Red Dead Redemption 2

[James Bond]

Just started my third playthrough, this time on the Series S so it's the first time I can take advantage of the game's 4K HDR capabilities. Now an already stunning game looks even better. Sunrise and sunset in particular are breathtaking now (although I can see why a lot of people shit on the HDR in this game - I quickly learned to not follow the in-game calibration and just adjust to taste).

I'm taking my time a lot more on this playthrough to really enjoy immersing in the camp, talking to people, etc...

I can't be bothered to go for 100% but still, what a fantastic game.

[downzy]

1 hour ago, James Bond said:

Just started my third playthrough, this time on the Series S so it's the first time I can take advantage of the game's 4K HDR capabilities. Now an already stunning game looks even better. Sunrise and sunset in particular are breathtaking now (although I can see why a lot of people shit on the HDR in this game - I quickly learned to not follow the in-game calibration and just adjust to taste).

I'm taking my time a lot more on this playthrough to really enjoy immersing in the camp, talking to people, etc...

I can't be bothered to go for 100% but still, what a fantastic game.

I was pretty sure the Series S doesn’t run 4K. 

[James Bond]

8 minutes ago, downzy said:

I was pretty sure the Series S doesn’t run 4K. 

I am still learning the nuances, but my understanding is it can but that most next gen titles will be optimized for 1440p and then upscaled to cater to the less powerful processor, especially for 120 FPS gaming. It will come down to a game by game basis. I'm one of those people who still thinks 720p looks amazing (perhaps it's the amblyopia :lol:), so the upscaled 1440p looks fantastic and "good enough" to my eye(s).

For backwards compatibility games, it depends on whether or not they've received the optimization patch or not. Red Dead hasn't yet, so technically I'm currently getting a hodgepodge of the OG Xbone version but with enabled enhancements, like the HDR (didn't even appear in the menu previously), and then upscaled to my display.

I might be wrong, but I think that's what's happening. Either way, having owned the game on both OG Xbone and PS4 (the PS4 version looked washed out and terrible), this is the best Red Dead has looked on my TV even if not the best it can look.

The Series S has no trouble at all with 4K content outside of gaming, so in general this is the first time I've been able to do anything with my TV above 1080p and with proper HDR10 support.

So far I've only scratched the surface with games in my library. Perfect Dark has received the optimization patch, and it is unreal how good that game looks for a 360 N64 remaster.

[downzy]

25 minutes ago, James Bond said:

I am still learning the nuances, but my understanding is it can but that most next gen titles will be optimized for 1440p and then upscaled to cater to the less powerful processor, especially for 120 FPS gaming. It will come down to a game by game basis. I'm one of those people who still thinks 720p looks amazing (perhaps it's the amblyopia :lol:), so the upscaled 1440p looks fantastic and "good enough" to my eye(s).

For backwards compatibility games, it depends on whether or not they've received the optimization patch or not. Red Dead hasn't yet, so technically I'm currently getting a hodgepodge of the OG Xbone version but with enabled enhancements, like the HDR (didn't even appear in the menu previously), and then upscaled to my display.

I might be wrong, but I think that's what's happening. Either way, having owned the game on both OG Xbone and PS4 (the PS4 version looked washed out and terrible), this is the best Red Dead has looked on my TV even if not the best it can look.

The Series S has no trouble at all with 4K content outside of gaming, so in general this is the first time I've been able to do anything with my TV above 1080p and with proper HDR10 support.

So far I've only scratched the surface with games in my library. Perfect Dark has received the optimization patch, and it is unreal how good that game looks for a 360 N64 remaster.

Cool...  I forgot about upscaling.

Yeah, the game is pretty glorious.  I upgraded by Xbox One S to the X solely for the improved graphical fidelity.  Just started watching the show Westworld and it's making me want to play RDR2 again. 

Kind of crazy to think that we're likely a decade or more out from an RDR3.  Thankfully the map and game is big enough to keep going back to.  I really hope they release a Nightmare edition but any expansions will likely be done through RDR Online.  I find the whole online experience confusing and I really don't have the time nor inclination to bother with it.  I miss the old straight forward add-on releases.  GTA V had a lot of cool looking new content added to its online portal but I just couldn't be bothered to wade through the online world to access the new missions and content.  

