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Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: MysterD on Tuesday, March 04, 2014, 04:42:33 PM

Title: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, March 04, 2014, 04:42:33 PM
Polygon -> Batman: Arkham Knight announced for PC, PS4, and XB1...with Rocksteady (makers of Batman: Arkham Asylum + Arkham City) developing it. (http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/4/5469724/batman-arkham-knight-announcement-ps4-xbox-one-windows-pc)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: Xessive on Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 06:57:51 AM
Hallelujah! I'm glad Rocksteady is back at the helm. Let's hope they revolutionize some paradigms, think outside the box.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, April 23, 2015, 04:01:03 AM
Batman: Arkham Knight PC requirements are up (http://www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-games/batman-arkham-knight/system-requirements)

    
Quote
   Minimum System Requirements
        OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
        Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.4 GHz
        Memory: 6 GB RAM
        Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
        Graphics Memory: 2 GB
        DirectX®: 11
        Network: Broadband Internet Connection Required
        Hard Drive Space: 45 GB


    Recommended System Requirements
        OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
        Processor: Intel Core i7-3770, 3.4 GHz | AMD FX-8350, 4.0 GHz
        Memory: 8 GB RAM
        Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760
        Graphics Memory: 3 GB
        DirectX®: 11
        Network: Broadband Internet Connection Required
        Hard Drive Space: 55 GB


    ULTRA System Requirements
        OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
        Processor: Intel Core i7-3770, 3.4 GHz | AMD FX-8350, 4.0 GHz
        Memory: 8 GB RAM
        Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
        Graphics Memory: 3 GB
        DirectX®: 11
        Network: Broadband Internet Connection Required
        Hard Drive Space: 55 GB
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, April 23, 2015, 11:12:17 AM
I remember when I first got into PC gaming it seemed like developers would understate the requirements.  Now they totally overstate them it seems.   Honestly, the CPUs listed for "Recommended" and "Ultra" are weird.  There's also a huge performance gap between the AMD model and the Intel one.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, April 25, 2015, 05:10:56 AM
Let's add this to my list of games that I really need a new video card for:

The Evil Within - owned; runs like garbage on my rig at 1080p.
ACU - owned. It wants NVidia GF 680 minimum (2GB VRAM).
The Witcher 3 - don't own. It wants 2GB GeForce 660 for a minimum.
Ryse - don't own it; but that certainly looks like I'd rather run it with a better vid-card, since it's recommended specs + beyond are much higher.
Middle-Earth: SoM - See my thoughts on Ryse.
Batman: Arkham Knight - 2GB VRAM card for minimum requirement.

Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: gpw11 on Saturday, April 25, 2015, 10:00:49 PM
I don't know if anyone is interested or has used Nuveem before, but AK is pretty cheap on Nuveem right now (http://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/comments/33r9ev/nuuvem_batman_arkham_knight_2707_usd/).  My first time using it so I took a bit of a risk but word from reddit is that it works fine and your Steam keys aren't region locked unless Nuveem is (which in this case it isn't) as it's by request from the publisher.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, April 26, 2015, 04:28:49 AM
I don't know if anyone is interested or has used Nuveem before, but AK is pretty cheap on Nuveem right now (http://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/comments/33r9ev/nuuvem_batman_arkham_knight_2707_usd/).  My first time using it so I took a bit of a risk but word from reddit is that it works fine and your Steam keys aren't region locked unless Nuveem is (which in this case it isn't) as it's by request from the publisher.
B/c they're in Brazil, they often have sales beating everybody else. I haven't bought anything from them - but a lot of PC gamers on CheapAssGamer outside of Brazil buy from there regularly.
Just, yes - make sure the version you buy from them not region locked. Usually, Nuuvem's good enough to tell us if it is.
Also, if you're using Nuuvum - use Google Chrome b/c it has a English translator built into it.

Since I've never bought from them - did you use the Hola extension via Chrome or some kind of VPN? Did you use a USA Address?
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, April 26, 2015, 08:57:49 AM
No apparently you only have to use the Hola extention or VPN for some games.  I really just went onto the site, no extensions or vpn, paid with paypal and that was it.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, April 26, 2015, 02:52:07 PM
No apparently you only have to use the Hola extention or VPN for some games.  I really just went onto the site, no extensions or vpn, paid with paypal and that was it.
Nice. Thanks for the info.

Good to know, in case I do find a deal from Nuuvum that I feel I have to take the risk on.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, April 26, 2015, 06:44:14 PM
I think it totally depends on the publisher whether or not the game is region locked though, so I'd still look into it before pulling the trigger on a specific game (for instance, GTA V was originally not region locked but the newer keys they sell are).
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 03:15:24 PM
IGN -> "Opinion: Batman: Arkham Knight's Season Pass is Absurd." (http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/29/opinion-batman-arkham-knights-season-pass-is-absurd)
For those who didn't know, Batman AK's Season Pass will be $40.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: Xessive on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 08:16:08 PM
IGN -> "Opinion: Batman: Arkham Knight's Season Pass is Absurd." (http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/29/opinion-batman-arkham-knights-season-pass-is-absurd)
For those who didn't know, Batman AK's Season Pass will be $40.
Call of Duty's season pass is $50. Battlefield's Premium pack is $50. Those are absurd.

If the content the Season Pass is worth more than the cost of the pass, then it's not so absurd. Then it becomes a matter of perspective.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight (by Rocksteady) announced for PC, PS4, and XB1
Post by: MysterD on Monday, June 22, 2015, 02:29:11 PM
CinemaBlend -> Batman: AK PC requirements updated; AMD cards will now require 3GB VRAM Radeon HD 7950 for a minimum. (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/redirect.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cinemablend.com%2Fgames%2FBatman-Arkham-Knight-System-Requirements-Have-Changed-AMD-Problems-Confirmed-72607.html&pid=12762479)

Quote
OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.4 GHz
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (2 GB Memory Minimum) | AMD Radeon HD 7950 (3 GB Memory Minimum)
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection required
Hard Drive: 45 GB available space
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, June 22, 2015, 09:43:35 PM
This also seems to be getting really good reviews.   I preloaded it on Steam since I got it in that great Nuvuum deal (or whatever).  Now I really have to put some Witcher 3 time in.
Title: Re:
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, June 22, 2015, 11:16:52 PM
...except on Steam.  Don't buy the PC version of this game as of yet.  All kinds of complaints about terrible optimization, crashes, and the game deleting itself (!!)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 04:40:36 AM
Destructoid -> Another Warner Bros. game's PC version strikes again at launch with issues - Batman: Arkham Knight. (http://www.destructoid.com/warner-bros-strikes-again-batman-arkham-knight-having-issues-on-pc-294644.phtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook)
PC Gamer -> Batman: Arkham Knight PC port appears to be a disaster. (http://www.pcgamer.com/batman-arkham-knights-launch-appears-to-be-a-disaster/)
RockPaperShotgun -> Batman: AK PC is a mess. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/06/23/holy-framerates-batman-arkham-knight-is-a-mess/)
Youtube - RockPaperShotgun -> Batman: AK PC video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=37KpOYVrLZM)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 07:16:41 AM
Who the hell did the Batman AK PC version?

