[PS3] PlayStation 3 Discussion Thread

Well, I'm in NYC, so I'm in a unique situation. There's 3 EBGames/Gamestops around where I live, so hopefully no one will BS me about preorders and I can get it done.

I say this because my parents just agreed to preorder 10 $500 PS3s units to sell on Ebay. So, wish me luck.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

So... none of those pictures are real, eh? Hopefully they aren't, because I don't want to try to get there early only to find people have camped out.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Okay guys, back from the first day of the DigitalLife convention. There were only 2 playable PS3s, but they were both on 46" XBR3s. Resistance was running a 720p feed, even though they've said it's a 1080p game (and running on a 1080p set).

Got to play it a few times since there were very short lines and the folks that were there were very easy to give up the controller. I didn't know why at first, but it became all too clear:

This game is Hard. Nathan's health bar disappears faster than you can say Chimera. Their duck and gun tactics, high endurance mobby nature make taking them on difficult.

Graphically, it looks very good, and the physics are nice as well. Good, realistic ragdolling and death animations (they die and crumple in semi-realistic fashion).

What I didn't like was they didn't register knockback at all until you killed them. This is strange because in the Ratchet and Spyro titles, all the enemies had some measure of response to attacks. But even with the shotgun, nada here.

NBA '07 was running off of one of Sony's Ruby projectors and looked really good. Got an uncanny valley feel when they zoomed in on some Bizzaro-Kobe's face drenched in sweat. I had several friends with me who tried the game and mentioned it also seemed like the AI was cranked to the max.

In that area, Sony had a KDS50A2000 running BR movies, another one running PS3 Gameplay movies (get to that in a minute), and the others were displaying BR propaganda. High point of the Sony area/booth? Some fanboy utterly trashing Sony, the employees, their mothers, policies, the works. It was so embarassing the attendant lady went off elsewhere until he was gone.

Oh, right, game trailers. These ran on that 1080p SXRD, and it showed:

LAIR - Looked like utter shit. The "water simulations" Factor-5 lauds everytime an interview comes around looks terrible. It's little more than crumpled paper with what looks like baked lighting.

Heavenly Sword: Gorgeous, extreme detail on her blades, hair, dress, face, etc. Even the enemies had a surprising amount of detail to them.

The bad? The animation was kind of stiff, there was a moderate amount of clipping and the camera may be a bit too close for some. Hopefully she gets more moves/weapons besides her blades and cannon, because the fighting may get a bit repetitive.

Genji: Looking much better than before, but the textures were blurry for a game with such close view of the action. The art helps here tremendously,the slight bloom present in the environment and the vibrant colors really lent themselves well to the game. Not my cup of tea, but some may want to know.

Warhawk - Water is great, sky/clouds are great, land is laziness embodied. It's even more grating on the eyes to go from such an attractive sea and sky to smeared textures over simple rock-forms.

The ship had a surprising amount of detail. From it's exhausts to the wear and tear, it all looked well done. The capital/battle ships were alright, too.

The smaller fighters? Not so much, and the explosion effects are literally PS1-level. Ace Combat 05, for example, has the missle hit, fire and smoke trail down. Why this team couldn't do the same beats me. The multi-missle shot was underwhelming, looked like it lacked force, though this may be because they were laser weapons.

Motorstorm - 2nd worst of the bunch. Blurry textures on everything, aliasing (it was distracting and surprising since Resistance, Genji, Warhawk and NBA had so little of it) and clipping amongst the cars/walls/grass/ground.

I also whored out FFXII for like 3 hours, played Elebits and Madden for Wii along with Quake LAN (2/3rd place consistently).

All in all, a great day. FFXII is the fun, so all you wary folks can rest at ease about it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Cobalt Katze

Was that from a video?

Nope, this was basically what you'd see in the demo loop for the game if you didn't press start at the title menu.

Quote:

Rather odd, because the gameplay footage that was videotaped by people from TGA looked really solid once they had a good build running.

It's possible that this video may have been using the E3 or Pre-TGS build, because I have videos on my PC and it looks much better than what I saw on that HDTV today.

Quote:

Same with Lair's qualms. I remember seeing the water and thinking "that looks great" rather than "ew."

...However, I can't say the same thing for Lair. It looked bad. Poor fire effects, loads of clipping, aliasing, blurring textures on the dragons, excessive blur during certain moves. Having your dragons swoop in to pick you up from ground combat was hot, though.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Oh, controller impressions:

Sticks = Smooth, very responsive, may be a little too much for some. Still the same material as before I believe, wonder why they're not indented though.

