By Alec Meer on April 29th, 2009 at 1:37 pm.
The months since the latest iteration of the evergreen fighting series appeared on filthy console grow longer, and still there’s no sign of a release date for the much-anticipaterooed PC version. Let’s hope it’s a sign Capcom are really committed to getting it right. What we do now have, however, is word on some PC-exclusive new features…
To get the bad news out of the way, it will include Games For Windows Live. It’s an oft-annoying system to be sure, but some of the community’s hatred for it does seem a little disproportionate these days, given its recentish redesign is slightly less grating and there’s no longer a need for a paid subscription. Yeah, it’d probably be better if it weren’t there, but it does at least mean that Achievement point nonsense everyone gets so excited about is included, plus built-in voice comms for smacktalk and shouting Ha-Do-Ken in a silly voice.
Quite the deal-sweetener is the revelation of bonus render modes, thanks to some shader trickery. Choose from Poster, Sumi-e ink or watercolour, in addition to the default sorta-cell-shaded look. Gimmicky, perhaps, but I quite enjoy such things – always enjoyed dicking around with Far Cry’s odd shader modes. Compare and contrast below – there’s not an enormous difference between a few of ‘em, but presumably everyone will end up finding a favourite:
More comparisons and higher resolution shizzle (in which the differences are a tad more apparent) here.
29/04/2009 at 13:50 Freudian Trip says:
My favourites the 2nd. Love those comic book thick black outlines.
29/04/2009 at 13:52 Jockie says:
They’re announcing the release date of the pc version on friday according to Kotaku. Why they need to set a date to release an announcement of a release date it seems, is beyond everyone.
29/04/2009 at 13:55 Real Horrorshow says:
If the netcode for searching for matches is even 1% better than on PS3, it will be glorious. I’m gonna wait to see the sales numbers before buying it though, I don’t want to buy it a second time and find out there’s only 10 other people online and everyone else on the planet downloaded it and plays over Hamachi. Because that’s probably what’s going to happen.
29/04/2009 at 14:02 A:\Big.bat says:
I can barely tell the difference between those screens – hardly a major change!
29/04/2009 at 14:03 Rook says:
Yeah, the first time I read it, I thought it must mean that may 1st is the release date.
Also, I really don’t care about extra features, I’d rather that all the platforms got the same thing at the same time.
29/04/2009 at 14:07 Ian says:
If what I’ve heard is correct, it appears there’s an achievement on the console version along the lines of: Pretend Ken is the only playable character in online mode.
Hopefully there will be more variation if I get this for PC. :)
29/04/2009 at 14:09 PC Monster says:
Bonus render modes? I’m struggling to see the added value this provides to the retail purchase beyond a momentary amusement playing with the settings. If they were wildly different then there may be a point to their inclusion: play in 1930′s film-grain style, for instance. But the four squint-to-see-the-differences screenies above are so broadly similar there’s practically nothing to choose between.
Bullet-point fodder only.
Also, GFWL = FAIL. Quite why games now cannot avoid being tied into systems designed to allow the MySpace generation to continue to promulgate their meaningless pseudo-communication between one another is utterly infuriating. Give me the choice, please? Remember choice? Back when gamers didn’t need to be force-fed things YOU the publishers feel we need? I think this is what sticks in people’s craw most about the system, Alec, over and above the brain-boiling technical failings of the system.
29/04/2009 at 14:13 Real Horrorshow says:
If you guys can’t at least tell the difference between the 2nd picture and the other 3, see an optometrist.
29/04/2009 at 14:22 Radiant says:
Nice.
Hopefully they fix El Fuerte’s infinite combo.
29/04/2009 at 14:46 Cooper says:
If only they’d included a ‘pixel art’ shader…
Anyway, I’m sticking with Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo for now.
Also, ditto with PC Monster. We’ve had this before with games trying to ram gamespy and the like down our necks. Thankfully, they were always an option in the install (or could, at the least, be removed afterwards)
GFWL is non-negotiable in many games. This is not good. It shows a massive misreading of PC Gamers that they think they can make it a requirement – many of us play mostly on the PC because of the amount of freedom and choice it provides. Diminishing that does not a grateful PC gamer make.
