jordanlund

jordanlund, rok temu

I cancelled my Plus and Xbox Live accounts a couple of years ago when Bungie ganked Destiny 2 and there was no point continuing.

Neither service really seems worth maintaining. Oh the “free” games that either a) you already own or b) weren’t worth playing in the first place? (yawn).

jordanlund, rok temu

And you have to keep subscribing if you want to keep playing them… Yeah… not free.

jordanlund, rok temu

Not currently, no. They burned enough dev cycles trying to get split screen co-op on the S that now BOTH the S and X versions are delayed, which I guess is better than “not happening at all.”

The S has every right to exist, but as soon as it starts interfering with Series X development (which has been for a while now), it’s time for it to go.

Microsoft needs to cut it loose like the boat anchor it is and just release a discless Series X and call it good.

jordanlund, rok temu

USB-C SSD:

kingston.com/…/xs2000-portable-usb-c-solid-state-…

I set up a 2TB Win 11 install.

jordanlund, rok temu

In most cases, Nintendo platforms are ignored by 3rd parties. Non-Nintendo games rarely sell well there:

vgchartz.com/…/the-switchs-growing-third-party-pr…

jordanlund, rok temu

Doesn’t even need dedicated power… runs off the port.

jordanlund, rok temu

Well, not if your sidequests are bugged, no. ;)

jordanlund, rok temu

The main example cited in the article comes from recruiting Minthara instead of killing her. It looks like Act 3 didn’t really take that option into account.

Other problems include questlines that can’t be completed.

jordanlund, rok temu

You really should get Saturn emulation running, because as far as fighting games went, the sheer variety of games on the Saturn were STUNNING.

Battle Arena Toshinden Remix
Dead or Alive
Fighters Megamix
King of Fighters ('95 and '97)
Last Bronx
Marvel Super Heroes
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge
Samurai Showdown IV
A bunch of Street Fighter games
Toshinden S
Toshinden Ultimate Revenge Attack
Virtua Fighter
Virtua Fighter Remix
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Fighter Kids
Virtual On

jordanlund, rok temu

If you look at the Switch titles:

1-2-Switch - Some game to show off new features.
Just Dance 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Cross gen game.
Skylanders: Imaginators - Merch game.
Super Bomberman R
I Am Setsuna
Tokyo RPG Factory
Snipperclips - Another new feature game.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove - Shovelware
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - Shovelware
Fast RMX

I could see either a new Mario game launching on the Switch and Switch 2, maybe a Metroid game instead. Zelda will be too old and played out by then, but then Zelda fans love buying the same game over and over.

jordanlund, rok temu

Ported from another platform with little to no effort?

It’s the literal definition of shovelware.

The Switch was literally the last of 11 platforms it launched on.

jordanlund, rok temu

On the Switch? They absolutely were. An afterthought at best.

jordanlund, rok temu

With no new features or nothing added to take advantage of unique Switch capabilities = shovelware.

jordanlund, rok temu

Yeah, never once heard that definition ever.

jordanlund, rok temu

So in terms of performance, Xbox Series X > PS5 > Xbox Series S…

Now I just need a review to tell me if the game is any GOOD. :) It sure LOOKS good…

jordanlund, rok temu

The Series S is proving to be a boat anchor holding the platform back. They should cut it loose and release a digital only Series X to fill the space and call it good.

jordanlund, rok temu

Not really… The S only has 10GB of RAM compared to 16 in the X, and the ram it does have runs at less than 1/2 the speed.

8GB of the 10 runs at 224GB/s, the remaining 2GB runs at 56GB/s. That is not a typo.

This is so poor, the S can’t even run the backwards compatible titles with Xbox One X enhancements. The Xbox One X had 12GB running at 336GB/s.

By comparison, the Xbox Series X has 16GB of RAM with 10 running at 560GB/s and 6GB running at 336GB/s

This is why Baldur’s Gate 3 is delayed on the platform, they can’t get split screen working with the meager RAM available in the S.

