Uncharted 3 aiming tweaked in upcoming patch, in part due to dedicated fans

by Ben Gilbert on Nov 22nd 2011 12:25PM

An upcoming patch for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will help assuage concerns with the game's aiming. Fans have complained that shooting in Uncharted 3 feels "off" compared to the previous game, and dev studio Naughty Dog isn't shrugging off criticisms.

"I posted on the Neogaf forum where people were going through it [shooting criticisms] in a very eloquent fashion, really explaining their gripes very clearly, and I said 'Well, is anyone local that can come in and explain it to us?'" community manager Arne Meyer told Giant Bomb. Apparently two fans took up the challenge (as well as two of their friends), and assisted both game director Justin Richmond and multiplayer programmer Travis McIntosh in tweaking the game's shooting "feel" via on-the-fly playtesting at Naughty Dog's Santa Monica-based HQ.

The result is an optional tweak for the shooting that will arrive, alongside other fixes, in a game update at an undetermined point in the future. Thanks, articulate fans!

Source: Giant Bomb

Tags: arne-meyer, naughty-dog, neogaf, patch, playstation, ps3, scea, sony-computer-entertainment-america, uncharted-3, uncharted-3-drakes-deception, update

Reader Comments (60)

YESSS. Now I will buy UC3

@ItchyBarracuda
Well you missed out on a great game so far because the aiming is 'off' according to some people

@RobertCarr

I would say it's according to a lot of people.

Also, getting the game after this patch isn't a big deal - he won't have missed out on anything. It's not like gameplay, graphics etc. have progressed since this game came out.

I am starting to buy all my games 3-4 months after release because of how frequently games get patched up around this time frame and due to the price-drops / sales around this time (and because again, games are not outdated by this point so I will not have missed anything).

@JasonA I admit I've been playing other games waiting until they fix this issue. Great game, but man the firefights have been frustrating so far

@RobertCarr The aim's not off, it's pree bad. But whatever, he's only picking it up after like 3 weeks, no big deal

@ItchyBarracuda
WOWWW, I just beat it 3 TIMES and platniumed it and then this happens......well, guess I'll just have to play the trilogy again...

@RobertCarr

I'm not missing out on anything by holding off on buying a game the day it comes out. Plus I have Skyrim, who needs anything else when you have Skyrim?

Well, that's pretty cool.

Fans helping out.

Hope they got a T-shirt outta it. Or some free grub.

...just when I was getting used to new aiming.

@The Cole Train
"The result is an optional tweak for the shooting"

It's completely optional, so if you are starting to enjoy/get used to the current handling, you don't have to switch to it. And if you do, its as simple as enabling an option.

@DevilSei

Oh, I feel dumb now. I only read the quote, to be honest.

Honestly, I thought it was just me. I mean I've been playing PC gaming for a while and decided to come back for Uncharted 3. At first I assume it was just my rusty hands trying to get back to handling a controller. Guess not.

@Anarqi

No, there was a noticible difference between the aiming in U2 and U3. It's not a dealbreaker, and can be compensated for, but it is (or was) there.

@Anarqi

I thought it was that at first my self. My perception of what felt "off" wasn't so much the aim, but the enemy reaction to it. For example, a head shot always seemed to be a head shot. But shots to the core (with assault rifles and pistols) would seem to cause no adverse affect the enemy. In other words, there was no animation from the enemy that said, "I'm being shot!". This I felt led to over correction making the hits less precise. The completely unnecessary cross-hair bloom doesn't help either.

MP of course was a whole separate mess but that feels better than what it did in the Subway pre-release so they are making progress.

Stop bitching its not that serious. I've beat the game twice and I'm like level 40 or something online. I'm use to it and never noticed a difference from the first two games. Just learn how to damn aim

@Drdre74

I think the big grip was that the aiming was fine in multiplayer/co-op but when playing single player the crosshairs would slow down when passing an enemy making it feel very unnatural, especially when going back and forth between the game modes.

It wouldn't have been a problem if they had the ability to turn aim assist on and off. I'm actually shocked they didn't. Nice though that they are updating it.

@Drdre74
Youcool.

@Drdre74

The developers have opted to value your opinion at the appropriate level it warrants.

I'm glad they took the criticisms to heart instead of just ignoring it or blaming users (like so many people on the forums did when this issue came to light.) Keep up the great work, Naughty Dog!

@baby sea tuna

Yeah, if this was IW they would've blown off all the criticism and done nothing.

Naughty Dog is really a great developer. They get their fans involved with their concerns on the game and really take in their observations.

Nice going ND and congrats on U3's success.

Glad to hear stuff like this. Just adds to Naughty Dog's cred as one of the best developers in the industry.

Personally, I didn't have a huge problem with the aiming, when compared with UC2, but to have an OPTIONAL change in place is always a good thing. Well done, folks.

@ilduce620

This isn't curious george where they should be congratulated for making up for their own screw-up in the first place.

@JasonA What screw-up? As I understand it, the main difference in aiming is that they went for "all digital" aiming this time, rather than 8-directional analog aiming, as had been in previous games. If anything, technically, the shift should have been toward _more_ accuracy. Could be wrong on those details, though, but that's what I heard somewhere...Gamers With Jobs, I think...