Rocksteady speaks:
http://community.wbgames.com/t5/Support-for-PC/PC-Performance-issues-we-hear-you/m-p/571341#M7537
Quote
Hi all

We're aware that some users are reporting performance issues with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. This is something that Rocksteady takes very seriously. We are working closely with our external PC development partner to make sure these issues get resolved as quickly as possible.

We'll update this thread when we've got more info to share.

Thanks
CODA
Title: Re:
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 09:31:04 AM
It's a mess on PC, especially with the 30fps lock. With some ini tweaking I got it running smooth (unlocked framerate) and with relatively good performance.

That said, the PC version feels like a port. I'm not ticked about it because I'm using a gamepad though.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 12:41:02 PM
Looks like Iron Galaxy (a mostly console studio) handled Batman AK PC. (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/development/matthew-wilson/arkham-knight-pc-port-was-outsourced-to-a-console-studio/)
They also did the Batman: Arkham Origins PC version, as well - which had its share of issues at launch, as well.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 12:57:13 PM
Someone looked into it somehow in Steam DB and the rumor is that they only had two months to do the port.  I don't know if it's true or not but if so, holy shit.

I prebought the game through Nuvuum because it was super cheap, so no Steam refund for me (I think), but I'm fine with that - I'm pretty confident the problems will be worked out before I get into the game. 

My experience was mixed:  Overall FPS was a little lower than I'd like in benchmarks and in the game - I was averaging just above 35fps with everything on during the benchmarks and that's fine, higher would be great but I can definitely enjoy a game like this in 30fps without any complaints.   In game was roughly the same until I jumped into the Batmobile, where all of a sudden things were all over the place (I'd guess due to the particles/physics involved in all the rubble, sparks, and smoke).  Make a turn or hit an object and it would drop dramatically - this is pretty much what everyone was experiencing and it doesn't sound like turning the Nvidia Gameworks effects off help this at all, it's a bug of some sort.

I'm still heavily involved in The Witcher 3 so fingers crossed they hammer this all out and the game runs better once I'm done that.   I will, however, say that the game seems completely awesome - it looks great (ditching the last gen of consoles was a great idea) and seems really fun. 
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: scottws on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 04:30:28 PM
It sucks what is going on with this game on PC, but right now I have a PS4 sitting in a shipping box by my door and it is the one that comes with this game.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 08:05:24 PM
It sucks what is going on with this game on PC, but right now I have a PS4 sitting in a shipping box by my door and it is the one that comes with this game.

Honestly, I should have done that. My plan was to buy a PS4 when The Witcher 3 came out but then all of a sudden I decided I needed a better CPU (to replace my early core2duo) to run a Plex server, etc when I cut cable.  And then I might as well buy a new graphics card because it comes with The Witcher 3 anyways.  Plus, I still have a lot of games to play on the PS3 and I'm not going to hook both up, right?

As much as PC Master Race is a thing, console gaming is just easier in some ways. We're in the age now where a company can still release a shit console version and hope to patch it but you can't deny that a lot more resources go into console version development. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to googling how to make Steam Streaming force the resolution of my 46" TV screen instead of the server monitor.   I'll be back in a few hours.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 04:50:32 AM
Gary Lake-Schaal of WB put up a post on Steam of what PC users currently should be setting Batman AK PC at, depending on their hardware/system specs. (http://steamcommunity.com/games/208650/announcements/detail/145587678164818505)

In short, 30 FPS cap at...
Min specs = 720p w/ Most Stuff listed on either Low or Off.
Rec specs = 1080 w/ V-Sync + AA On; Textures, Shadows and LOD at Normal; and Special Effects stuff are OFF.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 05:22:10 AM
If you bought Batman AK PC from GMG - looks like GMG might will be accepting refunds, after a fix patch is issued if their PC gamers ain't happy w/ Batman AK PC still:
http://blog.playfire.com/2015/06/batman-arkham-knight-pc-guidelines.html
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 05:45:45 PM
Eurogamer -> Looks at Batman AK PC version performance + also says it lacks some of the console visual features - such as Bokeh DOF + AO. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-batman-arkham-knight-pc-lacks-console-visual-features)

Quote
Just as baffling is the fact PC lacks key visual effects seen on PS4 even at its top settings. Ambient occlusion is cut from the game, bokeh depth of field is noticeably dialed back, and the transparency layer used for raindrops is cut from all surfaces as well. Gotham City is stripped of a great deal of atmosphere as a result, with areas appearing lighter without SSAO in place - despite this setting clearly being enabled in the .ini file.

Likewise, rain doesn't appear on Batman or the Batmobile as it does on PS4. The reflective, dewy sheen is missing across the city, though specular and normal maps remain identical to the console release. The PC's highest settings show very little difference otherwise to Sony's console, barring a tweak to motion blur velocity settings.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: W7RE on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 06:25:09 PM
PC sales suspended until the game is fixed:

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Support-for-PC/June-24-Update-on-PC-Version-of-Arkham-Knight/m-p/575332#U575332

Quote
We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 07:08:48 PM
PC sales suspended until the game is fixed:

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Support-for-PC/June-24-Update-on-PC-Version-of-Arkham-Knight/m-p/575332#U575332


That's good PR and a good move overall. Realistically they're not getting many sales until the problems are sorted out anyways but this at least instills some confidence that they WILL fix the issues rather than just pretend to look into it.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Friday, June 26, 2015, 03:55:52 AM
Destructoid -> Rocksteady supports delisting of Batman AK PC & they are working on fixing it. (http://www.destructoid.com/rocksteady-co-founder-totally-supports-steam-delisting-batman-arkham-knight-294832.phtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, June 27, 2015, 02:19:47 PM
Kotaku -> Benchmarking Batman: AK PC on 24 different video cards. (http://kotaku.com/batman-arkham-knight-pc-benchmarks-for-what-theyre-wo-1714357850?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Saturday, June 27, 2015, 07:06:53 PM
Kotaku -> Benchmarking Batman: AK PC on 24 different video cards. (http://kotaku.com/batman-arkham-knight-pc-benchmarks-for-what-theyre-wo-1714357850?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)


What the fuck is the point of this? Game is no longer being sold while they fix it - it's off the market for all intensive purposes and these benchmarks are completely irrelevant as I don't imagine it will be released without optimizations to increase performance across the board. 

