Cheerful Ghost: Discussion Forums

Limited Run Games 24 Hour Charity Twitch Stream - 9 am PDT

To celebrate their 4th anniversary, Limited Run Games will be hosting a 24 hour Twitch Stream with proceeds/donations going towards The Video Game History Foundation. For those that aren't aware of this foundation, their goal is to preserve the history of video games, so all the hard work and lessons learned are not lost because of time.

The stream starts today (10/28) at 9 am PDT/12 pm EDT.

The stream can be watched here: https://www.twitch.tv/limitedrungames
The schedule is here: https://horaro.org/lrganniversary/schedule

The Video Game History Foundation is here: https://gamehistory.org/

Tale of the White Wyvern: Bugs Thread

Hey everyone! This thread is for all the bug reports you have for Tale of the White Wyvern. As this thread gets longer we may make a new one but we will keep this one open as long as it's sustainable.

If you have a general question or support, please post over in the thread below:

https://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/4227/tale-of-the-white-wyvern-support-questions-thread

If you comment on this post, you will automatically follow it and get notifications, so if you don't want those, you can de-select the star on this post, next to the "Comments" button. Similarly, if you want to opt into notifications, just make sure it's selected.

Thanks for playing, and we're looking... Read All

gone wrote on 10/24/2019 at 07:41pm

I think you have an off by one in the counting of invisibility for rogues. Level 7 is the first that damage during fights was a concern and I've seen the behaviour twice. The description of the skill seems to say 5 rounds of combat will occur with no damage. On the two occasions I counted rounds, including the skill invoking round, the 5th round ended in damage for the forest dweller.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2019 at 07:55pm

Thanks for the report Chuckles. That's the intended behavior but I guess we didn't update all the documentation. Where did you see that so we can update it?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/25/2019 at 11:11am

Yeah, for invisibility click the skill and count that as one, click attack 3 more times and then click invisibility again, if you have more. That's how I do it. So, click invisibility count 1, click attack count 2, click attack count 3, click attack count 4, repeat if you have more invisibility skill points.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/25/2019 at 02:26pm

Exactly what Greg said. We found a couple instances where it still said five and cleared those up, but let us know if you find more.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 12:13am

I clicked on "(D)aily News" and it shows no news. At 7PMEST, this is most definitely a bug. I think you can go click through Previous Days news and Next Days News and see news though. Here's what is shown.
Tale of the White Wyvern - Daily News
Today's News (UTC)

(P)revious Day's News (2019-11-11 UTC)
(R)eturn to Town Square

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 12:25am

Also, these support, etc. posts are hard to find outside of the game. I clicked "Tale of the White Wyvern" in the post, which brings you to all posts regarding that game, but I could not find these posts. Maybe I some how over looked them. It would be good if they were easier to locate outside of the game in case someone cannot get into the game.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 03:49am

At 7PM EST, it’s midnight UTC

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:31am

I don't see how that's relevant, Travis. I'm not very familiar with UTC or even many time zones, though, so you probably know more about it all than I do. As far as I know, a new in-game day begin at 12AM PST and 12PM PST which translates to 3AM EST and 3PM EST. I guess it just means that nothing news worthy happened in the four hours of that game day when I logged on. I always long on some time after these times and I don't recall ever seeing an in-game day was blank like this.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:44am

No, it’s relevant. UTC is the same as the GMT time zone. Our News is sectioned off by the day it happened in real life, and since people live all over the world, the common thing to do is use UTC.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:46am

Game days and news days aren’t the same thing, in short.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:51am

Your reply to my bug report seemed irrelevant, but I realized that I must be confused about something. Thanks for clearing that up. In short, I thought game days and news days were the same.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:53am

Predicting your next question; if we went to game days we couldn’t really easily distinguish if the news was from the first or second game day of the day. Again, because people live in varied time zones, we couldn’t just say 2019-11-11 (day 1) or something, because those will be different if you live in Australia for instance.

So the news days are 7pm to 7pm, eastern, to match UTC. UTC isn’t exactly a time zone, it just happens to match GMT. But it’s a common way to refer to time when you have various time zones to consider, and so it’s a sensible way to section the day there as well.

Attempting to predict your next next question 😉—

But while those time zones are varied, the majority of us are in the US, and 3am and pm eastern to 12 am and pm pacific seemed like the best bet for us to do the game day breaks.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:53am

Time math is weird as hell man. 😂

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 06:30am

You predicted questions I hadn't even thought of. I was ok with game days are not news days. I didn't question that. I didn't even think of why. I just thought, "wow now I don't feel stupid" and let it go. It seems you and Jon certainly put some thought into this, something I wouldn't have even thought of if I didn't notice what I thought was an issue. Thanks for the enlightenment. Also, I really hate Math! I do understand that it's all confusing, especially on release days. If a game is supposed to release on a certain day and the devs don't give us a time, we wonder will that be when it becomes that day in Australia, the US, or what.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/12/2019 at 04:20pm

Yeah you wouldn’t believe the various iterations of code I did to get the clock tower working properly in all cases 😂

It seems so trivial.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/12/2019 at 06:13pm

Oh I believe! Good job!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/25/2019 at 03:11pm

Currently I have 2 uses of the Rogue skill, but when I disappear the first time, my second use vanishes. I thought I had noticed it a couple days ago, but it wasn't until this morning that I definitely saw it happen.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/26/2019 at 04:30am

Looked into this Adam and I can't recreate it on my end as it operates normally.

Are there any other details to share so I can recreate this? You are on an Android phone using which browser? That might have something to do with it perhaps.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/26/2019 at 03:22pm

I'm on Android, using the Chrome browser, but the glitch didnt happen today... so never mind, it must have been a one-time thing :)

jaelte wrote on 12/04/2019 at 12:00am

So I'm not sure if this is actually a bug or if I somehow missed something, but earlier in this run I had 30 Mage points. I know this because I had multiple attempts at the Wyvern where I cast White three times (and Warrior Screamed twice, for what it's worth). Yesterday, though, after multiclassing into Rogue, I went to fight the Wyvern again and noticed I had only 29 Mage points. I thought maybe that I had accidentally used one in a forest fight, so today I checked again before fighting and still have only 29?
Is there some legitimate mechanism in place that allows for permanently losing a class point, or did I manage to stumble across a strange bug?

Travis Admin wrote on 12/04/2019 at 08:38pm

You get a bonus use point in whatever your main class is.

So you had 29 mage points, which for mage comes out to 29 use points. Then you were a mage main, so you got a bonus use point, making it 30.

If you swapped back to mage, you’d notice one fewer rogue use point, and one more mage use point.

jaelte wrote on 12/05/2019 at 05:17pm

Thank you, Travis. I managed to take down that pesky beast without that point this time. I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/24/2019 at 01:16am

Can't send mail, spend winter tokens, or interact with Scarlet. :( Error reads "something went wrong" and puts you back at main login screen.

jaelte wrote on 12/24/2019 at 04:02am

To add to GregoPeck's post, the same error applies to interacting with Krugg and to purchasing a winter gift.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/24/2019 at 04:15am

Thanks Greg and Jaelte, that should be working now.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/24/2019 at 04:41am

Definitely fixed! Thanks!

jaelte wrote on 12/24/2019 at 05:17am

Indeed! Thank you two for dealing with it so quickly!

gone wrote on 12/24/2019 at 08:40pm

Whoa! That was a surprise. It was a minor issue of a difference between docs, that I'm sure aren't the focus of the players, and observed behaviour. I'll be a rogue again in a few days so I'll take a look to check for errant 'five's. Apologies for going dark.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/24/2019 at 09:39pm

No problem!

jaelte wrote on 12/28/2019 at 08:08am

When playing on a computer as and using the keyboard to navigate during a forest fight, both Run and Rogue Skill are mapped to R. When I press R (intending to disappear), I get the "Are you sure you want to run?" box, but pressing yes uses the skill as I intended (though not as I may have expected given the message).
When you get around to it, it may be a good idea to map these actions to different letters. :)

Travis Admin wrote on 12/29/2019 at 07:18pm

That’s a good catch jaelte, we have a fix in place for it.

jaelte wrote on 12/30/2019 at 05:09am

Thanks again!

gone wrote on 03/09/2020 at 09:32pm

I caught a 'Moronidae(?)' in the waterfall, attempting to eat it produced two error screens of the 'run away type' Didn't seem to affect anything else.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/10/2020 at 01:15am

Chuckles: Fixed that, thanks for the report.

adahn Super Member wrote on 03/19/2020 at 08:48pm

Embarrassingly, died to a combat fish. Was taken to a post-fight screen, that included the option for Quark's, but was not able to actually navigate to that (by keyboard Q or clicking), page simply loaded again. (Not the best bug report, but I didn't think to record it at the time, sorry! )

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/20/2020 at 02:47am

adahn: Good find, fixed.

adahn Super Member wrote on 03/20/2020 at 11:36am

Awesome! Question, because I'm loving the pop culture references, wasn't Joel's jumpsuit red (back room armor)? :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/20/2020 at 02:33pm

Yep. I’m a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 so I couldn’t just relax about adding that.

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/01/2020 at 03:57pm

I ran into this today, because I'm struggling with my keyboard, and hitting enter doesn't always work quite right, so I rapidly triple-quad-more tap the enter key.

Go to bank, withdraw screen.
Set the amount to withdraw.
Hit enter repeatedly.
Result: Withdraw that amount repeatedly
Expected: First enter accepted, others rejected

https://imgur.com/a/fuGPvhG

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/01/2020 at 04:23pm

Thanks for the report. Good news is you have the proper amount of gold(not a gold creation bug at least) but the behavior isn’t what we want.

We’ll fix it.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2020 at 05:45pm

Wow adahn, animated bug report. Kudos for that!

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2020 at 05:51pm

Adahn, I can't recreate this in Firefox or Chrome. Couple questions:

1. What browser are you using?
2. You don't happen to have javascript disabled do you?

I'll ask more if I think about them.

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/02/2020 at 11:58am

Desktop Safari, v13.0.4, no additional extensions or disabled features that I'm aware of, other than Selenium automation mode is enabled.

and good call, I just tried in Chrome 80, and can't reproduce it.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/02/2020 at 01:28pm

Using a stock safari on Catalina and I can see what you're talking about. That's... weird. lol. It's like it sometimes fails to disable that button and sometimes (maybe one in five) it disables it properly.

