I know we all want the highest particle physics and best looking graphical effects!
But.....we have to admit that some people, myself included at the moment, don't have high power gaming machines on which they can play games on Ultra settings.
I used to run Ultra on CoH all day on my monster box and just stop and stare, mid-teleport, at the wondrous landscapes that I was popping through on my daily runs in Paragon City. The particle effects from walking while Sprint was toggled on made me love the graphics of CoH because it was a little thing that they took the time to put in because they had pride in the game.
Now I'm not suggesting that you don't have amazingly high graphics options and Ultra settings and all but I would like it if there were also pretty low settings options so I can play on my laptop (since my desktop had an unfortunate accident involving a pillow, my now ex girlfriend and 10 hours of HD Netflix streaming)
I only made this post because I have played a couple MMOs in the past that didn't take into account that some people who love their game the most might be running it on minimum settings and still only clocking in at 15 FPS....
enjoy your niche. Don't be a whore.
20041004-20120910
I have to assume the MWM folks will take this into account. But for you personally we do have almost two years before this game launches so you may have plenty of time to get a desktop replacement. YMMV of course.
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
[IMG=400x225]https://i.imgur.com/NHUthWM.jpeg[/IMG]
Well, one thing that the developers could do is ask us (as a way of a survey) for our PC specs when we all apply for alpha/beta testing.
That will give them a profile of machines that at least interested players are using.... but "how low down the tree" do you go?
I have a laptop here that *only just* ran CoX with everything down to minimum at native screen resolution (10fps ish in the open world... less in combat) but it would run Guild Wars 1 at a higher frame rate (strangely enough, Guild Wars 2 was about the same performance as CoX was the last time i tested it)
Even if they were to survey us for PC info the Devs are still going to have to gear CoT for the "likely" range of PCs that'll exist in say 2016, not today. Remember for the "minimum" and "recommended" hardware requirements to mean anything they'll have to be reasonable gussimates for at least several years into the future.
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
[IMG=400x225]https://i.imgur.com/NHUthWM.jpeg[/IMG]
And this is why I am saying that it is handy to get them information NOW about it. If the vast majority of people are on "the low end" as it were, then it could be worthwhile spending the time to at least optimise it. If it is just outliers... then you could well say "screw them" (as nicely as possible), especially if certain code options are not available...
And yes, I have seen a developer do the "screw the old PC's" (CCP introduced SSE2 as a CPU requirement for Eve Online [url=http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/changes-to-cpu-requirements-with-incursion-1.1.0-1/]CPU Changes[/url] and [url=http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/an-update-on-the-sse-compatibility-issue/]Update on CPU changes[/url]. Players did quit the game over that because it involved buying a whole new PC)
Considering that SS2 was introduced by Intel back in 2001 (AMD in 2003) and it was only in 2011 that CCP made it a requirement, I can see as to why getting the developers information NOW as to what the player base is using.
Hell, if you go via the Steam Survey results NOW, I think you will see that the "typical" PC on there (ie most average) (ie taking up 50% or more of the surveyr results)
Windows 7 64bit
Between 4 and 8 GB RAM,
Intel processor, Dual/Quad Core between 2.0 and 2.7Ghz
1GB Graphics DX11 compatible
(My gaming PC and gaming laptop actually match/exceed this "average"... although I am AMD CPU lead right now)
[url=http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey?platform=pc]Steam Hardware Survey[/url] is worth looking at as well... because that is what people are using NOW... trying to predict what will be used in 2 years times is going to be pointles
The reason why I am saying "lets get an eyeball on the *player* side right now" (or at least soonish) is because it at least gives the developer a point of "how low to cut off"....
It is also worth noting that over the past couple/few years, PC gaming requirements have been fairly static... it has only really been the outliers (Battlefield 4 for example) that generates the whole new "MUST BUY NEW PC TO PLAY GAME" effect.
It is also worth noting that MWM have said in the past that they would *like* to be able to service those PC's that could play CoX and not many other games... how well that will come out, who knows, thankfully the Unreal Engine is flexible, although you cannot just expect it to do *everything* for you when it comes to optimisation.
So, TL;DR for "what specs should they aim for?"...
Steam survery average results would be a good place to aim for.
