Q&A: February 12th, 2025

February 12th... technically.

Dzera Asks
Opinion on the current PC optimizations? Games have become a lot more demanding but without the benefit of added fidelity or quality of graphics, since probably like 2021 or 2022. Are the devs lazy or is it because they don't have the time to fully flesh out the game before it releases. Also some of the games releasing currently have Raytracing as a requirement which is just sad... (Indiana Jones for example)

Far as I'm aware, Indiana Jones is the only example?

I think '21-'22 as the cutoff is arbitrary. By that measure, one could make the same argument for graphics not advancing significantly from 2007 (Crysis) to 2011 (Battlefield 3), and yet that didn't stop advancements being made, nor being worth the effort.

Even Indiana Jones just reminds me of when Quake 3 required Hardware Acceleration in 1999, and was received with similar controversial.

Everything ebbs and flows, and the Gaming Industry is no exception.

At the moment, we're going through a period of time where there's far more fidelity advancements via games like Last of Us II, Gran Turismo 7, Cyberpunk 2077, and finally in the case of Microsoft, Indiana Jones, than I think get credit for, probably because most people aren't playing them, in-favor of Live Service games that run on toasters like Counter Strike & League, further encouraged by a global economy that's munching people's wallets to bits.

Don't get me wrong, I'm annoyed at Forza Motorsport's behavior on my computer compared to every other Racing Game that seven times out of ten looks better in motion than it, but it's something I've seen for 20+ years now, and the reason a game like Forza is that way starts with Microsoft, not Turn 10.

I watched WRC go from effectively unplayable on my PC to 100+ FPS after a couple updates, which tells me what Danny Bilson said to me in an interview years ago.

"It's just about time."

Duncan Gohl Asks
As you stated in your video, Max Payne 3 has some narrative short comings; specifically with the plot. What changes to the narrative would you make to improve it or is it one of those situations where Rockstar was in a lose-lose situation?

Rockstar's in a lose-lose.

They wanted to make a game based on their influences like City of God, Man on Fire, Elite Squad, and Domino, and there's just no way to make that in the Max Payne universe without the fan base raise an eyebrow.

The elephant in the room is Max Payne 2.

The game puts Max in a place that while not impossible to make a sequel to, definitely can't be the one Rockstar obviously wanted to make, which is effectively far as character development goes, their Max Payne 2.

One solution I'd maybe pitch is maybe just do that, and I think I could come up with a pretty simple twist to explain it.

Rockstar releases a sequel to Max Payne where Alfred Woden either doesn't keep his promise, or is killed before he can do so, leaving Max out to rot in NJ before Passos arrives.

Immediate problem with that is you can't call it Max Payne 3... which I"m not sure Rockstar needed, but typically, publishers only give up a numbered sequel title if held at gunpoint.

So yeah... lose lose.

I'd at least slap Dan Houser with a rolled up newspaper every other time he makes Max curse.

Fário Asks
With the Switch 2 being announced recently, I've seen a lot of people disappointed that it just appears to be a "better Nintendo Switch". While Nintendo is known for going wild with gimmicks with each console gen, is it a good idea for them to step back a little bit and just improve on their second most successful formula yet? What makes it so that most gamers are willing to forgive the PS5 and Xbox Series not being so different from their respective predecessors but when Nintendo does it, it's "lazy"?

You know, considering the video I linked in the last Q&A where I poked fun at Nintendo, I can't help but laugh at the idea of people being disappointed about the Switch 2 being... a Switch 2.

I guess they weren't there for the Rumble Pack, Advance SP, DSi, Motion+, or the "New" 3DS? I'll be fair and admit that I often forget the Switch is itself eight years old (Jesus Christ...), so maybe there was a reason for people to expect more, but I also, that title's kind of a giveaway.

I know Microsoft fans would've appreciated the Xbox One to have just been a Better Xbox 360.

Submit your questions in the comments below, for future Patreon Q&A's.