Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: UncleBob on June 10, 2009, 01:24:40 AM
Title: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: UncleBob on June 10, 2009, 01:24:40 AM
I played a PlayStation 3 for the first time tonight. Well, I've poked around with our demo unit at the store, but that doesn't really count.
A friend of mine got a PS3 for Christmas from his parents (who spoil him rotten...)
He's only ever purchased one game for it - and it's never been opened. ;) He mostly uses it as a BluRay player.
Well, I heard from CAG that Walmart had discounted the PS3 Buzz! trivia game to $20. We've both wanted to play it, but he had never wanted to spend $60 on it. While I was out and about, I found a Walmart that actually had one in stock, so I grabbed it.
We played it tonight. When we popped in the disc, it said we had to do some system update. Took over 40 minutes. Fun. So, we watched the first episode of Andy Richter's show. Came back, it still wasn't done. So we played some Mario vs. Luigi. When it was finally done, we played a regular round of trivia. Then, we tried to go online to download some quizzes. Had to perform another system update. Took over half an hour. Played some more Mario vs. Luigi. Then, we played some user created quizzes. Half the ones we tried to download would give us an error message that there was an error and they couldn't be downloaded at this time.
It was loads of fun. Loads, as in, we waited around for everything to load....
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on June 10, 2009, 02:02:05 AM
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: ThePerm on June 10, 2009, 02:17:54 AM
next time don't connect your system online when you want to play a new game
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 10, 2009, 04:26:46 AM
online is bad
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 10, 2009, 08:45:42 AM
I would stare at a loading screen for a week if after it was done, I got to play The Last Guardian.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 10, 2009, 09:02:05 AM
This sounds more like a problem with the internet connection than with the PS3 itself. When I got my PS3 a few months ago, I had to do two system updates and I'd be surprised if it took me 40 minutes to do the entire "first-time startup" process. Personally, I find the installation times for the individual games much worse, even moreso when there's an update online to that game.
Seriously, though, if you think that update/install times are bad on the PS3 never play a PC game.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 10, 2009, 09:18:09 AM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 10, 2009, 09:25:20 AM
By the way, something I highly recommend for new PS3 users is that you go to the PSN store and just download everything that strikes your fancy that's free. Videos, demos, PS3 themes, songs, whatever interests you. You can download it all in the background and then go play a game or something while you wait. Then when you come back later you can just play with all the stuff you downloaded. It's a unique experience you'll never have on a Nintendo platform, that's for sure.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 10, 2009, 11:03:35 AM
Stuff on PS3 is super slow in downloading though. They are also very large, almost every PS3 demo is at least 600MB and many are over 1GB.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 10, 2009, 11:35:13 AM
360 demos are similar in size.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 10, 2009, 11:37:31 AM
Some, not most. I am not the only one to notice that even demos that are of a similar size download much faster on the Xbox 360.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: KDR_11k on June 10, 2009, 11:38:51 AM
When I got my 360 I took about two hours to get all that account and EULA and whatnot bullshit sorted out before I could even download a demo.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 10, 2009, 11:40:02 AM
I have no reference for download speed, and what I've heard more or less corroborates this. I still think that most of the full game demos I've downloaded on the 360 are between 800 MB and 1.2 GB.
But this is about the PS3, and how slow the download speeds are combined with how frequent the mandatory updates are - that's got to be frustrating.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ian Sane on June 10, 2009, 12:06:36 PM
Hey I've got a PS3! I think I'll get... Buzz!? What? THAT is the game you guys decided to get?
I've played the PS3 a few times at a co-workers house. We didn't have to deal with installing or upgrading anything but I did notice the load times were pretty irritating. But I find that with most consoles. Nintendo seems to be quite exceptional in that they consider load times a priority and have tried to minimize them on both of their optical disc consoles. Maybe Sony doesn't care because the original Playstation had them but it didn't seem to have any effect on that console's massive success. They might think that people are just willing to deal with them.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 10, 2009, 12:14:46 PM
You have a metric asston of graphical assets to load into memory, there's more that needs to be loaded. High poly HD gaming overshot the available bandwidth of mainstream disc streaming technology.
Wii games, have nothing to load in comparison.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 10, 2009, 12:30:29 PM
I have no real beefs about the loading times on my 360, especially after they implemented hard disk install. It's pretty comparable to last gen. Nintendo has always been ahead of the curve on this. I do notice, however, that the larger Wii discs take considerably longer to load content from than the smaller GC discs. Brawl vs. Melee is a great example of that.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: bustin98 on June 10, 2009, 12:37:41 PM
I would have to say that the PSN is a lot slower than the Xbox Marketplace. But, you do get what you pay for.
