ddrueding
Fixture
All I know is that I'll be buying a pair of PS4s as soon as GT6 is released. Here's hoping that my existing force feedback wheels/pedals are compatible.
PC Gaming = World of Suck
- Thread starter Mercutio
- Start date
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
What about the upcoming Cortex A53/57, targeted at servers? While I doubt it will be any match for a Xeon E3/5/7, it should offer much higher performances per core than the actual Cortex A15. This might be sufficient for a gaming console.
I agree it wouldn't allow a similar integration as an all-AMD setup though. At least there will be one field of revenue left for AMD. Looking at their plans for the next two years, the performance comparison of their various architectures looks grimm compared to what their competitors will offer. I don't see them do well on either tablets, laptops or servers. They should hold their own on the graphic side, but even Nvidia seems to pull away these days.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I question the value of doing the "CPU as an add-on to the GPU" arrangement that's under discussion here. Other than game consoles, what needs that kind of configuration? Maybe there's a scientific computing application, but is there a big enough market to drive the billions of dollars in R&D?
ddrueding
Fixture
I know DRM is bad. I know I shouldn't buy any game that has the nastiest flavors of it. I know EA is a scourge that shouldn't be trusted.
But, Dammit, SimCity looked so awesome! Even worth installing Origin on my machine. Even worth paying a crazy price. But now their servers are borked and the always-online DRM won't even let me play the tutorial level.
Serves me right...
But, Dammit, SimCity looked so awesome! Even worth installing Origin on my machine. Even worth paying a crazy price. But now their servers are borked and the always-online DRM won't even let me play the tutorial level.
Serves me right...
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
<points finger at dd> Muhahahahahaha.... <runs back under my bridge>
sdbardwick
Storage is cool
Might want to try and get your money back for SimCity: Ars has a interesting article or two
ddrueding
Fixture
The complaint about city size is completely legit. Don't know who thought that was an acceptable size. Bit I do like the game. Logged a few hours this morning and enjoyed it considerably. More fun than CitiesXL if it can keep running without crashing for more than 90 minutes at a time (losing your city in the process )
)
ddrueding
Fixture
Honestly? It is a pretty fun game, and a bigger timesink than Civ5. Haven't had any errors in the last two days.
Of course, you shouldn't buy it. No one should be rewarded for such craptacular DRM-sodden errors. But I've been playing the crap out of it.
Of course, you shouldn't buy it. No one should be rewarded for such craptacular DRM-sodden errors. But I've been playing the crap out of it.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
From everything I've read about it, SimCity sounds more like an MMO than the sandbox game it used to be.
I mentioned it in the Media Players thread, but I'm curious as to what the Ouya can do. Most of my tablets can handle Dungeon Defenders just fine on modest ARM CPUs, and that uses a fairly recent revision of the Unreal Engine. Mobile games mostly kind of suck, but on the other hand the Unreal Engine is pretty respectable tech and if people are making rich games for a $100 console, I'll at least be curious to see how that works out.
I mentioned it in the Media Players thread, but I'm curious as to what the Ouya can do. Most of my tablets can handle Dungeon Defenders just fine on modest ARM CPUs, and that uses a fairly recent revision of the Unreal Engine. Mobile games mostly kind of suck, but on the other hand the Unreal Engine is pretty respectable tech and if people are making rich games for a $100 console, I'll at least be curious to see how that works out.
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
I used to thoroughly enjoy the original version of SimCity but haven't bought any of the newer versions (mostly because the machines I had when they came out didn't have the grunt to run them). It sounds like SC4 is the best bet unless they lose the "always online" requirement for SC5. Also, I know it's a sim, but SC5 missed the boat of a lot of things. It's basically 1950s autocentric city planning, according to this article.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
As I recall from the original SimCity, one of the easiest ways to make a happy populace was to build a city with no roads at all but pervasive railways, simulating widely-available mass transit.
Simcity 2000: $6 DRM-free. I have a copy of simcity 4 kicking around somewhere. I enjoyed it at the time but I don't know if I'd enjoy it now.
According to this article from an insider from Maxis, Simcity doesn't do computational work on the servers.
ddrueding
Fixture
I'm playing it as a sandbox game. I have no interest in playing with people I don't know. The city size restriction can be annoying, but the regional nature allows you to work around many of the limitations (you can run 14 cities in a region and exchange power, police, resources, etc between them). My biggest complaint is still the waiting nature of it. The fastest game setting is still much slower than I could play; I've been leaving the game running for an hour at a time while on my laptop.
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
Be sure to check out Prison Architect, where you can build the jailhouse of your dreams!
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Apparently the new Xbox is going to require an internet connection for any and all applications. The latest rumor is that it'll stop working if it's disconnected for more than three minutes. Hope you don't live someplace with lots of 2.4GHz interference, gamers.
