I think this game might actually be good. Schilling and RA Salvatore don't sound like a great combo, but what I've heard about the game has been positive.

Schilling. Since he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Oh, yeah, umm..me too! Ritalin here too please!

story, designer Todd McFarlane to do the art and animation

barf

I was actually surprised to see the preorder stuff at GameStop the other day. Schilling has been talking about this for so darn long I thought it was vaporware.

Kingdoms of Amalur

I got an email about this game this morning. I wonder how Schilling got my email address?

Schilling and RA Salvatore don't sound like a great combo, but what I've heard about the game has been positive.

Are there drow?

I got an email about this game this morning. I wonder how Schilling got my email address?

He posts here as Jack Keefe

Oh, yeah, umm..me too! Ritalin here too please!

I know we like to joke about athletes and Ritalin, but ADD/ADHD is a real thing, and to folks that really have it, the medicine makes a tremendous difference.

but ADD/ADHD is a real thing, and to folks that really have it, the medicine makes a tremendous difference.

Yes, but it's likely highly over-diagnosed.

There are no drow. To my knowledge anyways.

I think you guys have the acronym wrong, it's AD&D.

I think this game might actually be good. Schilling and RA Salvatore don't sound like a great combo, but what I've heard about the game has been positive.

A couple of guys I know say they're going to grab the demo from Steam, so I'll ping them to see if they've had a chance to mess with it. Sounds pretty generic from what I've read, but I'm interested to hear from people who've actually given it a shot.

DL the demo and get your free Mass Effect 3 armor! Hooray publishing relationships!

I got an email about this game this morning. I wonder how Schilling got my email address?

Hooray publishing relationships!

Had no idea that ME3 was only a couple of months away. I've been disappointed by the Grade Z writing of eight-figure video games for about a decade now, but ME2 was a blast, and ME wasn't bad.

Speaking of Grade Z, I had no idea that Salvatore was still working. Nice to see that someone's still selling books, though.

I know we like to joke about athletes and Ritalin, but ADD/ADHD is a real thing, and to folks that really have it, the medicine makes a tremendous difference.

I may or may not have it. The ritalin I take seems to help. It also helps my self diagnosed Tourettes-lite which I think is related to my MS-Lite....and yes, I was making a joke about athletes and ritalin.

Hooray publishing relationships!

Yep, once I figured it was an EA published title, it all made sense. EA made me enter my email address some time back to "register" a game to play over PSN.

“Gaming, outside of the Lord, baseball and my family, was always my thing,”

That's the funniest thing I've read all week. I LOL'd.

There are no drow. To my knowledge anyways.

You mean in the game, or anywhere?

I'll give him credit, the game does look good and has been getting positive previews. And the tie-in to ME3 will only help matters.

I may or may not have it. The ritalin I take seems to help.

I'd have real trouble functioning in my career (or even around the house) without my Concerta. When I'm off it, I have a ridiculously hard time staying on task or concentrating on much of anything.

ME3 is not available on Steam, which is a pain in the ass.


Speaking of Grade Z, I had no idea that Salvatore was still working. Nice to see that someone's still selling books, though.


He was on Geek's Guide the Galaxy a couple of months ago. Sounds like a good guy, and the story of why he became a writer is pretty cool

Geek Out!: Curt Schilling the dragon-slayer

I thought this would be an article about saberists trying to promote Schilling versus Jack Morris in anticipation of next year's HoF ballot.

I have a minor Skyrim addiction at the moment. But I can stop any time.

Blech. I hate Steam.... I love digital distribution, but I hate when it's done via annoying services that are like the big, friendly pooch that's always underfoot and getting in your way. Give me the drop services like GG or (formerly, at least) Impulse. I have no problem dropping a registry key on my machine - and having experienced multiple HD failures and new machines in between expansions, I have never had any problem at all transferring licenses between boxes or drives.

I still has a sad that Brad Wardell's Elemental was such a spectacular crash and burn (though, it has finally gotten to stability point of being playable... now that it's failure is etched in stone) because I like the way Stardock thinks when it comes to digital distribution.

I have a minor Skyrim addiction at the moment. But I can stop any time.

Need me some skooma... the imported stuff... just one last time...

I'd have real trouble functioning in my career (or even around the house) without my Concerta. When I'm off it, I have a ridiculously hard time staying on task or concentrating on much of anything.

I'm a huge fan of Concerta.