The only game I dislike regarding loading is Metal Gear Solid 4. Not because there are loading screens, but because they interrupt the game when an initial install to the HDD could have bypassed that bullshit.
When I got my PS3 the PSN game Pain was free. Its a decent party game, people have fun with it. But it seems like every time it gets turned on there is an update for it. Its frustrating, especially when its not apparent why there is an update for the title.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: UncleBob on June 10, 2009, 12:43:20 PM
My main problem is the first update was *required* before it would let us play the game. I don't think it was a download of any kind either - I think it was something installed from the disc, as my friend hadn't logged onto the PlayStation Network until we wanted to try some of the online quizzes.
Come on though - a 40 minute install just to play a trivia game?
There are times when I just sit down to play a game for a quick 30 minutes.
Hey I've got a PS3! I think I'll get... Buzz!? What? THAT is the game you guys decided to get?
Well, I'm sorry our choice of games don't suit you, Ian.
We like trivia and we like pitting ourselves against each other (usually in Mario vs. Luigi/NSMB). With trivia on the best Television show ever (24), we had wanted to play it. For $20, it couldn't be passed up.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: EasyCure on June 10, 2009, 01:18:25 PM
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 10, 2009, 02:17:07 PM
A lot of my games have had mandatory installs, so I haven't noticed that bad of loading times among my PS3 games except for Bioshock, but that game's always had some bad loading times even on PC. Oh yeah, and it's pretty ridiculous on LittleBigPlanet as well, made even worse by the fact that you often can't even tell it's loading till the pod pops open and it loads the level. I did notice a fairly dramatic decrease in load times on Valkyria Chronicles when I did the optional install, though.
My big issue with PS3 games is not so much the load times but the the Install time when you first put the game in, something that's become the norm rather than the exception these days (especially if the game got a Trophy pack later on). You can watch a decently-long anime episode in the time it takes Valkyria Chronicles to install (which is kind of appropriate when you think about how VC is presented), but so long as the install has an effect on decreasing the overall load times I don't mind sitting through such tedium once.
Then apparently you have stuff like Ghostbusters (according to IGN), which has a mandatory 8-minute install on the PS3 that has no effect on the loading times. :-\
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 10, 2009, 02:23:02 PM
What's with this generation.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on June 10, 2009, 02:50:51 PM
Then apparently you have stuff like Ghostbusters (according to IGN), which has a mandatory 8-minute install on the PS3 that has no effect on the loading times. :-\
If it's mandatory, how could anyone tell it doesn't help?
I spend install time reading the manual, just like I've always done with PC games.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 10, 2009, 02:54:56 PM
Then apparently you have stuff like Ghostbusters (according to IGN), which has a mandatory 8-minute install on the PS3 that has no effect on the loading times. :-\
If it's mandatory, how could anyone tell it doesn't help?
I spend install time reading the manual, just like I've always done with PC games.
The reviewer at IGN compared the load times for the 360 and PS3 versions, with the latter having the mandatory install. According to him, the load times are identical.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: ShyGuy on June 10, 2009, 04:04:43 PM
Blu Ray? More like Slow Ray amirite?
At least PS3 has Home...
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 10, 2009, 04:22:41 PM
Home is so disappointing (and slow as hell last time I used it).
The mandatory install some PS3 games have are ridiculous. Even when they decrease load times (which they don't always do), it's often only 1 or 2 seconds faster (which is not worth a 30+ minute install).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ian Sane on June 10, 2009, 04:51:12 PM
These installations sound pretty annoying if you want to play this game RIGHT FUCKING NOW DAMMIT! Though personally I can't imagine that being a huge issue for me. When I buy a new game it is usually after work. So I'll get home with the new game but will probably eat dinner first. If I remembered, and I probably would get in the habit of this if I had a PS3, I could just let the installation start right when I got home and by the time I was finished dinner the game would be ready.
But that's me. The only thing I ever truly have a "right now DAMMIT" attitude is something with a clear time limit. Like on Friday game seven of the Stanley Cup finals starts at 5pm PT but that's the same time I get off work so I have to miss the beginning of it. Obviously I'm going to have a "RIGHT NOW DAMMIT" attitude towards that when I get home and turn the TV on right away (and likely be irritated by that second or so a TV takes to turn on). My Dad goes to bed much earlier than I do so if the family rents a movie we're going to take into account how long the film is and what time it is to determine how late we can start the film before my Dad will fall asleep. So in that case sometimes from the video store there's a rush to get started.
