Dead Rising: patch chance lost!
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Sep 11th 2006 at 8:10PM }
How fortuitous that the winner of our first Dead Rising giveaway just recently acquired a new HDTV -- on that old set of his, he'd likely have some difficulty reading the annoying edicts coming from security guard and phone etiquette fiend, Otis. After users of non-HD television complained about the unusual amount of squinting required to read the on-screen text, Capcom admitted awareness of the problem and doled out a list of DIY solutions, none of them nearly as effective as a downloadable patch would be. So, what's the word on that?Unfortunately, the word is "no." Speaking to 1UP, a Capcom representative pointed out that "the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text" were prohibitive in producing a patch. "We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible." This is far from a game breaking fault, but it's certainly disappointing that Capcom completely failed to spot a problem that would end up affecting a notable group of players. Coupled with King Kong's scenes of SDTV darkness, it seems some developers are a little too eager to rush into the HD era.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
EdensDevil @ Sep 11th 2006 8:13PM
Who cares I have a HD TV!!!!!!! Poor Standards
jason @ Sep 11th 2006 8:14PM
I think this is a perfect backup for Nintendo's decision to pass on HD this generation.
a Master Ninja @ Sep 11th 2006 8:15PM
Luckly the text is not important for completing the game, as the map and compass makes the objectives easy to find, but this still sucks for people who were hoping it would be fixed. I'm just glad I play on a monitor.
Pretty Obvious @ Sep 12th 2006 3:10AM
Once you go HD youll never go back.
Tetranitrocubane @ Sep 11th 2006 8:18PM
The VGA hookups for the 360 are an afordable way to spare yourself the cost of an HDTV and still get great picture quality.
bearatttack79 @ Sep 11th 2006 8:19PM
Hey... I thought we had to wait till the PS3 for the HD era? Oh well cant wait forever!
V1L3 @ Sep 11th 2006 8:19PM
"The word sir?"
"The word... is no. I am therefore going anyway."
XD
Miniboss @ Sep 11th 2006 8:26PM
It's not just an SDTV problem. If you don't have like a 42" screen, or you're sitting at a comfortable distance away from your television (read: not like a three year old), you're going to be squinting quite a bit. I actually have to sit closer to my TV (an HDTV, mind you) to read the text. This is the only game where I have to do that.
And really... all they have to do is change the font size. Now, admittedly, they'd have to make sure all of the text still fits throughout the game, and I bet they're pretty much done with the game at this point, but still.
With all of that said... I can't stop killing zombies. Who cares if I go blind!
Kevin @ Sep 11th 2006 8:28PM
Honest to god I cant read my screen when I'm playing Ghost Recon. It's too hard to see what freakin button it is.
aZn_1080p @ Sep 11th 2006 8:36PM
the thing with HD is you have to go all out (trueHD) or nothing, this half-hd stuff is only going to cause problems. I do wonder though how much of the problem is that the patch is so big it would require the hard drive and so not be available for all users... its too bad they can't release it anyway and just tell the 1.4 owners they will need to get an extra big memory card for it or something.
Bryce05 @ Sep 12th 2006 1:10AM
I have to sit close to my TV to read text on any 360 game and it sux ass.
JPRacer @ Sep 11th 2006 8:38PM
There's no HDTV in the world that can beat a good monitor. I have a 51" HDTV that have a very good picture quality at 1080i but I play 90% of the time on my monitor, except when friends come to my house I plug the 360 on the big TV.
cheese @ Sep 11th 2006 8:40PM
People without a hdtv need to get smart and hook it up to their computer monitor. It looks awesome on my Viewsonic lcd widescreen. I have a hdtv, but i hooked it up to the lcd so I wouldnt have to share the tv :p
qbix @ Sep 11th 2006 8:49PM
The fact that there are workarounds is besides the point. Whether knowingly or not, Capcom neglected a huge user base and they should be held responsible for such mistakes. I happen to have an HDTV capable LCD but the response time is not adequate which forces me to use my 27 inch CRT. I just can't force myself to play a game with unreadable text and a horrible saving system.
