Capcom aware of Dead Rising standard-definition woes

From a QA standpoint this is total unacceptable some in the QA department at capcom needs to commit Seppuku, totally unacceptable. Capcom you just killed your lost planet hyper, with this and $10 SFII(1993 edition).

"You can get an HDTV for a lot cheaper than $1000, FYI. I got mine, a 26" for $250. Perfect for the bedroom."

Would you be so kind, Paul P., as to tell me wher you picked that up? I've been looking for a 26 inch HDTV and all the ones I find at wal-mart are way more than that.

The brand I've looked at the most seriously is RCA, as it seems to have the best picture out of all the brands at wal-mart. I'm also looking exclusively at flat panel sets, so perhaps that's what drives my price up so much.

I'd liketo find a 26 inch flat panel HDTV that has capabilites to switch to a full screen mode (so there's no stretching on things not meant to be on widescreen). Any tips?

I had just posted about how HDTV is really only needed for the gaming crowd, and mentioned how bad DR is to read on SDTV this morning.

http://jeftek.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F2042DC08607EF2!623.entry

Tips? Don't go to walmart.

Great game, but I too can't imagine how this slipped past. Characters tell you what to do, but you have no idea what. All you can do is follow the arrow and pray.

For instance, that photography mission early on reads something like "Get 500 PP by taking Grdriaxxzid pics" Uh......

I've got a 42" HDTV Plasma, and at about 10 feet away, *I* can't read the item descriptions, and reading the text is difficult. And I have 20/10 vision.

(I should note that my plasma does native 720p, and yes, the 360 is displaying at 720p. The problem on the HDTV isn't fuzzy text -- the text's just too freakin' SMALL!

and 20/10 vision means that what I see at 20 feet is what average people see at 10 feet. So 10 feet away for me should be like 5 feet away for most people.

I could sit close to the set, but that kinda defeats the whole wireless thing, doesn't it?)

Of course, I don't think it's clever of Capcom to make such a mistake, but from my own experience of people who decided to buy an Xbox360 it was AFTER or at the same time as picking up a HDTV. I would never have bought the console without the HDTV because the hidef is at least 50% of the reason the console passes (some time scrapes by) as "next gen".

No help to you SD people but I just thought it was obvious to most that 360/PS3 *needs* HDTV to be worthwhile splashing the cash for.

And yes, stupid Capcom not testing that (duh!) It would never have passed through [the game company I used to work in qa for] as we all had shit TV's there (14" portables with very bad PQ). Obviously Capcom QA is far too successful and rich and they don't have anything less than a HDTV... ;)

Please anti-MS folks, don't let that be a point to start putting down the 360 (again) the game is great and the 360 is great, just budget for a decent TV before buying one if you want to enjoy it as intended.

Errr...yeah. If you're sitting about 2 feet from the set. Otherwise, it's still unreadable.

When I did testing we had to make sure that standards were met or they wouldn't pass submission. this meant several things.

1 We tested XBOX and PS2 games in Hi-Def.
2 All SDTV's had to have all text readable and in a Title Safe Area.
3 IF we didn't do this MS or Sony would not aceept the submission and it would have to be retested.

So a few things could be happening here.

1 MS has removed SDTV requirements Title Safe and Text Size.

2 Capcom and MS cut down on their QA departments to correct inflated budgets.


I am going with 1 and imagining all hell will break loose if this happens on the PS3.

I'm glad this is the way it is. The last thing we need is people holding back on upgrading and forcing those of us who chose to be on the forefront of technology to suffer. Seriously HD has been out for years. I bought my first HD set 4 years ago and have been disapointed at the lack of HD content not only in gaming, but on TV. Get with the times and buy an HDTV. If you can afford a $400 gaming system, accessories, xbox live account, and so on then you can afford an HDTV.

MMurdock

I have a standard def TV, and I haven't experianced anything that makes the game unplayable, the mission text is just small on my 27''. I don't know if it makes a difference by my SD TV has component inputs, does anyone know if it does make a difference. I still love this game though, killing zombies is just too much fun

Ouch, but if you have a 360 or PS3 come on man, step up your TV game. My monitor Is HDTV gateway 21 inch. is like 500 bucks, and my TV downstairs is also HDTV. Hey 500 may be a lot of money to some ppl, but sell your tv, do this do that, and buy one used. Infact Bestbuy sells BIG HDTVs for 700 when they don't want to use them as demo anymore, and they are negotiable.

A television set costing me over $300?

I was reading the paper this morning,didnt see anything in it about hell freezing over.

RIDICULOUS

And to those that say this is only Capcom's fault, Microsoft has the final say on whether or not a product is allowed to be released for the 360. I'd say it's both Capcom's and Microsoft's fault.

