Tim Sweeney Interview Pt 3

[KriLL3.8™]

Seems my account was wiped in the shredprince hddocalypse.

I just hope Epic aren't abandoning the PC market due to poor sales of their recent PC games, UT3 didn't sell well because of several factors, but chief among them is lack of polish of the PC version, the menu in particular, it seems it's a bit of a chicken and the egg situation, Epic put more time and effort into the console versions thus the PC version was quite poor and thus didn't sell that well, which makes Epic's low expectations on UT3 PC sales a self fulfilling prophecy.

Releasing it in the middle of the pre-holiday rush shoulder to shoulder with Cod4 and Halo3 wasn't brilliant either, UT3 is the kind of game that could have filled up the post holiday months quite nicely, when reviewers and gamers alike got the time to actually sit down with a game and try it out long enough to enjoy it, when UT3 came out people tested the demo for an hour tops before rushing back to the huge pileup of games they had waiting for their attention.

 

[JaFO]

Well Im not screaming about epic abandoning anything, I think people just really dont look into what Im saying most of the time!

PC games have been buggy but reviewers used to be harsh on bugs so there are alot of PC games out there which are very stable and playable from the retail install and they still recieved plenty of patches after that.

I think that's more the result of reviewers being less critical due to various circumstances (either bribes or less time for a proper review, take your pick).
In other words : the quality of the review has changed and it has resulted in buggy games being reviewed as if they were 'good'.

Your definition sucks btw

It wasn't meant to be a serious definition ... besides IMHO there's no difference between a console- and pc-game, except that console-games are pretty much 'plug&play' while most pc-games have so many options and tweaks that even in a 'best case scenario' you need to check what resolution is chosen so you get a good experience.

Its about a level of quality in games that Epic should be trying to raise, not just sitting where they are because it sells on consoles.

Who says they aren't doing that ?
You've got to keep in mind that they're a business and releasing stable software is in their best interest ... they've also can't debug&test for an eternity (which is what is needed given the amount of different hardware, driver and OS-versions available).

...
PC's can be stable which is why Mr Sweeny said they switched to work stations now, I mean really if there is that big of a problem with stability in PC's I wouldnt ...

The simple fact that *they* as a business can't get their pc's stable to do their job is enough proof that the platform isn't ready to be used by 'normal' people.
I've also had a stable Win9x-system when others were having problems with stability.

In fact I'd say that it is pretty obvious that we can't rely on basic out-of-the-box pc's to be stable. So the industry (and that's not just Epic, but MS and Intel & co as well) should be focussing on that bit before trying to get even more impatient people on a platform that isn't ready for 'stupid' end-users.

 

[MonsOlympus]

Yeah I agree fully, there does need to be stuff done with the PC gaming industry to lay a solid foundation to move forward more. Instead though we are getting tech demos of Gears 2 on 360 and Mr Sweeny talking about how Epic is concentrating on the next generation of consoles.

On one had I would like to see Epic do everything they can for PC's now so in the future that option still exists for them to fall back to if all else fails. Now Im not saying its all on Epic but as a developer they must have some kind of investment in each platform because if there is no gaming platforms then there is nothing for them to make games for. Im not saying PC will end either but it would be nice to see Epic offering support even if it is alittle premature at this point instead of kinda kicking it while its down.

I know the PC industry is in shambles but Id be looking for solutions not options, we know what options there are and Epic has proven they can use that option. Its going to take some communication, this gaming alliance should help but how come the communication seems to be much more clear and marketed better on consoles than PC?

Like say PS3 or mac, vs the same hardware vendors working on PC with linux ports or 360 with MS, Ati and Epic.

They as a buisness though probably have 100's of PC's, they probably even hire people to deal with problems so they arnt wasting their time. Tech support at Epic perhaps? Sounds kinda funny when you think about it, maybe thats a cost which is holding them back and their developers have less problems testing on consoles. I doubt the beta testers prefered platform determines what Epic targets though.

