Part five of our six part Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction developer video diary series focuses on a group that, in games, is the most overlooked (and, at times, unfairly blamed for problems) yet is also one of the most essential. Namely: QA (quality assurance) or testing. As a change of pace, we’ll be featuring two different folks in this dev diary; Bill Parmenter, senior tester, and Brian Mathison, who is the test lead. Individually, they have logged more hours on RCF:ToD than any other human being to date. They also have a collection of “blooper” bugs that they may be willing to share if asked nicely.
In this video, Bill and Brian reveal the funniest pre-release glitches (which were fixed!), the differences between the Japanese and North American Ratchet characters, and how becoming a tester affects your skills in other games.
In other news on this “official” Ratchet & Clank Future launch day, check out the Resistance: Fall of Man community site to download special Ratchet & Clank bangles for R:FoM online. Grab Ratchet’s wrench, Clank’s backpack and Magna-boots (no, they won’t help you run up Chimeran nodes).
And, if you listen to Insomniac’s “Full Moon Show” podcast, they’ve got a special edition launch day episode complete with more in-depth Ratchet & Clank Future news, Resistance: Fall of Man online updates and a contest to win a VERY rare Ratchet & Clank statue.
This game should be Sony’s top seller this holiday seaon. I can’t wait to pick it up!
I’ve had the game since last week, beaten it once already, and I’m already knee deep into my second playthrough. Great game guys, it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
;-) cant wait for the next one *cough cliff hanger cough*
W00t Can’t Wait!
Lol, awesome.
Most down to earth Dev Diary I have seen yet.
From what i heard game rocketed on the top of chartz.
Working as Game Tester is not an easy job. Many think you are just seating and playing games, but there is much more to it than that.
Rumor going around that 2.00 is coming today?
Is this true?
I have this game and its officially the best PS3 game yet and I don’t think Uncharted will top it. Also I love the commercial. I was watching I love New York 2 yesterday on Vh1 and I saw the commercial and it was awesome and the music was great.
i bought the game yesterday and it wont play because it requires a system update of 1.94, which isn’t out yet. what a bunch of crap, how are other people playing the game when you cant get the new update. oh and when is this update coming out.
@mulvey78
The system update is on the disk…. Oki? >->
Well, Sony. There you got some feedback from a costumer. The normal man don’t know everything. Give them an option to update from the error message.
On post:
Funny pregame glitches? Gimmegimmegimme.
Somebody needs to post pics of the different ratchets.
You guys should do a video diary on the music and sound effects.
I’ve beaten this game and it was a blast…still missing a few pieces of the hologram.. noone tell me either..
@mulvey78
When it tells you need to update click the update.. it does it for you automatically :P
Speaking of glitches .. anyone else notice the map glitch with the treasure hunter addition to it. Like the gold bolts will show up in weird spots… and also areas will blink where something is supposed to be there and nothing is actually there?
Might be my problem with finding the missing holograms :D
Yawn…. Kids games getting too much hype.
FW2.0 is it comin tomorrow it says on the EU playstation site the PSP update needs FW2.0 or higher to work on PS3 Details PLZ
I’m currently playing this game and it’s a blast! They did a great job on testing and I haven’t run into any glitches or problems as yet. :)
(and for the record… games that ARE glitchy or problematic are simply not fun to play!)
…and though they looked a little nervous in the interview, they got the information across clearly! Nicely done and a very interesting interview. :)
The game is fantastic.
I love the little humorous bits throughout the game.
give us 2.0 and in game xmb
Yes the ratchet commercial is sweet, i hope after 2 weeks they have second one because the heavenly sword one got old. Also ill have to dl that resistance pack, and im going to start the 17th podcast right now. 1. 2. 3.
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Wow, these two devs could be in the game by themselves. We just would have to change the name to Hatchet & Crank.
lol
Just adding some life to the blogs. Awesome Game
This platformer actually challanges me. Awesome game guys.
I can’t wait to see what they do next… I just hope it involves real time level hopping on the fly and full 3-d traversal stuff. I think we’reowed this Insomniac “ha”
You guys are the best!
