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.
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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.
I wish. As they proved with Shadowrun it’s possible, but I doubt they’ll do it.
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.
@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.
@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.
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 :)
Let’s fight… LIKE GENTLEMEN!!!
(I shall purchase a 360 fightpad for SF4 enjoyment. Also SF3 enjoyment, courtesy of the wonders of emulation.)
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.
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)
@ 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
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
also, let’s not bring MadCatz into this, everybody knows their controllers are cheap shit for people too cheap to get 1st party stuff
@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.
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)
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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/)