Rage...

[Bilko]

The single player is bleh. It does look very good though.

The multi-player car combat is a blast. It's worth it to me, just for that.

 

[Carfax83]

The game looks noticeably better for me using these settings:

seta image_usecompression "0"
seta image_anisotropy "4"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
seta image_preload "1"
seta image_lodbias "-2"
seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
seta image_ignoreLowQuality "1"
seta image_useCache "1"
seta image_cacheMegs "1024"
seta image_cacheMinK "128"
seta r_renderer "best"
seta r_multiSamples "4"
seta r_useRenderThread "1"
seta r_skipBump "0"
seta r_skipSpecular "0"
seta r_cgFragmentProfile "best"
seta r_cgVertexProfile "best"
seta vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly2 "8192"
seta vt_pageimagesizeuniquediffuseonly "8192"
seta vt_pageimagesizeunique "8192"
seta vt_pageimagesizevmtr "8192"
seta vt_maxppf "24"
seta vt_maxlockedpages "256"
seta vt_minlod "-2"
seta vt_lodBias "-2"
seta vt_maxaniso "4"
seta vt_qualityhdplossless "1"
seta vt_qualityhdppower "0"
seta vt_qualityhdpspecular "0"
seta vt_qualityhdpnormal "0"
seta vt_qualityhdpdiffuse "0"
seta vt_qualitydctpower "100"
seta vt_qualitydctspecular "100"
seta vt_qualitydctnormal "100"
seta vt_qualitydctchroma "100"
seta vt_qualitydctluma "100"
seta vt_restart

If you play at 1920x1200 and below, you can set the multisampling to higher than 4; up to 32..

Going higher than 4 on my monitor doesn't look any better though.. Other than that, I'm starting to like this game. The A.I is actually pretty good, and the graphics look great once you override the default settings. Sure, there are blurry textures, but the variation and detail more than makes up for that imo.

 

[Mr. President]

I am absolutely loving it. Beautiful game with excellent visuals once properly tweaked.

That said, the backlash makes me want to bash people's heads in with the console they should so obviously be playing it on. Glorified console gamers the whole bunch.

 

[JSt0rm]

I think at a distant it looks like the best game ever made but then you get up close and realize how crummy everything looks. It's shocking really tbh

 

[Mr. President]

I think at a distant it looks like the best game ever made but then you get up close and realize how crummy everything looks. It's shocking really tbh

Our computers do obviously not have the resources for full blown CG movie texture quality, but it's just the tradeoff for getting a CG looking world.

Hell, if you want everything to look good up close then you will need more source data than even the CG movies themselves. If you could navigate the following scenes from Wall-E, for example, then you would also complain of poor texture quality.

 

[QuantumPion]

According to this link there will be a patch tomorrow to add video settings to PC version among other fixes.

 

[JSt0rm]

Hell, if you want everything to look good up close then you will need more source data than even the CG movies themselves. If you could navigate the following scenes from Wall-E, for example, then you would also complain of poor texture quality.

Good is subjective. The picture of the phone or the parking meter show how low the quality is of those textures even with a modified config. It pulls me out of the game. Or the pipes on the wall that arent pipes they are just painted on.

 

[Mr. President]

Good is subjective. The picture of the phone or the parking meter show how low the quality is of those textures even with a modified config. It pulls me out of the game. Or the pipes on the wall that arent pipes they are just painted on.

And it's a fair point. I just think that most people aren't fully aware of what they're asking for. Doubling the resolution would make it an 80gb game that most people couldn't run in the first place.

Like I said, it's just the tradeoff for non-repeating textures because we can't have both. And I, for one, am glad to see such a paradigm shift in gaming for once instead of the sterile environments that every single other game has. If nothing else, it's a nice change and makes for an otherwise beautiful game.

 

[Zenoth]

I'm about eight hours in the campaign now. What I can add to what I have said from my previous post is that the more I play, the more I like the first-person portions of the game, but the less I like the driving sections. The more I drive, and the more I am reminded of Far Cry 2. Oh look, a mission wants you to go back to the west with your buggy, yay. Oh, look, this mission wants you to get a better more armored buggy to venture back to the east for your next mission. Oh, look, these non-story-related driving races and time trials will give you more cash, fun! Oh, look, you have a garage and you can "tune" your vehicles! (At least that part is better than Far Cry 2).

Drive, reach location, get out of vehicle, enter hideout, kill, leave hideout, go back to vehicle, go back to Wellspring driving the same fucking roads again with bandits spawning at the exact same locations, rinse and repeat. Yes, the graphics (once tweaked) are good. Yes, the music is good. Yes, the atmosphere is spot-on, the animations are superb, the sounds are good. But man OH MAN the driving is really starting to get on my nerves. With Far Cry 2 and now id's RAGE all I can conclude is that FPS + Driving = NOT a good mixture. At least in Far Cry 2 (God forbid I'm about to mention something good about that game) was that it was more of a sandbox game than anything else so I wasn't always forced to drive. In RAGE if I don't pick up my buggy there's absolutely NOTHING to see on foot by "exploring" the roads since there's absolutely nothing to find anyway AND... I actually NEED my buggy for certain missions.

