PC Gaming

[ZGangsta 0]

Computers being a rip-off at most places hurts too. It's much cheaper to get the parts from wholesalers and get it built/build it yourself.

 

I tried to do that and it cost me three motherboards. I still have the first two, want them?

Yeah try not to shuffle around on carpet in wool socks and then poke at the components.

 

Seriously though, I've built all my past computers from components and it's something you really have to be into doing cause it can get fucking frustrating.

[Ripper 0]

I haven't burnt out a motherboard or anything, but I do think it is bullshit that you need to upgrade a computer for each game coming out because they don't even try to optimise them anymore.

 

I know you can play them on lower setttings, but it is bullshit that they preview and review games at once setting, then you get it and you have to play it on medium to get it to move at a acceptable frame rate. So they make high settings that are pretty much can't be run on any existing gaming rig and use those to show screenshots and previews at that setting. Its a bullshit ripoff and the entire industry needs to get called out for it.

 

[ZGangsta 0]

I haven't burnt out a motherboard or anything, but I do think it is bullshit that you need to upgrade a computer for each game coming out because they don't even try to optimise them anymore.

 

I know you can play them on lower setttings, but it is bullshit that they preview and review games at once setting, then you get it and you have to play it on medium to get it to move at a acceptable frame rate. So they make high settings that are pretty much can't be run on any existing gaming rig and use those to show screenshots and previews at that setting. Its a bullshit ripoff and the entire industry needs to get called out for it.

That's mostly untrue. Half-Life 2 could run on lower end computers and still look fine. It was really well optimized. In fact, the Source engine scales incredibly well. By all accounts Crysis scales really really well as well. Guild Wars can be played on a low end system and look great and then look absolutely amazing on a high end system. Unreal Engine was pretty scalable as well (UE3 not so much I hear though).

Sure there's games where they don't try and optimize them at all and you know what? Most of those are console ports. The worst offenders as of late have been Stranglehold, Gears of War, Lost Planet, and the worst Guitar Hero III. The required specs on GHIII are absolutely ridiculous for the game that it is.

[Vanhalen 0]

Id 100 times out of 100 play a FPS on a keyboard and mouse then a shitty gamepad, no comparative

[fazzle 0]

My contribution to this thread is Gametap.

 

I just signed up for it earlier in the week, primarily for the Sam & Max episodes, and I'm loving the shit out of it so far.

 

I've already downloaded 20-something games. I just have to find time to play them now.

 

6 episodes of Sam & Max(already got 4 of them done), Typing of the Dead, Deus Ex, Planescape: Torment, both Baldur's Gates, DRAGONFIRE~!, Willy Beamish, etc.

 

I've converted to a gametap fanboy.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

Yeah, I can't get over the specs for GH3. It's a simple rhythm game...there is no way in hell those specs should be THAT high.

[Thoth 0]

Yeah, I can't get over the specs for GH3. It's a simple rhythm game...there is no way in hell those specs should be THAT high.

 

You can thank the brain trust at Aspyr for that.

 

Aspyr is famous for dominating the Mac gaming market (basically seems like they're the only company releasing games on the Mac anymore... I used to be a Mac owner, and as far as games go, people live and die by them). As the Mac has switched to Intel chips, Aspyr basically said eff it, let's bump the requirements for Intel Macs only.

 

Somewhere along the line, I think, they decided they could do the same for PC's as well.

 

I think they're basing the graphics off of the 360 version, but for a PC, there's no reason that, if necessary, they can be downgraded to look like the Wii or PS2 version.

[AndrewTS 0]

Id 100 times out of 100 play a FPS on a keyboard and mouse then a shitty gamepad, no comparative

 

What's so great about ASWD movement?

 

Oh right, nothing.

[Thoth 0]

Id 100 times out of 100 play a FPS on a keyboard and mouse then a shitty gamepad, no comparative

 

What's so great about ASWD movement?

 

Oh right, nothing.

