Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Prison Architect Alpha 21: Prisoner Drug Addition & Reform

"Prisoners can now take drugs (typically smuggled in through visitation), and develop addictions. Addiction gets stronger with each use of a drug, and prisoners go into withdrawal if they do not get their drugs fix quick enough. Some prisoners arrive with existing addictions, other prisoners try drugs when bored or dissatisfied. All drugs have a chance to cause an overdose, which is lethal unless immediately treated by a Doctor.

Two new Reform programs have been added to help combat drug addiction:
- Methodone program, a chemical suppliment that helps remove the craving of addicted prisoners
- Alchoholics anonymous meeting, a group therapy session aimed at reducing the... Read All

Transistor - See You in the Country

"Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city."

Transistor is richly decorated, savory/sweet, ear, eye and soul candy. It even tastes good. Yeah, I licked my screen. It hurt a little, but it was delicious.

No, I didn’t really lick my screen. But I want to. I want to immerse into Transistor with as many senses as I have. For how barren the world is, Transistor absolutely drips with life. A world of death, where everything is alive. Lonely, but not alone. You don't really quite know what's going on at the start, but you get the feeling that you are caught... Read All "Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city."

Transistor is richly decorated, savory/sweet, ear, eye and soul candy. It even tastes good. Yeah, I licked my screen. It hurt a little, but it was delicious.

No, I didn’t really lick my screen. But I want to. I want to immerse into Transistor with as many senses as I have. For how barren the world is, Transistor absolutely drips with life. A world of death, where everything is alive. Lonely, but not alone. You don't really quite know what's going on at the start, but you get the feeling that you are caught up in the middle of something. Something big. You see a man lying on the street with an odd weapon stuck in his chest. The Transistor. It calls you Red, tells you to pull it from him. When it speaks to you, it seems to know you. You take to the streets to try to find answers. There are interactive kiosks scattered about, offering news updates, citizen polling, weather predictions... Sometimes Red will interact by posting a comment for the city to read, which can give keen insight into what she's going through, emotionally. A pseudo-multiplayer experience exists, somewhat similar to Dark Souls, where you see the ghosts of other players skittering through the streets. There are also in-games statistics that seem to represent global activity in certain polls or weapon use percentages, but I wasn’t able to verify whether this is actually tied to global statistics, or just made to represent such a thing. Either way, even an echo of life can be reassuring when you’re fighting alone. Story information is fed to you from the environment, from Functions you equip - offensive and defensive executable actions - and even from the enemies. They all join together, in a very synergetic way, to flesh out the mystery of this ghost town known as Cloudbank. This is one of the things I love most about Transistor, how it unravels it’s mysteries.

Style plays just as much a part in telling the story, too. Since there aren’t really many people around town, to speak of, the change in tone and color, in the design of the layout, can go to significant lengths to convey poignant emotion. Music and other sound cues are also masterfully designed. Logan Cunningham, known for his voice work in Bastion, developer Supergiant Games’ previous debut hit, returns as the voice of the Transistor, giving sometimes cryptic, but often specifically contextual, commentary on what transpires here. This voice reminds me of all the good things about Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite. Very little to do with impacting your direct gameplay, but a constant presence with significant influence on how you participate with the game. The Voice is very much the soul of the experience.

Not your typical RPG, Supergiant has successfully combined party management, ability management, and ability modification, all within the same mechanic. That is to say, your abilities (Functions) are imbued by the spirits (called Traces) of the party member that hosts it, and when you combine said abilities, you not only kick a little more ass, but also learn more about your party members situation. It plays out in a more simplified fashion, but I found it clever, and it works really well. If you want the full story, you have to accept the challenge of trying out different Function combinations. You’ll unlock most Functions as you level up, but some will come in other, more story-driven ways. While I’m on the topic, if you fall to zero health in battle, rather than die, you’ll temporarily lose an assigned Function, and then your life bar is filled back to full, and then the process continues (pun intended). Now you finish the fight, but with less of a punch. Oh, and the Functions are lost by priority of most powerful. Makes for interesting challenges when assembling your arsenal. Go with one heavy hitter and a few light backups, and you’ll find yourself quite underpowered should you take a fall. All ability assignment and modification is managed at save points, which are, thankfully, abundant. Your lost Functions will eventually be recovered here as well. You’ll also unlock Limiters, which are fancy trinkets that allow you to modify the combat challenge.

