How am I gonna get in to PC games?

[Zarmi]

What the fuck? Since when did it suddenly become a ritual to be a PC gamer?

Your saying you didn't perform the blood ritual and devote your life to Valve?
Poor heathen, soon Episode 3 will come to earth and rapture the faithful into FPS heaven, while the non-believers will be stuck on earth, with no games installed and no steam connection ever available.

You best be joking. Without a Steam connection, my daily day would be a whole lot more boring. But no, I didn't perform the ritual. If you want my honest opinion (which will hurt), I actually disliked Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and Half-life 2: Episode 1 and 2 quite a lot. I found them all to be just.. bad. I know what Half-Life has meant for the genre, but it won't make me change my opinion that they suck.

Can personally think of a lot of better games, might just be me, though.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Well, you start with buying TES3: Morrowind and original Deus Ex. Play them until you bleed from your eyes, because you won't be able to stop. After that you'll know what to do. Just surf the web to familiarize yourself with other PC classics.

You best be joking. Without a Steam connection, my daily day would be a whole lot more boring. But no, I didn't perform the ritual. If you want my honest opinion (which will hurt), I actually disliked Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and Half-life 2: Episode 1 and 2 quite a lot. I found them all to be just.. bad. I know what Half-Life has meant for the genre, but it won't make me change my opinion that they suck.

Can personally think of a lot of better games, might just be me, though.

You should repent, infidel. For the end is truly nigh!

 

[Jazoni89]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games.

your an idiot, my computer has 4gigs ddr3, and a ATI radeon 5770 with 1gig mem and IT could run battlefield 3 at the maximum graphics (i was in both alpha and beta) and my computer IN TOTAL cost me $400.

I have better specs than you (radeon HD6870 1 GB, 4GB ddr 3, Intel I5 650) and I could only go medium on battlefield 3 with a stable frame rate.

It was Caspian Border though.

 

[Kirtap]

You should try the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.
It's one of my favorite franchises of all time. Altough it is somwhat buggy at times it's not hard to overlook once you start to think about all the games as one big entity and the great story they all have. thinking about how did the first game and the second (Wich was a prequel by the way) tie together and how the scenario of the frist game actually begun.

But i'm talking out of my ass and about things you haven't played, if you want to get into pc gaming then try S.T.A.L.K.E.R..

About actually buiding the PC, most really unique pc titles aren't very demanding in fact they need very little to run but if you want to play Skyrim or BF3 then sorry, i can't give you any helpful advice, i'm no computer building expert.

 

[Wintermoot]

1st I don,t think 500$ is going to cut it but you might get a decent rig for it
2nd KEEP USING STEAM
3d you can always upgrade your stuff if you are willing to pay for it.
4th COMMUNITIES ARE YOUR FRIEND! can,t get over HL1,s outdated graphics get the HD pack! COMPLETELY FREE! got enough of TES IV,s bugs UNOFFICIAL PATCH COMPLETELY FREE!

PS
if you can,t get used to the PC,s mouse+keyboard combo you can always hookup a wired 360 controller or a PS3 controller through a mini USB cable.

also the orange box is a good place to start I recommend picking up some games that pique your interest also DEMO THE GAME IF YOU AREN'T SURE!

 

[Rack]

For gaming, you could probably whip something up for $500 that will be good enough to run everything on the Valve complete pack, but it damn sure isn't going to be at full settings on Portal 2 or L4D2 and it most certainly won't run other new games (don't expect to run BF3 on that budget).

You're going to need some more money than that before you can pick up something that will give you the whole "PC experience", the one with maximum graphics and a bajillion frames per second. But with $500, you could probably play older stuff and you could play a bunch of indie games.

It's not that bad a situation, for $500 you could build yourself or get second hand something that could run Portal 2 at over 100fps on max at 1920x1080. You won't be running Battlefield 3 at high unless you find the magic PC shop that sells Win7 + a decent PSU/Case/motherboard/ram/keyboard/mouse for $100 that all the "PC gaming is so cheap!" crowd seem to shop at but getting something that can run nearly everything from a couple of years ago on max and do something on modern games should be achievable if you do the research.

