If The Next Silent Hunter Goes ...

[FIREWALL]

I'm wondering if the next Silent Hunter goes DX10.

I'm guessing my rig will be useless. I think I've went as far as I can go with an AGP mobo.

It's a shame as I can do FS's and GP raceing games as well as subsim's at max settings with all the big mods.

Are the PC game companies and the PC hardware companies in KAHOOTS with each other ?

It seems like everytime a new game comes out we have to upgrade or replace our computers.

WHAT'S UP ANYHOW ?

[Biggles]

AGP? Damn, mate, get out of there! There's a new boy in town!

[Jimbuna]

[quote=FIREWALL]

Are the PC game companies and the PC hardware companies in KAHOOTS with each other ?

quote]

Sometimes I suspect they are

[Wolfehunter]

Actually Jim your right. Game companies have to comply to Hardware standards. Hardware companies battle over OS's driver compatibility standards. Hence the issue with dreaded Video display error.

Anyhow to dish out $500 to $600 a Vidcard every 2 years.... I don't think so.

Now my computer is on it last legs. But I save mucho over the years so my next system will be very good. hehehhe soon

[FIREWALL]

It's this delema that pushs me closer and closer to a console.

They have alot ot titles in Flying and Raceing. I can use my pc for SH3&4
and the flight and raceing I already have.

And a highend console would be cheaper to me than building a highend PC I guess.

Anybody have any thoughts along this line ?

[antikristuseke]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

It's this delema that pushs me closer and closer to a console.

They have alot ot titles in Flying and Raceing. I can use my pc for SH3&4
and the flight and raceing I already have.

And a highend console would be cheaper to me than building a highend PC I guess.

Anybody have any thoughts along this line ?

Well, actualy with hardware prices as low as they are right now a good gaming pc and a console seem to cost just about the same, depending on which console you take the advantage of price goes either way. Basicaly to pot together a gaming rig that plays everything exept crysis at a great resolution with nigh on full eye candy costs 6000 EEK which is about 580-600 USD, might be a bit cheaper since hardware prices tend to be lower in the states than here, can post exact configuration if needed.
Allso something to take into concideration is the price of games, which goes in favor of the PC so in the long run even if your pc was a slightly larger initial investment it will balance out. Then there is allso the modding scene which is huge on the PC front, but I have heard something like that starting to pick up on the PS3 scene aswell, though cant really verify so PC titles with ods tend to give more replay value.
Now then there is allso the issue of platform exclusive titles, here you are pretty much stuck with which ever platform you choose and because individual tastes are varied it realyl cant be used as a selling point for any of the systems.

Oh about upgrading hardware, the cost can really be brought down if you start using some local overclockers/hardware enthousiast websites, most have a buy/sell/trade section where you can pick up, or get rid of, hardware. If you do it regularly ennough you can recouperate most of the cost of new hardware from the sale of your old hardware. Most of my own computer is put together of second hand hardware and exept for the graphics card its still pretty high end.

[XLjedi]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

It's this delema that pushs me closer and closer to a console.

They have alot ot titles in Flying and Raceing. I can use my pc for SH3&4
and the flight and raceing I already have.

And a highend console would be cheaper to me than building a highend PC I guess.

Anybody have any thoughts along this line ?

All I know is... When you buy a console game the thing works out of the box, and you don't have to constantly wonder if there's something you can do to improve the graphics while maintaining a respectable FPS.

When it comes to consoles, simulation games are woefully under-supported (and frankly kinda stupid). On the one hand, they put out these insane driving sims like GT and Forza... and yet, try to find a flight sim deeper than Ace Combat and you're pretty much out of luck.

Apparently, as a console gamer I enjoy tweaking wheel camber, shock spring tension, tire compound, and air pressure down to the nth degree and yet I'm totally turned off by a flight combat game in which I might actually suffer the misfortune of running out of missiles. ...or having to takeoff, navigate, and land the plane!

The day they make Falcon, or Silent Hunter on the consoles is basically the day I can stop having to worry about muddling around with games on the PC. All they need is a keyboard, programmable FCS, and perhaps some ability to support the modders and I think we could all just abandon our PC's.

[kiwi_2005]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

It's this delema that pushs me closer and closer to a console.

They have alot ot titles in Flying and Raceing. I can use my pc for SH3&4
and the flight and raceing I already have.

And a highend console would be cheaper to me than building a highend PC I guess.

Anybody have any thoughts along this line ?

Its what pushed me to MMORPGS really, apart from the addictive gameplay the system specs for MMO's are always like 5 yrs old. World of warcraft very low system specs requirements compared to todays games yet it runs great on this mid range pc with everything on high and looks great. Guildwars MMO is the same. Americas Army first person shooter is the same can run that on a old machine all depends how fast your internet is. Online games will be the mainstream of PC gaming one day...

[Graf Paper]

There's more than enough mods and open source games out there to keep me and my old rig happy for quite some time. After that, I'm switching to Linux as my next OS because I've pretty much had it with commercial software as it's made today.

[SmokinTep]

Consoles are for kids....................

[stabiz]

Originally Posted by SmokinTep

Consoles are for kids....................

Yup.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Wolfehunter

Actually Jim your right. Game companies have to comply to Hardware standards. Hardware companies battle over OS's driver compatibility standards. Hence the issue with dreaded Video display error.

Anyhow to dish out $500 to $600 a Vidcard every 2 years.... I don't think so.

Now my computer is on it last legs. But I save mucho over the years so my next system will be very good. hehehhe soon

Keeping up with so-called technological improvements in computer terms takes up more of my spare budget than probably anything else I can think of at the moment

[Konovalov]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Keeping up with so-called technological improvements in computer terms takes up more of my spare budget than probably anything else I can think of at the moment

A little piece of advice. Don't get into serious photography as I have. PC upgrades are chicken feed compared to what you can fork out for semi-pro or pro lenses and digital SLR's. Then again great quality lenses can last you many years.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Konovalov

A little piece of advice. Don't get into serious photography as I have. PC upgrades are chicken feed compared to what you can fork out for semi-pro or pro lenses and digital SLR's. Then again great quality lenses can last you many years.

You just said it yourself - you buy the lenses only once in your life, if you choose them wisely. I am still owning my old analogue euqipement with an EOS 600 and 4 lenses that did their job back then, and would still do it today. seen that way it really pays off to invest a bit more money for high quality lenses and good manufacturing quality, also to get them professionally cleaned every ten years or so. As far as digital photography is meant, not only the high costs for a comparable digital SLR scare me away, but also the so far not tested life endurance of these devices, which means both the endurance of the technical components, but also data formats.

concerning hardware for PC, the consumer gets pushed into a treadmill and then being told "run rabbit, run". And once you have completed one round, they already want you to to do another one. Well - you are free to say "No". I feel happy that new games do not interest me anymore - I can easily afford to hold out with my old hardware (AGP-based), and hope it will live for another couple of years. What I still run in games, runs smooth and fine. what for would I need a new rig?

[Konovalov]

Agree with what you said Sky on both PC hardware/games and camera/lenses. Can't say that there is any real new sms/games out there that interest me. I upgraded my pc over a year ago now not having upgraded it for about 4 years which was a long time. My new systems plays SHIII GWX 2.0 and SHIV perfectly which keeps me happy.

Right now I'm on the lookout for a good quality macro lense to add to my existing Nikon kit. Thinking about shelling out £490 on one of these: Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR