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No Patch for Dead Rising Fans 97

Posted by Zonk from the patch-it-so-that-its-fun dept.
1up is reporting that Capcom has put the kibosh on a patch for Dead Rising, frustrating fans who have complained about the games's almost unreadable text on Standard Definition screens. From the article: "So, the question is, will there ever be a patch? Unfortunately, that's a no. 'Due to the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text, a patch isn't possible for this issue,' said the company. 'We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible.' As it stands, no patch is coming for Dead Rising players -- but maybe they'll change their mind if you yell loud enough."
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No Patch for Dead Rising Fans More

No Patch for Dead Rising Fans

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  • Write your own patch. You can also improve the gameplay. Make new levels/mods, etc. Wouldn't it be nice if we had tools that could make this easier?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Durrok ( 912509 )
      ... and then get the ever living crap sued out of you.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by QuantumG ( 50515 )
        Yes, because you'll be taking money away from them by encouraging people to play their game. Oh wait.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )
      Only problem is that the game is for the XBOX 360 and you cant use new data/code for an XBOX 360 game at this time.

      • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

        by QuantumG ( 50515 )
        Making a PC port is something else you could do. Of course, I'm thinking that where the article says "Dead Rising Fans", it really means "Dead Rising Players" because I doubt many of the people we're talking about are "fans" in the sense of "I'm willing to dedicate weeks of my life to making this game more playable". Guess we'll need to wait 10 years before the real "fans" of this game show us what they're willing to do to make it so others can enjoy the game.. and that's likely to render this particular
    • Wouldn't it be nice if we had tools that could make this easier?

      Wouldn't it be nice if they had tested the game on standard TVs and realized that the text was substandard and actually fixed the issue? I think patches for -any- console game are absolutely unacceptable. I've noticed a lot of ugly text in a lot of games lately myself, almost unreadable, but then it could just be the widescreen TV, widescreen setting for the xbox/ps2 or whatever... But it makes it real inconvenient when you're trying to earn

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by QuantumG ( 50515 )
        Of course that would have been nice. It'd also be nice if companies were held responsible for their products, but hey, I can't do anything about that, can I?
      • this seems to be a common 'issue' with these so called 'next-gen' consoles - apparently the 360 certification process only involves testing on HD tv's - this isn't the first game that has had this issue.

        Considering the ratio of HD to 'standard' tv's on the market, this is yet another reason to NOT buy a 360...

        hilarious

  • Quick! Someone get an internet petition going! (Score:4, Funny)

    by bunions ( 970377 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:02PM (#16089545)
    In these our modern times, when people need to get something done, they resort to the big guns: internet petitions.

  • No real point in doing it... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bones3D_mac ( 324952 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:03PM (#16089551)
    ... when games become obsolete and irrelevent after about 3 months on the market. Aside from that, the text isn't vital to the gameplay itself. You can still finish the game just fine without it.

    Now if it were one of those 80+ hour RPGs, it could be an important factor. But thats pretty much a niche market here in the US.
    • Good grief! After all, the graphics aren't vital to the gameplay. Nor is the sound. But they are bloody well vital to the experience of the game. After all, just finishing the game isn't the point; enjoing it is.

      I mean, hell, the words aren't vital to finishing a book. But what's the point of reading without them?

  • Long story short.. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by The Living Fractal ( 162153 ) <banantarr@hot m a i l.com> on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:05PM (#16089573) Homepage
    Fans: This game we bought needs to be fixed!

    Publisher: Let me check if we can do that (pretends to be calling some programmer, faint sound of dialtone still audible through whole conversation). Ahh, we're sorry, that simply is not possible at this time. (besides, you already bought it, suckers!! *evil publisher squeal laugh*)

    On another note..
    Someone explain to me how changing out a font or two constitutes a large patch without there first being some ridiculous method of storing said text in the first place? Like maybe storing every dialog box as a separate JPEG...

    TLF

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )
      The problem is probably in testing the patch. It's not just a question of making the text bigger, you then have to check that it all fits on screen through the entire game. Sure, in an ideal world they would have make their system clever enough to cope with that...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nuzak ( 959558 )
        There's this clever thing called scrolling. Maybe they should look into it.

