Avast ye Microsoft are finally showing the Power of the Cloud

Wind the clock back to 2013 and you’d find a new appreciation for digital clocks. However, once you’d got over the irritation of winding a clock back some 1500+ days, and you’ve taken care of important business, you might find you have a bit of time to check out then-current gaming news. What you’d find is Microsoft boisterously declaring that the “power of the cloud” would revolutionize gaming. Unlimited CPU power, seamless, persistent worlds, a genuine ‘game changer’.

[Kribwalker]

That water tech is amazing. persistent across everyone’s games. Which huge changes all in real-time. Pretty cool

[fr0sty]

Using the server to calculate terrain, as well as to connect a player with new players as they navigate the world, is something that has been done in online games for years. Server-side collision detection has been done in online games for just about as long as they've been around, the only real difference here is the collision detection is being done on a moving target (waves) instead of static objects like trees or the ground. Nothing revolutionary, nothing made exclusively possible by "microsoft's cloud" by any stretch. Them bringing another player your way every 20 minutes or so is nothing more than a glorified form of matchmaking, one that likely lacks many of the options most matchmaking systems use since you don't seem to have any control over it at all.

When I hear talk of the MS cloud, I expect to see things online games haven't already been doing for years. Crackdown looked to deliver there, but as the article states, it has been delayed into obscurity for a reason.

[sinspirit]

Thing about Crackdown though. It's graphics were very bland and basic. Other than the bullet holes, the physics of things breaking apart and falling was also very basic. It didn't sell me on the cloud and looked like it was more just the games physics engine. We have games with more advanced physics already out, not exactly on the scale of a city, but I think it's for the games design and not technical limitations.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

See Red Faction: Armageddon for reference of how to do destruction properly. Game still impresses me.

[fr0sty]

The online modes in crackdown had some impressive physics (in the demo, at least), but the offline stuff is quite bland. Perhaps you were referring to that. Red Faction had some nice destruction, but it wasn't as impressive as the stuff shown in the Crackdown cloud demo. That said, nobody has ever seen what that demo did running in the wild, for all we know the servers processing that data could have been in the next room directly connected with a 10 meter ethernet cable. I want to see how this stuff works on the open internet, but they keep delaying the game.

[AmstradAmiga]

Sigh, Frosty again playing down anything remotely positive re: MS. Didn't need the Cloud to compute that one.

[Slurms]

"Using the server to calculate terrain"
-You mean geometry, and not really.

"as well as to connect a player with new players as they navigate the world"
-Multiplayer games already exist? No way!

"Server-side collision detection has been done in online games for just about as long as they've been around, the only real difference here is the collision detection is being done on a moving target (waves) instead of static objects like trees or the ground"
-Yeah, "only" several orders of magnitude more complex. Actually other games have calculated waves server-side before, such as the Battlefield games. Much smaller scale though, and scale is pretty much the key word that defines cloud infrastructure.

"Nothing revolutionary, nothing made exclusively possible by "microsoft's cloud" by any stretch"
-Sea of Thieves is absolutely made possible by Cloud infrastructure. Nobody is saying "Microsoft" are the only ones with the tech, not sure why you injected that?

"Them bringing another player your way every 20 minutes or so is nothing more than a glorified form of matchmaking"
-It is actually pretty impressive, but probably to someone that lacks even a basic grasp of the challenges.

"When I hear talk of the MS cloud, I expect to see things online games haven't already been doing for years."
-Open your eyes and you just might.

[fr0sty]

Slurms... the server doesn't calculate geometry, it calculates collision detection with geometry, but nice try trying to appear like you have an idea what you are talking about there. You almost succeeded.

The waves in BF4 don't look as good as they do in SOT, but as for general complexity, the shapes the waves take on, they're not far off. I'm not seeing revolutionary levels of advancement in what SOT is doing as far as collision detection on waves goes vs. what has been done in the past.

Microsoft were the ones saying only their cloud infrastructure would be powerful enough to do what they claimed (but have yet to show) it can do. If you'd open YOUR eyes, you would have seen that years ago.

[TheCommentator]

"Crackdown looked to deliver there, but as the article states, it has been delayed into obscurity for a reason."

Realtime Worlds helped Cloudgine build their cloud-enhanced processing technology through the development of Crackdown 3. Building Cloudgine is what's taken years and it just finished up recently, as evidenced by the Campaign getting started last year and more recent purchase of Cloudgine by Epic once the engine was finished.

