Gears of War PC to require Live for online play.

[-Psy-]

Live is brilliant. There is no downside. It's like Steam for "Games for Windows".

Oh, and the average PC user seems to be a bit dim.

 

[Gray Fox]

There is no need for live, no need at all.
And it's never a good idea to have that much control and power in the hands of one company.

 

[Steel.Inferno]

That may be because the average person is a bit dim.

 

[VirusType2]

And it's never a good idea to have that much control and power in the hands of one company.

LOL. We are talking about Microsoft. 30 billion dollar Operating System corporation running the vast majority of Home and Business computers around the entire world. Not to mention their other software and hardware endeavors.

Lol. That really gave me a good laugh.

I've yet to have a problem and typically the systems are more robust and work better for the game being played than the simplistic Live interface. Maybe it's too hard for some to figure out, but most PC gamers I know tend to be fairly intelligent and can do it without any problems.

OK, but this is coming from a guy with the name Intel in his tag. I shouldn't have to remind you of the stupidity of some people, clicking on things that literally say, "I'm a virus, download me". Arguably, these aren't stupid people, they just don't know what the hell they are doing.

EDIT: besides, X-Fire makes things quite simple.

Ok, I can't really speak on that, because I always assumed it was some kind of bullshit that companies try to install so they can - in the end, try to sell me something, or track my activities. Always refused to install it, just like gamespy, and whatever else.

Besides, how are mods going to work for Live? Doesn't Microsoft keep a tight leash on customization? IIRC that's part of the reason UT3 is waiting for a X360 release. I, for one, like mods. I like having the freedom to be able to use them as I please because the developers allowed it and people put the necessary effort in for it to work without having to go to Microsoft and ask if it'd be ok if people could use their content.

You've got a point there, but I think this is only for the console, where there are a far greater number of children involved, and perhaps they want a tighter leash on adult mods here. For one thing, there are single player mods, and multi-player mods. I'm pretty certain that when it comes to PC mods, they won't stand in the way if people want to download nudity and other adult mods. Besides, each computer runing the game will need the mod in order to see the graphics anyway, so even when taking it online, it's for your eyes only.

As it stands right now, especially with Shadowrun, this is a disadvantage, since it means PCs are gimped in order to play with consoles. I expect the same to happen in all future cross-platform releases.

I haven't heard about this. Are you sure that changes haven't been made? How are they gimped?

It may very well help stop cheating, but there's no guarantee. It'd be wonderful if it did, but there will always be someone who finds a way around.

OK, but that isn't something negative.

Well, those are a few negatives, I'll put up more when I think of them.

OK, because I'd also like to know what they are so I can make informed decisions.

 

[-Psy-]

There is no need for live, no need at all.
And it's never a good idea to have that much control and power in the hands of one company.

Microsoft says Hai.

 

[Icarusintel]

LOL. We are talking about Microsoft. 30 billion dollar Operating System corporation running the vast majority of Home and Business computers around the entire world. Not to mention their other software and hardware endeavors.

Lol. That really gave me a good laugh.

Yeah, it's perfectly fine that they want to put more stuff on my system. Just like this. Yes, the more Microsoft software the merrier, right?

Ok, I can't really speak on that, because I always assumed it was some kind of bullshit that companies try to install so they can - in the end, try to sell me something, or track my activities. Always refused to install it, just like gamespy, and whatever else.

I haven't installed Gamespy either, but X-Fire is actually a very good system which has yet to do anything that made me want to remove it. And I'm not one to download useless crap.

You've got a point there, but I think this is only for the console, where there are a far greater number of children involved, and perhaps they want a tighter leash on adult mods here. For one thing, there are single player mods, and multi-player mods. I'm pretty certain that when it comes to PC mods, they won't stand in the way if people want to download nudity and other adult mods. Besides, each computer runing the game will need the mod in order to see the graphics anyway, so even when taking it online, it's for your eyes only.

When the hell did nudity and sex get thrown in there? I mean regular mods. Things like Insurgency, Project Reality, etc. And there's nothing I've seen so far that shows Microsoft will do anything to help the mod community. Have you seen anything?

