Discussion Forums

I seem to recall you telling me that before, which I forgot until now. My experience with Geforce Experience has been the opposite, at least with this PC, as I said. Luckily, I found out that I can run GTAV with the optimized settings GE set for the game, but turning off High Resolution Shadows seems to have greatly improved the game's performance. On my older PC, I was mostly using an older card, a GTX 8800 I think, and didn't meet the minimum hardware requirements for GE.

One of my friends mentioned how crappy one of the Assassin's Creed games is on the PC. He said it was a bad port. I don't recall which it was, though. I've never played any of those games.

What about overclocking and other utilities? Have you tried any of those?

Awesome, scrypt, thanks for the feedback. I pretty much agree with you about gaming quality, even if my PC specs seem to speak differently. It took me a very long time to upgrade to video that wasn't coax or the standard A/V cables (white, yellow, red). I remember when a friend showed me the difference from that and S-video, which was amazing. It also took me a long time to upgrade to HD, which is even better. Yet again, I'm slightly lagging behind as my plasma TV is over 5 years old and I have yet to experience 4k resolution.

Anyway, what I mean is that I agree that I want a smooth gaming experience. I don't have to have top-of-the-line hardware. Although, when I decided it was time to upgrade or get a new PC and after doing some research, I decided to go all out with this Alienware PC. I've had it for over a year now and it hasn't disappointed me until GTAV came out and I tried to run it with the GeForce Experience optimized settings. It was ok for a while, but then it got less smooth, so I had to make a couple software adjustments. Now, it's pretty good.

The thing that kind of sucks about this now is that I'm finding out about newer and better hardware, like the GTX Titan X, and wishing I had it. I probably won't upgrade for a while though. I feel extremely confident about my CPU (an i7). I'm kind of tempted to upgrade my monitor, though. It's a 24-inch kind of standard Dell monitor that I got along with my Alienware PC. It's refresh rate is only 59 or 60hz, but apparently the human eye doesn't really see a difference above that.

I had been building my own PCs instead of buying them for the last 15 years. I built a few of them. This Alienware one was the first one I actually bought. The main reason I bought this one was because I REALLY wanted and i7 and a GTX 690 after finding out how awesome those pieces of hardware were. The thing is that they're not cheap. By adding up the cost of the hardware I wanted from NewEgg, I realized I'd save some money by buying this Alienware instead, even though I spent a lot of money on it. I was building AMD CPU based PCs, but from what I read, the i7 seemed like an awesome CPU.

I've been seeing a lot of specs that use or require an i5.

I really don't have any experience with Macs. I know that they are usually pretty good, especially with creating media.

Yeah, Apple seems to have a reputation for expensive, but quality products. I think I may have had to use a Mac in college, but it wasn't anything major. Otherwise, my experience is from the Apple IIc, seriously old school.

I thought you got an awesome monitor a while ago.

That's cool that you're running an i7, too.

How many displays do you have connected to your gaming computers? What are their specs? Do you have your computers hooked up to a TV?

Travis, it seems the entire Assassin's Creed series is on sale on Steam for MidWeek Madness. What do you think about the PC version of the game? How many have you played? Do you recommend it? I haven't played it at all, but I do see some of them for $5 or less, so it wouldn't be too expensive to try now.

There are so many of them, what do you recommend? Do you recommend getting one of the earlier and cheaper games to try it out or one of the newer ones, perhaps even a bundle?

Daredevil is amazing, and I'm hoping it does well enough for Marvel to continue exploring the darker stories of some of their characters. Definitely has a Marvel Knights feel to it. I almost wish they would label it as such. I could see fans maybe expecting some of that good-natured action and adventure from the Marvel movies or other TV shows, and being more than a little shocked by the graphic content in Daredevil. I'm assuming they plan to continue this type of theme with AKA Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

"they're going to see Coulson with Hydra."

Even more devastating, Coulson with Ward, which, for everyone else not on Team Coulson, is probably the same thing. I'm really interested to see how this develops, mostly Ward as a character. He's been evolving more into a constant than a wildcard, and that may be something that Coulson grows to rely on as a valid option, rather than a cornered necessity. Meaning, with the way Coulson's team (we need names to designate the different SHIELDs, like Team Coulson or CHIELD or whatever) has been evolving over the past year, I wouldn't be surprised if Ward found his way back on, maybe even with open arms. Especially with whatever is going on with May. May is the new wildcard. Eh, what am I saying, everyone is a wildcard now. The only character that I feel knows exactly who they are and why they do what they do, is Cal Johnson. Maybe Fitz. This isn't entirely a bad thing. I like when characters aren't polar light or dark. When everyone is grey, though, what are you left with? Real life? Well played, Whedon!