[Slurms]

@Frosty, I didn't say servers calculate geometry. You said "servers calculate terrain", which is erroneous at best. I was helping you with your terminology, and also disagreeing. I wholeheartedly agree that it sounded like the the argument of someone that has no idea what they're talking about. It was your argument. D'oh!

When did Microsoft say they're the only ones with cloud technology?

[zb1ftw777]

The idea might not be revolutionary.

But the raw power to actually achieve it is.

[3-4-5]

The cloud is supposed to allow them to do more things efficiently and smoothly...not some amazing new super awesome thing.......and they have done just that.

[fathertime4464]

@frosty
It's doing a what existing games have done yes, are they on a grander scale?yes!
If you wish to down play this as an achievement that's fine, however let me ask you something. How has Sony pushed online gaming? It hasn't. Microsoft perfected it and maid it mainstream on console with the og Xbox. Microsoft made it possible on the dreamcast. So honestly down play all you want, but MS is pushing it further than anyone else has on a console with sot.
As a more broad spectrum question let me ask, who's pushing games further than just graphically? Not MS, not Sony, and not Nintendo. There are only 2 ways to push and that's better multiplayer interactions and vr/at.
Personally I can't wait for holographic

[abstractel]

Cloud power will probably one day become a reality, but the last few years it's just been MS talk without anything really revolutionary to show for it. Show us your revolutionary games, then people will appreciate these things. It's still just talk and Sea of Thieves doesn't change anything.

There are obvious problems with Crackdown or it would have been out a pretty long time ago. To me, deliver first, brag later.

[sinspirit]

Okay. This is just getting ridiculous...

The waters graphical quality has absolutely zero to do with the Cloud. The graphical fidelity is great. But, that is nothing to do with the server. I feel like just because the water looks really good graphically that everyone assumes that this means the cloud "rendering water" has to do with it. No, it's just calculating how the ships, players, and various things are placed and react to the predetermined paths of the waves so that it matches the same on everyones screen. All they have to do is run a 1:1 mesh. One for the pretty looking water that is rendered by the games engine, and the other that runs the physics calculations prior, which the server simply has to send the bits of data to each console to render the same. Basically, the water is not so advanced. It's actually pretty basic to loop similar patterns over and over. Bobbing the ship up down, side to side, forwards and backward, based on the water levels and direction the waves flow is really the most strenuous thing to be done.

It's not difficult at all. It's not "more advanced". It's just more pronounced and in your face than most games before since few are so based on open waters with emphasis on ship based combat being affected by it.

Blackwake has been out for a year now and does the same thing. If they want to change the scale of the waves they could easily do so. It's just game design and what they chose to stick with.

[notachance]

it's cool in US where MS has multiple server farms across the nation..

there's only one country with MS server for my whole region.. I was excited to get this on PC, but now I wonder how the game'll turn out to be..

[Rarefaction]

pretty sure battlefield 4 boasted this tech years ago. On all platforms too.

They showed how waves needed to be consistent for all players to make sea combat fair

[Slurms]

Yes Battlefield 4 definitely had server-side physics for the bodies of water. Elements of the destruction, and projectile physics were server-side too. BF games don't get enough credit for this stuff.

Sea of Thieves is a different animal though. The workload is spread across multiple servers.

[The Wood]

We shall see Ms asa . . . .

I'm hearing good things about the water. . .YouTube videos don't cut it so I'll have to see it in the flesh. . . Somehow

Maybe it's the power of another entity. . . . .

[GrubsterBeater]

It's sad when the only thing that people are hyping and looking forward to more than anything isn't a game.... but water IN a game.. not only that.. but the one thing that PROVES the powah of da cloud... the showcase that sets future precendence for pushing forward the gaming standard... 4 years later.... BEHOLDDDD, WATER!

Oh, XBox .... I guess when there not much given on a console, then the diehards of that console will get super pumped about anything that they are given... in this case: High quality H2O...

[Stogz]

@TangentialShark this is you in the Gran Turismo thread.

"Another mediocre game out of Sony. Nothing new..."
I love how fanboys play the victim. Just looking at your post history is enough to condemn you of doing the same thing. Stay hypocritical dude!

[GrubsterBeater]

@TangentialShark

"What's more telling is how upset this water makes owners of competing consoles feel. They won't ever play the game, but they go out of their way to write paragraphs explaining why no on should be excited. Show's how lowly their lives must be."