29/04/2009 at 15:00 ZIGS says:
Remember when that Capcom guy said one of the big reasons for the delay on PC was because they needed time to adapt the game to the PC platform? Well, I just read on another site (can’t remember which one, I got there through N4G) that the PC version is if fact, a straight port from the consoles. Yay Capcom!
29/04/2009 at 15:18 MeestaNob! says:
I think Capcom’s new engine(s) are based around PC first and foremost, making the consoles games technically the ports (although usually much better optimised ones as opposed to ones going the other way around, sadly).
GFWL is a travesty. The biggest insult is that there wont be cross platform (PC vs X360) multiplayer. Why do we have to tolerate GFWL garbage if we cant even utilise it’s biggest advantage?
Give me Steam or leave my game offline Capcom, please. That said, at least we can be thankful they have attempted some ridiculous Rockstar-esq Social Club misfire. That would have had people rummaging in their closets for pitchforks and maps to Capcom HQ (and rightly so).
29/04/2009 at 15:49 The Sombrero Kid says:
i quite like GfwL but i agree that it should be optional, there’s no reason why it can’t be technically and it annoys people although a bonified alternative to steam is something i’d like to see from an anti monopoly point of view.
29/04/2009 at 15:58 Black Mamba says:
I’m amazed its even coming out on the PC its not like there is a community for this kind of game, the last fighter game I can recall was One Must Fall!
Also I don’t get the GFWL hate, it works well enough for what it does or is it just disguised Microsoft hate – what are the odds those folks are running warez Windows too ??
29/04/2009 at 16:07 Saul says:
Ah, One Must Fall, now that was a game.
29/04/2009 at 16:09 Nick says:
What is it it works well at? Installing itself when you don’t want it and it adds nothing you need or use?
29/04/2009 at 16:24 Jim Rossignol says:
Peer to peer matchmaking. That’s why it’s being used so much by devs afaik.
29/04/2009 at 16:28 DMJ says:
A beat-them-up? Upon the Personal Computer?
A true gentleman scoffs at this childish frivolity. Toribash, anyone?
29/04/2009 at 16:30 Dan Harris says:
What do people think will be the best input device for playing this on PC? All the serious console folks use summat like this:
http://store.videogamecentral.com/xbox360-sf4-arcade-stick-tournament-edition.html
So I’m guessing the same, though a plain old keyboard might be doable for the nimble fingered.
29/04/2009 at 16:31 Jim Rossignol says:
Inevitably, I’ll play this on a 360 pad.
29/04/2009 at 16:33 Serenegoose says:
I wouldn’t consider GFWL a big deal if it was optional, but frankly I perpetually too-small hard drive and buy every game I have except l4d and TF2 for the singleplayer, I just don’t need GFWL and it’s silly I should be ‘forced’ to have it.
29/04/2009 at 16:33 subedii says:
Yeah, and no push-to-talk. Granted fighting games like this are one of the few occasions where all-talk would be a good idea, but seriously, why on EARTH does MS insist that all-talk should be mandatory?
I realise that it’s standard on XBL, but on the PC push to talk has been standard for probably over a decade now. It’s a keyboard, we have enough buttons that we can spare one. Heck, I usually bind it to mouse-button 5. If at all possible, I want to be spared the sound of mouth breathers, masticators, and random static noises as if player is gaming whilst standing neck deep in the ocean.
Then again, in a game like street fighter if you’re playing random games you’ll probably want to switch off voice comms altogether, and save yourself having to listen to an endless stream of high pitched pre-pubescent smack-talk swearing.
29/04/2009 at 16:33 Dan Harris says:
Jim: I read somewhere the normal 360 pad was a bit wank to play on. Was I lied to? (Haven’t tried it.)
29/04/2009 at 16:42 subedii says:
The D-pad on the 360 gamepad isn’t really up to much. You’d be better of with another pad, or possibly getting yourself an arcade stick.