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/02/2020 at 09:07pm

hitpoints <= 0 vs hitpoints < 0?

https://imgur.com/a/hb8hkgm

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/02/2020 at 09:36pm

That's a feature, not a bug.

gone wrote on 04/05/2020 at 04:30pm

There seems to be a new decoration for player names that is leaking into inappropriate areas:
Tale of the White Wyvern - Read Mail
From: [ Blue ]
Sent: 2020-04-04 20:19:56 UTC
....

(W)rite Mail Back To [ Blue ]
(R)eturn to Mailbox

It started in the last few days, IAFACT.
I don't think it's all names.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2020 at 05:40pm

Question, inappropriate in which respect? Or is some aspect of that buggy?

Thanks for the report!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/05/2020 at 05:50pm

Maybe it is confusing, because you can't tell if the character's name actually includes the special flair. So, in other words, is this character's name "[ Blue }" or is it "Blue" with flair? It is the latter, but I can see the confusion. Although you could just hit "W" or click "Write Mail Back To." However, this could be confusing if you want to write mail or transfer gold to the character (without replying to mail and without looking up the character's profile.) I don't know if that's exactly what Chuckles is talking about, but that's what I see as possibly confusing.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2020 at 07:11pm

Yeah, I can see the confusion part. I did think about that. Removing the flair from the mail system makes a lot of semse.

gone wrote on 04/05/2020 at 07:15pm

Sorry, that did kinda miss the point. :) The decoration apears in the adresseee box and prevents the message from being sent. I see now that the HTML code is being evaluated in my posted comment. I am taking a quickndirty approach, this pastebin shows the actualy text in the mail reading page, does that clarify? https://pastebin.com/Qwa3Y7rb

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2020 at 07:25pm

Got it, fixing that now. Thanks Chuckles!

gone wrote on 04/05/2020 at 07:32pm

Next time I'll try and post in English, not 'typo'. :-D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2020 at 07:39pm

adahn: After talking to Travis, I've pushed an update where actually having 0 HP will actually kill you now. It's confusing but I always liked it because it's strange and I also wanted less ways to die.

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/05/2020 at 09:55pm

I'm a fan of "dying on your feet" too, getting a chance to get that last swing in, the final knife throw (Poor Dobby!), etc.

Thanks for letting me know it changed though, I'll have to be that much more careful :D

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/06/2020 at 11:57am

Mornin'!

It looks like using Mage:Teleport in a fish fight (perhaps when the next blow would be fatal?) causes the death messaging, but I did not actually die (hit points did not change from 5, my fish bag did not empty, etc)

https://imgur.com/a/FBgin3V

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/07/2020 at 04:46am

adahn: Bug fixed. Thanks for the report.

jaelte wrote on 04/11/2020 at 09:01pm

Hi, so I just experienced the strangest bug in the main game.
I was fighting Elah Forkwood to reach level 4 and suddenly I got the the note that was dead, which hasn't previously been possible when fighting masters. I proceeded to cash in 4 dead cards to be reborn, and it brought me back to where I was in the fight with 20 hitpoints. I then attacked and defeated the master, but this whole situation was very odd.
Perhaps this is an artifact of the 0 HP update? It's worth looking into.
Also, if it's determined that this was indeed something that should not have happened, I'd appreciate being refunded XP and dead cards if possible. No biggie if you cannot do that, though.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2020 at 11:27pm

Yup, that should not have happened.

XP and dead cards refunded.

I'll let you know what I find.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2020 at 11:36pm

I believe I fixed it. It was some subtle logic in a fight class that wasn't updated after after the 0 hp update as you say.

Thanks for the report.

jaelte wrote on 04/12/2020 at 08:10pm

Thank you, Jon! I appreciate the all the work you all continue to put into the game. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/12/2020 at 09:49pm

❤️

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/15/2020 at 08:27pm

Got a tiny one for ya. The names have been changed to protect the victim.

When spying from the inn, the Member Formatting displays funkily.

Adhira pulls one of her books of the shelf and flips through a few pages. "This is everything we know about Unsuspecting Victim" Adhira says.

Claw Keeper: [ Unsuspecting Victim ] Gender Class

Secret Information:

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/15/2020 at 08:30pm

Oh, no... the forum ate it.

https://imgur.com/a/7K1Tfnd

Travis Admin wrote on 04/15/2020 at 08:48pm

Aha, we missed one of these. Thanks for the heads up!

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/17/2020 at 11:54am

So, I'm not entirely sure what happened here, but I just got 0 shotted by trainer Molodrin.

I'm level 4, 4190 experience. I questioned the master, got the standard "you might be able to beat me" messaging. Chose the option to fight the master. In response, I got the "merciful death" messaging. So, he either got the first swing (?), and took me out with it, or something went weird.

I'm afraid I haven't had my coffee yet this morning, so I suppose I could have been low on hit points and not realized it.

Not useful as reports go, but...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/19/2020 at 09:25pm

> So, I'm not entirely sure what happened here, but I just got 0 shotted by trainer Molodrin.

In looking at it i'm not sure what happened because Masters can't get first strike. Is it possible you hit attack quickly? I'll keep looking. If something else comes to mind let me know.

jaelte wrote on 04/20/2020 at 06:57am

So I noticed something that I'm not sure is new or always been there. I attempted to run from a fish fight, got knocked down, and still got defeated? I've run several times in the past and as far as I know I've never before lost hit points when getting knocked down.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/20/2020 at 02:34pm

https://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/4399/update-to-the-fight-run-mechanics-class-differentiation

adahn Super Member wrote on 04/24/2020 at 11:26am

> In looking at it i'm not sure what happened because Masters can't get first strike. Is it possible you hit attack quickly? I'll keep looking. If something else comes to mind let me know.

Honestly, I'd chalk it up to muscle memory and not-awakeness. Hopefully you didn't lose much time over it, and as a resident Mage, yay for Teleport being more useful!

Thanks again, guys.

gone wrote on 04/30/2020 at 10:50am

Purely cosmetic, but I'm a little disappointed it didn't rollover to MAX_INT.
Forest Fights : -1
After teleporting my scaredy cat butt away from the Wyvern.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/01/2020 at 01:45am

Thanks for the report Chuckles, bug is fixed!

Also, I agree in that maxing out forest fights would be a pretty fun bug. 🤣

gone wrote on 05/03/2020 at 07:27pm

Looks like running from lake fights decrements without checking too:
Forest Fights : -2
After two 'tactical withdrawals' from tough
fish.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2020 at 03:37am

Thanks Chuckles, fixed that.

gone wrote on 05/26/2020 at 05:22pm

I've read before that you get a gratis point for your current class. IIRC it was from someone who switched away from mage and lost a spell point unexpectedly. If that's true then the point isn't being given when switching 'back'. In my case I switched away from Rogue, but on switching back the extra disappear wasn't re-granted in the day the switch occurred in.

gone wrote on 05/26/2020 at 07:06pm

Next day and the extra point turns up.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/27/2020 at 03:21am

> I've read before that you get a gratis point for your current class.

You've read correctly.

> If that's true then the point isn't being given when switching 'back'. In my case I switched away from Rogue, but on switching back the extra disappear wasn't re-granted in the day the switch occurred in.

The gratis skill point is granted on the new day. So when you switch you don't get that point until the next new day.

So it seems you are experiencing it as it is intended!

jaelte wrote on 05/30/2020 at 08:38pm

Just a note about the above, the game informs you of this when you start a new day: "Welcome ! For being a , you get an extra use point!"

gone wrote on 05/30/2020 at 09:56pm

Fresh new day. Went to the outhouse for ablutions. Got my turn. Went for a light fish breakfast and found this funky dive bar. Hung out with a cool foreigner but as so as I tried to play a game I was told I could only 'Interact with an NPC' once a day. n/m it's the sending-mail-doesn't-switch-focus-to-text-input issue that messes with the keyboard starers. Apparently the sentence I typed had me getting 500gold from jon boyd. Terrific.

jaelte wrote on 06/20/2020 at 11:11am

Sooo I think I may have benefitted from a bug and didn't notice until afterwards. I mindlessly bought up hit points in the Season 2 game so I could challenge some players in a fight, healed up, then did some fights before I noticed that I had (I believe) *way* too many hit points for the amount of gems I spent.
I went back to the Healer's Hut confirm this and it looks like each pair of gems is increasing my HP by 1,403 instead of the stated 3. I did eat some fish earlier which buffed my HP, so maybe doing so applied some sort of multiplier? That season is over so I don't think much there is terribly important, but it may be worth checking out to make sure it doesn't trivialize fights in an active season.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/20/2020 at 07:38pm

Thanks for the report, I've fixed the bug and it's being pushed to production now!

gone wrote on 08/02/2020 at 03:46pm

Level 11 on prime, it says I have enough xp. The fight starts and I make my first attack and the response is:
Tale of the White Wyvern - Tarbreth's Adventurer Training

You enter the halls that have trained many legendary adventurers. Many people are here training together, old as well as the very young. Tarbreth surveys the entire training hall from the balcony.

Your current master is Tarbreth.
Tarbreth prepares to deal you a death blow then stops. "You are ready to seek the White Wyvern!" Tarbreth halts the fight and heals you before you go.

Something seems off.

gone wrote on 08/02/2020 at 03:52pm

Yup, says I'm still 11 and:
Tale of the White Wyvern - Tarbreth's Adventurer Training

You enter the halls that have trained many legendary adventurers. Many people are here training together, old as well as the very young. Tarbreth surveys the entire training hall from the balcony.

Your current master is Tarbreth.
"I would like to battle again, but you should try again tomorrow." Tarbreth tells you. You figure you will try again tomorrow.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/02/2020 at 10:56pm

Thanks for the report!

gone wrote on 08/05/2020 at 07:25pm

Tale of the White Wyvern - Able's Secret Room

Able is building out the back room in anticipation of getting new pole sets to sell. He ushers you back and tells you "We'll have more back here soon, but you can still check out the special Cheerful Ghost Member-only poles."

