PC Gaming, General & Off Topic Chat

RobertFoster

Maybe for the exclusives at some stage, but I thought that about the PS4 and never got around to that.

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I think PC gaming has ruined consoles for me.

I think the price of PC games has ruined consoles for me.

gizmo

Absolutely intend getting one. Likely after the first hardware refresh that brings an all-black option and once there's more games to play on it. There's the double advantage this gen that it can literally take the place of the previous generation under the TV so technically it won't even be taking up more space.

KilOit

Price of games is a major turn off also the subscription service to play online. Don't know an all black one was coming out, if I was getting one I'd wait for that to go with everything else at the tv

Ivefoundgod

My PS5 arrived yesterday. Its a lovely piece of kit to be fair, very smooth UI, lightning fast load times and very quiet (so far). Its light years ahead of what the PS4 was. I had a PS4 and PS4 pro and it was very slow loading, terrible laggy UI and frustrating to do anything other than game on. I bought it close to release as well. The graphics haven't blown me away or anything but I think in the new year when the first proper next gen titles arrive I'll start to notice big improvements.

For me its the exclusives and the community available to me, most of my friends ended up with PS4 at some stage even if just for FIFA where as only a select few have a decent gaming PC and even then our games of choice rarely overlap. I use my PC primarily for games that never make it to console, so Strategy games like Civ, Frostpunk and that kind of thing are my go to on PC. I'll play Multiplatform games as well but if I'm getting something like Far Cry, Assassins creed or GTA I prefer to play those while lazing on the couch with a giant tv in front of me. In recent times with full time work from home I have scarcely turned on my PC other than the odd quick session, my PC is in the office where I work so when I'm done in the evenings I'm not too keen to go back up there, much rather play on the couch. My gaming PC isn't capable of much more than 1440/60FPS which is fine for my uses as I'm not that bothered about having a "beast" of a machine or upgrading constantly. Once it runs most games at a decent level I'm happy so worth mentioning that too. It all depends on your circumstances I suppose but I do love my consoles still.

Kiith

I'll get one at some stage early next year. Plenty of first party games i'd love to play, it looks a really solid console. Possibly moving abroad for a year or two as well, so will want to play some of the lads in Fifa and the like.

KilOit

I also find when I game on pc I also browse the net and generally distracted, have 2 monitors and I'm always alt tabbing.
I can see the benefit of chilling on the couch to be focused 100% on the game. Think I would have enjoyed gta5 and red dead more on the couch

mrcheez

KilOit wrote: »

Random question but want a pc perspective, Would PC gamers consider getting the PS5? I'm a true pc gamer and haven't owned a console since PS2 and have a pretty beefy PC.
PS5 is actually pretty good hardware wise for the price imo and would be nice to have a console at the TV now and again. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are

I use both liberally (PC mostly for VR though) and the advantage of the console is that everything just WORKS as intended (no customising settings required and you're playing the game as the devs intended it).

Quite liberating, although the downside is that you are limited by the hardware and it's not upgradeable.

ancapailldorcha

mrcheez wrote: »

I use both liberally (PC mostly for VR though) and the advantage of the console is that everything just WORKS as intended (no customising settings required and you're playing the game as the devs intended it).

Quite liberating, although the downside is that you are limited by the hardware and it's not upgradeable.

At best, this is only true at launch. From then on the hardware becomes relatively less powerful and the devs have to cut corners to make sure the games run at a reasonable level whereas PC is much less limited in this regard.

As for settings, this takes less than a minute the first time the game is launched.

mrcheez

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

At best, this is only true at launch. From then on the hardware becomes relatively less powerful and the devs have to cut corners to make sure the games run at a reasonable level whereas PC is much less limited in this regard.

sure, but at least you know that you're experiencing the game as best as the devs could get it and you don't have to worry about spending another €400 to upgrade your card to experience the "real deal"

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As for settings, this takes less than a minute the first time the game is launched.

