Console gaming 1 PC gaming 0

VG247 Forum » The VG247 forum

Console gaming 1 PC gaming 0

(79 posts)

Started 7 months ago by G1GAHURTZ
Latest reply from Da Man

12 3 Next »

G1GAHURTZ
Member

I just had search, then go through all this...

Okay...since Blizzard is totally ignoring everyone, I will post what I did to get it working.

It's a combination of several things that folks have tried.

1) Delete the following folders:
C:\ProgramData\Battle.net
c:\program files\starcraft ii\battle.net
C:\Program Files\StarCraft II\Mods\Core.SC2Mod
C:\Program Files\StarCraft II\Mods\LibertyMulti.SC2Mod
also delete this file:
C:\Program Files\StarCraft II\Mods\Challenges.SC2Mod

IMPORTANT: delete the files, but leave them in the Recycle Bin (DON'T EMPTY THE RECYCLE BIN!).

Restart the StarCraft 2 program and let it redownload the patch. If you try to run it, it will probably give you the message "files are missing from your StarCraft 2 installation".

Go to your recycle bin and restore the folders "Core.SC2Mod" and "LibertyMulti.SC2Mod". When you are prompted if you want to merge the folder you're restoring, answer "yes", but make sure to answer the questions about replacing files with "NO". This will restore all the files that were not updated (the missing files).

Now when you run the StarCraft 2 program, it should take you straight to the "play" option. When you log in to Battle.Net, expect delays as it's downloading more files. This took about five minutes on my system, but once that was done, the game started just fine.

You're welcome, Blizzard.

...just to get a game of StarCraft 2.

You can keep your "open" system, Newell, et al.

"Closed" systems where things work like they're supposed to, FTW!

Posted 7 months ago #
OrbitMonkey
Member

Soon my pretty, soon!!

Posted 7 months ago #
viralshag
Member

Closed, open, indie, AAA, DRM, DRM Free... I honestly couldn't give a flying fuck what it is, what platform it's on, who makes it or what they did before...

If I like the game and I'm having fun, all that bollocks I just mentioned is completely irrelevant to me when I'm actually gaming. It's good for the occasional internet chat on a gaming site and that's about it.

:)

Posted 7 months ago #
freedoms_stain
Moderator

Fez.

That'll be 1-1 then.

Posted 7 months ago #
Giskard
Member

I keep wondering why the score between consoles and PC resets so often. Probably because otherwise the PC would have too big of a lead. Anyway, what you're describing does not even compare to the issues that have plagued the Xbox, and as many have mentioned, if the game is good, I don't care what console it is on.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

lol! Yeah, no doubt, this sort of thing happens on 360, so fair play.

Not on any of the games that I want to play, though, so maybe that's why I consider console to be much more 'plug and play'.

Still, having said that, your average casual probably isn't going to go for all this folder deleting malarkey any time soon...

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

Choice can be a burden to some people, and a reward to others.

Personally I wouldn't like to rely on a single corporation to fix my stuff for me.

It definitely is a pain to fix a game on the PC sometimes, but the fact that you can go on a forum and be helped by thousands of people, like in the original post, is one of the things I like about an open platform.

Glass half full or glass half empty I guess.

Posted 7 months ago #
YoungZer0
Member

I'm sorry, i don't understand the purpose of this thread. A game that has not been released on consoles whatsoever is broken on PC or what exactly has happened here? And people found a simple and quick way to fix it?

And that makes consoles look better because ...?

You go enjoy Skyrim on PS3, while i download a mod that enhances the whole game and adds a huge new area that makes the dlc blush in comparison.

For free.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

@DSB:

It's nothing to with any of that gibberish.

I'd prefer it if my game just worked properly.

Since my first ever console, a Gameboy, the most I've personally ever had to do to get a console game working again is blow in the cartridge slot, or wipe the disc.

In that time, I've also suffered a great deal of PC gaming issues that range from ever changing minimum specs, to incompatibility, to bug ridden software, and even nausea (yes, nausea).

Having just gotten back into SC2 after leaving PC gaming for the most part for the last few years, this latest episode just reminded me of exactly why the future of gaming has to be far, far removed from super geekery if it wants to continue growing.

