demented waffle
Member
You should follow your own advice. As should others ITT as well.
Games should be for everyone. No matter the platform.
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You should follow your own advice. As should others ITT as well.
Games should be for everyone. No matter the platform.
Kokoloko85
Member
Keep telling yourself those games are as big/popular/hyped as Baldurs Gate, Half Life, Thief, Marrowind.
rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Some time as 2 days like for Callisto Protocol devs. Pure incompetence. Real time shader compilation stutters are inexcusable.
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Guilty_AI
Gold Member
Some of these indeed sold much more than the likes of Baldurs Gate and Thief in similar time frames.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
and i can arguably say the same for a lot of games today. Many PC games play far better on PC than on console, like Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Terraria, Subnautica, TF2 etc
it's not just performance but control scheme and modding as well. I played Terraria on Switch and all it made me feel is how much more i want to play it on PC. even if it's technically on consoles, it still feels like a PC game. and you can say the same for Half Life 1-2, Morrowind, max payne, etc
again the "AAA"s of yesteryear are actually less 'AAA' than indies and AAs of today, worse graphics and more primitive gameplay. they just had more exposure in a far smaller gaming space. Don't know what makes Baldur's Gate more AAA than Risk of Rain 2 besides maybe advertising?
anyways im done we both have better things to do anyways
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Kokoloko85
Member
Preach to someone else buddy.
I own every platform apart from Xbox. Am I being defensive about my platform? Which platform?
Im just saying certain PC games in the older days had alot more hype/bigger then most PC exclusives now. Simple
demented waffle
Member
PC games def had more hype back in the days. Deserved? Nope, been there, done that.
Kokoloko85
Member
I mean Ive put 100’s of hours into Stardew Valley, apart from Mods, there isnt a performance issue comparable to like Max Payne and Half life on Playstation when it was on PC.
I dont know, Ive never heard of it. But 90% of gamers heard of Baldurs gate In those days even if they had a console.
I just talking hype/bigger name titles
Kokoloko85
Member
Cool. I Think deserved the hype back in the day. Im sure plenty of these games on PC do too, but its not the case
demented waffle
Member
Whoopsy daisy. Quote malfunction.
On topic: Master of Orion 2 was a well deserved trophy. As was the Sims 3. Skyrim was also the shit with mods.
Every platform has its swings and misses. Not sure about Nintendo. Don't pay attention to that shit.
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Buggy Loop
Member
Oh yeah, I miss
- Reading the motherboard book to know which jumpers to put for my config
- Plug a device? IRQ problem
- Change the port standard to plug and play? Bye bye all your devices
- VGA? SVGA?
- Motherboard beeps and boops before sound cards
- 11 floppy disks to play Monkey Island 2
- CD player not compatible with your sound card in DOS, tough luck
- That same CD player which came with a floppy disk so you could install the drivers via DOS so windows would recognize it.. what a trip
- DOS… yeah
- Windows 3.1… yeah
- Modem 56 v90? Oh yeah, oops, internet provider said they provided it, but it’s not compatible with YOUR v90.
- Bought a CH F16 fighter stick with game port, would work for literally 99% of all motherboards, but not the one I picked, nooooo. Had to call CH, open the HOTAS and remove a capacitor and a resistance on the board.. I was a kid
(still did it) - CRT refresh whine
- 2D video card AND 3D separate?
- Bought Voodoo? Too fucking bad, they’re dead. Glide is dead
- Bought first Nvidia TNT? Better hope it was compatible with motherboard (card sucked anyway)
OP is right, never been easier then nowadays. Started when I was 8 years old on Commodore 64, then built my PCs since then.
Drizzlehell
Banned
And the 2000s
Kokoloko85
Member
Sure, but not as popular or known in the same time frame. The hype is less for sure. You hear of a few break throughs but not as many as those days, the “must buys” like Max Payne and Half Life etc. Thats all Im saying, nothing for anyone to get offended over
demented waffle
Member
Oh yeah, I miss
Oh yeah, only good memories. Not nostalgia.