Member (M)ember Armor Set
Return (R)eturn to Able's Fishing Shop

Now why would I want to look at armor in a fishing shop? :)

Travis Admin wrote on 08/05/2020 at 08:43pm

Haha, whoops. Hey you know... if someone is attacking you and you have a fishing pole, you could totally protect yourself with that! :D

Travis Admin wrote on 08/05/2020 at 09:28pm

Thanks for the report, Chuckles. Fix is up!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/05/2020 at 09:30pm

Well you "fixed" it a minute ago, just as I was going to add a funny comment. I was thinking "Member Rod," but that makes me want to laugh like Beavis & Butt-head. Huh huh huh huh

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Tale of the White Wyvern: Support & Questions Thread

Hey everyone! This thread is for all support and question you have for Tale of the White Wyvern. As this thread gets longer we may make a new one but we will keep this one open as long as it's sustainable.

Feel free to post any support topics such as game suggestions, questions about how the game works, or other types of feedback. This is also a space where you can find out why we made the game the way we did, as sometimes it's not obvious.

Before asking a question, please check the game Instructions first. Your question may already be answered there, as we update them regularly when new things are added, and when we run into things that are not obvious about how the... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/05/2019 at 09:36am

I've come up with another color theme, so I'll describe the first one I've already suggested and then the second one I just thought of.

I'd like to see blue text on a black background. I think I'd like to see the (first) letters that correspond to the key to press to enter that area (like the "F" in "Forest) could be purple or a brighter or darker blue. I usually tell people my favorite colors are blue, black, and purple. No, I don't like bruises! LOL

Secondly, remember those beautiful rainbow blocks in Terraria that I love so much? How about that? On a black background every letter is a different color of the spectrum. That is a limited spectrum such as ROYGBIV or rather red, orange, yellow, greeen, blue, purple, and white. I think that would be cool, too! Of course not *every* letter would have a different color on the spectrum, colors in such a limited spectrum would, of course, replicate.

Although, an option to be able to change colors in-game would be cool. Like you could change the background, the first letter, and main text colors. Then we wouldn't need to suggest a theme, we could just customize it ourselves.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/06/2019 at 03:38am

Oh! I just remembered I have also suggested that Rogues could see a counter that indicates how many turns of Invisibility are left. Something like after clicking on the ability button, the game could say, "you are now invisible for x more turns." The last turn of Invisibility would make the game say "0 more turns." At first it was confusing, not just for me, but then I realized how to accurately count how many turns were left. So, I can do it now with ease. It's just a tiny bit of counting. Still, an indication would be helpful, especially to those who've never been a Rogue before and are new to the game. I'm not sure if other classes have abilities that have a duration, but if that's true now or in the future, this counter could be used for them as well. Maybe to make this counter more useful, other classes could get abilities that have a duration, so that it's a tool not strictly for the Rogue.

Now that I remember, one last suggestion (for this comment). I would like to be able to know or see how much charm is required for each NPC interaction. Right now, you could click on the last and if that doesn't work select the one below it and repeat until you get to the one that will work. I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could spend some time and figure this out on my own, but it'd still be nice if the game would let us know. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/08/2019 at 12:25am

Added the theme suggestion and theme creator to the list.

As to your suggestion about charm being display for NPC's and a turn counter for disappear those are interesting. Travis and I will talk about it.

Thanks!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/08/2019 at 12:57am

Thank you for "listening" and giving my suggestions some thought! :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/08/2019 at 01:21am

Oh, and also perhaps an option to change your name. Maybe this could be after a wyvern kill and the game asks if you'd like to continue as X ("GregoPeck" in my case) or be reborn as someone new. Perhaps it could just be a simple name change or perhaps you could be reborn as a completely new character and thus resetting pretty much everything. So, it'd be just like when we started out for the very first time. This could be helpful if players decide we don't like our name or just want a fresh start. Perhaps, someone notices a typo in their name and they'd like to fix it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/08/2019 at 02:54am

So the reason why username changes aren't in Wyvern games now and won't be (or until I can figure out how to do it in a way that justifies the time and UI clutter):

1. If you change your name that might be fun but what's the benefit to the player?

If the benefit is a fresh start, strap in, I think what you might hear in the next month will excite you, but it's not a username change it's way cooler than that.

2. If we allowed username changes it would mean that a user becomes somebody else as far as all players in the current game are concerned.

A few scenarios concern me:

A: User X has a rivalry with User Y. They trade PvP kills and have a fun time or sometimes less fun time but, generally speak, both enjoy killing each other. User Y changes their name.

How does everyone know that? Should everyone know that? Should a username change be someone wipes their slate clean, because it might as well be. Do we keep username history? If we do why?

I guess other scenarios are versions of the one above where someone changes their username and i'm not sure if the benefit outweighs the negatives. It's not that I can't keep a username history on a profile or I can't set a daily news notification or something. It's just that makes things more complicated for a benefit that seems dubious to me.

So it's not really that it's hard to do more that it seems like a cool feature until I think about how it effects a Wyvern game community and then i'm not sure it's worth it. There could be a world where a game has so many players that you can't know everyone like World of Warcraft and a name change is natural because, essentially your username doesn't matter. But in Wyvern it's nearly your entire identity and matters a lot so for each game, I think you should keep it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 11/08/2019 at 03:15am

Wow, I'm very impressed with how much thought you put into that one. I didn't think of or consider the things (scenarios) you mentioned. As for user typo, I know one user name that ends with a space. It confused me as to why I couldn't copy and paste his user name when I was trying to send him some gold, but I ended up figuring it out. Really, the easy way to do this is to just click on their profile and select "send gold" (I think).

My primary reason for this suggestion is because I think I have quite a unique user name in that it's the same as my user name here. For some reason everyone, except for me (and another I think), created a character with a user name that doesn't match their user name here. I don't know how I missed out on that. It's not a big deal really, although it does make me feel odd. Maybe there was something I didn't read or maybe I misunderstood something. Maybe I was surprised to see that (almost) no one used their Cheerful Ghost user name in the game. So, I guess I got confused there and am still confused as to why I did this. Otherwise, I could have created a character with a different name. Although, it really doesn't matter, honestly.

Maybe in the Daily News, it could mention that someone changed their name or was reborn as X (X=new name). Obviously, as you pointed out to me, if you really want to know who someone is, all you have to do is check their profile, which will tell you who they really are on this site.

Now I remember something else I thought of possibly before launch and that was for us to have multiple characters we could play. From what you just said in your reply, I can see how this one could be an issue. I can imagine some other scenarios (possibly at least one) where this would be an issue.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/08/2019 at 03:23am

Thanks for letting me know about the username space thing i'll file that as a bug, that shouldn't happen.

TheGman wrote on 11/11/2019 at 06:07am

Is it possible to telnet into the white wyvern?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/11/2019 at 02:54pm

> Is it possible to telnet into the white wyvern?

When I created Tale of the White Wyvern I wanted to the game to be accessable to the widest audience possible and as part of that built it to work in a browser. The ability to play it over Telnet or SSH would be awesome and for a future game I could see us adding support for Telnet or SSH. That said, that's some time away and I wouldn't put in on your calendar. Personally, i'd love to see it happen though.

gone wrote on 12/24/2019 at 08:43pm

In the warrior ending I'm pretty sure 'nobile' should be noble. I'm old but I don't think nobile is a 'thing'.
Thanks, still having fun.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/01/2020 at 05:16pm

If I recall correctly, at the character creation screen, the game asks you to "create an account" and give that a name. This turns into your character name. I think, instead, that it should say something more like "create a character." That might be at least part of why my character is my user name in the main game. Although, only one other person used their user name as their character name. It was also slightly confusing for the seasonal game, because I already have a Cheerful Ghost account, which I was already logged in to. So, I suggest perhaps separating creating a character vs. an account.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/04/2020 at 06:53pm

Good point Greg, change that word to character. Thanks for the feedback!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/29/2020 at 09:29am

A couple of quick suggestions. 1) I know there's a confirmation for when selling a weapon and armor, but if you accidentally do it, you're screwed (AFAIK). What if there was some way to remedy that? I'm not sure what. Maybe there could be some kind of post/place where you could "beg" or ask for gold and hope that people would be willing to share some with you, with which you could buy a weapon or armor. If this game had something to sell, that would be useful in this situation, too. 2) Could we get something like a transaction history in the bank that could help us keep track of how much gold we've sent to other players? Some players are giving to others. When it's given to me, I like to give back to the player, but I'd like it to be easier to keep track of how much I've sent. Thanks for listening and for making a really great and successful game!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2020 at 04:29am

Travis and I have talked about 1 before. We have some solutions but since it never came up it hasn't really been something we addressed.

2) Transaction history is interesting. I'll drop it on the list and see if we get it to it.

Thanks Greg!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/02/2020 at 08:47am

Oh! How about some indication of how a weapon or armor will change our stats? I know hats tell you the strength and defense (among other attributes) that they add, but weapons and armor don't. So like each weapon would say +X (x=number) attack damage or whatever.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/16/2020 at 01:46am

I think it would be nice to know how many wyvern kills we have. Is there a place for that or could you add it to our stats page? Maybe also total player kills, total deaths,...etc.?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/16/2020 at 04:59pm

Total Wyvern kills is at Tarbreth’s Hall of Honor. Total deaths in the Graveyard under Leaderboard of Death and total player kills in the fields under PVP leaderboard or something.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/16/2020 at 08:54pm

So sorry, I overlooked those places. Thanks!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/17/2020 at 04:03am

👍

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/15/2020 at 07:48am

I'd now like to suggest a "sell all" button for fish.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/18/2020 at 01:27am

Yeah that’s not a bad idea.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/18/2020 at 07:05am

Although, I think I've discovered (a pro tip) that it's better to eat or sell a fish after you catch it, instead of holding on to fish, because if you lose a fish fight, you lose all the fish you caught.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/18/2020 at 02:35pm

Oh yeah, that’s a good thing to consider.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/21/2020 at 10:30pm

I don't know if the full players list is sorted in anyway, so could we possibly get it sorted or the ability to sort it? Personally, I think it should be sorted alphabetically. If you need to know why this is important, I can go into further details.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/22/2020 at 03:21am

> I can go into further details.

Hit me.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/22/2020 at 04:27am

It's kind of obvious, but it basically makes searching for other players easier. A friend and I usually trade gold. Whoever has the higher level sends gold to the one who has the lower level. Sometimes, I like to look for his name on the list to see which of us is at a higher or lower level. His characters have odd names and it's difficult to remember how they are spelled as they were randomly generated. That also seems to be the only way to see someone's character info profile. In other words, it makes looking up player information easier. I hope that clears it up.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/22/2020 at 07:36pm

Although, I just realized you can click the person's name in the profile in the news section. That's good enough for me.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2020 at 02:16am

> Although, I just realized you can click the person's name in the profile in the news section. That's good enough for me.

