Topic: Bulletstorm

[TheOtherBelmont]

So I've put a few hours into it now and its awesome.  A word to anyone playing this though, when you get the Act 3, Chapter 2 "A Dam Fine Mess", there is a fucking annoying glitch that may happen to you that won't let you finish the level.  You'll have two NPCs with you at the beginning of the chapter and if both of them aren't with you at a certain point the game glitches out, so make sure both of them are with you at all times.  What happened to me was that one of the NPCs wigged out and stayed way back at the beginning of the chapter and didn't come with me causing this problem and I had to restart the chapter per the advice of other people this has happened to on both the PS3 and X360 versions.  Other than that annoying glitch, the game has been great.

[gpw11]

Is the PC version out at the same time?

[W7RE]

So I've put a few hours into it now and its awesome.  A word to anyone playing this though, when you get the Act 3, Chapter 2 "A Dam Fine Mess", there is a fucking annoying glitch that may happen to you that won't let you finish the level.  You'll have two NPCs with you at the beginning of the chapter and if both of them aren't with you at a certain point the game glitches out, so make sure both of them are with you at all times.  What happened to me was that one of the NPCs wigged out and stayed way back at the beginning of the chapter and didn't come with me causing this problem and I had to restart the chapter per the advice of other people this has happened to on both the PS3 and X360 versions.  Other than that annoying glitch, the game has been great.

Yes, but I've heard that there may be issues with the game and Nvidia 4 series cards. One guy was actually thinking it was somehow locked at 30 FPS.

[TheOtherBelmont]

I just finished up the campaign and damn was it awesome.  I was wanting to jump into the multiplayer but I keep getting booted out when I try to for some reason.  Probably for the best though, I've been playing since about 1PM Tuesday afternoon with only a couple of breaks to eat something.

[MysterD]

Ars Technica -> How To Make Bulletstorm PC more like your usual PC game.

Ars Technica -> Bulletstorm PC = an "unfriendly mess, but it's fixable".

Bulletstorm is getting great reviews on the consoles, but how does the PC version run? We gave it a download on Steam to check things out, and things are... weird. The game has a number of issues on our favorite platform, but it remains a fun—and violent—way to spend an afternoon.

The first thing I tend to do when playing first-person shooters is to adjust the field of view for my widescreen monitor, but when I tried this on Bulletstorm I noticed that instead of the standard text you'd expect in the configuration files, there are large blocks of... gibberish. The .ini files are very weakly encrypted—you can already find tools to get to the text itself—and the whole thing was more of a pain in the butt than an impediment to playing the way I wanted to. Once I could edit the files, I found that the framerate was locked to a maximum of 62fps. Apparently those of you with higher end machines don't need to actually use them, right?

The game likewise doesn't give you many options in adjusting the graphics from within the game, but the obfuscated .ini file will give you plenty to work with if you're willing to tinker. Don't worry about learning console commands, since there is no console. Wonderful.

The game requires the use of Games for Windows Live, even if purchased through Steam, which is a pain in the butt. No more needs to be said. Aim assist is turned on by default, so if you don't want training wheels, you'll want to remove that right away.

The menus are all navigated with key presses, not your mouse, which is another area of annoyance. The framerate can be a problem, but again, feel free to dig around in the settings to find options that work for you. The various unofficial forums online have great advice for different video card set-ups. Don't look for critical thoughts on the PC version on the official site, however, as those are getting locked.

All this being said, once you get access to the .ini files to edit your graphical settings and get the game running well, it looks and feels great on the PC. EA and Epic tried to keep us from having access to the game's higher level settings, and that's annoying, but it's also easy to get around. If you've played the PC version of the game, what do you think so far?

[W7RE]

Nod to Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame in Bulletstorm:

His legendary review of the company's earlier title Painkiller, in which he theorizes that the only way the gun that shoots shurikens and lightning could be more awesome was "if it had tits and was on fire" increased Amazon sales of the game by a staggering 7403 percent. (Nope, not a typo.)

People Can Fly wanted to show Yahtzee some appreciation and figured there was really no better way than by making one of Bulletstorm's guns even more awesome. The result, which you see pictured above, is an unlockable skin that bedecks the PMC with, what else? Tits and fire. (Yes, this is for real.)

Source

[idolminds]

heh, thats awesome.

The encrypted ini and other assorted obvious console port bullshit is less awesome.

[scottws]

They encrypted the INI file?  Why?

