Xbox Series X | S

[Yiggy]

19 minutes ago, Jacopo said:

I’m guessing this has now sold as I can’t see anything in trading. 

Correct. Goaty bought it. 

[Jacopo]

13 hours ago, Yiggy said:

Correct. Goaty bought it. 

Damn you Goaty!! 

[Plissken]

Er... does the list of controller issues including "just dying"?  Mine just did.

[Fletch]

I'm getting a lot of this game needs an update messages when I want to play something, I have keep my games up to date ticked and the xbox is on standby. Pretty annoying when I want to play something quickly. 

[Dan]

43 minutes ago, Fletch said:

I'm getting a lot of this game needs an update messages when I want to play something, I have keep my games up to date ticked and the xbox is on standby. Pretty annoying when I want to play something quickly. 

After having this issue a lot on the Xbox One, I haven’t on my Series X. I have, however found if I look for updates it finds them for games I haven’t played in a while. Is it happening with games you’ve played recently? 

[Fletch]

2 minutes ago, Dan said:

After having this issue a lot on the Xbox One, I haven’t on my Series X. I have, however found if I look for updates it finds them for games I haven’t played in a while. Is it happening with games you’ve played recently? 

 

Not played Halo in a while to be fair, my old Xbox One launch edition was brilliant never had this issue but the Series S has done it with a few games. 

[Dan]

18 minutes ago, Fletch said:

 

Not played Halo in a while to be fair, my old Xbox One launch edition was brilliant never had this issue but the Series S has done it with a few games. 

I’m away from home all week and it’s kept COD, Fortnite and Rocket league updated whilst on standby. With my Xbox One it was hit and miss(well more miss than hit). Cyberpunk hadn’t updated automatically recently and I’d not played it for months, which is what got me thinking it might have something to do with it. 

[deerokus]

That's how all the consoles do it. 

[Skull Commander]

I played Civilisation Revolution on my Xbox Series X tonight and it's improved performance for sure on this 360 title. Animations are smoother and faster, and the loading when "space events" take place is a genuine massive boost to the pace of the game. This was a Xbox 360 fave of mine for a few years and it is amazing to see the same game I have played hundreds of times with these wee upgrades. 

[Yiggy]

I love my X but I’m getting a bit of PS5 envy lately. I’m not one to bemoan a software situation but I think MS need to have a really good showing at E3 to convince people that that there is a good year ahead. 
 

PS5 since launch has had Astrobot, Miles, Demon Souls, Sackboy, Returnal and the upcoming Ratchet. All of which have been objectively bangers to some degree. 
 

Xbox have had The Medium. 
 

I’m being flippant  because I know the value and the amount of stuff on gamepass is great but I’m talking about the optics (a word I hate but it seems to fit) for general consumers and those who’ve chosen the Xbox route. 

Halo and Starfield could be the answer but it does concern me a bit. 
 

For the record I’m not pro exclusives necessarily but I know that experiences sell consoles and I don’t like the feeling of FOMO. 

[Stanley]

Add Astro Bot to the list too, and yes it’s difficult to ignore it really isn’t it.
 

I’ve got loads of stuff I’m enjoying on my Series X, but the most next gen thing I’ve played is Cyberpunk 2077, which technically isn’t even enhanced for the system (although in reality it runs much, much better as do most games). 
 

But yeah we need another showcase, show us something. 

[Mr. Gerbik]

The Series X is by far my favourite console this generation, it does everything so much better than the PS5. Except yes, despite all the covid delays and whatnot, Sony is managing to get a steady stream of impressive exclusives out that really showcase what this generation can do. Xbox needs some of that on top of everything else they're doing right. But I can imagine they're waiting for their big show around E3 time or whenever for the big blowout. We're now half a year into the generation with the competition putting out impressive shit - you'd think they *have* to go big. And with all that shit they bought, you'd think they would have *something* even if it's not out this year. 

 

If it's another show with nothing but multiplatform stuff, that would be disappointing.

[bear]

https://www.windowscentral.com/io-interactive-may-be-working-xbox-exclusive-fantasy-rpg

 

 

Quote

Recently, IO Interactive of Hitman fame spoke to GameIndustry.biz about spinning up a third team to support a new IP that was something "different" for the studio. And we may know a bit more about what it is.

A few months ago, I received information that Microsoft and IO Interactive were in talks for a new fantasy RPG, dubbed Project Dragon.

Wahey, Dragons!

[Yiggy]

48 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Add Astro Bot to the list too, and yes it’s difficult to ignore it really isn’t it.
 