“Gaming, outside of the Lord, baseball and my family, was always my thing"

All right, I'll grant you that. But apart from the Lord, baseball, our families and gaming, what have the Romans ever done for us?

This thread makes me feel old. And undermedicated.

He honed his controller skills on an Intellivision video game system

God, those controllers sucked. Worse than Atari's, Coleco's, Magnavox's... pretty much every other system of the era IMO.

I love Steam. They frequently have insane sales which more than makes up for the minor annoyances.

I love Steam. They frequently have insane sales which more than makes up for the minor annoyances.

My biggest beef is that if you're having connection/ISP issues - you have to go online in order to go offline. It's one of those stupid catch-22 can't wins -- what's even more hilarious/infuriating - the GUI says something like "you're not connected to the internet. Visit steam.com/help for assistance".

I have a minor Skyrim addiction at the moment. But I can stop any time.

You might want to stop before the SDK comes out in a week or so. Skyrim out of the box is just "ok" in my book but you give the community a couple of months with the content creation kit and then you'll have something amazing. Heck, the mods that are out now hugely improve the game and that's only scratching the surface.

That's assuming you're playing on a PC, of course. If you're playing Skyrim on an Xbox or PS3, well, haw haw.

God, those controllers sucked. Worse than Atari's, Coleco's, Magnavox's... pretty much every other system of the era IMO.

Those were awesome controllers, the baseball game was ridiculously easy though since it didn't actually hit flyballs so you tap the 5(?) after you pitch the ball and your best defender on the field became your pitcher who basically fielded 70% of everything.

I always thought Coleco was the coolest but that they broke down frequently. Although my Atari Tron special edition controller never lasted more than a day or two(Kay-be stopped replacing them after three)

That's assuming you're playing on a PC, of course. If you're playing Skyrim on an Xbox or PS3, well, haw haw.

Does any serious gamer actually play anything worthwhile on an xbox or ps3? (yes I know there are some, being sarcastic of course)

My biggest beef is that if you're having connection/ISP issues - you have to go online in order to go offline. It's one of those stupid catch-22 can't wins -- what's even more hilarious/infuriating - the GUI says something like "you're not connected to the internet. Visit steam.com/help for assistance".

Prepare for much worse!

Just wait until your entire media library is locked out by some sort of server/firmware eff-up. You'll be on one service for everything and it is going to suck.

Steam deals are crack. Valve is a pretty spectacular company from an orbital view. They have revived somewhat a dying industry through software distribution yet continue to inspire even down to the smallest line of code, even on a premise as limiting as an FPS.

<removed fanyboyish bs>

Also, I believe PC vs. console is nothing more than a difference in input. Like baseball bat materials (said in a less shittier-tone).

This thread is evidence of what happens when we don't control the borders.

"This thread makes me feel old. And undermedicated."

Seconded.

Got stung by a swarm of wasps a couple of years ago (picked up an old, discarded wet piece of cardboard), in my late 40s.
My arm didn't react well.

Once I told the ER that I've basically never had any medication, not even aspirin or Tylenol, they treated me like a Mars baby come to earth. The youngest of them seemed especially fascinated by this "outlier."

Once I told the ER that I've basically never had any medication, not even aspirin or Tylenol, they treated me like a Mars baby come to earth. The youngest of them seemed especially fascinated by this "outlier."

I always wondered why there aren't many Christian Scientsts left.

Does any serious gamer actually play anything worthwhile on an xbox or ps3? (yes I know there are some, being sarcastic of course)

I used to be a huge fan of PC gaming, but my computer is perfectly good for everything but gaming, and I'm not willing to spend thousands of dollars every few years on a gaming rig. I buy maybe 2 or 3 games each year at full price, and the rest of the games I play are purchased either used or as Game of the Year editions, for $10-20 each.

If we still saw PC-only titles as good as Masters of Orion 2 or Ultima IV or Planescape: Torment, I'd feel differently, but I can get practically every game I want on console these days, and most of the ones that I can't get are sequels to old favorites that moved in the wrong direction, emphasizing graphics over gameplay.

If we still saw PC-only titles as good as Masters of Orion 2 or Ultima IV or Planescape: Torment, I'd feel differently, but I can get practically every game I want on console these days

98% of games that are worth a damn need keyboard and mouse to play properly.

And if you are spending thousands of dollars on a gaming rig, you are doing it wrong.

Need me some skooma... the imported stuff... just one last time...

