Force Unleashed gets ported to PC (Nov 3, 2009)!

[gstommylee]

I don't think were gonna see it tomorrow. How bout you?

 

video games are normally released on a Tuesday or a Thursday.

[Zwier Zak]

Some sources said it will be released on the 23. Just wanted to know if you guy's still think that's possible. There is no info on Lucasarts.com and no press releases. Nothing.

[Delta 62]

I have just been on Amazon (UK) and i cant find it but in the Amazon (US) i can....Anyone else having the same problem? Now i am worried it wont be coming out over here!!

[SW01]

GAME.co.uk has all but PC - says it'll be released on the 6th of November;

Amazon.co.uk only seems to have PS3 - also 6th of November;

HMV.co.uk gives us the PC version - though says the 27th of November as a release date. Also, most interestingly (and worryingly) it adds the line 'sorry this title has been deleted'.

 

I would say it will most definitely arrive here. When and in what format are, however, now two completely different questions it seems.

[Zwier Zak]

So... Is it out in the US?

[gstommylee]

So... Is it out in the US?

 

Its out November 3rd.

[Zwier Zak]

Its out November 3rd.

 

OK thx. Just making sure.

[igyman]

Official PC System Requirements:

 

PC Minimum System Requirements

 

* Operating System: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2. Windows 7

* CPU Processor: 2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2)

* Memory: 2 GB RAM

* Hard Disk Space: 23.8 GB + 1 GB Swap File

* Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

* Video Card: 3D Hardware Accelerator Card Required – 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 256 MB Video Memory with Shader 3.0 support

* Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 2900

* Video Card (Nvidia): Geforce 8800

* Media Required: 8X DVD-ROM drive

* Windows XP/Vista compatible mouse and keyboard or Microsoft Xbox 360 Wired Controller

 

This product does not support Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT.

 

Recommended System Requirements

 

* Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core 5200+

* 512 MB 3D Hardware Accelerator Card

* Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 4870

* Video Card (Nvidia): Geforce 9800 GT

* Memory: 2 GB RAM

 

NOTICE: Some 3D accelerator cards with the chipset listed here may not be compatible with the 3D acceleration features utilized by Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Please refer to your hardware manufacturer for 100% DirectX compatibility.

 

Supported Desktop Chipsets

 

* ATI RADEON HD 2900, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870

* NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800, 9600, 9800, 260, 280

 

 

Source: Aspyr

 

Good to know this game will be able to run smoothly on my machine. Well, not too long now 'til some lightsaber action.

[Kurgan]

good point. but personally i intend to get an ultra gaming rig as soon as i am able to, regardless of USE. its been an aspiration of mine since i was 8.

 

I've owned a few "ultra gaming rigs" in my time, and let me tell you, it's awesome when you get it, but it doesn't last. In less than a year they're already coming out with new tech and the stuff you own is going down in price. So it's a real waste, in the end. Don't get the computer, get the games, and then get the computer to enjoy those games. And get an OS that doesn't suck (don't just get the newest one, just to have the newest one). Then again, if you want to jump on the Win7 fanboy wagon, you can get a cheaper "upgrade" until January if you're a student. But every new OS from M$ takes time to get patched up and actually decent for games. I figure I can use the extra memory saved on an older one and that's just peachy. If a new title is artificially locked off from older versions that's just greed on their part. New PC buyers may not have a problem, but not everyone is going to buy a new PC every year to play that year's "hot game."

 

My opinion: i think it's the roll of technology. if no one moved past an old OS, there would be no incentive to create new ones. If new ones aren't created, then there won't be a any new features, capabilities, etc. If that didn't happen, technology in general wouldn't be able to move past a certain point.

 

Yeah but a new OS (windows in this case) is not needed to play new games. Look at the average lifespan of a gaming console... (was 10 years, now 5 years). So for all that time developers are making games for this "frozen technology" and people are buying them like hotcakes. Console games outsell PC games and go for higher prices on the resell. Unlike a console, you can upgrade the parts of a PC... new ram, new motherboard, new video card, sound card, monitor, controllers, EVERYTHING short of the OS. The OS is more of a hindrance than a help for gamers. It's just a menu so you can get to the game, and do OTHER non-gaming related stuff (typing, web surfing, photoshop, etc). That's why the good consoles have a very transparent OS, if one is visible at all.

 

So anyway, the point is that making a new OS every five years or so with double the memory requirements of the last one, to do pretty much the same things is a thorn in the side of gamers. They don't NEED it, it's being forced upon them by a corporation that has such power in the marketplace.

 

since Windows owns such a huge percent of the OS market, it affects more people than any other OS (maybe even software) on earth. With new versions of windows, new capabilities are introduced, and with it, people are given the power to accomplish new things. if windows didn't move past windows 3 for example, the whole world wouldn't be able to do things we take for granted with XP today.

 

Yeah but none of these things actually are required to improve games. Windows 3.xx wasn't actually an Operating System in itself, but a dos shell. Nobody used it for games (other than solitare or mine-sweeper), because all the good games on the PC were in DOS. DOS was the operating system and it took a long time for it to be replaced by something better (win98SE). Even today there's a big back catalog of DOS games that people play via emulators like DosBox in the new versions of windows.

 

the abandoning of support for older OS's is just what pushes things along, and game support is simply a part of that.

 

More like they're FORCED to be moved along, not that the new OSes are what drives game innovation. Far more important for game evolution are the pieces of HARDWARE, like video and sound cards. Developers can program software for consoles, they don't need a bloated consumer/business OS to make it work. But yes, the key to

controlling the market and getting people to do what you want have to do with the business side of things

not with the actual content. That's why in the game console race, typically the most powerful console

is not the one that dominates the market, but the one that is marketed the best and snaps up the most lucrative licenses. The stuff in Windows today has been in other OSes (like MacOS) for years, but it's just that now

millions more people are being "forced" to use it (through business liscenses and being pre-installed in new computers).

 

Do you think if every new computer came with Ubuntu or OSX and you could only buy Windows on a disc

to install that it would be as popular? Who do you think game companies would develop most for?

 

basically, since OSes (windows) are the single most affecting bit of software for humans, if they didn't

advance, we wouldn't advance. (technologically)

 

Let's not get carried away here. We're talking about games, not the human race. We lived for millions of

years without OSes, and most of our advancements have come in spite of them, not because of them.

An OS is just software to make a computer work. Windows is just a point and click GUI to control an OS

which M$ didn't even invent in the first place.

 

Besides, the only reason "everyone" uses Windows is because M$ controls the market. If it were Linux,

you'd be saying that about Linux, or MacOS, or even DOS (think if we'd continued with command line

interfaces and shells, which many programmers prefer anyway).

 

"CYA"?

 

Cover Ya A**

 

Basically I mean inflating the requirements just a bit to stave off complaints and saying "we don't support X" so that people won't bother them with questions (even if it works pretty much perfectly).

 

Back to The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition:

 

So from what I hear, it's about 6-10 hours of gameplay (maybe a little more

if you go back for the second ending, add 1-2 more hours for the bonus levels).

 

I would think this would be the type of game where you'd spend a lot of time

messing around. Though if it's just straight combat, who knows.

 

Remember how much time we spent in JK2/JA just creatively force-killing people

or randomly placing objects? Then again you can do that with pretty much any

game these days. The multiple endings thing will all depend on how early in the game

you have to make the "branching" decision, or if it's just a matter of a quick save here

and then boom, new ending, play one slightly different mission, etc. I realize the "bonus"

levels assume you've gotten one of the two endings, but you can choose to play them

RIGHT FROM THE START (which is a good thing).

 

My thing about high system requirements isn't that "progress" shouldn't be made in games,

it's that this comes off as being of such necessary high reqs because it's

a bloated console port, not that it actually would have needed them if it were designed

as a pc game from the ground up. They even included support for the 360 controller

(I'm betting the key/mouse support sucks, similar to the Spider-Man games) as a time

saving measure. The other deal is that the newer Windows OSes require more memory

just for the OS, so that is always going to pad the requirements. I mean, Vista/Windows 7

wants 1 Gig of ram for all but the lowest iteration (which is like 512 megs). XP wanted 64/128.

These aren't even games...

