@Axor,

I do agree with you.PC game's quality is dropping,especially on the FPS side.I didnt even both to try Crysis(sorry to say that) or Call of Duty 4 because i know do that these games are similar to the older games i have played.The only difference is the newer ones got better graphics but still dont have the great single player with great replayibility that i have been looking for.

I never really like Deathmatch games after UT2004.It's more like a cliche in today's games.

Even on the RTS side,things isnt better than FPS.Blizzard is being extremely conservative with Starcraft 2.EA's Red Alert 3 may sound good now,but the full game might sux.Dawn of War 2 might be the only game that satisfy my thirst for innovation in gameplay but im sure that it will still disappoint me in their support and modding.Sins,on the other hand,it manage to give me decent amount of innovations,great support but not so good modding.Sins's ai seriously need a big improvement.

Just one question,why do the games today have shitty ai?The ai coding have to leave to those bed room modders to fix and improve it.I have seen so many games with pathetic ai.WiC's ai is one of the worst.I would say Sins have decent ai but it still a lot of improvement to be on par with DoW's AI Mod.

Iron Clad and Stardock is my only hope.The big companies are mostly releasing crap games these days.

A nice forum topic here, something i feel close to home

I can hardly find anything on the shelves for the past few months, having completed medieval 2 total war on my last take. After which i tried to amuse myself back a little by reinstalling simcity3000 unlimited, this worked for a couple of days. Out of desperation and to this date, i recalled my ever reliable soulblighter to help kill my berserkers and free time.

The newer consoles (like xbox, or maybe ps) lean toward instant gratification, the stuff about waiting for websites to load...they got many upcoming titles, yet pc games are stagnating, save for some big names coming like fallout3, starcraft/warcraft. However, i believe what you find SELLING on the shelves must be related to the COMMERCIAL interests present, so proft margin differences must be the ones crafting the landscape.

I came to this website to look up dark avatar, the acclaims about its AI being so impressive. Two days ago i finally saw copies of it selling (it is actually a bundle of the main game dread lords and dark avatar expansion). However, looking at the patches released and the readme accompanying, i felt that the AI had been a letdown. Hope anyone can give provide a little advice?

As a benchmark, and as the last space strategy that I've had fun with, how does dark avatar measure up to sid meier alpha centauri?

Read a couple of posts earlier, i believe it is alfonse who said that tackling the game mechanics doesn't mean you are good, just shows that you are determined. Well said.

PC gaming has just begun and complaining about changing your old pc to a new updated unit is nothing but living in the past.Your thinking like a young Bill Gates who once said your never going to need more than 4 mb of ram ...or something like that .In the next 5yrs the old internet will be replaced with the "grid".Then you will see millions of players playing on 1 server in countless battles against each other all at the same time ! EPIC BATTLES in amazing detail and effects on thier PC! Lag , rubber banding will be lost phrases from the dark past . In time you will see how wrong u are like the young Bill Gates was.

Game companies do not ever cater only to new PC's otherwise we would all be playing on 64 bit OS's and the games would be there to support that. Game companies shoot for a range not a specific load out. Game companies better keep up or they will continue to go the way of Interplay and eventually get sucked up by EA or Actiblizzivision. And if they do, they deserve it for not listening to what gamers really want.

o wait i know why cause pc gaming company's make a good game then make you buy the expansion on what they mess up and they say they will fix it but really don't and con you in to buying a new game of theres ?


BF2 is a big one that did that

Nah, you can find good PC games that aren't rip-offs. Avoid anything EA makes.

The only problem with expansion packs is that the original game is unfinished, or they don't add very much. Stick with games that have trials, and good reviews, before buying.

Question: How many features does a game need to be deemed "finished?" The number of things you can add to a game is unlimited!



Agreed. They seem to ruin every game they touch. They exert too much control over their developers.

EA makes some good games, but not enough to warrant buying more than one or two.

A game only needs a couple features, the question is: "Is the game the full length?". If it can keep you for 100+ hours, it's finished, regardless if it's pretty much just an interactive movie, with no depth, and you have only one or two commands available, versus a game with 20,000 unique things to do, but will only keep you long enough to try each. 

