Topic: The irritating thing about PC gaming.

[Pugnate]

So my desktop only exists for PC gaming, while I use my laptop for work.

Because I am so busy with work these days I don't boot my desktop more often than two to three days a week. Sometimes I need to do some work on my desktop so I turn it on then as well.

Now the irritating thing is that all these stupid platforms have become self important entities on my desktop. I am not even kidding, but it seems like every time I boot my desktop, one or more of the following need to perform a major update that has me put things on hold because I don't want to risk messing up the update by pressing the wrong key at the wrong time.

Right now I have:

1. Nvidia
2. Razer
3. Steam
4. Origin
5. Blizzard
6. Uplay

For some reason Steam always needs to update like a bastard. How does this thing need to update every few days? It is irritating when you just want to play games for 15 minutes and you have to wait for Steam to finish pleasuring itself.

Then there is Blizzard. Yes, not willing to be left behind, Blizzard has consolidated all its games in one platform which needs to update often as well.

For some reason, Razer is the most irritating. It seriously needs an update constantly.

Others such as Origin and Uplay are OK actually.

Anyway, PC gaming isn't as simple as pick up and play anymore, unless you leave your system running 24/7. If you are the sort who boots their game machine every two to three days, then there is no such thing as playing when you want. I'd say you have to wait at least 5-15 minutes for one thing to update or another.

OK so I am just ranting and it is silly because I can ignore the update alerts and can't seem to.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, that shit pisses me off too. Though I only use Steam and Battle.net, and the latter doesn't need to update hardly at all compared to Steam, which is every time you blink. I used to use Desura, and it's still on here, but I rarely boot it up unless I want to play something specific. I only have Steam going regularly now because I'm playing stuff that needs it, otherwise I usually keep it off as well. Same with Battle.net.

[idolminds]

Battlenet at least updates quickly. Ive never had to leave it go more than 20 minutes (dialup ftw), restart it and its all set.

Steam....lets not talk about Steam.

[Cools!]

Haha

[Cobra951]

Is it trolling if I agree with the general sentiments here?  Normally I try not to rain on other people's parades, so I don't often voice my scathing opinion of the current state of PC gaming.  Here, it seems I don't even have to.  You're all doing a fine job of it.

[Pugnate]

No it isn't trolling. But I'd say it is still more fulfilling gaming on a PC than a console even though these issues do exist.

[gpw11]

No it isn't trolling. But I'd say it is still more fulfilling gaming on a PC than a console even though these issues do exist.

Strangely, I've gone in the complete opposite direction.

[Cobra951]

Strangely, I've gone in the complete opposite direction.

Same here.  I was an avid PC gamer for years, then as things changed, I drifted away.  I miss some things about it, but not enough to spend all that cash and put up with the problems.

[Xessive]

I'm trying to be an "omni-gamer" but that's proving to be challenging. It's a full time job!

My default stance is PC Gamer with my consoles primarily for exclusives, parties, and occasional multiplayer.

[Quemaqua]

PC continues to be superior despite the problems. Mostly because what I liked most about consoles (future-proofing, in the sense that you could turn it on, plug in a game, and it would work) is going away. Now the things seem unlikely to even work 10 years into the future, and your games will be dependent upon installs and patching from non-existent networks. That alone kills any desire I have to continue paying money for things I won't even be able to use later on down the road.

[MysterD]

PC continues to be superior despite the problems. Mostly because what I liked most about consoles (future-proofing, in the sense that you could turn it on, plug in a game, and it would work) is going away. Now the things seem unlikely to even work 10 years into the future, and your games will be dependent upon installs and patching from non-existent networks. That alone kills any desire I have to continue paying money for things I won't even be able to use later on down the road.

If you're going to buy PC games that you want to keep around:
Buy Steam-versions of games that you know do not contain Steam's CEG DRM + also do not contain any other DRM - see this GOG list;
and buy DRM-FREE versions from places like GOG.