I used to play Skyrim...then I took an arrow to the knee...

I used to be a huge fan of PC gaming, but my computer is perfectly good for everything but gaming, and I'm not willing to spend thousands of dollars every few years on a gaming rig.

As per #38, you must be doing something wrong. I built my rig in 2007, replaced the video card in 2011, and it still runs everything just fine. 60 FPS in Skyrim at 1650x1050 with all sorts of modded bells and whistles turned on. The key is to know what you're putting in your case when you're selecting components. I think the whole build cost me about $800 in 2007, my new video card $160 in 2011.

If we still saw PC-only titles as good as Masters of Orion 2 or Ultima IV or Planescape: Torment, I'd feel differently, but I can get practically every game I want on console these days

I felt the same way until I discovered Morrowind mods. I can't imagine playing the gimped version available for the PS3. I suspect Skyrim will be the same.

Agree with #38.

Also, awesome to see a shout-out for Ultima IV. The series of Ultima games back then -- and I'm specifically thinking of II-III-IV -- were just amazing. (But I'm old enough to have even played Akalabeth, informally known as Ultima 0.)

One of the biggest advantages of PC gaming is mods. Heck, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of Star Trek: Armada II thanks to the huge number of mods available.

I love Steam. They frequently have insane sales which more than makes up for the minor annoyances.

Agreed. I don't even see the minor annoyances.

And I'd bet that there are far more serious gamers on consoles than on the PC.

I felt the same way until I discovered Morrowind mods. I can't imagine playing the gimped version available for the PS3. I suspect Skyrim will be the same.

Oh yeah, it'll be the same. And this is all before the official SDK comes out by the end of the month which will really allow some big changes to the game.

I played a couple hours of Skyrim before Christmas then decided to wait until the SDK and for the modders to really get their teeth into it so I could get a better experience playing it through (and considering it took me ~ 3 years to work my way through Oblivion on and off (!!!)) I'm not so bothered about waiting!

Probably my most played games of this year have been BF3, Minecraft, Terraria, Section 8: Prejudice and more recently Tribes: Ascend and SWTOR. I also really enjoyed Witcher 2, Magicka and Frozen Synapse. Looking forward to Guild Wars 2, Planetside, Starcraft expansions and Diablo this year!

Regarding Symrim and modding: Xbox and PS3 players , where is your god now?

The "annoyances" with steam also exist on console. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to play a game on PS3 only to have to wait half an hour because the PS network has some update I have to install first.

98% of games that are worth a damn need keyboard and mouse to play properly.

If I agreed with this, I could just use a wireless USB keyboard/mouse combo on my Xbox 360 or bluetooth versions for my PS3. I hate playing with games keyboard and mouse, though. I've played a number of games on both PC and console and I almost always prefer the console version.

And if you are spending thousands of dollars on a gaming rig, you are doing it wrong.

I may be out of the loop a bit. It has been over a decade since I bought a dedicated gaming rig, but the last one I bought was several thousand dollars. At the time, the 21" monitor was nearly a thousand dollars by itself.

What's a reasonable price for a pre-built gaming rig (rather than having to buy parts from a number of different companies and self-assemble) these days? I see gaming PCs that start at $699 but also PCs that break $3000, and I've got no clue what is just unnecessary crap as opposed to what I'd really want.

What's a reasonable price for a pre-built gaming rig (rather than having to buy parts from a number of different companies and self-assemble) these days? I see gaming PCs that start at $699 but also PCs that break $3000, and I've got no clue what is just unnecessary crap as opposed to what I'd really want.

can't give a price, but a pre configured gaming rig is almost always not the way to go. Considering how relatively easy it is to build your own computer, it's best to start with building the best components and going from there (I.E. if you want to game and get started, focus on the case, the power supply, and the motherboard and go from there. Any video card you buy today will handle today's games-more or less- the advantage of making sure that the basics are met, means you have a much better chance of successfully upgrading)

and for the record, almost every gaming rig ever made handles lesser applications(ms office for example) just fine. The problem with any pre-built machine is limited upgrade options. The advantage of course is the bundled software, operating system, and warranty support. If you go pre-built you really need to honestly look at the more expensive equipment as they have a higher chance of using less proprietary crap that limits the life of your product (at a cost reduction)

can't give a price, but a pre configured gaming rig is almost always not the way to go. Considering how relatively easy it is to build your own computer, it's best to start with building the best components and going from there (I.E. if you want to game and get started, focus on the case, the power supply, and the motherboard and go from there. Any video card you buy today will handle today's games-more or less- the advantage of making sure that the basics are met, means you have a much better chance of successfully upgrading)

Yeah, it's fairly easy to build a machine yourself, especially nowadays with better and roomier cases, tooless designs, etc.

