Hasn't really been a dramatic shift in sound quality - even 15 years ago a lot of games were using PCM 16bit 44.1KHz (even if some weren't heh) - though more varied quality of the mastery involved - infact many games today have to resort to packing sound with ogg, etc. formats. One of the big difference in terms of sound is that today's games can have like 30,000+ different audio dialogs versus back in the day it was rare for games to have much if any let alone more than 20-30.
To the makers of Doom.
- Thread starter jigger
- Start date
Soldato
This has been going on a long time now, I remember the day HL2 came out, it was available through Steam, I specifically wanted a physical copy of it so I made the trek into town, purchased it, came home, stuck the disc in and all it wanted to do was initiate Steam.
At the time steam wasn't the best so I thought buying it would bypass steam and all of its faff, I was quite annoyed when I realised I couldn't defeat the beast. Nowadays I just fall into line and purchase the digital license from whichever service offers it, I'm lucky that I have reliable 200mb fibre so downloads aren't the issue but I do miss having a nice case etc. The worry is if we lose our account, bye bye games!
At the time steam wasn't the best so I thought buying it would bypass steam and all of its faff, I was quite annoyed when I realised I couldn't defeat the beast. Nowadays I just fall into line and purchase the digital license from whichever service offers it, I'm lucky that I have reliable 200mb fibre so downloads aren't the issue but I do miss having a nice case etc. The worry is if we lose our account, bye bye games!
Soldato
I have 10Mb as that's the best I can get here - 55Gb to me is a lot, takes a while and means I can't do anything else on the internet at the same time.
That said, the point being made was that you've paid for a physical copy (you'd think as it comes in a case) so having to download it seems retarded
That said, the point being made was that you've paid for a physical copy (you'd think as it comes in a case) so having to download it seems retarded
So for most people not on fibre that's 2 overnight sessions I assume.
Remember downloading Max Payne 3 via my phone as it was better than my internet at the time. Took a night or two doing that.
Even now with 200mbps virgin fibre, if I got full speed we are talking 40 odd minutes at best and that's the fastest you can get I am aware of, not being a business etc.
Do we complain that the patch is 6 months late so they can compress it as much as they can, or not offer extra content because its not viable for some?
At the end of the day its the way everything is going so will just have to put up with it.
Brings back memories of having to run one of those download helpers as I couldn't get the drivers for my graphics card on 56k before the two hour disconnect
So for most people not on fibre that's 2 overnight sessions I assume.
Remember downloading Max Payne 3 via my phone as it was better than my internet at the time. Took a night or two doing that.
Even now with 200mbps virgin fibre, if I got full speed we are talking 40 odd minutes at best and that's the fastest you can get I am aware of, not being a business etc.
Do we complain that the patch is 6 months late so they can compress it as much as they can, or not offer extra content because its not viable for some?
At the end of the day its the way everything is going so will just have to put up with it.
Brings back memories of having to run one of those download helpers as I couldn't get the drivers for my graphics card on 56k before the two hour disconnect
Net Vampire. Oh the joys of disconnects.
Soldato
Totally, because there's a few folks stuck on slow internet we should definite set an upper limit for games sizes, regardless. Might as well set a compulsory maximum spec too as those small games won't need anything special to run with their tiny textures.
Soldato
Lets compare hard drive sizes now to 17 years ago?
Texture sizes?
Graphics card power?
No... we should compare it to random, complete disparate internet speeds, you're quite right.
You could do and it all sounds very sensible. Selling the games on disks offering delivery would be crazy with UK's postal services.
A few means most now.
Associate
The UK needs to sort the internet situation out in rural areas. I get 800kb/s MAX where I live, can't get better internet from ISP.
Yeah right......They better get a move on as it's only 3 months away.
Since when do standard DVD cases fit 100's of gigabytes. The most common size DVD would take 12 disks to fit 55gb and I would rather download 55gb then install 12disks. I know there are rare larger DVD's but those increase the package costs. Pretty sure even on Virgins slowest package its faster to download then install 12 disks. Its the way things are going and for most peoples its downloading is better.
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The UK needs to sort the internet situation out in rural areas. I get 800kb/s MAX where I live, can't get better internet from ISP.
Yeah right......They better get a move on as it's only 3 months away.
This is fine, having a go at the UK/companies for not providing the level or internet we would like/should have is OK.
For OP I don't agree with having a go at developers because there patch is large.
I want better games, better graphics and more content, if that comes at the price of 55GB patches then so be it.
I'm not sure, how fast is virgins slowest package?
It would depend on the setup, but you can transfer between 1-2 gig a minute with an optical drive. DVD's come in 5 and 9 gigabytes. If you use a BD drive that increases to 25-50gb. So thats hundreds of gigabytes in a DVD case and a pretty fast install.
Thats got nothing to do with the quality of the game has it
You agree with buying a game from a shop (at over the top price) and only actually receiving an installer and a code? ie opting to buy a copy instead of downloading a copy.
Thats got nothing to do with the quality of the game has it
You agree with buying a game from a shop (at over the top price) and only actually receiving an installer and a code? ie opting to buy a copy instead of downloading a copy.
Don't think that's what I was saying.
I was wanting to say have a go at the rubbish internet in the UK in certain places not at the game makers for having large patches (on the assumption the game is playable from release etc etc)
Well one is a simple fix and the other probably requires a very topical debate in parliament. Offering a game as a hard copy would be a great solution even for those with internet speeds above the UK average.
Soldato
Some of those suggestions whilst true aren't always conveianent, choice is good and a 55gb download on a 1mb connection isn't something I would want to do whilst hogging the bandwidth from anyone else for the day.
Soldato
But it is hardly a simple fix. A major reason they do not release them on DVD\Blu-Ray anymore is likely due to DRM. If they are a stand alone game they need to include their own DRM, Which then gets bitched and complained about (Rightly so in some cases)...so they get released via steam or another platform. Guess what...you need to download it via steam\Said other platform and keep it fully up to date to play so when that day 1 55gb patch hits regardless of your installed game you would still be in the same boat you are in now.
The slowest package is 50Mbps. The problem with the larger DVD's is they cost a lot more bumping up the price of the package and very few PC's have a BD Drive. Last time I used my DVD drive to install a game it was noticeable slower then downloading from Steam.
That depends totally on the speed of the connection and the speed of the drive. For the majority of the UK installing from disc would be the better option than downloading.
Soldato
Some thick people in here.