🕺

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/07/2020 at 07:52am

Do you ever forget what you wrote to someone and thus have no idea what they're talking about when they reply to your mail? How about a way to figure that out? Because, you know, as you get older your memory starts to fade.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/07/2020 at 08:11am

Oh! I just realized a curiosity! Sometimes I see that a friend has replied to my mail, but seems to not have done anything newsworthy. So how does the Daily News work? Is it only certain events that make the news? Or is it just that not everyone who plays all the time does something newsworthy? I feel like I always see myself in the news and usually a about a few others.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/07/2020 at 03:53pm

I’ve heard that about the messaging system. It’s that we meat for it to be simple but losing context is very easy for sure.

Daily News is triggered on certain events. Winning Master fights, PVP, killing the Wyvern etc. If a new worthy item hits we record it.

One persons play session should always record at least one event and a lot of time more than that.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/08/2020 at 05:30pm

Though it's possible for someone to be between levels and unable to level up that day, and forget to interact with an NPC, thus never registering anything in the daily news. Not that *I* would ever forget to interact with an NPC... nope... :/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/23/2020 at 07:39pm

I just thought I'd share some positive feedback. I like how the main page of the game changes color showing us that there's an event going on, but it also doesn't force us into keeping that color. So, like right now the Pumpkin Festival is going on and you know this because the main page is mostly orange, but once you get into town the colors change back to what you've chosen.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2020 at 01:53am

Yeah, that's something we decided on that I like quite a bit too.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/13/2021 at 07:07am

I thought I asked this before, but I'm still not sure of the answer. Which is the best place to fish? I'm wondering if fish in different areas are worth more money.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/13/2021 at 04:25pm

Selling fish you get from fights are worth the most money. There are some common fish that don't have any bonus when you eat them that sell for more. Without looking at the code I can't say which is which offhand.

The three areas focus on different attributes for the fish, since you've unlocked them all you can see the themes. HP, Defense and Strength bonuses. Depending on your style each has it's own benefit.

When I was playing more I focused on strength to sneaky sneak and PvP better.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/13/2021 at 06:34pm

Ah, well I don't think I've ever eaten a fish, I just sell them. I've been fishing in the shallows mostly and seem to make good money from it.

Also, I'm guessing the fishing pole is pretty much like a weapon. I think the amount of money you get from selling a fish depends on what level you are. I could be wrong about that, so feel free to correct me.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/14/2021 at 12:29am

> Also, I'm guessing the fishing pole is pretty much like a weapon.

You need one to fish and you need to have it leveled up with you as you progress to keep fishing. If you get into a fish fight and it's too weak it will break. If it's strong enough you can begin the fish fight and if you win you can sell the fish or eat it for a larger reward.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/14/2021 at 12:30am

Selling the fish value DOES move based on your level.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/14/2021 at 12:55am

Thought so.

I'm kind of curious about the damage you take as well. I think I could have the last pole and still take damage, but later not. I don't know if how much damage you take is due to your level, the pole, or the armor you're wearing.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/14/2021 at 03:37am

The fish fights work like a forest fight in that your weapon+attack, armor+defense and skills are driving the outcome.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/14/2021 at 03:42am

Cool, I thought so, but I don't think I was entirely clear on it. Thanks for answering my curiosities!

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Do Frames Per Second Really Matter?

I recently built a new PC and decided to get a new monitor as well. My old monitor is actually fine, it’s a 24” Dell and I can’t recall exactly what model it is. It’s a 60hz monitor and I decided I wanted to try one with a higher refresh rate. More hertz means more FPS in a game. I got the impression that once you see over 60hz, you’ll never want to go back.

Recently, I bought a recertified Acer Predator XB241H. I have some problems with it, but I’ll not get into that here as it’s irrelevant to this discussion. One feature of this monitor is that it can be overclocked to 180hz. I had no idea you could OC a monitor! It’s a 24” 1080p monitor, just like the one I was... Read All I recently built a new PC and decided to get a new monitor as well. My old monitor is actually fine, it’s a 24” Dell and I can’t recall exactly what model it is. It’s a 60hz monitor and I decided I wanted to try one with a higher refresh rate. More hertz means more FPS in a game. I got the impression that once you see over 60hz, you’ll never want to go back.

Recently, I bought a recertified Acer Predator XB241H. I have some problems with it, but I’ll not get into that here as it’s irrelevant to this discussion. One feature of this monitor is that it can be overclocked to 180hz. I had no idea you could OC a monitor! It’s a 24” 1080p monitor, just like the one I was using. I think I’ve decided that 1080p is a resolution I’m quite happy with and don’t really see a reason to change. Higher resolutions require more GPU power and higher resolutions decrease your FPS. I have a GTX 1660 Ti, which is plenty of GPU power, although I can’t recall whether or not it can do 4K (probably so). I also don’t think 2K or 4K would look good on the desktop, I imagine it would make icons much smaller than I want them to be. I remember progressing through resolutions as time progressed. Those older resolutions look horrible today (I think)!

Because I’m able to monitor my FPS via counters, I can see that I’m getting more than 60FPS without screen tearing. Before, with the old monitor, I turned on Vsync, because screen tearing was an issue and I hated it. Now I have a Gsync monitor and have it turned on. I am seeing about 10 more FPS in some graphically intense games like Atlas and Monster Hunter: World. My FPS in CivVI has more than doubled, in my testing I saw around 180. Surprisingly, when I tested Minecraft (without Optifine), I saw over 1,000FPS without any screen tearing! Whoa!

Other than having a counter, I don’t feel like I can personally notice or see the difference in FPS. All games I’ve played seem to look the same to me no matter what FPS I’m getting. Although, there is definitely a difference when I’m getting very low FPS. I don’t know at what point that becomes noticeable, but I kind of think less than 30 or even less than 10 is definitely noticeable.

What do you think? Is FPS something you can see and notice with your own eyes without a counter? Does FPS really matter to you? Are you unwilling to accept anything less than 60FPS or another number? Let me know in the comments, I’d like to discuss this.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/11/2019 at 07:42pm

A few things. Yeah, the frames per second matter. On some games it feels like it matters more. Maybe it’s the engine? I feel like I enjoy the id engine games like Doom and Wolfenstein more with a frame rate as close to 60 (or above) as I can get. But some, 30 is fine. Below 30 and you really start noticing problems.

That said. Some games (and I can never predict which ones) will give me motion sickness, and one thing I can do to limit that is reduce the fps to 30. Paradoxically, if the frame rate gets too low I will start feeling motion sickness too.

But yeah I can definitely tell a huge difference between 30 and 60, but over that I can’t.

As for 4K and screen tearing, I just recently upgraded my monitors and I have some thoughts there.

I have a 1060 and it can run 4K so yours surely can. The desktop resolution running at 4K CAN make everything way too small to use, but in modern operating systems you have to go out of your way NOT to use display scaling. You’ll be running in 4K but the interface elements will stretch to appear as though you were in 1080p or 1440p. Everything just looks more crisp. It’s kinda magical to use a desktop in 4K because you’ve never imagined how great a simple web page can look. Google search results will blow your mind 😂

My monitor isn’t Gsync certified but it IS freesync, and you can make your nvidia drivers treat them the same, and yes, it is incredible how that limits screen tearing.

But yeah, there are plenty of games I can’t play at 4K. But I can get 1440p in almost all the games I want to play, and a few games will give me some gorgeous 4K. Honestly, one of the best things I’ve played with was Quake 3 Arena. In 4K. Yep, kinda odd. Old meets new. But it is GORGEOUS in 4K and more frames than my eyes can even see.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/11/2019 at 07:52pm

Oh also— you mention your FPS more than doubling.

If you set v-sync it will limit it to something your monitor can display. On a 60hz monitor, that’s what you’ll max out at with v-sync on.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/11/2019 at 07:59pm

That sucks that you get motion sickness. I don't have that happening to me. I don't don't feel like I can notice the difference between 30 and 60 or more. Like I said, though, below 30 or around 10 is where it's definitely noticeable (the game barely runs).

You just changed how I feel about 4K. I thought there was probably something you could do, I didn't quite think about resolution scaling, but that makes sense. Higher resolutions do drop your FPS, though. For some games getting 60 at 1080p is easy, but getting 60 at 4K is very tough, from what I've seen. You made me interested in 4K, I'd like to see how that looks. I actually thought about Googling some pictures of 4K to see what the desktop would look like. Maybe I'll have to look into it.

Since I'm having problems with this monitor, I may actually return it. There is an Alienware 1080p monitor I really want it. It's 240hz. I may end up getting it, even though it looks like it'll be overkill. Although, now thanks to your comment, I'm starting to think whether or not I want to upgrade to a higher resolution. LOL

The Alienware: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0733VW5QB/?coliid=IAQI9SF41YF4O&colid=3RTYMSB6B7JIF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Also, I'm aiming for a 1ms response time. That apparently makes a difference in gaming, especially shooters, although I don't usually play them. I'm not sure I'm noticing this change either.

The Acer Predator: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB241H-bmipr-1920x1080/dp/B01C05C1OK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

In the end, I'm thinking maybe it all has to do with our own individual eyesight. My eyes are imperfect, so perhaps I can't see what others can (like the difference in higher than 30FPS).

Thanks for joining the discussion! This is something I've been thinking about lately and I wanted to share it here.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/11/2019 at 08:18pm

Honestly that 1ms response time is something I don’t think I’ve ever noticed. That said, every flatscreen I’ve ever had has been 5ms so I’m not sure what it feels like but I’ve never felt like there was a delay. Maybe if I played with 1ms I would change my mind.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/11/2019 at 08:26pm

Yeah, I understand the correlation between VSync and FPS. With the Dell that came w/ my Alienware PC, I play with VSync on. With this Acer, I turn off VSync, but turn on GSync. CivVI has in-game VSync and frame limiter, which I enabled for the Dell, but disabled for the Acer. Without those enabled, the Dell had screen tearing, where as the Acer does not.

