The morning Inbox learns more about procedurally generated video games, as one reader puts a price on his enjoyment of War Thunder.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Please note: We’re currently preparing for our annual Christmas break, from December 24 to January 5. During that period we’ll have lots of end of year features and 2014 previews but there will also be the opportunity to run more Reader’s Features than usual. So if you’ve got a topic you want to write about send us your submissions as soon as possible and we’ll use them either over Christmas or at the weekend as usual.
What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas
I thoroughly enjoyed the Hot Topic over the weekend, it provided me with many fond gaming memories. I agree with a lot of people that wrote in and said Call Of Duty 4 had almost defined the generation, gripping people and introducing many to the online community. What a game it was/is.
I was however disappointed that one of my favourite games of the generation did not get a mention. I, of course, should not have been so lazy and written in myself so, here it goes.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas. I loved this game. I was fascinated by it and I loved every second of playing it. It was the first time an online ranking system gripped me and I wanted to be the highest rank (elite) before all my friends. I used to team up with a group of pals online of an evening and spank co-op terrorist hunt on realistic difficulty with high enemy density (anyone who has played will appreciate this). We played the same map, LVU Campus, over and over to get the maximum XP to rank up, we could complete it in about 30-40 seconds per go at one point.
Vegas also introduced me to using the old Xbox Vision camera for the first time, being able to put a face on an online character was great fun and we ended up with Smurfs and Batman running around shooting terrorists.
More importantly for me, Vegas introduced me to some great friends. I met one of my best friends on the game online. I subsequently added him on Facebook and as time progressed and I headed off to university, so did he. Through Facebook I found out that he was heading to the same uni as me and as a result we ended up becoming good friends. We ended up as housemates and started a football team together and he still remains a great friend of mine. Funny gaming, isn’t it? When I tell people this story they look at me like I’m on a different planet! Let’s hope the next gen is just as good as the last.
Bigbadmadman
Procedural art
To add to GC’s response to thewearehere’s question about procedural generation. GC are correct in saying that a small (sometimes only a few Kb) algorithm is used to generate the world and the items in it (rather than have them all saved as a file on the disc) but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the worlds created are random (i.e. Frontier Elite had the same universe for everyone that played), though they can be if the developers wish so (the missions in Frontier elite were randomly generated). Procedural generation can be used to generate huge worlds from only a small amount of code on disc (or downloaded file).
There are still many coders out there writing graphical tech demos to push modern hardware and many of these demos use procedural generation to generate a multitude of complex geometry and effects from a tiny initial file. Have a look at some of the amazing demos on pouet.net for examples. Few games have used procedural generation as well as Elite did, here’s hoping No Man’s Sky lives up to the hype.
TheMilkybarKidUD (PSN ID)/TheMilkybarKid(UK) (Steam ID)
Mostly free
I friend of mine recently convinced me to try War Thunder, a free-to-play PC game (I think it’s on PlayStation 4 too) based around WWII flight combat. Wow, I have been blown away. It’s the free-to-play model done right with enough options, unlocks and skill balancing available from the off. The paid side of things is predominately used to speed up some skillsets but that’s not been an issue for me as the game is a ton of fun to play so there is no real sense of a grind – in fact the combat balance is so good I often leave my XP unspent as I want to get straight back into battle.
Based on the amount of joy I’ve got from the game already I would have happily paid £10 to 15 for it. In fact I might even spend some money on the game out of goodwill. I implore people to give it a go, I mean, the last flight game I played was Ace Combat the PlayStation 2 and never really thought about the genre but now I’m hooked.
Petch1984
GC: You really like it but you’re only willing to pay £10 to £15?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Hardware questions
I don’t usually get stumped when it comes to video games but I find myself in need of GC readers help.
1. Could you recommend a shell for the PS Vita. I’m enjoying the system but find it awkward playing for great lengths of time. I’ve seen some with added battery power, or the Sony ones that make the shoulder buttons like triggers looks nice but pricey.
2. Last gen I used VGA for all my Xbox gaming, since the switch to next gen and HDMI I find all the games have oversaturated blacks and bright colours (you can hardly see a thing in Dead Rising at night, and Battlefield 4 on PlayStation 4 has interiors darker than Norway in December). PlayStaton 3 suffered similar issues when running through HDMI, and this is across multiple TV’s and setups. Why did VGA giveme a better contrast than HDMI, and is there any way to fix it?
3. Why do consoles need a power brick (I know, I’m embarrassed to ask this)? Why do consoles, laptops, and Vitas (though it’s so dinky and cute) need these bricks, but mobile phones don’t?
Any help the community can give me would be much appreciated.
DarkerR (gamertag)/DarkerR-UK (PSN ID)
PS: With all the love in the Hot Topic for Fallout 3 I’d like to call it out as having the worst ladders in all of last gen. Loading screens! I’m moving eight feet up and you need a loading screen?
Currently playing: Forza Motorsport 5 (8/10), Dead Rising 3 (7/10), Killer Instinct (9/10), Killzone: Shadow Fall (5/10), Battlefield 4 (8/10… when it works).