Like, I could understand if they released this article a day after the announcement and said that it was teed up and ready to go, why not release it, but they must have put a shitload of work into this AFTER the announcement was made.  Hell, they might not have even started until after.


As a side note, the methodology is also weird.   Two sets of benchmarks, one with Gameworks on and one with Gameworks off - that's what everyone fucking wants. If you're time constrained just do 1080p and 1440 with both sets, no need for other resolutions when the big question is the performance hit from the Nvidia features.

Kind of a shitty, pointless article

Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Saturday, June 27, 2015, 09:15:35 PM
Quote
for all intensive intents and purposes

Sorry, the grammar gnome in my head would not allow it. :P

Anyway, the article feels like its reaching due to the buzz around the game and its botched PC release. I can understand the curiosity to see how the game performs with the various hardware but, as you said, it's pointless now.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Saturday, June 27, 2015, 11:17:27 PM
Sorry, the grammar gnome in my head would not allow it. :P




Ahahahaha.  That wasn't even a mistake - I just somehow thought that's how they saying goes and now that I think about it, it really doesn't make sense that way.   I'M A FUCKING MORON.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, June 28, 2015, 12:03:02 AM
Pointless drivel from the gaming press? *gasp* Pointless drivel from Kotaku? Say it ain't so!

 ... clearly I'm already a bit jaded here.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Sunday, June 28, 2015, 03:48:28 AM
Sorry, the grammar gnome in my head would not allow it. :P

. . .

Thanks for being the bad guy.  I so fought my nature last night.  :)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, June 28, 2015, 04:47:24 AM
First Batman: AK PC issued last night along w/ Rocksteady's plans for future patches. (http://steamcommunity.com/games/208650/announcements/detail/145587678178226617)

Quote
Progress Update and Patch: June 27, 2015
JUNE 27   - GARY.LAKE-SCHAAL

Rocksteady is leading our team of developers and partners as we work on the PC performance issues that players have been encountering. The work is significant and while we are making good progress on improving performance, it will take some time to ensure that we get the right fixes in place.


Below is the list of the key areas where we are dedicating our resources to improve the experience for our loyal fans:
Support for frame rates above 30FPS in the graphics settings menu
Fix for low resolution texture bug
Improve overall performance and framerate hitches
Add more options to the graphics settings menu
Improvements to hard drive streaming and hitches
Address full screen rendering bug on gaming laptops
Improvements to system memory and VRAM usage
NVIDIA SLI bug fixes
Enabling AMD Crossfire
NVIDIA and AMD updated drivers

While we work on improving performance, we will also continue to make interim patches available to address issues for those still playing the game on PC.

The first patch is being released now and the updates include:
Fixed a crash that was happening for some users when exiting the game
Fixed a bug which disabled rain effects and ambient occlusion. We are actively looking into fixing other bugs to improve this further
Corrected an issue that was causing Steam to re-download the game when verifying the integrity of the game cache through the Steam client
Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash when turning off Motion Blur in BmSystemSettings.ini. A future patch will enable this in the graphics settings menu

We would like to thank our fans for their patience and invaluable feedback. We will continue to monitor and listen for any additional issues.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Sunday, June 28, 2015, 06:47:18 AM

Ahahahaha.  That wasn't even a mistake - I just somehow thought that's how they saying goes and now that I think about it, it really doesn't make sense that way.   I'M A FUCKING MORON.
Haha dude, you're awesome ;D I've had to correct management e-mails and press releases with similar phrasing stuff like "one in the same" when they actually mean "one and the same."

My OCD to correct people does not stem from some desire to appear superior, it is merely a correction, and in some small way to make you superior! GP-Dubya!

Anyway, it's good they seem to be making progress. I would not be shocked if Rocksteady got into the nitty-gritty of the PC port and just did it themselves instead of letting Iron Galaxy resume work on it.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, June 28, 2015, 06:00:27 PM
PC Gamer -> Batman: AK PC mod unlocks 10 characters as playable. (http://www.pcgamer.com/batman-arkham-knight-mod-unlocks-ten-playable-characters/)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: scottws on Monday, June 29, 2015, 01:16:25 PM

Ahahahaha.  That wasn't even a mistake - I just somehow thought that's how they saying goes and now that I think about it, it really doesn't make sense that way.   I'M A FUCKING MORON.
It's okay.  This one as well as "nitch" (niche) and "Wallah!" (Voila!) are really common.  There are others too, but I can't think of any offhand.


Thanks for being the bad guy.  I so fought my nature last night.  :)
I'm the same way.  One one hand you want to correct the person so they use the correct spelling and phrasing but, on the other hand, people generally hate the criticism and look down on it, even those that aren't being corrected.  It's seen basically the same as someone telling you, "You know, you are supposed to stop a full three seconds before turning right on red," after you do a slow rolling right turn on red.  That's a shame, because the spelling/phrasing issue is one of ignorance while the latter is just one where someone simply does not care.

Nowadays, I only do it if I see the same person make the same mistake over and over.  I've been corrected on "wierd" (weird) and "helarious" (hilarious) myself.  Of course, that was before spell check in the browser would have caught it for me.


I've had to correct management e-mails and press releases with similar phrasing stuff like "one in the same" when they actually mean "one and the same.
Ah, yes! That's another one!  This one's a little different, but I knew a guy that would always say, "It's six of one, a dozen of the other".  After him saying it thousands of times, I finally had to correct him.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, July 01, 2015, 05:47:29 AM
Eurogamer on the Batmobile + the troubles with it being in Batman AK (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-01-to-the-batmobile-the-trouble-with-arkham-knights-biggest-addition)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Wednesday, July 01, 2015, 08:10:59 AM
I always thought the more "racecar" Batmobiles were pretty stupid, actually (especially the Burton Batmobile ... to be honest, I hated basically everything about those films). The Tumbler was the first concept that actually made any real sense to me, even if I have grown exceedingly tired of the Nolan films, so I disagree with this dude's assertion from the ground up. Either way, I do wish the new game didn't spend so much time and attention on the car ... but I guess maybe it'll end up being a good thing since there are 2 other Rocksteady Arkham games and the WB Arkham game which already have you spending the whole time on foot.

