I'll never buy another PC game.

[Fiach]

This isnt going to be long enough to call a "rant", but jesus, I wont ever buy a PC game again. I have been out of the PC loop for quite awhile, I think the most recently released game I have played on my new PC was Crysis 1, which I had no problems with, I also have major problems getting some of my older games to w@&k on Win 7, with varying degress of success.

I just received my CE version of The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings. Leafing through the manual, I see that, not only does it have a long code on the manual to enter while installing, you also have to have an internet connection to activate the installation, on top of that you can only install the game twice, ie. you are only allowed install the game on two PC's (i'm guessing a reformated HD will also count as a new PC).

So, after reading this, I went to their site to see if the activation allowence had been increased (they did that for Bioshock after people went ballistic over the limited activations), only to find the game has numerous problems with gfx drivers, windows updates, activations not working, manual codes not working, DLC not working, thats even before you get to play the game itself.

Console games, yeah they dont look as good, but christ, you insert the disc, press play and they just .... w@&k! Call me old fashioned, but I think that functionality trumps gfx any day.  :D

On saying that, I would like to end on a positive note, CD Projekt do release buggy games, but they w@&k their asses off to fix the bugs, provide free content updates as the game progresses and on top of that, when the games they make actually w@&k, they are bloody excellent games, but hopefully their future output will have console releases, otherwise I wont be playing them.

[JRD]

I hear you, Fiach... consoles are much more straightforward indeed... a machine made to one purpose only: gaming.  ;)

Assassins Creed 2 need a permanent connection to run - and it has to be a fast one, not a crappy dial-up, mind you!  >:(( so I had problems saving (synching) savegames as my wireless connection went down when my wife was using our cordless phone. Apparently both frequencies overlap and creates and interference causing the net to crash  :D

I also have problems with my latest nVidia driver causing FC2 to crash quite often  :D (I know fragger or someone posted something about that issue and I`ll check it this week)

Not to mention outdated parts like an old processor or GPU and so on which force players to spend some cash every now and then to upgrade their PCs (I just have  :-( )

[deadman1]

I also have problems with my latest nVidia driver causing FC2 to crash quite often  :D (I know fragger or someone posted something about that issue and I`ll check it this week)

I think you can solve that problem by only using 4X AA in the videosettings. I turned the AA up to 8X and FC 2 started to crash for me, when I turned it down to 4X the crashing stopped.

[JRD]

Thanks deadman... but I always turn AA and VSync off, so I don`t think this is causing the problem.

Besides, I get a message saying that the driver stopped working and a crash to desktop. Also, ingame has a bit of stuttering as if something is wrong with the driver, so I`ll see the post I mentioned and some forums elsewhere to confirm!

[Art Blade]

Fiach, it all started with Valve and HalfLife2 forcing an online activation with STEAM. Back in the day I thought players would not tolerate that but.. you know the rest. I used to be almost violent about STEAM and online registration but today I'm quite happy about STEAM (for other reasons, namely for getting German games automatically "upgraded" to English versions, then a voice chat option useful for chatting with fellow OWG users and the recent screenshot ability which works with games that prior to STEAM only FRAPS could take screenshots of).

I still don't like forced online registration (see FC2.. which was the reason I got online again after around 1.5 years without using the net) or to be forced to stay online as is the case with for example AC2 and TDU2, or the limited amount of registrations (see FC2).

The rest.. is SNAFU. Has always been, will always be (supposedly). It's due to the nature of a "PC" which is "personal" as in customised. With the ever-growing and changing market of products available for PCs it is short of a miracle that games do w%&k with most PCs.  :-()

If you're a PC gamer, you should first be interested in new technology and development of it and only secondly make use of it by playing games because they usually show off what is currently possible, hardware-wise. Best example is CrySis you just mentioned, it was so far ahead of then state-of-the-art machines that it caused a lot of grief because people wanted a game that ran on their current (err, old..) hardware. Then again, CryTec went a little over the top with their showing-off.  :-()

So, if you want to just game, play on a console. Same specs for everyone developing games so they know exactly what you'll get out of it. For the next couple of years. While PC gamers will have invested in new technology and quickly see the new games outshine the "old" consoles. Then the consoles get upgraded and you'll have to buy a new one. PS, PS2, PS3...  ;)

Same story.. nothing has changed. ^-^

[Binnatics]

I only play PC. If I ever start playing console I will be too much into it I guess. It's a weird reason in fact; still pay loads of time to gaming while only playing a PC version.
It's true that on PC you're always confronted with errors, bugs, crashes and other stuff. I hate that too. But since I use all legal software the trouble got less, and solving the problems that do appear always gives me a feeling that I'm smart. I know, I know, it's just a feeling. Just leave me that illusion  ^-^

[Binnatics]

Oh, one more thing... These install limits are awfull, BUT: developers give you a special code once you uninstall the game, which gives you the right to get another brand-new key to install it again. At least Rockstar does that. They've put a limit of 5 installs. I got one of these codes once when I proper uninstalled the game (something you won't do if your system crashes, but anyway) and I guarded it in a safe place. That place was so safe that I can't remember where it was...  :D

So after all, I agree, they are awfull. And unnecesary. Since you have to connect to a personal account to be able to play online or get any fixes and DLC's. Thinking that they miss $$ when they don't limit the installability of a game is small thinking. I h@te that.

