Just got my gaming pc...what now?

[chuckman1]

So I finally got a pc that is not a decade old.
I have been bestowed upon with a Walmart emachines pc.
Now I know this isn't exactly alienware but my last computer couldn't even run Minecraft.
So what do I do now? I already own a few games. What amazing games and mods do I NEED to play?
Tell me how to be in the PC gaming party.

 

[Archangel768]

Get steam? Do whatever you like to do. Could you post the specs or a link leading to it? I'm guessing it's fine to play games, just curious.

 

[Daft Time]

Cool, I hope you find PC gaming as enjoyable as I do! The range of games of the PC is simply immense, so I'm just going to make a single suggestion until you want me to narrow it down =P. Feel free to ask though, I've played a bit of everything so I'll certainly have something to pitch!

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines [http://store.steampowered.com/app/2600]

The original release of this game is buggy, and it's development rather sad. It was rushed, and the studio closed afterwards. The did, however, manage to produce a fantastic role-playing game regardless. Even better, the fan community has released and excellent unofficial patch which makes the game practically bug-free. This kind of community support for a game is one my favourite cases for PC gaming, actually. If this was on any of the locked down systems it would still be unplayable.

If you're a fan of RPGs, make sure to check this one out. You can get the unoffical patch here. [http://www.patches-scrolls.com/vampire_bloodlines.php]

 

[chuckman1]

Cool, I hope you find PC gaming as enjoyable as I do! The range of games of the PC is simply immense, so I'm just going to make a single suggestion until you want me to narrow it down =P. Feel free to ask though, I've played a bit of everything so I'll certainly have something to pitch!

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines [http://store.steampowered.com/app/2600]

The original release of this game is buggy, and it's development rather sad. It was rushed, and the studio closed afterwards. The did, however, manage to produce a fantastic role-playing game regardless. Even better, the fan community has released and excellent unofficial patch which makes the game practically bug-free. This kind of community support for a game is one my favourite cases for PC gaming, actually. If this was on any of the locked down systems it would still be unplayable.

If you're a fan of RPGs, make sure to check this one out. You can get the unoffical patch here. [http://www.patches-scrolls.com/vampire_bloodlines.php]

Thank you for reminding me I have this game. I heard there's issues installing it on Windows 7 though if you could tell me how to run it fine that'd help, unless those are sorted out now.
I loved this game but it was sooooo laggy on my old computer.

I really like games like Grand Theft Auto, RPG's, or strategy.
Along with others that have nothing to do with what I've stated.

 

[Daft Time]

Cool, I hope you find PC gaming as enjoyable as I do! The range of games of the PC is simply immense, so I'm just going to make a single suggestion until you want me to narrow it down =P. Feel free to ask though, I've played a bit of everything so I'll certainly have something to pitch!

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines [http://store.steampowered.com/app/2600]

The original release of this game is buggy, and it's development rather sad. It was rushed, and the studio closed afterwards. The did, however, manage to produce a fantastic role-playing game regardless. Even better, the fan community has released and excellent unofficial patch which makes the game practically bug-free. This kind of community support for a game is one my favourite cases for PC gaming, actually. If this was on any of the locked down systems it would still be unplayable.

If you're a fan of RPGs, make sure to check this one out. You can get the unoffical patch here. [http://www.patches-scrolls.com/vampire_bloodlines.php]

Thank you for reminding me I have this game. I heard there's issues installing it on Windows 7 though if you could tell me how to run it fine that'd help, unless those are sorted out now.
I loved this game but it was sooooo laggy on my old computer.

I really like games like Grand Theft Auto, RPG's, or strategy.
Along with others that have nothing to do with what I've stated.

There were some problems playing it on Windows 7, but as long as my memory holds it's all fixable through simple compatibility options. Actually installing it is as straight forward as ever. If the options I've pointed out below don't fix any problems you've had, feel free to let me know and I'll take a proper look at the steps I took to get the game running on my computer. =)

Spoiler: Compatability Options

*Right Click on the short-cut, and select properties.
* In properties, open the compatibility tab.
* Select run in compatibility mode for Windows XP, Run This Program as Administrator and Disable Desktop Composition

This, combined with the Unofficial Patch, had the game working fine on my Windows 7 laptop. I hope that mitigates any problems you run into getting it to work. I promise, once it actually is working, it's entirely stable. I haven't run into any bugs so far. =)

As for the games; good choices! Here's some that you should check out if you haven't already:

Knight of the Old Republic II

If you're an RPG fan on a console you might well have played this game already; but it's worth taking your time to play it again on the PC. We have the restored [http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm] content mod. There's really not much to say, but I'm sure you'll enjoy a less buggy KotOR II with extra content. =)

The Witcher

You might well have played the brilliant, second Witcher game - but the first game was a PC exclusive. The combat was flawed, but the game itself was an excellent RPG in it's own right. There's no mods or unofficial patches to look for here, just grab the game of Good Old Games and you'll get it completely DRM free.

