How your Call of Duty Ghosts DLC upgrade works (or doesn't)
Posted by OneofSwords in One of Swords on Jan 29, 2014 2:56:00 PM

Call of Duty has posted a new blog entry that covers not only some of the highlights of the latest patch notes, but also digs into some detail regarding how DLC and Season Pass content works this year. This information was already announced last year, but now that we're at the point of purchase for a lot of people, it's important to restate, and I'm glad they did. Quoting directly:

If you are a Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC Season Pass holder, then your Onslaught DLC Pack will carry over from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. However, if you are not a Call of Duty Ghosts DLC Season Pass holder and purchase the Onslaught DLC Pack individually, it will not carry over from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Currently, Microsoft only supports DLC transfer between Xbox 360 and Xbox One if you are a Season Pass holder. The Call of Duty: Ghosts Onslaught DLC Pack will carry over from PlayStation®3 to PlayStation®4 whether you purchase it individually or get it as part of the Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC Season Pass.

So, just to be super clear, because I do not want people regretting their choices:

Season Pass on Xbox 360 WILL carry forward to Xbox One, if you get it on your Xbox 360 before the end of May.
Season Pass on PS3 WILL carry forward to PS4, if you get it on your PS3 before the end of May.
Season Pass on Xbox One WILL NOT carry back to Xbox 360. The offer is only valid for people moving from the previous system to the latest system.
Season Pass on PS4 MIGHT? carry back to PS3. UPDATE: I am being told by fans that Sony offering one Season Pass on both PS3 and PS4. I have no reason to doubt them, but I was not expecting this offer. Nice deal -- we'll find out for sure when the content actually goes live.
Individually purchased DLC packs WILL NOT transfer between systems. If you buy Onslaught on Xbox 360 "a la carte," you do not also own it on Xbox One, or vice versa. (Again, we'll see what happens at the Sony DLC release to see if their rules are different.)
Season Pass WILL NOT upgrade across/between platforms by different manufacturers (i.e. Xbox 360 to PS4).

I want your Ghosts DLC experience to be happy and regret-free, so that's why I added bold type and festive colors. Now that you have the knowledge, please spread it around and prevent your friends from making expensive mistakes!

Call of Duty: Ghosts Xbox One patch hits performance
Frame-rates lower than launch version.

Last week Infinity Ward released an update for Call of Duty: Ghosts, designed to prepare the game for the recently released Onslaught DLC in addition to implementing various bug fixes, new features and balance tweaks to the title's multiplayer mode. The goal was to create a more stable and fairer online experience that is better suited for tournament play, but shortly after the patch went live players started noticing significant performance issues with the Xbox One version of the game, to the point where even "sub-20" frame-rates were reported.

Recent feedback indicates the new frame-rate issues appear most prominently on the Stonehaven level, with explosions and alpha-based effects appearing to cause these fluctuations. The reports are somewhat worrying, given that the Xbox One version of Ghosts previously had no notable frame-rate problems outside of the campaign mode, with online multiplayer featuring action mostly locked at 60fps with very few dips in performance. While resolution may be unimpressive at 720p, Ghosts on Xbox One mostly delivered the 60fps gameplay that defines the series.

Bearing in mind that reports on game patches tend to be based purely on perception, we decided to run some fresh multiplayer captures through our analysis tools in order to get to the bottom of the issue. We loaded up the standard Team Deathmatch mode and recaptured gameplay on some of the key maps allegedly affected by the update, while also introducing Stormfront into the mix - a stage that features regular alpha effects in the form of frequent rain.

Alpha effects, iron sights and sniper scope effects now seem to incur a significant performance penalty on Call of Duty: Ghosts - something that didn't seem to be an issue when we previously tested the game.

Additional analysis:
Call of Duty: Ghosts Xbox One launch multiplayer frame-rate tests

"The Stonehaven map is clearly the worst affected, but in all maps we see evidence of decreased frame-rates compared to the launch code."

Kicking off with a look at Stonehaven, it's immediately obvious that things are not quite right. While the game does indeed hit 60fps in this stage, frame-rates are dramatically impacted when the whole level is in view, with metrics varying between 46-60fps as we run across the landscape. As frame-rates fall below the desired 60fps target, we also see the appearance of some screen-tear, adding some judder, making drops in smoothness more noticeable.

Meanwhile, aiming down the barrel of a sniper scope can see significant drops down as far as the mid-30s - something we never encountered before in ether next-gen version of Ghosts during multiplayer. As a result of the fluctuating frame-rate we can feel a clear reduction in the responsiveness of the controls, while on a visual level the introduction of stutter impacts the smooth flow traditionally associated with Call of Duty multiplayer action.

