[TRENCHES] Thursday, January 30, 2014 - Not The Hero We Want

Geth

Not The Hero We Want
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/not-the-hero-we-want

Must be an indie game.

Anonymous

I worked for a major PC manufacturer, testing games and media applications on the top tier desktop and portable PCs.

I was given a stack of games to test on the new gaming PC, which was designed to rival AlienWare’s products.

One of the games worked fine at normal settings, but if you cranked it up (which the PC should have been able to handle) it would hard lock the box.

I reproduced it for the developer and his initial response was, “Well, most people probably play at the default settings anyway.”

“Not when they pay a couple of grand for a gaming PC,” I insisted.

This kind of argument went back and forth for a while, before he saw a different way out.

“I doubt anyone will see this. It’s just one game, and I’ve never heard of it before. Maybe not many people will play it.”

The game in question was the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Thankfully, marketing heard about the issue and declared we could not launch the product without full support for Oblivion. Not sure what happened to the developer after that, but I didn’t see him working on the gaming side anymore.

Lorahalo

I liked Daredevil...

Rhesus Positive

It had its issues, sure, but there were some great moments.

klemming

I don't claim to know the character much, but I don't think Affleck was really one of the problems with that movie.

Warlock82

Haha, is it wrong I almost sympathize with the developer on that story? Bethesda has a tenancy to release pretty buggy-ass games (not that I necessarily blame them given the scope of their games).

Though I don't get it, this was a company that built PC towers, right? (i.e. like Alienware) What could they possibly have been using that didn't support Oblivion? I assume they didn't actually manufacture any of the insides of the towers, right? And that, presumably, the specs of the PC should have met Oblivion's minimum specs...

Edit: Also I thought Daredevil was ok.

YoungFrey

I saw Daredevil and didn't hate it. Saw 20 minutes of Elektra and now think Daredevil is amazing.

Chris FOM

Daredevil was mediocre, but the Director's Cut actually turned it into a pretty decent movie.

And score one for the tester.

MichaelLC

I'm actually surprised they test real games like that.
Figured it'd be just a bunch of benchmark programs.

JackdawGin

I'm finding the comics writing better this season then the last two. Funnier, more conversational, and deeper.

marsilies

Warlock82 wrote: »

Though I don't get it, this was a company that built PC towers, right? (i.e. like Alienware) What could they possibly have been using that didn't support Oblivion? I assume they didn't actually manufacture any of the insides of the towers, right? And that, presumably, the specs of the PC should have met Oblivion's minimum specs...

As anyone who's built their own computer can attest to, there's a big difference between PC components that all, individually, should be compatible with a game, and a specific arrangement of a specific set of supposedly compatible components. All sorts of odd conflicts can arise, possibly from the drivers interacting and such.

I'm not sure what the developer's job specifically entailed in this situation though. Obiviously, try and pinpoint what the problem is, but then what? If the problem is with one specific component, would he be able to tweak the driver? Communicate back with the component manufacturer for a driver update? Swap in a different brand/model component? Would they communicate with the game developer for a fix?

JackdawGin wrote: »

I'm finding the comics writing better this season then the last two. Funnier, more conversational, and deeper.

They're definitely on a roll now with the new hire storyline. What's funny is that there was such an unbroken stream of strips with the Credenza "force ghost" that it started seeming normal, until Isaac says it out loud to someone else, and which point I realized that of course it sounds bad, and that Cora may be right that he's having a breakdown.

geniekid

JackdawGin wrote: »

I'm finding the comics writing better this season then the last two. Funnier, more conversational, and deeper.

I like the writing more. I like the art less. Feels like the characters are off model a lot.

C2B

Affleck won't be the big problem with that movie. In fact if Affleck would also direct and write it I'd be actually be interested in watching it.

Sadly, we're gettin' Snydered.

fearsomepirate

Trying to design hardware that Bethesda games won't crash is the stuff of nightmares.

Shimshai

I liked this comic, this was a good comic.