- Reading the motherboard book to know which jumpers to put for my config
- Plug a device? IRQ problem
- Change the port standard to plug and play? Bye bye all your devices
- VGA? SVGA?
- Motherboard beeps and boops before sound cards
- 11 floppy disks to play Monkey Island 2
- CD player not compatible with your sound card in DOS, tough luck
- That same CD player which came with a floppy disk so you could install the drivers via DOS so windows would recognize it.. what a trip
- DOS… yeah
- Windows 3.1… yeah
- Modem 56 v90? Oh yeah, oops, internet provider said they provided it, but it’s not compatible with YOUR v90.
- Bought a CH F16 fighter stick with game port, would work for literally 99% of all motherboards, but not the one I picked, nooooo. Had to call CH, open the HOTAS and remove a capacitor and a resistance on the board.. I was a kid
- CRT refresh whine
- 2D video card AND 3D separate?
- Bought Voodoo? Too fucking bad, they’re dead. Glide is dead
- Bought first Nvidia TNT? Better hope it was compatible with motherboard (card sucked anyway)
OP is right, never been easier then nowadays. Started when I was 8 years old on Commodore 64, then built my PCs since then.
Mother of fucking God. Why must you trigger me like that.?
Ivan
Member
The only answer needed...It's not even close.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
and also missing out on all the great 2d games console guys got... the 'exclusives' people fawn about are pretty much the only thing we had to play.Oh yeah, I miss
Oh yeah, only good memories. Not nostalgia.
- Reading the motherboard book to know which jumpers to put for my config
- Plug a device? IRQ problem
- Change the port standard to plug and play? Bye bye all your devices
- VGA? SVGA?
- Motherboard beeps and boops before sound cards
- 11 floppy disks to play Monkey Island 2
- CD player not compatible with your sound card in DOS, tough luck
- That same CD player which came with a floppy disk so you could install the drivers via DOS so windows would recognize it.. what a trip
- DOS… yeah
- Windows 3.1… yeah
- Modem 56 v90? Oh yeah, oops, internet provider said they provided it, but it’s not compatible with YOUR v90.
- Bought a CH F16 fighter stick with game port, would work for literally 99% of all motherboards, but not the one I picked, nooooo. Had to call CH, open the HOTAS and remove a capacitor and a resistance on the board.. I was a kid
- CRT refresh whine
- 2D video card AND 3D separate?
- Bought Voodoo? Too fucking bad, they’re dead. Glide is dead
- Bought first Nvidia TNT? Better hope it was compatible with motherboard (card sucked anyway)
OP is right, never been easier then nowadays. Started when I was 8 years old on Commodore 64, then built my PCs since then.
Guilty_AI
Gold Member
And all i'm saying is that your perspective is being heavily skewed for having been someone who was part of circles where games like Baldurs Gate were hyped and praised, and now being someone who isn't part of such circles anymore, where games like Kenshi are very much talked about, thus giving you a terribly wrong perspective of where the pc market stands nowadays.
Otherwise it would be rather weird to have "must buy"s from the time like Thief selling in similar time frames roughly as much as something like Ctrl Alt Ego, a title you probably haven't even heard of before i mentioned it.
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bender
What time is it?
It's okay to be a puppy.
demented waffle
Member
How far we going back, y'all?
If we're going back to the jumper days... That shit can eat the whole factory of dicks being produced in the entire world.
I thought this only going back 5-6 years...
I'm noping the fuck out of this.
If we're going back to the jumper days... That shit can eat the whole factory of dicks being produced in the entire world.
I thought this only going back 5-6 years...
I'm noping the fuck out of this.
nkarafo
Member
And how do i do that?