I don't know, I often find myself paranoid that I'm not experiencing the game as best as I can on PC as if I encounter some judder I think "have I put the settings too high?", or if I choose recommended settings then I think "maybe I could be experiencing something a bit better" as you can often switch on something extra to what is recommended without noticeable slowdown.

I just like the ease of consoles.

When it comes to pancake games I would usually play on console as I prefer to lounge in front of the 55" TV and the console is just setup nicely in the living room ready to play, but VR games I would tend toward the PC version rather than PSVR.

ancapailldorcha

mrcheez wrote: »

sure, but at least you know that you're experiencing the game as best as the devs could get it and you don't have to worry about spending another €400 to upgrade your card to experience the "real deal"

That's not the same thing though. That's a long way short of experiencing it the way the devs intended. Today's nice shiny new console is tomorrow's toaster.

mrcheez wrote: »

I don't know, I often find myself paranoid that I'm not experiencing the game as best as I can on PC as if I encounter some judder I think "have I put the settings too high?", or if I choose recommended settings then I think "maybe I could be experiencing something a bit better" as you can often switch on something extra to what is recommended without noticeable slowdown.

I just like the ease of consoles.

When it comes to pancake games I would usually play on console, but VR games I would tend toward the PC version rather than PSVR.

That's a problem you've made for yourself. I just crank up the settings to the maximum unless it's GTA5 or The Witcher 3 or something in that bracket at which point, I'll play with the settings. I bought a mid-range card during the mining fiasco and it was a lot less than 400 euro. It does everything I've asked of it and well at that.

Ivefoundgod

While I agree the PC experience at high end is generally better I would agree that there is value in turning on a console and gaming. I've had a few games misbehave for me on PC and it really is frustrating having to spend hours googling to figure out what the problem is when I have limited time as it is to play a game. It rarely happens but when it does it is very frustrating.

What puts me off buying any top end components for PC is that I always wonder if devs bother maximising performance beyond what the consoles are capable of, I think that's been debunked before but its always in my head when I'm looking at investing money in my setup. I generally just go with console for the multiplats like I said.

mrcheez

I have found that on PC the devs would tend to build the code targeting the max performance available on the market (which makes sense as you need to account for the most powerful setup out there and make sure your game works well on that) and then "gracefully" fallback (though with some issues) to work on lower end machines, whereas on console they know the max limits and work around them.

It's why you can get some games working on a mobile chip like that in the Switch that would have 0 chance if using the standard PC code.

gizmo

KilOit wrote: »

Price of games is a major turn off also the subscription service to play online. Don't know an all black one was coming out, if I was getting one I'd wait for that to go with everything else at the tv

Don't want to get your hopes up here, there's been no announcement about an all-black model at all, that's just my own hope since I'm not a fan of the white colour scheme for the same reason you mention at the end.

Robert ninja

Consoles have the Apple benefit of set hardware but I think there's few games the fully utilize that. You never see crazy good performance/stability for most games outside of exclusives or the odd remaster of 8th gen and yet you still do find bad performance, 30fps locks etc. 8th gen was riddled with these problems and it doesn't matter how much power 9th gen boasts, they'll most likely be dealing with the 9th gen versions of these. I knew it was bad when I saw 60fps advertised on DMC4 on 8th gen when it was 60fps on 7th gen and it didn't need to be advertised as such.

Although performance is very important to me it's just one slice of the experience and reason for investing in a high medium/high end PC. The console ecosystem is just too locked down with not enough choice. The trade off for stability and hardware utilisation on consoles is not a good deal in the long run to me.

