You know what really bugs me about computer games? System Requirements.. I swear to god. I mean, I have a general understanding on how a computer works. Actually enough to build my own PC, but with the way computers act, you just never know. A good example is how.. your computer may have everything you need to run a game very, very well, but because it doesn't like your video card, you can't play it. Even if it matches the requirements for pixel shaders, DX and more.
Another thing that bugs me, is how PC gaming, just.. They have just really outrageous system requirements. I understand people want a good looking game. At the same time, there are more, casual gamers, who really just don't want to have to upgrade their PC every single time a new game comes out. I couldn't believe it when I saw the system requirements for Spore, they were actually very reasonable! Another one I can't wait to see is Diablo 3. I mean Diablo 2, had almost identical system requirements to Diablo 1, Blizzard tends to do a good job at not only making a PC game look good, and fun, but not make your PC melt in the process of playing it, or causing your wallet to explode into flames.
ID:277935
 Aug 21 2008, 7:04 pm
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This annoys me too, if the games are so large, they should work harder so older computers can play them, and thye dont even have to have some amazing graphics, they can be simple old graphics like pac-man used and still be pretty good, depending on the type of engine in use.
Although, pac-man graphics would still be bad, but still, basic 3d graphics, and utilizing other ways to make it run smooth instead of using the latest graphics...they dont have to be as amazing as they seem to wantem to be... Also, the graphics aren't all that amazing on all these games anyways, to begin with, so really...its kinda sucky with all the requirements. ---Another thing though is pixel shader and pixel vertex. I know they use these to make it look better, but they can use other things in place of this to make it look just as good, or nearly just as good, or even stop using it at all, so they should let us play without it if we choose to have worse graphics instead of making it detect out hardware and tell us were screwed. | |
Just so you people know, minimum requirements aren't something the developers of these games just make up. They are an estimate as to what sort of computer you would need to run the game due to the methods and techniques involved in the making of it.
Also, for you people who seem to think only graphics make a games requirements go up, you're wrong. A lot of video games now-a-days make use of advanced AIs, realistic physics and massive amounts of computations. All of those things need a good CPU (not graphics card) to do. Take Crysis for example http://chrisevans3d.com/images/crysis_high_res/crysis8.jpg Sure it has amazing graphics. But EVERYTHING in the game makes use of physics, every building can be broken down into pieces, every objects can be moved and thrown around, even people (and trees) can be. You cannot do these sort of things without a good CPU. Anyway, for you people complaining. Go get a job or something, even at McDonalds it wouldn't take you more than 1-2 months to save up enough to buy a decent PC capable of running these games. | |
Actually, some games require the most of one of the best computers there is out there, and even a little more, unless u have a suggestion on a place to go to get a better computer then available for making and customizing at http://www.alienware.com/ .
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Correct, and many games require lots of RAM, because of big textures, a lot on screen, or even just making sure you don't hit load points every 3 seconds.
Some games also require a lot of hard-drive space, more than the install takes. Things like save or temp files might take up a lot of extra space. Although the system requirements are often wrong, rarely are they wrong by much. A well designed game should run on anything, it's just how well it will run. In that case, minimum requirements are there to tell you what you need for the game to run acceptable to the game maker's standards. | |
some games will require certain hardware and stuff to run, regardless, since well, i dont think todays high-end games would run on a 95 machine, period. lol
anyways, pixel shader and vertex are the most annoying, since most need them now, and a lot of people still have older computers. | |
I have a job, so don't tell me to go get one. For more then months I had 2 jobs and only recently got rid of one. I have a fairly decent computer, that more then well meets several games system requirements. But because the games don't like the name brand of my video card, a lot of them won't work for whatever reason.
Yes, I keep all my drivers up to date, yes I check the system requirements. I don't even go by minimal because I don't trust them. Yes I look for help online. It is just a fact, PC gaming is a lot more of a hassle then it needs to be. | |
yes it is, also, some games have known issues that r really stupid, but they refuse to say its them with the problem, and think that u did something on ur computer specifically that made it not work.
also, tell me whatever games and i will try and help you with each problem specifically, so that maybe u can have a better experience with pc gaming. | |
Superbike32 wrote:
Actually, some games require the most of one of the best computers there is out there, and even a little more, unless u have a suggestion on a place to go to get a better computer then available for making and customizing at http://www.alienware.com/ .Sure I do. http://newegg.com Build-it-Yourself computers are almost always better and cheaper. | |
I actually do computer builds for people daily, if you need me to list off the parts someone here, I have the best bang-for-your-buck builds ranging from $600-over $6000...
My personal build is comprised of Q9450 (quad core) overclocked to 3.3ghz (getting watercooling for 4ghz+) 4gb RAM Top of the line DFI lanparty x48 motherboard HD 4870 750gb HDD space So I got a nice $2000 at the time build...the point is, I can get what you want, when you want it, for any price. | |
I was shocked to see the difference in price for a decent self built PC compared to buying them.
I'm not so sue about being better than the ones you can get from Alienware but they are defiantly more worthwhile. | |
Lyndonarmitage1 wrote:
I'm not so sue about being better than the ones you can get from Alienware but they are defiantly more worthwhile. It is because the Alienware computers have professional computer builders (that is probably the wrong word) that make sure the parts work. George Gough | |
KodeNerd wrote:
It is because the Alienware computers have professional computer builders (that is probably the wrong word) that make sure the parts work. Eh. Having built computers myself for a company and having also dealt with Alienware, heres the deal: It costs more because they can charge more. I was priced at 499DKK before taxes (623,75DKK after) an hour, and a computer usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half to build - At which point its installing Windows and drivers which could, where I worked, be done for up to 5 computers at once. If they add more than 600DKK (about $130) over what the components cost bought seperate, the rest is basically 'because they can'. Buying the components seperately and building it yourself will not only be about 30% cheaper usually, it will also help you learn what to debug and do when things go wrong. Which will save you both time and money if something needs to be repaired. | |
Especially when system requirements are wrong. For ages now I have been running the Spore Creature creator on my laptop which doesn't meet some of the system requirements. The same with Gmod.
There seems to be the mentality that good games need good graphics which is wrong in my opinion; "You could have a great looking car but if the engine is made from cardboard it isn't going to do squat."
I do say it annoys me but some games I can understand certain system requirements for, an example is Dwarf Fortress, it doesn't really say your system requires said stats but it does say it will run very slowly otherwise.
Also in my opinion the requirements for Spore are great! You could probably play it on a relatively old computer (none of my desktops though :P).