29/04/2009 at 16:42 psyk says:
what he said
29/04/2009 at 16:49 Smurfy says:
Attention, developers: STOP USING GAMES FOR WINDOWS LIVE, WE LIKE STEAM MORE
29/04/2009 at 17:00 daniel says:
Does this mean SF4 wont be available on Steam? I believe there are other games by capcom offered on steam. Ive come to a point where i really dont want to buy non steam-games. Mainly for their ease of use.
29/04/2009 at 17:00 subedii says:
I wouldn’t go that far. We still need competition to Steam. And realistically, tying games to any mandatory online service has always been iffy.
At the moment, Steam definitely outclasses GFWL as a community service, but I’m hoping (HOPING) That MS will start giving it some real investment and realise that they need to treat it differently to XBL.
The cynical part of me though, guesses that MS is only going to give real investment to the service that they can get people to pay a subscription for. Right now the only actual thing they can claim to have over Steam is their “TrueSkill” matchmaking system. If Valve start implementing skill-based matchmaking, then GFWL has nothing. They need to make changes.
Starting with an external client and Push-to-Talk. I mean really, that stuff’s been evident from day 1.
29/04/2009 at 17:04 Ian says:
@DMJ: I loved Toribash for quite some time, but unfortunately my feeble brain could only manage spectacular brutality by chance, rather than design.
29/04/2009 at 17:22 Serondal says:
I’ve only ever been any good at DOA games and got pretty good with the latter Tekkens, I’ve never been good at these street fighter type capcom fighters though I can do passable in Marvel VS Capcom series games since a lot of the moves are pretty easy to pull off but like Ian says no massive chains. I don’t see a big difference between this and SF 2 O.o
29/04/2009 at 17:55 StormTec says:
@Radiant: I doubt that, seeing how it’s actually El Fuerte’s final hard trial.
And do you know how effing hard it is to actually pull off his runstopfierce infinite infinitely? It’s hard enough trying to do it 3 times (which is what the trial asks of you) let alone constantly until stun. We nickname it the RSI loop for a reason…
I’ve actually already got this for the 360, and an EX2 fight stick. So I could get it for the PC as well, I suppose. But I’m not that dedicated a fan XD
@Serondal: On the face of it, and at basic to low-intermediate level play, there isn’t. I suppose. Focus attack dash cancels, and ultras I guess, are where this and SF2 diverge rather greatly, I feel.
29/04/2009 at 17:57 EyeMessiah says:
Signed re. pixel art shader.
I don’t mind GFWL much these days. Have been tolerating it in my DOW for a while now, and I’m not completely offended by it anymore.
I’m not sure if I will re-buy SF4 as I did buy a PS3 for it.
29/04/2009 at 18:00 klumhru says:
Besides the fact that I don’t get why they are even porting this to PC, there are several alternatives to GFWL for matchmaking etc. We’re using the RakNet library for our game, which has a full featured matchmaking lobby system, and includes methods for NAT punch-through and the other features that you need for peer to peer matchmaking. It even has auto updating functionality and a plethora of other stuff that neither FGWL nor SteamWorks offers. Codemasters among others use it for their games. It’s also well priced with indies in mind.
I started using it after Valve didn’t even answer my emails for access to the SteamWorks library. It never really occurred to me to call Microsoft for access to their SDK :p
29/04/2009 at 18:04 Benjamin Ferrari says:
I don’t see much difference between the screenshots, and I do not really care if the PC version is released a few month sooner or later than elsewhere. I love playing with my rumblepad.
However, I am a proud cheap-ass PC Gamer, and I’m interested in this “some fighting game” as soon as its price drops below 20,- Euro. I only pay 40,- if it comes with high quality long term service and tons of content.
Welcome to the not regulated, competitive PC Market, Capcom.
29/04/2009 at 19:14 Rich_P says:
What’s with the peer-to-peer matchmaking fad? Based on my experience with the DoW II and L4D demos, it completely sucks. (I decided against purchasing both of those titles due, in part, to matchmaking issues. Still waiting for another round of multiplayer demos so I can see if there’s been an improvement.)
Sounds like Demigod also suffered from p2p issues at launch, too.