I supect MWM will aim for relatively "mid-range" (circa 2014) requirements regardless. I really can't see them catering only towards the top-end "bleeding edge" or trying very hard to make the game work well on 10 year old standards either. Basically I figure if you're going to try to run CoT in 2015 on something that was having trouble with CoH in 2004 you only have yourself to blame for that kind of masochism. *shrugs*
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
[IMG=400x225]https://i.imgur.com/NHUthWM.jpeg[/IMG]
I plan on getting new systems for myself and my fiancee with my 2015 tax returns based on the specs needed for CoT. I did something similar for us when ultra mode came out..
Side note. Using a tip from the old CoH's guide forums Our systems were initially identical. If you want your Significant Other to enjoy gaming with you, DON'T make them play on the lesser machine if you can arrange it. I say initially identical because warrantied hard drive replacements have changed our specs.
Ironically, my laptop that had problems with CoX was only released out in 2009... and it had troubles then (even though it had a "dedicated graphics card").
Anyway, that is why I linked to the Steam survey... because that is the "typical" spec for machines of people who use steam *right now*.
And how about those who just bought a PC back in 2011? Should they be forced to buy a new PC just for CoT? Or will the game work well on it?
This is why even if the developers *don't* know what the requirements for the game themselves are, they can at least *tell* what general range their interested player base IS.
Does this stop them from having super duper high stuff?
Nope.
Does this stop them from saying that the "minimum" would be what the "Top end PC was in 2010"?
Nope.
Hell, as i stated earlier, for the past 5 years or so, the general PC spec for games has been relatively static. Sure, there has been a slow up tick... but when you are starting to see "Minimum graphics: Nvidia 8800GT, Radeon 3850" as being the minimum spec for games NOW (and to be fair, a lot of the time they are still fairly decent for the games).. those graphic cards are between 6 to 7 years old.
And they are viewed as the *minimum* for games right now.
Hell, they were still "mid range" back when going Rogue was released (well, at least one version of the 8800 range was... that lasted all the way up to the GTS250 it was that good)
But this is the thing... would the 8800 range and above be a good "minimum" to aim for? Or should it be kicked up higher (like say to the GTX450 range and above... that would be 6 years old by 2016...)
*EDIT* I would like to say that a common belief as to why PC requirements have been relatively static over the years (in terms of base line requirements) is that they just so happen to coincide with the last console generation. (Which explains why console ports to the PC would look generally the same, but not significantly better in comparison)
But with the recent release of NEW consoles (Xbox One, PS4) that as they are starting to look better in comparison to the older consoles that the "baseline" requirements for games will be increased as well on the PC side.
This is a belief that I have seen flying around, and I thought it could at least be worth bringing note to
With my 1.3 gHz processor, there are things that run perfect on my machine that say the minimum CPU speed is 2.0 gHz
Then there are things like Minecraft that lag incessantly.
I'm not a computer expert but I would expect Rift, Neverwinter and Diablo 3 to all be more CPU intensive than Minecraft yet they all run pretty smoothly.
20041004-20120910
the 2Ghz requirement could just be viewed from 2 perspectives:
1) That is the *total* speed required, so if you have a dual core 1Ghz processor, you meet the requirement (same with having a dual 1.6Ghz being good enough). A single core 1.6Ghz might not necessarily cut the mustard (although it could well be close)
2) That is the *no matter the number of cores* speed requirement. (ie the dual core/quad core X Ghz requirement... which some games *DO* have although exceeding the number of cores you *could* in theory get by with a slower CPU requirement)
And Minecraft is Java based I believe (not sure, not played it), and so as a result it is *HIGHLY* CPU dependant (and also acknowledged that you need to tweak it to keep it running at a decent clip). No matter the graphics card you have, it is more CPU bound than GPU bound.
Rift, Neverwinter, Diablo 3... They are also using the graphics card that is in the PC so even if it is an integrated one, you are at least getting some help running the game.
It is also worth noting that over time, games like WoW have *slowly* but surely increased their PC CPU requirements over time....
I used to play on low settings because of my machine. But loved the game
Really missed it. Need a new machine now because my laptop broke and thinking of CoT while looking for a new laptop. Any advice would be great.
My settings were so low in CoX that it was the origin of my main, Foresight.
Whenever my mouse moved over a wall in a map i could briefly see all enemies. So i was always mysteriously announcing the dangerous groups of enemies with insane accuracy in the upcoming rooms. Lol
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
If you pay close attention to some of the example media out there, (like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdHqytE_rC4 ) and dev posts, you'll see that they've always been testing on some notably old platforms, not high-end rigs. They've also alluded to commitments to making the game available on lower-end devices. I don't think we need to worry beyond that right now.