I haven't picked this up yet, but just watching a video of it made me want to play the others again. I never could get into City the first time around, so I decided to replay Asylum and then try City again. I think I'll have better luck this time, as while I'm thoroughly enjoying Asylum again, I'm definitely ready to take Batman into the bigger context now. I even ordered a cheap copy of Origins because I heard the story is actually quite good ... so I may just try to rush through that one to see the story stuff. If and when I actually complete all this (yeah, right), maybe Arkham Knight will be cheap enough for me to bite.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, July 01, 2015, 09:59:11 AM
Kotaku -> One source close w/ the game's production and a game-tester (who are going in anonymously here) are saying WB knew Batman Arkham Knight PC was a mess for months. (http://kotaku.com/sources-warner-bros-knew-that-arkham-knight-pc-was-a-1714915219?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)

Quote

Our second source said Warner Bros. internal QA focused on bug-checking specifically at 720p resolutions.
Most PC players with decent hardware expect to run games at 1080p or higher. If Warner Bros. was using 720p at as a benchmark, that helps explain the large performance gap.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, July 05, 2015, 03:22:29 PM
Batman: Arkham Knight PC on my new 960 4GB VRAM at 1080p.

No stutters or anything, so far.
Everything here on the 1st section of the Graphics Options at Normal + On (Vsync + whatever the AA is) & all the NVidia GameWorks stuff off.

Running around the gameworld, gliding, slinging around buildings, the works - typical Batman Arkham gameplay stuff.
With the capped frame-rate, as they intended - sticks around 25-30 frames.

Definitely gonna have to uncap the framerate and see how it runs then w/ same Normal settings.
And also see how it runs w/ settings thrown even higher-up.

Also, keep in mind - I ain't even got the Batmobile yet. I will be real curious to see how it runs, once I get that.

Maybe it's the 4 GB VRAM buffer speaking here...
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Monday, July 06, 2015, 11:03:14 AM
I've got 12GB VRAM and it still chugs. When I run it capped at 30fps it manages relatively well but it's less impressive than it ought to be.

When I run it uncapped I'm able to get 4K resolutions (on the highest settings with Nvidia Gameworks all on) to run over 60fps but texture pop-in is frequent and it crashes consistently.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, July 06, 2015, 11:58:16 AM
When I get around to playing this, it'll be on PS4. My PC isn't half of what it needs to be for this, and the current consoles make it look amazing.

I'm actually going back and replaying these because I never got into City. I just re-beat Asylum, getting all the Riddler trophies and puzzles, and now I'm about to dig into City for the 2nd time (I only played it a short while the first time). I picked up Origins also, because I hear while it's pretty generic, the story is supposed to be quite good, and it looked cool in that regard. Will probably just try to blow through that one, but we'll see how it goes. I won't be going after Arkham Knight until it's much cheaper, and maybe a package with all the DLC and shit.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Monday, July 06, 2015, 12:05:45 PM
I've got 12GB VRAM and it still chugs. When I run it capped at 30fps it manages relatively well but it's less impressive than it ought to be.

When I run it uncapped I'm able to get 4K resolutions (on the highest settings with Nvidia Gameworks all on) to run over 60fps but texture pop-in is frequent and it crashes consistently.

Those kind of problems w/ 12 GB VRAM - that's ridiculous.
So, I'm guessing you have a Titan, yes?

EDIT:
For me, Arkham Knight PC set on Normal at 1080p for the 1st section of Graphics options + GameWorks stuff OFF even w/ the Batmobile ran the same as when I was running around swinging, flinging, flighting, jumping, and whatnot in-game as Batman - I'm in the 25-30 frame ballpark consistently at 1080p. This felt like right out of Dark Souls 1 PC playbook, w/ its capped framerate + actual consistent performance. And when a game is capped low majorly like that - it better run that damn consistent, IMHO. I don't wanna see any of this crap - stutters; see it even below 20 frames; any slideshows into the low single-digit frames or below; or major rises or drops in framerate here and there.

Of course, it should run consistent like this - I got 4 GB of bloody VRAM here. Of course, it probably should run this well w/ those who have PC's w/ weaker cards - i.e. it should fine for those meeting the minimum requirements. It's not like Arkham Knight PC here is a cutting-edge technical graphical thing of beauty here on the PC, even on Normal. Far from it. It still looks good, but it ain't a jaw-dropper here like when Arkham Asylum + Arkham City actually 1st dropped.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Monday, July 06, 2015, 12:10:00 PM
When I get around to playing this, it'll be on PS4. My PC isn't half of what it needs to be for this, and the current consoles make it look amazing.

I'm actually going back and replaying these because I never got into City. I just re-beat Asylum, getting all the Riddler trophies and puzzles, and now I'm about to dig into City for the 2nd time (I only played it a short while the first time). I picked up Origins also, because I hear while it's pretty generic, the story is supposed to be quite good, and it looked cool in that regard. Will probably just try to blow through that one, but we'll see how it goes. I won't be going after Arkham Knight until it's much cheaper, and maybe a package with all the DLC and shit.
Origins' story + character development was decent enough. Just, it was never that spectacular to me.
But more so than anything, lesser-known villains that should've gotten more attention, both story-wise + character-wise, really didn't. Either they really didn't do much w/ them or they dropped the ball entirely on what they actually did with them.

Rehashing a good deal of Arkham City's game-world also really didn't help matters, either. I'd felt like I've done this and been there before.

If you're looking for more Batman and didn't spend the farm on it, Arkham Origins is more Arkham City for the most part, but nowhere as great.

Actually, my favorite part of Origins was probably the Cold Cold Heart DLC.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, July 06, 2015, 12:19:21 PM
I liked what I saw in videos of what they did with it. I'm aware the world itself is more or less rehash, but I don't really care since I'll probably just be zipping through and skipping most of that stuff. I just want to see the story, which I like what I've seen of so far. It actually appeals to me more so than City has story-wise (though I don't know exactly where the story goes there since I haven't played a ton), so we'll see if City manages to grab me this time around and I get far enough for the story to hook me. I think last time I got hung up on side stuff and kind of did more of that and didn't advance the story enough for me to feel invested. That and it didn't set up the reason for Arkham City's existence too well. I've since discovered they did an apparently quite better-than-decent tie-in comic for it that sets up all that, so I want to try to track down and read that soon so I can get some of the setup I wished the game had provided the first time around.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Monday, July 06, 2015, 02:28:03 PM
Those kind of problems w/ 12 GB VRAM - that's ridiculous.
So, I'm guessing you have a Titan, yes?