Developing for a console means considering the lowest common denominator. Neglecting to do this and making assumptions about your user base is bad development, in my opinion.
sockatume @ Sep 11th 2006 8:54PM
Count your blessings. In a parallel universe, Tomonobu Itagaki was lead designer, and the press release was a tirade of mockery at your inability to afford an HDTV, followed by a thorough dissing of Grand Theft Auto.
random @ Sep 11th 2006 8:55PM
No matter how fast a developer wishes to push product out, it still runs through Publisher QA, and a final pass at Microsoft Cert QA before going live. So if people are playing the blame game, it should cover all groups for not spotting it, particularly Microsoft.
hey alex @ Sep 11th 2006 8:56PM
I'm playing the game on a 30" SDTV, and although the text is small, it is certainly readable. Larger text would have been nice, but it wasn't required for me to complete the game.
BPM? @ Sep 11th 2006 8:55PM
I've yet to get a 360, but Dead Rising was one of the reasons I had to get one. And even if reading isn't completely important in finishing the game, I'd still like to be able to read everything (I've a SDTV).
Hmm... But, I suppose if I got a 360, I could hook it up to my PC monitor (19" flat panel). That'd work fine, yeah?
obo @ Sep 11th 2006 9:15PM
Heh... the answer to the HDTV era is to plug HD content into a computer monitor half the size of a good TV?
Pass.
empt @ Sep 11th 2006 9:19PM
while I haven't played the game yet, cause of course my 360 did the Red Ring 2 weeks after my warrenty expired......
my question is: How could not being able to read the text on anything but a HDTV be considered anything less than a "game breaking fault"?
John @ Sep 12th 2006 2:52PM
Oh well, and I was actually planning on making Dead Rising my second 360 game purchase.
Poop to Capcom, and just to show how much dissapointment I have in them, I won't be buying the game in december when I get my HDtv either.
They should learn to respect and provide to all users.
pennywise969 @ Sep 11th 2006 9:42PM
Its also worth noting that changing your 360 to widescreen mode helps a lot, too. I have a 27 inch tv and this made the game playable. I still have to sit closer to the tv, but before it was entirely impossible to read the text. Its unfortunate that there is such a big problem with an otherwise fantastic game.
007craft @ Sep 12th 2006 2:37PM
People are blowing this way to out of proportion. I play on a 27" SDTV and didnt think nothing much about it. Yes the text is a little small, but I can still read it just fine sitting 6 feet away from my tv where I play all my other games. At times with lots of text, I do have to squint a bit, but then again, im not wearing my glasses either which I usualy need to read stuff.
Sure they could of made the text a bit bigger, (actually they should of just used voice acting) but its still very playable on sdtv. I dont know how anyone can complain considering Im coming from the gamecube generation where games like Xmen and LOTR and every game basically had VERY blurry text (although not as small).
I didnt even consider a patch needed until I came online and read the comments. Seeing as Im now 2 achievments away from all 50 in the game (I rented it then burrowed the game off a friend), I really couldent care less about a text patch. If I was gonna complain about anything about the game, it would be the lack of co-op mode and multiplayer.
Final Prototype @ Sep 11th 2006 9:46PM
I'm not a game designer by any means, but instead of replacing all the text with a suitable font size, could it be possible that a patch with scaler program could be used instead? It's not a great fix but at least it something.
Like i said, I never designed a game before so I don't know how they're compiled in memory but if it's possible to build a patch to replace all the text, I'd assume it'd be possible for a scaler to intercept the text before it renders on screen.
AmgKmpsR @ Sep 12th 2006 12:10AM
LMAO at "phone etiquette fiend, Otis."
WiiOn360 @ Sep 11th 2006 10:19PM
Just make a better sequel Capcom. Dead Rising 2 for PS3 & Xbox 360, with online play that allows PS3 & 360 online gamers to play against each other.
This coupled with all the 1st games bugs ironed out, should keep everyone happy.
Kevout @ Sep 11th 2006 11:03PM
Note: I downloaded the Dead Rising demo and was able to read the text on the dumpster TV, although it was very small
We'll see how it looks on the HD when my game arrives :)))))
The ZeroCorpse @ Sep 11th 2006 11:22PM
"the thing with HD is you have to go all out (trueHD) or nothing, this half-hd stuff is only going to cause problems. "
aZn_1080p. . . That is one of the most uninformed, asinine things I've read on Joystiq, ever. There is no "half-hd" and your wholesale swallowing of Sony's marketing pamphlets and made-up talking points is wearing thin. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were one of the many iterations of B, BD, etc. Your trolling is getting annoying, and I fail to see why they haven't gotten rid of you yet.