 

Anyway, rants aside, I'll wait with interest to see what the reviewers think. It'll be interesting

to hear from non-console fanboys and seasoned SW gamers what they think. I imagine the

review sites may give it short shrift and focus their attention on the console versions out of

sheer laziness.

[senorita]

Star Wars is very big name in the games and movies as well. I recently heard about star wars books as well. I go to my nearest book store and found some good books with great images of star wars series.... I was really amaze with it because i never saw books on star wars. I bought The Force Unleashed book. It has nice stories with great images as well. I really like this games & movies.

[Zwier Zak]

Star Wars is very big name in the games and movies as well. I recently heard about star wars books as well. I go to my nearest book store and found some good books with great images of star wars series.... I was really amaze with it because i never saw books on star wars. I bought The Force Unleashed book. It has nice stories with great images as well. I really like this games & movies.

 

Star Wars is not big. It's HUGE! And it's not doing so good these days. You should look for some older stuff.

[Dar]

Why in blazes is this game 24 gigs with a 1 gig swap file? The install alone is going to take up to an hour. Couldn't they compress the files? I pity the person who downloads it via DD or Steam.

[Alexrd]

I pity the person who downloads it via DD or Steam.

 

Mr. T pity them too.

[Alexrd]

PC Gameplay:

 

Video 2

 

It looks like all the DLC, including the Jedi Temple mission, are going to be separate campaigns...

[Kurgan]

That's big enough to fill the entire hard drive of many Xbox 360 units!

 

Well IGN gave the PC version 7.5 out of 10. Haven't read any ACTUAL reviews yet.

 

People should be finishing the game up in a few hours, if they haven't already. I'd like to read some non-fanboy reviews. How about you folks?

[TriggerGod]

I'll definitely see to getting this game for the PC the next time I go to Best Buy. And I wasn't a fan of the original game, so I'll make sure to write the most unfanboyish review that I can make after I get it and finish it.

[Kurgan]

Next we need a contest to see who can beat the game the quickest, and have people post screenshots of the end of the game (spoilers!).

 

Cause you know some people who bought the game today have already beaten it (especially if it's only 6-10 gameplay hours average as widely reported, even with the extra missions).

 

 

It might also be interesting to hear in reviews from people who have played the OLD console versions of TFU to see how the experience compared this time around. Has the game aged well? How was the transition from console to PC? (nevermind the USE on the new consoles)

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

The OS is more of a hindrance than a help for gamers. It's just a menu so you can get to the game, and do OTHER non-gaming related stuff (typing, web surfing, photoshop, etc). That's why the good consoles have a very transparent OS, if one is visible at all.

Good argument. I concede. Perhaps if there was a streamlined OS specifically made for gaming and only gaming that would inherently utilize your computer's hardware for games far better than normal bloated OSes could? IMO that would be pretty great. It would be cool if you could dual boot it along side your normal OS, and it had one of those "X second" startup times.

Do you think if every new computer came with Ubuntu or OSX and you could only buy Windows on a disc

to install that it would be as popular?

It wouldnt. The fact that it is is simply because of how stuff happened.

Let's not get carried away here. We're talking about games, not the human race. We lived for millions of

years without OSes, and most of our advancements have come in spite of them, not because of them.

An OS is just software to make a computer work. Windows is just a point and click GUI to control an OS

which M$ didn't even invent in the first place.

from here on out, most advancements in anything are going to somehow involve computers. Its just that right now, i would think windows would have a large role in that.

[Kurgan]

All well and good, I'm saying any developments are going to have to

work AROUND the windows operating system, they won't be somehow

inspired by windows.

 

I remember playing games in DOS that used a mouse pointer and icons.

Remember back then Windows wasn't even a true operating system, it was

just a DOS shell.

 

A good OS is easy to use and transparent. It doesn't help if a large

chunk of resources are required to run just the OS, which is doing

the same stuff it did ten years ago, just with prettier graphics.

 

The thing that drives consumer hardware development are games.

GAMES (and other consumer media like DVDs and HD media) use

those more powerful chips and memory. People don't buy giant

computers or expensive consoles to have a pretty OS, they do it

so that their flashy new games will run smoothly (or so that they

can play those flashy new games they've had their eyes on).

