How We Approach Console Development

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This doesn't really address the true nature of the issue. A console version killing a PC version happens in more subtle ways than outright dumbing down and whatnot.

All future content (skills, boss fights, whatever) will be neutered given consideration of what will and will not work on the console version. For a basic example, there will never again be a precision-targeted skill like Lightning Warp because that doesn't work on consoles. Consoles require auto-targeting, beams, or AoEs around the character.

Notice that covers all the channeled skills? They were, in fact, all designed with consoles in mind.

Around the discussion table for the rest of the game's life, the team will come up with lots of great ideas, and all of them will be subject to the "Yeah, but what about Xbox?" question. Those who had the ideas will pause, say "Oh.", and go silent for a moment.

As we all should, I suppose, because this is the beginning of the end of Path of Exile.

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LostArtz wrote:

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Aust1n wrote:

Can anything be said at this time on whether or not it will be free to play like the PC version and how supporter packs will be dealt with?

If you had actually read the announcement you'd already know it states that it will be f2p.

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sidtherat wrote:

my take on this is simple:

1) it is a lack of rational thinking at best, or a shaddy lie at worst - the part about consoles not affecting PC version's gameplay and design. it will and already DOES affect eachother. some mechanics are impossible on console - and 1 flask slot is not one of the important or truly impossible ones.

2) melee. single target namelock melee. it is all clear now that these skills have ZERO chances to ever be good. can you stop the sharade now and just remove them from the game? we all know why they suck (they cannot be ever good with controler) so why keep them?

3) you held this info secret for 2 years. why? to collect more from people who will drop their support once they realize that they are funding console version?

4) is the console market that big of a deal to bother? ARPGs arent hot on consoles, because they are not the 'couch, palls, 30min weekend session, beer' type of games. what makes ARPGs desirable is the direct opposite to what cosnole gamer seeks from the game. if you needed money - you have entire chineese market to milk. but will you milk it when your PC game starts to behave like console game?

5) all the trading/looting stuff. console players wont touch 3rd party site. so there is a) no trading and everything is BOA) b) there is console-only built in trading (explain this to PC players..) pretty damn difficult to connect two worlds (in game design sense) so different from eachother.

6) performance. xbox is AMD gpu am i right? the same AMD gpu that never really worked well with POE? you guys know that it still doesnt work? even your biggest PR streamer/supporter ziggy spoke about that in pretty sour tone. so will you fix AMD performance on PCs or will the console be the only AMD environment that works smoothly?



in short - it doesnt change the game right now. but now im at least informed why the game went downhil during last 2 years.. the AOEfication, simplification, power-creep and no real balancing effort most probably wouldnt have happened without console port.

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n3xx wrote:

The puritans don't like this but they are just mad cause they don't get any sex.

I'd like it if we could get some ***options*** from the console version to the PC for UI changes as I prefer classic MMORPG unit frames and more minimalist design and the console version seems to have a UI that is more inline with that IMO.

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This doesn't really address the true nature of the issue. A console version killing a PC version happens in more subtle ways than outright dumbing down and whatnot.

All future content (skills, boss fights, whatever) will be neutered given consideration of what will and will not work on the console version. For a basic example, there will never again be a precision-targeted skill like Lightning Warp because that doesn't work on consoles. Consoles require auto-targeting, beams, or AoEs around the character.

Notice that covers all the channeled skills? They were, in fact, all designed with consoles in mind.

Around the discussion table for the rest of the game's life, the team will come up with lots of great ideas, and all of them will be subject to the "Yeah, but what about Xbox?" question. Those who had the ideas will pause, say "Oh.", and go silent for a moment.

As we all should, I suppose, because this is the beginning of the end of Path of Exile.

"

Black_Gun wrote:

so, say you're in the dev meeting and one guy proposes a cool mechanic for the act 6 bossfight that would be really cool on the pc, but could never work on the console due to control restrictions - in this hypothetical situation, does

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"The development and direction of the PC version has not and will not change due to the existence of the console version"

mean that you will nonetheless bring the cool boss mechanic to the pc version, even if it doubles the required effort and production cost of this bossfight? do you really want us to believe that you would't just dismiss the cool idea in that situation and try to look for another mechanic that works for both pc and console?

as others have said: for very simple and very basic reasons, you cannot and will not have two versions of the game that take on completely divergent paths. therefore, it is simply impossible for the existence of the console version to not impose a "glass ceiling" for the game design of both versions. although I absolutely believe in your best intentions, I see absolutely no way for the console version to not affect the monster, bossfight and skill design of the pc version in a negative way.