Ivan
Member
because they're NOT EVEN CLOSE
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Guilty_AI
Gold Member
Ivan
Member
one of the shittiest answers you can get on the web in these shitty times
Guilty_AI
Gold Member
A shitty answer for another shitty answer
Buggy Loop
Member
And even the 90’s nostalgia, the “golden age” of PC can be condensed to 98-99. That’s it. Amazing classics during those years, but yeah, don’t go too far back, if it goes to 486, 386 and older setups.. not all rosy
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
We are in another good growth period for PC. Reminds me of the 2500k days. Prices have gotten out of band but you have the power, amazing legacy support (PC games plus emulation), and a healthy community. There isn't a shortage of people willing to talk about your processor or kit and how to tweak it in any way.
The games are amazing and we still mostly get the best versions minus some lazy dev moments but I wouldn't change anything.
The games are amazing and we still mostly get the best versions minus some lazy dev moments but I wouldn't change anything.
ReBurn
Gold Member
PC gaming was ass in the 90's. There's some serious rose tinted spectacles if someone thinks the golden age was the nightmare that was driver conflicts and DLL hell. Get your video card working? Great! But your sound card just shit the bed.
bitbydeath
Gold Member
You only needed a 486 w/sound blaster abd you were good to go.Oh yeah, I miss
Oh yeah, only good memories. Not nostalgia.
- Reading the motherboard book to know which jumpers to put for my config
- Plug a device? IRQ problem
- Change the port standard to plug and play? Bye bye all your devices
- VGA? SVGA?
- Motherboard beeps and boops before sound cards
- 11 floppy disks to play Monkey Island 2
- CD player not compatible with your sound card in DOS, tough luck
- That same CD player which came with a floppy disk so you could install the drivers via DOS so windows would recognize it.. what a trip
- DOS… yeah
- Windows 3.1… yeah
- Modem 56 v90? Oh yeah, oops, internet provider said they provided it, but it’s not compatible with YOUR v90.
- Bought a CH F16 fighter stick with game port, would work for literally 99% of all motherboards, but not the one I picked, nooooo. Had to call CH, open the HOTAS and remove a capacitor and a resistance on the board.. I was a kid
- CRT refresh whine
- 2D video card AND 3D separate?
- Bought Voodoo? Too fucking bad, they’re dead. Glide is dead
- Bought first Nvidia TNT? Better hope it was compatible with motherboard (card sucked anyway)
OP is right, never been easier then nowadays. Started when I was 8 years old on Commodore 64, then built my PCs since then.
Windows? No fuck that even Windows 11 isn’t as good as dos. Editing autoexec.bat or config.sys to get your hardware connected was a breeze. Not to mention you could create your own bat files and jump into games at the press of a few buttons.
Games were better too.
March Climber
Gold Member
Not a chance. Multi-generational backwards compatibility, emulation getting better by the day, way better ease of use, and to top it all off, the Steam Deck exists. Not even 90s nostalgia can measure up to all of that.
BusierDonkey
Member
PC is an endless ocean of choice and will continue to be. Choice of hardware and budget, choice of settings on games for performace or IQ (or both), choice of utility and choice of what to play.
But the 90s! you say? Every decent game ever released on PC is still playable on a modern PC and the same goes for console games from Atari all the way to current hardware like the Switch being emulated.
You have the choice of the entirety of 40+ years of video games now all on one box. Younger me would have lost his mind looking at what a modern PC can do and how effortlessly it can be done now. My current PC takes less than 10 seconds to start up and can launch any game I own from any of my drives with one double-click. Every driver I need is installed when I shut down and any device I plug in is recognized immediately. Games that launch buggy are typically fixed quickly either by devs of the PC community itself. Mods are amazing.
I still remember the trials and tribulations trying to do any of this on my old setup in the late 90's and early 2000s, I had to find drivers, I had to figure out my own solutions for everything. I loved that old thing but compared to what I have now, even accounting for the passage of time, it was a pile of shit.
But the 90s! you say? Every decent game ever released on PC is still playable on a modern PC and the same goes for console games from Atari all the way to current hardware like the Switch being emulated.