I’ve got loads of stuff I’m enjoying on my Series X, but the most next gen thing I’ve played is Cyberpunk 2077, which technically isn’t even enhanced for the system (although in reality it runs much, much better as do most games). 
 

But yeah we need another showcase, show us something. 

Forgot about Astro. Added. 
 

It’s just a niggling annoyance at the moment with a hope that they have 3-4 things other than Halo that will non only make Xbox peeps go wow but are also coming out in the next 12 months. It feels like the fruit from the new studios is a really slow burn and that ‘the games will come’ has been talked about for a long time now. 
 

Even the likes of the IO thing is good but  it’s such a long way off. They need to combat the flow for PS5 that is happening now really. Fingers crossed as I’m sure they realise this. 

[JPL]

1 hour ago, Yiggy said:

I love my X but I’m getting a bit of PS5 envy lately. I’m not one to bemoan a software situation but I think MS need to have a really good showing at E3 to convince people that that there is a good year ahead. 
 

PS5 since launch has had Astrobot, Miles, Demon Souls, Sackboy, Returnal and the upcoming Ratchet. All of which have been objectively bangers to some degree. 
 

Xbox have had The Medium. 
 

I’m being flippant  because I know the value and the amount of stuff on gamepass is great but I’m talking about the optics (a word I hate but it seems to fit) for general consumers and those who’ve chosen the Xbox route. 

Halo and Starfield could be the answer but it does concern me a bit. 
 

For the record I’m not pro exclusives necessarily but I know that experiences sell consoles and I don’t like the feeling of FOMO. 

Couldn’t agree more and I’m hoping they’re saving a lot of big reveals for E3. Sony have hit the ground running, so MS really need to start showing off some games now.

[Dudley]

47 minutes ago, Yiggy said:

Forgot about Astro. Added. 
 

It’s just a niggling annoyance at the moment with a hope that they have 3-4 things other than Halo that will non only make Xbox peeps go wow but are also coming out in the next 12 months. It feels like the fruit from the new studios is a really slow burn and that ‘the games will come’ has been talked about for a long time now. 
 

Even the likes of the IO thing is good but  it’s such a long way off. They need to combat the flow for PS5 that is happening now really. Fingers crossed as I’m sure they realise this. 

 

I'm sure they will.  And maybe they're taking a damn good look at that PS5 controller because in all honestly Astro bot using that controller is responsible for my first genuine "Oh wow this is new" moment since VR.

[Majora]

The problem is that they only started acquiring new studios in 2018 and they've also acquired some studios whose current projects are/were multiplat (Psychonauts 2, Wasteland 3, Outer Worlds) or launching on PS5 first due to contractual agreements (Deathloop, Ghostwire Tokyo). 3 years just isn't quite long enough to start seeing the proper fruits of their acquisitions, I think it may well take another couple of years.

 

That said, if rumours are to believed we may be getting MS Flight Simulator, Halo, Forza Horizon 5 and Starfield this year which would be their best exclusive line-up in over a decade probably? You've also got Psychonauts 2 launching on Gamepass. I'm not totally convinced about Starfield this year but even the rest would be a very decent selection.

[Isaac]

2 hours ago, Yiggy said:

I love my X but I’m getting a bit of PS5 envy lately. I’m not one to bemoan a software situation but I think MS need to have a really good showing at E3 to convince people that that there is a good year ahead. 
 

PS5 since launch has had Astrobot, Miles, Demon Souls, Sackboy, Returnal and the upcoming Ratchet. All of which have been objectively bangers to some degree. 
 

Xbox have had The Medium. 
 

I’m being flippant  because I know the value and the amount of stuff on gamepass is great but I’m talking about the optics (a word I hate but it seems to fit) for general consumers and those who’ve chosen the Xbox route. 

Halo and Starfield could be the answer but it does concern me a bit. 
 

For the record I’m not pro exclusives necessarily but I know that experiences sell consoles and I don’t like the feeling of FOMO. 

 

 

Same energy.

 

Why on earth do you care about Xbox optics?

[therearerules]

It doesn't need multiplatform as in XBox only, but something impressive which is next gen only would be nice.

[Yiggy]

19 minutes ago, Majora said:

we may be getting MS Flight Simulator, Halo, Forza Horizon 5 and Starfield this year

That would be stunning if true. Even if it goes into Q1 2022. 
 

5 minutes ago, Isaac said:

Why on earth do you care about Xbox optics?

Not sure how I’ve suggested that I want others to fail. 
 