But if I own the game I don't necessary need it to start up instantly the very first time I play it. Not that a long installation is fun to deal with but as a one time thing I don't think it's that big of a hassle. At worse you will be affected by it ONCE and then every other time the game will just load up like you expect it to.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 10, 2009, 05:15:57 PM
When those updates come up, just hit 0 if you want to play right away, they are NOT always necessary. And it sounds like you had a connection update issue. I've done tons of updates, longest I had was maybe 7 mins.
And DAMN! 20 for Buzz, I'm going to have to go to my local slop shop to see if I can grab one.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 10, 2009, 05:34:42 PM
Sony is never gonna get the cost of a PS3 down if now they have to upgrade to faster Blu-ray drives. I guess its not always the best option to go with bleeding edge tech before it draws first blood.
*goes back to sitting under bridge and demanding toll to cross*
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 10, 2009, 05:57:04 PM
The price will drop in the fall. Its a sacrifice they'll have to make to get long term sustainability. If they don't do it now, MS/Wii owners will just wait for the next console rather than waiting around another year. To not drop the price this holiday, would be financial suicide.
But then again, so is charging the same price for the PSP five years later.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Morari on June 10, 2009, 06:22:25 PM
Seriously, though, if you think that update/install times are bad on the PS3 never play a PC game.
Even your largest PC game will clock in at less than ten minutes to FULLY install. That is, you never have to put the disc in again. Or, assuming you do, it's strictly as a security check and can easily be disabled. There were exceptions back in the day, with slow CD-Roms and games that spanned a few discs, but it was rare. Updating a game is even easier. Even in the most archaic of games, you simply download the patch and double-click. At 20mbps down, even those gigantic Unreal patches don't stand a chance.
Seriously though, if you're going to waste time installing games, forgo the PS3 and spend a few hundred dollars on a good PC instead. Hell, it'll even run Linux better than your PS3! :P
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on June 10, 2009, 06:55:12 PM
so I take it Morari hasn't installed any MMOs lately!
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ian Sane on June 10, 2009, 07:03:06 PM
Quote
The price will drop in the fall. Its a sacrifice they'll have to make to get long term sustainability. If they don't do it now, MS/Wii owners will just wait for the next console rather than waiting around another year. To not drop the price this holiday, would be financial suicide.
I hope you're right. Realistically that's the deciding factor for me regarding getting a second console or not. Anytime I consider getting a PS3 I look at the price I just go "ehhhhh... nah."
Much like Atari and Nintendo before, self-sabotage was probably the greatest factor in Sony's fall from number one. The pricing of the PS3 is just plain STUPID and, hey look, Sony went from first to last in the span of like a year.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 10, 2009, 07:06:43 PM
The price will drop in the fall. Its a sacrifice they'll have to make to get long term sustainability. If they don't do it now, MS/Wii owners will just wait for the next console rather than waiting around another year. To not drop the price this holiday, would be financial suicide.
I hope you're right. Realistically that's the deciding factor for me regarding getting a second console or not. Anytime I consider getting a PS3 I look at the price I just go "ehhhhh... nah."
Much like Atari and Nintendo before, self-sabotage was probably the greatest factor in Sony's fall from number one. The pricing of the PS3 is just plain STUPID and, hey look, Sony went from first to last in the span of like a year.
Even DUMBER when you consider the clear evidence they had before them. How many technically superior consoles have dies in the past due to price?
NeoGeo 3D0 32X Jaguar Turbo 16 etc....
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Morari on June 10, 2009, 08:09:06 PM
Seriously, though, if you think that update/install times are bad on the PS3 never play a PC game.
Updating a game is even easier.
Yep, it's as easy going to my auto-update program and telling it to search for patches. Oh wait, no it's not because the damn Auto-update program never works, forcing me to go onto the internet; run a search for the patch; go to the place that has the patch; download the patch; install the patch; and then restart everything so that I can use the patch. Yeah, patching in PC games works great, at least if my last batch of PC games (EA's Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 titles) are any indication. Apparently there's some issue with auto-patching programs and firewalls.
That is, of course, assuming that your computer is even compatible with the patch. I remember "patching" Mechwarrior 3 on my PC to enable play on Windows XP, and the game still didn't work (there's an issue in the second level where on later versions of Windows enemy trucks would jump into the stratosphere as you approached them and a mission critical target became invulnerable and invisible).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 10, 2009, 08:36:06 PM
Much like Atari and Nintendo before, self-sabotage was probably the greatest factor in Sony's fall from number one. The pricing of the PS3 is just plain STUPID and, hey look, Sony went from first to last in the span of like a year.
