Rare to fix Banjo-Kazooie's text issues after all

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 10th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Hastily abandoning an ill-advised plan to include a magnifying glass with every purchase of the game, Rare has resolved to solve reported text issues in its build-a-bear's-car adventure, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. After stating that the in-game text, allegedly illegible on standard-definition television sets, would be "too expensive in terms of time, resources and money to alter," the company has committed to releasing a correctional title update within the next 30 days.

This is "good news for everyone," according to a post on the developer's website. "Including us, as we would actually like people to enjoy our game and not revile us with a fiery passion." There you have it, internet. You may now return to being angry about other things, like Banjo's square nose.

Tags: Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Kazooie-Nuts-and-Bolts, Microsoft-Games-Studios, Patch, Rare, SDTV, Text

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

drsashamd @ Nov 10th 2008 6:07PM

Yay for them doing something that should have been done, without hesitation, from the beginning.

Lkr @ Nov 10th 2008 6:16PM

I think MS might have played a role in it actually. I would have expected a plan to fix it right away from Rare.

Poisoned Al @ Nov 10th 2008 8:47PM

I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about, but I know that there's the problems making a teeny-weeny HD screen to fit in the projector, and then there's the diffusion of light rays, or something like that. I'm not even sure if I just made that up. I just know that you will never get the sharpness from a projector that you would from a screen of the same size.

It's all moot anyway for me. I don't have the space, and I want to be able to see the screen even if I have the tenacity to open the curtains.

Poisoned Al @ Nov 10th 2008 8:48PM

WTF? I'm pretty sure I clicked the right thread!

WiredKnight @ Nov 10th 2008 8:50PM

Lkr, I think it might have been the other way around. MS has some of the most stringent design requirements ever, when stuff like this slips through they're usually on top of it.

Snowblind @ Nov 11th 2008 6:49AM

"I would have expected a plan to fix it right away from Rare."

Rare actually originally said they were going to fix it. It was only because of a comment by one of the developers on the forums which lead everyone to believe they wouldn't. He was clearly just misinformed.

SpikeDelight @ Nov 10th 2008 6:07PM

Get an HDTV. Xbox 360 deserves an HDTV more than any other machine anyway :D

Dr. Stabbingworth @ Nov 10th 2008 6:09PM

The text was hard to read on my 720p projector with 100" screen. Besides, I don't recall having an HDTV as being a requirement for gaming this gen.

SpikeDelight @ Nov 10th 2008 6:14PM

Well of course it's not a requirement, I'm just saying that a 360 would require HD video more than a DVD or any movie because movies are the equivalent of prerendered videos. They will look good (in terms of creating the image it's actually trying to represent) no matter what, but a game is streaming so its beauty is directly proportional to your resolution. I firmly believe that (assuming there is one HDTV in the household) a 360 should be assigned to it as its primary peripheral and cable box/DVD player second.

Obie @ Nov 10th 2008 6:16PM

Will your mom buy one for me too?

Poisoned Al @ Nov 10th 2008 6:23PM

@Dr. Stabbingworth

Remember, while the result is "100, the source of the image is still quite small. You will never get the same quality from a projector then you do from and LCD or plasma (or LED if you're REALLY flash) screen.

Derick @ Nov 10th 2008 6:26PM

Well sure, that was Nintendo's stance.

After hearing that Banjo was gonna need to be on an HDTV, I bought one. It wasn't that expensive ($417), and I've been really surprised with how good things look on it...

I'd recommend getting an HDTV to anyone who is on the fence and has the means...

Stink Snake @ Nov 10th 2008 6:32PM

@Poisoned Al

The Banjo Kazooie text is hard to read on a 42" 720p LCD. The text is just damn hard to read.

Gears of War 2 has small text as well but it is not an issue because, 1) the font makes it easier to read, 2) the back drop is grey and black which makes it easier to pick up vs. the bright colors in Banjo, and most importantly, 3) Anaya never tells Marcus Fenix the next objective is "Eeeeb Eeab Ahb Eeeb Eeeb".

Megadanxzero @ Nov 10th 2008 7:33PM

Stabbingworth, PLEASE tell me you're taking the fucking piss. I have a 22" inch screen and I could see the text fine. In fact it's only slightly smaller than the text on the Xbox Guide. I can see why people would complain about Dead Rising's text, but this? What the hell...

tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:39PM

I have a 19 inch hdtv and had no problem reading the text on the demo. Of course I don't sit all the way across the room from the tv though since it's that small, I'd say maybe 5 feet away is about where I sit.

Can't wait to pick the game up tomorrow

Megadanxzero @ Nov 10th 2008 7:48PM

I don't see how it could have anything to do with the size/quality of your TV or how far away you are from the TV. I'm playing it right now and the text in the demo is literally the exact same size as the lower-case Xbox guide text... How anyone can complain about it is beyond me. Or rather how anyone can complain about this game and not EVERY other 360 game there is...

Dr. Stabbingworth @ Nov 10th 2008 7:53PM

@Poisoned Al

That doesn't make any sense. It still creates a picture at 1280x720, the pixels are just bigger. I could knock it down to 50", or 20" if I really cared to and it would still be 1280x720, just with smaller pixels. In any of those cases, the text would be difficult to read.

And as Stink Snake pointed out, there are several other reasons why the text is hard to read, including the fact that it auto-scrolled before I could finish reading it in some cases.

