830°

Horizon Zero Dawn update 1.12, patch notes reveal 3D audio support, improved performance

Horizon Zero Dawn update 1.12 is rolling out today and there's a host of big changes and improvement, including the introduction of 3D audio support.

DeadSilence3256d ago

Now this is supporting your fucking game!

DMZ_P3256d ago

best thing is I never had any of the issues they've been patching since launch. The game never even crashed once. That was one polished game to begin with !

UnSelf3256d ago

so far this is my favorite game of 2017, but why is it no one besides me, seems to have an issue with the day night transitions?

or is it just the way the game was designed? idk why, but the day/night transtitions could be a lot smoother. I swear it goes from day to night without any notice sometimes. I keep thinking these patches will address it but I'm starting to believe thats just how the game was designed.

if u need a reference,, compare the D/N transitions in this game to a game like GTAV.

all that being said, i cant put the goddamn game down

frostypants3256d ago (Edited 3256d ago )

@UnSelf, I agree, the weird sun behavior (kinda hangs in the sky, then sets super-fast) messed with me. It makes a bit more sense when you consider their design goals though. They went for "hyper-reality", where they wanted the environment to almost always look like the best version of said environment in terms of weather and lighting. So they targeted specific points of day and night to focus on, put a lot of focus on the density of precipitation, etc. More on this:

http://kotaku.com/horizon-z...

Kornholic3256d ago

@UnSelf

I thought about that today. The day and night cycle seems somewhat off. It's one of the few flaws in the game.

UnSelf3256d ago

@above

ahh that explains it. Okay then all is well then. For the longest i thought it was just a quirky glitch but I can see how they would think such a choice would benefit the experience. Now i can appreciate it with a new set of eyes.

thanks

gbsrnctaln3256d ago

@unself

It was jarring for me at first as well but I quickly learned to love how it transformed an area completely in the blink of an eye. The moonlit look always amazes me.

bouzebbal3256d ago

Glad they finally corrected those recurrent drops in performance, the game was unplayable /s

nyctophilia133255d ago

Over 50 hours and a platinum and I had only one crash. Never had a problem finishing any quests either. Considering what a technical marvel the game is, I'm impressed.

Ceaser98573613255d ago

DMZ_P
Likewise, Amazing that GG is supporting HZD.. and hats of to the team for putting up an incredible game for us gamers.. THANK YOU GG..

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3255d ago
desertpunk863255d ago

what?like replaying the game with 3d audio!?lol we moved on and is all about persona 5 and horizon wont be relevant until they add a story expansion now let me get back to persona 5 you peasant.

3255d ago
itBourne3255d ago

They need to freaking patch being able to drop boxes, I got 43 damn boxes with bundles of rocks right now.... It would literally take me like 3 hours to get rid of that many rocks as the game is....

MorpheusX3255d ago (Edited 3255d ago )

And I must say, didn't think much of this game initially......until I actually gave it a chance and watched some videos. I must say its a REAL AAA game, I mean that is how its done, even though it has a familiar Lore , it REALLY IS a fresh, new experience.

There is so much polish and detail, I am a BIG CRITIC of this Gen's offerings so far, ...I dismissed this game initially, but Im happy to see that I was wrong about Horizon Zero Dawn.

PS4's owners have a great game to appreciate In Horizon Zero Dawn, and the support its receiving is also a good sign.

P.S.- On a side note,....there are ideological things in the game I disagree with, but I will keep these things to myself, outside of this, I would score it @ least a 9.0 - to a 9.5, yes its that good.

Zelda who? lol. sorry Nintendo Fanboys, but its the Truth.

Graphically its superior to any other console game so far, i'm serious, it is . Game of the Year 2017, so far.

Mr Marvel3255d ago

It's definitely the best looking game I've seen.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3255d ago
UltraNova3256d ago

I really wish 3D audio was combatible with my 7.1 headset...

TankCrossing3255d ago

It probably is. Most 7.1 headsets have an option to disable the on-board virtual surround processing so you can play a 2.1 source directly.

G20WLY3255d ago (Edited 3255d ago )

This makes a big difference for me. More games need to support 3D audio! You just seem to get a better sense of distance and hearing things from above/below helps immersion for me.

The platinum headset is great for 3D sound so far.

mark_parch3255d ago

I have a platinum headset on its way so this is good news but they still need to support more games, its still only 2 lol

Lighter93256d ago

"Improved Performance" I didn't think it was possible.