More like a day. The PlayStation 3 has been in third place since it launched and has been there ever since. I agree with you that a large part of this was Sony's fault. I think that the moment Sony announced the $600 pricepoint most people realized the PS3 wasn't gonna win. It didn't help Sony's public image that they became very cocky (like saying that people would want to get a second job to afford a PS3 and stating that they could sell 5 million PS3's without even releasing any games based on brand name).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 10, 2009, 08:46:34 PM
Yeah, 399 is still too much for me. I got lucky, I needed a new credit card, and Sony had an offer to get an 80gig PS3 for $250. What a steal. And I've earned tons of points with it since Sept, enough to get three free games.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Morari on June 10, 2009, 10:28:24 PM
Seriously, though, if you think that update/install times are bad on the PS3 never play a PC game.
Updating a game is even easier.
Yep, it's as easy going to my auto-update program and telling it to search for patches. Oh wait, no it's not because the damn Auto-update program never works, forcing me to go onto the internet; run a search for the patch; go to the place that has the patch; download the patch; install the patch; and then restart everything so that I can use the patch. Yeah, patching in PC games works great, at least if my last batch of PC games (EA's Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 titles) are any indication. Apparently there's some issue with auto-patching programs and firewalls.
That is, of course, assuming that your computer is even compatible with the patch. I remember "patching" Mechwarrior 3 on my PC to enable play on Windows XP, and the game still didn't work (there's an issue in the second level where on later versions of Windows enemy trucks would jump into the stratosphere as you approached them and a mission critical target became invulnerable and invisible).
Your problem sounds two-fold.
One; you need to properly setup your firewall. Alternatively, you could come to the realization that EA-backed games are among the buggiest in the world.
Two; you mustn't expect older games to always work perfectly on newer systems. Usually they do no have full support, or at least in an official capacity, for such. Even though a little tinkering can always yield results, never assume. Such would be akin to thinking that you could pop an N64 cartridge in your Wii and have it"just work".
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_Lindy on June 10, 2009, 10:43:48 PM
PS3 updates never, ever bothered me. The only time I felt inconvenienced was when I first bought it, and that was because I had to turn off WEP encryption on my router because it wasn't supported out of the box, download the update with WEP support, then get online and download another update. It was pretty silly. But since then, no issues...I actually like the fact that developers constantly patch their games. I'm a big MMO guy so I'm used to that and actually appreciate it. They always fix bugs and add new features, which I have no problem with. It's all gravy to me, and most of the updates only take a few seconds to download (granted, I have a pretty fast connection, but I have that for the purpose of online gaming anyways).
There's only a few games with silly initial downloads, like Hot Shots Golf. But that's all I can really recall. I think all of the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 10, 2009, 10:53:16 PM
Seriously, though, if you think that update/install times are bad on the PS3 never play a PC game.
Updating a game is even easier.
Yep, it's as easy going to my auto-update program and telling it to search for patches. Oh wait, no it's not because the damn Auto-update program never works, forcing me to go onto the internet; run a search for the patch; go to the place that has the patch; download the patch; install the patch; and then restart everything so that I can use the patch. Yeah, patching in PC games works great, at least if my last batch of PC games (EA's Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 titles) are any indication. Apparently there's some issue with auto-patching programs and firewalls.
That is, of course, assuming that your computer is even compatible with the patch. I remember "patching" Mechwarrior 3 on my PC to enable play on Windows XP, and the game still didn't work (there's an issue in the second level where on later versions of Windows enemy trucks would jump into the stratosphere as you approached them and a mission critical target became invulnerable and invisible).
Alternatively, you could come to the realization that EA-backed games are among the buggiest in the world.
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Quote
Two; you mustn't expect older games to always work perfectly on newer systems. Usually they do no have full support, or at least in an official capacity, for such. Even though a little tinkering can always yield results, never assume. Such would be akin to thinking that you could pop an N64 cartridge in your Wii and have it"just work".
When I download an official patch that's supposed to make the game compatible with Windows XP, sorry but I do actually expect it to work on Windows XP. This is why I can't stand PC games and avoid them like the plague when at all possible: when I get a game I expect it to just work. It isn't my job as a consumer to have to waste my time fiddling with switches and dials on my end to make their games work. My computer's been barraged with all sorts of nasty stuff over the years, so I have a pretty damn good firewall of various anti-Spyware programs set up to keep it out. I'm not about to start messing with it just to allow a handful of programs to do their jobs.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 10, 2009, 11:31:56 PM
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Good then you should be able to pass some complaints I have with GST on to those that should receive them. There aren't bugs per se, but things that should be addressed. in the GST thread - Nintendo Forum
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: KDR_11k on June 11, 2009, 08:27:51 AM
The only game that I really felt needed the install on the 360 was EDF2017 since there are many short loads in the menu navigation that get cut down dramatically when you install it. Otherwise AFAIK installing rarely improves the load times much. Everything else can be popped in, usually wants to install an update, you hit okay, it takes maybe 5 seconds to download and install and then you can play. The games that cache on the harddrive AFAIK do that while the game is loading something so it doesn't have a visible delay. Also the system was only 200€ compared to the 400 a PS3 costs. Still not a very useful system for me though.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 12, 2009, 05:59:36 PM
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Woah, you work for EA?