[James Bond]

19 minutes ago, downzy said:

Cool...  I forgot about upscaling.

Yeah, the game is pretty glorious.  I upgraded by Xbox One S to the X solely for the improved graphical fidelity.  Just started watching the show Westworld and it's making me want to play RDR2 again. 

Kind of crazy to think that we're likely a decade or more out from an RDR3.  Thankfully the map and game is big enough to keep going back to.  I really hope they release a Nightmare edition but any expansions will likely be done through RDR Online.  I find the whole online experience confusing and I really don't have the time nor inclination to bother with it.  I miss the old straight forward add-on releases.  GTA V had a lot of cool looking new content added to its online portal but I just couldn't be bothered to wade through the online world to access the new missions and content.  

The system is still a bit of an anomaly and I'm not even sure I fully understand the technobabble, but it definitely looks good. I've had the same TV for both the OG Xbone and PS4 Slim so I can compare the three pretty fairly. For unoptimized games the One X is probably technically better, but still, it's an upgrade for me. Aside from the game loading faster in general on the Series S, the quick resume feature has been wonderful. From the time I turn the system on I can be back to where I left off in mere seconds which I find impressive.

I agree about Online. I've had some fun in GTA Online with friends, but otherwise I don't find the experience particularly engaging. I was disappointed when Rockstar confirmed that the planned story DLC for both games was shelved due to the focus on Online. It sucks that, at the bare minimum, the new add-ons don't also get patched into the story mode.

My dream scenario is a story expansion for Red Dead where you play as Sadie during some events concurrent to the Epilogue. Get more of her story and see what she got up to before and after reconnecting with John.

I suppose there's still time, but I don't expect it. Once the next gen GTA V is out then I'm certain a next gen Red Dead upgrade will follow, but I'm sure that's it until a Red Dead 3.

Funny how 1/3 if not more of the map doesn't even get used for story mode!

[RussTCB]

I own RDR2 but I never got around to getting into it. Might as well start it this week. 

[ZoSoRose]

9 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

I own RDR2 but I never got around to getting into it. Might as well start it this week. 

This and Witcher 3 are far and away the best games I played this gen (although it seems I missed some great Playstation games!)

[action]

On 12/15/2020 at 1:30 PM, James Bond said:

Just started my third playthrough, this time on the Series S so it's the first time I can take advantage of the game's 4K HDR capabilities. Now an already stunning game looks even better. Sunrise and sunset in particular are breathtaking now (although I can see why a lot of people shit on the HDR in this game - I quickly learned to not follow the in-game calibration and just adjust to taste).

I'm taking my time a lot more on this playthrough to really enjoy immersing in the camp, talking to people, etc...

I can't be bothered to go for 100% but still, what a fantastic game.

in some ways, the sense of sheer space and discovery, reminds me of my first playthrough of ocarina of time (even if, playing it again, it obviously doesn't hold up in that respect)

dare I say, even more so than breath of the wild

Edited December 20, 2020 by action

[action]

On 12/15/2020 at 3:18 PM, James Bond said:

 

So far I've only scratched the surface with games in my library. Perfect Dark has received the optimization patch, and it is unreal how good that game looks for a 360 N64 remaster.

I've bought a second controller for perfect dark, local multiplayer but I am SO disapointed you can't play splitscreen multiplayer on the Xbox one X. It is a known issue, and can apparently be solved by buying a gold membership, but since I don't play online I refuse to pay for it. I figure, 400 euro for the console, 30 euro for rare replay, and 120 euro for two controllers would be enough money to play a 20 year old game, but microsoft still wants more money from me. WTF microsoft, huge facepalm. I'm left playing the game on my N64, with my son. (over S video) And what a blast it is.

[action]

3 hours ago, action said:

I've bought a second controller for perfect dark, local multiplayer but I am SO disapointed you can't play splitscreen multiplayer on the Xbox one X. It is a known issue, and can apparently be solved by buying a gold membership, but since I don't play online I refuse to pay for it. I figure, 400 euro for the console, 30 euro for rare replay, and 120 euro for two controllers would be enough money to play a 20 year old game, but microsoft still wants more money from me. WTF microsoft, huge facepalm. I'm left playing the game on my N64, with my son. (over S video) And what a blast it is.