I highly recommend Transistor to anyone looking for a soulful, strategic, action combat adventure. If you do pick it up, words of advice: Soak it all in. Pay attention to the voice(s). Play with headphones. Play with a controller (if you get it on Steam, like I did). Play in the evening, and if you’re lucky, when it’s raining. Sea Monster is really the only option. Read between the lines. Play with Luna. Stick around after the credits. Play it twice (the Recourse allows continued use of retained Functions, and leveling up, as well as subtle story changes). This isn’t Bastion, and it doesn’t try to be. This is a good thing. Don’t be sad. This is a good thing.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/30/2014 at 02:00pm

I didn't realize this was out! I need to get this. After Bastion I have a lot of trust in SuperGiant Games.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/30/2014 at 03:02pm

This sounds really cool. I only read about half your post, as I want to get into the game knowing nothing about it. But I will definitely have to check this one out!

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 05/30/2014 at 04:41pm

@Adym: I tried to be vague, or intentionally cryptic, with things that had to do with actual story, and anything that is specific happens literally within the first minute of the game. Figuring everything out, even the mechanics, is part of the fun, too, so I respect that :).

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2014 at 01:37am

Also it's worth noting, this game will be coming to Mac and Linux later on, if you swing that way.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2014 at 05:01am

I'm a little over an hour in, and loving it. It's nice to have Logan Cunningham back as a kind of narrator, though in a very different way, and a very different character.

The game is absolutely beautiful, and the soundtrack just blows me away.

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 05/31/2014 at 03:23pm

I was thinking of springing for the soundtrack, but for some reason it didn't sound as good to me outside of the game. I'm assuming I was just in a mood, or something, because it really is an amazing set of songs. You can listen completely, and repeatedly, to the whole thing for free on Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/3vrhY9tG4lA8Z16LVGqok5

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 12:39am

Really interested in picking up something after Wolfenstein and this looks like a great candidate. Super Giant seems to always drop their games for Mac & Linux a bit later so I imagine they will port it at some point.

That said, this seems like a couch laptop game.

Does it work with a controller?

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 06/03/2014 at 01:43am

My opinion, it works best with a controller.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 01:51am

That's great. The game seems to be suited best for it too.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 02:23am

Jon, see my comment from a few days ago-- they have announced that it's coming out for Mac and Linux, it's just not ready yet.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 02:24am

NICE! Maybe i'll wait till it comes native then.

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

Broforce Double Bro Impact Update Looks Bro-tacular

So Broforce looks great. Shooting, killing, pixel art, tons of bad-ass characters to play as. What's not to love? Honestly the game looks really awesome and I want to pick it up, I just have this new aversion to games on Steam Greenlight. That said, I played a few minutes of Broforce at a friends house and it was fun for the few minutes I played. My friend mentioned that the game needed more Bros as well as levels which fits a common complaint on Steam in the game is too short. This update adds 3 new bros as well as new game mechanics, levels and an update to Indiana Brones. Oh and the new mech? Awesome.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/30/2014 at 03:53am

I'll echo your new aversion. Greenlight and Early Access are showing their flaws lately.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/30/2014 at 03:55am

More to the point, this game looks awesome. Like Metal Slug with more action and worse/better graphics. Depending on how you feel about graphics.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2014 at 04:25am

I really like the Broforce graphics quite a bit. People said they need an update but I don't see it, I like the chunky pixels.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2014 at 05:04am

I agree. I think it's charming as hell. Which may be an odd adjective to use with this kind of game, but there you go.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2014 at 04:51pm

Yeah, that sounds right. I wonder what the people that don't like the graphics would replace them with?

Travis Admin wrote on 06/01/2014 at 03:45am

Gritty, brown realism?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/01/2014 at 05:47am

Huh. I think the comical nature and simplicity of the graphics plays into the bro-nature of the game.

But yeah, more realistic and gritty would be pretty interesting!

Travis Admin wrote on 06/01/2014 at 05:55am

I mean I don't agree with wanting gritty, brown realism. I was making a tongue-in-cheek jab at the modern realistic shooters.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/01/2014 at 05:57am

Hahaha yeah. That genre is pretty well served.

Sungorth wrote on 06/03/2014 at 05:17pm

What are the flaws with greenlight and early access?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/03/2014 at 09:36pm

Basically that the game I bought is really disappointing. Some games are so bad it's frankly disturbing they want to sell it. Some are just at the state where you get a bad dose of what the promise of the game is.

