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[Omikron]

Wow.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called on the government to scrap its multibillion-dollar National Broadband Network (NBN) to help fund the Queensland flood recovery.

With the damage bill for the recovery effort estimated to run into the billions of dollars, Mr Abbott called for government expenditure to be "reprioritised ", starting with the costly NBN.

Taxpayers are investing $27.5 billion in the telecommunications project, which will deliver high speed internet services to households across Australia.
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"It is time for the government to stop spending on unnecessary projects so that it can start spending on unavoidable projects such as the reconstruction that will be needed in Queensland," he told reporters in Sydney.

"It can start with the National Broadband Network.

"The National Broadband Network is a luxury that Australia cannot now afford. The one thing you don't do is redo your bathroom when your roof has just been blown off."

Mr Abbott said unspent funds under the government's stimulus package, and the money devoted to initiatives such as the "cash for clunkers" election promise, should be diverted to the flood recovery.

Queenslanders should not be taxed to fund the rebuilding effort, he said.

"There are a whole range of unnecessary spending programs that the government needs to look at," he said.

"It should not be found via a new tax.

"The people of Queensland have suffered enough, they shouldn't have to suffer higher taxes as well."

Mr Abbott welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's announcement that she would set up a business taskforce to help the Queensland recovery.

Ms Gillard has decided to bring together 10 Australian leading business people to form a business round table to assist with corporate support as Queensland recovers and rebuilds from the floods.

"I think that there is a lot of expertise in corporate Australia that governments at all levels could all draw on," he said.

 

[BanShunsaku]

I think I never understood the comfy couch thing until I had a desk job.

I used to be on my feet all day working in a warehouse and didn't mind sitting down at a desk for a few hours at night.

But since moving into the role I have now, in which I never move from my desk, the last thing I want to do of an evening is sit at a desk for a few more hours.

 

[Omikron]

I think I never understood the comfy couch thing until I had a desk job.

I used to be on my feet all day working in a warehouse and didn't mind sitting down at a desk for a few hours at night.

But since moving into the role I have now, in which I never move from my desk, the last thing I want to do of an evening is sit at a desk for a few more hours.

Hrmmm, I still don't really get the comfy couch thing... my desk chair is wonderfully comfortable to sit in, I have a nicer control scheme and the screen is nicer to look at....

 

[codswallop]

Hrmmm, I still don't really get the comfy couch thing... my desk chair is wonderfully comfortable to sit in, I have a nicer control scheme and the screen is nicer to look at....

I have a comfortable desk chair and a 24" screen. It has a 2.1 audio system. But then I have an even more comfortable couch and 55" screen. It has a very nice 5.1 system. I know which I prefer.

 

[Omikron]

I have a comfortable desk chair and a 24" screen. It has a 2.1 audio system. But then I have an even more comfortable couch and 55" screen. It has a very nice 5.1 system. I know which I prefer.

I also play a lot of Football Manager and other very PC centric games, so my tastes may or may not roll with the majority of AusGAF.

 

[BanShunsaku]

Hrmmm, I still don't really get the comfy couch thing... my desk chair is wonderfully comfortable to sit in, I have a nicer control scheme and the screen is nicer to look at....

I think I just have to be in the right mood... I had no problem sitting at my desk for 60 hours playing Fallout NV.

You know when I think about it I usually play PC games when my other half is watching some kind of terrible show on the TV, and she has been locked in her study for the last couple of weeks doing uni work, leaving the living room free for my gaming. Also, I recently purchased a new TV for our bedroom which means I can throw my XBL profile on a USB stick and move my gaming elsewhere should she need to watch Housewives of New York.

 

[Agyar]

This is the reason I almost never play PC games any more.

AusGAF PC defense force will crush you for this comment

Spoiler

as soon as they finish installing new drivers

.

 

[legend166]

The point is there's absolutely nothing stopping you from using the comfy couch with your PC.

 

[Fredescu]

You have to find some method to make the keyboard and mouse controls comfortable though. Especially for Bioware games, for some reason Mass Effect and Dragon Age don't have native gamepad support. Stupid, particularly for Mass Effect which is a console game through and through.

