Personal Computer Game News
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Looks like it runs better on Nvidia GPUs than AMD. They list my old Radeon 7850 as the AMD minimum spec GPU while the Nvidia minimum is a GTX 550 Ti.
The Radeon 7850 is much more powerful than the GTX 550 Ti. Scroll down to the benchmarks section to see the difference. I know from my research when I was originally buying the 7850 that the closest Nvida equivalent is the GTX 660 which completely outclasses the 550 Ti. It's a little strange that the AMD required specs are so much higher than the Nvidia requirements.
Remember BroForce? Well, it's FINALLY coming out of Early Access and is getting a formal release on October 15.
Either they updated the required specs or I misread it last time. The AMD minimum GPU is listed as a Radeon 7870. The 7870 and the 550Ti are not even in the same class in terms of power but Fallout 4 is listing them as equivalents.
Here is a quote from the Polygon comments I thought was kind of funny.
Well here's a rather.. unsettling story..
So Ubisoft recently released Heroes of Might and Magic 7, and as with all AAA releases, by law there has to be some super duper collector's edition. Anyways this one in particular said that there would be a physical copy of the game, and Ubisoft even did an unboxing and showed everyone the physical copy. Well you can imagine how surprised people were to see that there was no physical copy. Not only that, but the SLOT where the physical copy would have gone was still there. Obviously this made some people mad as they were promised a physical copy and didn't get one, but Ubisoft has been total d*cks about the whole thing. First they flat out denied people refunds, then they tried to rewrite history by declaring that a physical copy was never supposed to be included with the collector's edition, even though there's TONS of evidence to the contrary. Oh, and European customers DID receive physical copies. This problem seems to be confined to America.
A quick glance at the forums has told me that there's apparently the belief that this is due to a manufacturing problem. JVC was outsourced to produce the media, but apparently something screwed up and they didn't make the discs or something weird. Still, the fact that Ubisoft is being such d*cks to people who are understandably angry for being promised something and then not getting it to the point that they're trying to rewrite history is just crazy. Just another stark reminder that publishers are NOT consumer friendly.
Photographic evidence of Ubisoft Lying
Ubisoft Forums
Oh, and on a side note, apparently the game is a bugged out messy piece of crap if Steam Reviews are to be believed.
So Ubisoft recently released Heroes of Might and Magic 7, and as with all AAA releases, by law there has to be some super duper collector's edition. Anyways this one in particular said that there would be a physical copy of the game, and Ubisoft even did an unboxing and showed everyone the physical copy. Well you can imagine how surprised people were to see that there was no physical copy. Not only that, but the SLOT where the physical copy would have gone was still there. Obviously this made some people mad as they were promised a physical copy and didn't get one, but Ubisoft has been total d*cks about the whole thing. First they flat out denied people refunds, then they tried to rewrite history by declaring that a physical copy was never supposed to be included with the collector's edition, even though there's TONS of evidence to the contrary. Oh, and European customers DID receive physical copies. This problem seems to be confined to America.
A quick glance at the forums has told me that there's apparently the belief that this is due to a manufacturing problem. JVC was outsourced to produce the media, but apparently something screwed up and they didn't make the discs or something weird. Still, the fact that Ubisoft is being such d*cks to people who are understandably angry for being promised something and then not getting it to the point that they're trying to rewrite history is just crazy. Just another stark reminder that publishers are NOT consumer friendly.
Photographic evidence of Ubisoft Lying
Ubisoft Forums
Oh, and on a side note, apparently the game is a bugged out messy piece of crap if Steam Reviews are to be believed.
Ubisoft finally wised up and are now offering full refunds or a free game for those that bought the collector's edition.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/12/9508729/might-magic-heroes-7-refund-apology-ubisoft
If they sold people a physical copy they should obviously honor that or provide a full refund. I can't imagine that the physical version of a PC game was a very high percentage of total sales for that game though. I think physical copies of PC games are kind of pointless since you almost always have to tie the game to Steam, Origin, or uPlay to install it. An internet connection is still required and the disc is trash as soon as you tie the key to a Steam account.
One reason that people say they prefer physical games is because they can always play them even if the online service associated with that game goes away. That's really not true for PC gaming though. Almost every single PC game requires DRM like Steam to validate online. If uPlay ever goes away for good you won't be able to validate your physical copy so your game disc will still be useless.
You are also going to have to download huge patches for your physical game in many cases so people with crappy internet are still screwed if the reason they bought a physical copy was to avoid a large download.
Edit: The game is also available right now on Green Man Gaming for $28.99.
http://www.greenmangaming.com/vip/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10...nt page)&utm_content=20&utm_campaign=Blogroll
The wireless PC adapter for Xbox One controllers is finally being released on October 20th. I have had this pre-ordered since it was announced but there was no actual release date until now.
The wireless PC adapter for Xbox One controllers is finally being released on October 20th. I have had this pre-ordered since it was announced but there was no actual release date until now.