What's more telling is your assumptions regarding my emotional state related to the graphical quality of water on a competing console.. It tells me that you are using what's called "projection", and trying to attribute your deep, subconsious emotionally addled state onto me, in an attempt to salvage your shattered ego that has been destroyed by XBox and it's inability to deliver anything above mediocrity this generation that would "stick it to those Sony Ponies who made fun of my console the past four years, while always making us the butt of the joke regarding gaming in general". You did this merely for my pointing out a laughable observation about water in a game.

So who is upset here....?

Not me.. In fact, this is not only the farthest thing from "upsetting" to me, but it's laughable to me. None of these articles affect my emotions in any way (aside from joy seeing nonstop PlayStation exclusives announced, then released to critical acclaim for the most part.). It seems to have upset you though, Tangential... I didn't mean to hurt your wittle feewings by speaking ill of the water you hold so dear, apparently.. I know it's hard to have anything to celebrate as an XBox-only gamer, but you shouldn't let things like people talking badly about water affect your emotional state as it seems to have done on you..

[mark_parch]

@GrubsterBeater
"It's sad when the only thing people are hyping and looking forward to more than anything isn't a game....but water IN a game... not only that..but the one thing that PROVES the powah of da cloud..d

First of all how is it the only thing people are hyping lol. go on youtube, mixer and twitch and there're plenty of people who have played the game who are hyped about many aspects of the game other than water, the water just happens to be stunning. Second this is literally the first article i have seen about sea of thieves using the cloud, i wasn't even aware it used the cloud. You guys need to give it a rest with the constant xbox bashing, if you have played the game and have genuine concerns feel free to share them

[Kribwalker]

@grubsterbear
judging by the length of your response to Tabgient I’d say you are upset. Otherwise a simple “I’m not upset” would suffice

[GrubsterBeater]

@Kribwalker

"@grubsterbear 
judging by the length of your response to Tabgient I’d say you are upset. Otherwise a simple “I’m not upset” would suffice"

What would the fun in that be? Seems I struck a nerve with you as well..

I was unaware that speaking more than three words would default my emotional status as upset or sad. When you ask your wife or girlfriend if she had a good day, and she goes on a long rant about how great it was, does that mean she's lying and had an awful day because she could have said "it was good"?

Sound logic you got there, Krib. It would seem as though you have no real response to the subject matter.

[DarXyde]

Microsoft seems most interested in making games that utilize cloud processing for physics. I actually feel this is useful. For games like Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3, it teeters more towards cosmetic and help with that "sense of immersion" or whatever.

On the other hand, games where physics truly matter (i.e., Forza) would greatly benefit from it.

[Dragonscale]

@tangent, upset? Its fecking hilarious. The greatest thing about sea of theives is the water. LMFAO. Face it the game looks meh lol.

[Ben Dover]

Ouch! Tangential got owned hardcore there! Need some bandage?

[rainslacker]

I've seen quite a few great water simulations in games over the years. Sometimes it's pretty impressive given the tech involved. However, every time, without fail, the impact of those water effects are more of a momentary awe inducing visual aspect of the graphics engine, and don't do anything to effect the game play itself, so ultimately, it doesn't add much to the game except it's graphical appeal, or overall realism that helps to immerse the player.

For instance, some deal was made about the water effects in the original uncharted game way back when. While the actual look of the water was nowhere near the level of SoT....which is great....when a character had to go through water, that water would actually change the look on their clothes. It added a bit of immersion, but didn't affect anything else. It was a wow cool factor that got a bit of attention, and showed just how much care was put into creating little details. In Uncharted 4, it was the physics engine of the way the Jeep would interact with the mud....which in itself was pretty damn impressive on a technical level.

Is that same care put in here? Does the water actually affect game play? Or is it just another visual treat? What does the water actually do to affect game play? If it has an effect, is that effect meaningful? For instance, does a persistent world through the cloud cause the physics of waves in a storm force a ship, or ships towards a certain area where you will more likely come into contact with other players....maybe through a grounded ship or what not?

Regardless, I don't see how the power of the cloud is relevant here. The water is still rendered on the system itself. It can't do more because of the cloud. All the cloud here seems to be doing is making sure it's consistent across the world....which would be server side physics. But that isn't something that is exclusive to the power of the cloud in the way MS has marketed it. That's just server side calculation that has been done extensively through any number of online persistent world games for over 20 years now. Most of those servers do not have the extensive server farms that Azure has, but when it comes to most modern MMO's, they still run on cloud based principals, and they're available to any system that can connect to the internet.