EDIT:
For me, Arkham Knight PC set on Normal at 1080p for the 1st section of Graphics options + GameWorks stuff OFF even w/ the Batmobile ran the same as when I was running around swinging, flinging, flighting, jumping, and whatnot in-game as Batman - I'm in the 25-30 frame ballpark consistently at 1080p. This felt like right out of Dark Souls 1 PC playbook, w/ its capped framerate + actual consistent performance. And when a game is capped low majorly like that - it better run that damn consistent, IMHO. I don't wanna see any of this crap - stutters; see it even below 20 frames; any slideshows into the low single-digit frames or below; or major rises or drops in framerate here and there.

Of course, it should run consistent like this - I got 4 GB of bloody VRAM here. Of course, it probably should run this well w/ those who have PC's w/ weaker cards - i.e. it should fine for those meeting the minimum requirements. It's not like Arkham Knight PC here is a cutting-edge technical graphical thing of beauty here on the PC, even on Normal. Far from it. It still looks good, but it ain't a jaw-dropper here like when Arkham Asylum + Arkham City actually 1st dropped.
Yep, Titan X.

The game clearly struggles due to poor optimization. It's a shame that technical issues are marring what is otherwise a real gem in the Arkham series.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, July 09, 2015, 05:17:47 AM
I should note - I jumped up my 1st set of graphic settings to High + left second set of GameWorks stuff OFF. Still runs the same, at around 25-30 frames per second.
Though, it eats more VRAM consistently - eating often around 3700 to 39xx MB of VRAM, according to EVGA Precision X.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 03:10:45 PM
Youtube -> Batgirl DLC - Trailer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFvOAZgwp3Q)

Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 03:30:13 PM
Not sure if that's the trailer I watched, but the one I saw was pretty awesome looking. I'm into it!
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 08:21:31 PM
After approximately 39 hours, I've finished the Main Quest of  Batman Arkham​ Knight (PC).

Despite its flaws, it was still pretty good.
And here's the thing w/ this all: this could've been great, if they didn't saddle the game w/ so much filler for gameplay...especially in the last 1/3rd of the game.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 09:35:12 PM
I think the main problem I have with the content almost completely boils down to "too much Batmobile." Particularly, too many "take out the drones" sequences. They are monotonous.

In those moments I feel the game ceases to be a Batman Arkham game and turns into World of Tanks or something.

Plus there aren't enough investigations, I think there was one "rebuild the scene" sequence (similar to the investigations of Arkham Origins), and that was about it. The game is less "World's Greatest Detective" and a lot more "World's Greatest Mediocre Tank Operator."
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 09:40:29 PM
I think the main problem I have with the content almost completely boils down to "too much Batmobile." Particularly, too many "take out the drones" sequences. They are monotonous.
Agreed 100%.

They could've saddled a lot of these to the side quests, I would've been MUCH happier.

I don't mind cruising in the Batmobile or zipping around on the rooftops w/out anything getting in my way - it's just so much of the main quest involving Batmobile combat + stealth sequences just screams "Filler," especially in the last 1/3rd of the game.

Also, I never really found a boss fight here - and there really ain't many here, either - anywhere in the world of Origins. If there was anything Origins did right, that was it. Rocksteady did not learn from WB Montreal, obviously.

Quote
Plus there aren't enough investigations, I think there was one "rebuild the scene" sequence (similar to the investigations of Arkham Origins), and that was about it. The game is less "World's Greatest Detective" and a lot more "World's Greatest Mediocre Tank Operator."
No arguments there.

I didn't do all of it, but I liked some of the side-quests w/ scene-rebuilding that involved the serial killer. Those were cool. I should finish that plot-line.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, July 11, 2015, 09:56:03 PM
My long-winded Batman: Arkham Knight review on Steam:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mysterd/recommended/208650
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, July 12, 2015, 04:54:42 AM
WB Boards -> Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC will not launch July 14th on PC; it's been delayed on the PC b/c they are working on fixing the PC technical issues first. (http://community.wbgames.com/t5/Support-for-PC/July-10-Update-on-PC-Version-of-Arkham-Knight/td-p/605229)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 01:53:19 PM
Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC - REVIEWS:

Scored out of 10:
Destructoid -> 6.5 (http://www.destructoid.com/review-batman-arkham-knight-batgirl-a-matter-of-family-295688.phtml)

No score:
GamesRadar. (http://www.gamesradar.com/arkham-knights-batgirl-dlc-painfully-short/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=gamesradar-owned)
Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/arkham-knight-s-batgirl-dlc-just-isn-t-good-enough-1718028345?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)
Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-15-arkham-knight-batgirl-dlc)


Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 03:14:35 PM
Aww. Bummer.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 03:30:55 PM
@Que

Yeah, real bummer. I was really looking forward to Batgirl. Was hoping they do something worthwhile w/ it.
Even though it sounds like quality, at around 50 min to an hour - skip that noise.

I might care about the DLC's, if I can get the Season Pass ultra-cheap down the line, in the future.
Title: Re:
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 06:10:46 PM
I want to play this but also want to wait for the patch to fix it on PC......decisions
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: PyroMenace on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 06:16:06 PM
How bad is it on PC? Is it still completely fucked?
Title: Re: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 10:17:52 PM
How bad is it on PC? Is it still completely fucked?
From just testing it out it seemed not great but still completely playable.  This was only fifteen minutes or so, so I don't really know.  I'm hoping one of these guys can enlighten us.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, July 16, 2015, 06:08:08 AM
Destructoid -> Batman: AK PC likely won't get its next patch until at least September. (http://www.destructoid.com/leaked-wb-email-batman-arkham-knight-s-pc-version-won-t-be-fixed-till-at-least-september-296106.phtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, July 16, 2015, 06:11:07 AM
How bad is it on PC? Is it still completely fucked?
Depends on your VRAM (Video-card RAM). Do you have 3-4 GB of VRAM?

If "yes" - you should be sitting at 1080p on Normal at least.

If you have a real 4GB VRAM (this doesn't include the 4GB 3.5 GB VRAM GeForce 970), I'd say aim for High settings.
So, namely - I'd say you'd need a 4 GB VRAM 960 or 980; 6 GB VRAM 980 Ti; or a Titan for High.
Or an AMD equivalent that is over 4 GB VRAM.

If you have the VRAM and a rig similar to mine (or better) - expect performance b/t 25-30 frames, no matter what...if you leave the cap on and don't mess w/ the INI files.