Blizzard's 'Overwatch' shooter enters public beta on October 27th
http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/15/overwatch-beta-october-27/
Blizzard is almost ready to put its colorful team-based shooter Overwatch in the hands of the public. An "extremely limited" number of US players will gain access to the closed beta on October 27th, followed by fans in Europe and Asia at a later date. Blizzard says it wants this group of testers to scrutinise every part of the gameplay, including the various heroes, maps and abilities. There's much to dissect, but in particular we suspect Blizzard will be looking at the individual characters and whether they're all balanced. If you fail to get into this elite group, fear not. Blizzard will also be running "Beta Test Weekends" from time to time, with the sole purpose of stress-testing its servers. The company will be limiting the modes, maps and heroes available, but it should still give you a flavour of the game and indicate if it's your cup of tea. Team-based shooters are nothing new, but Blizzard's pedigree means it's hard not to be just a little curious about the game.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/15/overwatch-beta-october-27/
Blizzard is almost ready to put its colorful team-based shooter Overwatch in the hands of the public. An "extremely limited" number of US players will gain access to the closed beta on October 27th, followed by fans in Europe and Asia at a later date. Blizzard says it wants this group of testers to scrutinise every part of the gameplay, including the various heroes, maps and abilities. There's much to dissect, but in particular we suspect Blizzard will be looking at the individual characters and whether they're all balanced. If you fail to get into this elite group, fear not. Blizzard will also be running "Beta Test Weekends" from time to time, with the sole purpose of stress-testing its servers. The company will be limiting the modes, maps and heroes available, but it should still give you a flavour of the game and indicate if it's your cup of tea. Team-based shooters are nothing new, but Blizzard's pedigree means it's hard not to be just a little curious about the game.
So there's a new game called Downwell that's getting quite a bit of attention.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/16/9550205/downwell-is-the-best-game-ive-played-in-2015
http://kotaku.com/downwell-is-the-best-three-dollars-you-ll-spend-on-a-vi-1736955591
For $3 it looks quite appealing. I just wish that A: There was an Android version, or B: There was a DRM Free version I could install on my work computer.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/16/9550205/downwell-is-the-best-game-ive-played-in-2015
http://kotaku.com/downwell-is-the-best-three-dollars-you-ll-spend-on-a-vi-1736955591
For $3 it looks quite appealing. I just wish that A: There was an Android version, or B: There was a DRM Free version I could install on my work computer.
Yeah my thing is that it's not really a game I'd play on my gaming PC (which has Steam) because I typically like games that require a time investment, as opposed to ones like these that would get a lot of use on my work computer or phone that can be done in short bursts. I'm shocked it's not on GoG because Devolver is pretty good about getting their stuff on there. Maybe it just needs a little time.
Good news is that game is profitable after 3 days, which is always nice to read.
Good news is that game is profitable after 3 days, which is always nice to read.
I don't mind shorter, see how high I can get my score style games from time to time. Sometimes they are addicting to the point where I will try over an over again for a couple hours, especially if the restart time is quick. That looks to be the case here.
In other PC news, there is a game on Steam Greenlight that locks your Steam account out after a single death. Not only that but it's an online survival game where other people who are playing can kill you seconds after you jump in for the first time. If you want to play it again you have to make a new Steam account to do so.
http://steamed.kotaku.com/new-first-person-shooter-will-lock-out-your-steam-accou-1737430269
Kojima talked about making a game like this that would destroy the disc/cartridge the first time you died. Even he wasn't crazy enough to actually try it though.
It might have been a cool experiment if it was free to play or around $0.99. They are charging $10 for this though.
Edit: The good news is that if you die in less than 2 hours of playtime you can get a refund from Steam as long as it's within 2 weeks of your purchase.
In other PC news, there is a game on Steam Greenlight that locks your Steam account out after a single death. Not only that but it's an online survival game where other people who are playing can kill you seconds after you jump in for the first time. If you want to play it again you have to make a new Steam account to do so.
http://steamed.kotaku.com/new-first-person-shooter-will-lock-out-your-steam-accou-1737430269
Kojima talked about making a game like this that would destroy the disc/cartridge the first time you died. Even he wasn't crazy enough to actually try it though.
It might have been a cool experiment if it was free to play or around $0.99. They are charging $10 for this though.
Edit: The good news is that if you die in less than 2 hours of playtime you can get a refund from Steam as long as it's within 2 weeks of your purchase.
Yeah I don't see this being very successful. $10 for a game that can stop you from playing it sounds cool and edgy in theory, but it gives players little incentive to pick it up. Allowing for refunds is just going to hurt the developer as quite a few people will likely take advantage of it (and in this case I don't blame them.) I feel like this is one of those "There's a good reason why this hasn't been done before" scenarios, where it's not that anyone didn't think of this, but rather they did and said to themselves, "Yeah, this isn't a good idea from a business standpoint."
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/15/9536047/steam-machine-alienware-hands-on-video
Polygon did a really in depth write up about the Alienware Steam Machine that will be released in a couple weeks. Alienware is just one of many brands making these and they all come out on November 10th. You can also build your own PC and skip out of the cost of buying Windows and install SteamOS instead. Then you have a custom Steam Machine with the exact parts you want.