Apparently after next week that will likely no longer be the case. Just not enough work for all of us. Guess I'll be updating my resume 2 months ahead of schedule. :'(
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Morari on June 12, 2009, 10:28:49 PM
When I download an official patch that's supposed to make the game compatible with Windows XP, sorry but I do actually expect it to work on Windows XP. This is why I can't stand PC games and avoid them like the plague when at all possible: when I get a game I expect it to just work. It isn't my job as a consumer to have to waste my time fiddling with switches and dials on my end to make their games work. My computer's been barraged with all sorts of nasty stuff over the years, so I have a pretty damn good firewall of various anti-Spyware programs set up to keep it out. I'm not about to start messing with it just to allow a handful of programs to do their jobs.
You can certainly make that case in regards to an official patch. Again though, that says more about the developer than anything. Very rarely have I ever had an issue with a game where it won't "just work" if that's what I really want. In reality however, I like being able to customize my controls and possibly tweaking the settings to run on systems that are older than the game was really designed for. It's a fiaAs for your firewall, most nasty stuff is self-inflicted. Practice safe browsing habits and the liklihood of catching something drops sharply.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 12, 2009, 10:41:21 PM
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Woah, you work for EA?
Apparently after next week that will likely no longer be the case. Just not enough work for all of us. Guess I'll be updating my resume 2 months ahead of schedule. :'(
Does that mean you can pass on our game related "concerns" through the appropriate channels so that they get seen by the people that need to see them for them to be addressed?
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 12, 2009, 11:17:16 PM
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Woah, you work for EA?
Apparently after next week that will likely no longer be the case. Just not enough work for all of us. Guess I'll be updating my resume 2 months ahead of schedule. :'(
Does that mean you can pass on our game related "concerns" through the appropriate channels so that they get seen by the people that need to see them for them to be addressed?
I have to walk a fine line in answering this question...hmm...let's see...
I haven't seen your list of "concerns", but as like is not I can just say this: just from personal experience, probably 9/10 things that people complain about any given game are likely things that (the very competent) testers address with the development team during the project. A lot more than you can ever imagine gets fixed, including things you'd never imagine any sane user would do. Some do not, usually due to lack of time. Trust me, they know about probably any issue you have with the game. Maybe you'll get lucky and some stuff got Wish Listed or put on the list of known issues for future iterations to handle. Otherwise, there's very little anyone at the level I work at can do or say on the matter.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on June 13, 2009, 12:39:36 AM
I've only used PS3 for one day (few weeks ago, borrowed it from a friend, played for an hour tops, then ripped that **** out of my living room and gave it back), but if that day was an accurate example, then downloading from PSN is a 56kbps modem to XBL's broadband. It took absolutely forever to download the Killzone 2 demo, which is about 1GB, IIRC, on 15Mb cable. Getting 1GB on XBL takes about 8 minutes.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 13, 2009, 12:41:39 AM
Sheesh, does no one else just go play a PS3 game or watch a movie or whatnot while they're waiting for downloads to complete? That's what I do, and when the message comes up saying that the thing's downloaded, I just quit out of whatever I'm doing and go play the game that just downloaded.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 13, 2009, 01:07:15 AM
It takes a long ass time, I have broadband but it took me about 8 hours to download just 1 part of the 3-part Sony press conference (each one was about 1.5 GB). I think the complaint is how slow downloading anything on the PS3 is, not whether you can do something else at the same time (although some downloads, like system updates and updates for Home and other programs, don't allow for background downloads).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on June 13, 2009, 09:33:25 AM
I didn't waste my time playing a game during the download, because the only games I had at the time were Soul Calibur 4 (which I already have for 360), MGS4 and Resistance. I did play the latter two for a little bit, and after deciding they were (in)complete pieces of ****, I wanted to download a demo instead. I really wanted to download Mortal Kombat 2, but apparently you can't get a demo, only the full game, and it wasn't my system.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Caliban on June 14, 2009, 11:57:49 PM
All I have to say about the PS3 is that it's a great bluray player. My downloading is just as fast as it is on my PC. It doesn't have a big library of exclusive games, but the few that exist are good games (not great... well except for LBP, Super Stardust HD, The Last Guy).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 15, 2009, 12:12:06 AM
The demo of Super Stardust HD is pretty fun, but I have to disagree with LittleBigPlanet. It's not terrible, but I did not think it was that good (and definitely not Game of the Year like some people said it was).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 15, 2009, 12:38:01 AM
Given what I do for a living, I have a feeling I should be offended by that statement. ;)
Woah, you work for EA?