My rig running Batman AK PC = i7 950 @ 3.02 Ghz; 16 GB DDR3 RAM; 4 GB VRAM GeForce GTX 960; Win 7 64-bit.
Title: Re: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, July 16, 2015, 06:22:27 AM
From just testing it out it seemed not great but still completely playable.  This was only fifteen minutes or so, so I don't really know.  I'm hoping one of these guys can enlighten us.
I think the real thing w/ this game was - you need more VRAM to run it, basically.
Most people probably have a decent processor and nice amounts of regular RAM, but likely don't have 3-4 GB VRAM video-card.
We're just starting to see more PC games recommend 2-4 GB of VRAM or more, at higher settings - i.e The Evil Within, Batman AK, AC Unity, Ryse, Dead Rising 3, etc.

This game is WAY bigger than previous Batman games, has a lot more going on in the game-world (special effects-wise), is on the same UE Engine (that they modified + improved, in some ways), and is not optimized AT ALL. Hence why it's locked at 30 FPS - b/c supposedly, performance drops + rises quite a bit, if you unlock it and don't have a bloody beast of a vid-card.

EDIT:
People looking to screw w/ Batman AK's PC settings - you can do so via INI's, since this is a UE game.
Also, you can check out this Batman AK Tweak tool someone made (http://steamcommunity.com/app/208650/discussions/0/523890046870624615/).

If you're going to mess around w/ INI files and/or use the Batman AK Tweak Tool, this is AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Always BACK-UP INI files, game folder, saves, or whatever before you mod/tweak, if necessary - just in case things possibly go wrong!



Title: Re: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Thursday, July 16, 2015, 07:55:22 AM
I think the real thing w/ this game was - you need more VRAM to run it, basically.
Most people probably have a decent processor and nice amounts of regular RAM, but likely don't have 3-4 GB VRAM video-card.
We're just starting to see more PC games recommend 2-4 GB of VRAM or more, at higher settings - i.e The Evil Within, Batman AK, AC Unity, Ryse, Dead Rising 3, etc.

You can thank the 8GB consoles with unified memory for that.  I imagine last gen, which lasted nearly a decade, it was a non-issue, with 512 MB and 256 MB available to the MS and Sony systems (respectively).  Games were designed with those limits in mind.  It must be a bitch to port a game from a PS4 to a PC now.  As you said, the CPU is not the problem.  That sucker will be loafing.  System RAM, same thing.  But the amount of shit the videocard has to address at any time--that is going to hurt.
Title: Re: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, July 16, 2015, 09:48:53 AM
You can thank the 8GB consoles with unified memory for that.  I imagine last gen, which lasted nearly a decade, it was a non-issue, with 512 MB and 256 MB available to the MS and Sony systems (respectively).  Games were designed with those limits in mind.  It must be a bitch to port a game from a PS4 to a PC now.  As you said, the CPU is not the problem.  That sucker will be loafing.  System RAM, same thing.  But the amount of shit the videocard has to address at any time--that is going to hurt.

Yup. What you mentioned is the common thing I hear on message boards and online, when talking about multi-platformed games on PC & PS4/X1 on the reason why PC games are requiring flat-out more VRAM, within the last year or so. Even more so true, now more so than ever before - since more games also aren't doing versions for the X360 + PS3; there goes the spiking of the PC requirements.

Also, throw on top of it all he fact that PC versions really ain't getting much love, care & support in many instances - yeah, especially in the AAA arena - this all can be combined into a recipe for disaster. Ask Iron Galaxy, WB, and Rocksteady about that one for Batman AK - it shows! Of course companies will support consoles more - easier to make for one fixed box (PS4 or X1 are each one fixed platform) opposed to many  hardware, software + variables on PC. And when they feel there's more money to make on the consoles (especially from ASAP MSRP purchases of games + DLC's/Season Passes), of course they'll support those platforms first!

EDIT:
AC Unity is another great example. This game's down-right beautiful on the PC to look at. It ran like garbage on my 1GB VRAM card (which was under-spec; it wants 2 GB VRAM - but I figured I'd try it, since I bought it cheap). 4GB VRAM, though - it eats AC:U for breakfast at 1080p on High to Ultra; i.e. 25-30 frames plus (25-30 is more what I get w/ Ultra; High is 30 frames plus).
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Saturday, September 05, 2015, 12:11:38 AM
Good news! Arkham Knight for PC is fixed (for the most part). It's at least in the state in which it should have been released.

I can confirm that the framelock is now an option between 30, 60, and 90. Due to technical restrictions they cannot unlock it; theoretically, as long as it is a multiple of 30 it should function correctly.

The performance is smooth as butter and several visual effects that were missing are now appearing and looking gorgeous e.g. rain drops on the batsuit.

If you've been holding off on playing Arkham Knight due to the technical issues, it's time to hop in.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: PyroMenace on Saturday, September 05, 2015, 02:58:50 AM
Pretty crazy it took this long.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, September 05, 2015, 05:43:26 AM
Some of my thoughts on the so-called "miracle patch":
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/TGAEC/discussions/0/523890681420629251/

Quote
POST 3 -> 09-03-2015.
Testing the newly released "miracle" patch for Batman: AK.

So, I just tried a quick-look Batman: AK PC, to see how performance is.

Well...it's a bit better for me, I guess.

At 1080p; Maxed-out settings for the first set of Graphics Options; and all of the GameWorks Stuff OFF: 30 FPS no problem w/ the 30 FPS cap. Beats the former 25-30 FPS that I had before w/ the 30 FPS cap.

Now using the same settings & throwing on a few of the GameWorks Stuff on (except the first two options, which will take the card over 4GB VRAM); and with 60 FPS cap: meh. Performance is wild; ranging anywhere from 27 frames to 60FPS. It's all over the damn place, with crazy rises + drops. Sometimes in the 40's, or 50's, or at max of 60 FPS. Not consistent at all.

With the 30 FPS cap back in place - ahhhh, much better. 27-30 FPS. Looks great, running consistent.

I also got an "outdated vid-card driver" message. I have the NVidia 353.30 driver in for my 4GB VRAM 960. I'll have to look & see if the newer driver improves things any better for this game, when I feel like it. Not really in any rush, since I don't have some brand-new game that I really want to run + look better.
Title: Re:
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, September 07, 2015, 07:45:13 PM
Great news for me.   I'll be playing this soon!
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, September 24, 2015, 05:27:34 PM
So, runs great with the patch and it's a really really good game. But god damn it, you guys were right about the tank battles.  JUST. STOP.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, September 24, 2015, 06:48:09 PM
So, runs great with the patch and it's a really really good game. But god damn it, you guys were right about the tank battles.  JUST. STOP.