I've read a lot of controversy with it and apparently even people at Microsoft are telling people to deal with it, that's how it'll work. At this very moment I have little to no interest in either next-gen console. Maybe that will change after it is released but for now I couldn't care less.
On a different topic, I'm having a great time playing through Borderlands 2. I bought it a while back (release day) but haven't had time to play it until recently. I'm rather enjoying the game and the witty humor. I picked up the season pass that was recently on a special through amazon. That should extend the game quite a bit. The game is playing very well even single player.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Cowboom.com has some pretty good deals on refurbished current generation consoles, by the way.
I don't like the idea of "always online" in part because the time I most want to game is when "online" is least accessible. I'm more apt to fire up something if my internet connection is already being as fully abused as it can be or during times when my service is down for some reason. I'm really not too keen on the idea that I need someone else's permission to play a single player title with no online component in the first place, and even less enthusiastic about a requirement that I keep authenticating with a content distributor or paying for a subscription to use online capabilities that are already built in to games and hardware in the first place.
And all of those things seem like the direction games are heading.
I tried League of Legends last week, but after having to repair the install every time I wanted to play, I decided that it's not worth bothering with it.
I did play some Dead Island on Xbox over the weekend. I still don't like console controls, but it was enjoyable to have an old fashioned co-op game with an actual storyline. Dead Island had a really cool, tragic trailer and I had hoped that the whole game would be like that, but alas it appears to suffer from the Dead Rising "Combine Items to Make Ridiculous Super Weapons" syndrome if you get far enough into the game.
I don't like the idea of "always online" in part because the time I most want to game is when "online" is least accessible. I'm more apt to fire up something if my internet connection is already being as fully abused as it can be or during times when my service is down for some reason. I'm really not too keen on the idea that I need someone else's permission to play a single player title with no online component in the first place, and even less enthusiastic about a requirement that I keep authenticating with a content distributor or paying for a subscription to use online capabilities that are already built in to games and hardware in the first place.
And all of those things seem like the direction games are heading.
I tried League of Legends last week, but after having to repair the install every time I wanted to play, I decided that it's not worth bothering with it.
I did play some Dead Island on Xbox over the weekend. I still don't like console controls, but it was enjoyable to have an old fashioned co-op game with an actual storyline. Dead Island had a really cool, tragic trailer and I had hoped that the whole game would be like that, but alas it appears to suffer from the Dead Rising "Combine Items to Make Ridiculous Super Weapons" syndrome if you get far enough into the game.
I don't like the idea of a console requiring the always online component either. I hardly ever play a multi-player game on my current xbox so I no longer pay for xbox live. I'm hoping they relax the always-online requirement and learn a bit from the recent sim city disaster. I'm not that hopeful though.
I haven't yet tried league of legends either but I did play the hell out of the original DOTA map that was part of Warcraft III from years ago. I wasted numerous hours in that game and loved the strategy. I believe LoL is based on the same idea as DOTA and now DOTA 2.
I've played a bunch of Dead Island on the PC with friends. It's a bizarre game. I feel like I can never keep a weapon for more than a few minutes of skull bashing before it's rendered useless. It also doesn't seem to be improving much as I level through the game. It's a little silly the way some of the missions are laid out. No bitch, I don't want to go fetch you some more water. I bought that woman like 15 bottles of water and she continues to complain she's dieing of thirst. Those little things bug me in games like these which offer XP for stupid tasks.
Blendo games is doing a Humble bundle for anyone who might be interested. I really enjoyed Atom Zombie Smasher as a fun overhead strategy game. Give a few dollars and give it a try. Even the soundtrack to Atom Zombie Smasher is worthy of a couple bucks.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I'm actually planning to do a table top gaming night on Friday. I play Magic occasionally with a bunch of young ladies and that's a lot of fun, but it's contingent on them not having anything else to do. Our games get spoiled often as not.
So my plan right now is to get a group of people together for Cards Against Humanity, Gloom and... something else. Munchkin or Say Anything or Sentinels of the Multiverse.
I'm kind of inspired by Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series on Youtube, along with the fact that I know quite a few people who WANT to play games, but don't want to commit to collecting trading cards or full-on role playing. Tabletop has a format that is very similar to a reality TV show, but unlike a reality TV show, it's actually entertaining. Penny Arcade's Strip Search, a show about finding a talented webcomic artist, is also surprisingly engaging.
So my plan right now is to get a group of people together for Cards Against Humanity, Gloom and... something else. Munchkin or Say Anything or Sentinels of the Multiverse.
I'm kind of inspired by Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series on Youtube, along with the fact that I know quite a few people who WANT to play games, but don't want to commit to collecting trading cards or full-on role playing. Tabletop has a format that is very similar to a reality TV show, but unlike a reality TV show, it's actually entertaining. Penny Arcade's Strip Search, a show about finding a talented webcomic artist, is also surprisingly engaging.
