Opinion: Quantum Break Shows Everything Wrong With Microsoft’s PC Dedication

Let me get the first thing out the way, whatever you are about to read does not relate to the quality of the actual game, but instead the technical issues that are currently plaguing the PC version, preventing some people from getting it. In fact, I personally feel that Xbox One gamers also got shafted due to some baffling decisions regarding the release of the game.

Microsoft keeps affirming PC gamers that they are serious about PC gaming and will try their utmost best to support PC Gaming. However, if their future plans for PC gaming is akin to what they are doing with Quantum Break, I am a bit worried.

Problems with The Game

1. The Game Is Available Only Through Windows 10 Store.

Windows Store is currently plagued with issues that render some essential PC gaming features obsolete. One, you can’t play in exclusive full screen and are instead are forced to playthrough a borderless window, which consequently limits your performance. Second, games purchased and sold through Windows Store do not support SLI and Crossfire. If you are unaware of what those terms are, it is basically the support for machines using multiple display cards. If the game has adequate support for SLI/Crossfire systems, more performance can be attained by systems utilizing multiple display cards. Unfortunately, respective support has not yet been implemented within Windows Store, rendering one of the two cards involved, pointless.

 

The Progress-UI for Download Progress Is Practically Non-Existent

Thirdly, the windows store isn’t accurate in portraying your download progress, since it neither shows you the estimated time required, or the complete size of your download. Furthermore, I have come across worrying accounts from multiple users who have warned me against restarting my machine during my download, even if it is paused, as it recapitulates the download progress. Ultimately, combined with the game’s rather abundant size which is worth 50 GB, the possible shortcomings become painfully apparent. You may very well find yourself stuck for days if any form of mishaps were to occur.

Lastly, perhaps the reason that infuriates me the most. You cannot monitor your performance by using third party apps that actively show you the FPS you are running the game at. If you have even remotely played games on the PC, then you know that it is essential for you to find the perfect balance between quality and performance, for which case knowing the exact frames you are getting is imperative in order to adapt the settings accordingly. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Windows Store does not allow this and because of that, even recording videos is a chore, as most third party monitoring/overlay apps such as FRAPS and Nvidia ShadowPlay are incompatible.

2. The Game Is Currently Priced at £50

Ah, PC gaming, one of the best things about it is how much cheaper the games are compared to the console versions. Not to mention, the competition between different retailers usually guarantees you the best price.

I wish that was the case for this as well, but unfortunately it isn’t. When publishers start selling games exclusively through their proprietary platforms, they manage to acquire a certain monopoly on the product, which is unhealthy for consumers as a whole. If you were to buy Quantum Break for Xbox One, it would only cost you £45.99, better yet, you can get it around £40 if you decide to go retail, whereas the PC version costs £49.99 and a physical release isn’t available

Releasing games on the PC has no licensing fees involved as compared to the consoles, especially if you are publishing it through your own platform, so it is baffling as to why Microsoft is charging so much. UK isn’t at the problem’s knifepoint, as some European countries and especially Australia has managed to draw the short end of the stick, increasing the game’s price substantially for their market.

3. You Are Forced to Stream ‘The Episodes’ On PC.

Even though it isn’t acceptable limiting your players to download 70+ GB worth of video files in order to play the game, no matter what the platform, it is still a better alternative than being forced to stream massive video files on a service that isn’t particularly known for good streaming algorithms.

This basically makes the game online-reliant, leaving those with a sub-par internet connection behind. Remedy unjustly attributes the necessity to stream to the 4K playback afforded by the PC. However, PC gamers are well accustomed to downloading large file sizes, especially when it comes to 4K, so their reason doesn’t make complete sense.

To logically put it, on a console where the hard drive space is usually limited and not as easily open to upgrade as it is on PC, they let you download the huge files. Where on the other hand, on PC where you are given the affordability of massive space, especially these days where even the basic computer easily comes with 1TB worth of hard drive space, you are still forced to stream.

4. The Game Is Not Well Optimised for The PC and Microsoft Is Responding Awkwardly to It.

See that amazing computer you have, probably costed you more than a grand huh? Well, sorry to break it to you, but if the game you are about to play isn’t well optimised for the PC, you won’t be able to run it smoothly.

That is unfortunately the case with this game as well. People grew a bit weary when Remedy had initially unveiled the system requirements due to them being quite high, with the recommended card being a GTX 980ti, generally regarded as the most powerful single Nvidia GPU by most people, not to mention quite costly. However, Remedy backtracked and unveiled brand new requirements that now list the 980ti as an Ultra card, a step up from the required specifications. That possibly means that you will be able to get the best possible performance right? Unfortunately, no.

People around the web are complaining how their beefy computers are not capable of running the game at decent settings matched with smooth performance. Pretty much everyone is facing massive framerate drops and stutters even though their computers perfectly meet the ultra-requirements.

What makes things even more awkward is that Microsoft gave a reply contradicting with the game’s system requirements. The comment by the user was updated on Windows Store US, and the developer’s response has been deleted at the moment, but we managed to take a screen cap before that.

According to the Microsoft support team, even though the user has a powerful computer, he will be able to run it on medium settings. A shocking implication that this may have is that Microsoft knew exactly how the game was running on PCs before launch and has had a rough idea of what to expect. Do note though, as that is pure speculation from my end.

5. The Response from Both the Developer and Publisher Is Disappointing.

Users who have bought the game are complaining about the problems they are facing through official channels like Remedy’s own official forum. However, the developer or publisher (Microsoft) aren’t giving any assurances and are just generically telling everyone to bear with them as they improve the store. Not the game, but the store.

How The Game Should’ve Been Released

The problems highlighted above are some of the most glaring ones I’ve come across, but to step away from complaining a bit, this is how I think Remedy and Microsoft should have released this game.

I will be honest, I understand that what Remedy is trying to achieve is both innovative and unique. It very well can be the future of gaming, but what future would it be if it wasn’t convenient for the intended audience?

For example, Netflix didn’t win over a lot of users due to its impressive catalogue alone, but it did mainly because of how convenient it made everything. Convenience is what Microsoft and Remedy should have kept in mind with this important release.

In my opinion, the game should’ve had at least a physical PC release with multiple discs containing all the episodes which players can install, negating the need to download additional video files. As I have mentioned before, PC gamers aren’t a stranger to multiple discs, as GTA V was physically split into 7 discs as well, SEVEN DISCS on PC. In fact, it should’ve come with multiple discs even on the Xbox One as it isn’t fair for Xbox One users to have to download 79GB worth of files.

Of course, digital version should be still available for PC, but shouldn’t be restricted to Windows Store in anyway, preferably also being available through steam. The buyers should then be given the option to download the episodes to their hard drive either in 4K or 1080p.

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to see the above suggestions implemented, I have a disappointing feeling that it is not going to happen anytime soon, and PC gamers are stuck with a barely working port of Quantum Break for the foreseeable future.