Triggers = They're shaped like buttons (enlarged L2/R2), but they definitely feel like triggers. Nice tactile response, though if it was indented slightly may prevent the inevitable finger slipping complaints the sticks get.

D-Pad: Didn't use it in either Resistance nor NBA '07. One thing to remember to try when I go back tommorow.

Rumble-less: Not noticeable. When you haven't actually played the games, the feature seems idiotic to drop. But when you're actually playing, you couldn't care less. The complaints about "how will you know when you get hit" are bunk. The games let you know, clearly and from what direction you're being attacked.
Would the feature immerse you more if it was present? Yes, but it's not the mountain people are making this mole hill out to be.

Quality: I abused this thing as much as I could without it being overtly obvious. Squeezing the controller hard, making drastic movements with the sticks, crushing down triggers. None of the telltale signs of shitty QC (shifting plastic, squeeks, buttons loosening/sticking). It's lighter, but it doesn't feel cheaply made from a cursory examination. This may change by the last day of the convention after it's seen a lot of action.

It was connected to the PS3 with the USB to mini-USB charge cable, which was surprisingly thick/hefty.

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Metal Sphere, thanks for the impressions. Considering your eye for detail and technical knowledge, impressions coming from you are worth 10 times that coming from most others.

Ah, you're welcome. Just reporting back what I saw. Hopefully Cetra pops in to explain why Warhawk's water was gorgeous and reacting realistically while Lair's was little more than a giant blue sheet with little to no lighting apparently applied. It could be that's the atmosphere they're going for in the game (gloomy, yellowed overcast sky, mild amount of bloom everywhere).

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A shame some of those other games weren't playable. That would be have nice to try those. Can't say I'm too surprised at the issues you mentioned, however.

Yeah, I was expecting at least 3 games to be playable. It's possible they may have more tommorow, though I doubt that's actually going to be the case.

Quote:

I am curious though, would they really use such an old build to show the games and hardware off at this stage of the game? You'd think that they would use the latest code possible. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what the final product looked like.

Well, it's not all that surprising. I can't even remember the number of games who have ancient builds running as promos, so it's not like this is unexpected. It was a bit jarring since the TGS trailer of the game @ 720p is leaps and bounds ahead of what was shown.

Quote:

Still, interesting. I'm still considering getting one of these things at launch, but my local EB said they were getting only 2 units in at launch. And knowing us, probably about 20 people will be lined up this sunday night to take the preorders. We'll see if I even bother.

Don't bother. There should be a process shrink to 65nm for the RSX/CELL sometime during the summer next year. That's what they were originally waiting for (and BR to reach 2x and HDMI specifications), but decided to go with 90nm for the time being.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Slayer X

So do these videos look similar, better or worse then what you saw at TGS Metal Sphere. It's just so I can get an idea as to what they look like up close.

*This post has not been spell checked*

I have that trailer in full 720p on my computer, and it beats the pants off what I saw today. Both are gameplay, but the difference is startling. The TGS traier, however is closer to the gameplay I saw today.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

PS3 Backwards compatibility:















FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Spatula

Whoa! What are those! Must be where you stash your potato chips!

I honestly don't know what those are....I'd thought you'd stick your PS1/2 memory cards there?

SD, XD and Memory Stick card slots. I think they have the larger camera storage slot too. A few pages back I posted the peripheral that transfers your game saves into the PS3's HDD.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

So, the 60gb PS3 is bigger than the 20gb one?

That's due to the angle at which the photo was taken. The perspective make it look bigger, like your finger close to your eye will you look at the moon.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by BlueBomber

Well, don't you need to store the games/images/whatever onto these memory cards to play on the PSP, as it contains no internal storage? Simple connectivity via usb to transfer onto the memory card I guess would also work, but perhaps this is for convenience purposes. I actually do recall seeing a video of the PS3's photo viewer, reading photos from a SD card or something like it...

You could simply connect a USB cable to the device with the images on it (say, a camera) and it should simply be able to send the images to the HDD. You don't need the cards, but it's convenient not having a card hanging around, I guess.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by BlueBomber

I was just thinking, are memory cards a thing of the past now? I mean like actual PlayStation memory cards. Can all of your saves be saved onto any old card now? Sort of like the PSP? I can't believe I don't know the answer to this...or didn't think about it before for that matter.