[rlow1]

Well when it's a game that takes place mainly on the water I would consider that an important piece. You would be right to talk bs if the water was a side show, but it's what makes this game immersive and the main conduit for travel. Plus it also presents challenges in the form of storms. sea life, and plays a major role in combat.............But I guess when diehards get bored playing on their console, they come here to bash Xbox articles. lol

[mozzie]

dude it‘s a freaking pirate game in which you probably spend most time on the sea. why wouldn‘t you be excited about great water physics?

[Brian7655492]

This could be the perfect game to deliver on the promise of cloud gaming along with games as a service if it's done right. Milking the consumer with a bare bones game, then added paid dlc and other microtransactions will be the death of it. Balancing that fine line can be tough. We don't expect developers to keep adding content and not getting paid but we also need to fill satisfied with our original purchase.

[NoPeace_Walker]

It is like the Hulk ( XB1 X) get injected with a second dose of Gamma radiation (cloud compute power). Amazing. 👍🏼

[frostypants]

Meh. Still waiting for the OG One to be more powerful than the PS4 with cloud powah, like everyone was claiming years ago.

[DialgaMarine]

Yeah, my Xbone was supposed to be comparable to PS7, last I heard.

[InKnight7s]

Ps4 what? Xbox one according to MS the Clouddd powaaaah is unlimited. The ACTUAL limitations are developer abilities😂.

[snoopgg]

Calm down shelden cooper.

[rainslacker]

It's not going to do anything more on the X1X than it does for the OGX1. That's kind of the whole point. All you'll get from the X1X is prettier graphics, and I maybe higher frame rate if the devs implemented that. While I'm sure the server side stuff on this game does affect the game in some way....like persistent worlds, and some physics calculations, those things are nothing new in the world of online games, and have been done for a couple decades now. MS just hyped it up as if they were now the innovators of such technology, and mislead the customer into thinking that it was going to somehow change gaming as we knew it, all while using it as a major selling point of their console upon release.

[Steveoreno1]

Cringe worthy

[Thatguy-310]

LMAO ppl are really impressed with the water in this game. If that's what it only has going for it then that's underwhelming

[Cy]

This just in, games are only allowed to have only allowed to have one good feature.

[subtenko]

This just in Microsoft and xbox rely on one trick points and a bunch of talk with little to show....Seas of Thieves being something to show at least. I might get it on PC but there are so many games Im planning on getting already.

[Valkron1]

This just in, check your post before you post it

[Godmars290]

Especially when presented with the launch of the platform that *ONE* game is on, five years after the fact?

And this just in: HA-HA-HA-HA...

[rainslacker]

There's a kraken also.

[christocolus]

Nice article. I hope the game does great. Its obvious Rare has put a lot into this game and the stress tests have been fun.

[PhoenixUp]

Power of the Cloud has become a memetic joke at this point.

The amount of work to get it to function means that it’ll take a game a very long development process, so I wouldn’t expect more of Microsoft’s first party titles to utilize it unless they want a lot of time gaps in their first party outings

[Doughhead]

Please since you know so much about it and the development time, enlighten everyone on how the process works.

[Belinker300]

Don't be so harsh on him he's not as old and wise as you I'm guessing

[rainslacker]

It doesn't require an undue amount of work to make it function. The things we've seen so far from the power of the cloud, have been implemented across other online games for a while now. Collision detection, persistent worlds, physics calculations, etc, all already exist....long before MS coined "power of the cloud" to sell it's gaming system.

While MS hasn't lied about what the cloud can do, they were far from genuine in the fact that they in no way invented these technologies, and were extremely disingenuous in the way they marketed the X1 alongside it. They also weren't very forthcoming in just how long it would be before such things would work on the level that they were talking about....which so far still hasn't come anywhere close to a finished product this gen.

In it's current state of implementation, it is in no way a game changer. It's just another implementation that is building on what's already available. I said when all this talk started at the talk of the gen that we were never going to see the levels of implementation that MS was talking about this gen. So far, MS hasn't proven me wrong.

[PhoenixUp]

@ Dough

Just look at how slow the development of games that heavily utilize the cloud have been. Do you honestly believe that Microsoft would invest that much time and resources into the majority of their future first party titles?

[WhyHate]

Just like with any other form of technology, Microsoft's Azure cloud service needs time to mature and develop. As more time and development is spent on it towards game development, more technical benefits for gaming will be generated as a result from it. And while these advancements take place, fan boys will complain and try to ridicule because they don't have anything comparable on their system of choice.

[akaFullMetal]

I think there is some fair criticism for the cloud that Microsoft announced for xbox back in 2013 when revealed. Since then they haven't been able to produce anything significant from said technology in the last 4 to 5 years other than ai grunts or drivatars.