I got a 32" SDTV...Insignia (generic brand). The text is still readable. What helps is if you try adjusting the sharpness and color saturation on your TV. Too much color causes bleeding & blurring, while too much sharpness makes it really unreadable.

BTW, the smallest font you'll encounter is reading books (they seem even smaller than the more important Otis text). If you have the demo, go to the bookstore at the beginning, pick up a book and press X to read the sample text. Try to see if adjustments make things more readable.

I play Dead Rising on a 30" standard tv. While the text is small and blurry, I can still read it. The picture at the top of this blog is not what the game looks like on a standard tv...

If you go into the console settings from the Dashboard and set the output to wide screen it'll make the text more readable on SD TVs (at the cost of skewing the image a bit, which is annoying, but less so than unreadable text).

Thats ok this game is a lame redeux of State Of Emergency anyway. It sucked, and this sucks so lets complain about the real problem, this bent game.

I have an SDTV too as i couldnt fit my big screen in my apartment... but the way i see it if you have enough for a 400 dollar video game system... spending 400+ if ya save up on a small HDTV cant be too far out of the question...especially since the adoption rate of HDTV far exceeds ANY other leap in TV technology adoption rate...ever. at least thats what i remember reading.

But seriously there's a huge difference in picture quality. So do what ya did when ya got your 360...save up and in a year or so upgrade if possible, its worth it.

vidGuy,
New gen as in new standard of ripoff?
$200 for a SD system. Which probably would feel the same fun as an Xbox 1.
I see lots of rehashes and franchises. AGAIN. With less legendary devs/third parties around for Nintendo this time.

I've played this game on a small, portable, SD television and had no problems. I used scart into a VHS recorder and rf from that into the TV and the game was still playable.
Statistics say 80% of 360 owners have HDTVs, but even those that don't should be able to play this game just fine.

I need more preast to get threw.

I picked up the game but haven't had a chance to play it yet. If it's unplayable, I'm going to complain to both my state's Attorney General as well as the one where Capcom's U.S. offices are.

You can't promise support when it's not there. That's call deceptive advertising.

Well this game blew up my 360 last night and I am the 20th person that has had the same problem and this was just with one of the 360 helpers at the help desk, so who knows how many 360s it has ruined

I got an HDTV so uh...

Tough luck you poor saps?

I haven't seen any mention of 50Hz vs 100Hz. This makes a HUGE difference to text legibility. Night and day.

So, how bad is this on a 29" 100Hz SDTV? Because I know it'll be bad on a 50Hz (GTA:SA was bad enough).

@Buckshot #53:

You're an asshole who is either spoiled by his parents or a rich yuppie. Either that or you're the type of person who wastes money on a nice fancy tv that (when combined with HD digital cable for $60-100/month) shows all of 30 channels (if you're lucky) in HD instead of investing it or saving it. Or maybe you still live at home and the HDTV in your house isn't actually yours but instead is your parents'. My guess is that you just throw your money at electronics though. If you had a good job and were successful it would imply that you were intelligent and that you had gotten a good education. Somewhere along that line you would have hopefully realized that a)being a prick isn't the way to go and b)stereotyping non-HD owners as being poor minorities is ignorant and naive and you've got a lot to learn.

@73 Watership:

A lot of us are in that boat. Completely agree. Plus, why buy an HDTV when you can spend that money drinking with your friends and being social, right?

@33, Mykie:


I don't usually call people out. But HOLY SHIT. If you don't like patching games just don't play computer games. As for your comment about THQ and them releasing crap. Have you ever heard of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War? Apparently you haven't. It's developed by Relic, and it's easily one of the best RTS games ever and it's gone through a good number of patches. Except that the patches are RARELY FIXING BUGS. They do a fucking awesome job of constantly tweaking the balance of the different races, edging closer and closer to perfection with every one of them. Do you love Ubisoft because they don't need to patch their games? Ever hear of IL-2 Sturmovik or Pacific Fighters? They can be installed into eachother and are easily one of the most popular WW2 flight sims around. They've had TONS OF FUCKING PATCHES. They fix little bugs, add better looking cloud textures, add planes here and there sometimes. With they're newest patch you actually have to pay for it because they're probably thinking (and rightly so) that they ought to be compensated for a product that they've patched so much they've practically created enough content to publish another game. Ubisoft is good, I will agree. But for you to say that patching is ruining the PC gaming industry (which it isn't) or that THQ releases crap that always needs to be patched because it's buggy or that Ubisoft is a good PC publisher because they're stuff doesn't need patches, that's BULLSHIT.