I haven't heard about this. Are you sure that changes haven't been made? How are they gimped?

Since this is a cross-platform game, the shooting is wildly imprecise when compared to games like Counter-Strike. If it were a matter of pinpoint reticule positioning, the PC gamers would undoubtedly dominate. As it's set up, the Xbox 360 gamers get an abundance of aim assists and sticky targeting and the weapons aren't particularly accurate. Unless you're using a sniper rifle, it seems somewhat random if your shots hit someone in the head, arm, or miss altogether, even with Smartlink enabling reticule tracking on PC. Unlike the generally well-balanced magic and tech abilities, the inaccuracies of the weapons make this aspect of your offensive arsenal less enjoyable. Weapon controls have been diluted to the point where PC and X360 gamers are on relatively the same footing, making the whole cross-platform competition more of a non-issue.

So the X360 gets aim assist and they both get crappy weapons with poor aim. Yeah, that sounds logical. If you cant tell, I'm not really onboard with the whole crossplay thing. Especially not for FPS games. Racing games, fighting games, and sports games would be fine. But FPS gaming on PCs and consoles is inherently different and the two should not be mixed.

 

[VirusType2]

When the hell did nudity and sex get thrown in there? I mean regular mods. Things like Insurgency, Project Reality, etc. And there's nothing I've seen so far that shows Microsoft will do anything to help the mod community. Have you seen anything?

What? Why would microsoft help with the Mod community? Help in what way? That doesn't make sense to me. Am I missing something?

I'm pretty sure they will have nothing to do with it. The mod community is generally supported by the developer of the game and the fanbase.

Nudity came into it because I threw it in. Adult mods are the reason Microsoft got in the way of UT3 on the 360 in the first place, at least that is the only reason I can imagine. The only other thing that could come to mind is a racist mod or something.

So the X360 gets aim assist and they both get crappy weapons with poor aim. Yeah, that sounds logical. If you cant tell, I'm not really onboard with the whole crossplay thing. Especially not for FPS games. Racing games, fighting games, and sports games would be fine. But FPS gaming on PCs and consoles is inherently different and the two should not be mixed.

OK I agree with you here. They shouldn't add handicaps, they should add handicap servers. Also, they should allow the console version of the game to use a kb/mouse, though I have heard that they have [intentionally?] not added kb/mouse support for their games like Halo 3 beta. Not happy about that.

Can't you choose not to play against the consoles, does that not fix your problem with it? Or is the aiming still imprecise even in PC only servers (assuming there are some)?

I played multi-player all the time when I had an Xbox. That's really all I did, but I've only tried multi-player matches with a few games with my PC, and never liked it.

I don't know if there are just better multi-player games or what.

I just seemed like an afterthought done by hackers when looking for a game server to join with the PC, so you can understand why I welcome Live.

Having a Live server for Voice Chat is really freakin cool IMO, and another reason I like Live.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

no you dont....gold only allows you to host servers and something else which i dont remember.

Wrong, and hence my concern:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/memberships/

You can't play online against others (via 360) without paying for the gold level membership. This is also what keeps a lot of my friends from being able to play 360 games with me online.

I have absolutely NO problems with Microsoft's so called attempts to make PC Gaming easier to the average consumer, and creating an easier experience for server browsing etc. But it doesn't take much deducing to realize they don't really give a shit about this at all, it's really a slap in the face when they announce the effort and release two games that implement these features but exclusively for Vista, one being a two year old straight port.

It's not even about one corporation having too much power, it's about that corporation caring less about the consumer and more about whoring a new operating system. It is my opinion that Microsoft is increasing the amount of effort it takes to actually get to your online game via PC, forcing registration and fees for maximum feature sets, fluff is nice - but paying for it is not considering services like Steam have done this, and done it better and have a higher market share in the PC world. It's embarrassing actually, and speaks a lot about what someone can expect from Microsoft.