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[WhyHate]

That's my points, apps like those, (AI grunts, Drivatars, ect.) gaming apps, builds onto that system (Azure) enabling more advanced gaming applications with each game's release. Until you get to a point where more of the games simulations are ran thru "The Cloud." Microsoft's system seems to "scale," meaning the more users, (XBOX ONEs) the more capable the "cloud."

MS would be a lot farther alone with it's cloud gaming infrastructure if all of you new PS4, former XBOX 360 owners wasn't such pussies, crying about "always on."

Try turning on your PS4 and try retaining 100% functionality, it's not going to happen. Sony is moving in the same direction as MS, digital.
The only difference is, Microsoft is innovative and forward thinking and Sony is NOT, as it relates to hardware and networking. IMO, and as reality shows.

[combatcash]

@WhyHate
What do you expect? This is N4G after all lol. I played the beta on the X, and it looked very promising. Beautiful graphics, and YES the best water I have seen in a video game. PS fanboys always look to put down Xbox exclusives. Detroit become human has some shitty animations, and probably has that terrible control set up from heavy rain, but no one is going to complain about it on here. We can all nitpick if we really want to, there's plenty to complain about. All I know is that you can see the quality of this game, and for a mere $10 through game pass you can try without having to shell out $60.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

"PS fanboys always look to put down Xbox exclusives."
It is no xbox exclusive so i have no idea what you are talking about.

[WhyHate]

@Combatcash
Your right, it is like pissing in the wind on here at times. This site is full of a bunch of old lunk-heads or kids just learning how to put together a sentence, and sometimes they are one in the same. :)

I have been enjoying the full capabilities of the X1X: PSE, and I can't wait to see what Microsoft does next!

[snoopgg]

Just like the fanboys like to rip on Sony's vr, online, and other new techs they are working on.

[Bobafret]

I would say that is 80/20 in Sony fanboys favor since OG Xbox.

[rainslacker]

I 90% agree. Which is why MS maybe should have worked on that instead of making the cloud tech a major part of it's marketing to sell the system when it first released. They should have instead used this cloud power talk to focus on individual games that use them. At least that way, people wouldn't have become so cynical over all the cloud talk, and maybe could have looked at the tech involved on an implementation basis, instead of purchasing an X1 on the belief that it would somehow become a super-charged console when connected online.

The 10% I disagree with is that users on competing consoles don't have anything comparable. Everything MS is doing with the cloud right now has been available in numerous online games for a couple decades now. It started on PC, and is available on the PS. I don't know what games use these kinds of features, but I'd imagine that quite a few MMO type games do to varying degrees....because they have for a couple decades now. These things, while interesting, are nothing unique to Xbox. They're interesting tech features at times, but commonplace enough that they aren't something that is generally looked at as a major selling point for a product.

For instance, when a new MMO comes out, no other company is talking about how they have server side physics or collision detection, or persistent worlds which can do matchmaking and granting you the ability to see other players. Those are just expected features of an online game.

[bolimekurac]

if a game truly shows the power of the cloud on xbox that blows everyone away, will there be a petition started to bring over cloud to playstation?

[Kribwalker]

there is a petition to bring sea of thieves to the PS4, that’s kinda the same thing

[DialgaMarine]

Maybe, but it’ll only get signed by like 10 people. Not nearly as many as the almost 1000, and growing, that are begging for Spider Man to come to Xbox. Who would’ve thought some Xbox owners actually like single player games?

[bolimekurac]

uhm, then we buy it for our ps4's and play it, no need for a petition

[combatcash]

Yup just buy it on PS4 i have a pro but doubt I'll be picking up Spider-Man. More interested in days gone and Detroit becoming human.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Combat

That is the good thing about playstation. If you aren't interested in a particular AAA exclusive there are plenty alternatives that may fit your taste.

[bluefox755]

Cloud technology is not currently limited to Xbox, they're just the only ones pretending like it's worth a damn in gaming.

[Lon3wolf]

Cool, like who else in gaming and it what form?

[rainslacker]

Cloud is already available on the PS4. It was available on the PS3 and 360. It's been available in the form of dedicated servers on PC since the first MMO.

One shouldn't petition for the cloud itself, they should petition for specific cloud based computing implementations to be done in games. Or at least talk about their desire for it.