I've made it work!!! local splitscreen multiplayer on xbox one in perfect dark. the steps to take, are insanely complicated:

1. create a new hotmail account for your son (make sure you put age above 18)

2. add the new account in the xbox one, with add a family member, make sure it has all the admittances

3. link the new acount to your second xbox one controller

4. open perfect dark, select combat simulator, and check both accounts. you'll see some funky logging out / ins, but eventuelly it'll stop and both will be in

no gold membership needed!

[James Bond]

4 hours ago, action said:

in some ways, the sense of sheer space and discovery, reminds me of my first playthrough of ocarina of time (even if, playing it again, it obviously doesn't hold up in that respect)

dare I say, even more so than breath of the wild

Considering your passion for Nintendo I'll take that as a huge compliment coming from you.

But I agree. The world traversing is something else, and I can see the comparison. I'm about twenty hours in on this playthrough but I'm only in Chapter 3 and am still discovering things I didn't even know existed. I feel like I'm having even more random events pop up than before as well, which I'm guessing might be due to the improved loading/rendering on the SSD.

As for your Perfect Dark issue, that issue seems to be rooted in the fact that you had to create guest accounts on your 360 for locsl (if I recall, as cumbersome as it was). So what I think happens is because the Xbox One X and beyond runs that game in backwards compatibility mode, it forgets you aren't actually on a 360. I had a similar problem restoring my old save file but it worked.

Say what you want about Microsoft, but at least they don't charge $80 for ROM dumps or make you pay for the same game time and time again.

[action]

5 minutes ago, James Bond said:

Considering your passion for Nintendo I'll take that as a huge compliment coming from you.

But I agree. The world traversing is something else, and I can see the comparison. I'm about twenty hours in on this playthrough but I'm only in Chapter 3 and am still discovering things I didn't even know existed. I feel like I'm having even more random events pop up than before as well, which I'm guessing might be due to the improved loading/rendering on the SSD.

As for your Perfect Dark issue, that issue seems to be rooted in the fact that you had to create guest accounts on your 360 for locsl (if I recall, as cumbersome as it was). So what I think happens is because the Xbox One X and beyond runs that game in backwards compatibility mode, it forgets you aren't actually on a 360. I had a similar problem restoring my old save file but it worked.

Say what you want about Microsoft, but at least they don't charge $80 for ROM dumps or make you pay for the same game time and time again.

the thing with BOTW is, it's obviously groundbreaking with the climbing mechanic, but I've put 100 hours in that game, and honestly I don't feel inclined to go back. I know how the hills look like, I know it will be covered in grass and trees, and maybe a breakable weapon.

in BOTW you can forget about treasure chests, (how rewarding if you find treasure!) fishing, caring about your weapons (oiling, modifying), looting camps and houses for genuinly interesting stuff,... in stead you have breakable weapons that lack any character (even the master sword is hugely underwhelming), nonexisting looting, superfluous character interaction, lazy world design (it's like they created a world the size of twilight princess, and just "zoomed out" or something).

[James Bond]

23 minutes ago, action said:

the thing with BOTW is, it's obviously groundbreaking with the climbing mechanic, but I've put 100 hours in that game, and honestly I don't feel inclined to go back. I know how the hills look like, I know it will be covered in grass and trees, and maybe a breakable weapon.

in BOTW you can forget about treasure chests, (how rewarding if you find treasure!) fishing, caring about your weapons (oiling, modifying), looting camps and houses for genuinly interesting stuff,... in stead you have breakable weapons that lack any character (even the master sword is hugely underwhelming), nonexisting looting, superfluous character interaction, lazy world design (it's like they created a world the size of twilight princess, and just "zoomed out" or something).

I'll admit I'm not a diehard Zelda fan (although I loved A Link to the Past and Ocarina as much as anybody), but many of my gamer friends have been pushing me to try BOTW and saying I'll love it. I might still give it a go at some point, but what you're describing is exactly what I feared I'll probably end up feeling about it.