29/04/2009 at 19:22 Serondal says:
What is wrong with good ol “make a game” and “join a game” with server browser? It works for DoD and CS and every other game made before this fad started. So what if you get trouched some times, you’re not going to learn anything just narrowly beating someone who is just as good as you. You need to get stomped by an expert to learn his skills ect :P (This is how I learned to play Pool)
29/04/2009 at 19:34 Dominic White says:
Serondal: Servers wouldn’t work with the netcode that Street Fighter 4 uses. It’s an entirely peer-to-peer system that actually runs a seperate full simulation on each players sytem.
What this means is that no matter what your ping, any button press you has plays out on your screen as if you weren’t online at all. Your button inputs are transferred to the other player, who sees the action a fraction of a second later.
This is a gigantic advantage in a 2d fighting game like this, where an action taking a tenth of a second can affect the outcome of a match. The fact that it feels completely lag-free on your end cannot be understated.
If at any point the two simulations become desynched, the game rewinds to the last synched point – what this means is that in particularly heated melee, you may see tiny stutters and frames ‘undone’ now and then, but it’s a helluva lot better than the traditional single-state multiplayer mode.
This couldn’t work with a server. It’s entirely peer-to-peer.
29/04/2009 at 19:53 Tom says:
Man alive, I’m seriously looking forward to this one!
29/04/2009 at 20:06 Crispy says:
“Peer to peer matchmaking. That’s why it’s being abused so much by devs afaik.”
Fixed. If the matchmaking is as horrendous as DoW2, there could be stormy weather ahead.
29/04/2009 at 20:58 Gorgeras says:
P2P is especially hit and miss depending on your ISP: some of them ‘manage’ their bandwidth to discourage torrents.
Does anyone have a list of which ISPs do this?
29/04/2009 at 20:59 Funky Badger says:
Smurfy: but GFWL is better than Steam, in that it can actually perform the basic functions its designed to without causing you to pull your own hair out in frustration. Steam isn’t a bad idea, but its broken, and adds zero value to games.
29/04/2009 at 21:07 Nighthood says:
@Funky Badger, good job, you made me laugh out loud there. I mean, what is more funny than the suggestion that GFWL has a real use at any point in time?
29/04/2009 at 21:16 Tetracell says:
I think people throwing out statements like “Attention, developers: STOP USING GAMES FOR WINDOWS LIVE, WE LIKE STEAM MORE” are funnier since it basically has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
29/04/2009 at 21:30 Funky Badger says:
Nighthood: erm, I don’t know, is it unquestioning acceptance of the status quo? ;-)
I’ve used both systems, and Steam has caused me more hassles than GFWL, therefore its worse. (Friends search in GFWL works like a charm – in Steam, not so much – , and the integrated voice chat is nice, although not as good as the XBL version)
29/04/2009 at 21:58 Capital-T-Tim says:
Dominic White:
Not to be overly pedantic, but there’s no reason you can’t do this in a client-server architecture as well. In a p2p setup you have all clients sending packets directly to each other. You could imagine a client-server setup where the server simply receives packets from one client and sends them to the other without doing much else – you’d get the same result as what you’ve described. Many games do work this way (full game simulation running on all clients; server sitting in the middle of all data transfers). There are still benefits to having a server in this situation: it can do data validation, for example (to potentially detect cheats); make tie-breaker calls if two clients try to perform the same exclusive action simultaneously; etc.
I would imagine the real reason for a p2p network model is that it reduces packet latency. Instead of data going from one client to another having to travel through a server (total latency = client1->server latency + server->client2 latency), the data is going to directly from client1->client2.
29/04/2009 at 22:39 DMJ says:
Ah yes, P2P multiplayer. It worked so well in Dawn of War 2 and Demigod…
29/04/2009 at 22:48 Tetracell says:
Worked fine for practically every RTS in history before now so I don’t really get your comment there, DMJ.
29/04/2009 at 22:49 Psychopomp says:
To concerns about playing on a 360 pad
Yes, it is terrible
Abso-fucking-lutely terrible. Get a arcade stick or just use your keyboard. I don’t know what it was, but getting a move more complicated than HADOUKEN is completely luck-based, you more often than not just punch the air.