Tabletop gaming is the main reason I go to PAX East every year. The video game expo is neat and all but the real fun is on table top gaming. That's where I'll be up into the wee hours of the morning. I've been collecting far too many tabletop games over the years. One of the hits that I find work well with people are Dominion (4 or less players). A fun card game that will get everyone involved is Bohnanza (because you have to make deals with people). Zombie dice is a fun and quick way to make some friends and have a 10 minute game with low involvement. I find Munchkin is neat but it's all calm and easy going until the first person gets to level 8 or 9 and then everyone brings out the big guns to kill them. I find it a bit too imbalanced but it's still neat. Steve Jackson meant that game as a joke and it became their biggest seller. Speaking of Steve Jackson games, check out Nanuk if you want to try a bizarre hunting game with a large group of people. That game works well with more players and can be fun to yell DOOOOOOOM. If you find you continue to do a gaming night and you want a game slightly more involved, the Battlestar galactica board game is great. I know you're a large fan of the series and if your friends are also familiar it's a great time. Another semi-involved game you could plan to try is Small World. If you find people can hold their attention to those games then maybe it's time to try something like Arkham Horror.
I was big on Magic for about a year or two and then just got sick of buying more and more cards. I loved the premise and challenge the game offers but the cost of buying new packs was bugging me. Cards Against Humanity works well for a few rounds and then it gets kind of old if you keep playing with the same people. That's a game I would buy and then give to someone when I'm done so they can pass it along and have fun with other people. If you like games like Cards Against Humanity, check out the game called Crappy Birthday.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I don't know all the people who are coming, so I think it's important at first to play games that don't have an involved rule set or complex set up. My hope is that I'll be able to do this every few weeks if I can get a group of regulars to play with.
One of my friends is a huge fan of Heroscape and Heroclix, but neither of those games is ideal as a starting point and she'd be the first to admit it.
One of the biggest problems with the tabletop games is that it's very difficult to judge what you're buying sight-unseen. My comic shop carries a lot of that stuff, but no one buys it because in a lot of cases it's a tough choice between investing $40 in a game that might or might not be any fun or too complicated to play regularly, versus getting another D&D manual or set of Warhammer minis, things that are known quantities.
One of my friends is a huge fan of Heroscape and Heroclix, but neither of those games is ideal as a starting point and she'd be the first to admit it.
One of the biggest problems with the tabletop games is that it's very difficult to judge what you're buying sight-unseen. My comic shop carries a lot of that stuff, but no one buys it because in a lot of cases it's a tough choice between investing $40 in a game that might or might not be any fun or too complicated to play regularly, versus getting another D&D manual or set of Warhammer minis, things that are known quantities.
I agree about having a game simple enough for the general masses to make sure it goes over well. I've encountered the same thing and until you know the crowd it's hard to get into games that require more attention to detail due to the complexity. That's why I was recommending games like dominion, Bohnanza, zombi dice, and even Nanuk. They're all around the same amount of complexity but still offer rewarding challenges.
PAX and other gaming conventions are great ways to try those types of tabletop games before committing to them. One of the things I love is sitting down at the booth from the game designer and having them show you the game and quickly answer any confusing disputes in the rules so that one can learn the game faster to get an idea if its good or not. I know that's not always convenient for everyone but outside of that there are things like Wil's tabletop series and the geek and sundry. I find it not much different than finding reviews for video games before buying them. Sometimes I only get to play some of the games I own once a year. :-\ When I do get to play it, it's great!
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
A lot of tabletop games are made to appeal to geeks. There are a crap-ton of them that involve zombies, Lovecraftian horror or Fantasy/Scifi/Super-Hero tropes. And I'm completely fine with that because I like that stuff. But at the same time, some of the people I might be playing with might NOT want to play "Last Night on Earth" or "Elder Sign" because of the horror themes. So that is also part of the balancing act as well, now that I think about it.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
This is a commercial for Farcry 3. I'm not sure what the hell they were thinking but the level of late 80s/early 90s cheese is note perfect.
Cartoonishly violent and gory and there's a naughty word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnuJyJBM_J4&feature=player_embedded
Cartoonishly violent and gory and there's a naughty word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnuJyJBM_J4&feature=player_embedded
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
This is a commercial for Farcry 3. I'm not sure what the hell they were thinking but the level of late 80s/early 90s cheese is note perfect.
Cartoonishly violent and gory and there's a naughty word.
[video=youtube;dnuJyJBM_J4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnuJyJBM_J4&feature=player_embedded[/video]
Cartoonishly violent and gory and there's a naughty word.