 

WASD, in my experience, allows for greater twitch precision than analog, while sacrificing the ability to run at angles.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

I haven't burnt out a motherboard or anything, but I do think it is bullshit that you need to upgrade a computer for each game coming out because they don't even try to optimise them anymore.

 

I know you can play them on lower setttings, but it is bullshit that they preview and review games at once setting, then you get it and you have to play it on medium to get it to move at a acceptable frame rate. So they make high settings that are pretty much can't be run on any existing gaming rig and use those to show screenshots and previews at that setting. Its a bullshit ripoff and the entire industry needs to get called out for it.

That's mostly untrue. Half-Life 2 could run on lower end computers and still look fine. It was really well optimized. In fact, the Source engine scales incredibly well. By all accounts Crysis scales really really well as well. Guild Wars can be played on a low end system and look great and then look absolutely amazing on a high end system. Unreal Engine was pretty scalable as well (UE3 not so much I hear though).

Sure there's games where they don't try and optimize them at all and you know what? Most of those are console ports. The worst offenders as of late have been Stranglehold, Gears of War, Lost Planet, and the worst Guitar Hero III. The required specs on GHIII are absolutely ridiculous for the game that it is.

 

 

So very true.

[Thoth 0]

I haven't burnt out a motherboard or anything, but I do think it is bullshit that you need to upgrade a computer for each game coming out because they don't even try to optimise them anymore.

 

I know you can play them on lower setttings, but it is bullshit that they preview and review games at once setting, then you get it and you have to play it on medium to get it to move at a acceptable frame rate. So they make high settings that are pretty much can't be run on any existing gaming rig and use those to show screenshots and previews at that setting. Its a bullshit ripoff and the entire industry needs to get called out for it.

That's mostly untrue. Half-Life 2 could run on lower end computers and still look fine. It was really well optimized. In fact, the Source engine scales incredibly well. By all accounts Crysis scales really really well as well. Guild Wars can be played on a low end system and look great and then look absolutely amazing on a high end system. Unreal Engine was pretty scalable as well (UE3 not so much I hear though).

Sure there's games where they don't try and optimize them at all and you know what? Most of those are console ports. The worst offenders as of late have been Stranglehold, Gears of War, Lost Planet, and the worst Guitar Hero III. The required specs on GHIII are absolutely ridiculous for the game that it is.

 

 

So very true.

 

Strangely enough, Gears is UE3.

 

[Ripper 0]

I haven't burnt out a motherboard or anything, but I do think it is bullshit that you need to upgrade a computer for each game coming out because they don't even try to optimise them anymore.

 

I know you can play them on lower setttings, but it is bullshit that they preview and review games at once setting, then you get it and you have to play it on medium to get it to move at a acceptable frame rate. So they make high settings that are pretty much can't be run on any existing gaming rig and use those to show screenshots and previews at that setting. Its a bullshit ripoff and the entire industry needs to get called out for it.

That's mostly untrue. Half-Life 2 could run on lower end computers and still look fine. It was really well optimized. In fact, the Source engine scales incredibly well. By all accounts Crysis scales really really well as well. Guild Wars can be played on a low end system and look great and then look absolutely amazing on a high end system. Unreal Engine was pretty scalable as well (UE3 not so much I hear though).

Sure there's games where they don't try and optimize them at all and you know what? Most of those are console ports. The worst offenders as of late have been Stranglehold, Gears of War, Lost Planet, and the worst Guitar Hero III. The required specs on GHIII are absolutely ridiculous for the game that it is.

 

 

You aren't really disagreeing with me.

 

I know that games have done it before but at the same time, they also previewed their games at playable levels.

 

So what if a game looks good on the lower end? You previewed to me at the highest end that is fucking impossible to achieve without going broke. And the reason they do that is simply to make better stills, better screen shots, and make the game look better graphically than you can achieve yourself.

 

Its like selling Madden 08 for playstation 2 and using playstation 3 still to sell it. If I am going to play a Playstation 2 game, then show me what the fuck it will look like when I play, not what it would look like if I spent more money on a more expensive system.