Really, I'm enjoying the first-person moments I manage to get but damn, each time I'm in Wellspring and came back there from a mission I just know that whatever is to come next I'm gonna have to get on my buggy for another boring ride to my next mission's location with the same fucking bandits chasing me around. And I hate playing games in which half of it is good enough to interest me and the other half is plain boring, I often end up leaving such games rot in their dust without completing them. But hey, this one comes from the makers of DOOM, so I'll complete it, then I'll leave it, I won't even bother with the multi-player.

Skyrim why you no here yet?

 

[Carfax83]

Is everyones' Anarchy edition DLC working properly? I have the fists of rage and the double barreled shotgun, but I don't have the Crimson elite armor of the rat rod buggy :\

Nevermind, figured it out.

 

[PUN]

wow, just wow.
This game has to be the most unpolished game I've played in 20 years.
1) Texture pop-in is just unbearable (did the update and fixes), especially when turned quickly.
2) Poor AI
3) Another ripoff of Borderland, no where near quality of FO3/FOV
4) This game is very linear.
5) Poor storyline. Bandits vs survivors, do this and do that storyline.

 

[paperfist]

Why do game devs say stuff like this:

"We do not see the PC as the leading platform for games," Carmack added. "That statement will enrage some people, but it is hard to characterize it otherwise; both console versions will have larger audiences than the PC version. A high end PC is nearly 10 times as powerful as a console, and we could unquestionably provide a better experience if we chose that as our design point and we were able to expend the same amount of resources on it. Nowadays most of the quality of a game comes from the development effort put into it, not the technology it runs on. A game built with a tenth the resources on a platform 10 times as powerful would be an inferior product in almost all cases."

http://kotaku.com/5847761/why-was-the-pc-launch-of-rage-such-a-cluster

 

[Carfax83]

wow, just wow.
This game has to be the most unpolished game I've played in 20 years.
1) Texture pop-in is just unbearable (did the update and fixes), especially when turned quickly.
2) Poor AI
3) Another ripoff of Borderland, no where near quality of FO3/FOV
4) This game is very linear.
5) Poor storyline. Bandits vs survivors, do this and do that storyline.

I'm curious, but what makes you think the game has poor AI? From what I've seen, the A.I is fantastic in this game.

Enemies duck, dodge, flee, take cover from your attacks. And when you think they're down and dead, they could still be alive and getting ready to blast you from the ground. Putting them down quickly and effectively (especially with the pistol and basic ammo) requires significantly much better eye hand coordination than other FPS games I've played.

I haven't gotten very far in the game yet, but still, I've been impressed by what I've seen so far. The texture pop in is understandable though. It's a pity they couldn't get the GPU transcoding to perform well on AMD GPUs, as it really does help out with the texture pop in.

 

[Childs]

Why do game devs say stuff like this:

"We do not see the PC as the leading platform for games," Carmack added. "That statement will enrage some people, but it is hard to characterize it otherwise; both console versions will have larger audiences than the PC version. A high end PC is nearly 10 times as powerful as a console, and we could unquestionably provide a better experience if we chose that as our design point and we were able to expend the same amount of resources on it. Nowadays most of the quality of a game comes from the development effort put into it, not the technology it runs on. A game built with a tenth the resources on a platform 10 times as powerful would be an inferior product in almost all cases."

http://kotaku.com/5847761/why-was-the-pc-launch-of-rage-such-a-cluster

Well he should have said that before release and he could have saved most of us a lot of grief. They could have lowered the price, since it apparently should have been priced at $6. Funny thing is I kinda knew this game wouldn't be that great, but id typically gets a pass because of Doom and Quake, and the tech is always solid. Well, they were quality devs once. I guess time passes us all by.

 

[JSt0rm]

The art direction is the best I have seen in a game though. I will give them that. This game has wonderful art.

I find that to be one of the hardest things for companies to get correct so they do deserve some props for that. It is unfortunate that there were so many problems.

 

[spaceman]

this game is dull
dont care about characters
gunplay is yawn
what a meh experience

 

[marmasatt]

I've been a PC Gamer for 15 years now. I've pretty much relented, guys. I can't be the only one. I'm starting to just buy games on the 360. I've only had a 360 for about the last 2 years, but I've got to tell you, I'm learning my lesson. I spend about $300 on a video card every couple of years. Yet for the price of a console now, $150 every 5 years, you can play the same games and yes, actually resell them. Gaming on a 55" 720p Plasma is bliss. The graphics, while not as sharp are still fantastic. This game is a perfect example. No problems whatsoever at launch. I'm reading this thread for opinions and unfortunately, half the thread is discussions of problems instead of discussions of the real game. That's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Back on topic, I personally find the game pretty much a cross between Quake 4, Borderlands, and Fallout 3. Only a few hours in, but I am enjoying it. I concur that the driving is starting to get a bit tedious, but the FPS aspect is on point. Because it doesn't have as much RPG stuff as Fallout 3, I can actually stand it.