 

Your basic package of a word processor, spread sheet, calculator,

web browser, calendar, planner, clock, email... don't require much power.

 

That's what 99% of people are using their

computers for other than for games. Even throwing in a basic movie player

and sound recorder isn't that big a deal. Most people aren't using their

computers to render stuff for hours and hours or use it as a server.

Instead they rent those things.

 

Now where M$ (or whoever else would be dominating the market

by hook or by crook), makes most of their money off of contracts

with business and government. That's a separate thing. The servers

need the memory, but they don't need massive video card hardware,

etc. Maybe design companies, but until recently at least they've

been nearly all Mac driven. Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

 

I think the point I was trying to make is, that insisting that we

aren't forced to change to more and more bloated OSes every 5-7

years just to "keep up with the times" is not insane, and it's not

anti-innovation. M$ and everyone else is trying to turn a profit,

I understand that. It's just no fun to be a gamer when all you

want to do is PLAY that dang games, and these companies

are out to make it as difficult as possible if you don't have

infinite money to burn. Eventually it's going to hurt them,

because people won't take it forever. I think they realize that

now and that's why they keep selling us stripped down PCs

with bare bones OSes in the form of those little boxes we

call "consoles." It's a pity they get all the attention

because PC games have vastly more potential than they do.

 

It's just that the PC seems like it will always be a working

machine that just happens to be able to play games, sort

of like the Playstation 2 is a gaming console that just happens

to be able to play movies. But a gig of ram (these days) for an OS is

just ridiculous. It's like having a gold plated toilet seat.

It's just not necessary. I'd rather have that gold put to better

use.

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

I think the point I was trying to make is, that insisting that we

aren't forced to change to more and more bloated OSes every 5-7

years just to "keep up with the times" is not insane, and it's not

anti-innovation. M$ and everyone else is trying to turn a profit,

I understand that. It's just no fun to be a gamer when all you

want to do is PLAY that dang games, and these companies

are out to make it as difficult as possible if you don't have

infinite money to burn.

again, i concede. you're right about this.

[Kurgan]

Okay cool (that was easy, j/k)!

 

Back to discussing the game!

 

Okay, now obviously I haven't played it yet,

and I won't be able to for awhile (not until I buy

2 gigs of Ram!).

 

BUT, after viewing several gameplay videos

from the PC version I have some impressions.

 

I am comparing this to (IMHO) the most

advanced Jedi game out there right now (Jedi Academy on the PC).

I think this is fair even though I KNOW this is not part

of the JK series. I also want to say that it's

ABOUT TIME there was a "Dark Jedi" game, which

seemed the next logical step in the series.

So until we get an official JK4... well, read on.

 

VIDEO OBSERVATIONS:

 

The Force Mechanics AND the graphics look

to be rather improved over JA. The surfaces glow,

are grittier or shinier than before. Now instead of

tossing people around or gripping them, you can

move them around more fluidly AND you can move world

objects a lot easier.

 

The camera is zoomed waaay out, and for the saber duels

it suddenly turns to a side view like Soul Calibur (and zooms way out to

keep both combatants in view). It's strange why this happens in

single player, though it would make sense for Multiplayer for people

playing in front of one TV (though again, we don't have

any confirmation that Multiplayer EXISTS AT ALL

in the PC release, and I'm betting it doesn't since it's based on the 360 version).

 

Your HUD has a health meter, force meter, a little mini-map showing where you

are and (I presume) where your next goal is, and enemies (and friendly AI) all have little

health bars over their heads. Every so often little indicators appears showing you stuff you

can manipulate with the Force (or play tips).

 

However the saber control looks like a major step backward.

It appears to be hack and slash... like Jedi Power Battles.

No dismemberment, and it sometimes takes more than two

hits to kill somebody. A stormtrooper takes two hits and

slooowly slumps over (or you can pound him four or five times

and he goes flying).

 

Seems we've had the return of the feared "bat-saber."

At least it still makes big glowy slash marks on walls.

 

Saber duels are pretty slow, blade combat wise (but there

can be lots of jumping around and tossing of objects). Every

so often you get into saber locks which appear to be won

by button mashing (and if you win you can kick them or some

other type of finisher). When they get down to a certain amount

of health there are QTE events where you have to push the right

button to do whatever (like toss the enemy into a wall in dramatic

fashion).