When I started with early access I thought it was a bunch of games mostly finished with some cleanup to do. Yeah, not really.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/03/2014 at 09:36pm

So it's cool it exists for the people that love it, but I haven't bought an early access game since a few big dissapointments I had.

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

Sadly, Steam Machines Will Be Delayed Till 2015

http://media.steampowered.com/img/steamuniverse/SteamControllerNotes.jpg

Valves news to delay the launch of Steam Machines until 2015 makes sense when you think about it. The Steam Controller has received some pretty mixed reviews so far and seems to have taken quite a bit longer to perfect than Valve originally may have thought.

"We’re now using wireless prototype controllers to conduct live playtests, with everyone from industry professionals to die-hard gamers to casual gamers. It's generating a ton of useful feedback, and it means we'll be able to make the controller a lot better. Of course, it's also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we're now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014.

Obviously... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/29/2014 at 04:10pm

This is disappointing, but I trust them that it'll make for a better experience in the future. Maybe I'll just build my own :)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/29/2014 at 04:31pm

I'm becoming more and more a fan of delayed production of technology. Let it simmer, perfect it, and then maybe it will be something worth buying. Rather than just enter the console market, what Valve is attempting is more along the lines of a revolution.

"But our number one priority is making sure that when you do, you'll be getting the best gaming experience possible."

I want that more than I want a Steam Machine, and I really want a Steam Machine.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/29/2014 at 08:24pm

I'm ok with this. I want that thing to be as close to perfect as possible.

Sungorth wrote on 06/03/2014 at 05:18pm

I dont expect this controller to make much of an impact, but I am not really a believer in the steam OS

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/03/2014 at 09:38pm

Fair point. Because it's so different, Valve has a lot of ways to go to make the new controller great. I hope it works out for them but I am thinking I may have to buy a bunch of controllers to make my steam machine work right.

But either way, it should be awesome anyway.

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

Watch 15 Minutes of Borderlands Pre-Sequel Character Athena

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is the new game from Gearbox that is a prequel to Borderlands 2. Featuring a playable Claptrap, the pre-sequel looks to be an interesting version of Borderlands. If you need more Borderlands, this is something you should take a look at.

Are you interested in picking up Borderlands the Pre-Sequel?

Fast Facts About Borderlands 2

Did you know that Handsome Jack was just a placeholder name but since 2K loved it so much they kept it in? Now we are both smarter.

Stardew Valley Shaping Up To Be A Beautifully Unique Game

http://stardewvalley.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Fest3.png

In the last roundtable I mentioned that Stardew Valley is one of my most anticipated Indie games of 2014. I have been following the games development since I first heard about it and have been really happy with the progress it's made. It's a long time coming, but with the recent bout of disappointments i've had with super early access games, I appreciate the long brew Stardew Valley has taken.

Stardew Valley music is shaping up well. The songs seem to fit the game well and I especially liked the theme song.

https://soundcloud.com/concernedape/stardew-valley-theme

One of the unique features of Stardew Valley is that it is a country life game that features the ability to... Read All In the last roundtable I mentioned that Stardew Valley is one of my most anticipated Indie games of 2014. I have been following the games development since I first heard about it and have been really happy with the progress it's made. It's a long time coming, but with the recent bout of disappointments i've had with super early access games, I appreciate the long brew Stardew Valley has taken.

Stardew Valley music is shaping up well. The songs seem to fit the game well and I especially liked the theme song.

https://soundcloud.com/concernedape/stardew-valley-theme

One of the unique features of Stardew Valley is that it is a country life game that features the ability to partake in county festivals like...

"Egg Festival - Everyone gathers in town for a celebration of new life after a long winter. The festival concludes with an egg hunt.

Flower Dance - The townsfolk congregate in a secret meadow to feast and socialize. The young people pair up and participate in a time-honored tradition, the “Flower Dance”. It’s your chance to show a special someone that you care… just hope that you don’t get rejected!

Luau - The summer luau is one of Stardew Valley’s most beloved events. The beach is decked out with tropical adornments and a huge buffet is provided for everyone to enjoy. The Regional Governor makes a special trip each year to see what the valley has to offer… something that Mayor Lewis takes very seriously. The highlight of the luau has to be the potluck soup… a huge, simmering cauldron full of ingredients provided by the community. (screen shot above)

Dance of the Midnight Jellies - On a warm summer night every year, the midnight jellies pass through Stardew Valley on their long migration home.