[Fiach]

Well, with regard to the security measures/codes/install's etc. The Witcher (1) was re-released as a premium edition, that contained lots of goodies....PLUS.... the game had no security, it can be played even without the CD being in the DvD drive, the logic of the devs was that people that pirate wouldnt have bought the game anyway .... but now they have returned to the security system they have currently implemented..... so evidently they have had a re-think.

Some people have had to uninstall and re-install the game due to bugs and are having a hard time of it, getting it to re-install :(

Anyway, I wont play it until they have all these bugs ironed out, maybe they will release a no-cd patch as well.

On a seperate note, I got LA Noire, to pass the time before Alice is released (BTW, the game is coming with a DLC code for the original McGee Alice in HD. I still have the PC version, so its not much use to me, be nice to play it on a widescreen TV I guess though :)).

Anyway, so far LA:N has failed to impress me, so I'll probably have a little whinge about that shortly, after I have progressed significantly to have an objective view on it  ;D

[spaceboy]

dealing with PC gaming isn't something I ever really looked into.  Other than back in the '90s playing Duke 3D, I wound up buying a PS1 and got hooked on console gaming ever since.  My friends 360 is what made me NEED a next gen console and I went with PS3 since I liked several of the exclusives to it (one of which never came out...Getaway3  >:((  ) 

Anyways,  the ease of gaming on consoles, along with the overall reduced investment is a win for me.  Plus I actually like controllers better than keyboard and mouse.  I understand the aiming is better on PCs but I don't find it that hard with a controller.  Plus after sitting with a k/b and mouse all day, I like picking up a controller and sitting my butt on the couch.   

[mandru]

I like picking up a controller and sitting my butt on the couch.   

I sit on the couch and I usually fall asleep.   :(

I played the first Oddworld games Abe's Oddysey and Abe's Exodus.  They were for PC and I loved them.

Then Oddworld made the corporate decision to switch to the new-fangled  XBox and completely abandoned the faithful PC Oddworld gamers.  In fact they were pretty insulting about the way they announced the change and I never really got over it.  After a year or so and Munch's Oddysee had been released and I relented and went to the store I bought my PC games from to see what it would take to get to play it.

I looked into the XBox and it looked to me like I had to buy a bloody expensive machine, I had to pay monthly internet fees at a time when I was nowhere near getting internet, I had to pay a monthly fee to access the XBox site to be able to use the machine and I had to buy each of the freaking games too instead of them being tossed in gratis for all the up front cash customers had to pony up to get set up to play.

*we don't have an emoticon with a mushroom cloud sprouting out of a frowny face head *

I flashbacked to the time I'd watched my cherished Atari 2600 suddenly outmoded and abandoned for garbage machines that were even more quickly kicked to the curb by companies that viewed customer gullibility as a tappable asset in the name of system upgrades and had sworn "Never again! ".    >:(

Over the years there was quite a parade of consoles and handhelds that came and went and if nothing else I can proudly say I completely dodged the Nintendo 3D GameBoy.   ^+-+  (OK, flashback over  :-() )

I asked the clerk at the shop who had explained to me the A,B,C,D,E... of getting into an XBox if there was a contractual agreement that XBox Corp would refrain from publishing the brand and color of their customer's underwear after the serious screwing they were giving all of them and stormed out never looking back.

I guess it takes all types to make up the body that is gamers.   :) :-X

If games do die out on the PC I guess that will be the day when I actually start to get some serious w%&k done on it.   ;)

[PZ]

*we don't have an emoticon with a mushroom cloud sprouting out of a frowny face head *

By the way, if anyone finds an emoticon that is appropriate for out boards, we'd be glad to install it.  ;)

[mandru]

Unfortunately it's mostly the inappropriate emoticons that I tend to find missing from our repertoire.   >:D

Umm... Out of curiosity how does someone find an emoticon? (;\

[PZ]

There are quite a few free graphics sites on the 'net.  Usually found when searching for webmaster resources.  ;)

[mandru]

 :)  :-X

[Binnatics]

LA: Noire was supposed to be a great title but the review I read ( they weren't so negative) gave me the feeling that it's not enough action. But who knows detective-w@&k is nice doing on a video-game ;)

[Fiach]

Spaceboy, the first game i got for PS1 was Duke 3d, I subsequently bought it for PC and the Nintendo N64 :) I wasnt a great fan of getaway tbh, I found the controls awkward, but I liked the story and the mature theme, the gfx were pretty great for the time  :)

