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CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

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Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#351

Post by jay_kyburz »

nvrspyx wrote: post #309
_cs2017_ wrote: post #27

Wasn't it obvious to anyone who play-tested on last-gen consoles that the game is nearly unplayable and so will receive horrendous reviews? Presumably CDPR employees are not afraid to convey such bad news to the management. So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year? After reading this transcript, I didn't find the answer to these questions. "Underestimated the scale and complexity…

I saw someone post a synopsis on Reddit (forgot the sub) of the actual recorded phone call and these were the points mentioned: - QA was limited and done in-house, thus remotely by people working on the game - Overestimated their ability to fix the problems before launch - Reviewers didn't have access to last-gen console versions because they were still working on the last-gen versions through the certification proce…

Question remains, why did Microsoft and Sony certify them?

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#352

Post by madhato »

TheGallopedHigh wrote: post #69
dotdi wrote: post #9

I see CDPR being bashed a lot and I wanted to chip in: I bought the game on release day on GOG and am playing it on a Macbook Pro via Geforce Now. It's running very well for me. I've had 0 crashes. Very few glitches, and if, then they were cosmetic i.e. didn't cause any gameplay problems†. The visuals are absolutely amazing. Combat is very nice. The skill tree is interesting. Night city is beautifully immersive and t…

Side question: how do you find the quality of GeForce Now? What games have you tried?

I've had Geforce Now for over a year now and have completed The Witcher 3, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Death Stranding on it. I use an Nvidia Shield to play it on my TV. I've never had any problems with the streaming quality or latency. I could see that depending on location though, I'm playing in West Coast Canada. Some of the games I've been disappointed with the performance, Assassin's Creed Odyssey for instance couldn't hit 60 fps even after lowering the graphic settings. Cyberpunk 2077 has been amazing though, high fps and maxed settings, including ray tracing.

A few other things of note. 1080p is the max resolution. Unlimited Internet is probably a requirement as its about 10gb per hour. After 6 hours the session ends and you need to save and relaunch the game. Your entire Steam library is not available, its up to publishers to allow their games on it.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#353

Post by tidepod12 »

meddlepal wrote: post #147
kharak wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Playing it on PC and I'm really enjoying it. There seem to be two factions: Anyone who expected a GTA like open world game has to be severely disappointed. But if you're there for the story and Cyberpunk look & feel, you'll have a good time. Of course, this excludes the console issues. Console players got shafted. CD Project might be able to fix that to some degree, but the reputational damage is done.

PC here, agree it's fun and I think some people are definitely expecting GTA from a developer that has absolutely no experience making something like GTA. GTA is GTA because Rockstar perfected the formula and the engine over several iterations of the game. I'm sure every GTA is a mountain of work to create, but its a considerably smaller mountain than starting from scratch. But putting GTA aside, I don't think CDPR e…

>some people are definitely expecting GTA ... I don't think CDPR ever promised to create a Cyberpunk-GTA clone

I don't think this is fair at all. From the earliest days of their marketing, CDPR was promising that Cyberpunk2077 would have "unprecedented" levels of customization, open world interaction, and next-level AIs. It may have been foolish for people to believe that would come true, but CDPR definitely did promise this, and I think it's perfectly understandable that many people feel that they were straight up lied to.

It's a classic case where CDPR just overhyped itself too much. If you ignore the ridiculous amount of bugs, it is a decent game, but it definitely is not at all the "unprecedented" game that CDPR hyped it up to be.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#354

Post by kmonsen »

29athrowaway wrote: post #311
kmonsen wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, but if you have RSUs in a FAANG those are your property and pretty safe. They can (must) also be sold when paying tax so pretty liquid asset.

Once you accept a RSU grant they are your property once vested. Regardless of where you work.

Yeah, but for smaller companies there is usually options and preferred ones etc. The upside is a lot larger as well of course.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#355

Post by cbozeman »

pavlov wrote: post #7

This company has probably the shittiest gamified bonus system that I've ever heard of: "CDPR leaders would hand out tokens every month to staffers who went above and beyond, and those tokens were supposed to be transferrable into bonuses if the game met “certain criteria, like critical acclaim and a timely release,” according to the report." [1] Get paid in "crunch mode experience points" handed out by middle manager…

Awful? This is miles ahead of nearly ever other game studio out there. How do I know?

One of the people I served with aboard the USS Honolulu is a game designer for Darkpaw Games. They have nothing like this. Not even close.

Another person is a high-level executive at Activision-Blizzard. He has compensation that is generous, but it took him 17 years to get there.

Yet another personal friend is a junior developer at Obsidian Entertainment. They don't have anything like this, at his level.