 

[BanShunsaku]

The point is there's absolutely nothing stopping you from using the comfy couch with your PC.

For some games, sure. I played Mafia II that way, cos it supported the 360 controller.

But the games I'm talking about (ME2 and DA) don't support the 360 controller, and I don't think I could play DA very successfully with a keyboard and mouse whilst laying beached whale style on my sofa.

 

[codswallop]

The point is there's absolutely nothing stopping you from using the comfy couch with your PC.

Except laziness. Which I got from using the comfy couch.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

The point is there's absolutely nothing stopping you from using the comfy couch with your PC.

It is a bit of an issue if you have a million cords plugged in the back of your desk, then a very shitty tv cabinet that makes it hard to plug stuff in the back, then the whole "I don't have wireless internet in this thing and there's no phone port around" and then the whole "it takes a lot of effort to move this thing back and forth".

And THEN there's the whole "I live with other people who consider using a mouse and keyboard from a couch in the lounge room to be the last step into the deep, dark depths of oblivion".

I mean, I have nothing against my desk, I love PC gaming, but I don't think comfy couch PC gaming is really a realistic possibility short of a specific gaming PC on top of your day to day rig, and that can get a tad expensive/redundant.

I guess you could -- uh -- place a comfy couch in front of your desk.

 

[Omikron]

You have to find some method to make the keyboard and mouse controls comfortable though. Especially for Bioware games, for some reason Mass Effect and Dragon Age don't have native gamepad support. Stupid, particularly for Mass Effect which is a console game through and through.

This.

Mousing on the couch is shit. Especially accurately.

Did enjoy TM with a wireless keyboard on the couch though.

 

[Fredescu]

I mean, I have nothing against my desk, I love PC gaming, but I don't think comfy couch PC gaming is really a realistic possibility short of a specific gaming PC on top of your day to day rig, and that can get a tad expensive/redundant.

I wouldn't go that far, it's definitely a realistic possibility if you dedicate some time and effort to it. It's nothing like plugging a console in and pressing "go" though.

 

[evlcookie]

Is it wrong that i don't find the couch all that comfy? Slouching back seems to actually cause me pain along with going forward too much. While i don't sit perfectly upright in my chair, i find it more comfy than anything else.

 

[codswallop]

Mousing on the couch is shit. Especially accurately

Yeah, tell me about it. Even with a gesture mouse, which is sort of like a gyroscopic precursor to the Wii controller, it's hard to do anything accurately.

 

[pieatorium]

I play games on my laptop while layiing on my bed with mousepad on lap.

 

[Deeku]

I can't wait for today's 3DS news. Hopefully the Amazon pre-orders open up and I can get in fast on them (likely shipping to my hopshopgo address or to a friend in the States to ship to me). Given that it's been announced the 3DS will support DSi charge cables, there's no further barriers to my importation.

My only issue is the warranty.

I think I've decided not to import one until there's a game that makes me import a US/JP 3ds. The release dates are not far off and the launch games are meh so I'll just settle with buying locally and hope for hackerz to save us from region lock.

 

[Bernbaum]

PC gaming in bed with a HDTV across the room works pretty good. In the lying-down position, you can rest the mouse on a hard mouse pad and wedge the keyboard on your lap by holding it up against a bowl of nachos. Superior to couch-PC gaming, but doesn't quite reach desktop levels of fidelity for twitch shooters. Too bad my PC is fucked up the arse right now and I'll probably switch to a gaming laptop.

I find the general up-keep required of PC gaming to be a bit off-putting, and have been playing more and more multi-plat games on 360. I of course accept that PC gaming is in almost every way superior, but the technical impressiveness of any game's presentation is lost on me after about 30 minutes of gaming anyway, so I'm happy with compromised visuals.

PC gaming can be likened to having a classic hotrod in your keep - yes it is an amazing thing to have the best ride going, but to get the most out of it you need to keep your head under the hood with constant tweaks and tuning. Console gaming is, by my same hackneyed comparison, a late model Honda Civic. You're not getting the ultimate in luxury, but at least the fucking thing works when you turn the key and you hardly ever need to work on the thing.

