The game is a lot more stable for me (crashes to desktop and kills the GPU driver less often) if I run the exe directly, rather than launching through Steam. The game appears to be a DRM-free release even on Steam, cuz I can run the game without Steam running. If I launch the game outside of Steam, Steam won't recognize that the game is running, so play-time isn't logged, and I don't get Achievements (not that I give a sh1t about achievements). Steam screenshots don't work even if run the game through Steam, so I can't blame it on running the game outside of Steam. When the 1.05 patch rolls in, I'll give launching through Steam another try. But yeah, so far I've been able to play mostly reliably just running the exe directly. Not sure why this makes a difference, but there it is. The only real issue I have with the game (aside from performance being below what I expected for 1080 Ti/2070 Super/5700 XT) are the crashes. Most of the bugs/glitches are a non-issue. They may be hilarious or entertaining, but they don't really f*ck with me when I am playing the game. Based on CDPR's track record, I'm not concerned about post-launch support. I know CDPR will get it done, and improve the f*ck outta the game over time.
Is CyberPunk 2077 really that much worse than other titles, or is it just that because it was such an anticipated title, many people people are playing it on day 1 than most other titles?
They had like what, 8 million preorders? It was a ridiculous amount. I can't believe that many people preordered a game, even a CDPR one. I think they also broke Steam records for most concurrent players. But yeah I think the massive amount of people playing on or near day 1 made the issue a bigger deal than what it really is. As has been mentioned, the game is mostly fine on PC. On console that sh1t is real f*cked up though. And yeah, people tend to hold CDPR to a higher standard based on their past work, and the standards CDPR set for themselves. Witcher 3 was in a far better state at launch, but I do realize that out the gate CP2077 is a much bigger, more complicated game loaded with way the f*ck more content than Witcher 3 and its two expansions combined. Still, the day one experience with Witcher 3 was much better than with this game. That said, as mentioned before, people who play Bethesda games or Ubisoft games are used to games being in faaaar worse condition at launch (and well after) than CP2077 was.
I still feel that they should have launched on PC first, then ported to 9th-gen consoles
only at a later time. They should never have bothered putting the game on last-gen consoles. Also I think they should not have committed to a launch date, and should have just released the game when it was actually f*cking done.
This is why I don't usually even buy new games until at least 6 months after launch.
Yeah I wasn't planning on touching the game for months at least. I usually take months to a couple years to get around to games. I'm not just waiting for patches and bug fixes, but I also wait for good sales. We live in an age where games are discounted by at least 50% just a few months after launch, and within a year or two you'll find games for $5-$10 (unless they are Nintendo games). Only reason I had CP2077 at launch is cuz a client bought it for me earlier this year as an unexpected bonus on top of payment. So I figured I might as well check it out at launch. Indeed, it was a very good example of why one should avoid playing games at launch. I also never preorder games. I don't care who made the game, I can't put money towards a game until I've gotten a chance to play the game, or at the very least got to check out a ton of reviews and hear from people who do own the game.
...I'm opposed to criticizing CD Project Red for something that every other developer does.
Well
ALL these developers should be getting reamed for releasing games in a terrible state. I guess most of us who have been gaming for decades just end up shrugging our shoulders and saying "that's the way the world is today." We know to just wait for updates/patches and cheaper prices. When you've been around, you know better. We've spent years complaining about unfinished games being released, microtransactions, and paid DLC, but clearly none of that sh1t is going away. I'm old and tired. Complaining doesn't do anything. I just accept the way things are, and continue to live my life. I vote with my wallet, not that my single vote counts for anything. Now if you could convince people to stop preordering games en masse, and stop buying broken-@ss games on day one, then maybe we'd get somewhere.