The word is out, the PS3 along with SONY Corp. is the best in computer entertainment. All those playstation faithfuls that turned their back on you will return. I’ve actually heard people say now, and I am hearing it alot, that the PS3 is “now” worth the purchase. With Ratchet and Clank getting so much attention it now forces developers to create the games that are only capable on the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system platform. I’ll admit, SONY platforms are always difficult at first but in time developers warm up to the hardware and create games that are superior or just plain and simple more fun and engaging than our competition. We need to kick everything into high gear for this holiday season as well as for preparation which will set a foundation for next year. We must execute this holiday season in order to follow up with next year’s expectations. We have to make our way back as the dominant brand in entertainment, be it movies, music, computer entertainment, media, etc, everything possible to regain trust with consumers. Again, I would stress advertisement, but not over the top. We don’t need to waist money on over the top commercials for PS3 computer entertainment system. We need simple yet effective commercials that will spark consumer interest widely. Commercials that convey fun and adventure in a futuristic sense. I hope everything is going good with Home as it should be a monster hit as well as Little Big Planet. I know that Phil oversees all productions as the head of SONY’s World Wide Studios concerning everything that is currently development. I hope all goes well. Don’t rush this, take as much time as you need to make sure that this thing comes out right. That was to you, Phil. I can’t way for the 40gig SKU to hit the market. It’s going to be huge despite the lack of BC, the loss of 2 USB ports, and memory cards. Most consumers want a PS3 now especially since Ratchet is now nominated for game of the year.
What’s done is done and we can’t go back and change the past but what we can do is look toward the future. I hope everything goes well with everyone at SONY as I know that you are working your buts off; the hard work will payoff, mark my words, and we will be back on the top of the market in 1-2 years, guaranteed!
SONY…….Like. No. Other.
the6one…….
wheres my 2.0?!?!
also: the whistles go wooooo
For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet here is the ad for Ratchet and Clank I strongly suggest watching it. This ad finally tops the Heavenly Sword ads (which I think were great)
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27283.html
Can anyone who has the game tell me how the size of the levels compare to those in R&C 3
Way bigger and more interactive it has 10 times more life in the level. Also, there are more levels in which you can explore if you like such as the robowing levels.
Love the commercial for the game! Play it more often in it’s high-quality vivid awesomeness!
Ratchet & Clank Future Developer Diary #5 & Official Launch Day News
The fifth Ratchet & Clank Future Developer Diary of six such video posts covers the official launch day of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction — which is today! Well, last night, following my timezone.
As a change of pace, we’…
I’m hoping Insomniac doesn’t abandon Sony’s camp… Their latest podcast seemed kind of ominous to me for some reason. I dunno… It just seemed odd that they had the microsoft guy and he’s talking about getting them a dev tool. God I’d be lost with my Insomniac fix on my Sony, man. Call me a fanboy all you want… Sony’s the ony system I support, other than the psp
Bravo, Bravo!!!
You guys at SCEI never cease to amaze me! I’ll admit I was a tadbit worry that you might not address some of the issues that were presented. Of everything I have to say, let me say this first. The new marketing for the PS3 computer entertainment is nothing short of genious. It doesn’t cost nearly as much as some of the commercials for software in the past i.e motorstorm, resistance, and lair among others. Great job conveying to the consumer that the PS3 is not scary or eerie but rather it is fun and futuristic. The new Rachet and Clank add rocks and “will” spark consumer interest and might I add that this is perfect timing–it’s coincides with the price drop as well as with the launch of the 40gig SKU. Good job guys! Job well done! I would recommend that format for the new be the absolute permanent for the PS3 for the foreseeable future. Tweaks to the add wouldn’t hurt, but as for as overall content it needs to remain the same. Is it me or is the atmosphere somehow different. Something just feels different and it is good thing. It’s like a paradigm shift is occuring and we the shift is leading everyone back to their “home”. Sales should be amazing this holiday season. Again, continue the hard work as it will pay off. Everyone at SONY claim it as though it already is, “We are back in business” baby!!!
SONY………Like. No. Other.
the6one……….
Now if they’d just get a patch out to fix this issue, I could finish the game. The game crashes every time I try to leave Planet Mukow after finishing the arena.
See here: http://www.gamesradar.com/us/ps3/game/news/article.jsp?articleId=20071023151054756074§ionId=1006&releaseId=20060322152643301029
I emailed info@insomniacgames.com and got a reply from James at their help desk. He suggested completing all of the arena challenges and trying again. I did that (first time I didn’t) and it still crashed with the exact same error. I got all 6 of the statues and the boots. Finished all of the arena challenges. Still no luck… So irritating…
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