Harvest Fair - A celebration of the harvest season. Artisans, farmers, and craftspeople alike prepare exhibits to show off their hard work from throughout the year. A panel of judges awards medals to those with the most compelling displays."

ConcernedApe recently spent some time working on another project, but is back to working on the game full time. I appreciate that he is taking the time to stop and enjoy life, yet focus on the game at the same time. I think i'd rather have Stardew Valley released a bit later and have him be happy and not-stressed than see the game ship tomorrow.

Can't wait to play the final version and hopefully, we can all play it this year!

If you want to listen to all the music for Stardew Valley composed so far:

http://stardewvalley.net/dev-update-16/

Even more updates:

http://stardewvalley.net/dev-update-17/

Happy Memorial Day: A Few Thoughts

Today, the United States celebrates Memorial Day. It's a holiday that remembers the people that died serving in our armed forces. I just want to say thanks to anyone that serves in government that contributes to making the country I live in so much fun to be a part of. It isn't always perfect, but lots of people that work in government make this country great to be part of and for your time and dedication, I thank you.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone that comes to Cheerful Ghost to read an article, watch a video, add a game to your list, post an awesome bit of news, watches or joins in a Roundtable and joins in the site conversation in the comments. Cheerful... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/26/2014 at 07:11pm

Thank you, again, for creating this site. I've been enjoying it as well. I also agree that the people we have here are awesome. I love how active we are here. As I told you, I always have an open tab for GMail, but I've been keeping an open tab here as well. I like how many games there are that many of us are playing. I also like how we are also playing different games and learning from each other about games we haven't played before. This site has definitely had a positive impact on my gaming. If it wasn't for this site I might never have played or known about games like Terraria, FTL, Starbound, and Diablo III.

As a life-long (self-proclaimed) writer, I really enjoy having a place I can go to write about the games that I'm enjoying. I also enjoy reading about what others are playing as well.

Thanks again, Jon, and thank you, my fellow Cheerful Ghosts.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 07:45pm

Happy Memorial Day! I like to think that our country is more than the sum of it's parts. I'm thankful to be here, for the people that lay down their lives for me to be here, and I have hope for where we're going.

I'm also thankful for the community here at Cheerful Ghost. I'm grateful for all the different voices that come together and share this passion of video games. Something I look forward to week after week.

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

EGVA GeForce GTX 750 Is Well Worth The Upgrade

I have been really happy with the Gateway PC I picked up a few years ago. My PC shipped with a good video card at the time in a Nvidia GeForce 440. Recently I picked up a new monitor that has a max resolution of 2560x1600 and I have wanted to play games at that setting. Most Indie titles fair well but most AAA games suffer on higher resolutions so I decided to start looking for a replacement.

Last week I purchased an EVGA GeForce 750. The GeForce 750 is Nvidias Maxwell architecture retooled to a lower power draw and form factor. If you are bound to a PC with a lower end power supply, this card will work systems as low as 300 watts. The form factor is nice and easily... Read All I have been really happy with the Gateway PC I picked up a few years ago. My PC shipped with a good video card at the time in a Nvidia GeForce 440. Recently I picked up a new monitor that has a max resolution of 2560x1600 and I have wanted to play games at that setting. Most Indie titles fair well but most AAA games suffer on higher resolutions so I decided to start looking for a replacement.

Last week I purchased an EVGA GeForce 750. The GeForce 750 is Nvidias Maxwell architecture retooled to a lower power draw and form factor. If you are bound to a PC with a lower end power supply, this card will work systems as low as 300 watts. The form factor is nice and easily fit in my PC. I have heard that this card will be featured in many new Steam Machines and it makes sense, this card is a good value for the performance.

But you know, that is all well and good but how does well does it work with my games? Since all my Indie titles ran well before, there is no change in that department so I loaded up a few AAA games and maxed them out. First game in my list was Wolfenstein: The New Order. Maxing this game out to 2560x1600 with everything dialed to 11 is incredible. My wife noted that the game "looked like real life." I'd say we haven't hit that level of graphical detail yet but Wolfenstein turned all the way up is an amazing sight to behold. Shooting Nazi's has never been as beautiful.

