Torchlight, an example of a major problem with PC gaming

[Reasonable]

ZenfoldorVGI said:

Reasonable said:

ZenfoldorVGI said:

twesterm said:
The problem with PC gaming is that there is no quality control. If you put a game on a Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo console, they force you to meet a certain bar. There is nothing like that for PC.

Truth is, without uniform hardware, you can never avoid little crash bugs completely, like the OP points out. Because consoles are all the same, spec wise, devs can tailor the experience to that particular hardware setup and decrease the amount of bugs/crashes users experience.

It's the nature of PC gaming to have these, because of the non-uniform hardware. It's a tradeoff you make for having the freedom to choose your own hardware.

As this gen has conclusively proved, even with uniform hardware bugs, including crashing bugs, are going to slip through.  PS3 and 360 particularly are now home to what are essentially PC games, with very complex code pushing the hardware, and the results have been interesting.

As Twest says consoles have a minimum bar, which helps, but it clearly let's plenty of stuff through too.  On PC its down to the developer - if they are good then you'll see as few bugs as a good console realease - if not, it can get uglier than consoles, but today it's not the clear cut difference in the days when PCs have even more potential configurations in terms of hardware suppliers and consoles where using much simpler tech and games that were easier to keep relatively big free.

In terms of the OP - I don't really see PC for main titles as any different from 360 or PS3 currently.  Games from the core developers will be good, others may be rough around the edges and some will be pretty bad.  Most friends I know have had just as much fun with Fallout 3 DLC falling apart on 360, or Assassin's Creed freezing on PS3 as they have with their PC - and I'd say the same myself.

 

 

I'm not talking about those problems. Every game has universal problems caused by bugs and glitches.

I'm talking about problems like the OPs. Unforseeable glitches caused by particular rigs or problems caused by incompatibility with certain videocards, OSs, or combinations of many other factors.

Sure, all games have universal glitches caused by lazy developers, or developers who didn't have good testers, or who didn't have time to test properly. Especially complex games like Fallout 3.

However, PC games also have a whole nother layer of problems associated with the nature of non-uniform hardware and incompatible hardware/software combination that no human could ever forsee, and that will affect very few.

I don't think it's a deal breaker by any means, but saying that PC is on the same level as consoles when it comes to plug and play, is inherantly wrong, if for nothing else, due to this compatibility issue and unpredicability inherant to non-uniform hardware and software, an issue entirely seperate from universal game bugs and flaws.

I know that, and my post was clearly not saying consoles and PC were the same.  I indicated PC remains more likely to have bugs in certain games, and why.

But this gen only the Wii has offered me what is touted as the true console experience - essentially bug free, plug and play games.  The PS3 and the 360 have taken consoles a big step closer to PCs, by dramatically raising the specifications of their tech and by inviting games of a coding complexity they would formerly only have appeared on PC - the result is a big jump in buggy games and content on those platforms.

On PC, I could write a game and publish it myself on the internet, and it could ruin your entire PC - that's because PC is open of course, as it has to be because a PC isn't just for games.  Console's are a closed environment, which enables basic quality control to take place, however you loose certain advantages, primarily mods.

While having uniform hardware helps, it's not the big issue many seem to think - it's the open nature of the platform and the lack of certification that causes the most problems these days, particularly as today most home PC's are as cookie cutter as a console, coming from Dell or whoever with a set specification that most owners will not change.  It's only the PC hardcore who will chop and change the inards, and normally they know what they're doing - always exceptions of course!

I wasn't arguing in defense of PCs, as I've had plenty of problems myself, so much as noting that this gen the 360 and PS3 have eroded the gap between the two in this regard, with both platforms seeing a fair few examples of bad bugs and glitches.  To this day I still don't know how some of the Fallout 3 DLC got through certification, nor how Assassin's Creed managed to get through certification despite a game freezing bug.

I guess I feel there is a bit of a double standard in play, as I note many PS3/360 owners speak as though PC is the exclusive home to bugs, etc. in games when that's far from the case anymore.  Wii owners, however, would appear to be safe in this regard as, while I haven't played every Wii game, have never had problems with any major titles and haven't heard of anything that damning with a Wii release.