You have the choice of the entirety of 40+ years of video games now all on one box. Younger me would have lost his mind looking at what a modern PC can do and how effortlessly it can be done now. My current PC takes less than 10 seconds to start up and can launch any game I own from any of my drives with one double-click. Every driver I need is installed when I shut down and any device I plug in is recognized immediately. Games that launch buggy are typically fixed quickly either by devs of the PC community itself. Mods are amazing.
I still remember the trials and tribulations trying to do any of this on my old setup in the late 90's and early 2000s, I had to find drivers, I had to figure out my own solutions for everything. I loved that old thing but compared to what I have now, even accounting for the passage of time, it was a pile of shit.
Denton
Member
I had no significant problems with GTA 4 or Witcher 1...and I have no significant problem with games today. If some game has shader stutter, I just wait, usually few days, until it is fixed, assuming it is a game I want to play. But when I look at the last 50 or so games that I played and finished on PC, I had problems with just one - Watch Dogs Legion - which at launch ran terribly - but when I played it about six months back, it ran perfectly fine.
As far as I am concerned, PC has always been the best way to play, since it always gave me compromise-free experience. Well almost always - Saints Row 2 PC version really sucks...but even that gets fixed by mods.
As far as I am concerned, PC has always been the best way to play, since it always gave me compromise-free experience. Well almost always - Saints Row 2 PC version really sucks...but even that gets fixed by mods.
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BadBurger
Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Yea, things are looking really good.
I really liked PC gaming from 2009 to about 2014, when most games were still targeting 1080p so I didn't feel the need for high-end hardware. Just about every cross platform game that landed on PC ran way better than they did on the consoles even if one had a mediocre rig like I did. Valve began really killing it with their Summer Sales - they felt like events, and it was novel to engage with the activities. GOG transformed into something that was fantastic for finding and playing older games or ports from the 16 and 32-bit eras.
Then I feel like PC gaming kind of just coasted from 2015 until last year with the Steam Deck. Even the Steam sales became stale and boring. But with the Deck, advances with Linux gaming have been coming rapidly. The community has been doing amazing things with the device, turning it into a portable everything machine. I mean literally everything. It can emulate virtually any experience from the past, including the physical aspects of each console from any era - handheld or not. It's the first true innovation in gaming since the leap from the PS2/Xbox to the PS360 era.
I missed the 90's and early 2000's, but from what I have read and seen, including stuff shared in this thread, PC gaming back then sounds like it was an ugly pain in the ass. A lot of variety and experimentation, sure, but man does it sound like it was work.
I really liked PC gaming from 2009 to about 2014, when most games were still targeting 1080p so I didn't feel the need for high-end hardware. Just about every cross platform game that landed on PC ran way better than they did on the consoles even if one had a mediocre rig like I did. Valve began really killing it with their Summer Sales - they felt like events, and it was novel to engage with the activities. GOG transformed into something that was fantastic for finding and playing older games or ports from the 16 and 32-bit eras.
Then I feel like PC gaming kind of just coasted from 2015 until last year with the Steam Deck. Even the Steam sales became stale and boring. But with the Deck, advances with Linux gaming have been coming rapidly. The community has been doing amazing things with the device, turning it into a portable everything machine. I mean literally everything. It can emulate virtually any experience from the past, including the physical aspects of each console from any era - handheld or not. It's the first true innovation in gaming since the leap from the PS2/Xbox to the PS360 era.
I missed the 90's and early 2000's, but from what I have read and seen, including stuff shared in this thread, PC gaming back then sounds like it was an ugly pain in the ass. A lot of variety and experimentation, sure, but man does it sound like it was work.
ReBurn
Gold Member
You can still create your own .bat files and have them execute at startup on Windows 10 and Windows 11. You just have to add them to the startup configuration which is still just a few clicks. I do it to auto start Python apps all the time.