You never contribute anything positive to the discussion, and most of the time you only seem to be quoting Kutaragi or spitting out Sony propaganda. You hate every console but the PS3, and you let us know it AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. Frankly, you're starting to bug the crap out of me with your "1.4" BS and your inane babbling about things you clearly do not understand and have no technical knowledge about.
Now, as to the article-- This was a problem that could have been avoided had the developers been using equipment that simulates both the low-end and the high-end of consumer experiences. Clearly, they didn't do that. Perhaps the rest of the industry will learn a lesson from this blunder, and some good will come of it. ANY developer of ANY product should consider both ends of the consumer spectrum before they release to the public.
(Of course, this shouldn't affect Sony's PS3 version at all-- Oh, wait. There is no PS3 version! In fact, the PS3 isn't even out yet, and people probably won't get their hands on one until March or April of 2007. Damn. Well, I guess having a slightly flawed version is better than not being able to play it at all.)
chudgoo @ Sep 12th 2006 12:33AM
Man, if something like increasing text size gives them trouble maybe I should give up waiting for a revamped save system...
DeadPlasmaCell @ Sep 11th 2006 11:32PM
Yea, AZN's posts are getting old quick.. I love that in one of his recent rants he bashed the 360 for needed a bunch of add-ons to be "Fully functional" yet later in the same topic said basically that he didn't mind dropping 1600-2000 bucks on a TV that can actually output at the "TrueHD" of 1080p that the precious PS3 will supposedly do.
Josh @ Sep 11th 2006 11:48PM
What about the problem involving the HDD.
I can't play past the first 5 minutes of the game with the HDD attached. Why won't any of the gaming sites cover this issue.
Capcom, thanks for nothing.
epobirs @ Sep 12th 2006 12:00AM
This is very lame on Capacom's part. The only way I can imagine their excuse having any validity is if the game used some rather dumb techniques for generating the text. It would have to be an overlaid bitmap rather text generated by a character mapping routine.
If they had a proper character map drawing system in the software, you know, like the Macintosh managed with 128K of RAM back in 1984, implementing a larger font should be no problem. The volume of the text itself cannot be an issue. The text of a good length novel measures out to mere hundreds of kilobytes. An amount whose download time would be but a few seconds.
Capcom is either lying or has made a tacit admission that this was a poorly programmed game. One has to wonder how much of a hassle it is to localize for verious languages if its text handling is so badly implemented.
Firegirl @ Sep 12th 2006 12:30AM
The game is awesome except for the horrible size of the text. Sure, the text is not needed to finish the game, but it does take something away from the game. Good thing there is not too many 80-year-olds playing this game!
Agent MOO @ Sep 12th 2006 12:43AM
Great headline... Text size needs to be fixed, but keep the saves as is. Games are too easy these days, hasn't anyone ever played Contra on NES? Dead Rising is a cake walk compared to games of old.
WiiOn360 @ Sep 12th 2006 12:56AM
Josh
"What about the problem involving the HDD.
I can't play past the first 5 minutes of the game with the HDD attached. Why won't any of the gaming sites cover this issue.
Capcom, thanks for nothing."
Somebody silence this person. Josh, joshy, josh. Obvioulsy you have not been informed about how it's only "KOOL" to bash Sony consoles. You just aren't man if you start mentioning the glaring faults of rival consoles. Just like the "3%" 360 failure rate that MS declared, when all other "REAL WORLD" indications hinted at more around the 23% mark.
You see media sources & fanboys alike, have turned Sony into a bin laden like evil doer figure in the console world. Whereas in reality the only thing they share in common is neither have been caught yet & Sony don't look to be.
Capcom should have to recall the game & re-release it, if it has bugs like what you have mentioned. It seems a lot of games are having issues with the 360 hardware from what's been reported on various forums. I've also heard of this game & others overheating peoples machines. The best part is, these 360 fanboys happily bash the unreleased PS3..... But then stick up for the 360 when THEIR OWN machine is overheating (out of warranty period), by shrugging it off with comments like " all I have to do is turn it off for a couple of hours".
They basically say it's fine that MS gave....no sold... them a machine that struggles to stay aive for anymore than 2-4 hrs at a time.