Next up was Skyrim, the only game that still lagged when I dialed everything to 11. I imagine this has to do with the high res texture pack I was using or some other thing that wasn't immediately obvious. That said, the game looks fantastic, it's just a slideshow at 2560x1600. I dialed it down and it ran fine but I was a bit bummed it didn't work at full settings.

Columbia never looked so stunning at max settings. I noticed a smidge of a frame rate drop at full settings but dropping it down slightly improved things considerably. I don't mind losing a few FPS if the overall picture is great and even at max settings it was a treat.

I tried a few older games that all ran without a hitch at max settings. Half-Life 2, Portal 2 and Rage all looked and played great. Portal 2 looked especially crisp and clean. I was also finally able to max out Diablo III without any frame-rate issues, which is awesome because killing Diablo should be a "high quality experience."

If you are looking for a graphics card replacement and want to go with something that won't break the bank and deliver good performance, you might want to consider a GTX 750. I picked it up on Amazon and you can by clicking the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDG3NDY?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=B00IDG3NDY&linkCode=shr&tag=jdodsonorg-20&linkId=GNR643LIS7RM35GL

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:02pm

"Remove protective film before use"

I would think if you're putting in your own video card you'd be able to figure that one out. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:04pm

Yeah, I did remove it too. Funny thing is I didn't notice those words until I posed the image. Funny. Kind of like the signs that say "DO NOT DRINK TOILET WATER." I mean, it makes sense for 99% of the time, but sometimes you just need too, like in Fallout 3.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:07pm

On another note, I had to migrate Linux distros because the one I was using didn't support the GTX 750 in any sane way. I upgraded to Ubuntu 14.04 and it's been the best Linux distro i've used yet. I only got the max resolution out of my monitor after installing the normal nvidia driver but after that everything is buttery smooth.

No idea what they've done, maybe it's just the new kernel and updated software, but it's easily the fastest and most performant PC desktop i've ever used.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:12pm

Interesting about Ubuntu being the fastest-- I've seen some chatter from some old LoCo contacts on Facebook about people jumping to Debian because 14.04 was dragging. I still need to upgrade at some point.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:14pm

I was running the last Debian stable and 14.04 is so much more smooth compared to that. Perhaps under the hood Debian is faster, but the UI certainly isn't.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 09:43pm

I was looking for the GPU chart I found months ago that convinced me to get the GTX 690, but it's apparently been updated for May 2014. Sadly my GPU isn't on the new chart (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-8.html), your's is (well the Ti model). Even though my card is worth about 10x that of yours, I'm happy for you. I've been enjoying throwing games and my new PC to see how they perform and I have not yet been disappointed. I have not yet tinkered with resolution settings. My desktop is currently maxed at 1920x1200.

I don't understand the "dialed everything to 11" part of your post. I guess that's a setting some where I haven't yet explored.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 09:48pm

"Even though my card is worth about 10x that of yours"

Damn, Greg put you in your place Jon! ;)

"Dial everything to 11" is a reference to Spinal Tap. It just means turn everything up to the maximum graphical settings.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 09:53pm

Also, wait a minute-- you said "I have not yet tinkered with resolution settings."

Does that mean you haven't tweaked graphical settings in your games? Because often the defaults are lower than your capabilities and with your rig you could be getting way more out of it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 09:56pm

Hahahahaha, I wasn't trying to belittle Jon and his new GPU. Ah, well I guess that makes sense since I'm only familiar with Spinal Tap by name. As I said in my Skyrim post, when I installed Skyrim it detected my hardware and put everything on "Ultra High" settings. Still, Jon's getting more resolution in his set up than I am. My guess is that my 24" Dell monitor is the source of my resolution limitation.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 09:57pm

Yes, Travis, that is exactly what it means. Perhaps I should look into that. I believe the GeForce Experience can help me with that, too.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:00pm

Oh man yeah. Even the ultra quality on Skyrim doesn't have *everything* cranked up. You're probably getting far less out of your games than you can.

But yeah, if your monitor only goes to 1080p, that's as high as you'll get in terms of resolution-- but there's so much more that gives you shiny graphics. Shaders, shadows, lighting, occlusion, so on. You should definitely do that :)

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:00pm

Er... not 1080p-- 1200p it looks like for yours.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:05pm

I did turn all the fancy FOV, Anti Aliasing and the like up as high as I could.