But right now, what MS is offering, is already available to varying degrees through other games which exist on PC and PS, and have for a while now. MS even said that Azure was available to any developer that wanted to use it, regardless of console. Azure probably already runs some of these server side games. Sony and EA have their own servers for such things, although they don't have the massive infrastructure of server farms across the world that Azure does. But Amazon and Google both have cloud services as well, which are readily available to any developer that wants to use them.

[Silly gameAr]

We promise that the water is the greatest thing you've ever seen ! We reassure you! Oh, and the cloud?. I know it's 5 years late, but we kinda have it working!

[DialgaMarine]

The Cloud was a fancy buzzword that faded away and eventually became “True 4K”. Both are BS, and the cloud is never happening lol

[Tedakin]

Except for games that are in True 4K. Sure not all are, but they do exist.

[DialgaMarine]

What is “True 4K” though? Is it native? Dynamic? Checkerboard? Does the entire library have to meet the criteria? It’s such a vague phrase, and to say that X is a “True 4K” console because it has “some true 4K” (I take you mean native), then the same can be said about Pro, because it has its share of games running in native 4K.

That’s why it’s just a buzzword; made up to intentionally have a vague meaning so the company can simply say it means whatever they standard they’re able to meet.

Plus, by the “True 4K” logic, Xbone S isn’t a “True HD” console lol

[bolimekurac]

dynamic 4k is also bs, sony doesnt get a pass on the bullshit they pull either. you will work 2 jobs for ps3 was a sony line , lets not forget both companies have made massive booboos

[DialgaMarine]

“You will need to work 2 jobs for a PS3”. That’s not a buzzword to market to a bunch of drooling morons who can’t think for themselves; that’s an honest way of saying “our product is expensive, and you may need to work a little more to afford it, but it will be totally worth it”.

Dynamic 4K is also a fairly honest term. It simply means the Pro operates in a range of 4K resolutions, whether its native, upscaled, or checkerboarding. It’s no different than the term dynamic scaler for resolution and framerate. It’s pretty black and white if you’re not a complete idiot. True would suggest native 4K 100% of the time, something the X barely hits more often than the Pro.

Point is, feel free to be that dumb consumer that buys into marketing buzz words, but just know how stupid when you try to use them in any comparison based around facts. If X is a “True 4K” console, then so is Pro.

[pinkcrocodile75]

@DialgaMarine Learn how to read.

MS say the console CAN render Native 4K, however it's up to the developers.

What part of that are you incapable of understanding?

Oh and as for cloud, it's a common term for storage as per your ps4 cloud storage for game saves and cloud compute does exactly what it says on the tin, it offloads compute to dedicated cloud servers in MS's data farms globally. they spin up and down as load dictates.

This is common in enterprise cloud software development, something I happen to do for a living.

Basically I'm telling you that you have NO understanding of the technology and because you clearly lack the intelligence to understand it you either belittle it or deny it's existence. Just like some Christians do (that's people who believe in a magic baby being born on 25th Dec and not people whose first name is Christian)

[DialgaMarine]

And PS4 Pro can render at native 4K. Doesn’t change my point.

I know what the cloud is, but that doesn’t change the fact that MS lied about it.

Also, good for you. Want a cookie? There’s plenty in this world I could school you up on, but I’m not gonna tell you that, because I’m not an insecure little brat. I’m willing to bet that if you actually put yourself up against people who have genuine knowledge and experience in the computer science field, they’d make you look like a moron.

Also, nice Christian comment. I don’t care for religion any more than you do, but once again I’m not an insecure little child who has to declare that on a site about video games. Grow up lol

[pinkcrocodile75]

@Dialga Clearly you don't understand the technology otherwise you say more about it in response. Also tell me what lies Microsoft have said about cloud compute?

As for my credentials, I have a degree in Engineering, a degree in Software Engineering along with a masters in computer science. So.... I know my onions as they say.

That's the great thing about getting older in this day and age. Same sex marriage is legal (check), we've had children with lesbians (check) and being very smart with lots of experience I get to call you out on talking out of your arse!

[Tedakin]

Rare claims they can change the water and make it do whatever they want at any time. For instance they can suddenly make the tides engulf the islands, make the waves huge, make storms appear and disappear... all in a matter of seconds.

[rainslacker]

Yeah....because that's how waves and water work. Why make a beautiful water simulation, then make it do things which are unrealistic.

What would be more impressive is if they actually had a complex weather system which would just do those things naturally. It wouldn't even have to be that complex....just a decent rotation of variables which add to how things happen. Knowing, or hearing that a storm is moving it's way up through an area, and may be there soon, could add in a great level of immersion and sense of urgency. Just having one suddenly appear just sounds like cheap game play tactics to keep things interesting.