 

[Fishyash]

But my question goes deeper.
How do I truly "get in"?
What games should I get to startoff, how do I get in to the modding scene, etc.

TBH I don't really consider PC gaming some secret club or something (sorry a bit of an exaggerated interpretation of your question), simply put, get a game you like, and as far as mods go, you can look on the internet if a game supports mods. You don't really need to be an active member of a specific community really, unless you want to that is.

 

[Abrams63j]

I'm a recent convert to PC myself, and the best thing about PC gaming is that I can do whatever I want. I can play the shooters I played on my Xbox, the old classics of yesteryear, or the indie games that my notebook could play. PC is about choice, as long as your rig can run it. Do whatever you want!

 

[Croaker42]

Your saying you didn't perform the blood ritual and devote your life to Valve?
Poor heathen, soon Episode 3 will come to earth and rapture the faithful into FPS heaven, while the non-believers will be stuck on earth, with no games installed and no steam connection ever available.

As the great prophet Newell sayeth, so shal it come to pass.

Thanatus... did you get the blood out of your robe after the last CoV meeting?
What did you use?

OT/ Build PC for about 500 - 700 (no prebuilds) find something you like and ride that untill it isn't fun anymore.

Valve is a great place to start a PC gaming career. Lots of great indi games a few free games and every now and then they put a set of games together for cheap.

It might be heresy but GoG (good ol games) is also great for those classic PC games you just cant get anywhere else. (Might and Magic series or even Baulders Gate)

 

[Plazmatic]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games.

your an idiot, my computer has 4gigs ddr3, and a ATI radeon 5770 with 1gig mem and IT could run battlefield 3 at the maximum graphics (i was in both alpha and beta) and my computer IN TOTAL cost me $400.

I have better specs than you (radeon HD6870 1 GB, 4GB ddr 3, Intel I5 650) and I could only go medium on battlefield 3 with a stable frame rate.

It was Caspian Border though.

I have a different mother board, and processor, less overpriced (Intel is notorious for that). Caspian border did give me issues, but after a driver update I could run at higher than needed framerate on ultra. Also I built my PC.

 

[Alexnader]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games.

your an idiot, my computer has 4gigs ddr3, and a ATI radeon 5770 with 1gig mem and IT could run battlefield 3 at the maximum graphics (i was in both alpha and beta) and my computer IN TOTAL cost me $400.

You're*

The beta and presumably alpha test specs weren't accurate. If you look at the official recommended specs for BF3 you need at least a 6950. In the beta I could turn up to ultra on a 5750 though the frame rate stability dropped.

Also if you bothered to read the rest of the thread I already corrected myself on the cheapness of PCs and please keep it civil. It's this kind of wankery which leads to people not wanting to get into PC gaming. "Oh no I was wrong about some arbitrary specs, now everyone's flaming me" and suchlike. I'm going to edit my post in case more people who only read the first 2 replies decide to flame me.

If you're wondering the last time I built a PC was one or two of years ago when this stuff was still expensive. I'm also predicting that we won't be able to get by on 5750's and 5770's soon, BF3 will (hopefully) be one of many games to start actually pushing PC hardware again.

 

[plugav]

I thought that all you needed to get into PC gaming was playing games on the PC.

But if you're interested in modding specifically, you should probably look for mods for your favourite games and see where they come from. It shouldn't be difficult.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Download steam.

Check the specials on a regular basis.

Check Good old Games.

Don't buy anything 'new' unless you really want it.

My current PC is 4 years old and off the rack (it's actually a hand-me-down). I even had to downgrade its graphics card at one point because the old one broke. Occasionally, it needs me to turn down the graphic options on the most recent releases, but it's served very well and I see no need to upgrade any time soon.

PC gaming is actually incredibly cheap. It uses something which it's useful to own anyway (a decent PC, not even necessarily a great PC unless you require your gaming experience to be so beautiful it causes grown men to break down in tears of joy and wonder) and you have access to great bargains without having to go and physically rummage through a pre-owned bin for something which is still marked up. Make the most of it.

There's a lot to be said for building your own, but:

a) If you're not doing it yourself, get someone competent to do it.
b) If you're doing it yourself, make sure you are competent.