In theory this is a cool idea for console gamers who want to get into the Steam ecosystem. A Wii U sized PC that boots directly into the updated big picture mode seems like an awesome product. I've used the new big picture mode on my gaming PC and it is really slick.
Here comes the problems though. I think a lot of console gamers are going to buy this thinking that means they can finally get in on all those PC deals they have been hearing about for years. What they may not know is that SteamOS is actually a custom version of Linux. The vast majority of games on Steam, and PC in general are designed to run on Windows. If you buy a Steam machine you will only be able to play games that have Linux support and this is a much smaller subset of the games on Steam.
If SteamOS really comes into widespread use I'm sure a higher percentage of developers will support it but I doubt it will ever get universal support like Windows has. Does anyone really think EA is going to put out a Linux version of Star Wars Battlefront when that game won't even be for sale on Steam?
The other problem console gamers are going to run into is that the Alienware Steam Machine is relatively weak, especially if you buy the lowest priced model. This is the one most console gamers will likely go for since it's the closest in price to a console. The Alienware Alpha is the exact same machine with Windows instead of SteamOS and it has been out for quite a while. People who bought it were disappointed to find that they had to run many new games at medium or low settings the day they bought it.
The reason that happened is because the box has the laptop version of a dual core i3. That is much weaker than the desktop version of an i3 and even on desktop hardware a quad core i5 is recommended for most games. The same is true for the GPU. It's a custom Nvidia GPU that is very similar to the laptop GTX 860m with 2GB of VRAM. You might think that a GTX 860m should be solid since the Nvidia 660, 760, 960, etc.. are decent GPUs. Just like in the CPU department though, mobile GPUs are much weaker than their desktop counterparts.
TLDR: The Alienware Steam Machine is really a gaming laptop in a console shaped box. Even by gaming laptop standards it isn't particularly strong and since it doesn't have Windows installed it's library is severely limited.
Polygon did a really in depth write up about the Alienware Steam Machine that will be released in a couple weeks. Alienware is just one of many brands making these and they all come out on November 10th. You can also build your own PC and skip out of the cost of buying Windows and install SteamOS instead. Then you have a custom Steam Machine with the exact parts you want.
In theory this is a cool idea for console gamers who want to get into the Steam ecosystem. A Wii U sized PC that boots directly into the updated big picture mode seems like an awesome product. I've used the new big picture mode on my gaming PC and it is really slick.
Here comes the problems though. I think a lot of console gamers are going to buy this thinking that means they can finally get in on all those PC deals they have been hearing about for years. What they may not know is that SteamOS is actually a custom version of Linux. The vast majority of games on Steam, and PC in general are designed to run on Windows. If you buy a Steam machine you will only be able to play games that have Linux support and this is a much smaller subset of the games on Steam.
If SteamOS really comes into widespread use I'm sure a higher percentage of developers will support it but I doubt it will ever get universal support like Windows has. Does anyone really think EA is going to put out a Linux version of Star Wars Battlefront when that game won't even be for sale on Steam?
The other problem console gamers are going to run into is that the Alienware Steam Machine is relatively weak, especially if you buy the lowest priced model. This is the one most console gamers will likely go for since it's the closest in price to a console. The Alienware Alpha is the exact same machine with Windows instead of SteamOS and it has been out for quite a while. People who bought it were disappointed to find that they had to run many new games at medium or low settings the day they bought it.
The reason that happened is because the box has the laptop version of a dual core i3. That is much weaker than the desktop version of an i3 and even on desktop hardware a quad core i5 is recommended for most games. The same is true for the GPU. It's a custom Nvidia GPU that is very similar to the laptop GTX 860m with 2GB of VRAM. You might think that a GTX 860m should be solid since the Nvidia 660, 760, 960, etc.. are decent GPUs. Just like in the CPU department though, mobile GPUs are much weaker than their desktop counterparts.
TLDR: The Alienware Steam Machine is really a gaming laptop in a console shaped box. Even by gaming laptop standards it isn't particularly strong and since it doesn't have Windows installed it's library is severely limited.
Physical Copies of Fallout 4 won't have all the game's data on it. The rest needs to be downloaded from Steam.. because all PC gamers are inherently evil and will pirate games ALL the time.
http://www.maximumpc.com/fallout-4-discs-for-pc-intentionally-missing-content-to-thwart-piracy/
http://www.maximumpc.com/fallout-4-discs-for-pc-intentionally-missing-content-to-thwart-piracy/
To be fair, piracy runs pretty rampant on PC, especially in other countries. Unfortunately the past has proven that security measures like this typically end up hurting customers who actually bought the game more often than they stop people from finding a way to pirate it.
I check out the Steam forums for many games I'm considering buying to see how they run on PC first. As a relatively new PC gamer it was kind of shocking to see how many people openly admit to pirating games.
Edit: I just read the full article. I had to laugh at the person mentioned in the article who said they won't be buying Fallout 4 because it requires a Steam account. Almost every single PC game requires activation on Steam, Origin, or uPlay for DRM purposes even if the entire game is on the disc.
It's pretty tough to be a PC gamer without a Steam account. You would basically be limited to GOG games and you aren't going to be able to find a physical copy of the vast majority of those.
