Avowed Potential Technical Issues

Avowed Potential Technical Issues

Okay, so we’re all super excited about Avowed, right? That brand new RPG from Obsidian Entertainment looks amazing! But with any big game, especially one that’s ambitious like this, there’s always a chance we might run into some technical bumps along the road. Let’s dive into what some of these potential problems could be.

Performance Problems

One of the biggest worries for players, and for developers too, is how well a game runs. This is all about “performance.” A game could be super cool, but if it’s stuttering, freezing, or running at a crawl, it’s just not fun. When we talk about performance issues with Avowed, there are a few things to consider:

Frame Rate Drops

Imagine watching a movie where some parts are smooth and other parts jump around. That’s what frame rate drops feel like. In gaming, we like to see a smooth image, usually around 30 to 60 frames per second (fps). When a game can’t keep up, the frame rate drops, and everything looks choppy. If Avowed has lots of action or big, detailed areas, this could cause drops for some players on certain hardware.

• Why it happens: Intense graphics, lots of characters on the screen, or your computer not being powerful enough.

• What it looks like: The game looks jerky and not smooth.

• What can be done?: Lower the graphics settings or update your hardware (if it’s possible for you).

Freezing and Stuttering

Freezing is where the game completely stops for a few seconds, or even longer. Stuttering is like small pauses that happen many times in a row and they disrupt the gameplay. These can get in the way of playing if they happen too much or if they happen in very important parts of the game. It can be quite frustrating especially during a cool fight scene.

• Why it happens: The game needs more power or memory than your system has.

• What it looks like: The game suddenly stops moving or pauses repeatedly.

• What can be done?: Close background programs, make sure your computer has enough power or lower the game’s settings.

System Requirements

Every game needs a certain level of computer power, or ‘system requirements’, to run properly. Before Avowed comes out, the developers will let us know the lowest and recommended specs you need. These will include things like your CPU, graphics card, RAM, and operating system. If your computer does not meet those requirements, you might have performance problems. It is always a good idea to check them before you buy the game, and see if your setup is up to the task.

Minimum System Requirements might include:

• A particular Operating System like Windows 10 or 11.
• A processor from Intel like a Core i5 or from AMD like a Ryzen 5.
• A graphics card like Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580
• Certain level of Memory like 8 or 16GB of Ram
• A certain storage space

Recommended System Requirements might include:

• A particular Operating System like Windows 10 or 11.
• A processor from Intel like a Core i7 or from AMD like a Ryzen 7.
• A graphics card like Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
• Certain level of Memory like 16 or 32 GB of Ram
• A certain storage space

Bugs and Glitches

Okay, let’s be real, no game is perfect. Bugs and glitches are little errors in the game’s code that can cause strange things to happen. These things can be minor and silly or game breaking. The bigger the game, the more likely there are to be at least some issues lurking around.

Visual Glitches

Visual glitches are funny, but can also be distracting. These are errors that make things look wrong on the screen. This might mean objects are floating in the air, characters are missing parts of their bodies, or textures are missing from surfaces. While not game breaking these can pull you out of the immersion in the game.

• What they look like: Funny looking textures, weird placements of objects or characters, or objects disappearing.

• Why they happen: Mistakes in the game’s code or the way your computer is processing the graphics.

Gameplay Glitches

Gameplay glitches are a bigger deal. These can stop you from moving or finish a quest. This can make the game unplayable in some cases until its fixed. For instance, you might find that you’re stuck in a wall, and are unable to move. Or, you might not be able to talk to someone you are required to talk to, to progress the game. This can be more annoying than visual errors.

• What they look like: Not being able to do what you are supposed to be able to do in the game.

• Why they happen: Errors in the code can cause the game to not function as intended.

Quest Breaking Bugs

Quest breaking bugs are the worst, as they halt your progress through the game. These glitches are when you cannot finish a quest. For instance you might find that an enemy won’t spawn that you need to kill, or an item won’t show up that you need to find to complete the quest. This can mean that you cannot complete the game and have to wait for an update to fix it.

• What they look like: You’re unable to continue the story or finish side quests.

• Why they happen: Errors in the coding of the game’s questlines.

Multiplayer Issues (If Applicable)

While Avowed is primarily a single-player game, it is still worth talking about possible multiplayer issues. There have been some talks about possible cooperative options in the future. If it includes cooperative features in the future, it’s important to consider issues that could arise.