Optics is how something looks from the outside. Ultimately I like MS and think that it’s good for them to compete with Sony and at the moment their software nozzle is clogged which would allow them to be on an equal footing. I’m happy playing Xbox with the limited game time I have but It would nice for MS to say ‘and we have this stuff coming out in the next 12 months’. It’s a definite problem for them if they want to get people sat on the fence to join their team. 
 

We know that MS want to grow gamepass and that they are less bothered about their boxes however the public aren’t ready for that yet so they still have to shift them. As has been said I’m sure they’re doing all they can to have a great E3. I just hope there are some positive dates

[Popo]

9 hours ago, Dudley said:

 

I'm sure they will.  And maybe they're taking a damn good look at that PS5 controller because in all honestly Astro bot using that controller is responsible for my first genuine "Oh wow this is new" moment since VR.

I love my Series X, and the controller is great, but HD rumble/haptic feedback as pioneered (to varying degrees of success) on the joy cons and improved on the Dual Sense is now conspicuous by its absence on Xbox. As this generation marches on, that will only become more pronounced. 
 

In terms of multi platform titles, I’ve bought Hitman 3, Watch Dogs Legion and Yakuza: LaD on Xbox, but once third party developers begin to implement haptic feedback into their titles, Microsoft will be missing a trick. Maybe they already have - not that I would know!

[moosegrinder]

I dunno, the haptic feedback could easily be something that people see as a gimmick, like the Wiimote waggle. To me it's quite telling that Returnal has the half aim haptic feedback but you can turn it off, like they haven't got the power of their conviction of it. Course, it could just be good design in that it gives people options. In a game that has completely omitted any kind of mid-run save system...

[Dudley]

I imagine you can turn it off for accessibility.

 

Would look pretty bad when little Jimmy is looking sad in the Daily Mail because he can't play Returnal with his weak fingers.

[Mr. Gerbik]

I turned rumble off halfway through Astrobot once I had seen/felt what the hype was all about. Didn't add much for me tbh, and I'm glad that developers allow players to turn that shit off if so desired. It's nothing to do with conviction, it's all about usability. It's like developers not allowing you to skip cutscenes because you simply must watch their art - no I don't, give me the option.

 

I don't miss haptics on Xbox at all but that might be because I have it turned off on PS5 so I don't know.

[deerokus]

There seem to be more developers using the trigger rumble thing on xbox pads recently, probably because of the haptics on ps5.

 

I'm not normally a fan of rumble or haptic feedback stuff but it makes a big difference in the Oculus Quest 2 from what I've played on that. And those are nowhere near as advanced as what the Sony pads have. PSVR 2 should be excellent as a result. 

[moosegrinder]

8 hours ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

It's nothing to do with conviction, it's all about usability.

And yet they made a game where you can lose hours of progress because there's no mid run save. I just find it ironic.

[Mr. Gerbik]

51 minutes ago, moosegrinder said:

And yet they made a game where you can lose hours of progress because there's no mid run save. I just find it ironic.

In that case there's no excuse to not implement a temporary quick save. Sure I get the design decision not to allow hard saves midway through but instead of relying on the notoriously unreliable (ie it's not 100%) rest mode, just allow for a temporary save that gets wiped as you load into where you left off. That's not a new thing, games have done that before.

[Dudley]

Or you know, fuck off and let me save.

[metallicfrodo]

8 hours ago, deerokus said:

There seem to be more developers using the trigger rumble thing on xbox pads recently, probably because of the haptics on ps5.

 

I'm not normally a fan of rumble or haptic feedback stuff but it makes a big difference in the Oculus Quest 2 from what I've played on that. And those are nowhere near as advanced as what the Sony pads have. PSVR 2 should be excellent as a result. 

 

Yes it's great on the Quest, but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it's adding something additional that you expect to be there. When you get that little rumble in your hands because you have picked something up, or fired a gun it is just adding another layer to the visual cues you are getting. Whereas personnally I tend to find that when I'm playing a pancake game (lots of) rumble just takes me out of the game and makes me aware that I'm holding a controller. Especially when it's used because there are explosions going on for instance, there is all this shaking going on on screen, yet I'm not shaking at all but for some reason this thing in my hand is.

 

Admittedly that is an example of poor use of rumble (although it's very prevelant) and having not used a PS5 pad I can't comment on how I would find the haptics.

[Stanley]

I’m very happy with the series pads, probably the best I’ve ever used tbh - they just feel really premium and improved ever so slightly but enough that you notice. The texture on them is lovely.