As I stated, I'm just glad they recognize that there are people out there that aren't pleased with the changes they made to the aiming, so ND is working to correct it for those people while leaving the existing structure intact for those that don't care (like me).

They should absolutely be congratulated for increasing value for their customers and fans.

Can I have my "Cheats", and "Theater" back?

@mywhitenoise

Agreed! While they are at this patch, bring back the tweaks menu. The replay value on the single player sucks compared to Uncharted 2.

@mywhitenoise
Definitely agreed. I want a Young Drake, Doughnut Drake, and walking breasts skins. And I really want the theater and option to buy weapons back. Please, I loved UC2's extras. :(

I hope they also patch it so I don't have to go into the options every time I reset the game to enable shoulder swapping

@irman925

So there *is* shoulder swapping?! I could never figure out how to do it! I was kind of pissed too, since that was a feature that I didn't realize that every game should have until Uncharted did it.

@irman925
Man, I was so pissed when I found out I could shoulder swap AFTER I completed my Crushing run. I feel like I wasted my first 2 playthroughs!

@irman925

No kidding?! I went through the entire game thinking it was some technical issue. I never thought to look in the options.

@mywhitenoise That's always the first thing I do with a new game - go into the options and see what's available. I'm usually looking for subtitles, at least.

wonder what else they are fixing probably MP stuff.

I've always used shoulder swapping in the Uncharted series and I dont understand why in this one it was a feature you could switch on and off, it was always just there before as part of the controls. I wish every 3rd person shooter had it. I'm just glad I checked the options(like I always do), before I went through the game.

Just in time to pick it up on the cheap for Black Friday.

Naughty Dog: Love you even more for this!

Optional tweak? so its for the Solo campaign and not online then?

Who's awesome? You're awesome, NaughtyDog.

Keep up the good work and fan support, and I'll continue to throw my hard-earned, petty-valued American cash your way. :D

sweet! I'm halfway through the game, now I can finish it.

I am a 'dedicated fan' & found 'Uncharted 3' PERFECT! :P

I even got the Platinum for the game :P

I had no problems with the aiming personally.

lol of COURSE they do this well after I've already finished the game.

... :(

Hmm... already finished the game... thought the game was very poor compared to Uncharted 2 (which is one of my favourite games ever). Shooting was part of the problem... maybe this will help change my mind. Might have to give the game another go after this patch... after I've cleared the backlog of games.

I hope they don't tweak too much in multiplayer - it's pretty damn fun!

@Axcalibur

I should note, I thought the story was pretty good for Uncharted 3... still not Uncharted 2 quality... but good.

I'm sick of Naughty Dog getting praise for rushing to fix design choices and DLC issues, when for 3 weeks have been ignoring the loading issues plaguing many PS3 users. It's all over their forums and on the Playstation forums, without even so much as a reply from the company.

I have had my collector's edition sitting on the shelf since launch day because it can't even load the main menu. With Naughty Dog doing nothing about it. Now finding out their lead programmer came in two days before GM saying the game was a "complete mess" and implementing drastic code changes that are causing issues for many.

Finished Uncharted 3 a few days ago and thought it was great. the aiming/gunplay is a bit different than the other games. It bothered me for a while, but I adjusted.

The thing that distracts me in the game is that enemies sometimes don't react to being shot.

Glad to hear Naughty Dog is making adjustments. Either way it's an awesome game.

I really should wait about 3-4 months after release before buying any games.

I have gotten 3/4 of the way through the Uncharted 3 campaign and now they are going to fix the shooting :-(

Because of the onslaught of new games coming out, I have had to delay buying Skyrim and Battlefield 3 to next year and I don't mind one bit because they have already announced tons of things that will be fixed by patches by then!

Can anyone estimate how long they think this type of patch will take to come out?

I'm 3/4 of the way through the campaign and I am thinking of stopping now and continuing after the patch, but I don't want to wait too long.

As rare a commodity as "articulate game fans" are, even rarer is a studio THAT willing to respond positively to criticism. I've game-tested for studios less willing to implement change!

I hope they put Survival mode back in for co-op. Still can't understand why they left it out.

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Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Uncharted 3 aiming tweaked in upcoming patch, in part due to dedicated fans

Reader Comments (60)

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:29PM ItchyBarracuda said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:56PM RobertCarr said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:38PM JasonA said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:55PM mcnerven said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 2:01PM trickybuz93 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 2:14PM legacybush said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 7:23PM ItchyBarracuda said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:30PM Space Cobra said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:30PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:37PM DevilSei said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:10PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:35PM Anarqi said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:40PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 7:08PM Tar Heel360 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:37PM Drdre74 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:47PM SmashZilla said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:48PM Special Agent Steve said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 2:35PM freaparn said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:37PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:38PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:41PM LoneWolf18 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:41PM ilduce620 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:40PM JasonA said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:44PM ilduce620 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:41PM mywhitenoise said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:45PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 3:23AM picxel said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:42PM irman925 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:46PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 12:56PM mywhitenoise said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:30PM CCSS12 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 1:33PM bfiggins said

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Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 4:58PM mikemyerz666 said

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