Getting new hardware running was never as easy as just editing autoexec.bat and config.sys. You had to put the floppy in the drive or the cd in the tray and install the drivers for the S3 Virge and deal with the version of whatever DLL overwrite the one for your Sound Blaster then spending hours uninstalling and reinstalling drivers and games to get it all working. Then when you install a new game it installs some other DLL that kills one of your cards or another game. It was madness.
There was a special feeling once you got it all working but it was never simple. It's so much easier today.
Wildebeest
Member
On one hand you can measure popularity and financial success, but on the other hand money has a way of sucking all the character and soul out of a scene.
I think the heart of the scene is slowly dying. You ask "PC gamers" about all the cool PC exclusive games they really love, the stuff that makes PC gaming special, and it's too often stuff from 20 or so years ago.
I think the heart of the scene is slowly dying. You ask "PC gamers" about all the cool PC exclusive games they really love, the stuff that makes PC gaming special, and it's too often stuff from 20 or so years ago.
Mister Wolf
Gold Member
I forgot all about the jumpers.
StickStack
Neo Member
Agree 
Chiggs
Gold Member
I totally disagree.
Overpriced hardware produced by cynical companies like Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte, coupled with technically disastrous launches caused by developer ineptitude or horrible DRM.
The late 90s and early 2000s were a far more enjoyable period of time with exclusives that put the hurt on the console peasants.
It's a decent time to be a console gamer, though.
This is the truth, and the truth hurts. There's a reason why sales are tanking hard...and have been for the past 6 quarters. Consumers have figured out what a mess PC gaming is.
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529126/PC-industry-sees-biggest-decline-ever-says-Gartner
Overpriced hardware produced by cynical companies like Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte, coupled with technically disastrous launches caused by developer ineptitude or horrible DRM.
The late 90s and early 2000s were a far more enjoyable period of time with exclusives that put the hurt on the console peasants.
It's a decent time to be a console gamer, though.
This is the truth, and the truth hurts. There's a reason why sales are tanking hard...and have been for the past 6 quarters. Consumers have figured out what a mess PC gaming is.
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529126/PC-industry-sees-biggest-decline-ever-says-Gartner
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rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Just run the game .exe. Unless some patch changed from the last time I played.
SeraphJan
Member
Those who exaggerate PC gaming in 90s needs to wake up, there are far less selection in PC gaming in the 90s compare to now, but that's not the main problem, you are going to have hell lot of compatibility issue with your hardware in 90s when even directx was barely the standard, whether a game might work on your hardware or OS is like a lottery.
Yeah, there were some great games on PC backs than, but the selection is so few, main while console have much more variety at that time.
I rather spent my weekend playing games instead tweaking, spending hours to manually adjust memory allocation and sound drivers with command prompt is not a good gaming experience, not to mention many issues are nearly unsolvable thanks to lack of internet and community support, I would never wish to experience that nostalgia again. I'm thankful that PC gaming have advanced to where we are, I meant even if I want to play retro PC game, now is a much better experience, especially consider how robust GOG optimization for old games are, simply double click and play.
When people are having their nostalgic moment, they clearly only remember the beautiful part but tend to forget the ugly.
Yeah, there were some great games on PC backs than, but the selection is so few, main while console have much more variety at that time.
I rather spent my weekend playing games instead tweaking, spending hours to manually adjust memory allocation and sound drivers with command prompt is not a good gaming experience, not to mention many issues are nearly unsolvable thanks to lack of internet and community support, I would never wish to experience that nostalgia again. I'm thankful that PC gaming have advanced to where we are, I meant even if I want to play retro PC game, now is a much better experience, especially consider how robust GOG optimization for old games are, simply double click and play.
When people are having their nostalgic moment, they clearly only remember the beautiful part but tend to forget the ugly.
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nkarafo
Member
I don't remember doing otherwise. Nor any DX11/12 options.