Here's as close to an answer as I can find:

http://www.gamingforce.com/forums/so...ost278643.html

Most amazing jew boots

Looks like we were right, there's a PS3/PS2 Controller adapter:

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?c...ct%5Fid=802566

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Resistance Online Blowout.
Quite a bit of Resistance's online MP has come up online. A lot of this is courtesy of the folks over on GAF (and jetjevons, apparently an employee of Insomniac)

Edit: Ted's a real cool guy it seems, too bad his ass keeps getting roasted trying to explain things. =)

Game Informer Resistance MP videos

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3 (stat tracking)

Breach Gameply Mode Part 1

Breach Gameplay Mode Part 2

Playing as a Chimera

I was speaking idiomatically.

Slayer X, your first link isn't working, is this it?

It's at the top of Page 60, maybe bottom of 59 too, so a few clicks through the pages and you should come across the memory card info. Basically the PS3's OS makes space on the HDD for saves.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Basically, IGN is stating what most people figured out already. It's simply a lighter Dual Shock, with slightly tweaked sticks and trigger buttons. Any criticisms about the controller feeling cheap sound strange given the above.

The button being pressure rather than heat sensitive is a new twist though.

FELIPE NO

Here's the first PS3 ad. The responses to this one have been mixed over on GAF, or rather the expected mixture of actual comments and shticks.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Inhert

do you even bother reading this thread?? it was posted like 5 post earlier then this one >.>

Argh, you're right. I just caught Simo's post... which doesn't make sense since I have the music from the trailer downloaded (which comes just after said post....). Looks like I messed up, time to make up for it with some DigitalLife photos!

From Bastard360 on TXB, that explains the lack of PS3 shots.




































Jam it back in, in the dark.

Here's some game and controller impressions from Carlos over on E-mpire's forums. He attended Gamespot's After Hours event and got to try out RR7, Gundam and several other titles. I'll try to get the link up as the forum is acting strange.

Edit: Here's the link to the controller impressions. Edit #2 - It's down right now, should be back up in a few minutes/hours. Just scroll down to Carlos.

Originally Posted by Carlos

I don't understand why people pay attention to whatever IGN says.

Its the same freakin' controller. The only differences are:

The L+R triggers are DEEPER, making easy for developers to have pressure sensitive triggers. Its not clicky like the previous controller, but I can live with the trigger's change. I do see the problem about the triggers, tho, it sticks out longer than the old controller, it feels a TAD bit uncomfortable; the triggers are longer than the old one, making it hard to switch from holding the controller normally, to moving the fingers to the triggers.

The D pad is no longer "slippery" its rough textured to boot. Of course, we've all been seeeing the "PS" button, the player LED's, and of course, the USB port.

However, I do agree with most on how wierd rumble is absent. Not too many developers are using the tilt sensitive controller at this point. Nope, not even the racing games are using it. Nope.

The only games that uses it, so far, is Warhawk (and lair according to some sources). I loved Warhawk's clouds, and level design. I'd love to see more developers using islands, and ships.

However, I feel different about the PS3 controller now, than I did at E3, wierd. Its as if, they altered something.

Basically, these impressions pretty much match those of many others who attended the show or got their hands on the controller. It's just a Dual Shock with slightly tweaked features, and no rumble. Oh and although this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, the XBRs that the PS3 was running out was nothing short of orgasmic for the eyes. The contrast, color reproduction, uniformity and clarity were truly something else. They cost approximately $5k though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by SouthJag

His reviews clash with what I read in EGM this month (with Gears on the cover). They've said that numerous games are using the tilt sensor. Genji'll use the controller to perform a dodge, for example. They've also got Blazing Angels (pitch and yaw control), Marvel Ultimate Alliance ("be super" whatever the hell that is), Untold Legends (evade) and Motorstorm (steering) reported to use the tilt sensor.

None of those games were present at the After Hours event, he event went out his way to mention that Motorstorm had no mention at all there.

Game impressions from Carlos, they're finally up.

Originally Posted by Carlos

I attended GameSpot's After Hours event.

I'm going to be editing this post for impression updates.

1.) There is a LED for USB ports, it will blink constantly, to tell you that the USB is in working order.

The PS3 is BLACK'er than any picture you've been seeing from time to time.

2.) Full Auto 2 is pretty much like the first one, but a little fun to boot. In fact, I like FA2 than the first one. The reflections are, for the most part, BEAUT. Beautiful.

