A Return to Retro Gaming?

[DFenn]

:?: Just wanted to get an idea of everybody else's thoughts on this but does anybody else think that the hardware and gaming industry is moving way too fast for the average gamer to keep up?

I have been playing games of one sort or another for about many years (we are talking about the days of 'The Hobbit' on my ZX Specturm) and technology has always moved at a swift pace but things seem to have gone mad recently. Game designers seem to be striving to achieve as much realism as possible in their games, making use of the latest graphics and cpu architecture available, whilst I think this is a nobel goal if feel that the average gamer cannot keep up. I would consider myself an average gamer and there is no way I can afford a system with 2Gb of ram or a £400 top of the range graphics card paired with a high end cpu.

I think that whenever benchamrks are run or games are reviewed there should be a section dedicated on 'this is how it runs on an average system' as well as the normal 'this is how is performs on our top end testbed system'.

Ranting over, let me know your thoughts.....

 

[Wolfy]

I would consider myself an average gamer and there is no way I can afford a system with 2Gb of ram or a £400 top of the range graphics card paired with a high end cpu.

Buy a console then.

I think that whenever benchamrks are run or games are reviewed there should be a section dedicated on 'this is how it runs on an average system' as well as the normal 'this is how is performs on our top end testbed system'.

They do this. Buy PCZONE.

 

[DFenn]

Had a PS1, it was crap, bought a PS2, it was crap, can't afford a PSP or an XBox360 (yet ).

I must admit consoles are coming on in terms of capabilities and with the next gen consoles (PS3 and XB360) the cost/performance ratio does seem to be a lot better but there is just something about playing a game on a PC that for me makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

Maybe if I had an XB360/PS3, a 42" HD flat screen, a 7.1 surround sound system and a decent broadband link then I might think differently but until I can afford a setup like this (probably never) I will probably stick with upgrading my PC piece by piece when I have some spare cash.

Until then HL2 is about the limit of my system, games like FEAR and BF2 are just that little bit too much for my system to handle which is a damn shame.

 

[Wolfy]

In fact after thinking about my post in that rebuttal thread I'm going to apologize for my abrupt reply above.

We need people posting honest threads in here and I'm gonna have to try and stop being a narky bollox to everyone.

As such you're right about consoles being shyte. It's cos they are.

In fairness tho it doesn't cost "that" much to make yourself a pc that can handle todays games. There is even the option of overclocking which is what I'm doing with my xp2600 altho even that is slowly coming to the end of it's shelf life. My 9800XT is the only thing holding my system together these days.

My biggest problem I have with many of todays games is GFX as well. But in the respect that you can have a game like Chronicles of Riddick which has gfx very similar to Doom but runs a million times better than Doom. You can have a alright looking game like HL2 which runs really well on most pcs but then you have another game which is graphically similar but needs a monster to run. I just wish developers would spend more time coding a solid decent game.

My biggest bitch tho is graphically fancy games that give you no scalability. Take Max Payne 1 & 2. There are a million and one options to tweak till you get a game your happy with visually and with the FPS it puts out. Then you get a game like X3, visually stunning, virtually unplayable even by monster machines.

It's one thing to push graphical limits, it's another thing entirely to render a game virtually unplayable and then to add salt to the wound prevent the user from scaling the gfx to suit their machine.

Jeez talk about unwinding there.... I need to get back to work!!!!! argh!!! 8 mins till I finish *faints*

 

[DFenn]

:idea: Maybe instead of adding more complex GFX options to games game developers need to make things a bit simpler, maybe a bit of code that anaylses your hardware setup and then provides you with a sliding scale of FPS that your system can handle, or even a box where you enter the minimum FPS you want to play at and then it works out the rest itself.

I'm not saying get rid of all the 'precise' GFX options as there will always be people who think they can squeeze another FPS be tweaking the options, I'm just saying that some of us want to rip open the box, install the game and play at a minimum of 30 FPS as soon as possible.

 

[riser]

Games automatically detect your hardware and determine the best settings normally.

Besides, the average user wouldn't have a clue as to what to do.

You don't need a top-end system to play the games. I built a good system for $714, including taxes and shipping. I don't want to hear that you can't afford it.

It's not for everyone.. and it's a luxury not for everyone.

 

[GyRo567]

My current PC will play everything modern that comes out pretty much flawlessly.

That obviously has nothing to do with my retro gaming habbits.

Games are timeless. Older games are usually just different than modern games in the same way that 2D games are different from 3D games. (and of course, some cases literally are the 2D/3D transition) Not better or worse. Just different.

End of story.

Oh, and one definite advantage to old games is that you just pick out the good games. No sorting out the crap from the cool games every year.

 

[DFenn]

OK, nuff said.

I guess I'm just tight with my money but if you had a cr4p job, a wife, 2 kids and a cat then you would probably feel that $714 was a substantial amount of money! I'm trying to scrape enough cash together for an $80 motherboard at the moment and it ain't easy.

 

[Wolfy]

Insure your wife for mega bucks and kill her.

$$$ cha ching $$$


I'm sure she would understand.

 

[DFenn]

Pmsl

I'm afraid I live in the UK and that it just not the done thing for us British folk. Besides insurance policies cost a fortune, by the time I had paid enough into it I could have probably got my dream XB360 setup.

I have just come back from a holiday over 'the pond', whilst I was there hurricane Wilma was kind enough to pay me a visit. Lets just say that I probably won't be coming back during hurricane season again!

 

[GyRo567]

Yeah, I well understand how money can have completely different values depending on your income. Especially if it's active income, not passive.

Personally, I have absolutely no income right now, and just have my small stockpile of money while I try to set up passive income without fueling it with active income... >_>
Needless to say, since I'm still buying software (though my hardware is finally maxed out to the point where it's almost bottlenecked) I buy absolutely nothing else.

 

[godlyatheist]

try play starcraft against the koreans, i gurantee that you'll have an epiphany.

 

[sluggo]

I think things have slowed way down in terms of:
How long can I still enjoy games if I put together a state of the art system today.

You really don't have to have the latest to play most any game. But if you want all the effects, and Hi Rez, you will have to be fairly current.

The Pair of GF6800GT's, (OCed past Ultra level of course), that I am currently using in my main machine seem to be getting long in the tooth. They are less than a year old, but I want to upgrade.

Do I really need to ??? No...... But I am really impressed with the latest cards. I may have to do it just because it seems like the thing to do.

If you think back many years ago, you were paying $3500 for a Decent computer that was nearly useless for gaming in two years. A two year old computer nowdays is still just fine for most gaming needs. (Assuming it was a decent one to start with).

Consoles are great, (I have a preference for Computers), but the games are more expensive and do not readily drop in price as fast as computer games. (You seldom see a box with 10 formly high end games for $15 for the consoles like you do Computers). But then again you can rent the games. (very cool).

I have a collection of Computers and Consoles. I love playing both. I am falling behind in my console collection though. (Obviously due to the computer upgrades fixation).

Gaming is generally getting better and overall cheaper every year.

Sluggo