
Single player horde mode locked to I7? - ekimekim
https://steamcommunity.com/app/342180/discussions/0/152391285458876458/?ctp=2
======
Analemma_
Apart from the obvious stupidity of tying game features to particular
processor SKUs, I'm additionally baffled by the fact that no one was ever told
about it. Like, if this was a scheme by Intel to sell more i7's, how was it
supposed to work if no one knew the feature was there? Inexplicable.

"The whole point of the doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret!"

~~~
jpfed
Well, unless your plan is actually to destroy the world, or in this case, make
i7 owners slightly more entertained!

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ekimekim
Some extra info to save people digging through that whole thread:

* The game developers have since released the content for all CPUs

* The developers at reVive, which are normally focused on making the Vive work with Occulus exclusive titles, released a patch in under an hour to remove the restriction.

~~~
problems
> The developers at reVive, which are normally focused on making the Vive work
> with Occulus exclusive titles, released a patch in under an hour to remove
> the restriction.

Good. I was about to say this seems like about the easiest thing in the world
to crack given that the CPUs are otherwise almost entirely compatible, all
that would be required is hooking the get processor function.

------
unwind
_I have two machines one an i5 4690 another an i7 6700 and have two vives,
one(I7) has single player horde mode the other(I5) does not!_

I had to stop and think about the word "vives", heh. Of course I was not
_expecting_ someone to describe his partners' gaming setup, but still tripped
me up.

This seems like a weird thing to do, and perhaps even more so that it wasn't
more clearly communicated. I don't follow this game at all, but there are
clearly commenters who do who are surprised about being locked out.

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larrik
This situation, from the initial complaint through to the apparent resolution,
is absurd and strange. There were no winners here (besides customers getting
extra stuff on Intel's dime, I guess?).

That said, I think this is a time that the title can stand to be summarized.
Something like "'Arizona Sunshine' game locks game modes to i7 CPUs only"?
Probably could be better than that.

~~~
Bartweiss
This seems like a pretty clear breakdown of HN's "original title" policy. The
title here only makes sense in the context of a game-specific Steam forum, and
provides no real information out of context.

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vesrah
Titanfall 2 won't launch on a Pentium CPU, but runs fine if you use a
ExtremeInjector and a special dll that is floating around.

~~~
problems
Amazing the things a quick hook can do, isn't it?

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MichaelBurge
One possibility is that there is some unoptimized code that depends on certain
CPU features in the newer models, and that they're working to optimize it. One
of their later comments says:

> We have recommended and still recommend using the Core i7 in order to
> maintain a constant 90FPS with advanced physics.

There's also this:

> These surprise game modes were meant to be a reward for those players with
> high-end VR systems who were looking for the most immersive experience
> possible.

Does Intel own a stake in any VR companies? Did they bundle their game with
any PC building companies? It could be that they made all their money on the
bundles, not on the CPUs directly.

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ominous
Only slightly related, but reminded me of
[http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html](http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html)

~~~
jelly
This was a great read! Thank you

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Mahn
From the end user POV it's a shitty thing to do, but most likely this stems
from the developer making a deal with Intel. It takes a lot of resources and
effort to deliver VR games with the quality and length that PC gamers have to
come to expect, and the VR market is still tiny; at the end of the day you
can't really blame VR developers for taking deals left and right, because it's
the only way to subsidize development.

If every time something like this happens there's an internet outrage, what's
gonna happen is that no one will subsidize shit (because why would you pay a
developer if exclusivity or exclusive features are not on the table?), VR
content development will stall as there won't be incentive for developers to
spend months/years of work only to barely break even (if they get lucky), VR
adoption will not go on, etc.

Something's gotta give, VR gamers need to cut developers some slack if VR is
to flourish in the future, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

~~~
kofejnik
Yes, this is due to Intel participation. From their post on Steam forum:

======================

Vertigo Games [developer] 17 hours ago Single Player Horde Mode & Apocalyptic
Mode

These are two game modes that we have not focused on previously.

Working with Intel allowed us to create even more content than we originally
planned, including these modes and the physics systems in the game, making
Arizona Sunshine one of the richest VR experiences possible. We want to give
5th, 6th and 7th gen Intel® Core™ i7 owners first glimpse into these
additional modes, but they’ll be available March 6, 2017 to everyone who owns
the game.

Single Player Horde Mode is as you would expect, a single player experience in
Horde Mode.

Apocalyptic Mode is the highest level of difficulty in the campaign. Its
features include: • Only one weapon (handgun) • Very limited ammo • No
checkpoints - you die and go back to the start of the game • One hit death

Completing this is tied to an achievement that will result in an award of a
golden desert eagle pistol for use in multiplayer and future apocalyptic
sessions. The gun will be added in a future update.

~~~
astrodust
If you splurge and get a nice Xeon chip for your system guess you're likewise
screwed.

"Sorry, you spent too much money on your Intel® powered VR system."

~~~
EpicEng
A xeon would be a poor choice for a gaming rig. More money for lower clock
speed.

Edit: you guys can't seriously believe that a xeon is a good gaming CPU...

~~~
astrodust
For those that do a lot of heavy 3D where you need cores, cores and more cores
Xeon is a lot more cost effective than paying a crazy premium on 6 or 8 core
i7 chips.