3.) Gundam is suffering from TONS, and tons of framerate problems, and choppy animation. For the most part, its playable. I hope the framerate problems are gone by the game's release, because the controls - PERFECT for the game. PERFECT. Square and Triangle = your attacks, square fires, and triangle brings out the saber, might I add, that the saber EXTENDS, just like in the anime. X jumps your gundam, tap it twice, it will dash you. I forgot the Circle button's action, but you can do a lot in the wide-open terrain, you can fight another mech, or army tank, just take out your saber, slash 'em. When you slash your enemies, you can slash them to bits, little by little. That was cool.

4.) Ridge Racer 7, here it is, people..... the moment you've been wating for: Impressions. Impressions!

The control configuation takes a bit of time getting used to, but I don't like the steering as much as I like PGR's, however, this game will appeal to almost any type of racing fan, in fact, it features everything from drag racing, to DRIFTING, baby. DRIFTING. And it feels GOOD.

The graphics, beautiful. Sharp and beautiful. Some of the best effects, such as water on the road, there are lots of use of shadows. If you've played GT4, you've seen some of the sun effects. The reflections are a notch above Full Auto's.

5.) BioShock - Trailer 2 (belongs in Xbox 360/PC, but fuck it, I'm posting it here, ANYWAY!)

The Xbox 360 version were being played by the representives. I checked 3 times over, to see if it is the Xbox 360 controller, the console and the controller in front of my eyes, along with the VISUALS, dude! Whatever you've been seeing about Bioshock, better believe it...Trailer 1 is NOTHING compared to Trailer 2, bank on it.

I didn't believe my eyes, when the game was running. The graphics is BETTER than the trailers you've seen so far. In fact, it runs as smooth as 70fps, a few framerate drops, but that's it.

SPOILER ALERT!

6.) Darkness - This was also played by representives, on the Xbox 360 (might I add, a different kind of dev kit.)

My most anticipated game right now. If there was a next gen title to showcase the power of our two powerful consoles; PS3 and Xbox 360. This is it.

THIS. IS. IT. Bar None!

When you start the game, the game gives you this interactive prologue. In fact, you will go through a corridor/freeway. If you've played Half Life 2, you HAVEN'T seen SHIT. I promise you that.

Spoiler:

You will be in a car, and your fellow gangsters will try to help you drive through the corridor, and kill the cops, by shooting them, and evading their crashes. This is not controlled by the "cinematic" feel, it STAYS in your view, your first person view! It STAYS that way, until the scenario is over. Cops will chase you, and they will crash, at one time, the guy who gives you the gun, also guides you through the game someway, somehow. This same guy, dies in the first 3 minutes.

This part has the whole crowd of people (which by the way is a group of ten/twenty people, not only that, there's a HUGE-ass line behind us. And, it should be) clamoring "oh shit!" This is one to watch.

The graphics, BEAUTIFUL, once you finish your car chase, you'll be in the city (they switched modes, etc) and all of this is standard first person shooter perspective, BUT, its not your typical FPS, in fact, it will SEPARATE itself from the pack of FPS because it allows you NOT only to use the weapons you pick up. But also the powers that is within' you. The fact that the environments are interactive, you can turn off the lights to turn into this, possession. The blood splattering, they did a great job paying attention to details, because the blood splatters are so realistic, that its unreal. Level design is great, too. In fact, you'll end up in the streets, its a sight to see.

Update: I was tired last night, so I didn't get the chance to post this. In the FPS mode, your actions are very realistic, if you go against a wall, your hands move, example, if you go against a straight wall, your hands go upward; in the demo's case, your guns look like its aimed for the ceiling, makes you feel like you're sneaking. At other times, like the corner, one hand stays on the wall, the other aims, and its movement sensitive, the closer you are to the corner, the easier it is to be invincible, and shoot your enemies. if you go further, it stays on the wall, but you will have a better view of the action, and the gun is in open space, leaving room for aiming at more enemies.

Here's pages from the PS3 flyer given out at DigitalLife 2006:

















This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Hmm, this will interest quite a few folks here. Apparently the Linux deal isn't actually vaporware, since Yellow Dog Linux is coming out for the machine too.

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/pr...delivery.shtml

Quote:

YDL v5.0 is slated for release mid-November with support for the Sony PS3 first, and support for the former Apple PowerPC product line to follow. Any updates required to support the Apple PowerPC systems following the release for PS3 will be made available via a free download.

Quote:

Which systems will be supported?
Terra Soft will initially launch YDL v5.0 with support for the Sony PS3. By the close of 2006, support for the former Apple PowerPC product line will be made available, with intent to provide both DVD and CD install images via YDL.net Enhanced and the public mirrors, while the shipping product will be available on DVD only.