So, I looked at pcpartpicker.com and it looks like 4K monitors are very expensive. 4K means that the second dimension is 4,000+ (like for example 1000x4000), right? The 2K monitors also look expensive, but I found a 1440 that looks reasonable. So now I'm wondering, should I get one with the highest refresh rate (the Alienware) or one with a higher resolution. I found a Dell 1440p that is 144hz or 165hz (depending on the model). I won't buy another Acer monitor due to the issues I'm having with the one I have and their technicians. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find a good monitor on Amazon, because there are positive reviews, but also negative ones, so I'm kind of trying to find one that has a lot less negative ones. The Alienware seems good, it seems like many people got a good unit, while only a few received a defective one. The one I bought (Acer) seems to have more people reporting defective units.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/11/2019 at 08:46pm

4K resolution is 3840x2160. I guess they just decided 2160p was a mouthful and approximated the width. It’s double the width and height of a 1080p.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/11/2019 at 08:51pm

If you’re just worried about gaming the 1440p would be fab I bet. I went 4K for the extra pixels I could put stuff in for development. Being able to spread even more windows across two monitors, and seeing more stuff within those windows, is pretty great.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/11/2019 at 08:55pm

Thanks for the clarification, I should have just Googled. That certainly changed things on my pcpartpicker.com search, but they're still a bit expensive. Now I'm thinking about high refresh rate vs. resolution. I'm thinking I might look around at recommendations for a monitor that best fits my GPU.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts on my new-to-me debate (high refresh rate vs. resolution).

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/11/2019 at 09:12pm

Ok, now I'm leaning towards a Dell with a higher resolution. I haven't tried a high resolution out yet. I've experienced higher refresh rate and don't really feel the difference. This one seems good, be cause it's a like a middle ground for high refresh rate and resoltion. I still have to look at reviews. So here's what I'm thinking of getting now: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Gaming-S2716DGR-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B0149QBOF0/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

I'm still not sure when I'll get a new monitor. Luckily, I don't *have* to get one as my old Dell that came w/ my Alienware PC is still really good. But, I want to experience newer tech. I am working on a refund for the Acer. That won't give me enough for the Dell or Alienware monitor, so I may have to wait a little bit to save.

I'm still interested in opinions on this.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/12/2019 at 03:51am

That one looks pretty nice, and seems very well optimized for gaming.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/12/2019 at 04:26am

> Is FPS something you can see and notice with your own eyes without a counter? Does FPS really matter to you?

Depends on the game. I think a solid 30 fps is the baseline and anything lower than that is painful. That said the more frames you have the easier time I have with a shooter.

That said, some fps lag on a turn based game like Civilization is less important because it's not a twitchy game.

> Are you unwilling to accept anything less than 60FPS or another number? Let me know in the comments, I’d like to discuss this.

Historically yes because I haven't had the greatest PC hardware but this is changing. Next year I plan on buying a monitor that will be between 100 - 120 hz / fps and plan on upgrading my PC video card to see about getting games over 60 hz / fps and into the 100 territory.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/12/2019 at 04:40am

Now I'm thinking about getting an IPS panel, pretty much for better color. LOL I've been looking at Amazon and there are quite a few different monitors to choose from. The Dell seems to be the highest rated, so I might go with that. I may get it sooner than the Switch and make the Switch wait.

Thanks for the input Jon! I'm definitely interested in seeing what hardware you get and what you think of that higher refresh rate and more FPS. What are your thoughts when it comes to resolution?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/12/2019 at 03:37pm

> What are your thoughts when it comes to resolution?

The more the better but when it comes to playing a game i'd sacrifice more resolution for a higher frame rate.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/13/2019 at 01:07am

I think I've finally decided what I'm going to get soon. It's pretty much the Dell I shared earlier, but 24" instead of 27". I think both my other Dell monitor and this Acer that I'm returning are 24" and I think I'm fine with that. I think a bigger monitor would just take up too much space. Already one of my speakers kind of hides behind the monitor. This seems to have mostly good ratings on Amazon. It's also cheaper and thus more affordable. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Gaming-S2716DGR-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B01IOO4SGK/ref=sr_1_14?fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1568248913&refinements=p_n_feature_fifteen_browse-bin%3A17751808011%2Cp_n_feature_eleven_browse-bin%3A17726573011%7C17726574011%7C17726576011%2Cp_n_feature_twelve_browse-bin%3A17726584011&rnid=17726583011&s=pc&sr=1-14&th=1

If you want, feel free to share with me what monitor(s) you are using, along with specs. and what you think about it/them.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/13/2019 at 01:27am

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Travis, you said you're using 4K, right (or at least higher than 1080p)? It seems like you don't use resolution scaling for your desktop. My question is, how does YouTube look? Most videos I've seen only seem to have 1080p as their highest quality level, although there are videos that are created in higher resolutions. I thinking, maybe that if you full screen a video, it can be stretched to fit your desktop resolution. I'm wondering if that has a noticeable impact on the video, or if the video just displays at 1080p with a black box around it covering the remaining of the resolution.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/13/2019 at 01:57am

> It seems like you don't use resolution scaling for your desktop

Not sure where you got that. I definitely do, it would be insanely hard to read otherwise.

1080p video will fullscreen, the same way 240p video full screened back in the day. It won't look 4k but it'll still look 1080p, it's not like the extra pixels degrade the video quality. You can find some 4k youtube videos, but there aren't a ton.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/13/2019 at 03:03am

> I'm wondering if that has a noticeable impact on the video, or if the video just displays at 1080p with a black box around it covering the remaining of the resolution.

Like Travis said, the video will stretch and it will be a 4K sized video without the pixel density to back it up and depending on if you have an upscaling video player could look better? Like VLC might do that? The PS3 did that very well for DVD's, I remember watching Star Wars on DVD and the upscaler made it look incredible. Then I got it on Blu-Ray and found true religion. 4K DISNEY PLZ!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/13/2019 at 05:58am

>Not sure where you got that. I definitely do, it would be insanely hard to read otherwise.

Well I kind of assumed. You mentioned how a 4K desktop looks and that Google search results will "blow your mind." You mentioned desktop rescaling, but you didn't exactly say whether or not you were using it, so it was a bit of an assumption on my part. So, what resolution have you scaled your desktop to? I imagine you've set it for something that looks good and is comfortable.

>Like Travis said, the video will stretch and it will be a 4K sized video without the pixel density to back it up and depending on if you have an upscaling video player could look better? Like VLC might do that? The PS3 did that very well for DVD's, I remember watching Star Wars on DVD and the upscaler made it look incredible. Then I got it on Blu-Ray and found true religion. 4K DISNEY PLZ!

Thank you both for explaining. It makes sense, really, because I can watch videos that are <1080p and still fill the screen without a black border. Not sure what I was thinking there, I guess, because I haven't experienced greater than that then I didn't really know. I barely remember the upscaling on the PS3. I haven't used my PS3 in a long time.

So, Jon, you're running at 4K, too (like Travis)? Do you both use that resolution for gaming? If not, what do you use? Being that you're both devs., 4K's extra desktop space makes sense. Do you both also have IPS panels? Those are usually recommended for people like content editors for their better color. Travis mentioned 5ms response time and I have recently seen something that pretty much less than 10ms is good. I have no idea what this old Dell of mine has for that spec.

I've gone back and forth between this old Dell and the Acer and I really feel like I can't tell the difference. It seems like the Dell has better color, or maybe it's because that's what I got used to. I've also seen that OCing a monitor for a higher resolution will or can in some cases make the colors worse. I've read where people have said colors looked "washed out" on things. I've never really color calibrated this Dell, but I did tinker with the Acer, although I never got it set good enough. I'm still not sure this Dell's color is completely good enough, but generally, I think it is.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/13/2019 at 05:04pm

Yeah so— the text blowing your mind that I mentioned is a function of the desktop scaling. You can have something that looks 1440p or 1080p, but the text has so much pixel density that it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s surreal really. Mine is set at 1440-alike, which I found comfortable. My old monitors were 21 inch 1080p, and upgrading to 27inchers gave me more room to play with. The text looks about the same size as it did on my old setup, but I can fit more stuff on them because of the extra virtual resolution.

TBH, I have no idea what exactly IPS does, I haven’t looked into it much, but yeah these are IPS.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/13/2019 at 05:29pm

Cool, thanks for the info! I'm more excited now to get a new monitor. :)

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/28/2019 at 11:11pm

Now gaming at 1440p @ 165hz! :) Time to test some more games!

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/29/2019 at 01:46am

Let me know how many hz you get from Wyvern.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/29/2019 at 01:47am

Might have to turn on GPU rendering in your browser for the best results.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/29/2019 at 02:00am

> Might have to turn on GPU rendering in your browser for the best results.

Phssshhh! I compile mine with -funroll-loops!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/08/2019 at 03:58am

Do you guys notice the higher resolution in your games? I'm not sure if I did. Spending all weekend troubleshooting the issue w/ the new monitor and not playing any video games has me thinking I should just stick to my good ol' 1920x1200@60hz IPS. That would save me the trouble I've been through w/ two new(er) monitors and money, especially since I feel like I'm not really noticing a difference. Maybe I am, but the difference isn't greatly significant to make me "wow!" Maybe the replacement that arrives tomorrow won't have the same issue and I'll be able to grasp the difference more easily.

Minecraft looked like it was on a lower resolution when I tested it again with my good ol' monitor, although that might have had to do with the GUI scale (in-game). The upside to all of this, also, is that I realized my good ol' monitor not only has ports for VGA and DVI (which i was using), but also DisplayPort. I was surprised when I realized this and now have it (temporarily) connected via DP. Although, I'm not sure if I'm noticing the difference between DVI and DP, but I am generally aware that DP is better and supports higher resolutions and is required for GSync.

Feel free to share w/ me your "new" monitor/panel specs and experiences here. :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/08/2019 at 04:59am

> Do you guys notice the higher resolution in your games?

I totally notice games at 30fps or below VS 60 for sure. I'm not sure i've played a game over 60 fps before as my monitor is capped to 60 fps.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/08/2019 at 06:26am

What resolution are you using?

Travis Admin wrote on 10/08/2019 at 08:48pm

Yeah I notice 1440p over 1080p for sure. It’s less of an issue than with a movie or something but it’s definitely nice.