It's not to say that what they're doing isn't impressive in some ways, but all they're doing is throwing in the ability to enable a feature on the fly. That is nothing new, and while online servers are required, it's not "the power of the cloud". It could be done with any connected game that accepts commands to start such things, and done on the hardware itself depending on the complexity of what is being enabled.

[Slurms]

You seem to only value things that are totally new and unheard of. I can't begin to guess what the last game you actually liked was. Do tell.

[pinkcrocodile75]

@slurms, I think Rainslacker hasn't heard of a tsunami or a white squall.

[rainslacker]

I value a lot of things. But it's the marketing involved that I have a problem with.

@pink

I've heard of those things. But both those things have sources which aren't just there for no reason.

A white squall is a sudden increase in wind speeds which comes from the air pressure systems that exist in the world.

A tsunami is caused by underwater currents which push water towards a land mass, and as the ground beneath that water rises closer to the ground, it causes large tides.

A tsunami can be predicted. A white squall is more complex in it's make up, but it can also be predicted where it's more likely to happen, although specific cases of such things would be hard to pinpoint....kind of like lightning.

[DillyDilly]

Run guys Galactus is coming

[Cmv38]

So we finally get the power of the cloud and it's water waves?

[bolimekurac]

actually if you wherent being a parrot and read the article its used for 5 things in the game, aging characters, water, bringing player together every 20 min and much more

[pinkcrocodile75]

@bolimekurac has got you there, and made you look really stupid :D

[slate91]

March 20th cometh

[paintedgamer1984]

Sea of zzz's

[DialgaMarine]

The water looks nice, but everything else looks horrendous. Kind of defeats the purpose lol

[Gazondaily]

Everything else looks horrendous?? Game looks gorgeous lol.

[jznrpg]

Agreed, the characters and boats are cartoony and some other things are more realistic, I hate the WoW cartooon look.

[pinkcrocodile75]

Then don't buy it! Ot's really that simple.

[GamesMaster1982]

We will see.

[TheColbertinator]

Been waiting since November 2013

[subtenko]

not this again.....

[Gwiz]

Still holding onto that pocket of hot air eh?.

[ASBO-5]

YEAH NOT REALLY

[inxine]

yaay the water looks great, what about the rest? lol

[pinkcrocodile75]

The rest is the bollocks!, Awesome, Bitchin, B@st@rd Brilliant, Excellent.

So, your point is... what?...

[inxine]

mate, calm ur jigglypuffs will ya xD my point is that no1 talks about the rest xD

[pinkcrocodile75]

Dude 1 and dude 2, I've played the game this weekend and it's the most fun I've had in a long time. The gameplay is brilliant so relax sugar t!ts (sorry been watching the IT crowd again :D)

You guys won't hear anything positive here since it's well... not playstation.. let's be honest, the guys on here think that Sony is run by wizards... you know... nutters.

Though my personal view is, if you don't like xbox but have a windows 10 laptop or pc, get it on PC the gameplay is well worth it.

[Enjoigamin]

Lol ponies must have nothing to do but bash this amazing game. Playing it right now. But only people bashing haven't even played it and just have nothing else to do. Classic fangirls in mommies house or sad lonely 30 yr old man in a studio apartment 😂 you guys brighten my day with your salt.

[Vasto]

And lets not forget all we have to do is pay $9.99 while they pay $65 for lame single player games with no multiplayer for replay value. Beat the game in a day or 2 then its off to Gamestop because there is nothing left to do with it. LMAO

#TruePower

[MasterCornholio]

Maybe it's because those single player games are worth 60$ instead of 10$?

I mean many of those games have been praised critically so it's understandable why games like Zelda Breath of the Wild or Horizon Zero Dawn cost 60$ at launch. They both sold a ton so that's proof that people support high quality single player games.

[Vasto]

@MasterCornholio

Its not whether they are worth it or not. What choice do you have? You have to pay $65 for day 1 new releases.

If PS or Nintendo offered a service like Gamepass you and everybody else would sign up for it.

Now if there was a service like Gamepass where your 1st party titles would be there day 1 and it still sold those millions then its worth it.

[BiggerBoss]

Microsoft was forced to come up with Gamepass, because most of their games are flops. Even Forza (one of their biggest franchises) did really shitty.

Sony doesn't have to do the same because their games are actually selling, lmao.

[jznrpg]

You pay 9.99 a month not a one time fee of 9.99 .