Apparently after next week that will likely no longer be the case. Just not enough work for all of us. Guess I'll be updating my resume 2 months ahead of schedule. :'(
Does that mean you can pass on our game related "concerns" through the appropriate channels so that they get seen by the people that need to see them for them to be addressed?
I have to walk a fine line in answering this question...hmm...let's see...
I haven't seen your list of "concerns", but as like is not I can just say this: just from personal experience, probably 9/10 things that people complain about any given game are likely things that (the very competent) testers address with the development team during the project. A lot more than you can ever imagine gets fixed, including things you'd never imagine any sane user would do. Some do not, usually due to lack of time. Trust me, they know about probably any issue you have with the game. Maybe you'll get lucky and some stuff got Wish Listed or put on the list of known issues for future iterations to handle. Otherwise, there's very little anyone at the level I work at can do or say on the matter.
If you care to see the complaints that I* had they are in the GST & TW10 thread in the Nintendo section.
*others had complaints too, but I think some were in agreement with what I had also said.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: that Baby guy on June 15, 2009, 04:36:07 AM
If you and other testers found everything on the list that was in your search criteria, then I'd have to say you shouldn't be offended :p
Yeah, I've heard that about testing. More often than not, what's in the game is known about, but just given the "go-ahead," because it's deemed too expensive, time-consuming, or not game-breaking enough of a bug to worry about.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 15, 2009, 08:35:27 AM
Looking objectively at my budget over the next few years, I'm going to wait until the Holiday season in 2010. By then, I think the PS3 will either have gotten a new form factor or be down to $300.
But there's enough games on the PS3 to warrant a purchase, I think: Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted (and the sequel), Last Guardian (next year) and all of the Pixel Junk games look fun.
But I'm not sold this year - this year I'm buying a new laptop. Next year, PS3.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on June 15, 2009, 01:32:43 PM
I hadn't used my PS3 since the end of January, but I was in the mood to play one of my few games this weekend. I ended up going through a very similar ordeal to UB's tale. Clearly, it is a mistake to leave it alone long enough for cumulative software updates to pile up.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: broodwars on June 15, 2009, 08:15:40 PM
If you and other testers found everything on the list that was in your search criteria, then I'd have to say you shouldn't be offended :p
Yeah, I've heard that about testing. More often than not, what's in the game is known about, but just given the "go-ahead," because it's deemed too expensive, time-consuming, or not game-breaking enough of a bug to worry about.
I wasn't on the team for Tiger Wii (though I have done some testing for Tiger Next-Gen), but just based on my experiences with other projects I think it's safe to say those issues were known but deemed shippable due to the reasons you list.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 15, 2009, 08:23:09 PM
Most of my complaints fall with GST for Wii. So many things to be fixed that was noticed in the 1st 30minutes of play.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ghisy on June 16, 2009, 03:41:30 PM
It turns out I caved in and bought a PS3 (I'm having it shipped from the US since it's cheaper with the current $/Euro exchange rate) I got it mainly for Resident Evil 5 (I highly doubt we'll ever get a Wii version) and a few other games that are worth getting. The built-in Blu-Ray player is actually interesting now for me as well.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: KDR_11k on June 16, 2009, 04:09:32 PM
I could get RE5 for the 360 but couldn't be bothered after hearing about Sheeva and how it's inferior to RE4 and playing the demo and such.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 16, 2009, 04:33:08 PM
It turns out I caved in and bought a PS3 (I'm having it shipped from the US since it's cheaper with the current $/Euro exchange rate) I got it mainly for Resident Evil 5 (I highly doubt we'll ever get a Wii version) and a few other games that are worth getting. The built-in Blu-Ray player is actually interesting now for me as well.
Just be aware that North America and Europe are different region codes. North America is Region A, Europe is Region B. That means you won't be able to play local Blu-ray Discs unless they are coded to be region-free.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ghisy on June 18, 2009, 04:21:53 AM
TJ Spyke, yup, I know about Blu-Ray region codes. It's actually better for me to have a US PS3 since I only buy region 1 dvds and plan to get some region A Blu-Rays.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 18, 2009, 03:01:37 PM
It turns out I caved in and bought a PS3 (I'm having it shipped from the US since it's cheaper with the current $/Euro exchange rate) I got it mainly for Resident Evil 5 (I highly doubt we'll ever get a Wii version) and a few other games that are worth getting. The built-in Blu-Ray player is actually interesting now for me as well.