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/08/2019 at 11:33pm

My main monitor resolution is 2560x1600 and I can totally tell when it's less or 1080p. I like having more room as I'm a developer by trade and it's nice to have room for the terminal, code editor, browser, music player, etc.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/09/2019 at 01:28am

Cool, thanks for the info! I don't think I noticed the resolution in games, although the old monitor is displaying MHW in full screen, but it has top and bottom black borders. I don't know if this was the way it was while playing at a higher resolution. That may be, because I don't recall really noticing it or paying attention to it at all before. I did notice resolution difference in Windows and in Steam, but Windows automatically rescaled and wasn't really different. But as it goes for image quality, I don't think I noticed a difference.

As it turns out, the replacement Dell sent me was manufactured this year as opposed to the one it was replacing which was manufactured last year. Unfortunately, the image quality was exactly the same and I've decided to get a refund and stick w/ my good ol' Dell. I don't know which part or technology was at fault for the picture that didn't look as good on the new as the old. Maybe the difference between a TN and IPS are just that different and I can't stand it. I may try out some other TN panels in the future, but for now, I'm sticking w/ my good ol' Dell IPS, even if it maxes out at 1920x1200@60hz. Maybe I'll just wait until I can afford a good IPS panel.

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Star Trek: Picard

It’s kind of old news revealed recently, this summer, but I want to at least give it a mention here. There’s a new Star Trek show coming out called Star Trek: Picard, based on perhaps my most favorite captain in all of Star Trek. He’s also one of my most favorite characters. The Next Generation was probably my most favorite of the series as that’s what got me into Star Trek. I later watched all of Star Trek, including the original’s animated series, and I love it all.

The trailer shows that Picard has retired and is making wine. He seems to live alone with his dog named, “Number One.” We see a young woman coming to him for help. We also see him open a case that... Read All It’s kind of old news revealed recently, this summer, but I want to at least give it a mention here. There’s a new Star Trek show coming out called Star Trek: Picard, based on perhaps my most favorite captain in all of Star Trek. He’s also one of my most favorite characters. The Next Generation was probably my most favorite of the series as that’s what got me into Star Trek. I later watched all of Star Trek, including the original’s animated series, and I love it all.

The trailer shows that Picard has retired and is making wine. He seems to live alone with his dog named, “Number One.” We see a young woman coming to him for help. We also see him open a case that contains parts of TNG’s android named Data. Data is one of my most favorite characters in the series. He sacrificed himself in the last movie and it’s unsure exactly how he’ll return in this show. However, we do see him talking to Picard later in the trailer.

It’s not exactly what’s known about this mysterious woman, Dagh, who’s come to him for help. Picard does apparently go to Star Fleet to request assistance. Dagh is apparently a dangerous woman, who seems to be in danger and we can see her fighting. In the trailer we also see new Romulan and Borg ships. We’ve been told that Seven of Nine will return from Voyager along with the Borg named Hugh from TNG. From what I can tell from the trailer, it seems that the Romulans are doing something with the Borg, I believe they are holding them captive in a prison, which you can see in the trailer. The Borg ship in the trailer looks damaged. But, what exactly is going on in this show is still pretty much a mystery.

It seems clear that Picard will join a new crew in order to help Dagh. One member of the new crew is a Romulan. Romulans don't usually get along with Star Fleet, which makes this character interesting. At first, I thought this character was a Vulcan, but that's not what others have said in other videos I've watched. There are a few other characters, of the new crew, that we get briefly introduced to.

It is not publicly known when the show will come out, but it seems to be “early 2020.” The show will come to CBS All Access. This, to me, is the only negative part as I’m not at all familiar with this service. It seems like Internet streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney + are rapidly growing and it’s hard to keep up with all of them. The one thing I do like about these services is that they usually don’t have commercials, although sometimes you have to pay extra for this. These services are also extremely accessible as they allow you to watch TV shows or movies on just about anything; PC, game console, tablet, phone, etc.

I write this today, because I just watched a video giving some details about the show. I’d recommend watching it, if you’re interested in the show. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/gWYiRwBpdeI

So, what do you think about this? Are you interested? Will you be watching this? Let me know.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2019 at 04:17am

I am a really big fan of Star Trek The Next Generation. I watched all the episodes back when they were brand new on TV and then re-watched them all on Netflix a couple years ago. The show holds up pretty well even though the first couple seasons can get pretty "monster of the week" in that they are a bit grindy. The later seasons are a highlight and the Borg wars and Locutus stuff was a highlight. That said, my favorite episodes were always with Q and I hope he is incorporated in some way. With that, I know the show is going to be a handful of episodes (the new standard show format seems to be 8 episodes) so they don't have a ton of time, but kicking things off with Q would make Picard pretty incredible.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2019 at 04:18am

I hope they drop all the episodes at once, though they might do one episode a week to help people keep subscribing as long as possible. I suppose I don't mind that but might wait until they are all out then binge them all to only sub a month.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/04/2019 at 06:46am

I liked Q, too. I loved Female Q2, who we saw in Voyager. The same woman also played the mother of Worf's son, I felt strongly attracted to her. LOL She also had other roles in the series. (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Suzie_Plakson) I doubt Q will make an appearance in this show, but who knows. I believe Riker and Troi are returning as well, I think that was confirmed in a video I saw.

I think "dropping" all the episodes at once would be awesome, because then you could easily watch them all in one binge sitting, although I don't know if networks actually do this. I do enjoy not having to wait for episodes to be released, though. I enjoyed binge watching a season of Game of Thrones, although I missed the last season and am thinking about buying the full series when it releases (in December I believe).

As wonderful as these shows are (Game of Thrones) and seem to be (Picard), I'm still not really too interested in paying a subscription to a streaming network to watch them. I liked Amazon Prime mostly because I could easily rent and stream movies. I was a Prime member with my own account, but then an annual fee came up and I decided it was too expensive. Now though I'm actually tied to my mom's Prime account, so I could actually continue to watch it. I'm actually tempted to do this so I can catch up on the MCU movies I've missed. Netflix had some good stuff on it, too. I enjoyed a lot of Sci-non-fiction, but also Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but when they increased their price, I left. I watched some stuff on Hulu (like Quantum Leap which I watched when it was out on TV and Rick & Morty which was good). I did watch most of Family Guy and American Dad, but I really wasn't entertained by them as much as I thought I'd be, so I left that service, too. So, I don't really feel too compelled to join CBS All Access for this show nor Disney+ for the Star Wars stuff. I'm kind of overwhelmed with these services right now. Although, I do very much prefer them over cable/satellite TV, because I can watch exactly what I want, instead of having to pick from whatever the network decides to air at the time. I also love that they usually don't contain commercials, or their commercials are short.

What do you think about all of these services? Are you going to subscribe to CBS All Access for this and Disney+ for Star Wars?

Thanks for joining the discussion! :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/04/2019 at 05:07pm

> What do you think about all of these services? Are you going to subscribe to CBS All Access for this and Disney+ for Star Wars?

Disney+ for sure. Right now we just sub to Netflix and one more doesn't seem too bad. I'm not sure how many more we'll get, I just don't watch that much TV so at some point it's a really limited return on the money.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/04/2019 at 05:09pm

They’ll definitely do them week by week, same as with Star Trek Discovery. Looks like 10 episode seasons, same as Discovery. Much like Discovery, I will watch these every week, and much like with Discovery, I will not be paying for All Access. ;)

Disney+ is another thing altogether. CBS has a couple series I care about, Disney+ seems like it’ll have half the shows I watch.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/04/2019 at 06:58pm

Star Trek: Discovery is something I've missed out on, unfortunately.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/04/2019 at 10:52pm

It's pretty great, honestly. Definitely not my most favorite Trek series, definitely not my least favorite. And I've loved every one of them.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/07/2019 at 10:14pm

New trailer! https://youtu.be/FySrgrKJguE

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 01/24/2020 at 02:21am

Spoiler-free review of premiere episode looks good! https://youtu.be/bB2-WUybikE

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2020 at 11:15pm

I saw Picard last night and the first episode was good. It was fun to see how this timeline differs from the JJ Trek timeline. I think there were aspects that were odd but they did more right than wrong and I look forward to the show.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 01/24/2020 at 11:48pm

Awesome!

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I'm Building a New PC, Named Azul

I've already answered the "why" of this, so if you want to know, check out the comment section of my post here: https://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/4095/alienware-aurora-r4-5-years-later#comment19696

For the first time in over 5 years, maybe even a decade, I'm building myself a new PC. Probably for the first time ever, I'm building an Intel CPU based PC (I used to build AMD ones). I bought my last PC, which was definitely an expensive beast, but I had the money for it. At the time, I also really wanted some top of the line hardware. That was a good Alienware computer for the last 4-5 years, but the time has come to move on.

Last month, I found a new-to-me YouTube... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/24/2019 at 02:11pm

I haven’t built a PC in quite sometime but plan on it during my next upgrade cycle. Might be a while as I just got a PC from Will that is quite apt to handle quite a lot of games.

That said, how long until all your stuff arrives?

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/24/2019 at 03:38pm

Everything has arrived, except the case. According to Amazon, it's supposed to be here between 7/26-7/31. I've already set up my new monitor as a external display on my mom's laptop. I already took parts out of the Aurora that I'm using in the new build and set them aside. The case comes with two fans, but can hold more and the motherboard has four fan headers, so I ordered two more fans.

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/24/2019 at 04:00pm

Cool. I’d love to see a picture when it’s all built.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/24/2019 at 04:43pm

LOL You could check out my pcpartpicker.com link, open up the link for the case, and imagine everything in there. I remember you and Travis wanted a picture of the Alienware, but I never did it. I'm not sure if I'll do it for this one. Laziness aside (although probably mostly why), my cable management skills are terrible, so it might be embarrassing to show it off. When it comes to cable management I really just don't give a duck. Plus, I imagine the flash of the camera would reflect on the case. I'll see when it comes, who knows, maybe I'll do it.

