Why no PC games forum?

oceanclub

Am just curious - was there ever a dedicated forum for PC gaming on boards.ie?

P.

L31mr0d

No point really. The majority of PC games released are multiplatform, and even if they are PC exclusive there are enough dedicated sub-forums to particular genres for this not to be an issue.

The number of games that would fall between the cracks don't deserve their own forum, so would get discussed here.

cherryghost

sure didnt this whole forum originate from a certain PC game? :pac:

.Moosejam

the games forum I would consider a PC forum as all the other platforms have their own forum

Antar Bolaeisk

To be honest I find the whole layout of the games section to be very confusing and feel it might benefit from an amalgamation of different areas. For example, the sub-forum I always tend to visit is this one here but if I wanted to talk about L4D I'd have to navigate to shooter and then to half-life.

Okay okay, not the most difficult thing in the world but it is quite awkward and a bit obscure. Would it not be easier to have one section dedicated to consoles and one dedicated to PC?

oceanclub

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

To be honest I find the whole layout of the games section to be very confusing

I agree. Having seperate, inconsistent, splits by console/platform and then also by genre doesn't really make sense. I'm always at a loss where exactly to post things - particular about PC games - and as a consequence, don't.

P.

Skerries

its because they don't discriminate as its not very PC

L31mr0d

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

To be honest I find the whole layout of the games section to be very confusing

Well I agree with you on the Half-Life and L4D point. It doesn't make sense personally. It's like having discussions on all EA games bundled into the FIFA forum because EA publishes FIFA

Or bundling all games that use the Unreal engine into the Unreal forum.

In saying that (love that Curb episode ) there is the "forum subscribe" feature. I use it for all the forums I frequent that are nestled in multiple truncated sub-forums.

Hercule

how about we make an "elitist PC gamers" section of the games forum where only snobby elitists like myself can join - for too long we have to suffer the vapid opinions of the unwashed console masses + I didnt spend a crapton of money on a PC for gaming without in-turn earning the right to look down my nose with disdain at the knuckle-dragging console gamers. :pac:

On a serious note however I would support boards splitting threads for multiplatform games to their various platforms - I dont care what bug platform X users are struggling with and am not really interested in the vox-pop from platform Y when I own the game on platform Z - CoD4 (not MW2) was a shining often a shining example of this

It can often be misleading when new players on one platform seek assistance from a multiplatform audience - only to be ill-advised. - its certainly something that could at least be approached.

I often see threads tagged with console but the most popular threads tend to morph into mixed bag - rant'n'raves

Antar Bolaeisk

I agree completely with you there Hercule, including the being an elitist snob part*


*well, maybe not that part but everything else.

lmimmfn

I would much prefer a split also for platforms

AlmightyCushion

Hercule wrote: »

how about we make an "elitist PC gamers" section of the games forum where only snobby elitists like myself can join - for too long we have to suffer the vapid opinions of the unwashed console masses + I didnt spend a crapton of money on a PC for gaming without in-turn earning the right to look down my nose with disdain at the knuckle-dragging console gamers. :pac:

To gain access you need to have a pc with 4 graphics cards, a raid array of 24 ssds and it has to be powered by a small nuclear reactor.

d22ontour

Small nuclear reactor hmmm, /rings North Korea for possible rental...



I thought this was the PC games forum ?

spooky donkey

well PC gaming is dieing a slow death atm. I see fewer and fewer game releases for PC and very little shelf space for PC games in retail stores these days. Its sad really as it is a great format.

oceanclub

spooky donkey wrote: »

well PC gaming is dieing a slow death atm. I see fewer and fewer game releases for PC and very little shelf space for PC games in retail stores these days. Its sad really as it is a great format.

According to metacritic, PC is still the second-top platform in terms of number of releases (based on 2009). The shelf space is mainly due to the fact that not only are releases cheaper through online retail, but of course through digital download. Also, a lot of console shelf-space is given over to the lucrative "pre-owned" market.

P.

cherryghost

spooky donkey wrote: »

well PC gaming is dieing a slow death atm. I see fewer and fewer game releases for PC and very little shelf space for PC games in retail stores these days. Its sad really as it is a great format.

-_-

thats because the PC is the leading platform for digital distribution.

Retr0gamer

I much preferred the forum when it was just one games forum. I hate seeing 3 threads split across 3 forums for the same game.

Burgo

cherryghost wrote: »

-_-

thats because the PC is the leading platform for digital distribution.

The only problem i have with digital distribution is the lack of compression as the length of time/bandwidth cost can be quite high especially with modern games being 10gig and over.

Antar Bolaeisk

If those files could be compressed to say half of their normal size then you'd be complaining at the time it would take on your end to uncompress them

Game size isn't really a problem though, I normally just leave them downloading overnight and they're generally ready to play the next day.

thewheel2.0

Does it really matter if PC gamers discuss the games that are multiplatform with console gamers? It would make for a better disscussion e.g. there is a mass effect 2 thread in the games forum and Xbox forum if i was i mod i would merge them.

cherryghost

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Does it really matter if PC gamers discuss the games that are multiplatform with console gamers? It would make for a better disscussion e.g. there is a mass effect 2 thread in the games forum and Xbox forum if i was i mod i would merge them.