 

[legend166]

I haven't had to tweak anything regarding my PC or games since Borderlands, and that was because it was an horrific console port.

Downloading drivers is the easiest thing ever.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I find the general up-keep required of PC gaming to be a bit off-putting,

I thought this was the case, too, but I've had a Intel Quad Q6600 and a 9800gtx+ for the past few years and I haven't even thought about them in a while, nor is there any real need for me to upgrade yet. Hell, I'm still running XP.

It's really a once off every four or five years, really. Especially with the majority of PC games generally following the consoles trajectory graphics-wise, for better or for worse.

 

[Fredescu]

I admit I sometimes find the tweaking more fun than the games themselves. When I play a console game I can't help but think about the options that I'm missing. I kept getting thrown off by the jaggies in SMG2 or Darksiders on the PS3 because I kept thinking I'd forgotten to change some settings.

 

[Omikron]

I haven't had to tweak anything regarding my PC or games since Borderlands, and that was because it was an horrific console port.

How great did it look without the stupid massive black borders.

 

[Bernbaum]

Well Rez and Legend, you’ll have to PM me whatever pagan incantations you chanted during your respective PC-building ceremonies to imbue them with arcane fortitude, because my PC experience has been nothing but a headache.

Faulty RAM
Exploding PSU
Graphics card death
Display settings reverting to default with every other driver update
Pervasive need to perform system defrag
Windows rot
Steam requiring three attempts to load before launching games
Inconsistent Steam download rates
The need to use third-party software to override display settings on a game-by-game basis (see: Dead Space)

I’d love to have the world offered by PC gaming, but I just don’t have the time anymore. Hell, I’m going to play Dragon Age on 360 and Portal 2 on PS3, just for the convenience.

I admit I sometimes find the tweaking more fun than the games themselves. When I play a console game I can't help but think about the options that I'm missing. I kept getting thrown off by the jaggies in SMG2 or Darksiders on the PS3 because I kept thinking I'd forgotten to change some settings.

So did I. It was fun and I like doing a benchmark everytime I do an upgrade to see the results.

 

[giri]

I haven't had to tweak anything regarding my PC or games since Borderlands, and that was because it was an horrific console port.

Downloading drivers is the easiest thing ever.

Drivers aren't even a real issue, particularly in windows 7. Most manufacturers put their drivers on the windowsupdate platform now, so as long as you have windowsupdates turned on, you usually have the latets drivers for just about everything anyway.

Maybe owning legit software is the biggest barrier now ?

Also, some games are for consoles, some are for PC's. it's really that simple, there's neither a right nor a wrong.

 

[Stackboy]

I am too lazy and fearful to put together my own pc, but I have friends who love to do it, so I let them have at it.

Bought a new desktop PC 2 years ago, I daresay I won't upgrade again for another 2 years.

 

[codswallop]

I'm more interested in upgrading my Q6600, 4GB RAM, 8800GT box to get better performance when photo editing than gaming right now. I wonder what that means.

 

[evlcookie]

I find the upkeep of pc gaming to be blown out of the water in almost every case to be honest. I don't think i've had to tweak a single thing in the 2 years i've had my machine. I purchased it because i could overclock it and that's what i've done, which is about as exciting and technical as my tweaking has been. You don't need to OC a current rig unless you feel the need to.

You can tweak each game if you want but again it's a personal choice. Maybe you want certain options to be more present in your gaming experience with others dulled down, AA/AF, bloom, motion blur etc etc. I'm sure everyone has seen what some games are able to produce with tweaks, crysis being the prime example. You don't have to do it to enjoy the game though.

A 5 year old could install drivers these days, all you do is hit the next button, untick the stupid trials that they may offer you and reboot once it's done. Nothing too complex about pressing buttons.

The only thing i've had to do with my PC in terms of upkeep is cleaning the bastard. Curse you dust!

Oh i forgot my SSD is tweaked. The only real thing along with my OC i guess.

 

[codswallop]

I find the upkeep of pc gaming to be blown out of the water in almost every case to be honest.

