Driver Madness

Well, I have just come accross this page that someone had posted in another topic which was advertising jobs for Ubi Reflections, and I had noticed a few things that may be of interest to you guys:



Job Description and Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will be responsible for implementing a variety of specialised PC-related features in our future games.

Implement practical and timely solutions that meet the game design and technical requirements.
• Work as a key part of an agile development team, taking responsibility for organising and planning your own work.
Requirements:
• Passionate about playing and making games on PC.
• Excellent C/C++ programming skills.
• At least 1 project completed on PC in an engine/system programming role.
• Good knowledge of Win32 API programming, preferably under Windows Vista.
• Ability to plan your work and then deliver on time.
• Self-motivated with a strong work ethic.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Desired Skills and Pluses:
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or other relevant subject, or equivalent knowledge gained through work.
• Experience of writing installers for complex products.
• Experience of dealing with compatibility and security issues on PC games – task switching, executable signing, 64-bit Windows issues, copy protection, etc.
• Experience of Games For Windows logo compliance – parental controls, Vista support, etc.
• Knowledge of implementing PC game customisation – options menus, device mapping, etc.
• DirectX programming experience.

Link:
http://www.creativeheads.net/JobDetails.aspx?JobID=6492

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So, after seeing this I had noticed that they want the PC version to be GFW compliant, which would obviously mean, the 360 controller will be officially supported and a few other extras too (check google if your interested in the other requirements for them to use the GFW name on their game!)

I also saw that they want to make sure that it is compatable with Vista, and I'm sure that any game thats compatable with Vista will be compatable with Windows 7, so thats nice to know!

also, they noted that they wanted someone who could deal with 64-bit Windows issues... so obviously, they are thinking about 64-bit, so there may be a chance that we will have a 64-bit exe which would enable us x64 users to take advatage of our x64 systems when playing D4!
(but do remember that they havent actually said that they are gonna make a 64-bit exe, so don't get your hopes up yet...)

they want it to support 'parental controls', so any of you with kids may be happy about this!

and they want someone with 'DirectX programming experience' so I'm sure that they want it to be a DirectX game rarther than an OpenGL based game!.

I just hope that they do a good job porting the next Driver. I don't want a poor optimized game that you need a ultra powerful rig, and even with it you get frame rate issues and graphical corruption (GTA IV anyone?)

Nick Brasil wrote:(GTA IV anyone?)

I know what you mean... to be honest, I think that GTAIV is the worst ported game that I have ever bought...


and there has been a few poor ports recently... lets just hope that the developers have learn't after seeing how hard R* got kicked in the ars* by the community!

True. Interesting is that I've seen people telling that they did not had any frame rate problem with GTA IV. Unfortunately it's what happen with many games that are ported to PC. They always come with a problem and you need to wait to some months for a patch to fix the issues, which many of the times, does not help at all.

You're right. Let's hope that Reflections learn with it and make a great port. Specially because I'm planning to get the next Driver on PC. But before, I need to get a new PC...

Nick Brasil wrote:True. Interesting is that I've seen people telling that they did not had any frame rate problem with GTA IV. Unfortunately it's what happen with many games that are ported to PC. They always come with a problem and you need to wait to some months for a patch to fix the issues, which many of the times, does not help at all.

You're right. Let's hope that Reflections learn with it and make a great port. Specially because I'm planning to get the next Driver on PC. But before, I need to get a new PC...

I too plan to get it for PC because I don't have any next-gen consoles. I don't need to get a new PC though because I already have a new one.

chrisl121212 wrote: I too plan to get it for PC because I don't have any next-gen consoles. I don't need to get a new PC though because I already have a new one.

at least with a PC when you do have to make that upgrade, you only have to upgrade one or two minor parts that would probably cost next to nothing, where as every time a next gen console comes out, you have to pay "Nasa-like" money for it...

thats one of the reasons that I became a PC gamer in the first place!.


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[Whipering] although I do have to admit, sometimes I spend huge amounts of money on my system... ... but thats just for braggin rights [/end of whispering]

Smiler wrote:

chrisl121212 wrote: I too plan to get it for PC because I don't have any next-gen consoles. I don't need to get a new PC though because I already have a new one.

at least with a PC when you do have to make that upgrade, you only have to upgrade one or two minor parts that would probably cost next to nothing, where as every time a next gen console comes out, you have to pay "Nasa-like" money for it...

thats one of the reasons that I became a PC gamer in the first place!.


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[Whipering] although I do have to admit, sometimes I spend huge amounts of money on my system... ... but thats just for braggin rights [/end of whispering]

Same here.

