rec.autos.simulators

That guy smuggling the game boxes in the trunk sounds like a mafia hitman
hiding body parts.

Of course there are some of us whose girlfriends initially don't like games
but after listening to us say "c'mon, try Starcraft, it's really fun," they
try it. All of a sudden they want to play games as much as you do and you
have to battle for control of the computer chair. Whoops, I meant to say
ex-girlfriends.

Sorry.

The only blasphemy I have about your article is that I don't know what you
were thinking when you mentioned the following:  "To make it worse, the
computer must be upgraded on a nearly annual basis in order to play the latest
and greatest games (which are, naturally, the only kind any self-respecting
*** gamer wants to play)."

Well, I've been a gamer for about 20 years, and I enjoy so-called "older
games".  I'm not just talking about stuff from the 1980s, but stuff from the
last five years including the last couple of years.  I don't know where this
mentality comes from that the newest games are the only ones worth playing.
Just my opinion and observation.

Other than that, a good article with a lot of stuff I've heard before,
although there is some new stuff in there I haven't heard.  Still, while it's
important to balance your free time between the computer and your "significant
other", there are a lot worse things spouses can be doing.  Like  ha-ha-ing
around town, or being ***ed to internet chat (a major thing).

I enjoy reading these types of articles, and other than that one statement,
your article is well done!

~NightSky 421~

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Most people reading this message probably ARE the gamer, but feel free
to print out the article and give it to your better half!

Comments are welcome.

Joe McGinn
_________________________
GA-Sports Writer
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

"Gaaaaah - he now has a slightly better graphics card & 66 Mhz more in the
CPU.
Can't stand it... must get Athlon *now* "

"Get off my computer, I don't care that Half Life works better on it go play
on your machine!"

"Hey, who took the C&C II CD, i wanted to replay it for a while"

Life is hard

I can't imagine what it would be with children.... "honey can you see what
the matter is? I really
can't leave Rogue Spear right now.. what? you're doing a nostalgia round in
Dark Forces, eh?
grmblblbl you win, i go"

iphigenie

My wife doesn't get upset anymore when I upgrade or buy a new computer because
she and the kids get my old one.  In fact they're all bugging me to get them a
new one but I don't need a new one for myself so they're going to have to
wait.   The only thing she gets pissed about now is if I let the kids play all
day.  I agree with her,  but it's a lot of fun to play network games with them
:)   I don't buy as many games as I used to and I sell all my old games (and I
always make sure she sees me shipping out the games I sell) so that's not a
problem any more.

-Krud

After a while, you can play with your eyes shut. As newer games come out, they are
written with sloppier and sloppier code, balooning from a game that fit on half a CD,
to multiple CDs with relatively no increase in gameplay. To get the consumer to buy the
thing, they emphasize dazzling graphics which look great on an Athlon or such, but we have to
turn off to get the pig to run at over 5 fps.

Even the turn-based games, which should run on a bleepin' 486 require a Pentium 200 with 64Mb and
200 MB free disk space. WTF?

We can't stop time, pretend no new games came out, and pretend to be content playing older games.

So, naturally we have to scramble to keep on the "bleeding edge", or be sentenced to
pressing our noses against the glass and watching others have the fun.

Nige.

My husband and I solved this problem by trying, whenever possible, to
get identical equipment.  Well, part of that was also that my
computers love me, and his tend to have cranky days.. so it was more
his decision that if we had the same hardware, if it runs for me it'll
run for him.  When we upgrade, we make the same upgrades to both
machines.  If we can't afford to upgrade both, they don't get upgraded
until we can afford both.

See above. ;)

See above. ;)

Hehe.. can't wait for this one.  We have an 11 year old (who has his
own computer, but doesn't get the choice upgrades - he gets
handmedowns).  He's old enough to take care of himself for the most
part unlike younger kids who need more attention.  But now we have a
gamer in the oven, I mean baby on the way, and I do wonder how it will
effect our ***... I'm thinking you can keep the kid on your lap,
but then again with most of the scary/*** FPS's that's probably
not a good idea.

Time for a fourth computer with one of those big trackballs. ;)

--

Rivalworks, Inc. http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Find your perfect opponent at RivalWorks!

Your post is a much more constructive way at discussing older games rather
than saying that the newest games are the only ones worth playing, although I
am hoping Joe will discuss his position on the issue...

You are right that many games are solvable and that you can eventually play
them with your eyes shut (as the saying goes).  However, a lot of the older
games that I still play involve variables, mostly notably, pinball games.  No
two games are alike and I can still have "good games" and "bad games".

You make other good points that games which should run on a 486 now require a
much better system than that, and it's hard to explain why.  Although I'm not
into the game myself, Command and Conquer was a game that ran great on a
486/66 and now a new release of the game requires a Pentium 166 but recommends
a P2-233.  I agree with you...WTF?

I thought when they came out with CD-ROM games that you wouldn't have install
much data on your hard drive if you didn't want to.  At first, it was true.  I
was led to believe that it would be a hard drive space-saving device, yet the
installs get bigger and bigger all the time.  And I really don't know why when
most gamers have CD-ROM drives of at least 16X and going as high as 52X and
beyond.  With those kinds of speeds, there's no need for the manufacturers to
demand so much hard drive for a game install.  I guess it's a ploy to force us
to buy bigger and bigger hard drives every couple of years.

Joe does make some good points in his article.  The fact that you have to
upgrade on a annual basis if you want to play the newest games (decently) is
very close to the truth.  I'd say a more realistic number is 18 months unless
you're just buying the cheapest new processor and video card available.  There
was a time when you could buy a new mid-level processor (and board) and you
would not have to upgrade for three years.  However, I noticed that all
started to change around the time the Pentium 60 came out.  The only good news
about upgrades is that although they must occur more often if you want to play
the newest stuff decently, the cost is a lot less.  It cost me over $800 (I'm
in Canada) in late 1993 to upgrade to a  Intel 486SX/33, motherboard and four
megabytes of RAM, all installed.  Within 18 months of doing that upgrade, it
became apparent because of games like Nascar and NHL 96 that I had to upgrade
again.  But by this point, the Pentium was out and somewhat in vogue.

One thing I noticed is that if you have a slower machine, fewer people will
come (and less frequently) to visit you to see the computer.

1000MHz processors are said to be out by next summer (quite believable), and
there's noise being made about 64-bit processors hitting the market too.
Thankfully, these sorts of things won't be necessities when they first come
out.    :-)

~NightSky 421~

I thought I *was* the better half!!!

Warlock!

Hey Krud, how do you sell your old games? over this newsgroup? I've
got some oldies I'd like to get rid of.

Jacunta

I thought this was part of the Old Boy Network..

DD

Thanks very much for your constructive comments in this thread.
Actually, the quote above is really what I was alluding to. I did not
mean to imply that old games are not worth playing. One of my favorite
sports sims of all time is the circa-1988 Amiga version of Wayne
Gretzky Hockey. And I have found few arcade racers as much fun as the
original version of Need for Speed.

The point I was trying to make is that any serious gamer will want to
play at least SOME new games, and that requires fairly up-to-date
hardware. Thanks again for your comments!

Joe McGinn
_________________________
GA-Sports Writer
http://www.ga-sports.com/

Joe McGinn
_________________________
GA-Sports Writer
http://www.ga-sports.com/

Joe McGinn
_________________________
GA-Sports Writer
http://www.ga-sports.com/