It's alright, until you get the odd game that won't work with version 487 of your video drivers and you have 488 installed, but you installed 488 to make another game work.

Shit like that is part of the reason people say it's so hard.

 

[evlcookie]

It's alright, until you get the odd game that won't work with version 487 of your video drivers and you have 488 installed, but you installed 488 to make another game work.

Shit like that is part of the reason people say it's so hard.

But that is so rare it's almost non existant. It's the minority that tend to have the louder voice in these cases.

If there's a global issue then it's usually known to nvidia/ati and a patch is thrown out for the drivers.

 

[codswallop]

But that is so rare it's almost non existant.

Nowadays, yeah. I'm old and still remember creating different boot floppies for different games, with EMS, with XMS, using DOS4GW, etc.

Get off my lawn.

 

[Fredescu]

Nowadays, yeah. I'm old and still remember creating different boot floppies for different games, with EMS, with XMS, using DOS4GW, etc.

That's like saying console gaming sucks because you have to blow on your cartridges.

 

[Frawdder]

Just sounds like the comfy couch have made some people too lazy to deal with simple issues. Updating drivers is no harder than installing Chrome and tweaking is optional (although fixing the FOV on console ports is almost mandatory for most).

 

[codswallop]

That's like saying console gaming sucks because you have to blow on your cartridges.

It's like saying I hate having to change discs but still remember having to blow on cartridges. Or put the different coloured screens over the TV depending on the game I was playing.

Just sounds like the comfy couch have made some people too lazy to deal with simple issues.

I think as I got a bit older I just didn't want to dedicate my increasing limited free time to install drivers (Edit: Or installing games, or freeing up space, or finding and installing patches, or hoping my system meets the minimum specs) when I could just relax and press the power button.

And then they went and started forcing updates on console games. Can't win!

 

[Omikron]

And then they went and started forcing updates on console games. Can't win!

So now it is down to whether you want pretty much complete control or zero control.

 

[codswallop]

So now it is down to whether you want pretty much complete control or zero control.

If consoles in a low-powered state could automatically be set to download updates for games when they're off, I probably wouldn't care... as long as there was enough disk space to do so.

On another note, I truly hope the next generation of consoles doesn't use optical discs but instead opts for flash memory of some sort.

 

[Fredescu]

It's like saying I hate having to change discs but still remember having to blow on cartridges.

Different driver versions for different games isn't an issue anymore, unless you use SLI or Crossfire in which case you live on the cutting edge already and accept a bit of tweaking. You appeared to justify that statement by saying you used to in decades gone by, when it's just as relevant to today as blowing on cartridges is.

You also don't have to update your drivers all the time either, I don't know where that comes from. Some people seem to want to update as soon as one comes out, but you don't need to do it unless you have some specific issue. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

 

[codswallop]

You also don't have to update your drivers all the time either, I don't know where that comes from. Some people seem to want to update as soon as one comes out, but you don't need to do it unless you have some specific issue. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

A good point. Though I don't play games on my rig much any more, I don't remember the last time I installed any drivers on it. Maybe they came through Windows Update and I chose to update them which was pretty easy, but I really can't remember.

It is a lot easier than it used to be, but I left when it was difficult and haven't really felt the need to return. That said, I haven't even installed Steam because of the massive initial backlash and general crapfest it was at launch. It looks like there's some really good stuff (more indie stuff) on PCs and hanging around here is making me more interested in going back to PC gaming.

But the comfy couch is so comfy!

 

[Fredescu]

It is a lot easier than it used to be, but I left when it was difficult and haven't really felt the need to return.

Yeah there are enough games everywhere that it's not really necessary unless you like specific genres like strategy or simulations.

The addictive thing about Steam is the ridiculous sale prices and the lovely people in Steam chat.

 

[VOOK]

Oh yeah guys, don't expect any 3DS details for Australia tonight - not that anyone here possibly cares anymore

 

[Omikron]

Yeah there are enough games everywhere that it's not really necessary unless you like specific genres like strategy or simulations.

The addictive thing about Steam is the ridiculous sale prices and the lovely people in Steam chat.