[video=youtube;dnuJyJBM_J4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnuJyJBM_J4&feature=player_embedded[/video]
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Xbox One. Pretty much the same hardware as a PS4 only with more "online" and "motion" and "TV Integration." I don't see anything anywhere that says it can handle either 4k video or 3D TVs - gaming being one of the few things that might make a 3D TV kinda neat. They run something Windows 8-ish, but since they have an x86-64 CPUs they can't share binaries with Windows RT or Windows Mobile and will probably be crippled in some way to keep them from running desktop apps as well. So basically they're going to be a weird third option that might need developer attention and the Metro interface that was supposed to represent a unification of Microsoft OSes and platforms is just a bad cover.
It does kind of occur to me that a boat was missed on the Surface for not having Kinect sensors built in. Seems like it might be a good idea to get a decent deployed base of them out in the world so that developers have a reason to do something with them.
It does kind of occur to me that a boat was missed on the Surface for not having Kinect sensors built in. Seems like it might be a good idea to get a decent deployed base of them out in the world so that developers have a reason to do something with them.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
Ummm...
1. It's the "One" no one buys?
2. It's the "One" that finally puts a nail in MS's coffin?
3. It's the "One" that an interface that unifies MS desktop, tablet and console offerings?
4. It's the "One" that gets modded to death and runs Linux within the first week of release because MS f*(ked their boot configuration.
5. It's the "One" console that requires anti-virus, as it'll be possible to infect it with malware.
6. ???
7. It's the "One" console that MS will sell actually for a profit?
1. It's the "One" no one buys?
2. It's the "One" that finally puts a nail in MS's coffin?
3. It's the "One" that an interface that unifies MS desktop, tablet and console offerings?
4. It's the "One" that gets modded to death and runs Linux within the first week of release because MS f*(ked their boot configuration.
5. It's the "One" console that requires anti-virus, as it'll be possible to infect it with malware.
6. ???
7. It's the "One" console that MS will sell actually for a profit?
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Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I don't think even for a second that it will fail in the marketplace. It looks like MS has negotiated a pretty killer set of exclusives. S*ny is still hamstrung by its entertainment division and its need to prevent all manner of non-approved media access, so a lot of the cool stuff the Xbox can do (e.g. TV overlay) isn't going to show up on that thing. EA says it's given up on Nintendo, so it's really down to a two horse race for major console. The PS4 probably has a performance edge with DDR5 RAM, but I suspect that Microsoft's internet and media-aware features will be more generally appealing.
A lot of gamers are bitching about the fees for used games, but Steam doesn't allow game resale at all and most gamers think that's the greatest service since the invention of the blowjob so I doubt it'll be much of an issue for Microsoft.
A lot of gamers are bitching about the fees for used games, but Steam doesn't allow game resale at all and most gamers think that's the greatest service since the invention of the blowjob so I doubt it'll be much of an issue for Microsoft.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
You're not a Gamestop customer in the first place. The people who are buying and selling used games are for the most part young people for whom a $40 expenditure represents a significant chunk of income rather than the weekly sum of the value of their workplace bathroom breaks.
Don't the various consoles have inexpensive online delivery now? I don't really know. I've never paid any attention to that.
Don't the various consoles have inexpensive online delivery now? I don't really know. I've never paid any attention to that.
I can only speak from the xbox 360 perspective for online delivery and the answer is yes. I've purchased several games through the xbox live marketplace but they're not all inexpensive. You can buy full-priced titles. I usually wait until they have sales for those various games ($5-$10). I can't remember the last time I paid full price for a new xbox game which are typically $60.
The other thing Steam does well is to offer a 4-pack of a game at a decent discount. I then gift the game to friends. It's not the same as reselling a used game but it's a nice way to get people to play games with you and offer a discount.
ddrueding
Fixture
In the console wars, the only thing I care about is Gran Turismo 6. I own two PS3s, and two copies of GT5. What surprised me was that they announced GT6 for PS3 and not the PS4.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I'm looking forward to the day that PS3 games get as cheap as PS2 games are now. Maybe I'll finally find one I like when I can buy six or eight for what one game costs now.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
With much sadness, I must report that my very first dual-shock controller finally died whilst my son was playing Gran Turismo. (GT on a first gen PS1 - the big grey box - with a first gen dual shock controller). It was 15 years old... RIP.
(In addition to our PS1, we still have a functional N64 as well - my wife still beats me at Mario Kart).
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Tonight I got to play Cards Against Humanity with a dream team line up: Four lesbians, two transsexuals, a (culturally) Jewish Doctor of Unitarian Theology, a Medical Doctor, an English Lit prof and two seventeen year olds, who were both dating AND both of whose mothers were somewhere in the group. The racist, homophobic, drug and porn fueled wrongness had layers of far, far deeper meaning than I suspect it typically has. It was pretty damned awesome.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Transexuals, something I'll never understand. Talk about people running after misery. Just accept yourself as you are. Typical result of the values pushed in our society. Whatever.