AcidDvl3256d ago

I don't think either. The performance is beyond excellent...

CP_Company3256d ago (Edited 3256d ago )

i wanted to wrote that too.performance is excellent even on resolution mode,so i don't understand where it is coming from :D
and i see those fixes also in every patch,and i did't see them anywhere,game is running bug free and glitches free,had no problem in any missions too :)

kneon3256d ago

I can only recall one instance where there was a noticeable drop in frame rate, and it lasted all of a few seconds. Other than that there is only the very occasional pop-in that I've seen.

G20WLY3255d ago

^kneon, hopefully even that will be quashed now!

CyrusLemont3256d ago

Most likely to address the frame drops in Meridian and that house you need to investigate in the main quest.

There are frame-rate drops in the game but they're so rare, I'm impressed that GG is fixing any performance issues at all. Perfectionists they are! Awesome.

_-EDMIX-_3256d ago

Yes, I noticed that too during that mission.

_-EDMIX-_3256d ago

Lol

Well because games are Dynamic and they are not absolute , they could always be improved upon.

thekhurg3256d ago

There is a house in Meridian where all of the lost frames in the game go. Perhaps they've fixed that oddity.

Sunny_D3255d ago

Ha.I Like that. The house where all the frames go to die or something like that.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3255d ago
Themba763256d ago

uh oh platinum headset here i come

MatrixxGT3256d ago

I'm going to check it out today. Love my golds but I really want to see the platinums in person. If they still feel cheaply made I'll just stick with what I have.

pyroxxx3256d ago (Edited 3256d ago )

They feel quite premium,.. only thing I really did not like (but I got used to it ,..kinda),.. is instead of that foam on top of your head, there is this flexible rubbery part,.. and it bothered me at the beginning,.. but damn they sound good

Show all comments (68)
180°

PlayStation's Horizon series reportedly surpasses 40m sales

It has been reported that PlayStation's Horizon series, which began in 2017 with Zero Dawn, has now passed 40 million in sales.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
102d ago Replies(1)
dveio100d ago

Spread across two main entries of the franchise, it just is a very respectable success, isn't it.

Although I personally didn't click with the Horizon games, I can a) clearly see the appeal of it. From art direction and technical brilliance.

And b) - I am so happy for Guerilla Games that they've created an IP that's finally been giving financial success back to them and SIE.

Joining the company's club of tens of millions of copies being sold like Spiderman, God of War or The Last of Us did.

All "Big Five" studios at Playstation are on par. Which is just great and hopefully just contributes to a healthy work environment between all of them.

Notellin100d ago

This is including the Horizon VR game and also Lego game.

Notellin99d ago (Edited 99d ago )

@Z501 The article clearly states otherwise that it includes all titles in the franchise. Even the link included that information.

The first comment on the ResetEra source link which was translated the first comment even says. "The Power of Lego".

dveio98d ago

Wouldn't you agree that the main portion (>90%) of the Horizon sales are tied to Zero Dawn and Forbidden West?

Or asked differently:

Point us towards the sales of the VR and Lego game combined!

Puty100d ago

Interesting. It wasn't a massive hit on PS. Maybe it did much better on PC?

Miraak82 100d ago

Pretty sure a big contributing factor is that they were bundled with the consoles at some point , I personally got the bundle because it was the only version I could get when there were ps5 shortages . They gave the first one away on ps+ the first couple years for initial ps5 adopters . I tried the 1st game for like 20ish hours , didn't really appeal to me and haven't played the 2nd even though I own it . The VR version was bundled with the headset and lego horizon added to the total to series sales number . Looking with those optics in mind it's hard to account for individual sales , the first game I know was a success but I don't think the 2nd was as successful without the contributing factor I listed above

Redemption-64100d ago

Wow, the copium is strong. The second was successful even when with or without the stupidity you listed. They can actually easily tell how much the game sold, you just don't want to accept facts. A game being on PS plus doesn't count as a sale pea brain.

Also, bundles make up a small % of the sales. COD, FIFA, Red Dead 2, GOW, 2K, Mario Kart and many more all have bundles. I have never seen any of you call their sales into question, yet the second Horizon comes up, well it was bundled. There were millions of systems sold without this game. These systems were always the ones that sold out 1st

The game being this successful seems to really triggered some people a lot.

P_Bomb100d ago

@Red
Don’t ya know? If they don’t like the game, there’s no way anybody else did. Their friend list is more accurate than your friend list. Their conspiracy theory doesn’t answer to shareholders. Feelings > facts.