 

[stahlhart]

I'm finding that the more time I spend in it, the more I like it overall -- though I agree with Zenoth's observations as far as the driving and grimble work entering races and doing odd jobs to earn cash/certificates for improving the vehicle are concerned -- it's starting to get a little repetitive in Wellspring now.

Funny how the preview trailers passed all of that and went directly to the later parts of the game where you're apparently dealing directly with The Authority. I guess they're going to wait a while before they hit you with the automated turrets and exploding barrels. :whiste:

But this was the last straw as far as pre-ordering games and eventual lowered expectations goes; I'm all done now, with the only exception being HL3, because I know if Valve ever does manage to come out with that, they'll deliver the goods. Everything else, Steam sale.

 

[tokie]

I like the game. Granted, I'm only 1 hour in but its pretty good and what I expected.

I tweaked a few settings and I get no "pop-in" on my 6950 2GB. The game looks beautiful.

 

[Pandora's Box]

Just beat the game. Overall i'd say its a great game. There are nagging issues with the game however. Quality control with the pc version aside the biggest gripe I have with the game is the over use of area's. Hey go clear this area for this, come back to quest giver and then have another guy tell you to go back in and get something else. I went into the game not expecting a great story. id have never been one for great stories in their game.

As far as the ending goes:

Spoiler

The lack of final boss battle left me unimpressed. The final battle consists of you running thru corridors and activating switches. The final room involves you pressing a button waiting 2 minutes then pressing more buttons till finally a cut scene triggers and game ends. You fight waves of mutants, all exactly the same. They all go down fairly easily using the BFG. Yes the BFG makes a come back in this game and its severely overpowered lol. After the final cut-scene (which btw is awesome) the game cuts to credits and then kicks you back to the main menu. It would have been nice to include an option to start the game again with all the stuff you gathered from the previous playthrough, similar to borderlands.

Overall, I'd say its worth the $60 bucks. There are parts in the game that are very well done. Prime example is the first time you go to the Dead City. I haven't experienced such excellent game play since I first played Half-Life 2. The game does have an eerie familiarity with Half-Life 2 though. Drones following you around just like the camera's in half-life 2 for example.

As for a rating? I'd give it a 85%. Good solid old school fps mixed with RPG elements gives way to excellent gameplay. Only reason I didnt score it higher was the lack of quality control on the pc release. Definitely worth the price I paid, especially at 16.7 hours (according to steam) for 1 playthrough. I have yet to delve into the multiplayer co-op however, so that score is based solely on the single player campaign.

 

[YBS1]

Overall, I'd say its worth the $60 bucks. There are parts in the game that are very well done. Prime example is the first time you go to the Dead City. I haven't experienced such excellent game play since I first played Half-Life 2. The game does have an eerie familiarity with Half-Life 2 though. Drones following you around just like the camera's in half-life 2 for example.

Agreed, I don't think I've played a level in any game in recent memory that had a more appropriate atmospheric feel than Dead City did. It wasn't 'boo!" scary, or creepy like say a FEAR level might be but it gave you a very edgy, "I just want out of here" feel the entire way that was just perfectly done.

 

[HeXen]

Why do game devs say stuff like this:

Cause its true? or you think he's making things up telling lies cause its fun?

 

[wuliheron]

The reviews say its between good and excellent and I'd have to agree. Definitely worth buying if you're a shooter fan. That said, its sort of the best and the worst of PC gaming combined and feels like an endless grab bag of ideas. Still, after six years of pounding away at it they got it to work.

The id tech 5 engine is all about maximizing bandwidth and this is the first game to demonstrate just how different it really is. Carmack has suggested they might release a 75gb super texture pack for PC, but how much of that people can use on your average gaming PC which isn't yet designed to maximize bandwidth is anyone's guess. What is certain is that releasing the game as a 100gb download was out of the question.

Carmack also said this summer that the biggest mistake they made with Rage was to lean too heavily towards the console and all this stuff about them abandoning PC gamers is just so much nonsense. These guys would make a version that sells on your alarm clock if they could sell it and they actually do sell one that plays on an iPhone, but that doesn't mean they've abandoned PC gamers.

 

[JSt0rm]

the ios version is free

 

[stahlhart]

Carmack has suggested they might release a 75gb super texture pack for PC, but how much of that people can use on your average gaming PC which isn't yet designed to maximize bandwidth is anyone's guess.

Are we talking PCIe 3.0 and at least 2-3Gb VRAM?