Smiler wrote:

chrisl121212 wrote: I too plan to get it for PC because I don't have any next-gen consoles. I don't need to get a new PC though because I already have a new one.

at least with a PC when you do have to make that upgrade, you only have to upgrade one or two minor parts that would probably cost next to nothing, where as every time a next gen console comes out, you have to pay "Nasa-like" money for it...

thats one of the reasons that I became a PC gamer in the first place!.

[2]

However everytime there is a new console released you usually have to find yourselves making a major pc upgrade. Maybe not as often as console releases but it does happen.

Like were moving on too quickly. (List contains standard consumer cpus only)
Pentium 4 <--- I'm still back here 3.2GHZ HT 64bit (Woo:!:)
Pentium D
Core 2 Duo
Core 2 Quad (Now I can upgrade my Pentium 4 up to this processor but; I'd feel as if I'm wasting my money as the mainboards architecture cannot handle the speed of this new technology so I get a reduced speed [same would apply to Core 2 Duo])
Core i7
Core i5 (to be released soon)

Of course the upgrade from DDR2 to DDR3 would require a new motherboard.

SATA2 HDDs & PCI-Express v2.0 will work in old hardware but with reduced performance. A motherboard upgrade would be required to support these features and in some cases you'd have to upgrade ram to get optimal performance.


At the moment I have old Dell.
It supports SATA2, PCI v1.0 & 533Mhz RAM.

At the moment, my specifications.

CPU: P4 3.2Ghz HT 64bit
RAM: 2x2048MB = 4gig (800Mhz) [computer only supports 533Mhz]
GPU: Ati Radeon 4550 (PCIEv2) (computer only supports PCI-E v1)
HDD: 640gig (SATA2)
PSU: 300watts

A similar concept would apply if I upgraded CPU.
I do know this computer is about 3-4 years old. But a new console is released every 5 to 7 years.

But I'd still agree, that it's cheaper to upgrade your pc.
In my case it's usually much cheaper.
I'm willing to wait five years until hardware gets cheaper.
I use my computer much more for other stuff rather than gaming.
Plus; my computer won't play the most recent games so it'll be another 2 years to I buy a new computer. In that time most of the games will have reached the $10 to $20 mark.

madness wrote:However everytime there is a new console released you usually have to find yourselves making a major pc upgrade. Maybe not as often as console releases but it does happen.

Like were moving on too quickly. (List contains standard consumer cpus only)
Pentium 4 <--- I'm still back here 3.2GHZ HT 64bit (Woo:!:)
Pentium D
Core 2 Duo
Core 2 Quad (Now I can upgrade my Pentium 4 up to this processor but; I'd feel as if I'm wasting my money as the mainboards architecture cannot handle the speed of this new technology so I get a reduced speed [same would apply to Core 2 Duo])
Core i7
Core i5 (to be released soon)

Of course the upgrade from DDR2 to DDR3 would require a new motherboard.

SATA2 HDDs & PCI-Express v2.0 will work in old hardware but with reduced performance. A motherboard upgrade would be required to support these features and in some cases you'd have to upgrade ram to get optimal performance.


At the moment I have old Dell.
It supports SATA2, PCI v1.0 & 533Mhz RAM.

At the moment, my specifications.

CPU: P4 3.2Ghz HT 64bit
RAM: 2x2048MB = 4gig (800Mhz) [computer only supports 533Mhz]
GPU: Ati Radeon 4550 (PCIEv2) (computer only supports PCI-E v1)
HDD: 640gig (SATA2)
PSU: 300watts

A similar concept would apply if I upgraded CPU.
I do know this computer is about 3-4 years old. But a new console is released every 5 to 7 years.

But I'd still agree, that it's cheaper to upgrade your pc.
In my case it's usually much cheaper.
I'm willing to wait five years until hardware gets cheaper.
I use my computer much more for other stuff rather than gaming.
Plus; my computer won't play the most recent games so it'll be another 2 years to I buy a new computer. In that time most of the games will have reached the $10 to $20 mark.

You can also reduce system requirements by downgrading from Vista to XP.

chrisl121212 wrote:You can also reduce system requirements by downgrading from Vista to XP.

I'll probably wait and purchase Windows 7 SP1.
I still use Windows XP.

The vista beta was running well when I tested it on my P4 2.0Ghz CPU with GeForce FX5200 GPU and it ran Driver & Driver: 3 almost as good as Windows XP. But it was an still is a little unstable, plus I'm not ready for the visual upgrade.

I'm still happy with XP SP3.
I have noticed a fair bit of performance decreases when I've recently tried vista with other pcs. XP runs great on HP dc7600's but Vista tends to lag a bit. But I was running the Aero theme on on-board graphics .