Awesome. You in to off road racers at all? If so I'd recommend the latest Motorstorm. I've been playing it non stop since Nov.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_Lindy on June 19, 2009, 02:24:13 AM
I gotta pick up Pacific Rift. I love the first Motorstorm.
There's a lot of great PS3 games, but it's hard to hear about them over the hating.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: ShyGuy on June 19, 2009, 03:15:14 AM
Let me recommend a good coop game for the PS3: Monster Madness: Grave Danger. It features improved controls over the 360 version and you can level up your weapons and characters.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Ghisy on June 19, 2009, 07:46:20 AM
Hmm, I don't really like racing games in general, I suck at it! haha So far, I bought 12 games (on Ebay, 30/40 bucks average price, not bad!). I think I have all the games I wanted, it's true there aren't that many games on this system (12 games after 3 years isn't much). My PS3 should be here next week hopefully and I'm eager to play RE5!
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on June 19, 2009, 08:34:59 AM
I've been really curious to check out the Pixel Junk games - I'll definitely be getting those when I (eventually) get a PS3
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 19, 2009, 10:05:11 AM
Let me recommend a good coop game for the PS3: Monster Madness: Grave Danger. It features improved controls over the 360 version and you can level up your weapons and characters.
I thought the Xbox 360 controls were fine TBH, and the Achievements give it another edge over the PS3 version. The only problem is no one plays it online anymore (and there are a couple of Achievements that require multiplayer).
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 20, 2009, 02:13:54 PM
Let me recommend a good coop game for the PS3: Monster Madness: Grave Danger. It features improved controls over the 360 version and you can level up your weapons and characters.
I thought the Xbox 360 controls were fine TBH, and the Achievements give it another edge over the PS3 version. The only problem is no one plays it online anymore (and there are a couple of Achievements that require multiplayer).
I'm always tempted to rent this game as it looks like mindless fun but the reviews were so bad. I just may give it a shot though.
I'd definitely recommend these PSN games: Pixeljunk Monsters, Crash Commando, Super Stardust HD, Everyday Shooter, Echochrome, Last Guy, Flower, etc, etc...Some of these games can be a bit esoteric so its always best to try the demo first as most should have one up. Those are the ones I still play on a regular basis.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Morari on June 21, 2009, 01:27:44 AM
I had played Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia about one or two years ago on the PC. It was fairly entertaining, especially with two players. It reminds me a lot of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which is by no means a bad thing. The controls and the camera angles could have used some work however.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NWR_Lindy on June 21, 2009, 02:08:52 PM
Super Stardust HD is great, as is Everyday Shooter. I play them in small spurts, but that's what they're meant for. I also enjoyed The Last Guy, but it didn't hold my attention for very long.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: ShyGuy on June 22, 2009, 02:48:03 AM
I had played Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia about one or two years ago on the PC. It was fairly entertaining, especially with two players. It reminds me a lot of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which is by no means a bad thing. The controls and the camera angles could have used some work however.
In the PS3 version, the lead character (the Nerd) even says something like "Oh no, I think Zombies have eaten my neighbors!"
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: Rize on June 23, 2009, 11:47:40 AM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 23, 2009, 11:51:24 AM
Little Pirate Bay
=D
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 23, 2009, 03:14:38 PM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Absolutely it is. Its the industry's dirty little secret, the f'n "Emperor w/ No Clothes". It looks pretty good to the eyes, and level sharing is awesome, but they forgot one important detail. COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. The list is far too long to describe all the short comings there. It was exposed in their latest offering Rag Doll Kung Fu. Those floaty ass mechanics can only get you so far Media Molecule. I haven't played my copy since Oct, not sure why I still have it.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on June 23, 2009, 03:38:16 PM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Absolutely it is. Its the industry's dirty little secret, the f'n "Emperor w/ No Clothes". It looks pretty good to the eyes, and level sharing is awesome, but they forgot one important detail. COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. The list is far too long to describe all the short comings there. It was exposed in their latest offering Rag Doll Kung Fu. Those floaty ass mechanics can only get you so far Media Molecule. I haven't played my copy since Oct, not sure why I still have it.
I haven't played LBP in awhile but one thing I noticed is that the user created levels were sadistic especially since the game has such floaty controls which makes precision platforming unnecessarily frustrating.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 23, 2009, 03:48:57 PM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Absolutely it is. Its the industry's dirty little secret, the f'n "Emperor w/ No Clothes". It looks pretty good to the eyes, and level sharing is awesome, but they forgot one important detail. COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. The list is far too long to describe all the short comings there. It was exposed in their latest offering Rag Doll Kung Fu. Those floaty ass mechanics can only get you so far Media Molecule. I haven't played my copy since Oct, not sure why I still have it.