Fortunately, Microsoft has abandoned the feature parity requirement on the S and X, they can launch thr game without split screen on the S.

polygon.com/…/baldurs-gate-3-xbox-series-x-releas…

jordanlund, rok temu

By that argument they could do split screen for Baldur’s Gate 3 if they just ran it at 640x480 in 16 colors, but who would play it? :)

jordanlund, rok temu

Looks good, but why would anyone stomp around a warzone in a big mech suit, with a chainsaw sword, but no helmet?

Recipe for oneshot…

jordanlund, rok temu

You’re not wrong, but the other fact is the current gen Series S is less capable than the last gen Xbox One X, with less RAM and much slower RAM.

To the point where the Series S can’t run backwards compatible titles with Xbox One X enhancements.

jordanlund, rok temu

Run a google search for “Roblox Merch”, there is a BOATLOAD of it. Tshirts, hoodies, backpacks, figurines…

jordanlund, rok temu

Better than the original thinking of $299 which would have been a non-starter for a device that doesn’t even have it’s own games…

But still, $200 for a device that does what I can already do on my phone/tablet/Steam Deck is too high. It’s like they don’t know who their customers are.

Bundle this + the ear buds for $200 and then you have something.

jordanlund, rok temu

Easy way to fix this problem…

Start screen is an overlay of a static image.

Allow for a “photo mode” and for the user to create their own start screen image.

jordanlund, rok temu

No. Just… no. We have had no confirmation from the publisher, no screenshots, previews, begging for pre-orders, etc. etc. etc.

2024 is not in the cards. A top property like this is not just going to drop out of nowhere like Hi Fi Rush.

For a September or even October release, it would have to have already gone gold and entered production.

jordanlund, rok temu

Sunset Overdrive.

Tutorial: Go from point A to point B.

Dies.
Dies.
Dies.

Failed to tell you the game operates under “ground is lava” rules. You are to go from point A to point B without touching the ground.

jordanlund, rok temu

I spent an inordinate amount of time driving a forklift around in Shenmue, moving crates.

jordanlund, rok temu

I don’t expect a journalist to know, I expect an editor or fact checker to at least Google “4k resolution”.

Or how about “red dead redemption xbox” to see what the BC version runs at…

Pro-tip: Xbox One S / Series S - 1440p
Xbox One X / Series X - Native 4K

eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2018-red-dead-redemp…

jordanlund, rok temu

I don’t know that it’s THAT confusing, since by definition we’re talking consumer grade products, not professional grade.

Amd that’s a distinction consumers have been making for years.

caranddriver.com/…/2022-hyundai-santa-cruz-pickup…

I mean, yeah, technically it’s classified as a pickup truck… but nobody will ever confuse it for:

www.kbb.com/ford/f250/

jordanlund, rok temu

If I’m getting it on one of those platforms, it’s to play it on my Steam Deck and it’s more native to do it in Steam.

jordanlund, rok temu (edited rok temu)

I think there are three vectors going on:

1. It’s apparently a super good game. I’m just basing it on reviews, I won’t be playing it until the PS5 version launches.
2. It has nudity and is being described as “super horny”, so, you know, clickbait.

pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-the-horniest-rpg-iv…

rockpapershotgun.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-a-relentle…

3. They are having problems getting it running on the Xbox Series S, and that’s blocking it from being released on the fully capable Xbox Series X. So nerdrage/console war clickbait.

rockpapershotgun.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-a-relentle…

jordanlund, rok temu

It’s not REALLY bear sex though, it’s a druid who SHAPESHIFTS into a bear…

jordanlund, rok temu (edited rok temu)

The problem isn’t scale, the problem is rendering the game twice for split screen with only 10GB of RAM.

To put this in perspective, the Xbox ONE X has more ram than the Series S. 12 vs. 10.

If you want to solve that problem purely by scaling the graphics, yeah, I bet they could do it in 640x480…

jordanlund, rok temu

RAM is the big bottle neck here.