InUrFoxHole99d ago

@Redemption-64
That has to be one of the most childish responses.. Even for N4G standards. Honestly you both could solve this by posting the numbers breakdown. Console bundles account for a small number? How small? If they account for a good number? Then how much?

Miraak82 99d ago

@InUrFoxHole

LoL It's so easy to trigger people on this site . I tried to list a numbers of factors that could've been cumulative reasons to why it sold well but he and the down voters be getting mad and resort to name calling ... not even worth my time. Obviously if the 1st game sold like 25 mill and the 2nd sold like 15 mil then my point still stands that the second game didn't sell as well by a large margin . Add in bundles and the free giveaways ( with the $10 upgrade to add to the sale factor) and other none main entries ( which the article didn't specify it was only ) could've added to the total.

Even people commenting that they love the series with very minute criticisms the fanboys start crashing out like Sony games are holier then thou even though almost every sequel they've put out perform significantly worse then the originals . I wasn't even really trying to knock it as a series as opposed to just being a little sus about the sales figures but a majority can't handle opinions that aren't their own ... so soft so squishy haha

Redemption-6499d ago

@InUrFoxHole

Just to you and your pathetic ilk. Sony's fiscal year 2021 (FY21) Q4 covered the three months ended March 31, 2022. During this time period they sold around 2M PS5s. Horizon forbidden west released during this quarter. The next quarter was Sony's fiscal year 2022 first quarter (FY22 Q1) ended on June 30, 2022. This period covers the three months from April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022. They sold around 2.4M PS5s. Before the holiday season, PS5 was averaging around 600K to 800K a month. Hell if memory serves me correctly, they sold around 500-600K PS5s the same month that Horizon forbidden west was released. Keep in mind this is all PS5 sales, from all bundles to stand-alone systems. Same year, Sony also had the GOW and COD PS5 bundles. Also, are we forgetting Horizon forbidden west also released on PS4? Figures suggest the PS4 version was a significant portion of early sales. The PS4 didn't have a bundle of the game. So should we ignore the PS4 with the bigger player base and pretend most the this game sales were on PS5 and due to bundles?

In 2023 when it was announced that Horizon forbidden west has sold around 10M, a smooth brain like @Miraak82 said on Twitter and I quote:
"The point is that out of the ten million sold this year, most were bundles and most were horizon bundles. It’s not hard. Transitive property shows you that if ps5s sell and they come with a game, the game sells. It’s not an argument, that’s what happened."

Christopher Dring, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The game business responded saying: "But 80%+ of Horizon's sales across Europe were not part of a bundle" He is known for his expertise in the video games market, particularly for his analysis of sales and data.

It takes a special breed of stupid to see this game and start screaming it only sold because it was bundled or most of it's sales were from bundles, completely ignore PS4 sales, and other PS5 game bundles

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 99d ago
lukasmain100d ago

What in the rabid hell are you talking about? Both games were a massive success on PS.

Extermin8or3_100d ago

The first sold in the region of 20 million on ps alone. The sequel did less mainly cos sony used it as an experiment with ps plus.

Miraak82 100d ago

They basically gave the first game for free or at bargain bin prices or bundled with every ps4/5 before they jacked up the price again with the ps5 upgrade , most people on my friends list played ZD and of all those people only 1 played FW . I only tried ZD because I was a KZ fan and initial impressions had me curious but once I tried it I was like meh . Without massive marketing and push from Sony I wonder how successful it would have been and how part 3 and the supposed MMo will fair now that people know what to expect

Redemption-64100d ago

@Miraak82

Games on plus do not count as sales. Seriously is this rocket science to a person like you? I get the copium is strong with you, but it's honestly pathetic the mental gymnastics you people come up with. Sony had said putting Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation Plus caused significant lost sales for them.

Miraak82 100d ago (Edited 100d ago )

Redemption-64
They gave that game away for free , even if you weren't subbed you could still play it as it counted as a purchase , you can't just believe Sony is so honorable and high and mighty that they wouldn't skew the numbers in some form ... so naive .

Redemption-64100d ago

@Miraak82

Sorry, are you stupid of something? Honest question. Since when did something free count as a sale? As a public trade company, you know lying about sales can lead to legal problems right? It is literally illegal for them to lie about the sales of a product and can result in server consequences. So I will ask again, are you really that stupid?

