is not an objective fact. Understand that, understand that there are people that have different priorities or value scales than you do.

If you have a decent enough disposable income then paying twice the MSRP for a hard to find, (relatively low cost), device is not stupid, nor is it paying more than its worth. That worth is subjective and depends on its value to you compared to the value of the money you are paying for it.

I generally avoid scalpers (scum) because I do not want to support this behavior; it's often hard to find because they made it so; but to everyone that has bought one through a scalper. Enjoy your console.

The only thing loud on the PS5 is that disc drive, spinning up at random times makes it feel like the PS4 Pro again, if only for 15 seconds at a time.

@NEStalgia That is true, and it started when there wasn't a real issue keeping stock because gaming wasn't as huge as it is now. (Ex: NES in October, SNES in November, etc...).

Now though, platform holders are locked into this cycle because the first one to blink, the first one to delay until March (or later!), will give the "holiday" completely over to the other one. It's not so much about maximizing profits (anymore), it's about not losing a large chunk of those eager to upgrade, to your competition.

You know Microsoft won't blink (they rushed the 360, with its RROD and all, to beat PS3 to market), and Sony won't blink (if this launch, and the pricing/date information they held back as long as they could is any indication) so here we are, and here we stay.

@Northern_munkey They didn't underestimate, you can be certain that they made as many as they physically could in the allotted time, its just not enough.

It never will be. There are not huge manufacturing plants (and workers!) out there waiting for the every 6-7 year rush of a console cycle, so thats always going to be a limited resource and platform holders also won't sit on a stock pile of consoles for a year or more leading up to launch to make sure they have enough for demand (thats very costly for a dozen reasons). Its not a problem that can be solved with the ways we currently manufacture goods.

@Deadlyblack They anticipated it; but production is mostly out of their control (see my reply a few posts above this)

@lacerz As for Sales, it depends on how they are tracked. Sony tracks sell-through (to customers) and Microsoft (when they reported) tracked sell-in (to stores). I would guess that a return within a certain window would not count as a sell-through.

As for timers, it's not as simple as that. Timers are not a solution to this problem and would have just made it worse. You would end up with essentially a different kind of DDOS where bots have everything locked out since they can add items to their cart faster than you can, thus they get that timer, and you, human, won't. It just shifts the problem.

A more workable solution, is to stop the scalpers from being able to easily sell the goods that they are not in possession of. eBay could make such a policy and easily stop a lot of this (not all of it) but they make so much money off of misery, why would they?

@Northern_munkey It's not due to underestimating, it's due to supply constraints. Factories can only work so fast, and there are only finite amounts that they can push through and have reasonable failure rates; and Sony isn't the only one competing for these resources.

Sony started mass production in June. They would have had to start mass production at the beginning of the year (or end of last year) to have enough for the current demand. Not only could they not anticipate how COVID would impact things at that point, but they were still designing, fixing, and tweaking the hardware.

Its not as simple as increasing your order count in your shopping cart, there is an upper limit on how fast these things can be made.

You also can't just sit on them (delay launch for multiple months) to build up more stock. Not only does that give your competition an opening to get in early; but it costs a lot in storage fees and taxes to hold on to goods.

@get2sammyb For the Game Presets, is that per-profile, or per-system? The settings appear to be in the same place that most per-system settings are, which makes this could-be-amazing feature, completely useless in a household where not everyone wants the exact same presets.

@LiterallyDoNotCare I have a back log of at least 30+ PS4 games that I need to finish (all..10? of the Resident Evil titles, all 7? of the Yakuza titles), and a few stragglers that I played but never platinumed (like Witcher 3), so its going to be awhile before I fully move on. I am going to be playing a mix of PS4 and PS5 games for the next two years at least I think.

@LiterallyDoNotCare lol.
I am sure we can both agree that we both wish GoW2 was a PS5 exclusive and that all upcoming titles were that way (I wish they would drop last gen from Cyberpunk even!); but I understand that the numbers are not there yet for huge AAA titles. Thats why I hope that GoW2 is an early 2022 game, rather than 2021. More likely to be (now) current gen exclusive.

@LiterallyDoNotCare I have friends that haven't turned their PS4 on in over a month, but have played at least a few hours of many of the major single player games (they haven't really finished most of them, and certainly haven't platinumed any), I don't think that counts as hardcore by any stretch of the imagination. Thats as casual as they come.

I agree with you that we need new definitions (and those you propose are pretty close to how I would define them), it would certainly make discussions clearer and we wouldn't spend all of the time arguing a point that we both agree on.

(although, I define myself as hardcore, but I abhor multiplayer games, so I am not sure where that would fit in your definitions)

@LiterallyDoNotCare Only one of my friends plays online titles, they rest play only single player. In fact, some of them don't even pay for internet access, and some (even with internet access) don't have PS+ to play (most) of those titles. A lot of them play games like CoD, sure, but they play exclusively campaign/offline as a single player experience.

This part of the discussion really comes down to your definition of casual I think. I define a casual gamer as someone that casually plays games. They might play once or twice a week, or for a couple hours on the weekend. I don't define them based on the games they play (the people I know, not-IRL) that play the games you talk about are far from casual (they play those games non-stop, for hundreds and thousands of hours); but you are right, they do not tend to buy many single player games because they are more of a competitive gamer, not an experience gamer.