I'd feel constant arguments would ensue

Retr0gamer

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Does it really matter if PC gamers discuss the games that are multiplatform with console gamers? It would make for a better disscussion e.g. there is a mass effect 2 thread in the games forum and Xbox forum if i was i mod i would merge them.

We discussed this before and the PC gamers were all up for it but there was a few console guys complaining that the PC users are arrogant, which is stupid excuse imo, and that they only checked the console specific forums. I think it's pretty silly having so many threads on the same subject and having inputs from more people will make discussion better.

I was arguing that discussion of games should be kept in the games section and any console specific tech threads like 'OMFG xbox live won't work!' be kept in the console specific forums. However on the other hand this will create a whole heap of extra work for moderators.

Everytime the creation of the concole specific forums came up it was shot down unanamously by posters and they got created anyway but I'm not going to stir up that ****storm again. The console forums are too established now unfortunately and getting rid of them will upset some people.

Hercule

Does it really matter if PC gamers discuss the games that are multiplatform with console gamers? It would make for a better disscussion e.g. there is a mass effect 2 thread in the games forum and Xbox forum if i was i mod i would merge them.

Yes it does matter for a couple of reasons,

1. people seeking support for issues which are specific to the platform are often mislead - look into the constant misinformation thrown around the CoD4 section as people made vague threads that were not specific to a platform.

2. As a PC gamer I dont care what the average xbox/PS3 user thinks of a game that is multiplatform - each platform has a different breed of gamer with a different set of expectations - the opinions of a multiplatform game do no translate effectively. As i stated in my first post - the Vox-pop of a certain platform is worth very little to me.

3. Some platforms do far better for certain genres - for example "the best racing game on PC" may pale in insignificance against the console racing games - For a long time Halo was the best FPS on console (still may be in many eyes) however on PC it was crap in comparison to the AAA FPS titles that were around at the time.

4. Most multiplatform threads will turn into a pissing contest as to why the game plays better on X platform over Y platform - nobody with a brain wants to read this kind of thread and it degrades the quality of topics. This is the kind of thing that was done to death (and wasnt really interesting in the first place) years ago anyway.

All in all I am in favour of segregating the forums as it seems games are getting more and more homogenised, whereby the individual values of each platform are being de-valued or replaced with "generic copy-paste mediocrity"

Jazzy

Retr0gamer wrote: »

but there was a few console guys complaining that the PC users are arrogant

but we ARE you giant n00b



I dunno, i dont really see the need for a PC gaming forum. all the info i need on games i find here anyway and its a good forum. i dont need no change foo'

Retr0gamer

Hercule wrote: »

1. people seeking support for issues which are specific to the platform are often mislead - look into the constant misinformation thrown around the CoD4 section as people made vague threads that were not specific to a platform.

4. Most multiplatform threads will turn into a pissing contest as to why the game plays better on X platform over Y platform - nobody with a brain wants to read this kind of thread and it degrades the quality of topics. This is the kind of thing that was done to death (and wasnt really interesting in the first place) years ago anyway.

The thing is this never happened that much when there was only 1 games forum section. Anyway I'm not going to argue for it to be changed back to a single games forum. I doubt there's going to be a change and probably shouldn't be due to the upset it will cause to a good number of users. When it was brought up it wasn't pleasant.

AlmightyCushion

Retr0gamer wrote: »

We discussed this before and the PC gamers were all up for it but there was a few console guys complaining that the PC users are arrogant, which is stupid excuse imo, and that they only checked the console specific forums. I think it's pretty silly having so many threads on the same subject and having inputs from more people will make discussion better.

I was arguing that discussion of games should be kept in the games section and any console specific tech threads like 'OMFG xbox live won't work!' be kept in the console specific forums. However on the other hand this will create a whole heap of extra work for moderators.

Everytime the creation of the concole specific forums came up it was shot down unanamously by posters and they got created anyway but I'm not going to stir up that ****storm again. The console forums are too established now unfortunately and getting rid of them will upset some people.

I completely agree and I remember when a thread came up on it I was in the same camp as yourself. The mass effect thread is a prime example. So much of the discussion in that thread (and I imagine others) is platform agnostic so having it split into seperate forums for the different consoles doesn't make sense.

leninbenjamin

It might be an idea to introduce a PC gaming "help desk", for discussion of PC specific issues in relation to games (i.e. software or installation problems, gaming peripherals, digital downloads etc.) but keeping the actual discussion of the games themselves in the main forum along with the rest.

Retr0gamer

The thing is PC gamers aren't noobs so know how to fix that stuff by default. I learnt everything I know about PC's from gaming on a Windows 95 machine and fixing all the crap when it broke.

Anyway there's already enough PC forums on boards.ie that will more than help out on those topics.

thewheel2.0

Hercule wrote: »

2. As a PC gamer I dont care what the average xbox/PS3 user thinks of a game that is multiplatform - each platform has a different breed of gamer with a different set of expectations - the opinions of a multiplatform game do no translate effectively. As i stated in my first post - the Vox-pop of a certain platform is worth very little to me.