They should've delegated more of the tank battle stuff to the side-quests. The last 1/3rd especially of the game just has way too many of them in the main quest. The tank battles just ain't deep enough, varied enough, and interesting enough for the amount of time the main quest spends on them.

Plus, Batman games are at their best w/ the hand-to-hand combat stuff, IMHO.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Monday, February 08, 2016, 02:30:03 PM
Masterful game, one of the best.  I've been rotating through this, AC Syndicate and Borderlands TPS for the past 2 months, so it took a while to get through it (and Syndicate--the Borderlands games are more of a perennial playground for me).  The completion stands at 98%, with every item on the progress wheel chart at 100%, except for Azrael at a paltry 20%.  I've had a very hard time with a good number of activities needed for completion, but nothing like the expectation of not taking a single hit during the Azrael trials.  Even the Riddler's massive lineup of chores, fights and brain twisters--along with his incessant and demoralizing harangue--seem tame by comparison.  Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, or the reflexes are too old.  Either way, I think this is as complete as it's going to get.

This is the most perfect atmosphere I've ever experienced in any superhero game--highly detailed and completely fitting to the lore.  The look is amazingly well done.  The voice acting is top notch, including of course Mark Hamill as the Joker.  Performance is consistent throughout, with not a single program crash or other weird-out during my entire run through it on the XONE.  The story is engrossing, and the immersion complete.  Controls are just about perfect, with my only negative being that there are just too many of them.  So many different actions are possible that my aged memory doesn't seem capable of keeping all the button combos or context-sensitive executions straight at the lightning speeds required during combat.  As a result, I got much better at the strategic, but simpler-to-control tank battles than at melee combat.  I died a zillion times, and this was on the so-called "Easy" setting.  Yet I kept getting back on the horse and trying again, all the while improving my skills with the combat system.  It is quite deep and nuanced, and requires concentration.  Random button mashing gets me nowhere.  So well done.  I wish I was younger to be more adept at it.

And before I forget navigation, damn!  The Batmobile and the cape gliding are extremely enjoyable.  I spent long periods just hopping in and out of the car and just grappling ever higher, bomb diving and leveling out to a fast glide, and trying for the most elegant landings on rooftops and bridge supports.  It's so very compelling.

Anyway, it's too bad that the PC version turned out so troubled.  Let's ignore that.  Anyone with a PS4 or X1 needs to take this for a spin.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Monday, February 08, 2016, 02:49:17 PM
@Cobra

I liked Batman: AK, but my gripes with it are basically the last 1/3rd of the game. There's just too much forced Batmobile stealth missions + Batmobile tank missions. Both of those type of missions have repetitive combat, repetitive enemies. There's a lack of variety in those elements.

I also wasn't super-fond of Batman: AK's boss fights, as I think Batman: Arkham Origins were much improved and often more interesting. Batman: AO just rehashed too damn much + so much, I really couldn't get over that more so than anything else. I prefer the other 3 Arkham games.

I love just riding around the Batmobile to navigate + just traverse around the game-world - which, I also think, AC4: Black Flag (with its naval traversal) and AC: Syndicate (with stage-coaches and rope-launcher) learned very well, keeping the player from running around on their characters' feet MUCH less.

For me, Batman Arkham games, it looks like this:
AC > AA > AK > AO.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Monday, February 08, 2016, 03:59:59 PM
Yeah, I get that the tank battles got tedious for a lot of players.  There are quite a few.  Two reasons why I think they didn't bother me (on the contrary, I enjoyed them):  (1) I got into their tactics right away.  I often completed even the most intense battles with almost no damage--I took very few hits, sometimes none.  The added perks like EMP and multi-missile attacks helped to keep it fresh too.  (2) As I said, I took 2 months of calendar time to play through the game, in rotation with 2 other engrossing, massive games.  So the tank battles didn't get a chance to stack up monotonously.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Monday, February 08, 2016, 04:08:36 PM
@Cobra
Did you also vary up quite a bit b/t the side + main quests in Batman AK, also?
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Tuesday, February 09, 2016, 01:18:30 PM
@Cobra
Did you also vary up quite a bit b/t the side + main quests in Batman AK, also?

Oh yeah.  Whenever I stumbled unto a side mission, I'd usually go ahead and tackle it.  The Riddler stuff in particular was a good diversion from the storyline.  Racking up upgrade points was important too, since I'm just not good at such million button-combo melee-fight mechanics.  I found myself upgrading defensive stats and abilities first, followed by easy-to-use offensive abilities.  Stuff that requires building up combo meters and then executing some multi-button maneuver at just the right moment and place was dead last.  When I had several unblocked most-wanted missions available, I'd often rotate through those too.  My favorite way to clear areas is with stealth--hiding under floors and doing multi-fear takedowns, then ducking away again, or striking from above and grappling away before getting mobbed.  But the game won't let you play that way very often.  There situations set up to force taking on a roomful of thugs all at once are the least enjoyable for me.  Those get so hairy as the game progresses.  This is where I die, a lot.

OK, so, the ending.  I went ahead and let the incomplete one happen, then I watched the complete one on youtube.  Don't like it.  It shouldn't be up to a game to do that. 
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, 08:22:02 PM

OK, so, the ending.  I went ahead and let the incomplete one happen, then I watched the complete one on youtube.  Don't like it.  It shouldn't be up to a game to do that. 
(click to show/hide)


(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Thursday, February 11, 2016, 08:12:45 AM

(click to show/hide)

Without a doubt, outside the purview of where it happened, and it should have happened nowhere.  Part of it is the times we live in, right?  
(click to show/hide)
 No one respects anything.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, February 11, 2016, 12:33:10 PM
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, February 14, 2016, 09:27:03 AM
@Que

Yeah, I think these days and age - in the world of different mediums of games, movies, books, franchises, sub-genres, series, sub-series, and whatnot - certain things just have their own actual canons.

Sometimes, these might overlap and a game might be right in canon with the film - i.e. say Matrix movies and Enter The Matrix game; Butcher Bay game ties right into Chronicles of Riddick movies.

I'd consider the Batman comics [which might have its own certain different canons, BTW - I don't really follow them, TBH] to be in a different canon than the Batman Arkham games.
I'd consider Nolan's Batman series of movies with Batman Begins to TDK Rises to be its own Trilogy of films with its own canon.
I'd consider Tim Burton's Batman movies to have its own canon, also.