As far as me getting the best video card on the market, this ain't it. But for the price, power draw and form factor I am not sure what is better. Plus, I don't play AAA games all day so in a way it's a tad overkill BUT will last me for many years to come.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:06pm

Ok, I just updated my GeForce Experience and for the first time I went in to configure my games. Well, I only tweaked Skyrim for now. I couldn't tell which settings it was changing because my configuration for it looks the same as what it suggested, but I told it to optimize anyway. With the old PC, I was unable to utilize this feature of GeForce experience as my 8800 GTS wasn't supported.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:07pm

Greg:

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-vs-GeForce-GTX-690

AT 10X less the price the 750 holds it's own pretty well against the 690. That and, due to it's high power draw, I don't think I could use it in my PC much less it's form factor. :godmode:

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:10pm

Ok, I was able to optimize Starcraft II and Diablos III. Why didn't I think of this before? I was playing those two games on lower quality settings. So, thank you Jon for your post and Travis for your comments. Now I have some optimized games. I wonder how they look now....

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:10pm

Also, the 690 looks like a spaceship. Which is to say, awesome.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:13pm

Thanks for the link, Jon! That is an awesome comparison. What I gather from it is that while mine costs about 10x more, your's does a really good job of coming close to my performance. It seems as though you got a good deal. =) That's something I learned with that chart on TomsHardware.com, that just because a model has a higher number doesn't mean that it's better. One thing that surprises me (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) is that mine is quieter than your's. I'm not sure that this makes sense, but I do know that my new PC is VERY quiet.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:15pm

Yup. The 690 smokes the 750.

http://www.hwcompare.com/17305/geforce-gtx-750-ti-vs-geforce-gtx-690/

Still, for what it is and the price, I dig it. For my next PC I might trick it out to be a bit more like yours Greg. That said, I kind of like starting with something modest and upgrading it over time too. Oh well, i'll have lots of options for when the time comes that's for sure. I love that the guts of my PC (I7, 8G RAM) are still really great.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:16pm

Haha, imagine that, a spaceship-looking GPU in an Alienware PC. This isn't the default GPU that came with this build, I was able to customize it and specifically chose the 690 because TomsHardware.com showed me that even though it's expensive, it's a bad ass GPU.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:17pm

Also worth noting, that when you bought your card Greg, the 750 wasn't out yet. Nvidia just launched it a few months ago and I was waiting to read reviews and see how they faired with gamers before I bought one.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:17pm

What GPU came with your rig initially?

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:19pm

Also, Greg, the Geforce experience still may not get your games tweaked as well as it could. If you go into the game settings once you've launched the game, try bumping things up that the Geforce Experience didn't bump all the way up, and see how it looks/feels.

For example, it wanted me to turn my Skyrim settings all the way down for some reason, but I can play it just a few settings away from the Ultra High defaults. It isn't perfect.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:20pm

Greg: Also, that 690 has 3 DVI ports are you running dual monitors on it? When I work I have my Macbook screen and then my Monitor thus giving me a dual monitor setup, which is great.

I haven't done it for a gaming yet, but it's nice for work for sure.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:21pm

Looking at the Alienware website (http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-aurora-r4/pd?oc=dpcwny2&model_id=alienware-aurora-r4), it looks like it comes with a 770 by default, which has half the memory of the 690. I'm not sure if that option has changed since I got mine.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:23pm

I'll look into it, Travis. I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

Jon, I used my 50" Samsung plasma TV as a "second monitor" on the old PC. I have not hooked the new PC up to it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/25/2014 at 10:50pm

Skyrim settings are maxed out, I believe they've been maxed out this whole time I've been playing. The game is beautiful and it doesn't seem to have any lag. Granted, objects are still behaving strangely. The last time I talked to Maven Black-Briar, a few objects took flight after I opened the door and entered the room. A wooden plate was stuck on Maven's neck, like a collar. I should have taken a screenshot before she moved, which is what removed the plate from her head. I also found a Mammoth stuck in ice. Oh and one of the dragons I fought kept nose-diving down and flew back up after it hit the ground with it's head.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 12:52am

I think your card is better than mine. I'm using a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1Gb. I know little about the relevance of certain features on cards these days. I like that yours has a low power draw. I'm sure that keep the system nice and cool. With the demands of some of the newer games, I was contemplating upgrading processor and GPU sometime this year, but this upgrade would be significantly expensive. Is there a market for selling used components?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/26/2014 at 01:25am

Craigslist has a healthy PC used market.

