Star Citizen

[Ian]

Another awesome kickstarter pitch for your sci-fi needs if you were a fan of the wing commander / privateer games:

[Thorsteinn]

 

Loved those games, but I've no spare cash at the moment.

[Sir Edward]

Dang that looks awesome.

[Ian]

PC gaming really has a bright future. I was worried for a couple years, but I think we've got our part of the market back. XCom Enemy Unkown has been soaking up a lot of my time lately as well.  Free demo on steam!

[Sir Edward]

I went ahead and signed up for this one too. Looks like 17 hours left on the kickstarter campaign, and they're way past the goal.

[Sir Edward]

Well, they've raked in something like $5.5 million. Looks like it has the opportunity to become a pretty amazing game if they spend their resources well.

[Sir William]

I still can't get into PC games...cash outlay's too high for my pockets.  Gorgeous visuals there though.

[Ian]

It's not just the performance that makes PC games my favorite, it's really the depth of substance.  PC just lends itself to a much deeper gaming experience.  Game design is not limited to a controller and minimal hard drive commitment.  Consoles are really limited to rudimentary depth and arcade-like play for the most part because of the interface.  You can build a gaming PC for a little more than a console and be just fine if money is a concern and still enjoy the real benefit of what PC gaming has to offer.  You don't have to build the world's fastest gaming rig to have fun.  The complexity of a huge persistent world sandbox experience, or in-depth role playing experience just can't be matched on anything other than PC.

Some will say, 'well look at games like Skyrim, available on xbox etc...'  True.  The game content is virtually the same, but on the PC we have infinite user-created content which allows for the ultimate in creative expression, replayability, and even performance, graphical, and user interface enhancements.  My first gaming experience was on PC, and I've owned consoles as well, from NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, up to Xbox 360, but none have every captured the wonder and imagination I've gotten to experience through PC gaming.  /end nerd rant

[Sir William]

I used to love PC gaming...started off with the first Doom, segued to Diablo (my first real OMG moment w/regard to gaming in general), then Half Life (my second OMG moment) then dabbled in online gaming with Half-Life's Counterstrike and the second installment, Condition Zero.  The rampant cheating and hacking of the last two soured me completely from PC online gaming.

As far as gaming rigs go...I see no point in going for the middle of the pack; I'd want the best experience that could be had and that don't come cheap as I have cause to know.  I'm also no longer into the customization of individual games for my sole pleasure...I wish I had the time.  Not to mention, the near-instant gratification I get from the large amount of titles in the PS3 and X360 libraries more than compensates for what I might miss (if I could be bothered to do it in the first place) and places me squarely in the console dimension.  Different strokes for different folks.

FWIW, I don't consider it a nerd rant to talk passionately and at length about something you feel so strongly about. 

[Sir Edward]

Sir Ian summed up my thoughts pretty well I think. For me, it's never been that difficult of a question, since I try to keep an up-to-date computer anyway, since I'm impatient with slow software.   (as a programmer myself, I often don't tolerate today's software bloat since most of the time its not necessary).

I'm enough of a general computer nerd that keeping my machine somewhat current just comes with the territory. PC games have historically supported much more depth, and better post-release service and updates. True, a lot of the online games have exploits and hacks, but I'm usually more drawn to the MMORPGs rather than the squad/twitch shooters anyway. And the MMO market is completely dependent on being able to 100% alter the data on the game client.

[Sir William]

I tried MMO too...WoW, specifically.  I was underwhelmed at the graphics (admitting we're talking about 8 or 9 years ago now) and gameplay; it seemed rather simplistic so I didn't enjoy the little time I spent with it.  Even watched a guy play some of it, explaining what was going on- the hub activity and creating alliances and joining guilds and the like.  It sounds good on paper but it seemed very ho-hum in execution.

Of course, I'm all-in on my second run-through of Skyrim...when I first got it, I had it for the PS3 thinking I'd get all the updates first like I did w/Oblivion.  So not the case; it wasn't til I was reading about the Dawnguard DLC did I realize I made the wrong choice.  My cousin got me the 360 version and I'm...well, I'm a lot of time into it and wondering what the hell am I doing playing it again, after having spent nearly 300 hours the first play through?  lol

[Lord Dane]

I concur with Sir Ian. PC Gaming is the only platform for me... Can't wait til I get my new LCD display assembly for my HP laptop so I can finish playing Skyrim. HP laptops are never worth the money especially because they overheat & s**t the bed easily costing you to replace the mother board or other essential components. HP.... Never again.

[Ian]

I reserved a ship and beta access recently, and saw that this is now funded to just north of $46M.... that's crazy!

[Sir Edward]

I reserved a ship and beta access recently, and saw that this is now funded to just north of $46M.... that's crazy!

Yeah, there's huge interest in this one, for sure. I'm hoping they take their time and do it right.

Comparatively, it looks like Elite: Dangerous is much further along in development, but I don't think it's going to be quite as robust and complex of a game, relatively. I got in on the kickstarters for both though, and they both look good so far.

[Sir William]

I never played Wing Commander at length; I had a buddy who had it on his PC so I played that and a lot of other early games at his house.  Still, I liked the premise and I have always been a Calvin and Hobbes fan so the Kilrathi are kinda cool to me.  Much like the Khajiit in Elder Scrolls; in any event, I remember Mark Hamill playing a considerable role at least in the FMV cut scenes, which were awesome for its time.

As much as true fans may have hated it, I liked the movie w/Freddie Prinze and the guy who plays Shaggy.