        And while I'm not a fan of the JRPG tradition of condensing dialogue down to "Magic doohickey lies east. Talk to Jiro. Good luck!" I can't figure out how a game about killing zombie hordes needs such a volume of Dostoevskian textual exposition that it won't even fit on a screen.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sigma 7 ( 266129 )

        It's not just a question of making the text bigger, you then have to check that it all fits on screen through the entire game.

        That's generally why you have multi-page notes. If the Final Fantasy series can handle it, why can't Dead Rising?

        In the rare event that multi-pages would break something, it's trivial to create a magnifying glass - even Microsoft made one with the stock install of WXP. You just need an easy-to-remember command for the users (e.g. holding down L+Z and playing with the analogue stick)

    • In a nutshell... (Score:5, Informative)

      by MMaestro ( 585010 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:27PM (#16089824)
      Someone explain to me how changing out a font or two constitutes a large patch without there first being some ridiculous method of storing said text in the first place?

      Short version : Video games don't use wordwrap.

      Long version : Its a hold-over from the 8-bit and 16-bit days, back when text would sometimes take up more memory than the game itself. You commonly hear this problem during fan translations of SNES games. When translated into English, the text would run out of the text box and, in the worst case, off the screen where it was completely unreadable.

      • Someone explain to me how changing out a font or two constitutes a large patch without there first being some ridiculous method of storing said text in the first place?

        Short version : Video games don't use wordwrap.

        They don't? Most of the games I've played lately have textboxes or similar in them and use them to display text. They cause text to wrap.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AuMatar ( 183847 )
        That was true a decade ago. Nowdays processors have more power, the power needed to wordwrap is trivial. Anyone not writing a wrap function and counting on precise lengths by the content producer is not only being stupid, its likely going to cost more (it'll lead to at least a dozen bugs, I promise). The space problem is more likely to be the bottom end of the screen- not word wrap, but screen wrap. A scroll mechanism could easily be implemented, but it apparently wasn't. Very short sighted.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by TwoBit ( 515585 )
        Sorry, your explanation doesn't work. Especially with respect to a modern machine like the XBox 360. I program game text and nobody with half a brain does it like this. The representative from Capcom saying there is too much game text is either lying or their programmers are unbelievably bad.
    • Someone explain to me how changing out a font or two constitutes a large patch without there first being some ridiculous method of storing said text in the first place? Like maybe storing every dialog box as a separate JPEG...

      My best guess is that it might not just be replacing a font or text. The change could be code related (i.e. loading a different font on a non HD T.V), which means they would have to roll out a new executable. The executable probably isn't exactly small.

    • Like maybe storing every dialog box as a separate JPEG...

      I was going to say separate bitmaps...

      I know, maybe each character in the font was a TIF! But then you'd think that with that kind of resolution, it would make the issue moot; just scale the font size up. Maybe not. Maybe they should have used SVG images.

      Or maybe, as you figured, they're full of BS.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by badboy_tw2002 ( 524611 )
      As someone who's experienced many of the joys of doing UI on a console, I can say that if its a problem with the font being too small then the issue is probably a big one. If they were smart and had nice UI widgets which wrapped text, put up scrolls and stuff then it would just be a matter of swapping out font files and checking to make sure you didn't crash. If they weren't, well, then you have a problem. Anywhere text is printed you have to go in and recheck in every single language (for a AAA title th

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lectrik ( 180902 )
      Someone explain to me how changing out a font or two constitutes a large patch without there first being some ridiculous method of storing said text in the first place? Like maybe storing every dialog box as a separate JPEG...


      Don't be foolish...
      they store the texts as a bitmap... with 24 bit color. Oh, and don't forget an alpha channel as well, beause we don't want to have to use a completely different font if the text is going to be on a different background.

  • Dead Rising 2: The Reading of the Dead (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hahnsoo ( 976162 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:06PM (#16089585)
    This probably just means that they are working on the next Dead Rising game, which is functionally identical to the first one, except for the fact that you can actually read the inappropriately Gothic-serif fonts.
    • Actually, That might work better than you think. Typing of the Dead. [gamezone.com] Took House of the Dead 2, put it on the dreamcast and had you type for your life! Reading of the Dead: and Edutainment game. Edutainment...now there's a real zombie.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        The post title sounded like he was alluding to that. But instead of writing you're practicing reading...

      • Actually, That might work better than you think. Typing of the Dead. Took House of the Dead 2, put it on the dreamcast and had you type for your life! Reading of the Dead: and Edutainment game. Edutainment...now there's a real zombie.