What's your CPU?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 02:15am

Core i5 2500K @ 3.3GHz

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/26/2014 at 03:52pm

That should still be great right?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 04:50pm

It is, and it's been working really well. There are instances where I'd like to see a game perform at higher settings (Rage, Skyrim, etc.), but maybe an updated GPU would suffice. What I'm getting at the moment is still gorgeous, so I'm not complaining by any means. Just curious to see how much more there is to see :).

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

Wolfenstein: The New Order is a Masterpiece of Mayhem

Wolfenstein: The New Order puts you back in the shoes of B.J. Blaskowicz, Nazi-killer extraordinaire, for another adventure. The game was developed by a new team at Bethesda, MachineGames, and uses the id Tech 5 engine that debuted in RAGE. The Wolfenstein franchise needed something big, and id Software has been struggling a bit and needed a win. The New Order really had a lot to prove.

And it certainly has.

For those who are unfamiliar with the franchise, Wolfenstein takes place during an alternate World War II, where The Third Reich's research into the supernatural and advanced technology pays off. Where other WWII games strive for realism, Wolfenstein has always... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:18pm

Awesome review, thanks Travis.

A few questions:

* I am at the part where I got out of the sub. About how far am I though the game percentage wise?

* How long did the game take you to beat? So far, I think I am at 10 hours.

* What difficulty do you play on? I am playing it on the... middle one? The one that is harder than normal.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:19pm

Oh and did you beat the Wolf 3D homage level? I tried it 3 different times and died each time getting just a little further each time.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:22pm

ALSO, Polygon did a nice video on the history of Wolfenstein that is quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SKK74gDUDw&app=desktop

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:26pm

* I guess I would ask-- which sub? Are you referring to the thing you pilot yourself as a sub or are you talking about the sub you stow away on? If the first, you're about halfway through chapter 10, if the second, you've just started chapter 11. There are 16 chapters.

* It took me about 10 hours to complete. For my first playthrough I didn't focus on exploration. I plan on playing through a second time and scouring the place.

* The same, I think. I changed it a few times while playing so I'm not sure where I ended up.

* I did not beat it. It's surprisingly hard!

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/25/2014 at 08:28pm

Yeah the Wolf 3D tribute is really hard. I'll get it one of these days.

OK so I am still at chapter 10 then. 10 hours into the game myself. I am exploring everything and taking my time. I am also stealthing wherever I can, which means levels take longer to complete than otherwise. Well, that and dying. I am at a higher difficulty so I die more than I have in other games. I dig it though, it's a fun challenge.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 01:00am

Awesome! Can't wait to play :)

You'll go to many different amazing places, including a secret underwater compound, and one that's so awesome I don't even want to mention it here.

Is it the Fuhrermuseum?! That would be kinda sick if it was.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/26/2014 at 06:52am

It isn't, but now I want one.

Actually, do you remember the secret area in the final boss stage of Quake 2 that had a "credits" room, where pictures of the dev team plastered the walls? I'd love something like that with a retrospective of Wolfenstein enemies. You start off with the Wolf 3D sprites and work your way up to The New Order enemies.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 03:50pm

I'd like a level made out of Burritos.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/26/2014 at 04:19pm

Uhhhh...

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 04:35pm

But I bet iD tech 5 couldn't handle it so I'll just dream.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 04:52pm

iD tech 5 = too week for burritos

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 06:46pm

Travis, I just wanted to say this is a stellar piece of writing. Someday I might be able to crank something out like this

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 07:02pm

I had a bunch of links I wanted to put into a post BEFORE the game dropped, but I didn't have time so here you all go.

Interesting comparison art of the new game VS the old:

http://imgur.com/a/lAIRj#0

The Onion did a for pay video about the new Wolf game, it's very funny, as the Onion is.

http://www.theonion.com/video/sponsored-new-wolfenstein-game-lets-players-choose,36009/

New(old) launch trailer. (it would have been new if I posted it a week ago )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENTC-mAQ0tI

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 07:30pm

That Onion video is hilarious. Oh, Canada...

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 08:24pm

I went to see XMen: Days of Future Past last night and there was a Wolfenstein trailer. They spoiled the location Travis didn't want to spoil in the trailer. I was like "FUCKING SPOILER ALERT I'M NOT AT THAT PART YET!"