One thing I really like the most of The Frenemy of My Enemy, was the way Skye/Daisy (Skaisy?) started to show a little empathy for her dad, and even acted on it. That was a nice growing moment for her character, one that might set her on the path to becoming the future Director of SHIELD! O.o

I have to watch that Skye gunfight again, because that is, as you say, one of the best cinematic action sequences I've seen in a long time. I'm pretty sure my mouth was agape from awe the entire time. I can't remember the last time I actually thought "Okay, how are they doing this." It has to be Steadicam, but so clean!

Now that Simmons has blood on her hands, I can't wait to see what happens to her. I'm just glad she's still alive after what I was sure was going to be her complete undoing. The reprecussions should be interesting.

It was really cool to see the "band back together", even if it wasn't in ideal conditions. Something in me really want to see Ward have a big redemptive moment. It's probably not in the cards, but I'd love to see that happen.

The lead up to Age of Ultron really has me hoping the Agents make a show in the movie. I suppose we'll find out tomorrow! I might not be able to watch the movie until Saturday or Sunday. The suspense is crushing me.

Thoughts on Theta Protocol?

I doubt Hunter would follow Bobbi anywhere at this point, but we'll see. I like the idea of Agent 33 becoming a regular, but I'm sure there is going to be a lot of fallout with Ward basically leaving her high and dry. I'm waiting for that moment when Skye becomes director of SHIELD...

Since I haven't seen Age of Ultron yet, or the new AoS, I'm hoping to glean something from those who have, and have seen tonight's episode: Will watching tonight's episode before the movie spoil much?

Sweet!!! Watching the show now :D

I did watch the show. I would have preferred to watch the movie first, but since I probably won't get to that until this weekend, I just couldn't wait :). It seems like most of the stuff they talked about was generally referenced in the AoU trailers, so I don't feel too bad.

**SPOILERS**

This episode, Scars, had a lot going on, but it felt surprisingly lacking, until the end. The season finale is next week, so I know they have to make some big thing, and then the obligatory cliffhanger, but it felt like there were a few too many shells in the shell game, if you know what I mean. I did like the conflict at the end, with Skaisy's mom making her choice, and ultimately the choice for the Inhumans, to draw the line with humanity. I wonder how long it will be before they take up residence on the moon. I expect, when they do relocate, that will be the last we hear of them (in any major capacity, anyway) until the Inhuman movie. Unless they plan to develop more of the coming characters (e.g. Blackbolt, Medusa, etc) on the show, which is okay by me :).

With Adama dead and Ward kidnapping Bobbi and Cal smuggling party juice in his jacket, shit will hit the fan at SHIELD in a big way, and I have no idea what the team is going to do. Probably completely fall apart, which makes sense given the name of the finale, "S.O.S."

That's because Adama would have gone in that room prepared! ;)

What about that rock that was hidden in the cargo hold of the ship?

Raina: Have you come across this before?
Jiaying: Only through stories passed down by our ancestors.
It's Kree, dangerous, intended to destroy our people.

May: So, this is alien?
Gonzales: Recovered from a dig site nearly a hundred years ago.
Weaver: Its energy signatures are unlike anything we've seen before.


The way that stone morphed around and came back together, makes me think it's not actually Kree, but Skrull. This stone could be a remnant of the Kree-Skrull war. The fact that they emphasize the molecular shifting of the stone, and Weaver's comment, "...unlike anything we've seen before," are pretty much the only thing I'm basing this on. The stories that Jiaying is referring to could have gotten it wrong, no doubt due to the influence of a shape-shifting race. It does make sense, though, that they would start to introduce the Skrull, especially with Civil War right around the corner. Maybe the entire third season will focus on uncovering that race?

Raina told "a" truth. I still agree with everyone else, that shouldn't be trusted. Not yet, at least. I don't buy that a little time and peace with her new gift has dissolved the bitterness she harbored against Skaisy. Until that is resolved, I'd trust her about as much as I trust Ward. Not ruling out redemption, by any means. Just, watch your backs people!

I'm going to try to watch AoU tonight or tomorrow. At the moment, I'm glad it didn't tie in more, because I haven't seen the movie. As soon as that happens, though, I'm sure I'll be disappointed :).

Interesting tease for the finale: https://plus.google.com/+AgentsOfShieldABC/posts/8i2QxgoiVx4

Is anyone else really hating Joss Whedon, or whomever is responsible, after that season finale?!