I understand that they cant debug & test every combination of hardware but I am refering to problems on all platforms in that case, Gears 360 (required patching in some cases), UT3 PS3 (People are calling for a patch), UT3 and Gears PC (required patching). Thats required as in it had to be done in some cases for the games to be playable, so I hope you are correct in that the will do something about it instead of rushing to releases. We'll find out soon enough with Gears 2 and UT3 360 on the horizon

 

[KriLL3.8™]

There is no real option to a PC for FPS gaming. And UT3 for PC wasn't that buggy, it was just unpolished, if they had spent some extra months on it they'd get a lot better reviews and a lot more sales, the gameplay was ace, but all peripheral stuff was either missing or in a sorry state (menu, browser, web admin, demo record/playback etc).

 

[MonsOlympus]

Yeah Ive certainly seen more buggy games Krill, Im not saying Im not pleased with UT3 or anything

I did have problems playing the SP campaign until I did an ini tweak though which could have been fixed Im sure if they held off just alittle longer. The problems with Gears Ive only read about so Im kinda going out on a limb somewhat but people reported problems with VGA ports on the 360 version and the saved games bug on PC, both games I thought carried the MS certification. Lowers my faith in the process somewhat!

So Gears 2 will surely show, I doubt there will be any major problems aside from perhaps a few gameplay fixes after release and bonus content. It'll be interesting to see if UT3 and Gears 2 both pass certification for whatever state they are in, like I said though I would expect them to be more polished being titles that have been in the works longer in some respects.

I just cant help but feel an independant company or organization should be going certification, perhaps something good for PC gaming alliance, since MS has a stake in their titles (published, platform, certified by etc) so they would be thinking with their wallets to get titles out knowing they can patch it later. No different from how things happen on PC!

 

[MARVO]

He's right though, the campaign is not as good as they told us it would be.

thats a matter of opinion

And Doom 3 was not nearly as scary as they said it would be, actually is was boring and repetitive. But you don't see me burning an iD Software effigy.

exactly

 

[{Ogre}Spin]

What console hype? You are aware that before PC Gaming actually existed there were only consoles?

Not really, the pc gaming scene has only really been around since the early 90s but there has been a strong 'home computer' gaming scene since the very first days of computing and has ALWAYS been on the same sort of scale in comparison to console sales with the exception of a couple of peak points.

PC gaming has evolved from the 8 and 16 bit home computer gaming market, rather than being a whole new entity in it's own right, consoles have always been the 'bubblegum' market with easy entry, no need for user knowledge and 'out of the box' gaming. Everyone understands that for PC gaming to succeed it needs to evolve to match the console experience as much as exceed it, it is all very well saying you don't want idiots, but someone needs to be playing, not least in an age where empty servers can kill a game in it's birth.

Personally I expect Epic to do exactly what makes sense in terms of their own environment, they have clearly managed to corner the market as the platform of choice developement platform for this gen's consoles and frankly I'd prefer that cross platform standardisation than the kind of crud that we've seen in times gone by.

 

[elmuerte]

Let's see.
Sopwith: 1984
Alley Cat: 1984
Rogue: 1983
Paper boy: 1986
Digger: 1983
Prince of Persia: 1989

Looks a lot like the 80s.

Anyway, gaming consoles where available in the 70s

 

[Trustingsoup]

Spacewar! was created in 1961 on a computer. Of course it wasn't widely distributed.
The Magnavox Odyssey was released in 1972. The Odyssey is credited with being the first console.

 

[fuegerstef]

Not really, the pc gaming scene has only really been around since the early 90s but there has been a strong 'home computer' gaming scene since the very first days of computing and has ALWAYS been on the same sort of scale in comparison to console sales with the exception of a couple of peak points.

PC gaming has evolved from the 8 and 16 bit home computer gaming market, rather than being a whole new entity in it's own right, consoles have always been the 'bubblegum' market with easy entry, no need for user knowledge and 'out of the box' gaming. Everyone understands that for PC gaming to succeed it needs to evolve to match the console experience as much as exceed it, it is all very well saying you don't want idiots, but someone needs to be playing, not least in an age where empty servers can kill a game in it's birth.

