DVD size limiting Project Gotham Racing 4 Options

[ConteZero76]

I was flamed only because I pointed out that XBox360 games can go up to 6,8 Gb max.
Every XBox360 dump to date is 7,05 Gb, you've to take out the bogus video session at the beginning, security placeholders (<- I think they are still there) and XISO filesystem structure.

[KAGE360]

ahem...

As I'm sure you've seen, some of the comments made on our forum have been blown out of all proportion. This has been reported on certain web sites. It seems that a number of fanboys have jumped on the topic... sigh. So it's time we cleared this one up...

When we started designing PGR4 our primary goals were to create a great and unique experience over and above PGR3, to push the hardware as far as we could, and obviously to ensure that we give great value for money. DVD size is absolutely not a factor that we consider when designing our games... and PGR4 is no exception. DVD9 gives us more than we need to create a fabulous experience for you guys.

The previous game, PGR3, had five environments. That's how much we could create given our time and resources for that game. With the longer development cycle we've had for PGR4, as well as the advantage of having final hardware, we wanted to create a far bigger and better game by this time including 10 environments, as well as a whole bunch of new gameplay features.

Rather than having two "fixed" times of day, this time around we decided to use our time to create a dynamic weather system, which effectively creates a much more dramatic palette from which to work with. To show you where we're coming from, have a look at this screenshot crop sheet. This is something we use internally to compare our environments, lighting, and weather effects... but it's certainly useful for demonstrating the breadth of the game here!


Click for larger size... (aprx. 5MB)

We've never had to cut content to fit on the disc, and we probably never will.

Each next-gen format has its own merits. We should know, as we're currently developing games for all of them in one form or another. It's not a case of one system having less of this, and the other having more of that. As developers we are given a fixed platform, and that's what we work with. At the end of the day we're games developers, and we try to create the best we can irrespective of platform. We hope you end up agreeing with our design decisions when you see the game for yourself.

http://www.bizarrecreations.com/article.php?article_id=5257

carry on

[Reaper527]

If you want to say that 8+ Gb are useless for games, you're out of luck here.
As for PS3, we're alive and well with our WASTED 50Gb BD, just like PS2 owners were happy with their WASTED 8,4Gb DVD (as Dreamcast fans liked to say).

how many ps2 games use more space then a single layer dvd? Xenosaga maybe? i'm drawing blanks on games that use anything close to the 8.4 gig mark, and am thinking more along the 2-4 gig mark.

on a side note, what good is 50gigs on a disc that is to slow to read.

[KAGE360]

now honestly i dont know that much about DVD format, GPUs, CPUs, and such interest me more.

however is there any reason that MS couldnt lisence and use a similar technology as this....

Japan-based electronics giant Hitachi has developed a technology which allows 200 movies to be packed into a single DVD disc.

This is achieved by stacking multiple data-storing layers on a disc to allow reading and writing of a vast amount of data that can run up to 400 hours, reported the Agence French-Presse news agency.

The report said conventional DVD storage technology allows up to two layers to be used on one disc, but Hitachi's breakthrough can boost storage significantly by allowing for multiple layers.

"We expect demand for a DVD with a bigger capacity and hope to market the product globally in the near future," Hitachi spokesman Takeshi Kawakami was quoted as saying.

The company said it hopes to commercialise the technology, which was jointly developed with its audio and video storage subsidiary Hitachi Maxwell, by 2007.

Besides DVDs, optical storage vendors have also been looking to pack more into normal compact discs (CD).

Last month, Sanyo said its new technique can double the amount of data stored on CD-recordable discs. The firm said its technology fits 1.4GB of data into a standard 700MB (80-minute) blank CD write-once or rewritable disc.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000...4925,00.htm?r=1

also i thought i remember reading or hearing about sony owning a patent for 5 layer DVD among other articles i have read in the past of similar technologies.

so my question is, cant the 360 run/read and use this (or similar) type of technology, finally putting to rest any doubts, fears, and bull**** surrounding this pointless debate?

how many ps2 games use more space then a single layer dvd? Xenosaga maybe? i'm drawing blanks on games that use anything close to the 8.4 gig mark, and am thinking more along the 2-4 gig mark.

on a side note, what good is 50gigs on a disc that is to slow to read.

not to mention the fact that the ps3 doesnt run the majority of it's effects in software and thus requires more code and space to emulate such effects. plus, unless i'm mistaken, but the majority of the ps2 games are pressed on DVD5 which made a difference.

of course anyone please correct me on anything

[twistedsymphony]

... is there any reason that MS couldnt lisence and use a similar technology as this....

really whether or not you can use that technology depends on how good your laser array is. I'm sure there are consumer products on the market that could start utilizing this tech with as little as a firmware update (which would be necessary no matter what) but some devices would need all new laser hardware.

it of course requires much higher focus accuracy because it works by basically focusing at a very specific depth and filtering everything else out. I would imagine some player would even have too much disc wobble to be accurate enough.

Assuming the hardware is good enough to handle it in the 360 (which I doubt considering the disc scratching and DRE issues) they'd still need to do a firmware update and I doubt they could do that either, because if they could I would imagine they would have pushed one out at this point to help quash piracy.

[KAGE360]

thanks twisted, i figured enough about the update being needed regardless, but wasnt sure of everything else.

this disk size topic never really bothered me, as long as it doesnt hinder the gameplay, im more then happy to save the extra $$ for it. all these stupid little fanboyish debates and such just get old at times.

This post has been edited by KAGE360: Aug 4 2007, 03:57 PM

[matallica28]

More then one disk is ok, it was done with GT2 on the PSone. And a couple of RPGs were two disks on ps2.
Mutliple disks are just as a good as one big disk. Not better, just as good.

[Johnny Johnson]

Wrong, there is enough space on DVD for high definition. But the movie industry would much rather you re buy your movies on HD-DVD or Bluray. Joe Consumer doesn't know any better so he buys it thinking its better. Tell me, why do they release movies that weren't even shot with a High Def camera on HD-DVD and Bluray?

TGM4883, you're correct. There is room for HD on a DVD-9. Proof of this is that you can download 720p movies from Marketplace that are around 5-6GB each. Unfortunately the problem comes when trying to fit all of the High-def extras on the disc. That is where they take advantage of HD-DVD's and Blu-ray's extra capacity. Too bad they don't release 720p movies on regular dual-layer DVD's (without all of the extra features and whatnot).