Windows 7 looks cool. As far I'm reading, it's way much better than Vista. I just hope that it's not way too expensive like Vista was over here. If it's cheaper or with a similiar price, I'll skip Vista as well. I'm (partially) happy with my Win XP.

well i am running windows 7 as my main operating system even tho it is stil the beta build

Although I am a total Vista hater, I LOVE Windows 7. It has a very compact taskbar so you can have many windows open and your whole taskbar won't be full. You can also disable the UAC. I still don't trust it that is why I am running it in Virtual PC.

nah.. you can trust it.. i have never had any problems with it

As a Vista user, I have to say, I enjoy using Vista, but for some time I had Win 7 (Beta build 7000) as my Primary OS thanx to it being so much faster (its basically Vista without the downsides)

bb_42001 wrote:nah.. you can trust it.. i have never had any problems with it

I've had tons of problems with it. It crashes one time and I have no choice but to reinstall it(maybe it's because I'm running it in Virtual PC). At least I didn't have to deal with the damn UAC.

yeah.. i noticed that as well.. Windows 7 doesn't like Virtual Machines much

bb_42001 wrote:yeah.. i noticed that as well.. Windows 7 doesn't like Virtual Machines much

Its because they are not officially supported yet. When the full release comes out, Microsoft will release Virtual PC 2009 or 2010. That is what they do every time a new Windows version comes out. They make a new version of Virtual PC.

I just hope that in the PC version, they don't use softwares like StarForce or any other DRM crap.

I just hope that in the PC version, they don't use softwares like StarForce or any other DRM crap.

well the beta build didn't and i am using build 5057 which is well past the beta build and that also doesn't have it

I was referering for the PC version of the next Driver. Sorry for not making it clear.

Nick Brasil wrote:I just hope that in the PC version, they don't use softwares like StarForce or any other DRM crap.

Why? It stops most game piracy.

No, it don't. It's slowly destroys your computer. Even if those softwares, it does not stop piracy. It's not by adding a software that can make you lose all your data that will stop piracy. There are better ways to stop it.

Surely the best way is to make sure you have an original disk in the drive, they must be able to do that, surely?

I think that they should just make a simple disc search on launch, and if the game enables you to play online, add a cd key (because obviously if you play online it can check if your key is legit!)

any other DRM just bugs us legit buyers.

obviously the pirates would just remove the buggy DRM, so the pirates would get the best option...

When I went to run any of the driver games I was annoyed having to insert the disk all the time so I installed a no-CD patch.

I shouldn't have to do that.
It should be the pirates who have to do that.

Same with DRM, someone will crack it and they'll be cracked versions going around the internet and people will prefer the cracked version because they don't have to worry about DRM and they can save the cost of the game (double-bonus).

I haven't owned any new games, so I'm not affected by DRM yet!
Only when I have to ring up Microsoft, Autodesk and Adobe when I have to activate some software. But what about those who don't have internet and telephones. They cannot play the game :S and most games you can only activate online.

Therefore both a disk search and DRM won't work.
Disk Verification - Piracy will be reduced as those who don't know much about cracking games cannot gives copies to their friends.
DRM - Piracy is increased because many cannot be bothered (or cannot) activate online so they'd download a cracked version.
AND people will avoid buying the game if they cannot get a cracked version because they don't have the internet OR are frustrated by feeling as if they're renting the game (for example some games only allow three installs and that includes changing a piece of hardware in your pc). Spore is famous for this and is the most pirated game out there.

That's the way I see it

I think they'll be smart enough not to include DRM.
If they do, even me a fan of the game probably wouldn't worry, I feel that strongly against DRM. That's partially because I don't have enough time to play games anymore :S. But I did play DPL on the weekend for 30 minutes had a lot of fun too.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Ubisoft doesn't use DRM anymore. They don't use it since 2004, I guess.

Meh, I think that if you own the CD, you can use a no-cd patch. I don't think that it's illegal. At least you can have your game's CD for more time.

well stardocks games beleive the a game should run with out a disk.. its like one of there laws of all games they produce.. so no DRM on no need for a CD crack.. btw stardocks made.. Sins Of a Solar Empire

Does anyone have an estimate of what the recommended pc specs might be? I'm going to be replacing my pc in the next couple of months. I'm guessing similar to Need for Speed Undercover, but it came out in 2008.

• For Windows XP (SP2) or Vista
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD 64 X2 5200+ or AMD Phenom
• RAM: 2GB MB RAM or higher (Windows Vista requires 3 GB RAM)
• HDD: 10 GB free disk space or more
• Graphics: 512 MB or higher (Pixel Shader 3.0, PCIe only)
• The latest version of DirectX 9.0c