Also the Sony themselves said the games that came with Play at Home initiative are free. Can you please provide us with a link to backup your lies. Please show is all the games giving away were all counted as sales. I'm sure you have insider information to show Sony lied to their shareholders about the sales of their games.

Miraak82 100d ago

Could count as a sale if those people did the $10 upgrade , if I decide to try it out again I would definitely do it and I’m pretty sure a lot of those people did . There’s plenty of ways to prop up sales numbers even counting the lowest of margins lol

Redemption-6499d ago

@Miraak82

Could count as a sale if those people did the $10 upgrade?

Seriously, where the hell are you getting these lies from? Sony themselves literally call it an upgrade. The most they can do is add it to the revenue of the game, not a sale. Can you please provide proof to backup your ignorance? Thanks in advance

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 99d ago
Amphion99d ago

Yup most of the sales are on PC.

Scissorman99d ago

Horizon has sold maybe 5-6 million copies between both games on PC, leaving the remaining 35 million from PlayStation.

rokos99d ago

Both main games launched just before other juggernauts of the industry, that is why they couldn't create a lot of buzz with their releases.
The first game Zero Dawn was released two days prior Breath of the Wild.
The second game Forbidden West was released less than a week prior Elden Ring.

Gamersunite88099d ago

The first one sold 24 million on the PS4. And, Forbidden West sold 10 million. I'm pretty sure that leaves six to eight million for PC. LOL

Pyrofire9599d ago

No it did pretty well on console, especially when factoring the remake of Zero Dawn that nobody asked for. ZD is also one of Playstations more successful PC launches even tho the performance was bad but it was a first for PS releasing on PC so there was a novelty to it.
I don't believe I heard much about Forbidden West aside from it not doing as well on PC as ZD.
Lastly there was the VR game which being one of the few PSVR2 games (and only first party) it probably did alright for PSVR2, and the Lego Horizon game which launched everywhere; and I'm not sure if anyone has played it.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 98d ago
neutralgamer1992100d ago

It's a great series but the 2nd game just went over lard with some nonsense story decisions. Hopefully the 3rd game comes full circle and gives the lone tike fans a great end to the story. 1st game is the best and 2nd is very good. It's the same writer who wrote fallout new Vegas so I have high hopes for a strong finish

CantThinkOfAUsername99d ago

Hopefully they'll make another IP before revisiting Horizon again.

Pyrofire9599d ago

Same, I'd like to see something new from Guerilla, Naughty Dog too for that matter.

lellkay100d ago

Honestly I'm a huge fan of the franchise so i'm glad to see the success. I feel like the games and IP get a lot of unwarranted stick.

Show all comments (53)
170°

Horizon's tribes were very expensive and time consuming to make, artist confirms

Designing and creating Horizon's colorful and exotic tribes was one of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of developing the franchise's origins.

Read Full Story >>
tweaktown.com
jambola129d ago

How does throwing some face paint on a model become expensive and time consuming

lukasmain129d ago

Read the submission and find out

rdgneoz3129d ago

"Creating the tribes was one of the most time-consuming and expensive parts of the Horizon development process. We had to create style manuals for each tribe--ranging from 60 to 200 pages--and make countless artistic choices in designing the tribes' physical traits, attire, accessories, dwellings, etc.

In developing the various tribes, we worked with anthropologists to understand how tribal cultures form. We read literature, talked to experts, listened to presentations, and did significant research to understand how real-world tribes are formed and what creates unique tribal cultures."

They were creating distinct cultures, not just throwing face paint on a nameless NPC that just stands there and whacks a mallet all day.

Kornholic129d ago

It will never not be funny seeing some of the most uncreative people on earth, which in this instance is you, trying to grasp the creative process.

jambola129d ago

I think people making up their own reality based on nothing is even funnier

italiangamer129d ago ShowReplies(1)
F0XH0UND922128d ago

Couldn't be bothered to use critical thinking or read the article for 5 seconds, could you?

jambola128d ago

I don't think you know what critical thinking is
I think you just heard someone else use it

Z501128d ago

You didn't read, did you?

KwietStorm_BLM126d ago

Create something of your own and watch the sky open up.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 126d ago
Krablante129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

Yea, to be honest they sucked. Worst part of the game for me. Forbidden west that is.

129d ago
SimpleDad129d ago

And yet player only runs pass them.

Nacho_Z129d ago

I can appreciate attention to detail but it sounds like they went way overboard tbf.