The addictive thing to me about Steam is the damned convenience of it all.

 

[Frawdder]

The addictive thing about Steam is the ridiculous sale prices and the lovely people in Steam chat.

Add to that the fact that Steam automates a lot of things that people seem to have issue with, automatic updating/patching and if you own an AMD GPU, driver updates.

 

[Danoss]

I find the upkeep of pc gaming to be blown out of the water in almost every case to be honest.

I agree with this 100%. I think a lot of the argument is also carried over from console gaming up to the Xbox/PS2 generation.

For current generation consoles there are firmware updates, dashboard updates and game patches. Now that console gaming has the same "flaws" that were attributed to PC, the argument has changed to which type of furniture you sit on (I don't think screen size matters when you sit close to a monitor and it takes up the majority of your vision at that point, and surround sound matters not when you have nice headphones).

I also don't find the "comfy couch" that comfy either, my back prefers the support of a good chair.

I'm not too fussed with the whole platform wars thing (AusGAF isn't like this thankfully), what others play don't affect me at all. My attitude is "comfy chair" and the fact that I'm going to have a PC in the house anyway, why not make it a great one and play games on it? Add Steam to the mix and I'm in gaming bliss.

 

[codswallop]

I also don't find the "comfy couch" that comfy either, my back prefers the support of a good chair.

I suppose my preference for console gaming is a little more than "comfy couch". I've got a nice TV (though as you say a reasonable monitor is comparible, which I also have), but the sound system is much, much better (I have a good system with a real subwoofer which nothing can compare with), most of the people I game with have also moved away from PC which makes a big difference, but the clincher for me is that the PC is right down the other end of the house. I can game on the 360 while the wife does Facebook or whatever the hell else she does on her netbook.

It probably takes just one good game to get back into the swing of things. Right now it's Diablo III but even that's reputed to have a possible console port in the wings. I could scarcely believe it, but I even like shooters on a console nowadays. Ask me of 5 years ago and I would have shot you in the face for such blasphemy.

 

[Gazunta]

I don't think I've touched any of my consoles since I got the iPad. :/

I like PC gaming. It's very convenient. However whenever I'm in front of the PC I feel like I should be working on something not wasting time playing games.

 

[MrSerrels]

I think it goes without saying that the myth of having to upgrade your PC every six months is dead - for better or worse. Game development is driven by the limitations of console hardware.

 

[Fredescu]

How are you still a junior at 500 posts Serrels?

 

[codswallop]

Portal 2 for PS3 comes with a voucher for the Steam version, have "compatibility" with one another (cross platform multiplayer?) and allows you to share your saves between the two.

That shit is the future, right there. If we ever saw PS3/360/PC/DD games in the one package, like with DVD/BluRay/digital downloads, that would be freaking sweet. And I'd pack a warm coat for my holiday to Hell.

 

[Mar]

My thoughts on PC gaming and why I'm reluctant:

1. My platform of choice, a Mac, that is capable of reasonable gaming is far too expensive. I'm looking at 2 grand for a good Macbook Pro and I don't care to spend that much on computer equipment anymore.

2. I'm tempted to buy a cheaper PC but have no room nor the interest in having a desk, tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse setup.

3. Tempted to get a 'cheaper than Macbook' PC laptop but the keyboards and trackpads are terrible. They also look like ass.

So, for me (and I admit I'm lazy and place too much emphasis on aesthetics), console gaming is not only easier - where the most complicated thing is putting in a disc - but also a console disappears into an entertainment unit and you never have to worry about it again, and the most you have sitting on your coffee table is a game pad.

If anyone has suggestions for a good PC laptop that's around 1k then I'm all ears by the way.

 

[evlcookie]

Oh yeah guys, don't expect any 3DS details for Australia tonight - not that anyone here possibly cares anymore

I'm guessing because none of us will buy it locally ;D

As expected there was some chocrage in the chat last night about the 3DS region locking but we all know choc would rage at a piece of coal sitting on the road. WHY ARE YOU THERE COAL!!

When do you think we will see details of the AU 3DS?