I'd consider Batman Arkham games all in their very own canon - since they're all WB-published; yes, even Arkham Origins. AO doesn't stomp on anything Rocksteady did, storywise + character-wise - since AO takes place a bit before AA.

I'd consider the Core TR's to have nothing to do w/ what Crystal Dynamics had done.
Games made from TR Legend to TR Underworld is its own series from CD.
TR 2013 is the start of a BRAND NEW TR series from Crystal.

And since Disney doesn't want to consider KOTOR games in their overall SW canon and only consider 7 SW films canon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_canon) - screw 'em. KOTOR series, for me, is in its own KOTOR canon. These games, both KOTOR 1+2, are too great for gamers to ignore.

You get the picture.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Sunday, February 14, 2016, 11:38:42 AM
Yeah, I get that picture too.  And I don't disagree with Que's points either.  But the cavalier attitude toward established storylines is something new as of the past, oh, decade maybe?  It's lazy at best, sort of a cheap way to reinvigorate an old, well-trodden universe.  And it works, which is why I think it's happening to everything.  Nothing is sacred.  (Reminds me of the assassin's creed:  "Nothing is true.  Everything is permitted."  Basically, there are no rules.  Whatever you can get away with is acceptable.)
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 11:42:50 AM
It's been a growing trend over the past 10-15 years, recycling and remixing the old.

Creators/innovators reinvent characters and intellectual properties rather than create new ones. I think a major proponent of that is the marketing aspect of it "Batman is popular, therefore Batman sells; scrap original project, recreate as a Batman tale."

Oh and Cobra! That's not what the Creed means, my Assassin brother! Haha

As Ezio so eloquently put it (AC Revelations):

Quote
Nothing is True... is to realize that the foundations of the reality are fragile and we must be the shepherds of our own civilizations.
Everything is permitted... is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences.

But I totally get what you mean. Nothing is off limits or untouchable. Then again, that's a prominent movement in the arts in general.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 02:57:50 PM
Quote
Nothing is True... is to realize that the foundations of the reality are fragile and we must be the shepherds of our own civilizations.
Everything is permitted... is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences.

Hmm.  That's what I get for skipping most of Revelations.  OK, let me take those individually.

"Everything is permitted... is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences."

That's very close to what I said, no?  There are no hard-and-fast rules.  We choose what to do, and we live with what comes from our actions.  Those consequences don't come from some all-seeing transcendental being who is enforcing a rule book.  So fairness and expectation of absolute consequences don't come into play at all.  If it benefits us or what we hold dear, and the negative consequences are minimal at worst, then it was the right thing to do.

"Nothing is True... is to realize that the foundations of the reality are fragile and we must be the shepherds of our own civilizations."

Hmm.  That's definitely something else, and rather cryptic.  Or at least overly general.  Fragile foundations of reality would mean that we can interpret events in whichever way suits us, and promote that view--which is what powerful people do in our society, to benefit themselves.  For example, corporations are now entities Constitutionally entitled to free speech, and where money goes is speech.  The architect of that one died recently, a bit mysteriously.  Did a modern-day assassin have his way with him?   :-\

Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Thursday, February 18, 2016, 06:51:10 AM
Hmm.  That's what I get for skipping most of Revelations.  OK, let me take those individually.

"Everything is permitted... is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences."

That's very close to what I said, no?  There are no hard-and-fast rules.  We choose what to do, and we live with what comes from our actions.  Those consequences don't come from some all-seeing transcendental being who is enforcing a rule book.  So fairness and expectation of absolute consequences don't come into play at all.  If it benefits us or what we hold dear, and the negative consequences are minimal at worst, then it was the right thing to do.

"Nothing is True... is to realize that the foundations of the reality are fragile and we must be the shepherds of our own civilizations."

Hmm.  That's definitely something else, and rather cryptic.  Or at least overly general.  Fragile foundations of reality would mean that we can interpret events in whichever way suits us, and promote that view--which is what powerful people do in our society, to benefit themselves.  For example, corporations are now entities Constitutionally entitled to free speech, and where money goes is speech.  The architect of that one died recently, a bit mysteriously.  Did a modern-day assassin have his way with him?   :-\


I think it's safe to assume Ubisoft left "The Creed" somewhat vague and open to interpretation.

It's kinda the same with the Templars' oath "May the Father of Understanding Guide Us." The statement summarizes the belief of the Templars that the only salvation for the world is if it is united under the rule of the Templars; only then will conflict end. Or so the Templars believe.

Truth be told, I can't resist having a discussion about the Assassin's Creed universe :P Especially with someone I revere! :D
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Thursday, February 18, 2016, 11:25:30 PM
Are you trolling me, bro?  ;)  Thanks regardless.  I think quite highly of you too.

I'm nearly done with a second playthrough, and I still think this game should be a serious contender for 2015 console GotY.  (Too bad about the PC fiasco.)  It's the most perfect and complete open-world rendition of a comic-book, superhero world, so far.  Plays great as well, and I've gained a bit more mastery over the demanding, highly varied brawling controls.  I seem to like the Batmobile stuff better than most, though.  I don't care for the Riddler racing sections (or anything involving time pressure), but I do like the combat and navigation challenges.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: scottws on Friday, February 19, 2016, 07:57:00 AM
I can't comment on the issue with the canon, but wanted to chime in and say my experience with this game is similar in some respects to Cobra's.  The fighting system is incredibly complex, and I really struggle in fights with a bunch of baddies, especially those ones that have those energy sticks where you have to get the context thing to show up so you can flip over them and hit them from behind.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Cobra951 on Friday, February 19, 2016, 08:59:00 AM
The shielded guys are who need the stun, jump, slam down and knockout (BAAX for me) aerial attack.  Stupid things are impregnable any other way, except to destroy them--a move that requires several upgrades to get, and then only works with a full combo meter (something I rarely see, since any damage you take resets it).

For anyone electrified, you want to hit them with the electric charge.  (I guess it overloads them and shocks them.)  That's LT+B for me.  If you haven't gotten the electric charge yet, seek it out.  You can get it whenever, but you need to find it.

You don't need to wait for context prompts.  They're there as an aid in deciphering the fast-moving complexity.
Title: Re: Batman: Arkham Knight
Post by: Xessive on Friday, February 19, 2016, 04:05:09 PM
For anyone electrified, you want to hit them with the electric charge.  (I guess it overloads them and shocks them.)  That's LT+B for me.  If you haven't gotten the electric charge yet, seek it out.  You can get it whenever, but you need to find it.
You can also use the grappling hook on them (LT+Y), once it connects it overcharges their electric effect and then reels you in for a kick.