With patches like what IL-2 Sturmovik developer 1G and Dawn of War developer Relic are creating, it breathes more life into PC games you've already figured out how to beat. Tweaking balance issues keeps players constantly rethinking new strategies. Releasing patches often adds content to games as well as fixes bugs. I don't see how being able to add or adjust content of a game is bad for the PC industry at all. It is the PC industry's strong suit. Developers can listen to its customers and implement things that were not originally incorporated or even imagined without the need to publish a sequel and make gamers pay more money for a new game. The PC also reigns supreme in user created content, which is a lot like patching. I feel sorry for all the 360 Oblivion players who can only download the official addons like the horse armor and the Frostcrag Spire. I'm sure the game looks better on your tv than my pc cuz it's kind of old with only an updated video card, but having those pretty graphics sure won't do anything for replay value like what I can get on my PC. Downloading ridiculous things like a pack donkey to throw all my crap I can't carry or add funny stuff like sentient weapons (that's a weapon that can talk), or have a quest to get some Final Fantasy 7 weapons added to my game is something that you guys can't get (I don't think. Call me out on that if I'm wrong). Not trying to rub it in. I'm just trying to prove how patching (and thus the idea of having downloadable content that changes your game) is the best thing the PC has going for it. And it's a damn good thing to have.

Also, THQ is publishing Company of Heroes (also developed by Relic) which is the next big RTS with lots of tactical strategy and setting up ambushes. The beta kicks ass and anyone who likes RTS games should try it out.

Anyone who is saying that buying an HDTV is a given for 360 owners is just plain idiotic. I don't own a 360 and I don't technically own an HDTV (I'm in college and the HDTV is my parents'). But I really hope that people didn't buy an HDTV so they could play they're 360 with sharper graphics for an hour a day. I would hope that if anyone dropped the cash for an HDTV they'd be getting real use out of it and watching lots of HD cable and buying HD DVDs. And when you think about it, that's a shitload more money than just the cost of the TV because digital cable isn't cheap and HD channels are always added costs. I plan on buying a PS3 simply for Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid. I'm buying it because it will have the games I want to play. Not because it will be the prettiest if I drop lots of money for a TV. Not all that fancy HDTV bullshit hype. When did owning a 360 start being all about the best technology & graphics and not about the best games? I know HD is sharper, but does it REALLY make a game better? People say $600 is a lot for a PS3. But when you think about it, I'll be spending just $600, not $800 (360+mid-sized HDTV) and not $1000 (PS3 with same TV). I don't give a rats ass about having those crisp HDTV pictures since I'm NOT GOING TO SPEND EVERY WAKING MOMENT PLAYING MY PS3. Everyone who is saying to go buy an HDTV just needs to realize that some people aren't spending every moment gaming. They're working, they're studying, they're being social, they're being creative, they're NOT sitting on their ass 4 hours a day in front of the tv, justifying their buying a big fancy pretty one.

Some people are posting saying they can read text from a few feet away..im a few cm away and i have nothing..even with wide screen it is still a pain and requires squinting..but by the time you figure out the first 2 sentences it disspaears...its like lighting a match in the dark and knowing where you are for a few moments only to be lost again..PLEASE CAPCOM..give us a patch...

You guys are right to be miffed about Capcom and Microsoft not catching this problem. But my big gipe is why, why, WHY! do we have to read text in a next-gen title in the first place?......I want to hear my cell covresations!! LAME CITY in an otherwise good game!

Wow, the idiots came out in full force today. So many "huh huh, shucks, good thing I didn't get this game... I only have a SDTV and no 360."

Yeah, because the lack of a HDTV is the only problem there, genius.

Personally, I didn't feel it deserved a purchase, but I decided to give it a rental. I knew the text was supposed to be small, but I imagined it couldn't be much worse than Prey (which those of you with 360's and Prey, huh? ;)) can probably agree with wasn't the best either.

Wasn't as bad as Dead Rising, though, but as the article here says, one could get over that if there was voice acting at the necessary places.

To everyone who says- "Upgrade to HD!" or "Next-Gen is here, get and HD!" to everyone saying that, you have to realize that not everyone has deep pockets/rich parents/a trust fund/ like you do. There are alot of people who can't afford it or simply would rather spend their money on other things.

I'm tired of companies forcing their things on us- however "next-gen" it may be. Blu-ray and HD are nice and all, but stop shoving it down our throats, holy crap, give me the option to chose HD or not. Don't just say, HD is next-gen, if you don't get HD, you are screwed.

All I want is choice, and since ALOT more ppl in the U.S have normal TV's than HD sets, Capcom should give us that choice.

I've been playing Dead Rising for a couple weeks now on my standard 27" Toshiba, not even a flat screen. I am using the component inputs and I can read all the text. I guess maybe I just got lucky and my TV is better quality, it was only $230 at BB a couple years ago. I don't really want to use my 2005FPW as my 360 screen because I really have no place to put it near my stereo. I did get a VGA cable but I'll probably return it.