[MysterD]

They encrypted the INI file?  Why?

I'm betting Cliffy B did it...

[idolminds]

Thats a good question, scott. I'm trying to think of a good reason to encrypt a configuration file...and I haven't been able to come up with anything. Can't even say "Well, for the console..." because no one is going to be editing that shit there, anyway.

[gpw11]

They encrypted the INI file?  Why?

Yeah, this.

[W7RE]

So you need points for ammo and upgrades, but you have to kill well to get lots of points. I just did the section from the demo and got WAY more points than I have been on most sections so far. so once I've beat the game and played some of the echo challenges, I'll bet further playthroughs will be better just from a gameplay point of view, even though I will have seen all the story and bosses already. I'll know where I can go for certain killshots for more points.

Though it did bug me that in the demo you had the charge shot for the flailgun, but at that point in the game it's telling me "will be available in a later dropkit."

[PyroMenace]

I was thinking about getting this on PC but I think the combo stuff would work better on a controller.

[W7RE]

I was thinking about getting this on PC but I think the combo stuff would work better on a controller.

Well, the combo stuff is really just using multiple effects/weapons on an enemy. On the Xbox, you're just shooting with the right trigger, and charging up your alternate fire with the right bumper. The leash is on the left bumper. It's really not button combos like with a fighting game.

So like I could light some guys on fire with a flare, then leash them up in the air along with a barrel, and shoot the barrel. That would get me afterburner, enviro-mental, and gangbang, for each of the enemies.

Or I could kick a hot dog cart into some guys and shoot it. Not sure if that gives enviro-mental, but it gives sausage-fest.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Or I could kick a hot dog cart into some guys and shoot it. Not sure if that gives enviro-mental, but it gives sausage-fest.

No, it doesn't give Enviro-Mental but it does give Fast Food if you just kick it into them without blowing it up.

[idolminds]

Its the story that keeps on giving!

The lady that makes up bullshit is mad others are making up bullshit.

“It’s devastating,” says Lieberman. “The reviews have nothing to do with the quality of the book. They just don’t like me.”
---
“Amazon needs to take more responsibility for this,” says Lieberman. “They shouldn’t let people write reviews unless they’ve purchased the book.”

I like this part:

It’s a balance between freedom of speech (of the reviewers) and Lieberman’s right to fair reviews (as well as her right to say stupid things to Fox News).

Since when is that shit a right?

[gpw11]

Does the Thumper work like a charge shot? Because it seems that sometimes when I leash a mofo and hold down the button, nothing happens.  Strange.

[W7RE]

Does the Thumper work like a charge shot? Because it seems that sometimes when I leash a mofo and hold down the button, nothing happens.  Strange.

Yes, it's ammo works exactly like a charge shot for any of the guns.

[Xessive]

I'm enjoying it so far!

The Thumber has limited ammo which you have to buy like the charged shots. You won't need to push the charged shot button.

Favourite kill so far? Drill into the ceiling!!

[MysterD]

Amazon -> Bulletstorm for all platforms (Retail PC, PC Download, PS3, X360) is currently $40.
Remember - after $25 gets you FREE saver shipping on orders directly w/ Amazon.

[MysterD]

Evil Avatar -> Bulletstorm's sale numbers...so far.
279,000 units on PS3 and X360 combined, so far...
I wonder what the PC numbers are like...

[W7RE]

Evil Avatar -> Bulletstorm's sale numbers...so far.
279,000 units on PS3 and X360 combined, so far...
I wonder what the PC numbers are like...

WTF. It should have done way better.

[PyroMenace]

Yea that is underwhelming. I haven't bought the game myself, just sort of waiting for another deal as I finish off some other games. I really like People Can Fly, I really hope they can stick around but who can tell at this point.

[MysterD]

It's kinda late for a Bulletstorm PC Demo to be released, isn't it?
 

[sirean_syan]

Not when your game sells like shit relative to to production costs and you need to attract customers.

[scottws]

I thought it looked cool on commercials.  The poor sales made me sad, so I decided to see if I could help them out by buying it on PC.  WTF.  It is still $60.00 on Impulse.  You think they would do a sale to try to get more people to buy it.

Edit:  ...and Steam.

[Xessive]

Also note that on all online platforms the game is restricted to USA and Canada. I can't purchase it Steam, Impulse, D2D, or anything! That may have contributed to cutting the sales.

Impulse has always been bitchy about region restrictions but I'm surprised by Steam.