MIDGETonSTILTS17129d ago

I’m sure they did a wonderful job with the money spent, but nobody wanted that level of investment into fake tribes. I shouldn’t say “nobody”, because I’m sure anthropology majors were thrilled to see the worlds they created.

But, if I were Sony, I wouldn’t forced them to just spend the money on cooler boss battles instead.

The boss battles lacked, and the villages were overlooked by most players; they managed their resources to develop their product like artists would, not strategic business people. I could understand why some people would celebrate that, but I’d stress the importance of managing multimillion dollar projects with longevity of the studio as the TOP priority. That’s how you get to make more games, instead of be shuttered after one bad launch.

tombfan129d ago

did... did you saw the ultra gigantic boss fight? Also, Forbidden West had amazing fights. Almost every machine is their own boss fight.

MIDGETonSTILTS17128d ago (Edited 128d ago )

The ultra giant boss fight sucked. I’m an OG God of War fan, so I compare giant boss battles to what they achieved on the ps3. The final DLC boss was shallow and repetitive, and hardly leveraged the immense scale at play. When the enemy is the size of hand on the screen, it doesn’t matter how big it actually is… you’re just too far away for it to be “cool”.

I was not impressed by a single boss fight. Every machine was fun to fight, but they are not bosses. I’m talking about fights with a Boss Health Bar, and everyone of FW’s bosses were a chore.

Maybe I’m forgetting one, but I’m pretty sure even the end boss from the DLC pales in comparison to what GoW achieved on inferior hardware generations ago.

lukasmain128d ago

I'm a God Of War fan too, but hte boss fights in Horizon were AWESOME. I played at the highest difficulty if that matters, but I loved BOTH of the Horizon games. They're extremely successful and metacritic is high as well. Looks like you're in a small minority

MIDGETonSTILTS17127d ago (Edited 127d ago )

I played both games on the hardest difficulty as well. And, I beat GoW3 on Chaos, even though it wasn’t needed for the Plat trophy.

Which boss fight did you enjoy? Please note I only consider it a boss if there’s a giant health bar.

Armyofdarkness128d ago (Edited 128d ago )

Horrible designs on all things except the dinos. Some of the getups are really funny tho

jambola128d ago

"I've noticed you have something negative to say about horizon, are you a trolley perhaps?"

Some of them looked straight out of a pokemon xxxx spoof

F0XH0UND922120d ago

@jam

I'm assuming you say the same thing about indigenous cultures and the stuff they wear.

Just tell people you're a bigot next time. It's a lot less words, my boy.

Show all comments (28)
150°

Sony Calls Tencent’s Defense "Nonsense" in New Lawsuit Filing

Sony has fired back at Tencent in court, calling its defense "nonsense" and accusing it of hiding behind shell companies to dodge accountability over Light of Motiram, a game Sony says blatantly copies Horizon.

Read Full Story >>
thegamepost.com
VenomUK132d ago

What's interesting is that in another story it turns out Sony WAS in contact with Tencent and visited the Chinese company to discuss creating a Last of Us spin-off!

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

jznrpg133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

Damn double posting

AceR1mmer133d ago

While you are on this Sony, get someone to sort out the shovelware issue we have now on ps. You too Nintendo

jambola132d ago

They can also maybe learn how to sort from newest to oldest, maybe bring the store up to the standards of 1997

Miraak82 132d ago

My problem with how it is now is all the preorder clutter when you do Newest to Oldest , you can sort it by just released and coming soon but then you only get the new releases for the past month .

Christopher128d ago

This is very possible to do.

KwietStorm_BLM132d ago

The fact that tencent is even defending it is more hilarious than the ripoff in the first place, because they know damn well.

Christopher132d ago

They have more than enough money to waste and, if they win, it means they can just continue to do this sort of thing.

PapaBop132d ago

Stealing other people's work, infringing on copyright material is so rampant in China in both game development and so many other sectors that Tencent probably really believe they've done nothing wrong.

Abear21132d ago

Eh, pretty sure I remember a futuristic bow in Turok? Sony/Horizon going after whatever game that is seems petty

Shimsok132d ago

The thing is this COSMETICALLY can be mistaken be mistaken for the Horizon games. Games like Dante's Inferno were not exact replicas of God of War in the same way Light of Motiram just looks identical to Horizon. It's uncanny.

BlaqMagiq1132d ago

Were there also mechanical dinosaurs everywhere in Turok?

Show all comments (17)