From Kotaku it seems that Assassin's Creed for the PC will require a high grade dual core CPU and DirectX 10. Does this mean that Windows XP users are going to lose out on this one?

And as for the Recommended requirements? Who do you know that has 3GB of RAM in their PC!

Gremlin

So far it looks like it'll be like HALO 2 (Vista only), so the real question is "how many will buy it?" (if the requirements ends up like that)

I only have 2GB of memory myself, and I don't know anyone that has 3GB of RAM in their PC.

What are your own thoughts about the requirements gremlin?

Well, it looks like the minimum specs are 2GB, and playable with XP if you have shader model 3.0 or higher on your video card. Which I guess means a lot of folks will buy it thinking they fit the minimum specs and it will be a bear trying to get it to play well.

I think the recommended requirements are close to stratospheric!

I too have 2GB RAM, and an 512MB ATI Radeon X1950 Pro video card with Shader 3.0, but I don't use (and have no intention of using) Vista, so AFAIK, DirectX 10 is not available to me... oh, on re-reading, Shader 3.0 with DX 9 is an option.

However, I only have an AMD 64 3500+ CPU - no dual core for me yet. I am planning an upgrade later this year, but it looks like it might have to be a little earlier than I'd expected!

I've said for many years that it's the computer games industry that drives forward PC hardware... and this only goes to prove it!

Gremlin

I have the game for XBox360 and it's awesome. I could not possibly keep up with the upgrades on the computer to play these new releases. I recommend a one time charge for for a console and at least you know you are good to go for a few years at least till a new console comes out.

Peter

I think that's a very good point Peter. It looks like consoles may become more attractive to a lot of people. But it makes me wonder if the same thing won't happen to consoles as technology advances.
I can picture myself with my computer playing my same old games over and over in the future. That's ok.

You should be able to run it fine in XP and DX9 with those specs, Gremlin. However, it states the "minimum" DirectX version is DX10. That should mean you have to have Vista...even though it says you can have a DX9 video card. Go figure.

I wouldn't think the single core CPU would hold you back all that much, but I could be wrong. Can a single core CPU process parallel threads programmed to run simultaneously, or at least handle them some other way?

I believe the reason they are calling for 3GB of memory in the recommended specs is because of Vista. If one has all the "bloat-ware" enabled in Vista...AND running an anti-virus in the background, their system is already using 1GB of RAM or more before they even load the game



Most PC gamers won't even consider it I agree with you though. Co-incidentally... Gamefly.com just mailed AC out to me yesterday. I also decided to play Bioshock on the my Xbox 360. My PC has enough muscle to run the PC version, but when I read about all the copy protection hassle (having to re-set the CD-Key after 5 installs etc.) I decided against buying the PC version. Besides, these shooters and action-adventure games have very little replay value for me. It's easier on my pocket book to rent them... as many of them as I play.

I consider it, all the time, butttt that means I have to use the console in my grandsons room when he is at school. I love it that you can just stick in the game and it plays without wondering if it will play, or will it crash, or stutter, they just work. By the way, he loved AC, got it and beat it in a couple of days, it looked pretty good to me.

Robert, where do you look to see if you have the 3D shader?

I think you mean Shader Model 3.0. SM 3.0 is required to use the High Dynamic Range (aka HDR) lighting effects that some games have. There is no place on your computer that I'm aware of where you can look. It's part of the specs for the video card. All ATI X1000 series cards (or higher) and Nvidia 6 series cards (or higher) have Shader Model 3.0 support.

P.S.
[rant]
Notice how the AC developer only gives the video card's VRAM requirement and DX requirement for this system hog. 256MB minimum req. and 512MB "recommended" req. It's no wonder why many people are so confused as to why a game runs choppy when they think they meet the video card system requirements. There should be some law against that deliberate deception. They know full well there are low end video cards with 512MB of video memory that aren't even 1/10 as fast as a high end 256MB card. The Crysis sys reqs at least have enough honesty to give you some model numbers. [/rant]

I wish I could say I'll wait for the demo to check it out, but it appears that there's not going to be a playable demo.

Do Ubisoft expect PC owners to sink $50 (or GBP50) into a game without knowing it'll run on their PC?

Gremlin

Are you certain they're not going to release a demo for the PC version? I read that about the Xbox 360 version. If they don't put a PC demo out, there's going to be a lot of people who find that it won't be playable on their "256MB" or "512MB" video card. I guess that'll be good for video card sales

According to the official forum, no demo. Also, here are what the specs are shown to be from the administrators of the forum (supported video cards etc):

System Requirements (List both minimum and reccommended):

Supported OS: Windows® XP/Windows Vista® (only)

Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel® Pentium® D or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core® 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)

RAM: 1 GB Windows Xp / 2 GB Windows Vista

Video Card: 256 MB DirectX® 10.0–compliant video card or DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)*

Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0–compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0 or10.0 libraries (included on disc)

DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive

Hard Drive Space: 8 GB

Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: ATI® RADEON® X1600*/1650*-1950/HD 2000/3000 series NVIDIA GeForce® 6800*/7/8/9 series

*PCI Express only supported


Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game. For the most up-to-date minimum requirement listings, please visit the FAQ for this game on our support website at: http://support.ubi.com.


NOTICE: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some disc and virtual drives.

Well, according to those requirements, my PC will just meet the minimum... except that my AMD CPU might be a little underpowered. Maybe I'll just have to wait to see if I can borrow the game from a collegue first.

Gremlin

Nah, Gremlin. You've got 2GB RAM and XP, and your X1950 Pro is 5X faster than the minimum X1600. I'm predicting you'll get good framerates using medium settings (maybe a couple of things on high) @ 1024X768 or 1280X1024.

**edit**

Turn off AA and use bilinear filtering AF (or 2X trilnear) if your video card struggles. If it'll let you turn off HDR, that also saps a lot of power from your card. At any rate, you should be able to run this game smoothly.

SIGH. I was waiting for this game too :'( I have 2 GB ram too and 3 ghz p4. But my video card is geforce 6600 GT. I want to buy GeForce 8600. Would that one do?

Is the 6600 AGP or PCI-E? The 8600GT would probably play it with lower settings. However, since you're going to upgrade anyway and you like to play these more demanding action games...I would look at an Nvidia 8800 series (w/G92 GPU) or ATI HD3870. You could probably get a card much cheaper if you have someone in the US that can buy it off of Newegg and then ship it to you. Just make sure you have an adequate power supply in your computer.

I hope you're right (I'll act on the *edit* stuff too.)

Gremlin

I think that will be the fourth game in 2 months that i could not play... The latest was Unreal Tournament. I think i need a whole new PC.

hugh, if you post your computer specs in the Tech Help section, the experts down there will give you great advice on upgrading your video card.

I thought I did give him advice Seriously....these action games are becoming increasingly more demanding. The 6600 just isn't up to the task anymore.



Just so you know, the quality of the video card and the amount of RAM you have are, by far, the most important components for playing PC games. Your computer is probably upgradeable. You can upgrade your GFX and RAM for far less money than buying a new system.

Anyone interested in upgrading should post in the Glitches forum with the brand and model number of your computer. We can take a look and see what your options are.

This is really a shame! what are we poor gamers to do?? replay all our old games???!! I have been looking at this game and at Alan Wake, also.........bummer

Poor as in...no money to upgrade? If so, then yeah, you'll just have to stick to less demanding or older games, unfortunately.

Thanks Robert, it's great to have a tech wizard here!

I've got the specs to play it but will be waiting to hear from others how good it is. I have plenty of games piled up waiting for me to get to them now.

It's pci express.