All in all I am in favour of segregating the forums as it seems games are getting more and more homogenised, whereby the individual values of each platform are being de-valued or replaced with "generic copy-paste mediocrity"

Retr0gamer wrote: »

but there was a few console guys complaining that the PC users are arrogant

Talk about stereotypes ^^^


I think there should be a story disscussion thread in the main games forum and a support thread in each platform thread. That would solve some Hercules bitching complaint.

Also i think there should be a general help thread in each console thread that covers EVERYTHING hardware related ie RROD, network issues, disk scratches, horizontal or vertical, how do i turn it on etc.

leninbenjamin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The thing is PC gamers aren't noobs

We all were at one point tbh. If it wasn't my oul fellah making boot disks for me back in the early 90s, or my mates in school introducing me to CS, I was learning what I know from internet forums like boards.

From time to time great resources pop up in passing in this forum and some of the tech forums, but they are lost quickly again in the noise because there's so much traffic. Maybe there isn't enough interest to sustain it, but I think there's no harm in having a dedicated place where we can share and store resources related to PC gaming specific issues.

I'd agree it may serve to undermine existing communities though, at the very least the subject matter would have to be handled with care so that it doesn't become a one fits all 'superforum' and that may require too much manpower for it to be viable. On the other hand, the PC gaming community on these forums is very dispersed compared with the others. A forum dedicated to platform issues could serve as something of a focal point to build the community without encroaching significantly on the rest of the category.

The games category is a very splintered one and forums can be hard to pin down tbh, the idea of separating 'story and support' throughout might be a good way to rationalise the category going forward.

Hercule

I think there should be a story discussion thread in the main games forum and a support thread in each platform thread. That would solve some Hercules bitching complaint.

you agree with me yet you think i am bitching? - jeez sorry for having an opinion on the internet.

Aside from my earlier tongue-in-cheek post i was being fairly objective too! - if I was a console gamer I would be making the same statements - I wouldnt trust a word-of-mouth review of a PC game I was going to get on my console as I would have a different set of expectations - its hardly elitism

Retr0gamer

leninbenjamin wrote: »

The games category is a very splintered one and forums can be hard to pin down tbh, the idea of separating 'story and support' throughout might be a good way to rationalise the category going forward.

This is what I'd like it to be like. Console support in the console forums but discussion about games in the games forum, I'd be all up for this but implementing it might be a nightmare and again some users won't like it.

Ponster

leninbenjamin wrote: »

If it wasn't my oul fellah making boot disks for me back in the early 90s

Son? Is that you son ?

This is what I'd like it to be like. Console support in the console forums but discussion about games in the games forum, I'd be all up for this but implementing it might be a nightmare and again some users won't like it

Maybe it's time to dig up this ol' feedback thread where a lot of users said the very same thing. I for one have always been for fewer game forums yet seperating console support from generic game chat.

Dont be at yourself

Retr0gamer wrote: »

This is what I'd like it to be like. Console support in the console forums but discussion about games in the games forum, I'd be all up for this but implementing it might be a nightmare and again some users won't like it.

I suggested the same thing shortly before stepping down as CMod. No sense in fragmenting discussion unnecessarily.

Retr0gamer

As I remember we got shot down by the admins.

Ponster

Retr0gamer wrote: »

As I remember we got shot down by the admins.

Yep, I remember that too but with the smods becoming Admins and chmods given more power as to how things are run I think that we can make this change ; but it will rely on a joint, united stand of the games cat mods and probably best to do in our secret forum rather than allowing it to turn into a 100 page feedback thread.

leninbenjamin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

As I remember we got shot down by the admins.

If at first you don't succeed...

I remember that old thread in feedback. It spawned some decent changes all right, before then I found it impossible to engage with the category, whereas I'm more likely to post here now. But it was all a bit... meh (as in token gesture). This forum should be hopping tbh.

Retr0gamer

I don't think keeping it secret is fair though if we do go ahead. Best to let people who are against it have a voice in feedback. I'm sure the admins wouldn't approve of a secret forum to decide this and rightfully so.

Ponster

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I don't think keeping it secret is fair though if we do go ahead. Best to let people who are against it have a voice in feedback. I'm sure the admins wouldn't approve of a secret forum to decide this and rightfully so.

What I meant was that the debate between games mods could be made elsewhere and the proposal put forward in feedback. No intention of keeping anything from the members here

Seifer

While I agree that having both platform and specific game forums is wrong, I don't think the ideas being proposed above would work. For one thing, where would you discuss multiplayer aspects in this story and support design?
Take the CoD forum at the moment, there are a few threads complaining about care package glitchers and boosters, two problems I have never experienced while playing on PC. However I have run into aimbotters on three occasions which is something you're not going to see on consoles. Couple this with the fact that patches aren't being rolled out across all platforms at the same time. So even if you're playing the same game you can have different experiences on different platforms.

What about mods? Is that story or support? I think it's neither, it just relates to the specific game but it's not of much interest to a console left 4 dead player that you can download new campaigns for free on the pc.

Jazzy

i still think we got a good thing going on on this particular forum so id be hesitant to any change as things often go worse on forums when there is change