Dirty Keyboards, Gaudy LEDs, and Cheeto Dust: Let's Talk PC Gaming

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Dirty Keyboards, Gaudy LEDs, and Cheeto Dust: Let's Talk PC Gaming

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

I've recently come back to PC gaming, after about seven years away. Ironically though most of it is controller based stuff and (since I put a lot of money into new components) very graphically simple indie games (especially a certain long-running Japanese indie game series that I am not sure if I can mention openly here). Still, I am happy to be back on both sides of things when it comes to games.

Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Dec 26, 2010

# ¿ Dec 26, 2010 06:58

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# ¿ Apr 23, 2024 22:40

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Taffer posted:

Yup. Consoles are literally holding games back in every aspect. Graphics, difficulty, memory requirements, and so forth.

Thanks, Microsoft and Sony.

While I think I agree with you in spirit, I'd only call what you are talking about "holding games back" if by that you mean working to reach the largest customer base possible, and thus making the most money possible. The industry probably doesn't consider these bad things.

edit: While I have to some extent switched over to the PC game mindset of gameplay>everything, I am seriously considering buying the most consoley console game that ever consoled a console, Gundam Musou 3.

Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Dec 27, 2010

# ¿ Dec 27, 2010 07:02

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

The Furious Pirate posted:

Yeah, that's pretty much my attitude. Whether it's taking depth and complexity out of a game that should have had it in the first place, or favoring consoles over PCs, it all smells of poo poo to me.

Sure, it's brilliant business sense, but I just don't care. I'd rather see a development house take a risk, create an incredible gaming experience and burn out overnight than see them compromise their values for the sake of chasing the dollar and live on for years and years as a "please every single crowd 100% of the time, even people who don't play games" shell of a studio.

I know, I may sound ridiculous and extremist, but screw it. That's how I feel.

I just think you are overreacting, I don't expect consoles/casual games/the almighty dollar/whatever to kill good games, I think the market will achieve a balance between products seeking every market, and products seeking increasingly smaller market segments therein, just like everything else.

I mean, do you think that hardcore readers complain that widespread literacy killed good books? I mean, by your logic it should have, if every dumb fool is able to pick up a book.

# ¿ Dec 27, 2010 08:05

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

I just bought a mini wireless keyboard trackpad thing, I hope it enhances my PC from the sofa experience a little bit. I am still holding onto that dream...

# ¿ Jan 3, 2011 01:14

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Node posted:

I've been looking for one of these. Link it if you wouldn't mind.

I've been wanting something like a wireless version of this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826169019 except about a thousand times less gaudy.

Well just so you know, I didn't grab it to actually play games, just to control my PC in those annoying segments between games where you have to use the Windows desktop. It's this.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2011 07:09

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Through the Steam sale I bought a bunch of stuff, including some PC ports of games I had played on consoles before. One of them is Dead Space (which I rented before but didn't finish), but I swear that the PC version has some serious lag in the input, relative to the console version (whether I use a m+k or my 360 pad). Am I just imagining things?

# ¿ Jan 4, 2011 22:55

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

seregrail7 posted:

Nope, there's some v-sync issue. http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/42453/Dead-Space-PC-Mouse-Lag-Work-Around

Wow, that fixed it like a motherfucker. How the hell did I even play PC games before the internet anyway? Who knows how many games in the past I just gave up on because of some very destructive bug with a bizarre solution that almost no one would think of easily?

On the other hand though, there are still problems like the comically long load times on Bioshock that apparently no one has a solution to, other than to get a different video card.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2011 23:16

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Taffer posted:

Yeah, if you're having input lag, the first thing to check is vsync. The most basic (and common) form of vsync simply works by buffering frames, which as you can imagine causes some bad input lag. More advanced vsync methods make it less noticeable, but it will never be able to avoid the issue completely, no matter how it's done.

Not to mention, if your FPS drops below 60, vsync will force your framerate down to 30 to keep an even ratio on refresh rate. 30 FPS kinda sucks.

Oh, I knew that vsync influenced framerate but I didn't know it led to input lag. I see that the input on some others of my games improved too when I turned it off.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2011 01:12

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Dr Snofeld posted:

Dead Space is very good. Turn off v-sync, as mentioned before, always keep a power cell on hand, and don't use the flamethrower, it's poo poo.