I only read the first 3 pages or so so sorry if i've missed anything important. First, those saying pc gaming is dying need to do their research, it's alive and well.
Secondly those complaining about hardware requirements, well, if you didn't spent all your time farting about with a slow compuuter you might have time to do a yearly upgrade to save yourself alot of time and hassle. Seriously though, £1000 every couple of years is all it takes to keep your computer up-to-date, instead of running on some caveman machine and bitching that NEW games don't work on your OLD computer?!?
And I read someome saying that people who take a game back if it didn't work because of things like drivers or patchs. This really doesn't need a reply, same goes for people who use drivers on the cd. If you are buying a new game or hardware and want to run the old version thats fine by me, but don't bitch if it doesn't work. It isn't hard to download new drivers/patch and takes seconds, theres even a handy auto-installer so it installs like a normal app, any retard could figure it out, and if you can't, how did you earn the money to buy your computer?

Bakers keep people alive. Artists make life worth living.

So who's ultimately more important



That's patently ludicrous. HL2 has about 20 hours of gameplay in it, and it's about as finished of a game as it gets. Would it have somehow been better if it had been 100 hours worth of levels? No. The gameplay would have gotten stale or they would have had to introduce too many different bits of gameplay into it, to the point were it would have been 3-4 games rather than just one.



Do you have to download drivers/patches when you drop a DVD into a DVD player? Your TiVo may get patched, but it does so automatically and when you're not actually using it. It doesn't stop and prompt you to go to a random site and download something. TVs do not need patches either, nor does your refrigerator, microwave, or stove.

Software that "just works" will always sell better than something that requires substantial effort to play. PC gamers have simply learned to put up with the crap just to play their games. Why should they have to?

The 100+ hours is a criteria that makes them actually proven finished, if it can make you feel as good in a shorter timeframe, then let it.

Yes, it is hard to download drivers, it'll screw up your freakin' computer if you do it wrong (though this is rare), it'll take your time, and it'll make you have to wait to use your PC until it's finished. Patches suck too, because you need to get out of what you're doing.

The PS3 has most of these problems too, though, with patching and driver updates (firmware, technically, but for the user it's the same), and it's annoying from what I've heard. Granted, the multiplayer's free, and it'll run Linux.

@ Alfonse: I had a humorous misread of your post: "Your TiVo may get patched, but it does so automatically and when you're not actually using it. It doesn't stop and prompt you to go to a random stove and download something.". I actually took my glasses off and rubbed my eyes. 

That reminds me - just like PCs do, consoles get updated every couple of years. Nintendo is in its fifth generation (NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii), PlayStation is in its third, and Xbox in its second. It appears that that you're spending money regularly on consoles (and their games) on a regular basis, just like PCs.

FYI, I probably spend less than than in a year on keeping my computer up to date. I'd say about $1000 every two years. Probably more today than a few years ago, since I have a full time job and can afford a bit more.



Every game on SDC, Impulse, and Steam gets updated automatically . PC games are at the point where I can click an icon and the game just works. I don't even have to bother looking for the right CD anymore.

On the other hand - have you seen how many games on the consoles are starting to get patches you can download online? Now that they're getting internet connectivity, they're beginning to see patches as well.



Windows does it automatically through Windows Update on my system. I don't have to touch anything.

I'd say that PCs are quickly getting to the point where they "just work," just like consoles supposedly do, especially now that online markets are flourishing.

Indeed, Consoles seem to have problems of their own - Three Red Rings of Death on the 360, anybody? At least when my PC's hardware breaks, I can fix or replace it easily.

@ Windows Update: Yes, you can use Windows Update, but in a crash, you can damage your system. BSOD'd during .NET update, 8 months of brokenness until I cleaned it up. PCs only "just work" for those willing to sacrifice their freedom.

@ 360 RROD: Mine's been around multiple years and hasn't had a single hardware problem. Not even a slight one. The third party controllers keep breaking, though.

I have to say, that yes i think pc gaming is dwindling, but not by marketing or prodution means, its all those hackers/pirates, there are tons of people who just downlaod an illegal copy of a game and cheat companies out of money. BUY your games don't steal them......

Except that you're spending far less and far less frequently. $250 is all you need for a Wii; $300 for the low-end 360. That will keep you set for gaming for the next 4-6 years (they are still releasing PS2 games a year and a half after PS3 came out and 2.5 years after 360).



Which are likewise downloaded automatically.



Windows Update does not update your graphics drivers.



That's because Microsoft shipped a substandard product. Considering that there have been 15 significant consoles released in the US (likely more, but that's all I can name off the top of my head), and only one of them has any notable hardware failure rate, I'd say that's a pretty good record.

And you will also note that Microsoft is being punished accordingly for its hardware failures.