Windows are doing something with their marketplace that makes me feel confident about getting into PC gaming again in the future, without having to worry about spending my own time trying to fix someone else's bug.

I can't imagine how annoyed I'd have been if someone else hadn't found the solution to that problem today...

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

@YoungZer0:

I found a quick way to fix it, because I'm experienced in having to fix things like this.

Not because I want to be, but because the platform forces you to be.

You can't be a PC gamer without understanding how PCs work.

That barrier doesn't exist on console.

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

It stands to reason that if anyone is free to develop for a platform, then you're going to have bad software along with the good.

Ultimately it takes a bit of knowledge and intuition to tell one from the other, and that's prohibitive to some people. Other people like the fact that they get more than one way to do things. Sometimes hundreds of ways to do things.

If I don't like the business and delivery model on Steam, I'll go to GamersGate, if I don't like them, I'll go to Impulse, if I don't like them, I'll go to Origin.

If I don't like the 360's functions and interface... I'm well and truly fucked.

That's ultimately a pretty strong motivation to stay on the PC for me.

As for how prohibitive it truly is, most PC games sell 1:1 with the consoles, so I know it's pretty geeky and inconvenient to some, but it obviously has no problem reaching its target audience, and keeping up with other platforms.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

Like I said before, I'm not talking about choice or anything even remotely connected to that.

I'm talking about ease of use.

One will sell to the masses (including me), the other won't.

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

Consoles sell to gamers. PCs sell to everyone, for widely different purposes.

You still have as many gamers buying games on the PC, as you do on consoles though.

A basic interface may appeal to some, and it may be a pain in the ass to someone else.

Personally I don't feel convenienced when using a console, the design and usability is years behind any other device I use on a daily basis.

Posted 7 months ago #
OlderGamer
Moderator

So go play Starcraft 2 on a console then

..oh wait.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

@DSB:

You put the game in, it works. It's enough for me. I don't spend my time looking at the dashboard when I'm playing a game that I just spent £40 on. I don't care what the dashboard looks like. I bought the console to play games.

Other than input method, there is almost zero difference, gameplay wise, between console games and PC games these days.

The real difference between the two is not needing any tech background whatsoever to play the console version.

It's easy to use because it works and you don't have to delete/copy/paste/edit/debug files when you could be playing and getting what you paid for.

@OG:

I can play what I want, where I want to if I paid for it, thanks.

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

Except when it doesn't, G1GA. If a game is broken on a console, it carries a prohibitive cost for the developer to fix their fuck-up. Some might not want to pay, and others are gonna drag out iterating on those patches, to save that money. Skyward Sword found itself in a bit of trouble, MW2 had exploits that weren't in the PC version, and New Vegas would randomly corrupt saves on consoles.

The main reason why there's so little difference between gaming on a PC and gaming on a console, is that any multi-platform title needs to be able to squeeze itself onto a console. That means less demanding games, reducing the design to work with a pad, and you won't have trouble finding PC gamers who are disappointed with that.

The difference is really as clear as comparing Crysis with Crysis 2. You have dumber AI, you have simpler graphics, and obviously that puts the PC at a disadvantage, for being capable of a lot more than that.

Strategy games, simulators, most things that deal with complex systems and micro-management are next to impossible to pull off on consoles, to say nothing for scale. I don't see Planetside 2 bringing it's 1000 v 1000 player battles to the consoles any time soon.

It's what you said, you get what you pay for. I pay more, and I get more.

On a PC I can get any game I want, digitally, often hassle free, using exactly four clicks of a mouse. On the 360 I have to count on luck to make sure Microsoft are actually offering that game I want, digitally.

A PC is never just a gaming machine.

I can watch my favourite shows while I play a nice relaxing indie game, or have a conversation while I do it, or possibly all three at the same time, if I want to give myself a multi-tasking headache.

I can listen to music on any number of services while I work on a document or write an e-mail, I can check the news, I can research anything that I might need, I can waste time on Facebook or tweet or look at Reddit, all within seconds.

A console doesn't even come close to that functionality.

Posted 7 months ago #
absolutezero
Member

I sure hope the people that MS have looking after the Windows 8 App store are all poached from Apple because if either the 360, GfWL or Phone teams are anywhere near it then look forward to a cluster fuck off a mess.

You thought it was bad now? Wait till you try and patch a GfWL game you bought on Steam.