Connection Problems

One of the most common multiplayer problems are connection issues. No matter how amazing the game might be, it is useless if you cannot connect with your friends. These problems can mean you cannot join a game, or if you do, you get disconnected.

• What it looks like: You can’t join your friend’s game, or get kicked out of the game often.

• Why it happens: Problems with the internet, server issues on the developer’s side, or problems with your home network.

Lag

Lag is another issue to be concerned about in multiplayer games. Lag is a delay between your input and what you see in the game. This can make playing multiplayer very difficult. When there is bad lag, your movements do not happen right away, and your shots may not hit. This is very frustrating when you are trying to play a game with your friends.

• What it looks like: Your character is not moving properly in the game and actions are delayed.

• Why it happens: Slow internet connection or server issues can cause lag.

Voice Chat Issues

Voice chat is a big part of online gaming. If there are problems with voice chat, you might not be able to talk to other players. This makes it more difficult to play as a team, and sometimes breaks the immersion with your friends. You can find yourself shouting into your microphone only to find out that the other people cannot hear you.

• What it looks like: Your microphone may not work, or people may not be able to hear you.

• Why it happens: Settings issues, problems with the microphone or the game’s voice chat system.

Optimization Issues

Optimization is how well a game runs on different computers. Even if a game can run on your computer, it might not run as well as it could if it isn’t well-optimized. A poorly optimized game will not run at the most efficient rate and this will cause it to not reach its potential. This can lead to the performance problems that were mentioned before, even when your system is within the recommended specifications.

Poor Resource Management

Sometimes a game uses resources like your CPU and RAM in a bad way. This means that even on a good computer, the game might not run as smoothly as you would expect. This can cause the game to slow down or have frame drops that it shouldn’t have.

• What it looks like: Your CPU and RAM are maxed out and game is slowing down.

• Why it happens: The way the game’s code is handling the resources it uses.

Graphical Bottlenecks

Sometimes the graphics parts of the game are too complex and require a lot of your graphics card. If the game is not optimized well, it can overload the GPU and this will cause a bottleneck. When the GPU is struggling to keep up, this leads to a slower frame rate and can cause performance issues even if other parts of your computer are doing fine. Poor optimization can make this issue even worse.

• What it looks like: Low FPS even though other parts of your computer are working fine.

• Why it happens: The game is too demanding for your graphics card, or the game is not optimized well.

Audio and Sound Issues

Sound is a key part of any game and any audio problems can make the game less enjoyable. We should also look at the possibility of Avowed having issues in the sound department.

Missing Audio

Sometimes sound might just vanish completely from a game. This can be missing sound effects, character dialogue or background noises. This is quite immersion breaking when there is supposed to be sound in a certain scene or part of the game.

• What it looks like: You cannot hear anything in certain parts of the game, or characters are silent.

• Why it happens: Glitches or bugs in the games audio programming.

Sound Distortion and Crackling

Sometimes sounds in the game become distorted, are too loud, or make a crackling sound. This is very annoying and can be very irritating. It can also make it difficult to hear other sounds in the game, especially in intense battles.

• What it looks like: Sounds are distorted, too loud, or have a crackling sound.

• Why it happens: Problems in the game’s coding or incompatibility issues with your sound card.

Incorrect Volume Levels

Audio levels in game are important to keep everything balanced. Sometimes sound effects or dialogue might be too quiet, or too loud. It can be difficult to follow what is going on if audio levels are not working properly. Sometimes you might find that you cannot hear important dialogue over other game sounds.

• What it looks like: Some sounds are too quiet, others are too loud, and sound is not balanced properly.

• Why it happens: Audio level settings are not set up well or there are issues in the game’s code.

User Interface (UI) Problems

The UI, which is what you see on the screen, is very important. It is also very important that this works well so that players can understand the game properly. Problems in this area can make the game confusing or difficult to play.

Cluttered Interface

If the UI is too busy, it can be difficult to see what is important in the game. Information can be hard to find and this can get in the way of enjoying the game. A cluttered interface can be overwhelming and confusing to understand.

• What it looks like: There are too many things on the screen at once and it is difficult to focus.

• Why it happens: The game developers did not organize the information in a way that is easy to understand.