 

It's strange that you hold your saber behind you, what's

the point of that? (other than it looks "kewl") It helps if

somebody is trying to shoot you in the back, but otherwise

he just takes hits like an idiot.

 

You get health back for slashing people (like the "Vampire Sword"

powerup in RUNE, it even has the little colored wisps coming out of the

victim to heal you, although they're green instead of red).

That's handy I guess, and from the standpoint that you're a Dark Jedi,

it kinda makes sense that you'd be encouraged to be a combat monster.

And your force meter recharges VERY quickly (compared to the JK games).

 

I see you "level up" after killing enough enemies

(and you get more experience for "stylish" combos):

With this stuff you can go to the menu and "purchase" upgrades to your

powers and stuff.

 

Looks like you can do things like double jump, glide forward, and pause slightly

in mid-jump, or create a shockwave with your saber (stuff we hadn't seen before

in the JK games).

 

Unlike the JK games though, I don't see ANY gunplay (saber is the only

weapon). It looks like your (single bladed) lightsaber is your only weapon.

It doesn't look like you can lose your saber, but I guess even if you could it

wouldn't be a big deal since you can throw force fireballs, lightning and pick up

a barrel or girder to throw around at any time. I also don't see any vehicle usage.

 

It'd be nice to know if we can edit this game, though if there's no multiplayer

I imagine the appeal will be short lived, unless people really want to spend

a ton of time creating short little bonus scenarios like the DLC stuff.

[Zwier Zak]

I got the game today.(Thank god for cousins in the States! )

 

The first thing that everyone should know is that the "minimum" requirements

are complete and utter crap. The game runs fine on my GF 8500 GT.

 

There are no video settings in the game but there is an unofficial way to change

the game mod to "low detail". Here's how it works:

 

In the Application Data folder there is a file called "Config.xml". In this file there is a line:

 

<s id="LowDetail">0</s>

 

And if it's not there just add it. Now change the 0 to 1 and there you go. The game

loses some of it's looks (not much) and runs MUCH better.

 

This concerns you only if you don't have a high end computer.

 

The game was running at 20fps before I changed this setting. Now it runs full speed with

some minor slowdowns when some areas load. But trust me it does not influence the game play.

 

Other than that there is not much to say. It's no JK game but it's good in it's own way.

I like it a lot more on my PC than I did on the console.

 

The game crashed once on me. Don't know why. Just went to an area and bam!

I'm at the desktop.

 

All the costumes are here (I'm just assuming that because I don't know how many

costumes there were in the console versions.)

 

The DLC levels are not a part of the main story.

 

EDIT:

 

I don't think the game can be moded.

[SW01]

Honestly, if graphics are going to be any sort of issue, I think I'd be inclined to go for the console version (if at all). And this:

I don't think the game can be moded.

Would, for me, defeat the purpose of buying it for PC, or, again, at all.

[Kurgan]

Thanks for that! I wanted to clarify a few things:

 

I'm told that there is ABSOLUTELY NO MULTIPLAYER WHATSOEVER

(which is too bad, the bare bones dueling from the Wii version

looked pretty pedestrian but it least it was something, oh well).

 

So no online battles.

 

Is there a mid-level save feature?

 

Also, can you post your full system specs? This is what I have,

and I want to know if it would run on this:

 

AMD Athlon 2400XP+ (2 ghz)

256 mb sdram (yeah, I know I'll probably need more than this!)

ATI All-In-Wonder 9600 video card (128 mb)

Soundblaster Live!

Windows 2000 Professional (SP 4)

(thankfully I have an external 500 gig hdd!)

(I have some programmable gamepads)

 

 

As for modding, somebody with the game, please check the install and CD or manual...

Is there an EULA included? Within it should be any details on whether the game

can be modded legally. At least it will be a possibility, though it may never

happen if there's no desire and (more importantly) no tools released. But with

no multiplayer I guess people could design little SP scenarios and new models

and such.

[Kurgan]

Also, if someone could post screenshots of the "Low detail" vs.

"normal detail" that would be nice.

 

 

Now, if we just had a way to uncap the FPS!