Abe! lol, yeah that was a great series, Munch was a launch game for the XBOX, so it was one of the first games on it, that I got. Then Oddwords Stranger Wrath (which iirc will be coming to XBOXLIVE soon), was one of the best games ever made :)

The XBOX was expensive, on release the games were 75 quid!!!! Now they are about 38 quid for the 360 games.... some drop huh? On saying that, paying to play online, well that was only if you wanted to play online, you didnt need online for oddworld etc, but ask anyone today, do they begrudge giving M$ 50 quid a year for LIVE, they will resolutely say "HELL NO!" It is the smoothest online experience they have ever had, just plug n play. I dont use it myself, as I only play MMO's online, but iirc they have a membership of 11 million currently.

As regards PC games now, well in Ireland, its not easy to get PC games, their display spaces is tiny in stores like GAME and Gamespot here, all there are, are bundles like 2 for 20 quid or the newer big name releases, mostly then its sims, strategy and MMO games, all chucked into the baclk corner of the shop. :(

[Binnatics]

Same here about the PC games  Fiach. I really ahve to search for them now in the stores. It's like they're hiding them, probalby affraid of showing that they sell to creeps with beards and stuff like that ;)

[Fiach]

LOL :)

Whats quite sad to me is that each console type has more space than the PC games section :(

I am a horder and I have a ton of games in the attic, all PC, mostly RPG's, I do revisit them alot and I am so glad I held on to them. Thank god for fileplanets patches lol :)

I remember when buying a PC game was something to look forward to, they wern't all in generic dvd cases, they came in big boxes, that had really thick manuals, novelettes, cloth maps, weird stuff like coins or rings, just reading the manual was nearly an adventure, they contained lots of artwork, storylines etc.

I bought Mortal Kombat a few weeks ago and it had a manual.... there was nothing in it, just the devs name and a helpline phone number, one page, no effort made at all.

While it could be argued that games are technically "better" nowadays, I do treasure my older games, more than the newer ones.

[Art Blade]

Fortunately I have two local game shops that are packed with PC games. They've got all the new stuff, special editions, even offer pre-order bonuses sometimes, and they have a section of old games that have been re-published. So on my end of the woods, there is no lack of PC games to touch, grab, buy and take home  :-()

[Fiach]

Fortunately I have two local game shops that are packed with PC games. They've got all the new stuff, special editions, even offer pre-order bonuses sometimes, and they have a section of old games that have been re-published. So on my end of the woods, there is no lack of PC games to touch, grab, buy and take home  :-()

Yeah Art, I always felt that PC games get more love in Germany, there are always top class RPG's getting released there and sell VERY well, Gothic series springs to mind.

[Art Blade]

Maybe we are so fond of PC games (that originate elsewhere but here) because we LOVE to censor them until you won't want to play them any more  :-() Unless they're PEGI 6 or so, so anything without weapons is great, the rest.. is censored  :D Which makes me be very careful about what to buy, the "good" stuff I have to ask someone to order it online (import it) for me but the non-violent stuff or the non-too-violent stuff is OK. :) Imagine, they censored BORDERLANDS!  :D

[Fiach]

I thought Gothic series was made in germany and thats a pretty violent sexy romp :)

[Art Blade]

maybe we export the real deal while we're getting our own stuff capped and chopped up until it's family-friendly paste ;D

[JRD]

Thanks deadman... but I always turn AA and VSync off, so I don`t think this is causing the problem.

Besides, I get a message saying that the driver stopped working and a crash to desktop. Also, ingame has a bit of stuttering as if something is wrong with the driver, so I`ll see the post I mentioned and some forums elsewhere to confirm!

Well, turns out it was DirectX10 giving me trouble  ??? ... I reverted to D9 in the options menu, restarted the game and all is fine. I could try another driver with the same D10 but since D9 still looks awesome, I won't even bother.

A few benchmark tests and all is shining again in Africa  8)

[fragger]

For some reason I missed this topic and as it turns out, I have two bob which aren't doing anything special ;D

I've always played PC games, I think mainly because I use the PC for things other than gaming so it's always just been more convenient for me to have all my video doodads in one box and I've carried on with that through years of sheer inertia. I may think about consoles one day but at present, it's a fair way down on my to-do list.

Re: availability of PC games, that doesn't appear to be an issue in this country. Even living outside of a medium-sized country town as I do, there are two dedicated gaming shops as well as gaming sections in a couple of the major chain outlets in town, all of which sell both PC and console games.

@JRD, I have a similar issue with Civ V. I play it on DX9, even though a window which pops up on launch recommends 10 or 11. If I choose the latter version(s) of DX the game moves like a constipated sloth on Valium, but on 9 it's fast and smooth. Probably a driver thing in my case too, which I may look at, but since it looks and runs fine on 9 I'll stick with it for now.