Capcom & MS need to get these issues worked out by the sounds of it..... I've even heard that 2nd & 3rd gen 360's are struggling with overheating issues on certain games. Sorry if it seems like I'm bashing all you 360 owners, I hope you haven't had & continue to not have these problems.... But it is blatently apparent that many do. And as much as software can be blamed, some evidence points to a bigger picture for some problems relating to the hardware.
Fish @ Sep 12th 2006 9:24AM
Look, this is not a game breaking bug, but it is pretty anoying.
There are a lot of bigger bugs in this game that could/should have been worked out.
Pince @ Sep 12th 2006 2:18AM
Complete and utter bullshit.
Maybe the Joystiq group here can throw money around and buy HD stuff but I sure as hell can't and neither can most people I know.(ie; they are poor college students, a huuuuuuge percentage of the gaming populace).
Don't even start throwing numbers at me telling me how cheap you can get an HD for now. I don't have the money for, nor do I know anyone with the money for a new TV, whether it be HD or SD.
Trying to save up money for extravagantly priced consoles, accessories and games is bad enough without companies just expecting everyone to have the latest and greatest in home theater entertainment.
Another issue, when I go home (from college) for breaks, I would like to play games. However, I, like many gamers, may move my consoles around from TV to TV. There are 0 HD TVs in my house but even if there were 1, it would piss me off to know that my 360 games will only function to 100% capability (that is, have fricking readable text) on the HD.
Please, feel free to tell me if you all have houses with an HD TV in every room, because then I could understand some of the general neutrality towards this issue. But, as far as I can see, stores still sell SD TVs, and lots of them. SD is not dead, HD is not the standard, yet. I like to think that I live a comfortable distance between the (expensive) wave of the technological future and being technologically outdated (*gasp*)...but aparently that isnt good enough anymore.
When the day comes that console games have a list of required specs on the side of the box like PC games, that is the day that I shall cease to be a gamer. I swear, it seems like we are one format war away from that reality.
Many people blow this off, but the fact that Dead Rising is a huge blockbuster title makes this a big deal. It reflects a general lack of concern with game quality and capability that is staggering.
Last time I checked, being able to read the text in games has been pretty standard for awhile now.
For the poor college student demographic, stuff like this is, and shall remain, complete bullshit.
computer gamer @ Sep 12th 2006 2:48AM
I Have a 32" HDTV and sit at my normal gaming distance and can read the text fine. Yes it's smaller than typical and yes Capcom did mess up on this one.
The game is so damn good however that it's completely acceptable ;)
Of course it is a shame for SDTV users but honestly these games look so much better in HD that you should consider it another reason for upgrading.
computer gamer @ Sep 12th 2006 3:08AM
To balance up my last post which could be construed as being a bit "fanboyish" (perish the thought). The 360 DOES have far too many reported overheating problems for my liking. I've had mine about 6 months, so far so good but I am dreading the week after the waranty runs out as I half expect the red ring of death.
As for the game, yes it is definitely a fault and no amount of us players with gleaming HDTVs telling you to upgrade is going to be helpful (or a realistic proposal for a single game).
I find it very hard to believe that CAPCOM and MS didn't know about this before shipping (even if late in the day) but probably wanted to hit the release date anyway. Bugs or design issues can be considered less vital than the money lost or bad press gained by missing release targets.
It may also be a ploy to "encourage" uptake of HDTV because most people "raving" about 360 games happen to play them on HDTV where they thrive. I have tried my games on both SD TVs and HD TVs and the HD is a big reason why the console is considered "next gen".
Lastly, those who are unable to play (properly) by not being able to read the text, are you not entitled to some refund either from the retailer or by contacting Capcom and quoting their 90 day warranty (fit for intended purpose).
To sum up, if you have a HDTV then BUY this beautiful masterpiece, even the save system is not messed up it actually encourages experimentation and allows you to play your own way. If you "restart" it's not in vain because you get to keep your level status. It's your call on which save type to do and I have been going in knowing that "this game is 3 day surivial purely" or "this game is achievement based" and happily restartin g to do all the scoops/cases by which time you have become aware of the best way to do things quickly.