I haven't played LBP in awhile but one thing I noticed is that the user created levels were sadistic especially since the game has such floaty controls which makes precision platforming unnecessarily frustrating.
Exactly. And the vast majority of levels in campaign mode were too easy. The only challenging spots were those where floaty controls presented a major issue. Bad game design. Lipstick on a pig.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 23, 2009, 03:59:38 PM
"Well, we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfucking pig."
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on June 23, 2009, 04:05:18 PM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Absolutely it is. Its the industry's dirty little secret, the f'n "Emperor w/ No Clothes". It looks pretty good to the eyes, and level sharing is awesome, but they forgot one important detail. COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. The list is far too long to describe all the short comings there. It was exposed in their latest offering Rag Doll Kung Fu. Those floaty ass mechanics can only get you so far Media Molecule. I haven't played my copy since Oct, not sure why I still have it.
I haven't played LBP in awhile but one thing I noticed is that the user created levels were sadistic especially since the game has such floaty controls which makes precision platforming unnecessarily frustrating.
Exactly. And the vast majority of levels in campaign mode were too easy. The only challenging spots were those where floaty controls presented a major issue. Bad game design. Lipstick on a pig.
People talk about Miyamoto's "computer controlled" mode as a potential crutch for game design, but pretty much all of these build your own levels games have sub par level designs and use the user created stuff as a crutch.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 23, 2009, 04:29:02 PM
The constant downloads the system requires is indeed annoying and no reason they should be so long when Microsoft has proven you can have large system updates be done quickly.
I also use my system mainly as a Blu-ray Disc player. I only have 2 games for the system and both were ones I got when I bought the system in November (the over-rated LittleBigPlanet and the waste-of-$70 The Eye of Judgment).
Just wanted to say that I totally agree that LPB is overrated.
Absolutely it is. Its the industry's dirty little secret, the f'n "Emperor w/ No Clothes". It looks pretty good to the eyes, and level sharing is awesome, but they forgot one important detail. COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. The list is far too long to describe all the short comings there. It was exposed in their latest offering Rag Doll Kung Fu. Those floaty ass mechanics can only get you so far Media Molecule. I haven't played my copy since Oct, not sure why I still have it.
I haven't played LBP in awhile but one thing I noticed is that the user created levels were sadistic especially since the game has such floaty controls which makes precision platforming unnecessarily frustrating.
Exactly. And the vast majority of levels in campaign mode were too easy. The only challenging spots were those where floaty controls presented a major issue. Bad game design. Lipstick on a pig.
People talk about Miyamoto's "computer controlled" mode as a potential crutch for game design, but pretty much all of these build your own levels games have sub par level designs and use the user created stuff as a crutch.
An ingenious marketing scheme.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: KDR_11k on June 24, 2009, 03:15:24 AM
Hell, look at the scores Blast Works took home, the gameplay is GARBAGE. Tumiki Fighters is better in every damn way and you can tell they made a half-assed job at implementing TF's features (the bullet patterns in TF are impossible with BW). The level design is total crap but I think the limited options for designing them contribute to that (movement patterns primarily). The music is crap outside of the songs that were taken from TF. Yet everybody gave it an 8/10 or so.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: D_Average on June 24, 2009, 01:37:21 PM
Hell, look at the scores Blast Works took home, the gameplay is GARBAGE. Tumiki Fighters is better in every damn way and you can tell they made a half-assed job at implementing TF's features (the bullet patterns in TF are impossible with BW). The level design is total crap but I think the limited options for designing them contribute to that (movement patterns primarily). The music is crap outside of the songs that were taken from TF. Yet everybody gave it an 8/10 or so.
Good comparison. And I bought right into the hype for BW. Bought it, played it a couple hours. Tried to make my own level. Then never turned it on again. The critics just love anything new as they play the same genres over and over and over. Once something different comes along, they're simply unable to retain any objectivity it seems.
Title: Re: So, I played a PS3...
Post by: KDR_11k on June 24, 2009, 03:02:46 PM
I would say Kodu looks interesting for usermade content but mostly because it looks useful for rapid prototyping and actual 3d (I can make a 2D game easily in PyGame, 3D is harder to implement and so far I've only used the Spring Engine which limits your possible genres). Kinda like the Blender Game Engine but with sensors and actuators on a higher level. Hm, makes me wonder if I could make anything with the BGE...