[rainslacker]

I'm not bashing the game. I'm bashing the premise that this game somehow is indicative of the power of the cloud. I base that on the premise that what's being talked about here has been around for some time before MS ever marketed the cloud to sell X1. I'm harsher about it because this in no way lives up to the expectations that MS set for the power of the cloud to sell the X1.

I don't have to play the game to know that what's being talked about here has been done before in different ways It's not a cloud thing, it's a server side thing, which is done in every MMO to varying degrees.

@Vasto

I'd certainly sign up for a Game Pass type service on Switch or PS4. But we won't see it with new AAA games that we pay $60 for. The GP games are all GaaS games. One's with secondary revenue streams that play a major part in the design. The only game Sony has like that right now is GT:S, and I'd rather pay $60 for that because it has the content and doesn't leave me asking what the heck I do in the game, or rely on cloud marketing to make it look more attractive. But for that $60, I get updates, and there are no MT.

Moreso, I wouldn't expect anywhere near the number of AAA games day one on a service like that from Sony or Nintendo, because that just wouldn't be a sustainable market. Sony and NIntendo would lose too much money, whereas MS has found a way to implement a paywall to what is essentially F2P games. I said a while ago I expected SoT to go F2P, and CD3 too. Looks like it has, but with a $10 paywall, or you can by the $60 version and not subscribe, but unlike most F2P games, the $60 version doesn't remove the ads which we'll call MT in this case.

It's kind of a smart move from MS. Realistically, how many people would have brought CD3 or SoT? Given their game sales to date for anything other than their staple 3...I'd say it wouldn't be that much. But make it $10 a month, and now everyone thinks it's the best deal ever. They get their user base, which means maybe they'll make money off the MT and actually make a decent profit. I think SoT may do well because it's different and looks good. I expect CD3 to bomb hard, even if they ramp up the graphics, because it doesn't look interesting, and the massive destruction aspect of it isn't something that is fun once the wow factor wears off, and it doesn't compensate for what appears to be poor game design and implementation. It's pretty telling that MS barely shows anything about it, despite it supposedly releasing this year.

[Vasto]

This is why Sea Of Thieves is in a league of its own.

[zivtheawesome]

The water tech is pretty good, but it's not really years above what the Assassin's creed games have reached with the Ubisoft tech which is running in real time without the need for cloud compute.

[corroios]

Please not again with the power of the cloud...

[Slurms]

That PR barrage ended ages ago. The only clouds Microsoft have mentioned are skull clouds, so I think we're safe :)

[Godmars290]

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA...

[IanTH]

Tidus, is that you?

[Godmars290]

Then it would be:

ha...ha...ha...

[windblowsagain]

secret sauce

[pinkcrocodile75]

Stop putting it between your lips and you'll stop getting "Secret Sauce"

[jznrpg]

Please let this PR BS die

[pinkcrocodile75]

Yes, your bullsh!t is getting on my t!ts

[pinkcrocodile75]

First thing first, Sea of Thieves looks a right laugh, I've had a go this weekend on the scale up and had a lot of fun with my lads and husband. Cloud or not, the game is brilliant and have the hallmark RARE visual style we all know and love. Should be a blast come the 20th March.

Side note:

Oh F*** My Life, I've taken a holiday from this site for a few months (broken elbow). Now here I am having a nose back and what do I find? I'll tell you what the same old Moaning Myrtle's bitching a whining and doing the same old "pulling no idea, not common sense, horse Sh!t ideas out of their heads and typing them as up as fact instead of the pre-pubescent ejaculations they really are.

Boys, please stop!. Put it away and think with your big head instead of the one clamped in your fist.

[Wallstreet37]

Keep up the good fight cloud faithful.

[Father__Merrin]

so we are now returning to the fabled unlimited cloud compute are we?

Wait till DX12, Cloud compute, Esram boosts, Azure servers, Titanfall.....

[Servbot41]

Sea of Astroturfing

[Achamian]

Not a PS4 game, showcases Microsoft tech, any comment will have at least 50% downvotes

[BadElf]

But there isnt anything else really in the game. Cool....water is cool.
Then you can find Skeletons and Sharks as enemies. ANd a random Kraken.

Then some pigs, snakes, chickens and Bananas. Soo? OHHH and cannon balls...cant forget cannon balls.

[Xenophon_York]

Too bad the site hosting the video cannot deliver a decent stream buffer. The game's water physics are far and beyond the best I've seen. For that matter it looks good enough to be a CGI movie like Finding Dory. Not something that would sell me on a video game—but, cool tech.