Comments 371

Re: Site News: Where's Our Stalker 2 Review?

Feffster

Really hoping this is great but sounds like it is another game coming in hot. Ironic also that Avowed got bumped to February but Microsoft insist that it is finished and ready to go.

I’m sure everyone could have coped with another small delay, just to help the devs get a win.

Re: Flight Simulator 2024 Struggles To Take Off As Servers Buckle On Launch Day

Feffster

Managed to get the game to load this morning…well, sort of…

On my (not great) connection it is taking 5-7 mins to load through the intro videos. They look absolutely stunning, so I’m itching to get into the game proper. Unfortunately the game is hitching just past the initial menus - I can’t get past the ‘Customize Identity’ screen.

Hope they can get it up and running soon as those intro graphics look superb.

Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Knows How Annoying The Forza Horizon 4 Situation Is

Feffster

Why not negotiate a rolling contract with the associated parties at the outset? Eg, an initial licence fee for 6-8 years followed by a reducing annual royalty which can be terminated (subject to an agreed notice period).

Thankfully I got my free download code. If I remember correctly I think you had to be a fully paid-up Gamepass subscriber at the date they announced the free download (plus having previously paid for in game content). I think they said that if the Gamepass subscription was discounted then you wouldn’t qualify for a code. Perhaps that could be the reason some people haven’t received a code?

Re: Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports

Feffster

Ok, short term they make extra $s from PS5 game sales but what about the long term?…if there’s a shift away from Xbox consoles (which looks more likely with news like this) then Gamepass subs must surely suffer?

They can’t rely on PC to fill the subscription gap and those 20-30 million console subs bring in a lot of reliable cash flow.

Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (November 4-19)

Feffster

I don’t have a problem with the content, just the lack of clarity about what’s being added where and the way it is described/presented - what a whole world of confusion they’ve created!

eg….I think ‘Console’ actually means “Coming to Gamepass Ultimate but NOT Xbox Gamepass Standard or Gamepass Core” whereas ‘Xbox Gamepass Standard’ means “This game is already on Gamepass Ultimate and is being added to Gamepass Standard as well but not Gamepass Core”.

We-aim-to-confuse-dot-com.

Re: Black Ops 6 Preload Now Live - How To Download On Xbox One & Series X|S

Feffster

@m3lvins - just a thought, and I’m not at all sure this will work but might be worth a try….

Do you subscribe to Gamepass Ultimate? If yes, the following might be relevant…

I installed CoD for the first time when MWIII released on Gamepass - maybe that’s an easier install for you? If you get MWIII installed ok then just search under Gamepass for Black Ops 6 and click - it should pre-load the campaign AND multiplayer from there - you won’t then need the launcher because you’ll already have it (& you can uninstall anything you don’t want from ‘Manage Game’)

PS - gaming on console really shouldn’t be this complicated, but I’m afraid that’s a sign of the times - Microsoft has made a pig’s ear of naming their consoles, describing the different levels of Gamepass and I’m finding exactly the same with Sony PlayStation - confusion over how they describe their different PS Plus subscriptions and plenty of weird anomalies on their store as to whether a game is for PS4, enhanced for PS5 or even PS5pro enhanced.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted and fingers crossed for a good game dropping on Friday.

Re: Black Ops 6 Preload Now Live - How To Download On Xbox One & Series X|S

Feffster

@m3lvins - the advice above should work but if you are stuck…

From your Xbox go to the store.
Search “Call of Duty”
You’ll see lots of results - the ‘launcher/HQ/hub’ or whatever else you want to call it is just listed as “Call of Duty” - it’s got the logo of the person in a cloak and someone wearing a mask behind (see pic above)
Download this onto your Xbox. This isn’t a game as such - but from here you can control what bits of Call of Duty you want to install - so if you want MWIII campaign pick and install that, if you want BO6 campaign then do the same, if you want various multiplayer options pick them.

If you install something you later decide you want to uninstall then just look under the ‘manage game’ options from the Call of Duty installer and uninstall from there. If you delete something by mistake then don’t worry - you can always download and reinstall it.

There’s nothing very complicated about the way the game installs EXCEPT that it can install multiple games under one app, rather than as individual games. This means to play an individual title you will need to go through the Call of Duty launcher and decide what element you want to play - ie which title and which component,…campaign or multiplayer, etc.

