» Sat Oct 08, 2011 4:44 am A PC game was released, and it did not work right out of the box. While this may be disheartening, especially with beloved companies like id and Bethesda behind this (and ZeniMax looming in the background behind them like an angry demi-god), it is not that unexpected. What is unexpected is that for once it does not seem to be broken code. Instead it appears to be bad drivers.
So what is the big difference between bad code and bad drivers?
Well they are actually both code, but the one that comes from the game company is what we call code, and the one that comes from the video card manufacturer is what we call drivers.
So why were the drivers not ready on Launch day?
They were. At least that is what ATI and NVIDIA said when they released special Rage version drivers. Of course we all know they did not work. What we do not know, since there has been no information flowing our way, is why. Since ATI's drivers seem to be the worst offenders, in terms of the severity and number of problems, I will only use ATI's name for the rest of this, but there are some NVIDIA issues as well. I doubt either group's are working at 100% yet. For the record I have an ATI card so I am not picking on them - I am used to their driver issues and have grown to accept it as a feature that keeps me from taking my card for granted. Now where is that Vanilla Thorazine...
So did ATI just screw it up, or did id change something and forget to let ATI know, so that ATI's drivers were for a previous version of Rage?
We do not know. Since the beta drivers (version 2) also seem to be a failure, it would seem to be the former. That would mean that id is totally blameless, almost. They still should have had working drivers on their test rigs, or else they did not test the PC version (fully). So they cannot wash their hands of all culpability.
Well what else do we know.
We know that the PC version does not work, and that the latest drivers have failed to make it work. So I guess it is the end of everything and we should all take a hammer to our system, go out and buy consoles, and sing Kumbaya to ever seeing 16K Megatextures (unless we daisy-chain 5 consoles together in a parallel network, with the fifth system as the master controller, then-it-just-might-work...mister).
What-the-
Well since 90% of the activity on this form is people claiming that they cannot possibly wait another few days to see if ATI can pull a fix out of their
A Light at the end of the tunnel? (no not a train smart-
This is not id's fault, or even Bethesda's. They gave the video card manufacturer's the specs in advance so we would have new drivers on launch day (which we did). Of course those drivers did not work, but if id can get 2.5-3.0 million lines of code working, you would figure that the video card companies could add in a hundred lines to their already debugged code. Of course, you might be wrong...
It would still be really cool if PR dropped in to say: "Hey, ya it was like just a little tweak to the Megatexture pipeline threading, to handle the ambient specular Fresnel reflections in mutant eyes on every fifth frame, and we forgot to tell them about it. So the drivers will be a few more days for PC users, and we will verify they work and let you know when they pass 'Kay?" But, so far nothing. Since it is apparently not a code issue, then this should not take too long to get fixed, and both Bethesda and id probably would have bet real money that today's beta driver release would have solved it all. I just wish they would have made that bet with me, knowing what I now know. :whistling:
Good things too
If this is just a driver issue, then it would also mean that the game is relatively free of bugs which is a massive achievement in today's markets. :foodndrink:
So once this is fixed, it will be smooth game playing, with graphics that will make console users cry (no not really, but we PCs will be laughing). Remember consoles are maxed out at 4K while we are going to get access to 16K textures, when the rest of this is sorted. That is 4X as many pixels. Kinda like SD vs HD... :shocking:
Last things that do not necessarily belong above
1) Pay attention to threads. Especially if someone else has one open on the first two or three pages with the same topic, stop duplicating. It is getting really silly. :facepalm:
2) Stop saying you want a refund. Just get one, and then stay off the forum until you buy the game again, which you know you will (in about two weeks). If you had to rush out and get the game without waiting for reviews, or reading the forum(s), then you want it. Just about everyone, in most Countries, can get a refund, even from Steam. Except pirates of course. You get the plank. :violin:
3) Type out your rant, then before submitting, read it. If there are no facts, just opinion, then put some details in. If you are not saying anything useful (e.g. "The game svcks"), then moderators should be locking your thread and giving you a warning. Give us a reason for your post (e.g. "The game stutters, textures are messed up, so the game svck") and you might actually get some help or at least sympathy. Screen shots are worth a dozen virtual cookies, so if you take one it will make your case if your words fail you. The best thing is to refer to #1, and just add in your experience to one of the other 1000 threads that probably already exist on your issue. Some are well written with both valid, detailed complaints, and partial fixes that might help you a bit. Be sure to pick the right one, using the same drivers that you are. It will save a lot of embarrassment later.
4) Do you realize there are no new Rage emoticons? :flame:
Rage, Rage, Rage, wonderful Rage, Rage, Rage
(No I am not high, drunk, or even overly-tired. This responses are just so over-the-top emotional on RD +3. Considering how long it took to type and revise this, new driver might be out soon that invalidates all this. If so, will a moderator kindly delete it - not just lock - but remove the thread from the forum totally. Thanks!)
As always,
Cheers!