[Cobra951]

I don't know how representative I am of the general state of gaming.  My position is that I can no longer afford to buy everything that looks good when it first comes out, so I have this long backlog.  I'm holding firm at the $20-30 price range on full, reasonably lengthy games, less on short games (which to me means less than a dozen hours or so).  I will jump on the titles which will keep me happy for weeks or months first.  There are so few of those, but as I said, backlog.  Bulletstorm looks like a great $20 game to me.  I will never buy it for significantly more than that.

[scottws]

I'm the same as you Cobra.  I'm perfectly happy waiting a few months and picking up a game for $30 or so.  Frankly, I'm amazed to see Bulletstorm sitting at $60 on the PC online services after such disappointing sales numbers.  If it only sold 250,000 on consoles, what do you think it did on PCs?

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, that's baffled me too.  But that one is going to drop and fast.  I do want the game, but like Cobra, that's going to be a $20 game or thereabouts.

[MysterD]

EpicGames.com -> Bulletstorm's Original Soundtrack released for FREE download. Enjoy!

They call it a blood symphony for a reason. If you love Bulletstorm like we do, you’ll have noticed the awesome soundtrack. And since our fans are pretty much the best in the whole universe — space pirates included — we thought we’d provide a free download of the Bulletstorm soundtrack in all its glory.

That’s right. Free. No skillshots required. You’re welcome.

[Quemaqua]

Nice, I'll snag that!

[MysterD]

Nice, I'll snag that!

I knew Que would like that.

All games should do what Epic [and some other companies] have done before - just give away the Soundtrack.

[MysterD]

Been playing this past few days. Just finished it up. Holy crap - this game itself was all kinds of awesome, despite the anti-climatic ending.

[Quemaqua]

Apparently this has finally hit the $20 level. I picked it up on PS3 on sale at Best Buy (though it didn't ring up that way, so the sale may be officially over), and it was still listed at $30 for 360... but idol snooped around and says $20 for PC as well, according to Google. So I dunno'. I should have grabbed PC but I assumed it was just a PS3 sale since 360 was still at $30.

[MysterD]

Apparently this has finally hit the $20 level. I picked it up on PS3 on sale at Best Buy (though it didn't ring up that way, so the sale may be officially over), and it was still listed at $30 for 360... but idol snooped around and says $20 for PC as well, according to Google. So I dunno'. I should have grabbed PC but I assumed it was just a PS3 sale since 360 was still at $30.

I bought it for $13 or so for PC download, some time ago.
Worth every damn penny.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, but I don't like downloads. I almost bit on one of those but meh. I like real copies.

But yeah, worth every penny. I've put in a couple hours and I absolutely love it. I have no idea why this game didn't do better. It's fun as all hell, and hilariously stupid in an endearingly self-conscious way.

[Xessive]

Bulletstorm was a lot of fun while it lasted! Singleplayer and multiplayer had their charms. I guess the original $60 price tag dissuaded a lot of players from jumping on it. The reputation of the PC version being a shoddy port didn't help either.

The game did feel very console-oriented, especially with the mouse+keyboard controls being awkward. With a little tweaking I was able to adjust the settings to be a bit more PC-savvy (disabled mouse-smoothing etc.).

[Quemaqua]

Yeah. I mean, I get that it's fairly short, but so are a lot of games, and while this may not have been the best $60 title, it would still make a great $40 one. No question that I'd have paid double what I did for it. I can actually see myself going back through this to try and get all the little skillshots I may have missed. Fun!

I did have one moment of frustration where I couldn't kill some gyrocopters with a specific weapon (I won't ruin the surprise of the weapon for those who haven't played it). They just resisted sustained fire. Took me forever to figure out that if I just stopped firing and did short bursts, the initial shots would take them down. Completely a bug, and a lame one, but other than that everything's been smooth sailing. I get that it's kind of a consoley thing, but it's nice to see a shooter really cater to the strengths of a console. The arcadey nature of it is great, and this is one instance where I really don't think I'd care much which version I was playing.

[idolminds]

I just picked this up on PC since it was indeed $20. After the install the shadows were messed up and it looked rather...bland. Even after setting everything to max. Did a little digging and apparently one of the ini files is stupid if you have a card it doesnt specifically mention to set default settings. Someone posted a "fixed" ini file and...holy shit, night and day difference. Might have to drop some details back because it can hitch when things get really busy.

Also, every game needs a kick button. So satisfying.