Here's some in-development shots of E17:

http://enlightenment.sourceforge.net...e17_screen.png

http://enlightenment.sourceforge.net...creenshot2.png

And since it seems the first thing many thought of when this announcement broke was viruses/hacking for PS3s, check this out. Some serious set of defenses, all the way down to metal it seems.

Quote:

The security features of the Cell BE processor

The following is a summarized list of the key security features of the Cell BE architecture:

* Secure processing vault
* Runtime secure boot
* Hardware root of secrecy

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by JackyBoy

That sounds pretty accurate to me. That magic wand that sprinkles glitter dust as you move it about, which they call a controller, doesn't scream nextgen to me. The point is however, don't quote on me this, but if I understand correctly the PS3 will physically read PlayStation and PS2 media and then offers a Virtual Console type of thing on the side to make older games available to players interested in them.


Whereas Wii's backwards compatibility is the equivalent of: "GIVE US YOUR MONEY."

Correct. Basically, they seem to be aiming for backwards compatibility as well as making older titles available for download in a Virtual Console of sorts. That would explain the removable/upgradeable hard drives and their sizes.

The question is, what titles will they have access to? I'm guessing Playstation-family titles, but what else? Genesis? Unless someone fiddles with Linux, and cooks up an emulator, we won't be seeing the vast SNES library available for a while, if ever.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Anyone know the transfer rate for UMDs and that of USB 2.0? If the latter is higher, couldn't you simply buy the game in data form, download it to your PS3's HDD, hookup your PSP and play it right off the machine?

Edit: PS3 HDD pic:

Source



Edit: Damn, the PS3's UK site is nice. Here it is.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Wow, lucky you Inhert. Hopefully everything goes smoothly, so you'll be seeing this soon.

It's a video of the PS3's slot loader taking a disc in and ejecting it.

FELIPE NO

New info on 3 downloadable titles for the PS3!

Quote:

Blast Factor:

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: Bluepoint Games
Platform: PLAYSTATION®3 system
Genre: Action Arcade
Rating: “RP” for Everyone

OVERVIEW:

Developed by Bluepoint Games, Blast Factor brings together “old school” and “new school” arcade action. Supporting true High Definition (HD) at full 1080p and taking advantage of the PS3™ system’s advanced processing power, Blast Factor delivers a visually stunning experience as gamers work their way through each specimen, cell by cell exploring an all-new world and gameplay experience.

KEY FEATURES:

• Full HD at 1080p – High resolution, high adrenaline arcade action at full 1080p HD.
• Self Adjusting Difficulty – Depending on how well a gamer plays, each cell determines which cell they will face next.
• Integral use of SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller – Blast Factor takes full advantage of the SIXAXIS wireless controller. By tilting left and right, gamers can push enemies around the play field, but need to be careful as some might enemies not react the as expected.
• Global Online Rankings – Gamers will be able to check their rank versus the world.

Screenshots:

flOw:

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: thatgamecompany LLC
Platform: PLAYSTATION®3 system
Genre: Zen
Rating: “RP” for Rating Pending

OVERVIEW:

flOw is the first game ever to come from the university to first-party publishing on a major console. Initially an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis, flOw is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and advance their organisms down toward the abyss. The stunning graphics and power of PLAYSTATION®3 system set the stage for a truly unique gameplay experience. With an embedded design of DDA (dynamic difficulty adjustment), players with differing skill levels can intuitively customize their game experience and enjoy the game at their own pace. Players can also customize the appearance of their organisms based on gameplay.

KEY FEATURES:

• Full HD at 1080p – Gamers will lose themselves in the crisp “Deep Blue” while encountering surreal ornate organisms.
• Dynamically Adjusting Experience – Players with differing skill levels and/or mood can intuitively customize their game experience and enjoy the game at their own pace.
• Using the SIXAXIS™ WirelessController – Gamers can use the analog thumb stick or take advantage of the SIXAXIS wireless controller motion sensors to glide, flit, and flOw through the universe of flOw.
• Global Online Creature Sharing – Gamers can check on everything from how much they’ve eaten, to how large their creature is, to how they’ve evolved, and much more, then compare it to the rest of the world.

Screenshots:

Criminal Crackdown:

No info posted yet.

Screenshots:

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Umm, it's been known since around E3 '05 that it was going to use 2.5" HDDs. Basically, laptop HDDs. Photos of Dark Sector from Game Informer, or so I've heard:









Jam it back in, in the dark.