        Actually, Typing of the Dead was ported to the PC - I have a copy of it. It's an extremely fun game to play. The character models were redone to have a huge duracell battery connected to a dreamcast and a keyboard that sticks out in front. Very cute.

        It is probably one of the fe

  • Capcom don't want to make a patch to fix this. They wan't you to fix it by buying a HD TV. In this way, they can make even more de facto "HD-only" games, and hence justify higher game cost by claiming; "Most 360 gamers have/want " HD!!! (TM)", and it is more expensive for them to make HD games for whatever reason.
  • ...It's high definition!
    It's the wave of the future!
    Standard def is old and broken, nobody cares about it anymore!

  • Reminds me of a bug in... (Score:3, Informative)

    by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) ( 613870 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:18PM (#16089736) Journal
    ...Rayman DS. Much of the game is in shades of dark brown on black. Completely unplayable. It's as if it was never play tested on a real DS, just on an emulator with a super bright display. Of course they couldn't release a patch for a card - but at least a fix eventually appeared in the form of the DS Lite. People really need to test the final product on consumer grade hardware because these are unbelievably obvious bugs.
    • I agree--Rayman is incredibly buggy. They can't even get the code right so that his arms and legs aren't floating away from his body!

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      ...Rayman DS. Much of the game is in shades of dark brown on black. Completely unplayable. It's as if it was never play tested on a real DS, just on an emulator with a super bright display.

      Man, I hope for your sake that some 8-year old doesn't post now with the location of the torch on that level ;-)
      • I did worry about this. But the reviews [gamespot.com] also point out that features important to the game, like the pit you're about to fall into, are very hard to see.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I thought more people on Slashdot of all places would have an HD TV. If you have a SDTV why even pick up a 360 in the first place? I thought I would skip the 360 and just get a Wii but I ended up buying a 50" DLP TV. After a couple days of playing Xbox on it I really wanted to see what HD games would look like. 360 looks great on the TV but I end up spending most of my time playing Geometry Wars and Marble Blast. When I'm not playing Oblivion anyways (which makes me happy I bought both an HDTV and a 36
    • Simple. Even in SD, the 360's superior graphics capabilities can be seen quite clearly. Aside from that, the 360's ability to handle insanely high polygon counts combined with complicated manipulation of thousands of onscreen objects simultaneously without skipping a beat makes a very noticeable difference in the gaming experience.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )
      Why think that? Geeks tend to be tech lovers, but they also tend to be very smart with their money. With the first adaptors being screwed by format changed (HDMI), DRM up the wazoo (broadcast flag), and most of us owning perfectly good TVs already there really isn't a driving reason to move to the new format. Especially since geeks are less likely to watch most TV, and movies aren't truely high def (unless you get a multi-hundred dollar add on, with a format war of its own, rebuy your entire collection i

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by MojoBox ( 985651 )
        Add to that the rediculous nature of HDTVs themselves. Why is it next to impossible to find a mid range(21-26") HDTV? And why does every blasted HDTV have to be LCD or Plasma? CRT is cheaper and supports both 480p and 1080i in native resolution, yet there are almost none on the market. Give me some variety to choose from and I might consider going HD. The only thing pushing me right now is a longing for 16:9
        • Because if you're getting a 21-25" TV, YOU DON"T NEED HD. Let me say it again, YOU DON"T NEED HD. Are you clear on this? Now let me explain why:

          How are you going to use this TV? Are you going to be sitting with your eyes closer than 1.5 meters from the screen? Then odds are, you won't really be able to tell the difference between EDTV (which is progressive DVD resolution, 480p) and high-def at 720p or 1080i/p unless you have very good vision, in which case you have a whole other set of problems

          • I have a 27" 4:3 HDTV CRT -- equivalent to about a 25" 16:9 in widescreen mode. I typically sit about 6' away, and I'll be damned if there isn't a marked difference between 480i and 1080i content from that vantage point (Conan O'Brien's face is much more frightening in HD).

            I'll concede that there is a lower limit below which it doesn't make any sense to have a HD display; no one needs to have 300 pixels per inch on their cell phone's LCD screen. But at screen sizes of 21" to 25" diagonal, I believe that H
            • Here's an experiment I'd like you to try: test watching a 480i source, a 480p source, and a 1080i source, all on your display, at your normal seating distance.