Personally I expect Epic to do exactly what makes sense in terms of their own environment, they have clearly managed to corner the market as the platform of choice developement platform for this gen's consoles and frankly I'd prefer that cross platform standardisation than the kind of crud that we've seen in times gone by.

Uhm. The first consoles were there before the 8-bit Homecomputers.

 

[elmuerte]

Spacewar! was created in 1961 on a computer. Of course it wasn't widely distributed.
The Magnavox Odyssey was released in 1972. The Odyssey is credited with being the first console.

but not a personal computer aka PC

 

[{Ogre}Spin]

Uhm. The first consoles were there before the 8-bit Homecomputers.

True, the first Atari console was a couple of years ahead of the home computer, however as the home gaming era has so far lasted 30 years, the point I'm trying to make is that the situation we see now has basically always existed and that despite the death knell being sounded many times we are all still here.

The one positive that people just don't seem to get with all this is that unreal is a bridge between all systems, meaning that both quality and delivery schedule across platforms can be closer than previous generations. Why this would be a bad thing I don't understand (for example, I'd LOVE a cheap port of a burnout or tekken game or other such 'console exclusive' title, knowing that an easily portable cross platform engine makes such releases not only financially viable, but almost irrestable, imo).

 

[Aegeri]

That's a ridiculous statement, T2A`.

He sounds about right to me on all fronts. The game was utterly lackluster and clearly suffered from 2-3 doses of consolitis to the head.

Now Epic are just proving themselves utter hypocrites after everything they had previously said. People then wonder why PC gamers are so negative towards epic and their attitude? Mind you, Epic haven't just stood on us, they've also arguably kicked their console gamers in the balls as well with the improved port of Gears of War to the PC as well.

Epic seem to be out to piss on everyone.

 

[elmuerte]

People then wonder why PC gamers are so negative towards epic and their attitude? Mind you, Epic haven't just stood on us, they've also arguably kicked their console gamers in the balls as well with the improved port of Gears of War to the PC as well.

Epic seem to be out to piss on everyone.

You are not speaking for me. So stop claiming that.
You are speaking just for yourself, so drop the whole "us", "we" and "PC Gamers" stuff.

 

[Kharnellius]

The punchline is Epic is rolling in unfathomable amounts of cash while 500 PC gamers are pissed. Like they give a f**k.

:tup:

Ok now that I've stopped crying from laughing so hard I just have to say "so true!".

And Doom 3 was not nearly as scary as they said it would be, actually is was boring and repetitive. But you don't see me burning an iD Software effigy.

Yeah what a dissappointingly boring and docile game DOOM 3 was. I really was quite surprised.
The expansion was only worse except for the very end when you had to take a ton of baddies.

Whyd they get rid of all the excitement of running and gunning like in DOOM 1 & 2???

...they've also arguably kicked their console gamers in the balls as well with the improved port of Gears of War to the PC as well.

WTF are you on? Because they made a free improvement for a late port you're upset!?!?! Give me AFB!

You people just blow my mind.

 

[Armagon917]

I think I may be the only one here who thought the Gears of War port to PC was utter crap. The keyboard and mainly the mouse controls were not implemented well at all. While roadie running which is so integral to multiplayer you could not turn worth a sh** which made it useless when playing people who plugged their 360 controller up.

The netcode was aweful as well. My ping was 32 then 150 then 600 all the time. I played UT2004 to check to see if it was my ISP as I have suddenlink. =D Making sure the controls work well is the first thing that should be adressed. Its like nobody sat down with a keyboard and mouse and actually played it to find out you couldn't turn worth a damn. Anyone else have this problem. These are just my experiences, and maybe I had some settings off or something? I doubt it as I looked everywhere to fix the lack of sensitivity during the roadie run.