Back-up any game-installers; patch-installers; and exact game-folders (that you can copy as is and it'll work as is) somewhere - whether it be on BR, another HDD, DVD, CD, whatever.

[Xessive]

Humble Bundle, yo!

[MysterD]

Humble Bundle, yo!

That's probably where I'll wind-up buying Shadowrun Returns + Dragonfall DLC, when it gets cheap enough to suit me...
....so I can have both a Steam-key for Steam-version + also download DRM-FREE version directly from HB.

I love when HB does that.

[gpw11]

PC continues to be superior despite the problems. Mostly because what I liked most about consoles (future-proofing, in the sense that you could turn it on, plug in a game, and it would work) is going away. Now the things seem unlikely to even work 10 years into the future, and your games will be dependent upon installs and patching from non-existent networks. That alone kills any desire I have to continue paying money for things I won't even be able to use later on down the road.

Honestly, part of what got me back into consoles is the short term future proofing.  If you were to go out and buy a PS4 right now you know you have everything you need to play without hassle for 5-6 years.  I think the PC is pretty close to that now, as long as you don't skimp on hardware initially, but not quite there.  Games will outpace the hardware and you'll eventually be left behind - at least a bit.  Sure, my PC may technically be more powerful then the consoles that were out when I bought it, but I'd put money on the fact that it runs games like Assassin's Creed 3 and 4 worse than the PS3/Xbox simply because the developers aren't optimizing for (what is now) the low end.

The other hand of it, for me, is just that consoles have now done a pretty good job of becoming that set-top box that does everything in your living room.  I game on my PS3, I watch Netflix on it.  It's also hooked up to a media server and I play all my music through it and watch everything else through it.  When it comes down to it, I'll probably opt to upgrade my console before getting a gaming PC, just because I'm going to need a console as that hub anyways.

[Quemaqua]

My PC has lasted like 6 or 7 years or something with almost no upgrades. There's nothing yet I haven't been able to play that I wanted to really despite the issues I was having. Consoles don't even last that long anymore without exploding. My PS3 is still going, but I had to do more maintenance with that opening it up and cleaning it and reapplying thermal compound than I've had to do with my PC since I built it pretty much (and hey, when a PC part fails, at least I can replace it ... not so with my PS3).

[gpw11]

I don't know man, I had to upgrade my graphics card after 3 years or so and console ports from the last couple of years haven't run well.  If I remember, we started with pretty much the same hardware.

It's probably totally dependent on what you're trying play and I will say that PCs are a lot more futureproof then they were when I first started with them around 2001.

[Quemaqua]

I'm currently playing Skyrim, D3, and Dark Souls 2, and while they aren't absolutely perfect in the framerate department, they aren't bad. Perfectly playable. None of those are absolute top of the line games that work every muscle to push the envelope, but I don't think that's bad at all for a rig this old. This PC has certainly well outlived a console cycle.

[gpw11]

I'm currently playing Skyrim, D3, and Dark Souls 2, and while they aren't absolutely perfect in the framerate department, they aren't bad. Perfectly playable. None of those are absolute top of the line games that work every muscle to push the envelope, but I don't think that's bad at all for a rig this old. This PC has certainly well outlived a console cycle.

That's not bad at all.   I was actually pretty curious about DS2 as the first was one of the games I have had problems with.  Good news!

[Cobra951]

My comments were not related to the hardware.  Sure, it's expensive, and that's one barrier.  But to me, the killer barrier is reflected in Pug's frustration.  PC games aren't yours anymore.  You have to be connected to Steam or similar gateways (mostly Steam) and be a good little boy to be able to play, as long as they let you.  I have no problem with the hardware other than the cost, and even that can be tackled in a number of ways.  I came close to buying a gaming-capable PC a while back (Holidays '12-'13, I think).  But I didn't have enough confidence in the whole scene to spend the cash.

I have no problem believing that PCs are more future-proof.  Even 10-year-old systems can handle everything but gaming.  Diminishing returns and all that.

