265: Punching the Baby Seal of PC Gaming
- Thread starter Chuck Wendig
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Amen.
Some day they will add keyboard & mouse support to consoles and PCs will be truly dead. I don't understand why they don't see that. WoW, RTS, etc will all be ported as soon as keyboard & mouse are natively supported.
Some day they will add keyboard & mouse support to consoles and PCs will be truly dead. I don't understand why they don't see that. WoW, RTS, etc will all be ported as soon as keyboard & mouse are natively supported.
They don't give me a headache. It's just part of the deal of using ATI GPUs, their driver support can be spotty.Fusionxl said:
I feel your pain. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.166021-Adventures-in-PC-Gaming-Software-Not-Compatible] And that's only when it comes to backwards compatibility.Chuck Wendig said:
When using consoles, getting things to work is as simple as
1) Clean disc/cart if it is dusty.
2) Stick it into the proper machine.
Now let's check the PC gaming list.
1) Make sure your hardware is at least at recommended specs. Odds are you're going to want to be well above these specs too, unless you want the game to look bad and play worse.
2) Install various bits and bobs of software, including DRM, various studio add-ons (anything by Stardock pretty much requires Impulse to play multiplayer. See also, Games For Windows Live), and other shit (latest drivers, DirectX, etc.)
3) Install the game.
4) Try to figure out how your computer wants to run the game. Some games will need to be run in compatibility mode, others will need to be run as an administrator, etc.
5) Pray that your computer will be able to run the game adequately. Sacrificing small animals will not help you with this.
6) Install various patches. Repeat steps 2, 4, and 5.
7) When you finish with single-player, attempt to figure out how the fuck the online multiplayer components work. See Gamespy in Borderlands, and Titan Quest's multiplayer on Steam. Odds are some frustrating account creations are in order.
8) Attempt to download and install DLC. Repeat steps 2-6 for this.
9) Smash computer, go play console games.
[HEADING=1]THERE SEEMS TO BE A MINOR DISPARITY HERE[/HEADING]
The basic premise of the article, I believe, is that the key failing of the PC is the inherent requirement for decent tech support.Scrumpmonkey said:
Of course, I find it difficult to be sympathetic to this position. I am in my third year of Computer Science. I have been an IT professional since I left the Army. Indeed, I'm quite good at resolving most computer problems. That isn't to say I don't get a bit annoyed when I'm forced to spend a great deal of time tweaking settings and verifying firmware and whatnot - to say I didn't would be a lie. I just do such things with sufficient regularity as a professional that when I'm asked to perform such actions in my own home, I rarely have significant trouble finding a solution.
I still prefer to play games on PC but each day the edge that platform holds slips a bit. All my friends, once PC purists have transitioned to the console. Many games these days are developed specifically for a console and are actually leading to awkward play on the PC (Alpha Protocol for example, or borderlands, or even Mass Effect). When I get a console game, I can rest assured that short of hardware failure I can simply slip the game into a drive and play.
Totally agree with most of this though I'm a PC gamer myself hehehe.
Some posters on here though are saying:
"Why don't you try this"
or
"Not all pc games are like that"
I think they're missing the point, when you pay with your hard earned money; shit should just work.
Some posters on here though are saying:
"Why don't you try this"
or
"Not all pc games are like that"
I think they're missing the point, when you pay with your hard earned money; shit should just work.
Both ati and nvidia (who by the way designed the gpus for all three consoles of this generation) tweak things all the time, primarily at the behest of game developers. Someone here mention the word chipset. What was cast on to the dies by nvidia and ati has little to do with anything, especially the software issues the author of the article was talking about.RhombusHatesYou said:
If you want to talk actual chipsets, as in the northbridge of a motherboard, I would avoid nvidia. If you want to talk components, I would avoid nvidia and intel in general. Anyone who suffered through a de-Celeron or the 5000fx series knows what I mean. Those two obnoxious companies do not need any more market share, and despite the rumors ATI and AMD parts are not less reliable.
You come to the Escapist to read over-dramatized statements about someone getting their games to work and quitting on it? ... Okay.Marc Bright said:
Heh, preaching to the choir, mate. I run an AMD CPU and ATI chipset GPUs... apart from a few ATI driver issues (easy solved with a rollback until a fix was released) and some early game titles chucking a spaz and refusing to recognise quadcore CPUs, I haven't had a problem.QUINTIX said:
Honestly the reason it crashes more on the PS3 is probably the porting process. RDR is guilty of this since the 360 version is the High Definition one. As for SSF4 thats probably a port too. Its not the Hardware, its the Software its running and runs with.squid5580 said:
I never had any issues with Crysis. No lock-ups, no crashes. It runs perfectly fine on my custom ultra high settings. I feel sorry for people who can't experience it in it's full glory and without nasty problems.
Actually I don't have problems with any game I play on my PC. I used to have some crashes on XP, but on Windows 7 games run smooth as butter.
Actually I don't have problems with any game I play on my PC. I used to have some crashes on XP, but on Windows 7 games run smooth as butter.
I had one really huge issue with Crysis... once I got past the eye candy I found it to be a rather mediocre game.
As a counter example to this article, I've played through Crysis 3 times and never had a single issue.
The author seems to disregard that he must maintain and troubleshoot his PC. This is simply part of PC gaming and even owing a PC in general. Plus, it always has been this way. Hell, things are easier now a days, you don't have to worry about IRQ Conflicts and what not. If the author does not want to deal with this, I suggest he simply plays his xbox that he says works just fine for him.
Think of PC maintenance like car maintenance. You take your car to a mechanic when it breaks, but you still have to do oil changes and fill it up with gas regularly. You need to change the tires and replace the windshield wipers, don't you?
The author seems to disregard that he must maintain and troubleshoot his PC. This is simply part of PC gaming and even owing a PC in general. Plus, it always has been this way. Hell, things are easier now a days, you don't have to worry about IRQ Conflicts and what not. If the author does not want to deal with this, I suggest he simply plays his xbox that he says works just fine for him.
Think of PC maintenance like car maintenance. You take your car to a mechanic when it breaks, but you still have to do oil changes and fill it up with gas regularly. You need to change the tires and replace the windshield wipers, don't you?
Nice read and several good points, I can sympathize with your pains. While I have spent the majority of my game time on my PCs I recognize that the greatest asset of the PC is also its greatest downfall. When you buy a console game you know it will run on your console(with a few exceptions I have encountered) since every console of the line uses the same small selection of parts(there are generational upgrades) in the same configuration. On the other hand PC gamers have to worry about hardware specs, driver updates, conflicting software installations and even malware. It can quickly drive you mad and makes it very easy to understand why consoles are so popular.