Posted 7 months ago #
OlderGamer
Moderator

My point G1GA wasn't that you shouldn't be able to play a PC if you feel like it, but that you can not play Starcraft 2 on a console.

The game selection from indies to big budget games like Rift, Diablo III, etc are why I do indeed play PC. If consoles had the same exact games and the same exact selection of games to play that PC has, alot of folks would just pick a console. But there are game experiences like SC2, for example, you can't get anywhere else.

Worth the occasional hassle I think. And I have VERY little problem with PC. Very little. I do Steam most, and that thing pretty much runs itself, in my experience.

Posted 7 months ago #
Da Man
Member

The interface can't get any worse than the Windows Start Menu and a system where closing a window exits the whole program.

So, uh, yeah.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

@DSB:

Obviously PC's have numerous positives over consoles. Especially when you consider that all a console is, is a PC purely engineered to play games and do pretty much little else.

That's why you can (could) install Linux (and even Windows) on a PS3.

However, again, my point was that hassle free gaming isn't one of those plus points.

That's why I specifically highlighted console gaming vs PC gaming in the title of this thread.

Also, again, the 'quality' of the game isn't the issue here either. If I paid money for Space Invaders, I'd expect it to work without the hassle. I'm not interested if I could fit 10 million more aliens on the screen than on a console or if it's a lazy port.

I just want it to work.

I might have 15 minutes before I leave for work. I might know that I can have a quick 10 minute game before I leave.

I don't expect to be spending 12 minutes googling for a solution to a bug, just to get the thing to run in the first place.

PCs give you more options. Sure, I understand that.

But they struggle hugely compared to consoles when it comes to hassle free gaming.

@OG:

I don't want to play it on a console. I want to play it on a PC, and I want it to work properly.

That's what I paid my £44.95 to Blizzard for.

Not so that I could fix their bugs.

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

What actually went wrong with your Starcraft though? It failed to properly download and install a patch?

That sounds to me like it has less to do with open/closed platforms, or platforms in general, and everything to do with a company trying to manage a service that has to serve millions of users with millions of packages.

I've only had that problem once over the last decade. It was The Witcher 2 and it was due to the developer not properly bundling their patches.

Posted 7 months ago #
OlderGamer
Moderator

I was wondering the samething as DSB, but because G1GA missed my point entirely, I wasn't gonna follow up. But I am just wondering, because it almost sounds like a patching issue. From what I have read, I own the game and it runs fine, btw, some folks have had some patching issues.

Blizz is aware of it and is working on it. Like DSB said, open/closed doesn't matter. I know, of little matter whne something doesn't work and you want to use it. But still.

I say it comes down to Blizz, not the PC as a platform.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

I'm not sure exactly what the problem was. I've been on the latest patch (1.5.3) for about a week now, but every so often, for some reason, the game decides that it needs to download about 512k of some description before it will load.

Once, the launcher got stuck needing 256k before it would do anything at all, and after some guessing, I figured out that I had to change a setting in the launcher from allowing P2P downloads into allowing direct downloads only, before it would work.

Then yesterday, it got stuck at needing 256k again, but this time it wouldn't give me an option to change any settings. It just gave some completely nonsensical message about disabling my antivirus software before it could load a file.

Anyway, the point is, my 360, my PS3 and my iPad all have loads of games that need patching and updating on a frequent basis.

CoD, for example, is patched every time a new map pack comes out, plus the standard patches for gameplay tweaks and the frequent 'on the fly' playlist updates.

Since I've been using XBL/PSN/iOS, I'm pretty sure that I've never had as many patch/update/launcher problems with all of my games combined, as I've had with SC2 in the 3 or so weeks that I've been playing again.

As a consumer, I'm looking at the difference between the two experiences.

I'm quite certain that if SC2 was on console, the game would load perfectly, 999 times out of 1000, because it's absolutely critical that they get patches done properly before they're released.

On PC, they release some bug filled patch to fix a lesser bug that you never even noticed, and you get smarmy people telling you "they're working on it", as if that makes it ok.

It's not just patches though. This was just a reminder to me of exactly why I left PC gaming completely in the past.