Here’s the comparison:

PS5: 16 GB/256-bit GDDR6 SDRAM
512 MB DDR4 RAM

Series X: 10 GB/320-bit & 6 GB/192-bit (16 GB total)

Series S: 8 GB/128-bit & 2 GB/32-bit (10 GB total)

But more than that, it’s the speeds involved:

PS5 Peak Bandwidth 448 GB/s
Xbox Series X 10 GB 560 GB/s and 6 GB 336 GB/s
Xbox Series S 8 GB 224 GB/s and 2 GB with 56 GB/s

So not just less RAM, but at 1/2 the speed.

jordanlund, rok temu

It’s not that it’s unoptimized, it’s that running split screen requires 2x resources, resources the Series S does not have.

jordanlund, rok temu

Microsoft is OK with the S having a lower resolution and frame rate, that’s why it exists.

They aren’t OK with the X having a feature that the S does not, and that’s what’s blocking Baldur’s Gate 3. Split screen is possible on the X, it’s not (currently) possible on the S, that’s what they’re working on.

Removing split screen from both isn’t an option because the PS5 version supports it. The Xbox version would get murdered if they do it.

The reason why split screen doesn’t work on the S is, yes, due to the available memory. At it’s best, it has 8GB that runs 1/2 the speed of the X, + another 2GB that are so slow as to be essentially useless for gaming.

jordanlund, rok temu

Releasing it without a feature that the PS5 does would be bad for the brand. “Sega does what Nintendon’t” and all that…

jordanlund, rok temu

At least this way they can blame it on the S instead of just being the ganked version.

I remember when Mortal Kombat came out censored on the SNES and uncensored on the Genesis, not a technical limitation, but a policy limitation. Not a good look.

jordanlund, rok temu

That’s not the way split screen works.

Each view of the world requires that the entire visible world be loaded twice, so that it can be seen from each players perspective independent of the other.

If we go into a dungeon, I go left and you go right, it has to render both pathways simultaneously. In a single player or single screen two player game, it only has one path to consider.

jordanlund, rok temu

Tell me you don’t know anything about game development without telling me you don’t know anything about game development.

jordanlund, rok temu

They COULD blame it on the S, but, again, Microsoft won’t allow it.

What I’m hoping they do, on the next hardware refresh, is a discless Series X and just ditch the S completely.

There is precedent when they axed the Xbox One and replaced it with the S and X.

jordanlund, rok temu

That’s still more RAM than the S has available once you take system overhead into account.

tomshardware.com/…/xbox-series-s-suffers-from-vra…

jordanlund, rok temu

Yeah, I don’t see how that 2GB at 32gb/s is useful for much of anything. :( It’s a severe handicap.

jordanlund, rok temu

The S was just a bad idea from the get go. The Xbox One X introduced 4K gaming, 4K televisions are dirt cheap and the defacto standard now, why bother doing an under-powered 1440p machine? Even if you wanted a cheaper option, it doesn’t make sense coming out with a machine that belongs in the last generation, not the current one.

They should have gone the Sony route… Series X, Digital Series X. $499/$399.

If they wanted a $299 box, keep the One X alive for 1-2 more years then kill it. Still a better choice than the Series S.

jordanlund, rok temu

All the Wipeout games, even the PSP ones, were excellent!

jordanlund, rok temu

Something I’ve been saying since the beginning, nice that people are catching up…

FTA: “The Xbox Series S was cheaper, but lacked the horsepower of the more expensive Series X.”

It’s not just that, the Series S lacks the power of the PREVIOUS GEN Xbox One X. The RAM limitations makes it impossible for it to run backwards compatible titles with the Xbox One X enhancements. AND it doesn’t have the 4K Blu Ray drive present in both the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.

videogameschronicle.com/…/xbox-series-s-likely-wo…

This is the first time a console developer has released a new machine less capable than equivalent machines in the prior generation.

jordanlund, rok temu

It has less RAM than the Xbox ONE X as well and is incapable of running backwards compatible games with Xbox One X enhancements.

videogameschronicle.com/…/xbox-series-s-likely-wo…