As for the 'modding scene'..

Part of the joy of modding scenes is that they often don't really die. People are still making mods for Morrowind and Rome: Total War. As others have said, pick a game you like and investigate it.

 

[Bad Jim]

If you have a decent internet connection (5Mb+, consistent even during peak hours, no download limits) then you could try Onlive. With Onlive the games actually run on their servers, with you sending them your control inputs and them sending you an audio/video feed of the game. Which means I can play Just Cause 2 on a netbook.

It's not as good as buying a decent PC. Your max resolution is 720p, there's latency and you are at the mercy of your ISP. But you do save yourself the cost of a new computer. I wouldn't invest too heavily in it, but do try it, because you get a free hour playing each game.

 

[MammothBlade]

As for a final note; You don't "get into" PC gaming. You just game on a PC. It's not different from a console, other than it allows you some more options, and overall better control in your games. The only thing I can think of "getting into" regarding gaming in general is the Esport scene, otherwise it's piece of cake. The hardest part will probably be to tailor up a good PC without spending too much money, but it's generally better to overdo it than underdo it, if you ask me.

This, so much.

It sounds as if you're trying to fit into some sort of culture. Just play what you enjoy, experiment, see what appeals to you. Don't pick up games because people say that they're an "essential" part of PC gaming. They're lying.

 

[Rapamaha]

I bought mine for 560euros 2months ago, not sure how much its in dollars, AMD Phenom II X 4 965, Radeon HD 5750, 8GB 1333MHZ RAM, I've played Deus EX HR, WH40K Space Marine and Battlefield 3 beta all on high graphic settings and they all ran without any trouble.
As for good PC games Id recommend:

Deus Ex Human Revolution (FPS RPG)
Company of Heroes (RTS)
Dawn of War 1 & 2 (RTS)
Fallout 3 & New Vegas (RPG's wich should have lots of mods aviable)
Team Fortress 2 & Battlefield 3 wich will be released in 2weeks (Multiplayer FPS)
Mass Effect 1 & 2 (RPG's with 3rd person shooter mechanics)
Dragon Age 1 & 2 (RPG - Specially DA1 is your classic old school RPG turned into a modern game)

as for modding there are tons of sites like fliefront wich are full of mods, however if you want to start modding yourself that requires alot of learning, as far as I know however Dragon Age 1 comes with a modding tool so I would start there

 

[mrhateful]

I bought mine for 560euros 2months ago, not sure how much its in dollars, AMD Phenom II X 4 965, Radeon HD 5750, 8GB 1333MHZ RAM, I've played Deus EX HR, WH40K Space Marine and Battlefield 3 beta all on high graphic settings and they all ran without any trouble.
As for good PC games Id recommend:

Deus Ex Human Revolution (FPS RPG)
Company of Heroes (RTS)
Dawn of War 1 & 2 (RTS)
Fallout 3 & New Vegas (RPG's wich should have lots of mods aviable)
Team Fortress 2 & Battlefield 3 wich will be released in 2weeks (Multiplayer FPS)
Mass Effect 1 & 2 (RPG's with 3rd person shooter mechanics)
Dragon Age 1 & 2 (RPG - Specially DA1 is your classic old school RPG turned into a modern game)

as for modding there are tons of sites like fliefront wich are full of mods, however if you want to start modding yourself that requires alot of learning, as far as I know however Dragon Age 1 comes with a modding tool so I would start there

Great taste you have there, but let me just add Neverwinter Night 1/2 and Baldurs gate 1/2 to the list ^^

 

[Nickompoop]

Woah, $500 bucks will barely get you off the ground. That may cover everything except the CPU and the graphics card. You can easily spend $500 on one of those items, much less both. If you want decent frame rates and free reign in what games you choose, you'll need to spend around 50% more.

Then you have to build the PC and that can be challenging, if not dangerous, if you don't know what you're doing. If you have a friend that's a big computer geek, employ his services. He'll make the process much easier.

As to what games to start with, here are my recommendations:
Valve
Mass Effect 1&2
Minecraft
Command & Conquer, or really any RTS. Hell, even LoL will do.
Crysis if you're feeling bold.