On the handful of other maps we tried - both on the standard levels and in the Onslaught DLC - the drops in performance are far less severe, with momentary dips occurring during more hectic moments of play or when explosions and alpha effects are rendered on screen. Controller response is much more solid, and we don't get the feeling that gameplay has been compromised to anywhere near the same extent as we saw on Stonehaven - the experience remains mostly smooth, even though there's a distinct feeling that things aren't quite as stable as they were before the latest patch was installed.

We see similar performance issues in the Onslaught DLC, analysed here - although the impact doesn't seem quite as pronounced as it is in the Stonehaven stage in the standard levels.

Overall, it's clear that the experience isn't significantly broken across the multiplayer game, even though the update has impacted on the stability of the game to a noticeable degree. With that said, the fact that a patch designed to improve the game can actually significantly degrade performance and negatively affect the gameplay is clearly disappointing, and we would hope that it will be addressed. For the record, we also tested out the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Ghosts online and found no change to the performance level we saw at launch - not as smooth as Xbox One, but with a much higher rendering resolution.

Quite why the Xbox One version appears to run less smoothly than it used to remains unclear. We reached out to Activision and Infinity Ward earlier this week in the hopes of shedding more light on what might be causing these issues, but as of this writing, we've received no comment.

Oh FFS, it's a stupid reticle. It's not as if you're paying for an actual game part. Being able to buy daft accessories for something does not invalidate that thing.

Oh FFS, it's a stupid reticle. It's not as if you're paying for an actual game part. Being able to buy daft accessories for something does not invalidate that thing.

Who said anything about anything being 'invalidated'? I'm not sure what point you're actually making here.

See Myp's two posts above. You've been able to pay real money for avatar clothes and similar for years and years. This is nothing new or unusual.

You don't think a targetting reticle shaped like a moustache (or a rubber duck or a cat face) is new or unusual?

You don't think a targetting reticle shaped like a moustache (or a rubber duck or a cat face) is new or unusual?

Coyote

Inspired by the arid terrain of the American Southwest, the Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Coyote Personalization Pack comes loaded with a desert-themed weapon skin, three uniquely-shaped reticles, and an all-new Calling Card.

Dragon

Inspired by the armored body of a mythical dragon, the Call of Duty®: Black Ops 2 Dragon Personalization Pack comes loaded with a dragon scale-themed weapon skin, three uniquely-shaped reticles, and an all-new Calling Card.

On the scale of bad things, it's a lot less bad than being able to purchase actual in-game advantage.

Call of Duty®: Ghosts Multiplayer Demo Coming To Xbox LIVE This Weekend!

For the first time in franchise history, Activision and Infinity Ward are partnering up with Xbox to bring a Call of Duty®: Ghosts Multiplayer demo to Xbox Live this coming weekend!



From Friday, March 7th (10am/PST) to Monday, March 10th (10am/PST), players on Xbox One and Xbox 360 will be able to download the demo and try out Call of Duty: Ghosts Multiplayer at no cost. Included are three Multiplayer maps – Strikezone, Warhawk, and Prison Break; three Multiplayer modes – Search & Rescue, Domination, and Team Deathmatch; as well as the original Extinction game mode – Point of Contact.



For those that don't already own Call of Duty: Ghosts, there's no better opportunity then this weekend to jump in and experience it for yourself!

I want to be a Predator.

I want to be a Predator.

Whenever I see the front cover of Ghosts I'm reminded of this advert for a Robert Lindsay Programme

Fixed to accomodate that in a world where My Family exists, there can be no such thing as a Robert Lindsay 'Comedy'

Well, quite. I almost put 'comedy' and probably should have.

Call of Duty: Robert Lindsay edition would be good though. If you're allowed to shoot him in the face.

Call of Duty: Robert Lindsay would contain multiple gratuitous torture scenes to provoke outcry and guaranteed press coverage. But there's be no outcry.

I've missed you.

Get the first look at Nemesis, the fourth and final DLC Pack for Call of Duty®: Ghosts. Nemesis includes four Multiplayer maps: Goldrush, Subzero, Dynasty, and Showtime, a reimagined version of the fan-favorite Shipment from Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare®.

The four-part Extinction saga concludes with Episode 4: Exodus. Explore the biggest Extinction level yet and take on nearly every Cryptid species from previous episodes. You will also contend with the Ancestors - a powerful new enemy with mind control and psionic attacks.

Nemesis arrives first on Xbox LIVE on August 5th, with other platforms to follow.

Seriously, don't bother.

he said campaign! And also, I have gone back to playing blops 2 for MP, it is better.

I might have to get this soon so I can moan about how shit the campaign is. Is it sub-£20 yet?

I do miss our epic evenings of playing Modern Warfare.

I might have to get this soon so I can moan about how shit the campaign is. Is it sub-£20 yet?

Needs more shooty and less dog

Amazing scenes

I do miss our epic evenings of playing Modern Warfare.