No advance review copies for PC

[emperorcleon]

Source http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/09/29/rage-two-barrels-is-a-commercial-incentive/

discuss

[enemyofportal]

then preorder it. why did you even post ♥♥♥♥ like that? preorder has some exclusive for advantage. that's why people preorder new game. if you are lucky, you will buy that DLC later just like deus ex human revolution (explosive mission, tactical pack). it was released yesterday. I didn't expect that happened. but it did. it all depends on you.

[Ersatz Nihilist]

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be discussing. Is it that you get a couple of weapons if you pre-order it? So what, they'll turn up as DLC if you really can't live without them - I normally find that extra weapons in games are good for a few novalty shots, but the core weapons that everyone gets are the ones you go back to.

Except in those instances where the special guns are too strong and wreck game balence, at which point I won't be using them then either.

[mochabootysweat]

The OP is not talking about the pre-order packs.

He's talking about the fact that journalists aren't getting advance review copies, so there won't be any early PC reviews.

From the RPS article:

we won’t be getting any early access to the PC version of the game, so we can’t review it before it comes out, so we can’t tell you whether or not to pre-order! Ha.

[John Rambo]

Yeah as in the movie business when companies what to prevent negative reviews from impacting their box office when they have a ♥♥♥♥ty movie to release. I sure hope ID havent dropped the ball with Rage.

[mochabootysweat]

Yeah as in the movie business when companies what to prevent negative reviews from impacting their box office when they have a ♥♥♥♥ty movie to release. I sure hope ID havent dropped the ball with Rage.

However, if I understand correctly, they are distributing console versions to journalists and at Quakecon and PAX, numerous journalists and even the general public were able to play both PC and console versions side by side.

[napmaster]

Basically, id software is trying to prevent pre-sale piracy. A leak would affect sales obviously. This is why you won't see early review copies and aren't able to pre-load the game. I think what id software is doing with the exclusive pre-order bonuses will hurt them. People will rage and download the game to get the full experience.

[KyRoS]

Basically, id software is trying to prevent pre-sale piracy. A leak would affect sales obviously. This is why you won't see early review copies and aren't able to pre-load the game. I think what id software is doing with the exclusive pre-order bonuses will hurt them. People will rage and download the game to get the full experience.

This is actually not true, as the game is usually not decrypted till release and also they usually patch in main executable. Most Steam titles are not affected by piracy pre-launch and early release. I personally think it's probably more along the lines of Batman: Arkham City, where they are trying to finish the game up to get it in good enough shape to release on the 4th. This is speculation on my part, but I'm betting that is the primary reason, as I'm sure id would like to see the game get positive reviews and have better pre-order sales figures.

[Cordliss]

However, if I understand correctly, they are distributing console versions to journalists and at Quakecon and PAX, numerous journalists and even the general public were able to play both PC and console versions side by side.

I think its all about the biases of some sites, some sites only want to talk about certain games that they know are important to their community base and will bring in more hits. Dark Souls is what everyone is talking about because its an established IP with a large fan base, the sites know that if they make articles about it they will get more site hits and subscribers, especially if they compare it to another huge game coming in November and purposely make it a flame bait. **cough cough** IGN **cough cough.

Rage is under the radar because its a new IP and many game writers and critics just write it off upon first glance as another "post-apocalyptic shooter" ill review it when I want to review it. There is a copy out there for review but since its not Gears of War, Halo, Call of Duty or Battlefield 3 (any other big name game) there is really no incentive to finish it until the day of release. Gears 3 had its review out 5 days before it was released because it was super hyped and they knew that with it out there early it would only increase the hype and the website hits.

Just look at IGN with Dark Souls, the review they say is coming out on friday and there is a "24 hour marathon stream" going live to hype it even more. Rage is not going to get that kind of treatment.

The PC versions never get reviews early and its not hard to understand why.

[emperorcleon]

I didnt expect this from id.....and that piracy argument is BS.
DX3 leaked, but that didnt impact its sales performance.

Also console version of the games leak much more in advance. Well now I, as a pc gamer, has been used to getting the bird from the awful company that is zenimax

[JSBrayker]

They didn't say nobody gets an advanced pc copy, they said "we". I'm not holding my breath, but there still could be pc copies going out.

[Inarborat]

I'm pretty sure this isn't id's call so people can stop laying the blame at their feet.

I don't care about advanced reviews anyways. Most of those are nothing more than paid for promo pieces than honest, real criticisms. And it's id. If you actually make all your decisions solely on reviews...that's pretty sad. There's been more than enough information and footage released to make a decision.

I'd pre-order an id game without seeing any footage, all they had to say was, "post-apocalyptic setting with a heavy focus on world building. Oh, and lots of gore and guns." SOLD.

[emperorcleon]

I'm pretty sure this isn't id's call so people can stop laying the blame at their feet.

I don't care about advanced reviews anyways. Most of those are nothing more than paid for promo pieces than honest, real criticisms. And it's id. If you actually make all your decisions solely on reviews...that's pretty sad. There's been more than enough information and footage released to make a decision.

I'd pre-order an id game without seeing any footage, all they had to say was, "post-apocalyptic setting with a heavy focus on world building. Oh, and lots of gore and guns." SOLD.

yes i know its pretty sad that i have to make my decisions based upon someone writing how it plays and feels. In perfect world they would give me a demo. And id hasnt made anything useful since quake 3 so yeah pardon me if I do not say you fanboyism

[rmaverick]

Getting back on topic: the reason there's no advance pc copies for early review is because, like crysis 2, the pc build is being stunted so it doesn't make the console versions look so awful at release. In three months or so Id will release a patch (ala crysis2 and witcher2) that will allow graphical tweaking and higher res textures.

It's a shame how once proud pc developers now force the hardcore pc audience to wait for months to max out the game...

That said, I'm still going to play it on day 1, then come back and enjoy the difference in a few months when they get their act together

[emperorcleon]

Getting back on topic: the reason there's no advance pc copies for early review is because, like crysis 2, the pc build is being stunted so it doesn't make the console versions look so awful at release. In three months or so Id will release a patch (ala crysis2 and witcher2) that will allow graphical tweaking and higher res textures.

It's a shame how once proud pc developers now force the hardcore pc audience to wait for months to max out the game...

That said, I'm still going to play it on day 1, then come back and enjoy the difference in a few months when they get their act together

on the bright side because of day 1 mod tools, we will see high rez texture pretty soon.

[Inarborat]

yes i know its pretty sad that i have to make my decisions based upon someone writing how it plays and feels. In perfect world they would give me a demo. And id hasnt made anything useful since quake 3 so yeah pardon me if I do not say you Hammer Legion Memberism

Ha! Anything useful since Q3 is very debatable and I don't begrudge a man for wanting demo time but reviews are garbage, this is not debatable. Pardon me if I don't call you a moron. If you're that hung up on hearing hands-on impressions, there are plenty of articles floating around the web. It's not that hard.

[Nitronumber9]

The pre order bonuses arn't actually preorder...
Its included in the Anarchy edition, you automatically get upgraded to it if you preorder, if you don't, you can buy the edition later and still get the bonus kit.

I hate how things like that are thrown around.

[nutcrackr]

Happens pretty regularly for games actually, most publishers are scared of releasing a PC version due to piracy or crap. Of course they are idiots but what can you do.

[rmaverick]

I remember before Doom 3 came out PC Gamer gave an early review that gave the game a 94%. As we all know, Doom 3 was merely ok. So sometimes early reviews, especially if they are exclusive, aren't that accurate anyway.