I thought it was messed up at first but it allows time to explore the mall just as you instinctively want to. just do NOT dive in on your first game and attempt to play it 100% perfectly, take it easy and "live a little". The game is in my top ten all time. It's cut scenes are flawless and the engine is jaw dropping (HD). The gameplay walks an interesting line between sandbox and linear goal settting and any deviations between the two will still be enjoyed. A landmark game that is under appreciated due to some "quirks" that do not fit in with what we have expected from typical games.
sploog @ Sep 12th 2006 4:09AM
Does anyone know why the dead rising demo I got is letterboxed on standard def? Is it cos its set to PAL 50?
Got My HD @ Sep 12th 2006 8:24AM
GOOD!!
If you can afford a $400+ Game Console, You should be able to own an HDTV. Nuff Said!!
Grannysmith @ Sep 12th 2006 9:22AM
if screen_h_res < 1280
( ui_text.scale = 200 )
AirIntake @ Sep 12th 2006 9:30AM
People can bitch moan and complain all they want, but everybody here has a monitor capable of HD resolutions. "but I'm too poor for a VGA cable!" then squint. I purposly hooked my 360 up in SD, and guess what, while difficult, the text is still readable. I'll put up with that for a game this fun.
Does anybody here call the cable company or TV network when they can't read the credits at the end of a movie shown on TV? You paid good money for the service right?
Todd @ Sep 12th 2006 10:08AM
So... am I to understand that this game is best purchased by those who own a HDTV? I suppose that singles me out, I hope Capcom can wait a few years before I bother buying this game. :(
Jecrell @ Sep 12th 2006 10:22AM
"What about the problem involving the HDD.
I can't play past the first 5 minutes of the game with the HDD attached. Why won't any of the gaming sites cover this issue.
Capcom, thanks for nothing."
Are you getting 'Disc can not be read' errors?
You have to clean your Dead Rising disc with a wash cloth (nasty, but tissues didn't solve the problem).
It worked for me.
If not, you got a bad copy.
benjamin @ Sep 12th 2006 11:19AM
Hmm. I guess that Capcom's programmers just aren't good enough to know how to patch the game and make the text larger.
I guess I'll go and talk to...I dunno, Konami, and see what they have to say. Their programmers actually know what they're doing.
(As any technically minded person knows, programmers *hate* having their 'skillz' questioned. It's like saying 'I guess you can't get Linux installed on this here toaster...' It just makes them want to show you what a stupid n00b you are, you know?)
Josh @ Sep 12th 2006 12:46PM
"Are you getting 'Disc can not be read' errors?
You have to clean your Dead Rising disc with a wash cloth (nasty, but tissues didn't solve the problem).
It worked for me.
If not, you got a bad copy."
Nope it just sits at loading, it will stay there for over 15 minutes. If I remove the HDD it loads in under a minute.
I tried 2 copies of the game and I doubt EB games will take back a third if its just the disc.
I am about ready to take my HDD back to BB under warranty but I don't care to lose my saves or buy a memory card.
* off to look up the way to back up Saves over the network.
Mike @ Sep 17th 2006 6:54PM
I have an SDTV and the text seems ok to me. It is a bit small but it's still legible to my eyes. My advice to everyone on this forum considering not buying it would be to rent it and test it out. Anyone know if the downloadable demo has any text on it? If it does, then you can try that and if you don't like the way the text renders, you won't even be out the price of a rental. It might not be as bad on your TV as it seems to be on others. Another thing I've heard a couple of other people mention on here is the effect having the widescreen turned on has so far as helping the text be more readable. I've had mine on since I first set up the system so that might have something to do with why I haven't had much of a problem.
I'm a fan of zombie movies so this is probably biased but I'd rate this (even with its faults) as one of the best games I've ever played. I think it would be a shame to not play it before you see if your tv behaves the same as some other ones seem to.
Just my two cents
Wilky @ Sep 24th 2006 3:56AM
Guys, do your grandparents get those catalogues full of useless shit? You know, the ones with pan sets, foot muffs, knee warmers, and shit flake removers? I was looking through it the other day, and blow me... It was a magnifying glass that you plop down in front of your TV and magnifies your TV image upto x4 (its own description).. Fuck your HDTV, im linking one up to my 17" TFT.... Now you tell me who has got a 68" 1600x900 make your eyes bleed, arteries spasm, liver rupture, balls burst, and teeth fall out screen like mine...
pwned