Microsoft’s AI Obsession Continues with Atrocious Copilot Version of Quake 2
It’s bad
Image: Push SquareWeâre not sure we understand why Microsoft has made this atrocious AI-powered version of Quake 2 available to the public.
Look, weâre not ones to stand in the way of progress but this version of id Softwareâs late 90s classic is unplayable. Itâs flabbergasting that a demo this bad would be showcased to the world in such a state.
âThis bite-sized demo pulls you into an interactive space inspired by Quake 2, where AI crafts immersive visuals and responsive action on the fly,â the official blurb from the Redmond firm reads.
âItâs a ground-breaking glimpse at a brand-new way of interacting with games, turning cutting-edge research into a quick and compelling playable demo.â
So, how does this all work? Well, itâs using machine learning to translate player inputs into the images you see on screen, vaguely resulting in a poor impersonation of one of the snappiest shooters ever made.
Effectively, the demo has been trained on thousands and thousands of hours of Quake 2 gameplay footage, and it tries to reproduce that. Within less than a minute of play, we encountered inconsistencies like enemies appearing and disappearing, and the level layout changing whenever we looked up and down.
Thatâs without even mentioning the fact that the âgameâ is running at less than 5fps in a resolution that would make even the PSP blush.
Itâs frankly insulting when you consider that Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer has talked about AI potentially enabling game preservation in the future; this is not preservation but a shoddy imitation that demands untold amounts of energy to barely function.
Admittedly, weâre still in the nascent stages of AI, so this could get better. But the absolute best-case scenario here is a functioning replica of a game originally released over 25 years ago. Is it really worth the drain on the worldâs finite resources?
By the way, if youâre curious, thereâs a great version of Quake 2 available to download and play on the PS5 and PS4 already.
[source copilotlabs.microsoft.com]
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. Heâs an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.
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