I actually think I found the name I'm going to give this build, "Azul." :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/25/2019 at 04:22pm

There is no Greg, only Azul!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg7MAacSPNM

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/25/2019 at 06:43pm

LOL

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/27/2019 at 11:50pm

I updated the build on pcpartpicker.com. It's kind of a long and complicated story, so I'll just say I'm keeping the original monitor I ordered and (hopefully) returning the latter. There's a bit of a price difference between the two. The original has G-Sync, while the latter has FreeSync, but is G-Sync "compatible." The original can also be overclocked to 180hz, which will probably not be necessary (but I might try it anyway). I know I did not pay full price for the original, it's a "recertified" (or "refurbished") monitor. It looks and feels brand new to me, so I'm ok w/ that. I can't wait to get this PC built, it's been a week now since I've been w/out a decent working PC. ;(

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/29/2019 at 01:05am

The case arrived today, which meant I had everything and was ready to put my new PC together. So, of course, I did! At first, I had a power issue, but I think that's because I didn't actually turned the power on (the PSU and case have power buttons). Then I had "no signal" trouble when first booting. I took out the GPU, tried another, same thing. Then I realized that I should probably try the on-board video, which worked. I think my GPU wasn't fully seated and plugged in. Once I got it working for sure, I screwed it in so that it wouldn't move when I tried to plug in a cable. Now I'm using a Display Port for the first time ever! I'm sorry, but I don't want to take a picture of it and share it, because (as I said) the cable management is awful! I added a molex cable so that I could get an extra fan in the case, but I didn't have enough adapters and headers to add one more fan that I got.

Anyway, that's my update! Time to go test some games!!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/29/2019 at 04:38am

Will it play White Wyvern ? :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/29/2019 at 04:41am

> Will it play White Wyvern ? :)

From the specs Greg shared.... barely.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/29/2019 at 05:17am

Yeah, the RTX 2080 Super costs about as much as this build cost. It's too bad the devs couldn't have considered that the majority of players probably can't afford such expensive GPUS. I don't have at i7-9990k either. So, yeah. LOL

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/29/2019 at 08:37am

Wow I'm impressed! I can't explain it, but Ark just looks better! It looks more 3D, I think, it's really hard to explain. It's on "Epic" settings, which I believe it was before, but it didn't look this good. Plus, I am seeing more FPS. Before it wouldn't go above 40-ish(fps), but I saw it hit like 92fps while I was in a cave. It's also running almost 10c cooler (no higher than 75c, before it stayed at 81c)! I didn't think this case would be that effective at cooling, but apparently it does have good airflow. I have the two pre-installed fans in the front and one I got installed in the top. The CPU cooler has a radiator sandwiched between two fans blowing through it and out the case. The PSU is also installed upside down (on purpose for this reason), so that when it uses it's fans, it sucks air from the case, through the PSU, and out the case. I thought I was going to need more fans and fan headers. I thought I'd order a fan controller, but now I don't think that's necessary. The overclock on the monitor did give me nearly 180fps in Civ6, although the color in the game looks off, so I'm trying to work on that.

My games didn't seem to load faster, they loaded about the same as before. I feel like I noticed a different in how applications worked and were "poof" right there immediately when I opened them. But, this might because I may have gotten used to the crappy laptop I was using to watch YouTube while waiting on my parts to arrive. That laptop is terrible!

Anyway, that's probably about all I have to say about this build. Thanks for joining in the conversation!

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/29/2019 at 11:11pm

> Wow I'm impressed! I can't explain it, but Ark just looks better!

Sounds like you got an impressive FPS gain from your upgrade, which has a huge effect on how the game feels. I went from a fairly blah/laggy Rage 2 on my laptop to a really smooth experience on the Desktop I got recently and that game feels so much better.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/30/2019 at 01:07am

> Sounds like you got an impressive FPS gain from your upgrade, which has a huge effect on how the game feels. I went from a fairly blah/laggy Rage 2 on my laptop to a really smooth experience on the Desktop I got recently and that game feels so much better.

It's kind of difficult to gauge how much of an FPS gain I got. This is because FPS varies greatly. In some places just even looking in a different direction will give you a variable amount of FPS. However, I can see a difference between the highest I got before (even though VSync was on) and the highest I'm getting now (with GSync on). There is definitely a difference. Whether or not I can actually visually tell the difference between 30fps and 90fps is kind of something I haven't figured out yet. As long as the FPS doesn't drop extremely low, I don't seem to notice a difference. I think the <1ms response time on the monitor might have something to do with it, but honestly, I think just about everything is contributing to it (new faster RAM, new CPU, and new motherboard). In a way it kind of seems like the game might be loading a little faster, I'm not sure, but I kind of think so.

Are you talking about the MSI gaming laptop you got? Are you also talking about the desktop you got from Will? (Correct me if I'm wrong on those.) It is actually quite fascinating how different hardware can make a significant difference in gaming. But, I actually believe (especially after watching some videos by JayZTwoCents and his testing) that you don't really have to have a beast to get a good gaming experience, but it does help if your computer isn't a POS. I tried Minecraft, too, and the FPS was incredibly high in some areas, I don't know how it got so high. I had Geforce Experience optimize my settings (in all games). I have installed Optifine for Minecraft, but haven't played it since I installed it, so I might give that a try soon.

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Honest Game Trailers

If you haven't heard of Honest Game Trailers before, you're in for a treat! I found this online recently and watched most of them. They seriously made me LOL! So, they are funny, but in a way they also kind of make our favorite games look dumb, kind of like how Pokemon games repeat the same formula, but we keep buying them. Still, these are pretty funny, so I thought I'd share them with you. I'm including a playlist link, but you'll find Honest Trailers for many of the games we love like Minecraft, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, Animal Crossing, Mega Man, Star Fox, Metroid, Castlevania, Pokemon, and many more! Check out the playlist and prepare to laugh: ... Read All

Alienware Aurora R4 5 Years Later

It is time to give a status update on the Alienware Aurora R4 that I got a little over 5 years ago. The reason for this is because of it's current condition and some things I think fellow Alienware Aurora R4 owners may need to know. Although if you own an Alienware/Dell or heck any PC, some of this may be relevant to you.

I remember how learning about PC technology was a big thing in my teens. I grew up as a kid with a Commodore 128d, but we got our first Acer PC in 1995. Wow, what a change! I had gotten a little advanced with the Commodore. I knew how to program it, basically (pun not intended....BASICally), and I began to learn about it's hardware (300 baud modem... Read All

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/06/2019 at 01:52am

*Update*
The new CPU liquid cooler arrived today. I managed to get it installed, although it was quite frustrating. Trying to put the (long) screws through the back of and into the case and into and through a fan and into the radiator was difficult. I did watch a YouTube video of someone doing just this thing with my PC. I think at first he had the system (cooler) in the wrong orientation. It took me a while to realize why I wasn't having any luck with it, so I had to flip it upside down (or right side up). Then I got it all screwed in and plugged up. My CPU with the old cooler just days ago was running at a blazing 91c! I downloaded an Intel program that can tell you whether or not your CPU is thermal throttling and sure enough at that temp, my CPU was doing it. No wonder it shut itself off! It's still in the 90's but that's no longer the celsius measurement, that's the fahrenheit temp (which is what the cooling system's software from Corsair is telling me). However, HWMonitor is telling me that the CPU is running at a very cool 36ish (in celcius) at max. Wow this tech is seriously awesome! I must admit at first I was sceptical about liquid cooling, it's well known that water and electronics don't mix. However, there (obviously) are some good systems out there that remove all worries (just don't try to take it apart yourself and fix it or you might spring a leak). From what I've been through with this PC, I believe that liquid cooling is very necessary, especially if you're planning to run a beast and do some really good gaming.

On that note, I'd like to add that I upgraded a couple of other pieces of hardware in recent years. I got a Razor Chroma keyboard, which has lit keys. Now I believe this kind of hardware is essential, especially if you're gaming in the dark (WASD are not the "home keys" unfortunately). I also got a Corsair Harpoon RGB mouse. I needed a new mouse, went to Wal-Mart and found "gaming" mice, so I picked one up. It's pretty good and the Corsair software (iCUE) controls my mouse and my new liquid cooling system. I've been a fan of Corsair for a long time, I've bought at least two of their PSUs.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/06/2019 at 02:11pm

I just picked up an alienware m15 laptop a few months ago. It has a i7, rtx 2070 max q and 16 GB of ram. I wanted a powerful slim laptop that I could use at my desk and then carry into my game room, which has my vive set up. When this machine works, I enjoy it, but sadly I have had to go through a whole new computer and two motherboards in the few short months that I have had it.

The first one I got, did not work 100% out of the box. I would set the laptop down and the video would freeze. The charging would also cut out after a few minutes. Alienware replaced it for me with a brand new laptop, but it took them 3 weeks. After this ordeal, I decided that getting the extended warranty was a good idea (maybe this was their plan all along? :) )

After a couple of months with the new laptop, my rtx 2070 max q gave up the ghost. I called Alienware/Dell and they gave me an option to send it in for fixing or they could send someone to my house to replace the motherboard. Given that it is my primary pc, I went with option two. The tech came out within 2 days and replaced my motherboard, but something was wrong. The new rtx 2070 max q would not increase its core clock speed beyond the base 300 MHz. What this meant is that high end gaming would not work.

After some diagnosing with Dell/Alienware (they pretty much asked me to do all the debugging I had already did) they ordered up another motherboard for me. This motherboard seems to be working well for now.

When this machine is working, it does an awesome job, but it does run hot and the CPU can peak and it can throttle itself. That being said, I haven't noticed any performance degradation. Given that I have an extended warranty on it for several years, I don't think I will repaste it. If things fail, I will just get it fixed.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/06/2019 at 02:38pm

Wow that looks like a sweet laptop! That sucks that you've had issues with it though. I wonder how a beastly laptop like that stays cool. I used the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24075/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-) to see that my CPU was throttling.

It's good that you got an extended warranty, although bad that you had to get some replacements and such. I initially didn't have a problem w/ my PC, except the mouse's optical piece was damaged shortly after getting it, but I quickly replaced it.

Anyway, I'm glad we have another Cheerful Ghost Alienware user. :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/06/2019 at 02:55pm

I too see computers lasting longer these days. I can't decide if it is because I am old and don't care 100% about cutting edge anymore, or if there aren't as many leaps in video cards and processors (at least from a gaming standpoint) anymore. I think it is probably a little bit of the former and more so of the latter.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/06/2019 at 03:45pm

I agree with you and I think you're right on both accounts and so am I. LOL I haven't really cared much about "cutting edge" tech for a while. But, I've decided it's time to try some out. The CPU Liquid Cooling System in this PC was new tech to me when I got it 5 years ago. The GPUs I've order are a bit "cutting edge," too. Now, I'm making the jump to SSD, which is long overdue, I'm sure! Now I might even get into higher def gaming. I might not go 4k, but I might take the step above me w/ 144. I don't know much about ray tracing, just that it's new. I'm not too worried about it, but you're good because it's on your GPU. I'm not quite up to date on CPUs, either. However, I did read that my i7-4820k is still actually a really good processor. I'm sure your's is better and you have faster RAM, but I think what I have has been very good and I don't have too much reason to change (yet I'm doing some upgrading). I like computer tech, but I haven't been staying "in the loop," so I've missed out on a lot. Luckily, I found a great YouTube channel that's helped me get up to speed on things (https://www.youtube.com/user/Jayztwocents).