29/04/2009 at 23:16 Tetracell says:
I really don’t get why it is so difficult for manufacturers to make a controller with a decent d-pad. The last real good d-pad I used was on an old Hammerhead FX controller. I’d kill for that to work nowadays, but the last drivers were for win98 :(
29/04/2009 at 23:16 Starky says:
For those worried about using the horrible Xbox 360 Dpad (and rightfully so) there ARE options if you’re willing to spend a bit of money.
One of the best controllers for street fighter ever invented is the Sega Saturn official controller, which you can pick up on Ebay for like a fiver, and then get yourself a Saturn to USB adaptor (though they can be hard to find now).
There are a few other options also if you look around.
Also keep in mind that the Xbox 360 street fighter arcade sticks and controllers should work fine on the PC with the 360 controller drivers.
Or you could always build your own (which isn’t even that hard if you gut a circuit from some old PC controller).
Though personally I don’t get what kind of idiot designer would make a Dpad like that for the 360… clearly one who’s never picked up a game in his life.
I just don’t get why every controller designer doesn’t just steal the Saturns dpad, it was without a doubt the best dpad ever to grace a controller.
Edit: Oh, or you could just buy a PC/PS3 USB Saturn controller.
29/04/2009 at 23:18 Wedge says:
I’m so happy this has GFWL in it. Meaning if they actually cared, this can cross-play with the 360. Seeing as they haven’t announced that yet though, I’m guessing not.
29/04/2009 at 23:35 Tetracell says:
I wish. As they proved with Shadowrun it’s possible, but I doubt they’ll do it.
29/04/2009 at 23:39 psyk says:
noooooo DOA god fark that game I think im bias to be honest as my mate seemed to be able to counter everything made fun games of him winning against everyone.
Also you can mod the shit 360 dpad to make it better google it still have to get round to doing that mod, if only my pc didnt appear the box might actually get some use was a nice stop gap though until i saved enough cash for the rig. ahh to much info that no one gives a shit about.
30/04/2009 at 00:07 Starky says:
@Psyk
I suppose if you really wanted to you could mod a 360 controller with a better Dpad… But for use in a street fighter all you’re doing is polishing a turd. At the end of the day it will still stink.
The 360 controller is great for most games, but for street fighter 4 buttons in a diamond just isn’t right, you need 2 rows of 3.
30/04/2009 at 00:52 born2expire says:
@Starky, even with a 6 button layout (ie Madcatz fightpad) gamepads are just just a terrible way to play fighters, arcade stick is the ONLY way to play. Take it from me, I have SF4 for 360 (the ONLY reason i bought a 360) and gamepads (i have 2 of the fightpads) are sooo terrible i REFUSE to play it anymore until either my TE stick comes in (been on preorder since Jan) or my Finkle stick arrives.
30/04/2009 at 10:53 AbyssUK says:
I’ve got my mame arcade cabinet hooked up to my mid spec gaming rig and am hoping I can somehow display SFIV on it in full 640×480 glory… even if I can’t I can just use my pc monitor and use the cabinets sticks :)
30/04/2009 at 13:26 James T says:
Let’s fight… LIKE GENTLEMEN!!!
(I shall purchase a 360 fightpad for SF4 enjoyment. Also SF3 enjoyment, courtesy of the wonders of emulation.)
30/04/2009 at 14:26 SuperNashwan says:
Too slow Capcom, I just don’t care any more. Treat the PC as a second-rate platform and you can expect second-rate sales.
30/04/2009 at 14:31 MetalCircus says:
They all look the fucking same.
What a con. I hate how Capcom is taking a giganto-sized poop on the PC community and we’re all loving it like whores. (do whores love poop? Not sure, but it works as an analogy… i hope)
30/04/2009 at 14:40 Halbyrd says:
@ born2exprire:
everyone has their own preference on what to use for directional input, and this is largely based on how you first learnt to play the game. if you learnt in the arcades, you’re always going to prefer stick. if you learnt on a console, as i did, you’re likely to prefer a dpad. that said, the dpads on both ps3 (all playstation 1st party controllers really) and the 360 are both shit: the 360 one because it fails at absolutely everything, and the ps1/2/3 dpad (it hasn’t changed) because it’s a thumb-destroyer with any SF-style beat-em-up.