Fucking movie trailers with spoilers. Is nothing sacred anymore?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/26/2014 at 09:15pm

Agh, that's horrible! And lame that they showed that spoiler! ;)

Kidding! Was X-men any good?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/26/2014 at 09:45pm

We just got back from it. It's awesome. Better than all of them except maybe X2. But maybe better than that.

Also, damn they spoiled the burrito factory?

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/26/2014 at 11:21pm

HAHAHAHA No, they spoiled the thing I don't want to spoil. Duh.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/27/2014 at 02:04am

I know, I was being funny. Trying to be anyway :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/27/2014 at 02:11am

:godmode:

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/27/2014 at 03:30am

One major complaint I have on my second playthrough-- for a game that has so many hidden items, it really punishes people who are trying to find everything. If you miss something and go to a different section of the map, it's often impossible to backtrack without restarting the whole level. Oh I slid under that obstacle and there was an enigma code 5 feet before? Well, I guess I'm screwed. That's getting a little annoying.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/28/2014 at 12:04am

USPS forgot to put my package on their truck today. Fuckers. I'll get it tomorrow. Hopefully.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/28/2014 at 01:17am

Damn. What system are you getting it for?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/28/2014 at 03:19am

You know, scrypt, I keep reading today about how over-promised Watch Dogs was. I think you may have made a good call. I still want to play it-- from what I hear it's still fun-- but there's a lot that just seems unfinished about it.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/28/2014 at 04:11am

@jdodson - PS4
@Travis - Confession: I got both. I saw some picture of an Asian child shrugging her shoulders, and it moved me. Trying out Watch Dogs as I'm typing this, and I'm really liking it. It's less like Assassin's Creed and more like Red Dead Redemption, but in Chicago, with hackers. I haven't read the reviews, but the gameplay feels like it's on par with what has been shown in pre-release videos. Granted, I'm only an hour or so into it, but I've covered a lot of the city (underground, and water systems). It's quite the playground.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/28/2014 at 04:14am

Interesting. Honestly Watch Dogs doesn't intrigue me at all. Since I don't understand the draw of it... What's the draw of it?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/28/2014 at 02:35pm

I tend to favor sci-fi/tech over fantasy, even though the margin is thin. The significant things about Watch Dogs are the nuances that separate it from the other sandbox titles. The size of the world isn't that big of a deal, though it is absolutely beautiful. The way you can observe and affect the environment, and people in it, however, is creepily fun. You can hack cameras in the city to map out your plan of attack, or use the cameras themselves as extensions of you. Everything is connected, as they say, so you can jump from camera to camera, then hack a remote detonator on a guard, the explosion will draw the attention of another guard who has a camera on his phone, hack into that, then he carries you over to his post, where on the wall you can see the security panel for building access, hack that, and keep going. Or you can just take the guards out John McClane style.

There are problems with it, evident even in what little I've played. Everyone in the city has an identity. Everyone. Ubisoft did a pretty good job at making them diverse, but you can see repeating patterns here and there. Dialog could have been a little more diverse, too. In one motorcycle ride across town, I can't tell you how many times I heard the exact phrase "We have roads for a reason!" A "Hey, asshole, keep it on the asphalt!" or "Unless your mowing it, stay off the lawn!" would have been nice. I did swing around a corner once, taking out several newspaper racks and a light pole, and some lady shouted a very timely "What...the...fuck!" That was entertaining :).

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/28/2014 at 04:47pm

That makes sense, thanks scrypt.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/28/2014 at 07:08pm

Scpyt, she's totally Hispanic, not Asian :) That picture is taken from an Old El Paso commercial.

And yeah, I didn't have as much hype for Watch Dogs as many people did. I still definitely want to play it. I'm thinking $30 is the right price so I'll wait it out.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/28/2014 at 09:25pm

My bad! I was going from memory. All I remembered was dark hair and not white. Shoulda looked...

Finally got to play a bit of Wolfenstien. Just a bit passed the sex scene. Really, really liking it. This is the new standard for shooters this generation (at least for consoles). Everything feels and looks and sounds so good.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/28/2014 at 10:59pm

Yeah I know why you like it.

"the sex scene. Really, really liking it"

Yep.

;)

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/29/2014 at 12:25am

Hahaha.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/29/2014 at 01:52am

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