I think pcgaming was better back in the day (last half of 90s to first half of 00s) because big games were designed for pc only. Now it's nearly all console ports. We used to get games that could only be done on pc. IT's not the same. It's now more like the 'rich kid's' console gaming platform sort to speak.
And the creativity and variety was better back then too. A lot of that change is related to the cost of development going up which means they have to cater to a bigger (ie more mainstream audience) which means less variety, less creativity and more 'safe mediocre and should not lose our jobs' games.
And the creativity and variety was better back then too. A lot of that change is related to the cost of development going up which means they have to cater to a bigger (ie more mainstream audience) which means less variety, less creativity and more 'safe mediocre and should not lose our jobs' games.
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Buggy Loop
Member
Ugh
I don't think i can see yet another "decline" news article for anything tech post-covid where EVERYONE fucking jumped on PC hardware for work at home / gaming to the point where even fucking IKEA was out of desks for like a year. Why would i buy the year after? Hell, even 2 or 3 years after?
No shit it declined after, no shit.
Steam keeps growing bigger and bigger. You can build, as per Digital Foundry's own video, a console equivalent PC for $825 without even looking for a deal, even during stupid GPU pricing.
Paid an arm and a leg for a 486 with 4MB back then, only to run Doom in a smaller window to get decent FPS.. Went to shit as soon as Duke Nukem 3d / Quake 1 came. Became useless in a very short span.
PC modding community nowadays is insane too, superb work from some peoples at creating content that would be worth full price, for free.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
For modern gamers who never played PC way back, just installing a joystick or mouse could eat up 10% of your CPU power. No such thing as plug and play. I believe that started with Windows 95 where it came preloaded with shitloads of drivers.Oh yeah, I miss
Oh yeah, only good memories. Not nostalgia.
- Reading the motherboard book to know which jumpers to put for my config
- Plug a device? IRQ problem
- Change the port standard to plug and play? Bye bye all your devices
- VGA? SVGA?
- Motherboard beeps and boops before sound cards
- 11 floppy disks to play Monkey Island 2
- CD player not compatible with your sound card in DOS, tough luck
- That same CD player which came with a floppy disk so you could install the drivers via DOS so windows would recognize it.. what a trip
- DOS… yeah
- Windows 3.1… yeah
- Modem 56 v90? Oh yeah, oops, internet provider said they provided it, but it’s not compatible with YOUR v90.
- Bought a CH F16 fighter stick with game port, would work for literally 99% of all motherboards, but not the one I picked, nooooo. Had to call CH, open the HOTAS and remove a capacitor and a resistance on the board.. I was a kid
- CRT refresh whine
- 2D video card AND 3D separate?
- Bought Voodoo? Too fucking bad, they’re dead. Glide is dead
- Bought first Nvidia TNT? Better hope it was compatible with motherboard (card sucked anyway)
OP is right, never been easier then nowadays. Started when I was 8 years old on Commodore 64, then built my PCs since then.
Just installing a shitty joystick on your own required a driver and my bro (who owned the family PC) prayed it would work.
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Chiggs
Gold Member
In this thread:
I DON'T THINK I CAN STAND ANOTHER VIEWPOINT, OR DATA SET, THAT RUNS COUNTER TO MY PERSPECTIVE OR NARRATIVE.
Sales are tanking, man...and are historically tanking. You can spin it all you want, but the numbers are the numbers, and the numbers haven't been this bad in a loooooooooong time.
Oh wow...going to pull out the big guns with a Digital Foundry reference! Those guys are total pros! And we all know that PC building is America's favorite pastime!
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Sinfulgore
Member
I disagree. PC was at its best when it was treated like its own platform and got its own exclusive games like back when Diablo, Battlefield, the Witcher, etc were PC exclusives. Now, most big PC games are just console ports, MMOs, or free-to-play trash. I started PC gaming to play exclusive games like Battlefield 2, not to just play console games with better performance. Also, I hate early access. Games are released way too early and imo it kills all the hype for the full release when games are in early access for 2+ years like Baldurs Gate 3.