 

[Tesral]

The amazon digital downloads sale just started, Kotaku covered some of the best deals in this article: http://kotaku.com/moneysaver-special-edition-1500-games-on-sale-506977987

The X-com/Civ bundle, Bioshock/Spec ops bundle, Batman 1+2 bundle, Dark souls, Metro 2033, The walking dead and Deus Ex are my personal picks.

Almost all of these can be enabled on Steam, too, which you should really have. Summer sale starts soon.

 

[OneCatch]

So I finally got a pc that is not a decade old.
So what do I do now?

You must first complete 'The Ritual' to exorcise the bloatware djinns and free-trial demons from your machine.

Or just run PC decrapifier.

 

[MrCollins]

You must get Steam and buy and play a bunch of cool indie stuff.
I would also recommend getting games that are very heavily modded, like Morrowind, Oblivion, Mount & Blade or Legend of Grimrock.

 

[chuckman1]

Thank you for the help guys. I've been downloading a bunch of games. If anyone is interested in seeing my games list for better reference or adding me my Steam name is I Have Low Eyes. http://steamcommunity.com/id/IHaveLowEyes

 

[DoPo]

Thank you for reminding me I have this game. I heard there's issues installing it on Windows 7 though if you could tell me how to run it fine that'd help, unless those are sorted out now.

I'm not aware of any major Windows 7 related issues. Well...there is like one but even then it's so bizarre and non-replicable I don't even know if it is the OS. Pretty rare, though - I've heard of it two or maybe three times.

Anyway, you just need the Unofficial Patch [http://www.patches-scrolls.de/vampire_bloodlines.php] and you should be good to go. Now, here is a small catch - make sure you turn off the Steam updates if you have Blooldines on Steam. If you have the retail version, try actually patching with the official 1.2 first and then install the UP.

There is a small issue with applying the UP straight onto the vanilla game (Steam comes prepatched to 1.2) so hopefully that would fix it. If you do get an error saying something like "no precache: models/character/npc/common/security_guard/security_guard_skinny/security_guard_skinny.mdl" (that's most likely going to be well into the game after you save Johansen, so it's near the end), then go to the \Vampire\dlls\ folder and try renaming one of the extra files into vampire.dll. Alternatively, just give me a shout if you feel lost, I'll walk you through it.

So, to recap - install the UP and the game should run. The only "problem" with Windows 7 I can think of is that you won't see the intros - you can still hear them and cancel them, though. I doubt that's a huge issue, as the intros are an ad for nVidia, Activision's logo, White Wolf's logo and one more thing. If you really do feel you miss out, though, you can run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP and that's going to fix them.

 

[Elate]

Welcome to the master race, we meet on Tuesdays at your local Illuminati conference centre.

Looked at your Steam, ah APB, I loved yet hated that game, it became so pay to win.

You must get Steam and buy and play a bunch of cool indie stuff.
I would also recommend getting games that are very heavily modded, like Morrowind, Oblivion, Mount & Blade or Legend of Grimrock.

Legend of Grimrock is heavily modded? What happened? (Haven't played it since release)

I would suggest looking up indie bundles, that's how I get 90% of my games on the cheap. Here are a few I use:

Humble Bundle
Indie Royale
Bundle Stars (They have a good Steam sale going on)
Groupees (Often have "Build your own bundle" offers)

 

[MrCollins]

Legend of Grimrock is heavily modded? What happened? (Haven't played it since release)

There are a number of new dungeons that are pretty well made, just have a look on the Steam Workshop Page.
Also, I recommend this game just as much in it's vanilla form.

EDIT: Thanks for the Bundle Stars tip, I just went and got their indie Jam bundle and it was full of stuff I was always mildly into but not enough to buy the games full price. Thanks!
*Gives cookie*