GC: Yikes, these are technical questions we have no clue about. And we were doing so well when people were asking us about bullet hell games…
Slow start
I bought an Xbox 360 at launch with Perfect Dark Zero and Project Gotham Racing 3, it wasn’t until Gears Of War and Call Of Duty 4 came out that I really warmed to the console (was on my third console due to the Red Ring of Death). These two games defined the start of the generation for me, then came Oblivion, BioShock, Fallout 3, Halo 3, Forza Motorsport 2, and all following sequels. However, it always came back to Gears Of War and Call Of Duty 4. A notable mention for Xbox Live Arcade and Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
I bought a PlayStation 3 in 2007, at the time Sony still held the F1 licence so I played F1 2006 until Codemasters bought the licence. So my PlayStation 3 gathered dust for four years as I seldom used the Blu-ray player. Later on in this console generation I played some cracking games on the PlayStation 3. Uncharted 1, 2, and 3, The Last Of Us, and GTA V are my last current generation memories.
Did pick up a Wii in 2009, by that time there were numerous classics to play: Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Metroid Prime, but I spent a lot time playing back through classic games from the Wii store and GameCube games I missed out on: Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, Resident Evil 4, etc.
thugernomics666
At least one great game
I am really looking forward to Christmas now. I don’t have a shiny new console coming but I am getting two great new games for my PlayStation 3, Batman: Arkham Origins and Beyond: Two Souls, that I am really looking forward to and thanks to PlayStation Plus another two great games that I haven’t played before, Borderlands 2 (I’ve never played either Borderlands all that much I played a couple of times on my nephews original Borderlands but never got round to buying them myself) and DmC: Devil May Cry.
Four great games to give my PlayStation 3 a great swan song before I move on to PlayStation 4 in March/April time. Merry Christmas to all at GC and all the readers!
FF13ACE (PSN ID)
Currently Playing: Call Of Duty: Ghosts 10/10, Infamous 8/10, GRID 2 8/10, and Skyrim 10/10.
Unseasonal feelings
I know it’s not very happy keeping in this time of year but I would like to vent my frustration. A few weeks ago I emailed asking if GC knew of any problems with Disgaea D2, as mine had been constantly crashing. After digging into it I have found that the digital European version does suffer game debilitating bugs.
I bought this game on release, waited ages for a patch, two emails later complaining and still the problem has not been fixed. As I can’t return the game for a refund should this be taken as a warning against the possible future of digital-only games? Or is it a case of a company I did love (clocked over 300 hours playing the original Disgaea) just being lazy? Which would seriously make me consider buying from them again.
Liam
GC: In short, yes. The lack of refunds is one of the major concerns about a digital-only future. If you’re in contact with NIS America though we’d demand a physical copy instead.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Franchise of the generation
Though I said my favourite game of the generation is Fallout 3, which I stand by, my favourite new franchise of the last gen was Dead Space. The first two games are the best survival horror games I’ve ever played, I can’t really comment on the third game as I haven’t played it through all the way yet. I loved the realistic physics and the whole atmosphere of the setting. EA really went to town on the back story of the games with spin off films and novels.
I would have said Mass Effect was the best new franchise if you’d asked me before Mass Effect 3 came out. But the weak ending for an otherwise excellent game, really tainted the whole series for me, much like The Matrix sequels. I hope the end of Dead Space 3 doesn’t do the same for me.
I’d also like to mention the spin off Dead Space: Extraction, which I also think is an excellent game which deserves to be played by more people. I’d like to see a Dead Space collection released for the PlayStation 4 with all the Dead Space games on one disk, graphically enhanced to full 1080p with stereoscopic 3D modes. It wouldn’t be hard to do as these games already exist on the PC so wouldn’t require much work to be ported to the PlayStation 4.
It’s amazed me that they’ve never released the iPad Dead Space game on the PS Vita. All they need to do is add support for the PS Vita controls, put a price of £9.99 on it, and stick it on the PlayStation Store. I know I’d buy it.
EvilMoomin(gamertag)/brannigans-law- (PSN ID)
Currently playing: Dead Space, Battlefield 4, and Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Inbox also-rans
Is it rude to ask you guys at GC to have a bash on my self-made GTA Online races? I put a touch of GTA style into the descriptions too, and yes it’s crude.
Dan Wolfshead
GC: We can’t promise we’ll have time but we’re sure other readers will be interested.
If any kind GameCentral readers out there was feeling generous this Christmas time and they had a spare code for Battlefield 4 add-ons on the Xbox One it would be very much appreciated. You would make a middle-aged gamer very happy indeed.
Lilleyjnr
This week’s Hot Topic
Since this will be the last Hot Topic of the year we want to know what you think of the last 12 months in video games.
Feel free to mention your favourite games, but since we’ll be doing an official reader’s top 20 in January we’re more interested in your general thoughts on 2013. Has it been a good year for gaming and what do you think have been the most important trends, both positive and negative?
What have been the biggest news stories and what new game announcements have excited you the most? Have you played games more or less this year than in 2012? And what are your most vivid gaming memories of 2013?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. Letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
If you need quick access to the GameCentral channel page please use: www.metro.co.uk/games