[ZGangsta 0]

Id 100 times out of 100 play a FPS on a keyboard and mouse then a shitty gamepad, no comparative

 

What's so great about ASWD movement?

Easy, you have 3 fingers on the movement keys rather than 1 thumb on the stick. Way quicker response.

[Ripper 0]

Honestly...i don't see how that makes anysense.

 

I mean, I see how using mouse and keyboard would improve accuracy and reaction time, and makes FPS overall better on PC but I would attribute that more to the mouse than ASWD.

 

Using three fingers to do something that one would do otherwise doesn't seem like it would speed up reaction time.

[Thoth 0]

Honestly...i don't see how that makes anysense.

 

I mean, I see how using mouse and keyboard would improve accuracy and reaction time, and makes FPS overall better on PC but I would attribute that more to the mouse than ASWD.

 

Using three fingers to do something that one would do otherwise doesn't seem like it would speed up reaction time.

 

On the contrary, if you're moving forward and left, it's faster to switch direction on a keyboard than an analog stick, thanks to the travel time of the devices. Not to mention that the feeling of floaty momentum is reduced or eliminated on a keyboard.

 

You say it yourself, that reaction time is faster. This is because the keyboard is a digital solution, compared to an analog solution like a joystick.

 

Ask yourself: How long does it take for you to move a joystick from one direction to another, versus depressing some keys and pressing others?

[Ripper 0]

The same unless you are freakishly slow. The difference would be the look on the other side with the mouse. aiming with a analog is slow and sluggish compaired to a mouse.

 

the difference between having a finger to push the button would be negated by the extra thought you would have to send to your brain to determine which finger to use.

 

Yes, I went there. Thats how little of a difference I think the ASWD makes between movement with the right analog. Which I pretty much think is none.

[ZGangsta 0]

The same unless you are freakishly slow. The difference would be the look on the other side with the mouse. aiming with a analog is slow and sluggish compaired to a mouse.

 

the difference between having a finger to push the button would be negated by the extra thought you would have to send to your brain to determine which finger to use.

 

Yes, I went there. Thats how little of a difference I think the ASWD makes between movement with the right analog. Which I pretty much think is none.

Bull. Sit there and tap your index and ring finger over your a & d keys (or even on a table) and then move your thumb back and forth as if you were going full left and full right on a thumbpad. See which seems faster.

Come on, anyone here play guitar? You think you could hammer on/pull off as fast as you could toggle a thumbpad?

[Thoth 0]

The same unless you are freakishly slow. The difference would be the look on the other side with the mouse. aiming with a analog is slow and sluggish compaired to a mouse.

 

the difference between having a finger to push the button would be negated by the extra thought you would have to send to your brain to determine which finger to use.

 

Yes, I went there. Thats how little of a difference I think the ASWD makes between movement with the right analog. Which I pretty much think is none.

 

You're overlooking one problem with analog moving.

 

In the period that you move the stick from one position to another, let's say top left to bottom right, your character is still moving forward and to the left until you cross the threshhold which is the neutral point.

 

There is a moment where your movement will slow.

[AndrewTS 0]

"Reaction time" to me honestly means jack for whatever micron period of time that might be, at least to someone like myself who is basically going to stick to campaign and not playing online much. It begs the question, also, if ASWD is so goshdarn swell for its digital response, why do virtually no modern console FPSes support it? Nearly every console that can support that genre well has a d-pad input, that at most usually is a weapon swap button. That Halo effect? The influence of so many FPS and 3rd person shooters out there already?

 

Funny thing how so many people were praising the Metroid Prime 3 (Advanced) control configuration, despite it having an overall slower method of aiming/looking (wiimote pointer) than a mouse, and that dreaded analog movement. Granted, there's no online play in any way, shape or form.