The idea of spending hundreds (and in the long run thousands) on a piece of hardware that ultimately is only an entertainment consumption box is an extremely bad investment to me. Maybe it seems silly to bring this up but a device that costs €400~ (and continues to cost more via subscriptions and expensive games) where I can't even properly send an email let alone compile PDFs, edit some pictures etc is a bizarre thing to me in the age of mobile devices that can do that with tiny fraction of the power of consoles. There's a bunch of other stuff like backwards compatibility, niche games, censorship, custom settings (motion blur forever on AHHH!) emulating other consoles etc. Safe to say no matter how impressive consoles get I'm certain I'm done with them. If I won a 9th gen console in a raffle or something I'd either sell it or gift it to someone I know. The only way I'd even consider playing on it is if I thought I could get some money for streaming an exclusive game that I know I'd enjoy like Demon's Souls remake.

dublinman1990

If you're into bus driving simulators on PC; OMSI 2's London DLC will be released on the 10th of December 2020.

Welcome to the UK's capital, London, the first official UK map & bus DLC for OMSI 2 with left-hand traffic. Pick up one of the largest vehicles on the capital’s streets. Weave through traffic, keeping to tight headways or relax on the peaceful routes throughout London.

With 16 routes to discover, there is hours of gameplay to experience. Take a midibus through the streets of Tulse Hill and Herne Hill, or a double decker on one of London’s busiest routes from Streatham through Brixton, past Big Ben and up to Marble Arch. There is a vast number of streets and iconic locations to discover. All have been painstakingly recreated in the add-on, based on photographs translated into the game.

London is one of the most highly detailed add-ons. Four new buses are available, all authentically built with advanced techniques including a recreated iBus. This allows for impressive immersion for the player and allows unique gameplay every time!

Also, besides the buses, be on the lookout for emergency services that may want to past in a hurry or the postal worker doing their rounds, as well as the original London taxi's that pickup and drop off passengers.

All accurate sound sets are included, courtesy of TFL, creating a superb immersive experience unlike anything seen before. Start your journey at meticulously modelled depots. Fill up at a fueling station or give your bus a wash at the end of a day. Be careful around the depot and keep to speed limits and regulations to keep everyone safe.

Get ready – London is calling!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/434063/OMSI_2_AddOn_London/

Glebee

Have never played much of the Dark Souls games apart from original Demon Souls on Playstation ages ago. Got original Dark Souls on PC in some sale or other but never played it. With the remasterd Demon Souls released I reinstalled Dark Souls, that game has not aged well. Think ill try DS2, I see its on sale in Steam Sale, i

Got recore for 3.70 on Steam as I'd already owned the Microsoft games available.

Interested Observer

KilOit wrote: »

Random question but want a pc perspective, Would PC gamers consider getting the PS5? I'm a true pc gamer and haven't owned a console since PS2 and have a pretty beefy PC.
PS5 is actually pretty good hardware wise for the price imo and would be nice to have a console at the TV now and again. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are

There are some exclusives I'll want so I'll get one eventually. I bought a PS4 on launch day back in 2013 or 2014 or whatever, I'll probably get a PS5 whenever they release a smaller, cheaper hardware revision.

Interested Observer

Long shot but:

I've got Anno 1800 on the Epic store, it launches UPlay when you launch the game. There's some good deals on the DLC at the moment but it all gets redeemed through UPlay rather than Epic. Does anyone know if having bought the main game through Epic I can redeem the DLC on UPlay and have it work? Don't want to spend the money if it won't work obvs.

dreamers75

Interested Observer wrote: »

Long shot but:

I've got Anno 1800 on the Epic store, it launches UPlay when you launch the game. There's some good deals on the DLC at the moment but it all gets redeemed through UPlay rather than Epic. Does anyone know if having bought the main game through Epic I can redeem the DLC on UPlay and have it work? Don't want to spend the money if it won't work obvs.

It will work, you can just launch uplay and the game will be there attached to your account just to be sure.

MOH

Interested Observer wrote: »

Long shot but:

I've got Anno 1800 on the Epic store, it launches UPlay when you launch the game. There's some good deals on the DLC at the moment but it all gets redeemed through UPlay rather than Epic. Does anyone know if having bought the main game through Epic I can redeem the DLC on UPlay and have it work? Don't want to spend the money if it won't work obvs.