              Here's the results you'll get, 480i->480p is a BIG jump, and very noticible. That's what progressive DVD players output, and its pretty darned nice (which is why most people find a good DVD transfer quite acceptable for their movie needs). 480p->1080i? not so much. Especially at that distance, the angular resolution of the average pers

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by JCMay ( 158033 )
          I was going through the local SuperWalmart a few weeks ago, and noted at least two CRT-based HD televisions. They were both in the 26-inch range, if I recall, and both were around $500. Froogle [google.com] lists several, including the Toshiba 26HF66 [toshiba.com], Samsung TXP2675WHX/XAA [samsung.com] and the Sansui HDTV2600 (A rebadged Orion, apparently, and I can't find a link for it).
        • After buying a 50" DLP HDTV a couple weeks ago I'm sold on it. 480p/720p/1080i DLP TV and an upconverting DVD recorder for $1550 was well worth it for me. The 360 on it is just icing on the cake. I think the newer 5th/6th gen DLP TVs are the way to go for the 360.
  • to

    Or seriously something similar to that. They complain they have tons of text to go through, but what does the amount of text have to do with the size of the font? Cereal Capcom, what a cop out.

  • Biggest insult of the whole thing (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cowwie ( 85496 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @01:37PM (#16089913)
    The biggest insult keeps getting overlooked by EVERYONE on this. Capcom has refused to patch the game.... that's a slap in the face. The kick in the teeth comes from the fact that the SAME DAY that they announced they have absolutely no intentions of supporting the game.... they're throwing another $3million at the advertising budget to market the game. As long as DR keeps going out the doors, they don't give a crap.
    TV Ad Buys Doubled to $6 Million to Increase National Exposure for Acclaimed Zombie Game [capcom.com]
    • If I win the lotto I'm going to pay for an ad campaign that runs commercials immediately after Capcom's showing what the font looks like on an SDTV.

  • A brain dead design... (Score:3, Funny)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Tuesday September 12, 2006 @02:50PM (#16090526)
    'Due to the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text, a patch isn't possible for this issue,' said the company.

    That's what you get when have a zombie designer and zombie testers instead of hiring real people to think through what they're doing.
  • Why not take it back to the shop and get a refund or something else instead and in that way tell Capcom to shove their shitty attitude? Surely it's not the only megagame on the 360?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by nasch ( 598556 )
      Why not take it back to the shop and get a refund or something else instead
      What you would get instead is the store clerk informing you of their return policy. Namely, software and games cannot be returned under any circumstances once opened, unless the physical media is defective. In which case they can be exchanged for an identical item. At least that's the case everywhere I remember.
  • Not sure if similar laws exist everywhere, but in the UK the Sale of Goods Act should cover this.
    If the product is "not fit for its intended purpose" the store has to refund you. (Not the publisher, the store you bought it from)

    I suppose "fit for its intended purpose" may be a bit vague in this case; I've played Dead Rising on a non-HD projector (6ft high image) and haven't had any problems reading the text. I wish they'd recorded dialogue for the characters in the game you rescue/interact with though, it's
  • For the love of god, please get them to fix that.
  • If you feel strongly about this, don't bother mailing capcom, don't bother writing here and don't bother signing internet petitions.

    If you really want to hurt Capcom, hit up all of the retailer sites that allow you to post reviews on the products for sale. Write a polite review stating that you like / dislike the game and explain the issue with SDTV and that capcom wont fix it. Rate the game as appropriate to your feelings. Save your review somewhere and simply copy / paste it into every store you can fi
  • Buy a VGA cable, connect your 360 to your monitor, and shut up. If you didn't want to play your games in HD, you shouldn't have wasted $400 on an XBox 360, you fools.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by cowwie ( 85496 )
      I bought a VGA cable yesterday. As it turns out, my favorite game doesn't work with it. Project Gotham Racing 3 gets forced into widescreen mode on a normal 4:3 monitor. Makes playing almost impossible. The rest of my stuff works fine, but I have to go hook my Xbox back up to a standard TV to play PGR3 :(

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by iainl ( 136759 )
        Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, to maintain the aspect ratio they designed, or anamorphic?

        Sorry, I've not got one myself; stupidly enough, by the time I'd spent the money on a HDTV, I didn't have any left for the 360...

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