[ZGangsta 0]

It begs the question, also, if ASWD is so goshdarn swell for its digital response, why do virtually no modern console FPSes support it? Nearly every console that can support that genre well has a d-pad input, that at most usually is a weapon swap button.

Because you use one finger on a d-pad instead of 3 on the WASD keys. Jesus it's not that hard to understand.

 

But the WASD isn't what makes keyboard/mouse so much better, so whatever.

 

And yeah, the Metroid Prime 3 controls are better than anything elso on any console (with the possible exception of MoH Heroes 2 also for the Wii) but it's still not close to as precise as on a PC.

[Thoth 0]

"Reaction time" to me honestly means jack for whatever micron period of time that might be, at least to someone like myself who is basically going to stick to campaign and not playing online much.

 

You're right, in single player, enemies wouldn't take advantage of it.

 

It begs the question, also, if ASWD is so goshdarn swell for its digital response, why do virtually no modern console FPSes support it?

 

Hardware manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo) mandate that a keyboard cannot be used. The PS3 version of UT3 will support WASD.

[ZGangsta 0]

"Reaction time" to me honestly means jack for whatever micron period of time that might be, at least to someone like myself who is basically going to stick to campaign and not playing online much.

 

You're right, in single player, enemies wouldn't take advantage of it.

 

It begs the question, also, if ASWD is so goshdarn swell for its digital response, why do virtually no modern console FPSes support it?

 

Hardware manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo) mandate that a keyboard cannot be used. The PS3 version of UT3 will support WASD.

Oh yeah, I forgot that the PS3 was going to support a keyboard/mouse combo for UT3. That's pretty cool.

[AndrewTS 0]

PS2 and Dreamcast supported keyboard and mouse at least for their versions of Half-Life, so it's not a first-time thing.

[muzz 0]

WASD or any other setup is invaluable for online and single player shooters. Of course if you don't use it you won't see the benefit.

[Ripper 0]

But I do use both and I am telling you, whats going on with my right hand is why FPS are better on the PC, not the left hand. Faster and more presice look and aim is what is making all the difference. The difference in time between analog movement and awsd really isn't that big of a deal.

 

Give me a analog on the left hand with a mouse on the other and the differences wouldn't be much.

[Thoth 0]

Yeah, in truth, WASD vs Analog is nowhere near as big of a deal as mouse vs analog.

[Slayer 0]

I'm not a big FPS person, but for me playing the GTA3+ series was much easier on the PC than on console

[bobobrazil1984 0]

But I do use both and I am telling you, whats going on with my right hand is why FPS are better on the PC, not the left hand. Faster and more presice look and aim is what is making all the difference. The difference in time between analog movement and awsd really isn't that big of a deal.

 

Give me a analog on the left hand with a mouse on the other and the differences wouldn't be much.

 

that would be cool. something similar to the Wii's "nunchuck" attachment for the left hand would do the trick.

 

Actually now that I think about it, it's such a foolproof idea i'm surprised i dont see a ton of these analog only PC controllers on the market.

[ZGangsta 0]

But I do use both and I am telling you, whats going on with my right hand is why FPS are better on the PC, not the left hand. Faster and more presice look and aim is what is making all the difference. The difference in time between analog movement and awsd really isn't that big of a deal.

 

Give me a analog on the left hand with a mouse on the other and the differences wouldn't be much.

 

that would be cool. something similar to the Wii's "nunchuck" attachment for the left hand would do the trick.

 

Actually now that I think about it, it's such a foolproof idea i'm surprised i dont see a ton of these analog only PC controllers on the market.

You'd need a ton of buttons to make up for the lack of the keys other than the directional ones (WASD/space) that are on the keyboard though.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

I wasn't much of a pc gamer for the simple reason I've never had a laptop worthwhile, in terms of gaming. Plus, the PS2 is dead now. Played all I was interested in, and I definetly can't afford a PS3 or Wii. After this xmas, when I get an Inspiron 1520, I'll definetly be playing quite a bit of PC. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Oblivion, Fable, Hellgate: London, for starters.