myself, i use a logitech cordless PS2 controller with a PS2->PC-USB adaptor, as it has the best d-pad i’ve seen since the days of the genesis/master system. i can use an arcade stick, and for some games i prefer to. for SF-style games tho, i need a dpad to pull off those nasty 2141236 and 623623 inputs for super combos.
edit: that reminds me, i once saw a Tekken 5 arcade machine with plugs on the underside for PS2 controllers. saw an asian fellow sitting there with the ps2 controller in his left hand, thumb flailing away at the d-pad, whilst his right was tapping out a tattoo of pain on the arcade machine’s buttons. odd, certainly. amusing, definitely. just goes to show, it’s all a matter of preference
30/04/2009 at 14:46 psyk says:
The 360 controller mod is for any game it just makes the dpad actually work and input the direction you choose not the one above or below what you inputed. 5 – 10 min mod at most
30/04/2009 at 14:47 Halbyrd says:
also, let’s not bring MadCatz into this, everybody knows their controllers are cheap shit for people too cheap to get 1st party stuff
30/04/2009 at 14:54 Halbyrd says:
@psyk
i don’t think anybody’s doubting the existence of such a mod, or that it improves the responsiveness of the dpad. what i, at least, object to more than that is the positioning of the dpad itself. way too far down for any fast thumb work. 3rd party controllers can have better dpads, as logitech has proven, but the layout of the xbox/360 controller is clearly designed to relegate the dpad to uselessness.
30/04/2009 at 16:56 psyk says:
nor do i, just saying its not a mod exclusive to playing beat em ups and just generally fixes the dpad and as hardly any games use the dpad on the 360 apart from weapon changes and maybe item use it doesn’t rly matter if you cant do fast thumb work (which you can)
30/04/2009 at 18:57 dash says:
Geez, i cant stand this whole GFWL crap and i have also no idea why companies still go through the trouble of getting MS logo on their boxes, while the vast majority of PC gamers clearly hates GFWL…
Everyone will be much happier with a steam version instead.
01/05/2009 at 07:48 Psychopomp says:
Why devs use GFWL live instead of steam:GFWL has a built in matchmaking service.
It’s *that* simple.
@Metalcircus
Right, right, it’s a con, because things completely ancillary to gameplay look the same.
Makes *perfect* sense.
01/05/2009 at 19:06 DK says:
“What is wrong with good ol “make a game” and “join a game” with server browser? It works for DoD and CS and every other game made before this fad started.”
Fad? Peer to Peer has been around for far longer than either of the games you listed. It’s simply the amount of different configurations and settings people can have (hello, bajillion router/modem models) that causes problems now.
Edit: Also, if they have any decent programmers, the keyboard will be a completely functional control device. All they have to do is copy One Must Fall – it controlled flawlessly.
02/05/2009 at 05:32 Crispy says:
Supernash: your argument only stands as long as you didn’t get SFIV for PS3 or 360. If you did, you are just putting the ball back in their court.
09/06/2009 at 11:32 CoolingGibbon says:
Heh, all this hate about GFWL, coming from people who’re generally against anything Microsoft. Most of you naysayers don’t even realize that the whole reason Street Fighter 4 is coming to the PC is because of GFWL. Nobody likes a wild-west platform for development, and unfortunately, that’s what the PC is… absolutely no standardization whatsoever. I’d just like to ask you all… “Have you even given GFWL a proper try, or are you just spewing propaganda?”
It’s such a shame really, since last time I checked, true PC gamers were always open to experimentation and helped improve the quality of PC gaming, instead of blatantly dissing something that has immense potential.
But fortunately, there ARE a handful of gamers who want GFWL to succeed, myself included. And succeed it will, no matter what anyone says or does; the community we have over at the GFW forums will definitely see to it. All of us are trying our best to bring GFWL and PC gaming to the forefront, at a time when all the limelight is hogged by shitty consoles. Maybe when YOU gentlemen have done something to contribute to PC gaming, only then do you have the right to criticize, else you just make yourselves look like dicks.
~CoolingGibbon
(http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/)
(http://www.gfwfanboy.co.nr/)