Difficult to Navigate Menus

Menus are where players go to change settings, level up characters, and check inventory. If these menus are confusing or hard to use, it can make the game very difficult to play. A badly designed menu can slow the player down and is generally not a good experience.

• What it looks like: You are lost in the menus and cannot find what you want.

• Why it happens: The menu system is not organized properly and is not user friendly.

Inconsistent Control Mapping

If the game uses the same button for different things, this can get confusing. Inconsistent control mapping can cause unwanted things to happen and break the immersion of the game. For instance, if the use button, and the open door button are the same, it could cause issues if you are trying to use something when next to a door.

• What it looks like: You are doing one action, but something else is happening because of the button you pressed.

• Why it happens: There are conflicts in button assignments.

Save Game Issues

A save game function is one of the most important parts of a game. It is vital that a game has a good save system. If there are issues in this area it can cause a lot of frustration for the player.

Corrupted Save Files

Sometimes save files can become corrupted. This means that they cannot be loaded and you will lose the progress that you made in the game. This is very annoying for any player that wants to progress through the game. Save game corruption is one of the worst problems that can happen to a player.

• What it looks like: You cannot load your save, and it gives an error message.

• Why it happens: Bugs in the games code or your computer might have a system failure when saving.

Save Game Conflicts

Sometimes there are issues between different save files, which cause conflicts. This can cause problems with progress and it might lead to the loss of save data. You can find yourself in a situation where you are not able to load the right part of the game.

• What it looks like: Your progress has been lost because the game loaded the wrong save file.

• Why it happens: Bugs in the games save system can cause files to conflict.

Missing Auto-Saving

Auto saving is when the game saves automatically for you. If a game does not auto-save very often you might find yourself having to redo large parts of the game. Not having auto-saving, or having it work very rarely, is a major issue for a player. Losing a long period of progress can be very discouraging.

• What it looks like: You have to repeat parts of the game because it did not save enough.

• Why it happens: The auto save system is not set up correctly, or there are bugs in this area.

Installation Issues

Issues during installation are also a possibility. These problems can stop you from playing the game from the beginning.

Problems Downloading Files

Downloading the game can sometimes cause issues. Problems with the internet or the platform you are downloading from, can stop the game from installing correctly. For instance the game may have files that are corrupt, or you can have problems with your internet.

• What it looks like: The download does not complete properly, or it has errors.

• Why it happens: Connection issues, server problems or corrupt files.

Game Not Installing Correctly

Sometimes the game might not install correctly even if the download works. There may be issues with your operating system or the storage where the game is supposed to be saved. Issues during installation mean you cannot play the game at all until you fix it.

• What it looks like: You cannot start the game after installation, or you get an error message when trying to open it.

• Why it happens: System problems or conflicts in the install area.

Accessibility Issues

It is also important to consider accessibility options in the game. Making sure that Avowed is accessible to as many people as possible is also very important.

Difficulty seeing text

Sometimes text in the game can be too small or too hard to read. This can stop players that have problems with their vision, or people who just want the text to be bigger. Problems in the way the text looks will make the game more difficult for some players.

• What it looks like: The text is too small, or its too difficult to read.

• Why it happens: Poor color choices, or font sizes that are too small.

Problems with Colorblindness

If the game uses colours to identify things, it can be a problem for players that are colorblind. For instance, if the enemies are red and the player is green, and the player has difficulty seeing those colors, it can be an issue. Using colors that are not colorblind-friendly can make it harder for some to play.

• What it looks like: Some things are very difficult to see because the colors are too similar.

• Why it happens: The game does not offer colorblind modes, or enough contrast.

Limited Control Options

It is also important to have options to change button mapping to the players own preference. People with disabilities may have specific setups they want to use that might be harder to do if there are limited options. This also applies to all players who want to be able to change buttons to what they want to use.

• What it looks like: Not enough options to remap controls, or use different controllers.

• Why it happens: The game does not have all the required options in the menus.

These potential technical issues are things that could happen, but hopefully, they won’t! Game developers work hard to try and fix problems, and provide us with a smooth gaming experience. Many developers try to test their games thoroughly to find and fix these issues. However some might still slip through and will have to be patched. Always be patient with game developers, as fixing these types of problems takes time and hard work.