Microsoft thinks it can sweep up PC gaming the same way it did with consoles, and be the dominant force in online play and content delivery, but are (hopefully) learning they are far too late and ended up looking completely tacky in their efforts.

 

[Qonfused]

No game should ever have cross platform play between the PC ever again. Shadowrun was so horribly made. Not only did the X360 players get a lock-on, the PC gamers got a horrendous mouse lag to "make it even." ****ing bullshit.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

No game should ever have cross platform play between the PC ever again. Shadowrun was so horribly made. Not only did the X360 players get a lock-on, the PC gamers got a horrendous mouse lag to "make it even." ****ing bullshit.

Shadowrun was a bullshit rushed marketing device. :| my opinion of course :E

 

[DEATHMASTER]

mouse lag? Would faster sens have fixed that? Or editing the ini...

 

[-Psy-]

It's hard-coded probably to stop PC gamers from having the upper-hand using the mighty mouse.

 

[VirusType2]

No game should ever have cross platform play between the PC ever again. Shadowrun was so horribly made. Not only did the X360 players get a lock-on, the PC gamers got a horrendous mouse lag to "make it even." ****ing bullshit.

Sounds discouraging.

Is it possible to play singleplayer or multi-player vs. PC only? Is the mouse lag present in these play modes as well Q?

 

[theroadtonowhere]

i won't pay Microsoft to play a game that i own, if i buy a game, then i should be able to play it without also buying the " right to play it ", Microsoft has stopped selling things and instead is now saying " either pay us or we will take things away" it is really ridiculous and with examples like Google out there, there is no reason that a large corporation has to treat its customers like that.

 

[Qonfused]

mouse lag? Would faster sens have fixed that? Or editing the ini...

No, the mouse lag was to even it up. I don't believe there was a way to disable it.

 

[-Psy-]

i won't pay Microsoft to play a game that i own, if i buy a game, then i should be able to play it without also buying the " right to play it ", Microsoft has stopped selling things and instead is now saying " either pay us or we will take things away" it is really ridiculous and with examples like Google out there, there is no reason that a large corporation has to treat its customers like that.

You only need the game to play online. You'll have to pay for a Gold membership IF you want to play against 360 owners. (No idea why you would though).

 

[Lucid]

So is there anyone that's happy about this?

 

[Acepilotf14]

Wait... Didn't it say that Live was free on the thing? And that is was justa registration? Who missed this? (FYI, I only read the first and last pages, so if something in between stated this, its my fault. I'm gonig to go read the rest now. bai.)

 

[Krynn72]

I read an interview in my Games for Windows magazine in which they talked about MS's Windows Live bullshit. The GFW guy kept asking questions about how "worth it" the free account would be, and whether it would be better than what we have now. The guy's answer each time was basically, "if gamers want all the features, they'll pay for it." One specific one I remember was about VOIP, and how in their games you could only use voice chat if you pay for the gold account too.

When I first heard of their initiative, I was happy, thinking we would get more streamlined development processes, better quality control and better hardware standardization. Now im pissed, because all we are getting is either less gameplay features, or the obligation to pay extra for those features that should be, and always have been standard and for just the cost of the game itself.

 

[Stigmata]

I read an interview in my Games for Windows magazine in which they talked about MS's Windows Live bullshit. The GFW guy kept asking questions about how "worth it" the free account would be, and whether it would be better than what we have now. The guy's answer each time was basically, "if gamers want all the features, they'll pay for it." One specific one I remember was about VOIP, and how in their games you could only use voice chat if you pay for the gold account too.

When I first heard of their initiative, I was happy, thinking we would get more streamlined development processes, better quality control and better hardware standardization. Now im pissed, because all we are getting is either less gameplay features, or the obligation to pay extra for those features that should be, and always have been standard and for just the cost of the game itself.

Which is why I'll be sticking to Xfire and the Steam Community.

 

[-Psy-]

How are we getting less gameplay features? We're getting GoW for the PC with PC controls which is BRILLIANT IMHO. I'm sure some people will make some kind of third-party tool to allow people to connect to non-Live servers.