Poisoned Al @ Nov 10th 2008 8:48PM

Anthony @ Nov 10th 2008 11:05PM

Stabbingworth -

While not a requirement it should be. I enjoy the HD video gaming much more then any HD action packed movie.

Plus the wide screen allows you to see so much more - Especially in online multiplayer shooters where it can make a huge difference in who wins.

Josh @ Nov 10th 2008 6:19PM

Didn't you get the memo Dr. Stabbingworth?

Does 'title update' mean they will be replacing the disks in-store? Or will this be a patch? Either way, it's unfortunate since a large amount of the demographic for this game that also has an SDTV, will undoubtedly not have their console connected to the internet.

Abscissa @ Nov 10th 2008 6:21PM

Why they didn't have the basic common sense to include SD sets in testing during development is completely beyond me. Hurray for the modern "release *then* test and fix" mentality!

Graham Wellington (formerly tyrone washington, or marsha goldberg) @ Nov 10th 2008 6:44PM

why is no one commenting on the awesomeness of this pic. thanks for the laugh ludwig

Orion @ Nov 10th 2008 6:57PM

Looks like my call to Microsoft helped. Glad I'll be able to actually read the retail release at least.

Superstar90 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:09PM

Now there is no reason not to buy it :P

Yeah, and the text is small even on HD screens, it was a pain to read on my TV.

offday @ Nov 10th 2008 7:13PM

lmao. Otis. Most annoying old man ever. He literally made me hate that game. I had more fun with the freakin demo than I did with the actual game.

Mike @ Nov 10th 2008 7:16PM

It seems to me that all the games coming out now have poor text. Fable 2, Gears 2, Fallout.. it's just nuts and I OWN a HD set and it's still hard to see. (thank god for the TV's Zoom feature)

WiredKnight @ Nov 10th 2008 8:47PM

You might want to get your eyes checked then. Fable 2 has some of the most readable text I've seen in a video game in a while.

Mike @ Nov 11th 2008 1:53PM

Fables map is way too small and having all that wasted space around it is annoying as well. My eyes are fine..

Tiptup300 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:20PM

I think the best approach would be to ban overscan. I FUCKING HATE OVERSCAN. Although that's not really related to anything in this situation.

juju187 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:41PM

i was mad about no voice overs...

juju187 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:41PM

i mean viva pinata had voice work wtf.

juju187 @ Nov 10th 2008 7:42PM

dont drop the ball on killer instinct 3

why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 10th 2008 8:36PM

It's traditional for Banjo Kazooie games to not have voice overs.

drsashamd @ Nov 10th 2008 11:05PM

"It's traditional for Banjo Kazooie games to not have voice overs."

Then why do people get so upset when Zelda has no voice work?

Mike @ Nov 11th 2008 1:51AM

"Then why do people get so upset when Zelda has no voice work?"

For the same reason juju187 wants voice work in Banjo-Kazooie: different people have different opinions. Some people want voice work in Zelda, and some people view the lack of voice work as keeping true to its roots.

mnemo @ Nov 10th 2008 7:43PM

Best post pic of the year! Kudos!

Travis @ Nov 10th 2008 7:58PM

just in time for my new xbox to arrive... 2 years and i got the RROD today...not bad, not bad

Jacksons @ Nov 10th 2008 8:01PM

Sweet. Even with an HDTV tiny text is a crap-chute.

why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 10th 2008 8:36PM

crapshoot

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/crapshoot

J.Goodwin @ Nov 10th 2008 8:52PM

All I need to know, I learned from musical theater:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdct9UWlt_c

wiinterfang @ Nov 10th 2008 8:34PM

Bout' time.

Jackie_Chandler @ Nov 10th 2008 8:34PM

Capcom should come out with the Limited Edition Otis Magnifying Glass for Dead Rising 2... assuming the text is as small as NaB seems to have.

J.Goodwin @ Nov 10th 2008 8:44PM

Banjo's square nose is one of his best assets.

Noxat @ Nov 10th 2008 9:01PM

The demo's text was pretty small even on my HD display.

And hey, I like Banjo's square nose.

Zeus.:God @ Nov 10th 2008 10:58PM

Wow... Took me a while to catch onto the reference in the picture, but it came to me when I realized you guys had also mentioned Dead Rising numerous times when referring to this issue. Very nice...

el serpiente @ Nov 11th 2008 9:13AM

Little slow today, eh Zeus?

samfish @ Nov 10th 2008 11:27PM

Banjo's square nose! OOOOOOOAARRGH! That nose PISSES THE SHIT OUT OF ME. GRARRR I HATE IT HATE HATE HATEHATEHATE IT!

D:

Field Anony-mouse @ Nov 11th 2008 9:49AM

ARGH! Where do they get these incompetent programmers??!? I'm not a professional by any standards, but I apparently know more about how you should be programming something like this than everyone currently involved with the project. If it were done properly it would be a matter of changing ONE function. When you do something repeatedly like throw up some text, you don't hard code it each time. You make a single function that handles ALL the text, and you just pass it slightly abstracted inputs. You don't say "20 pixels tall," you say "size 3" and let the text function figure out how big to make it based on things like screen size. When it comes time to fix the text size you change the text function rather than 50,000 instances of the messed up value.

ARGH! Now excuse me while I go nerd rage while doing my real job.