Maybe their system isn't perfect, but its a hell of a better than nothing.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#356

Post by p1necone »

dogma1138 wrote: post #98
_cs2017_ wrote: post #27

Wasn't it obvious to anyone who play-tested on last-gen consoles that the game is nearly unplayable and so will receive horrendous reviews? Presumably CDPR employees are not afraid to convey such bad news to the management. So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year? After reading this transcript, I didn't find the answer to these questions. "Underestimated the scale and complexity…

Yeah I don't get it, TW3 was unplayable for quite a while on base consoles, sub 30 fps throughout most of the game, and CB2077 is a game with much bigger scope the base consoles couldn't handle the NPC rich areas in TW3 so no matter how much optimization they would do I don't understand who thought that this game will ever be playable on the base previous gen consoles.

Isn't not quite consistent 30fps basically the norm on PS4/Xbox one?

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#357

Post by zemo »

Pfhreak wrote: post #324
zemo wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I completed it twice ... There is no emergent gameplay which is simply unacceptable getting some really mixed signals here

People can play games for reasons other than fun or enjoyment. Spec Ops: The Line isn't a 'fun' game, but holy shit I couldn't stop playing it.

uh I'm a gamedev at my dayjob and I'm working on a game design mfa so ... I know? my favorite game is INSIDE and it's a total chore to play. But I think it has a LOT going on and is extremely interesting. OP is saying Cyberpunk is not fun -and- it has nothing going on intellectually -and- they played it all the way through twice? Really, that's a mixed set of signals. If you think it's not fun -and- it has nothing going on, why play it -twice-?

> the game is totally dumb and a complete waste of time to those more philosophically inclined

really reads like "I liked it, but I'm ashamed to like it, so I'm going to say I didn't like it instead"

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#358

Post by nkohari »

_qwfv wrote: post #321
ineedasername wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* it's not really cyberpunk* Having read a bunch of great (and not so great) cyberpunk fiction from the 80's & 90's, that's actually a theme that really shines through here for me. Crazy cybernetics & brain/computer interfaces, hacking, drugs, weird AI doing things like running a transport/security company with some splinter groups that have existential crisis... I really get that original cyberpunk vibe.

Your main character says not all cops are bastards. Strong punk energy. eyeroll It's extremely a game that is pastiche of cyberpunk, diving neither into the cyber nor punk beyond skinning things. Where's the Ghost in the Shell examination of the self? Where's the dive into what it means to have modifiable bodies? Where's the anti-establishment story (oh wait, the game opens with praise of the cops by multiple charact…

Eh, this comes across as hipsterism. I know it's trendy to hate on the game right now, but c'mon.

How much of the game have you played? The entire main quest is about transhumanism and corporate control. Cyberpsychosis and the Maelstrom are used as a means for examining the results of the overuse of body modification.

Just like the Cyberpunk RPG, it was very heavily inspired by Gibson's work, and I mean that in a good way.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#359

Post by cbozeman »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #351
nvrspyx wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw someone post a synopsis on Reddit (forgot the sub) of the actual recorded phone call and these were the points mentioned: - QA was limited and done in-house, thus remotely by people working on the game - Overestimated their ability to fix the problems before launch - Reviewers didn't have access to last-gen console versions because they were still working on the last-gen versions through the certification proce…

Question remains, why did Microsoft and Sony certify them?

You have to ask? Its holiday season in the middle of the worst pandemic in 100 years, with hundreds of millions of people worldwide being on lockdown, or some form of lockdown, with absolutely jack shit to do other than work from home (if you even can), learn something (most people will not do this), or play video games.

New movies and television have been woefully shitty.

Its always easier for ask for forgiveness than permission. They're asking for forgiveness now, and I'd argue it'll work.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#360

Post by xyzzyz »

illuminati1911 wrote: post #287
munk-a wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CDPR sounds like a relatively progressively run game company tbh. A lot of game dev companies deny you overtime during the run up to a major release and massively layoff staff after releases. Up here in British Columbia all technical workers[1] are overtime exempt because EA ran roughshod over our labour laws a number of years ago and people are too afraid to change them for fear of driving off businesses. 1. Vaguely…

I'm not familiar with Polish labour law, but it could be that in Poland like in many other European countries concepts such as "denying overtime" are inherently illegal.

This depend on the kind of legal relationship one has with the company. If you’re working as independent contractor with a B2B arrangement, the notion of overtime does not really exist. If however you are employed through the “employment contract” (“umowa o prace”), the limits on overtime are really strict, and you must be paid for it, in fact 50% extra, and double pay for overtime worked during nights, sundays and holidays.

I don’t know what’s the typical arrangement in game industry, but in software engineering industry at large, B2B contracts are very common, due to rather preferable tax treatment. B2B gives 10-30% increase in net pay, and its downsides are lack of mandatory severance, mandatory time off days, overtime pay etc. In most scenarios these are not an issue, because if one can negotiate high pay justifying B2B, one can also negotiate time off and lack of overtime. Don’t know about game industry though.

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