Obviously you can’t access the Black Ops 6 part until the game launches (Friday) - but it is available to pre-install if you want to save all that hassle ahead of time.

Good luck!

Re: Black Ops 6 Preload Now Live - How To Download On Xbox One & Series X|S

Feffster

CoD gets loads of grief for having “massive” files but I’m impressed with what Activision has done lately to address this - a second update yesterday reduced CoD HQ from about 40GB down to under 11GB, and not long ago it was over 100GB!

At the moment I have the campaigns for MWIII installed and BO6 pre installed at around only 120GB for everything.

That’s only c60GB per game - pretty decent especially when compared to the likes of Halo Infinite (109GB) and Far Cry 6 (101GB)

Hoping BLOPS6 is a cracking game - roll on Friday 😃

Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal One Year On?

Feffster

Fairly pathetic - hardly any GP additions and no sign of any old titles receiving FPS and/or resolution boosts.

I was hoping all along that the deal would go through - blindly/foolishly expecting a tonne of content dropping soon after on Gamepass. Instead we got 3 additions (eventually) and a price hike.

M$ seem pretty clueless with what to do with their new ‘toy’ - surely as a minimum they should have made Xbox the home of all things Call of Duty - but even the latest TV advert for BO6 fails to mention it is available on Xbox and Day One on GPU.

Re: Black Ops 6 Leaked Physical Copy Hints At Huge File Size On Xbox

Feffster

Well that’s as clear as mud!…does the 137GB include Call of Duty HQ? (base game)

If yes, then lots of people will already have that installed (41.4 GB)

That will bring the campaign down to about 96GB, which is far from ‘huge’.

May also hint at a better length to this year’s campaign- MWIII currently takes up 53.9GB.

Looking forward to it - only a few weeks until it drops on GPU.

Re: Talking Point: What Is Your Download Speed On Xbox These Days?

Feffster

Just did a test and it says 63.55Mbps download, 16.28Mbps upload (using my wi-fi).

I’m not sure if that’s fast or slow, but it seems to take quite a while to download big files.

One thing I’d like to see is cheaper X/S storage expansion cards - so I could keep more X/S games locally. These things still cost a small fortune.

Re: Best Xbox Christmas Gifts 2024: Xbox Series X|S Consoles, Games, Accessories, Game Pass And More!

Feffster

“The only downside is that you can’t play games stored on a Hard Drive”….?!…..

….You absolutely CAN. All backwards compatible - OG Xbox, 360 and XB1 games play 100% fine from a HDD, as do all X/S games that are “Gen. 9 Aware” (Crysis Trilogy Remastered, AC Odyssey, Origins, Far Cry 5, Halo MC Collection, etc, etc). You only need internal storage (or an ‘official’ X/S storage expansion) to run genuine X/S titles.

Re: Star Wars Outlaws Suffers Slightly Turbulent Xbox Launch For Ubisoft+ Subscribers

Feffster

@FraserG - I’ve been tempted to get a month of Ubisoft + just to demo a few games before deciding whether to buy. I don’t want to stay subscribed for more than a month though - I see you mention turning off the recurring billing to address this issue. I assume by turning this option off it doesn’t affect my recurring billing option for GPU? (which I want to keep ON)…

Re: Talking Point: What Did You Think Of Gamescom 2024 Overall?

Feffster

Somehow MS managed to turn what should have been a very positive event into something controversial/negative.

Why they chose to announce Indy for PS5 now is a total mystery (no problem with the port, but why sabotage their own Christmas/holiday console sales by announcing now - just wait until the spring ffs!)….and in the process drag up the ‘what’s the point of an Xbox’ argument in the process.

Avowed 30fps on the final day also a downer for team green, whatever your views on frame rates. Few, if any, announcements or surprises (new Sniper Elite but not much else). The new hardware is expensive and underwhelming, no sign of a handheld.

On the positive side at least there’s a release date for Indy.

Gamepass this autumn/winter looks good - Age of Mythology, Black Ops 6, Stalker 2, Flight Sim 2024, Indy, Avowed and Atomfall, etc…so it’s not all doom and gloom by any means, even with the usual confused and unclear Microsoft messaging.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 24-25)

Feffster

@FatGuyInLilCoat - it works really well with the controller, nice intro to get you used to the commands. To be honest I’m a single player gamer, so can’t speak for the online side of things or vs mouse & keyboard. Nice game though and it is one of those that you suddenly realise it has eaten up hours of your day without realising it.