[Quemaqua]

That's going to become more of a problem on consoles, though, and like I said before, what happens when the services to update the games no longer exist? Some games are okay and will work, but a lot won't, and some you'll have bought on platforms that have vanished. PS3 downloaded games won't transfer to PS4, etc. That stuff is increasingly a problem for me. I'll always have a PC. My PS3 is someday going to die, however, and I won't be buying another. And I have limited space, so those games I deleted that I still wanted to play, just not right now? Tough. They'll be gone forever once I can't download them anymore.

And gpw, that has nothing to do with your PC. Dark Souls on PC was a horrendous port and runs like shit. DS2, on the other hand, they did a great job with, having learned their lessons from the first, and it runs great. Dark Souls on PC for me is borderline unplayable. DS2 might as well be on the console.

[gpw11]

Great, now I'm probably going to have to buy DS2......when it's in a Steam sale.

[Cobra951]

Files on console hard drives are essentially no different from files on PC hard drives.  What you have depends on the reliability of the storage and the ability to re-get whatever gets lost from another source.  Most people don't back up anything, but fortunately, there seems to always be somewhere to find games again down the line, even for old systems.  Patches on the Xbox are files too now.  They just need to be present in the game directory to work.  The old cache-patching system sucks, and yeah, games which relied on it won't be easily updateable if XBL goes away, or stops supporting 360 games.  I don't think I have a single game that won't work correctly right out of the box, though.  Sure, updates can make a difference, but it's not as if I will lose the games altogether (outside of some catastrophe, which is a small risk for everyone).

When we all get to digital everything with online-connected requirements, we're all going to be in the same leaky boat.  At that point, if I'm still alive and lucid enough to play games, I'll have to decide whether to put up with it, or move on to some other way to pass my free time.  Until then, I'll stick with what bothers me the least.

[Cools!]

Always-online is what scares me the most about the current generation of games. Once the authentication servers go down, it's game over. At least with old games there was a chance they'll still run with a small patch or can be emulated. With current games, unless the devs release the server spec or someone [another company] takes it over there is no hope of playing them in 5 years. I honestly think we need to get to a point where all companies are required to release at least the authentication server protocol after a certain period of time in a game's lifespan so moving to 3rd party servers would be at an option.

[MysterD]

And gpw, that has nothing to do with your PC. Dark Souls on PC was a horrendous port and runs like shit. DS2, on the other hand, they did a great job with, having learned their lessons from the first, and it runs great. Dark Souls on PC for me is borderline unplayable. DS2 might as well be on the console.

If you're running Dark Souls on the PC and you're using DSFix, go into the INI and completely TURN OFF SSAO setting.
I do NOT know why it's on by default - since SSAO is a PC murderer, if you ain't got a ridiculously high-end graphics card.
Leaving any of the SSAO ON practically murders your framerate...especially in certain boss fights and any parts w/ heavy special effects.
That pretty much keeps my PC staying at a solid 30 frames per sec for Dark Souls PTD PC w/ DSFix enabled.

[MysterD]

Always-online is what scares me the most about the current generation of games. Once the authentication servers go down, it's game over. At least with old games there was a chance they'll still run with a small patch or can be emulated. With current games, unless the devs release the server spec or someone [another company] takes it over there is no hope of playing them in 5 years. I honestly think we need to get to a point where all companies are required to release at least the authentication server protocol after a certain period of time in a game's lifespan so moving to 3rd party servers would be at an option.

I am having an annoying time w/ Splinter Cell: BlackList PC.
Every 23 minutes, it crashes - no matter what.
I think there's a periodic online DRM check w/ this game, if you have it enabled for online-play.
This game does NOT ever want to connect to the BlackList servers, when I want to do MP or access any of its online features.
Yet, I can certainly see my UPlay Friends online, while in-game.

From what I heard - you can do offline play and enable that, but the game will NOT save.
Looks like Cloud Saving might be currently forced for this game.

It's a shame this game has so many technical issues and stupidities - b/c otherwise, this is easily the best SC game since Chaos Theory.