It was a different game and the post was a while ago, but I recently stumbled somebody complaining that the Epic store wouldn't let them buy a DLC bundle if they already owned any of the content, and a few others confirming this.
So might be something to watch out for depending on what deals you're looking at, it might affect your options for other bundled DLC on the game.

Interested Observer

It worked fine, thanks both. Don't actually need the Epic launcher to play it in the end.

froog

got Hades earlier, what a game. played for 6 hours straight. perfect game design.

Gbear

A memory of one of my favourite games growing up came to me randomly earlier.

I used to be a dab hand with a Ninja Rope.

I'm not sure if Worms 2 was ever bettered in the genre. I suppose Armageddon had a bit more content, but was largely the same, and World Party was an even more minor improvement.

They tried to branch out with a 3D version, but it really isn't the same.

It's a funny coincidence, because while looking around I found out they released a new game a couple of days ago - a sort of platformer team deathmatch by the looks of things, called Worms Rumble.

Glebee

Anyone ever get hit with excessive broadband usage charge from there ISP? Just noticed Eir charged me 50 euro excessive charge for Dec even though theres been months when ive used more. Supposed to be unlimited I thought

mossym

how long are you with eir and what package do you have? i got charged several months in a row by eir, but was under contract so had no choice really, moved as soon as it was up. if you do a search i think only plans that are older than a certain date are liable for the charges, the unlimited had a fair usage cap of 1gb, which they are no longer allowed to use .i'm back with them now as they had 1Gb FTTH available in my area and i can confirm no extra charges even though we are well over hte 1TB mark last few months

Glebee

Package is Eir Complete- Broadband, Phone and mobel.Ive been with Eircom for forever and have no interest really in changing. Assumed its unlimited withing reason. MY current broadband contract is just up in Dec 2020 having signed in most recently in 2019.

mossym

that's the issue then, the newer plans are unlimited, the older ones have a fair use policy. at least thats my understanding

from here: https://www.eir.ie/support/broadband/managing-broadband-usage/


Is there a limit to my broadband usage, and how much will I be charged if I exceed the limit?
eir Broadband Advanced, eir Broadband Solo Advanced and eir Fibre are subject to a monthly usage cap of 30GB; eir Broadband Solo Essential is subject to a monthly usage cap of 2GB.
For customers availing of these packages, usage in excess of the caps is charged at €2.03 per GB up to a maximum of €24.40 per month (values inclusive of VAT).
eir Fibre (Unlimited) and eir Fibre Extreme packages are subject to a fair usage policy of 1TB (1,000GB) per month.
Usage in excess if this is subject to a charge of €2.50 for every 10 GB up to a maximum of €100 per month (values inclusive of VAT).

This charging is not applicable to new or updated eir Fibre packages ordered after July 25th 2018. Existing eir Fibre customers may request to update their package, subject to current terms and conditions, by contacting our Customer Care team on 1901.


so jsut give them a call on 1901?

Interested Observer

Not sure if this is the right thread but anyway.

The Factorio devs have declared the game is now finished, bar bug fixes and the likes. So all the features have been added to the main game. What they have also said, is they considered a few different models for how to take the game on and have settled on a big expansion pack which will not be coming out any time soon, they said at least one year but given the main game was in development for 8 years... Anyway looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

lmimmfn

KilOit wrote: »

Random question but want a pc perspective, Would PC gamers consider getting the PS5? I'm a true pc gamer and haven't owned a console since PS2 and have a pretty beefy PC.
PS5 is actually pretty good hardware wise for the price imo and would be nice to have a console at the TV now and again. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are

I usually pick up a Playstation several years after its released( 4 years after release for PS3, 6 years after release for PS4 ) as by then the consoles are a lot cheaper and will have quite a few exclusives( I never buy non exclusives on console unless for some reason the PC port is awful), which by then are quite cheap.
I picked up around 40 PS3 games when Xtravision closed for about 2.50euro each.

I bought a PS2 a few months after release( they were also difficult to get ) which I regretted simply because most of the games we're crap. Was around a year after release in Europe before there was decent selection.