[action]

3 hours ago, James Bond said:

I'll admit I'm not a diehard Zelda fan (although I loved A Link to the Past and Ocarina as much as anybody), but many of my gamer friends have been pushing me to try BOTW and saying I'll love it. I might still give it a go at some point, but what you're describing is exactly what I feared I'll probably end up feeling about it.

exactly.

you'll "want" to like it, but you'll end up doubting if you're getting too old for this stuff since it doesn't really move you. you're not too old of course, otherwise RDR2 wouldn't move you. I honestly don't feel the game has as much heart as earlier titles.

the moment when link took a selfie, put up the V sign and winking, was where the magic was a bit lost to me. it tries to be cool and hip. the series never did that.

Edited December 20, 2020 by action

[downzy]

12 hours ago, RussTCB said:

I own RDR2 but I never got around to getting into it. Might as well start it this week. 

It is a bit of a sludge the first 10-15 hours...  I know that kind of sounds crazy but it's a 40-60 hour game (300 hour game if you're a 100 percenter).  

But once things start moving they pick up quickly.  Outside of some pacing issues it's probably one of the better stories I've come across in video games.  

 

[downzy]

@RussTCB - Also, the best thing you can do is work towards getting fast travel as soon as possible.  It requires camp upgrades if I can recall.  Do that as soon as you can.  Will help cut down the amount of time you spend traversing huge distances to complete a mission.  

[James Bond]

1 hour ago, downzy said:

@RussTCB - Also, the best thing you can do is work towards getting fast travel as soon as possible.  It requires camp upgrades if I can recall.  Do that as soon as you can.  Will help cut down the amount of time you spend traversing huge distances to complete a mission.  

I find all of the camp upgrades worthwhile, even the boat to make for some easy fishing or accessing islands that you don't have the stamina to swim to. I agree that it's best to do all of them early.

But yeah, fast travel is essential. For the most part I love just riding around, but it really comes in handy for quick mission prep or if you have something you need to do on the other side of the map.

[downzy]

42 minutes ago, James Bond said:

But yeah, fast travel is essential. For the most part I love just riding around, but it really comes in handy for quick mission prep or if you have something you need to do on the other side of the map.

For me, riding around was great when trying to complete the challenges. 

But for driving the story forward I found fast travel essential.  It was tough for me to continue with the story missions when it took so much travelling to get to the mission launch area.  Once I completed a mission I wanted to start the next mission asap, so the prospect of traversing for 5-10 minutes was not the most appealing.  

[action]

44 minutes ago, downzy said:

For me, riding around was great when trying to complete the challenges. 

But for driving the story forward I found fast travel essential.  It was tough for me to continue with the story missions when it took so much travelling to get to the mission launch area.  Once I completed a mission I wanted to start the next mission asap, so the prospect of traversing for 5-10 minutes was not the most appealing.  

I never do more than one mission a day.

the mission was "my work" for the day, so to speak. I usually end the game day by going to camp, sitting by the fireplace, wandering by the lake and then go to bed. Then the next day, shaving, fishing, eating stew, taking a bath in town.... the day's almost passed by then so not much time for missions anyway.

I live this game at the same pace as if I was really there

[downzy]

48 minutes ago, action said:

I never do more than one mission a day.

the mission was "my work" for the day, so to speak. I usually end the game day by going to camp, sitting by the fireplace, wandering by the lake and then go to bed. Then the next day, shaving, fishing, eating stew, taking a bath in town.... the day's almost passed by then so not much time for missions anyway.

I live this game at the same pace as if I was really there

I never got into the sim-life aspects of video games, less so now than I'm older.  If the action wasn't geared to finishing a mission or achieving an accomplishment, I didn't spend much - if any - time doing it.  

To each their own. 

[James Bond]

I just started replay of the first game - my first time revisiting it in eight years according to my stats on the Rockstar Social Club. I've only scratched the first couple of hours but it's neat jumping back in from the perspective of the second game.

It got the "Xbox Enhanced" treatment so the visuals are excellent on the Series S. Everything is crisp and clean, so while the textures aren't as refined as its successor I'd say it holds up incredibly well for a game released a decade ago.

[downzy]

On 1/1/2021 at 4:10 AM, Oldest Goat said:

@downzy
well I finally bought it mate. Will be starting it probably tomorrow. Any tips?

Build up your camp to allow for fast travel.  The game is less of a slog the first few chapters if you don't have traverse the map to launch every mission.  Stick with it as the game really gets going by the third or fourth chapter.  Be prepared to devote a lot of time to this game.