Cool, thanks for sharing. My thought on Hearthstone is similar. I was just beginning, as I'm sure others were, but I knew there would be other players more experienced than I was. The game tries to set you up with opponents that play similarly to you (I guess by tracking wins and losses). I played a bit and lost most games.

Quake 3 Arena was fun, but I still preferred to play against the computer. People really kicked my tail, which is ultimately why I don't like PVP, often losing. Man, I haven't played that game in forever!

That's cool about Guild Wars 2. I'm sorry I missed out on the sale, which was a steal compared to how much it is now.

That's cool, scrypt, thanks for sharing a different perspective. I haven't played WoW. I know I could play for free up until level 20, but I haven't tried it yet. I played FFXI a bit, but it didn't seem to be right for me as I tried playing solo, which didn't seem to be a very effective way of playing. My other MMORPG experience is with Ragnorak Online. I played it with a group of friends and I believe there was a PVP event once a week, at least. I joined in on some of these, different guilds fighting each other. My problem with that game was that people took my loot. I'd kill a bunch of monsters, as I had a powerful character, but I'd lose my loot to others. That was disappointing.

I haven't played any of the other games you mentioned, except for Halo. I played a bit of PVP at a friend's house and I most often got slaughtered, which is usually what happens when I play PVP. That is why I don't often enjoy that aspect of gaming. Back in the Doom and Quake days, I played more FPS games, but it seems I got away from them for quite a long time. I did just recently finish playing Half-Life 2 for the very first time.

That's understandable. When it comes to fighting games, I think it varies. The think with those is that I often feel like I'm just button mashing. However, it seems that sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, and that makes it a little more fun.

I don't really watch much of any kind of competitive play. I used to enjoy watching baseball, like when I watched the Braves play on TV when I was in Georgia. I enjoyed watching some basketball briefly with my cousin a long time ago. I did watch some football and basketball with my uncle and grandparents around Thanksgiving. These days, I don't really keep up with sports or anything competitive. As for e-sports, that is something I'm not really familiar with.

Yeah, I remembered that after posting that comment. I didn't get into watching that until my first year at Radford University, when my first roommate was watching it. Then, I met Edneecas, who also watched it and was a big fan of The Rock, I was, too. I still like The Rock and some of the other people, but haven't watched it in a very long time.

We're apparently in the same boat on that, with opposite sides of the perspective. I do have a general distaste for competition, that's very true. I attribute that to my personality and psychology. Just as some people are introverts and some are extroverts, obviously some enjoy competition, while others do not. Of course there are people in the middle ground of all of that, too.

Awesome! Feel free to post a reminder here, in case we forget.

As I've said, I'm not a competitive person by nature either. Most of my life I suffered from having a very low self-esteem and self-confidence, so playing competitive games with others more often than not hurt my already crippled ego. That said, when I'd win (which was rare in most cases), I felt really good.

When I played Smash Bros. with friends, I often lost. Since I've most recently played with kids (my son and his friends), I won more often than not. I was playing the new versions of the game (for the 3DS and Wii U), but I ended up quitting after getting frustrated trying to complete some of the challenges. That ties into one of my other forum posts about game difficulty.

I've barely played DoTA2, it came with my PC, which was an unexpected surprise. I don't seem to be interested in it very much. I have played Heroes of the Storm, which is similar, and I definitely enjoyed it more. I still haven't played against or with any other people, just NPCs.

FFXI was very much co-op, which gave me trouble because I'm so used to solo gaming. I did have friends in the game, but even though I joined the right server with them, I ended up being very far away from them. They said they were in Windhurst, so that's where I created my first (Hume) character. They weren't there for long, so I didn't run into most of them. One of them did find me eventually, but their (my fellow friends) home was with the other Humes, Bastok, I think. I did get very fortunate in finding a player that I didn't know, who helped me out very much and helped guide me through the game.

Now that two of us are joining Guild Wars 2, I think it's going to be a really awesome experience, since many other Cheerful Ghosts are there as well. I imagine there's going to be a lot of co-op in the game, which makes me feel good about it. Although I'm used to solo gaming, since many of us are going to be there, I'm sure my experience with GW2 is going to be quite different than my FFXI experience.

Thanks, everyone, for joining in this conversation and sharing. It's cool to see that even though we all share a lot in common, we also have our individual preferences and personalities. =)

This has become one of my most recent Cheerful Ghost experiences, that I've come to think of things for us to discuss in the forums and I'm glad many of you are taking part in that. I guess I'm helping keep the forums (and the site) alive and that feels good.