I don't need to tweak my AA from 2x to 4x and lose 15fps. I don't need to turn on 'ultra high shadows' and notice absolutely no difference at all. I don't need to install some community mod that no-one will be playing after a week.

I need the game to work on demand with zero fuss.

Posted 7 months ago #
Ireland Michael
Moderator

Skyrim on the PS3.

/thread

Posted 7 months ago #
OrbitMonkey
Member

Red Dead Redemption on pc.

/thread

Posted 7 months ago #
DSB
Member

It's still a software problem, not a hardware one. It likely has nothing to do with windows either.

Using Steam, I've had exactly one game fail to update over the last decade, and it was purely down to human error. I get most games bundled with the most recent updates (unlike how it works on consoles) and any new updates are triggered automatically.

There's no guarding against human error though, that's a factor whether you have an open platform or a closed one.

Posted 7 months ago #
mercreign
Member

I created a profile here just because of this topic and utter idiocy on display here. Gig, you're talking like the consoles NEVER have any issues. Are you smoking? And even if you agree they have issues, what happens when those issues NEVER get resolved, which is the case for some games? You're telling me it's ok cause you didn't have to go through the trouble yourself? That, it's ok that it might never get fixed cause after all, you didn't have to spend your precious time looking up a fix?

That's just retarded. So what you had to jump through some hoops to fix an issue. At least the issue can be resolved. If it were a console game, you wouldn't be able to fix it. You'd have to wait. I don't know about you but I'd rather be able to take the time to fix the issue myself, if need be, than to wait for a developer to POSSIBLY fix the issue.

You wanna talk about just being able to buy a game, put it in, and play it? Buddy, I have no issues there with a PC, ever. The last time I had a major problem with a game was Dark Forces, the original. And after some looking on my part, I now have a game that works perfectly and will continue to do so.

I understand if you prefer the functionality of a console better or whatever it is you enjoy but don't try to make it out like the PC has issues that need constant fixing. When a problem arises, sure, it can be a hassle and sure you might need to fix it yourself but that's freedom brother. Case in point. SOCOM: Confrontation on PS3. When it released, you couldn't play online cause the netcode was screwed. For the ENTIRE first month. So people had a game they couldn't play. The servers were there but you couldn't play. Yeah, awesome. Glad I paid for that. Too bad I can't fix this myself.

AVP 2 for PC, servers get shut down. ALL the servers are gone. Some guy puts out his very own patch. Now you can play AVP 2 online again. Unofficial patch. Unofficial fix. But it worked. If the same thing were to happen on your console, you wouldn't be playing online ever again. Just an example of how being able to fix your own problems is better than having everything fixed for you just cause you wanna be lazy and not do it.

Posted 7 months ago #
Stardog
Member

http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/UNCHARTED-3-Drake-s-Deception/bd-p/24819

But, anyway, closed systems are to protect the mindless casual sheep who can't do anything for themselves. On the other side of the coin there are the developers who get screwed.

Posted 7 months ago #
G1GAHURTZ
Member

@mercreign:

Welcome!

Firstly, I've openly admitted above that console gaming has it's problems. I'm not going to say that it's perfect, by any means, but as for me personally, I struggle to remember anything significant that's ever affected the games that I play. I'm simply stating that this isn't the case when it comes to my personal PC gaming experiences since the early1990s on a 286 IBM.

Secondly, I have to hold my hands up and say that you make a perfect point with your AVP 2 example. It would be pretty much impossible to do that on console, and we've already seen that closed systems mean that when a company calls time on an online game, our products become worthless.

Having said that, when servers are shut down, it's usually because almost no one is playing the game anymore, anyway. Still, you give a good example of one of the down sides of closed systems, no doubt.

Thirdly, I'd also argue the point that, as I said before, with closed systems like XBL, iOS, etc, there is an understanding that it's absolutely critical to get things right the first time around, simply because of the difficulty involved in solving problems once the game is released.

Problems with console games are still few and far between compared to PC games in my experience. They do get fixed eventually. But I think that cases of broken games being released on console are relatively very low.

Posted 7 months ago #
Gekidami
Member

Tell me PC fanboys, this pain you're feeling in your rectums, is a burning sensation? Perhaps a stabbing pain? A stretched feeling maybe?

Posted 7 months ago #

RSS feed for this topic

12 3 Next »

Reply »

You must log in to post.