 

[Jordan L]

Epic will be the new EA in terms of PC Quality Games, they even set their own unrealistic deadlines they can't meet themselves

 

[KeithZG]

The one positive that people just don't seem to get with all this is that unreal is a bridge between all systems, meaning that both quality and delivery schedule across platforms can be closer than previous generations. Why this would be a bad thing I don't understand (for example, I'd LOVE a cheap port of a burnout or tekken game or other such 'console exclusive' title, knowing that an easily portable cross platform engine makes such releases not only financially viable, but almost irrestable, imo).

Yeah, that's why I'm playing UT3 on Linux right now! Oh, wait

Not that I don't otherwise agree with you, but I guess I'm a bit bitter, heh. Much talk was made ahead of UE3 and UT3 about it being cross-platform, including the editor using WxWidgets and thus working on any PC...by which I mean any normal personal computer and thus Windows, Linux and OSX (to go in order from highest to lowest of people that play UT, at least judging from UT2004). And here I am playing ET:QW...not to lie, I adore Quake Wars, but I'm still looking forward to playing the new UT, yaknow?

A band I like made a couple of great albums, their 3rd was a bit watered down for the pop market and their last was clearly aimed at chart success...I'd like them to make albums like they used to but thats the way it goes with career developement..if you get good enough to be really successful invariably you will follow that path. Some of the fans on their board get way over the top about their selling out, but the thing is..I still like the music they make, even if it doesn't excite me like it used to.

You officially (note: this is not official) win the Best Analogy Of The Thread award.

...Although for my own part I'm still a tad upset when such things happen, partially because there are many opposing examples (look at the new Nine Inch Nails album; last I heard it was even at the top of Amazon.com's mp3 purchases and made $1.6 million in a week, which proves you can have serious artistic integrity and still make a rather decent profit. True Trent Reznor isn't a typical musician, far more people know him than know most random musicians, but the same could be said of Epic Games in their respective multimedia field.

 

[MonsOlympus]

The one positive that people just don't seem to get with all this is that unreal is a bridge between all systems, meaning that both quality and delivery schedule across platforms can be closer than previous generations. Why this would be a bad thing I don't understand (for example, I'd LOVE a cheap port of a burnout or tekken game or other such 'console exclusive' title, knowing that an easily portable cross platform engine makes such releases not only financially viable, but almost irrestable, imo).

Agreed, this is very much where I stand! Im sick of "timed exclusivity" or whatever you want to call it! Why cant we get higher quality ports on PC, emulators have proven PC can run numerous console/arcade games and be pretty damn stable as well.

How many people are taking that technology and using it well across all platforms? Well my point (I know I keep bringing it up) but even Epic released buggy games on PC with their own technology. Sure no game can be perfect but I think they should be setting an example for their licensee's to follow. Infact do Epic get more or less money if its a console only title?

It doesnt matter which platform was here first, which is stronger currently, with the current level of technology and software we should be able to get releases going more smoothing across all systems and OS's! I could go on about like wheres atari now? wheres sega? wheres commodore/amiga? Companies just raise and fall, part of the buisiness!

Mortal Kombat (commonly abbreviated as MK) is a popular series of fighting games made originally by Midway Manufacturing Company. Mortal Kombat began as a series of arcade games, which were picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home console versions.

Im fairly certain Acclaim did a PC version of MK as well (and many others), funny I do kinda miss them and microprose, bullfrog, lucasarts of old, sierra of old the list goes on!

BTW elmuerte you forgot:
Pang,
Choplifter,
SimTower,
Civilization,
Marble Madness,
To the Earth,
Sango Fighter,
Moraff's World,
Commache 3,
Battle Chess,
Stellar7,
Silkworm,
Alien Legacy.

 

[Aegeri]

:
WTF are you on? Because they made a free improvement for a late port you're upset!?!?! Give me AFB!

I'm not upset, but the console gamers on the official forum were certainly incensed for many hilarious posts. I'm just noting that Epic is getting good at plain managing to alienate and annoy virtually everyone.

This has to be good business practice.