How Ashes Of The Singularity Reveals Microsoft Store Agenda

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Microsoft Store

from AshesoftheSingularity Forums

PC Gaming Shakeup: Ashes of the Singularity, DX12 and the Microsoft Store

 

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/General-Tech/PC-Gaming-Shakeup-Ashes-Singularity-DX12-and-Microsoft-Store

 

"This is clearly a discussion that is just at its beginning. My gut tells me that Ashes of the Singularity is just the tip of the iceberg, even if the AMD exclusive fullscreen issue gets ironed out with another driver update or game patch. Starting this week, you’ll see games hitting the Microsoft Store that are not going to be available anywhere else, giving gamers no option other than diving into this storm headfirst should they want to get their Gears on. At least for now, we still have Steam, Origin and dare I say it, Uplay, to help us create a more open PC gaming ecosystem."

74,793 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

For anyone paying attention to this issue, there are two more pieces of news:

 

Microsoft Comments on UWP Games and Full Screen Capability

 

http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-Cards/Microsoft-Comments-UWP-Games-and-Full-Screen-Capability?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

and:

 

AMD to Add DirectFlip for DX12, Indicates FreeSync Incompatible with UWP Games

 

http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Add-DirectFlip-DX12-Indicates-FreeSync-Incompatible-UWP-Games

Reply #2 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

Except AOTS is available on several stores already?

Seriously, why everyone thinks anything MSFT does is inherently evil?

UWP and Microsoft store are simply a system designed to reduce interface and porting hassle for developers, it's still relatively new so it's natural there are kinks to be fixed.

Microsoft bashing stopped being cool long ago guys...

 

Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

This is a weird thread.

Ashes is a Win32 app. It's not available on the Windows store.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/04/microsoft-monopolise-pc-games-development-epic-games-gears-of-war

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/04/gears-of-war-developer-epic-games-tim-sweeney-games-industry-fight-microsoft

 

and similar versions

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Hella confusing... Ashes which is already available through Steam has some issues that appear to be happening for windows-store exclusive games as well?

What's the thing to take away here? Fuck if I know.

What it seems like is someone trying to merge two issues into one. The store issue obviously has some stupid design decisions behind its UWP crap. But why are they dragging Ashes into the gutter with MS?

Reply #6 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

The article linked in my OP explains that their post isn't really about AOTS but what they found when trying to chase down better benchmarking and getting a better understanding of how AMD and NVIDIA are each handling DX12, etc.

Here's the takeaway from that first article, IMHO:

 

What we are seeing is the first implications of a new pipeline for graphics and compositing. WDDM 2.0 (Windows Display Driver Model) is a very big shift from what existed previously with WDDM 1.3. The days of exclusive fullscreen gaming may be on the way out as Microsoft shifts developers and hardware vendors into a standard path through the OS compositor rather than bypassing it. Implications for this change are only beginning to be understood, but let’s see how it affects Ashes of the Singularity today.

Even though Ashes of the Singularity is not a Windows Store application, the behavior we are seeing is part of the push that Microsoft is making to sell games through that store with a unified platform. The debate of app store based games versus free standing and open gaming has been a debate in the community since MS first starting discussing it – we just happen to have a real-world implication of it in front of us today.

Reply #7 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

And here's the takeaway from Sweeny's op-ed piece in the Guardian which alaknebs posted for us, above:

 

Microsoft’s intentions must be judged by Microsoft’s actions, not Microsoft’s words. Their actions speak plainly enough: they are working to turn today’s open PC ecosystem into a closed, Microsoft-controlled distribution and commerce monopoly, over time, in a series of steps of which we’re seeing the very first. Unless Microsoft changes course, all of the independent companies comprising the PC ecosystem have a decision to make: to oppose this, or cede control of their existing customer relationships and commerce to Microsoft’s exclusive control.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

So it's a big problem that has nothing to do with Ashes. 

"Today I was thinking about how horrible genocides are. You know, genocides of people. And you know who else are people? EA are people! Fucking EA man!"