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/07/2019 at 09:38pm

Update! All parts have arrived by now and are installed. I'm now running a fresh install of Win10 on the SSD and the difference is astounding! Before I had to wait maybe 5 minutes before Windows was ready for me to do stuff, now it's pretty much like *BOOM* right there! Whoa!

I tested the GPU, it got just over 120fps in Heaven benchmark (which is double what my monitor can display). It did reach 80c, so I emailed EVGA to see if this is normal or if they have suggestions for a water cooler or if I should reapply thermal paste with my new tube of Artic MX-4. I might let you know what they say, but I bet this is normal. It idles about 40c, but the CPU w/ the new water pump idles, well it looks like less than 25c. I did a stress test on it and I think it reached 40c. That's freaking sweet! I found out I can overclock it, but I'll see how things go and if I need that extra horsepower.

I have returned the motherboard as I didn't need it. I installed the new RAM in the first pair of slots. There were only 2 and for some reason I was expecting 4 (I got 2x8 not 4x4). So I decided to let the old RAM stay in DIMM 3 & 4 slots, but it wouldn't POST with both sticks in, so I had to settle w/ just leaving one of them in. So now I'm running at 20GB RAM. Wow!

I ran CineBench and well, the results didn't look so good, but that's a hard stress, demanding test. The only way I can check my CPU is to keep an eye on it and see how it goes. I've installed lots of monitoring software, but HWMonitor feels like the best while Prime95 is quite confusing.

I think that's it. I may update this post more in the comments section (since I used the max amount of characters in the post). I might get a new higher refresh rate monitor, otherwise I think I'm good for now. Oh and I did get that 10 year warranty for the GPU, not cheap, but I think it's worth it considering my GPU history in the last decade.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/08/2019 at 11:26pm

I have successfully revived my PC. The difference is astounding! It really feels like a brand new PC. I think the major key involved is the SSD. If you don't have one, you seriously need to get one, it makes a world of difference! I also firmly believe a liquid cooler kit (as the one I got, read the post) is essential, especially for a CPU and if you do heavy gaming.

Francis_Finch wrote on 06/18/2019 at 04:48pm

Hi GregoPeck ,
I have an Aurora R4 ALX. Important to note that this system shipped in 2010. I got it 2nd hand from Goodwill. Before starting the system I opened the stock CPU liquid cooler and made sure there was no gunk. Later, I considered the Corsair one but instead opted for Dell Part# 01YGW (38mm wide rad + 38mm fan) since I just didn't want to modify connectors or run the Corsair utility. I also switched to a Xeon E5-2665 processor- 8 core/ 16 threads... but then went to a Xeon E5-2689. I also had the Samsung EVO SATA drive with the IcyDock but then went to the Samsung 970 EVO which is an NVME drive. To boot from this, I use a modded BIOS by edmoncu. For graphics, I use an Nvidia GTX 1050ti and this is just a 75W card but performs nicely. I have to say, this system has given me so much for my money. I used it in college for MultiMedia Authoring, Photoshop, VMware with virtual machines for networking labs... never had a single hiccup while other students had to go to the campus to finish coursework because their home PCs gave them a fit. I will try to run Passmark and get a score to post soon for this antique PC.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/18/2019 at 06:27pm

That's awesome! I don't know much about the Xeon processors. I'm assuming as long as the CPU is an Ivy Bridge with the same socket it might be compatible. I'm not sure exactly what CPUs are compatible with this motherboard. I don't know much about NVME, but I just Googled it and it looks cool. I don't think my SSD is NVME, but Windows boots up incredibly fast now. As for the CPU cooler, I love this Corsair one. It was a pain to install it, though. I had to put four screws through the case, through the fan, and into the radiator and didn't have very much screw to do so. At first it wouldn't work at all, then I realized I had to change how I had it positioned. I finally got it to work. My PC is incredibly quiet now! I don't mind running the Corsair iCUE software as I was already running it because of my Corsair Harpoon mouse that I got months ago. I put the iCUE cooler on "Extreme" fan control and I either can't hear it or barely so. The one that came with the PC was much louder.

Thanks for replying to this post!

Francis_Finch wrote on 06/22/2019 at 05:51pm

Here's my Passmark score for this old PC. I took a hit on graphics since I don't have a 4K monitor :( but I'm still happy. https://i.imgur.com/7FlnzVN.jpg

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/22/2019 at 06:32pm

Cool. I haven't done a benchmark like that in a long time. I don't have a 4K monitor either, although I'm thinking about getting an upgrade to 1440p.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/22/2019 at 11:08pm

I’m thinking I want to get a new video card for my PC. Rage 2 has been great on what I have but I’m entering new areas that make it chug a bit. Thinking I can get a solid deal on a 1080 or something even more powerful for pretty cheap.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/23/2019 at 12:19am

Sweet! You probably can find a good deal on something like that. Like I said in another post, $300 for the 1660Ti, was a great deal considering the past few GPUs I've had. What do you have now? I've been going w/ 6GB of VRAM for a while and I feel like that's enough, for now.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/23/2019 at 01:55am

After thinking more about it and talking to Travis I think I’ll hold off. The next games I’m playing will be on Switch but when I play another graphically intense game I think I’ll upgrade. One nice thing about waiting is prices go down so you don’t lose doing that. 😂

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/23/2019 at 02:34am

After your comment, I actually watched a new video explaining why now is not a good time to buy new hardware, because new stuff is coming soon and what's new now will get go on sale. https://youtu.be/kip0axDBjQ0 However, I think you'd be fine, because you're not really looking for currently brand new. But, still, if you wait then yeah prices are definitely going to get reduced. I was thinking about upgrading to a better monitor, but I pretty much blew what I had saved over recent months on all the other parts to get my PC back up and running. I might wait until next month or longer to get a new monitor, or maybe not at all, I don't know yet. I haven't done a whole lot of research or "window shopping," yet. I think I want a 1440p GSync monitor, that's about it, I'll need to do more research.

I agree with what you've decided. If you're going to be playing your Switch instead of your PC then yeah, do that and wait for GPUs get get cheaper. Playing on your Switch gives you something nice to do while you're waiting. As JayZTwoCents mentioned, waiting for the "back to school" or end of year (holidays) sales would be wise.

Back to the Switch, hit me up and tell me if you're going to get Civ 6, or write about it so I can read and comment!

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/23/2019 at 02:37am

👍

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/22/2019 at 07:00pm

Sadly, I've grown to actually hate this PC, mostly because I took the case a part and didn't put it back together very well. This caused an issue with the power button, which I had fixed, but then I accidentally ripped two small cables in the front and now the power button no longer functions. There's also an amber light inside that I don't think I've seen before. I don't really want to repair it, because I don't want to go through the frustration of trying to put the case back together yet again. So, I've decided to build a new PC. I'll be posting about the new build soon, in case you're interested.

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/22/2019 at 07:37pm

👻❤️👍

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EVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti 6GB Classified Gaming ACX 2.0+ Post Mortem

https://www.evga.com/products/images/gallery/06G-P4-4993-KR_XL_8.jpg

Today it grieves me dearly that I must report that my newest, most favorite GPU, has died. I am now realizing I've only had it for about 3 years, but it feels like I've had it much longer. Before I get into things about it, I'd like to get back to a bit of an introduction to my beastly Alienware Aurora R4.

When I was inexperienced (and pretty much in my teens), I bought computers. I grew more experienced and I remember occasionally finding more RAM that I could fit into my PC, I think I remember a time when I had 12mb (yes mb!). Some time after that, I began to build my own. I pretty much went with AMD CPUs as they were cheaper and seemingly superior. In fact, I wrote... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/07/2019 at 09:53pm

The GTX 1660 Ti is a great card and I think that will work out well for you. Currently in my PC I have a 780 ti and it works pretty well. I think at some point I will upgrade to something like the card you bought but i'm waiting for the new tech to get a bit more ubiquitous and a smidge cheaper.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/07/2019 at 10:13pm

It seems to be a great card for it's price! I went from $1,000 > $600 > $300 GPU upgrades!

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/07/2019 at 10:32pm

Yeah, going a bit between upgrades means you can get a way better card for less.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/09/2019 at 07:02am

Just for reference. I've been sitting here playing Civ6 on some high settings, though I think I did so w/ the 980Ti, although it might have had a different shadows resolution, I'm not sure. However, the 1660Ti has hit 1935mhz. The 980 hit 1190mhz. The 1660 is running 60-68c while the 980 idled at that temp or even higher when I last had it running. While playing Civ6 last w/ the 980 I watched as it climbed into the upper 80's (c). I did some looking around and it seems difficult to find an advanced cooler for this card, yet it's obviously running well. I tried to add some more fans to my case, but I failed, there's just not enough room. Any way, I thought I'd share this point of reference. I don't remember the 980's temps when I got it, so I can't say. I'm still impressed by the "value" of the 1660.

Oh and I am using the frame limiter setting and vsync, I also have vsync enabled on the Nvidia Control Panel. I turned these settings off on Civ6 for a test and saw major screen tearing. Eventually I may have to get a 144hz monitor to get this GPUs full potential. It can do up to 144fps, maybe more, I'm don't remember atm.

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Is There Any Deal?

I just wanted to give you a quick heads up about this great site I found recently, IsThereAnyDeal.com. It can import your wish lists from Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle and alert you when games go on sale. There are a lot of sites that sell games, but it's difficult to know what's legit and what's not. There are sites out there that sell stolen keys, which places like Steam may find and deactivate. So, it's important to know where you're getting your game keys from. All the sites connected to IsThereAnyDeal are totally legit. I did some researching after finding a few different sites. There's a reddit group for games that explains all of this and which sites are legit.... Read All