I'm going to be throwing all of my resources into the plasma cutter this time, it seems to be the best general purpose weapon.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2011 05:09

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

I have a 360 pad plugged into my PC, which works great for most things, but there are a few games that won't let me use the d-pad for anything, because Windows treats it as a POV hat. Does anyone know a way around that, other than just using a keyboard emulator or something?

# ¿ Jan 11, 2011 03:14

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Chortles posted:

Xpadder? (5.3 was the last freeware edition, after that Xpadder 5.7 onward is $9.99 I think, though apparently you get free downloads/updates for Xpadder for life if you do.)

Well I DID say "other than a keyboard emulator" which is what that is. But either way I gave up and finally put down the tenbux for xpadder. All I am using it for now is to bind the arrow keys to the d-pad, but I bet it will be useful for other things later.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2011 22:01

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

bbcisdabomb posted:

Is the new Xpadder really worth it? I still have the old version that I can throw up somewhere if it's not.

I don't know what the old one is like but the one I have has the best setup interface of anything ever, basically.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2011 22:15

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Has anyone else played Mirror's Edge on the PC? I got it cheap some time ago but I can not get the audio working at all and Google has failed me. Before, I asked about input lag and it turned out that it was a very general problem that was easily fixed, I don't suppose that could be the case this time too?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2011 05:30

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

aas Bandit posted:

It works fine for me, sound and all. I could post system specs or something if you think it might be useful...? And yeah, audio drivers?

Yeah, I've done that dance already, including reinstalling directx. I guess I'll do it again just to be sure...

# ¿ Jan 16, 2011 19:42

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

I'm finally just going to ask this here and drat the consequences:

Whenever I get talking about PC gaming with a controller, the inevitable conversation is (abbreviated)

me: controller
whoever: mouse+keyboard controller lol
me: sofa
whoever: wireless m+k

I've been avoiding the obvious question up until now but HOW? Balancing the keyboard on your lap and running the mouse on a mouse pad on the sofa? Lounging on the sofa with the keyboard in front of you and the mouse on your stomach? How are you people doing it? I've been going over and over it in my head and I can't figure out a comfortable way.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 01:18

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Oh, both of those involve sitting up straight. The whole idea of a sofa is that I am lounging sideways. If I wanted to sit up straight, sitting at my desk would be the same thing and there wouldn't be any advantage to the sofa.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 01:59

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Edoraz posted:

Yeah, I'm with Sanders here on this one. Gaming time tends to be chill time for me, so I don't like sitting up while trying to relax. Luckily, if a game doesn't support a controller, I can vouch for Xpadder. It's been worth the ten bucks I paid for it, honestly. Use it for a ton of things.

Yeah, I bought xpadder a few months ago and use it for quite a few things (including controlling Windows easily while lying on the sofa) but, though it can theoretically make any game playable with a controller, if it's a game that is entirely cursor driven, or a game that uses tons of keys, it won't be much fun to play.

The Witcher is such an example, I've been messing around with xpadder configs for some time trying to get that to work well, but hell, the control scheme isn't even really set up very well for a mouse and keyboard either.

Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Jan 23, 2011

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 05:13

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Source-based games I have (Half Life 2, L4D2, TF2) have native support for gamepads. The problem is, whatever console-based FPSs do to make precision aiming possible, those games aren't doing it. No matter where I set the sensitivity, aiming is just impossible, and I can't put my finger on why.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 22:23

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Tuxedo Catfish posted:

Because you don't have auto-aim in PC games.

That may be part of it, but I think it is more about some subtle way that stick movement acceleration works. Like, Windows has that "enhance mouse precision" feature, I think that console FPSs are using that and the Source PC games aren't, or they are using it wrong, or something.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 22:31

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

The last several months have been an experiment with a return to PC gaming for me, and some things are clear:

- I still want the sofa, and for practical reasons, that means a gamepad. In fact, my desktop PC isn't on my desk at all anymore, I have it under my TV and just plugged into that. I tried multi-monitor with my monitor and my TV for a while but holy hell, if it's not one thing it's another with that Godforsaken setup. I use my laptop plugged into my monitor and keyboard and stuff for things other than games.

- When PC games work right in that sofa setting, they REALLY work, and give me a much better experience graphically and load times wise and everything else, then my PS3. Also Steam and the other digital shopping/delivery systems are far superior to the PSN's clunkiness. However...

- Most of the PC games I play don't require a hundredth of the power of my PC (Touhou games, etc). The exceptions are mostly a few years old PC games that I picked up for cheaper than I could have imagined, but those are mostly games with console versions too. Basically, I still clearly prefer console-style games, or at least games that can be done on a console too. Which leads to the next point...

- PC games go down in price faster than console games, but new PC games are not significantly cheaper than new console games. Sales on PC games are insanely cheap, but unpredictable.

- PC games have pretty much abandoned being able to sell them, but console games are moving in that direction too, they will be the same soon.

So yeah, I can't decide whether to continue this experiment or not. Maybe I will sell my desktop PC and just go back to my laptop + this 24" monitor, occasionally plugging the laptop into the TV to play Touhou games on the sofa. Come April or whenever the Android 3 tablets start coming out, that money could be used to get one of those.

Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Jan 26, 2011

# ¿ Jan 26, 2011 20:00

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Okonner posted:

What, exactly, does this sentence even mean?

Well, digital distro on the PC, and on the console, a combination of digital distro and increasingly important preorder bonuses meant to discourage secondary sales.

edit: ah yeah, I forgot to say "sell them USED". No wonder people were confused.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2011 20:10

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

MurraneousX posted:

You get screwed in the rear end for retail PC games over here.

Porn games are readily available though. Like 3/4 of any PC game section in an electronics store is them.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2011 04:03

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Apparently Koreans took over Hellgate: London and are turning it into one of their free to play MMOs. The concept intrigued me when I first heard about it years ago, but I heard the execution was awful. I don't suppose Koreanizing the game will improve it?

# ¿ Jan 29, 2011 19:21

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Cardboard Fox posted:

Have you ever heard of a Korean MMO that isn't a horrible grindfest? I think maybe Aion? But that was heavily westernized.

No, but I have never actually played one, I only hear about them from others and see articles about them on Japanese game sites (they are pretty much the only PC game news that one sees on a Japanese game site). I just thought hey, Hellgate was clearly a dismal favor under American control, maybe the Koreans can do better.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2011 19:38

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

How is Dead Space 2 PC? Does it have the same technical problems the first one did?

# ¿ Jan 30, 2011 06:04

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Taffer posted:

It's duct.

(I'm sorry for this post but I feel the need to stop the misinformation of duck/duct)

Ahem

So in Dead Space 2 PC, do you still have to fiddle with it to get the mouse turning at the right speed?

# ¿ Jan 30, 2011 07:10

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

A Fancy 400 lbs posted:

It means "hardcore" gamers are gullible as gently caress.

Not as bad as audiophiles that buy $500 ceramic things to lift their speaker cables up off the floor.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2011 09:44

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

nickhimself posted:

Uh... what?

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ducttape.htm

Did you just make that up yourself and decide it was fact?

This is all what people call "folk etymology", and all of it is suspect. Explanations for how words came about are just as fluid as word definitions themselves.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2011 18:45

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Amrosorma posted:

Audiophiles and audio production guys are two very different populations, I assure you

Audio production guys probably have budgets and cost/benefit to worry about for their equipment.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2011 03:26

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

RagnarokAngel posted:

The idea that you can hear distinctive sound changes and differences that "normies" can't.

If you're a sound engineer, aren't you making a product that is FOR the "normies"?

# ¿ Jan 31, 2011 19:30

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Yeah, I have also known a few audio engineers and they definitely have their heads screwed on right.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2011 19:59

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

Bats posted:

2011: Year of the Sequels.

Really every year is year of the sequels. However, some very good non-sequels may also come out this year but would they be on that list? We can only get excited about things that we know about, and we know about already existing series.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2011 19:10

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# ¿ Apr 23, 2024 22:40

Samurai Sanders: Nov 4, 2003; Pillbug

I'm not sure exactly where to ask this (rather, I have asked a lot of other places and gotten no response), but I use a PS4 controller with my PC, and while it rules, it's missing one thing: an auto-shutoff system to save power. If I forget to hold down the PS button for ten seconds, or de-registering it for bluetooth, then the batteries will run out. I don't know if this is the responsibility of the xinput wrapper I am using (DS4Tool, which rules), Windows' controller settings, the Bluetooth interface, or hell, the controller itself.

# ¿ May 11, 2014 00:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Dirty Keyboards, Gaudy LEDs, and Cheeto Dust: Let's Talk PC Gaming