I built a machine 18 months ago, first machine I had built in almost 10 years (had a laptop for a while), and it was a snap. Some things I remember from playing around in high school, the rest I picked up from youtube vidoes and eggxpert.

For some price points:

I think I had roughly $800 in parts, and that includes a 60GB SSD drive (those were not cheap 18-24 months ago) for OS and programs. My graphics card is an ATI 5770, which is no where near a mega card, but I've had no trouble playing any game I want. Don't expect to "max-out" crysis or a game like that with it though.

There are some internet companies where you can get pre-built machines without the overhead cost of a dell,hp,etc. I think a similar machine would have cost me ~$900 (plus shipping) and did not include the SSD drive.

I built a new machine last summer and the components (including everything like case and power supply) were about $800 with a 60GB SSD and a 2TB HD.

Tom's Hardware (website) reviews most PC components every month and gives the best one in each price range.

There are some internet companies where you can get pre-built machines without the overhead cost of a dell,hp,etc. I think a similar machine would have cost me ~$900 (plus shipping) and did not include the SSD drive.

ibuypower is a good one.

There are some internet companies where you can get pre-built machines without the overhead cost of a dell,hp,etc. I think a similar machine would have cost me ~$900 (plus shipping) and did not include the SSD drive.


ibuypower is a good one.

Now that I don't have the time or inclination to do my own builds, I'm fond of Digital Storm. Their prices tend to be a bit higher than some of the other builders, but they use high quality components, have outstanding customer service, and do very nice customized builds.

Asus Z68 Pro or the Gigabyte equivalent + i5 2500K + GeForce 560 Ti is the sweetspot for price/performance at the moment and will max out most games even if you don't get a crazy high framerate. Fractal Design Arc or BitFenix Shinobi are great mid-price cases and in the case of the Arc will also handle watercooling if you are into that.

Also don't go cheap on power supplies and go for a modular one if you can. NZXT Hale series or the BeQuiet ones are good.

No need to bother with SSDs unless you want to boot windows in 15 seconds. If you do and unless you want to spend $$$ picking up a 60 GB intel, kingston or Crucial SSD is all you need to do and just make it a boot drive for windows / main applications. They don't give a performance boost for games (except loading screens) so just stick those on something cheap and cheerful like a WD Caviar.

#53, yeah I should have mentioned that about the SSD drive.

I'm a software developer. The primary purpose of my machine was not gaming, but I built it to be at least capable.

Asus Z68 Pro or the Gigabyte equivalent + i5 2500K + GeForce 560 Ti is the sweetspot for price/performance at the moment and will max out most games even if you don't get a crazy high framerate.

I think even that is overkill for the vast majority of games out there, especially for gamers grown accustomed to the wheezing performance of their console systems. I'm not kidding when I say my 5 year-old Intel e6750 dual-core processor still runs just about everything out there at 50-60FPS or better. Sure, it's overclocked but it isn't an extreme overclock (factory setting is 2.66GHz, I'm running at 3.2GHz with a basic aftermarket cooling fan) and it's running nice and cool even under load (<40C). Clock speed isn't king anymore, at least in my estimation. A good video card is probably much more important for anyone with a decent multicore processor setup and even BFFB's recommendation of a GeForce 560 seems like overkill (they run around ~$200) when there are solid DX11-compliant 256-bit cards with 1GB GDDR5 available for around half that price that will chew up 90% of the games on the market. Throw in 4GB of quality RAM and you have yourself a powerful rig that will outperform the current generation of consoles by a wide margin.

Point being, PC gaming doesn't need to break the bank, and if you make some good decisions early in your component selection you'll give yourself a nice, inexpensive upgrade path that will keep your rig relevant until the Cubs win the World Series. Well, maybe not that long, but long enough for you to enjoy several years of outstanding performance playing strategy and RTS games the way they were meant to be played. Frankly, the Total War series alone should be enough incentive for any self-respecting gamer to have a proper PC setup in-house, those games are the biz-omb.

. Considering how relatively easy it is to build your own computer

I am confident I could screw it up and spend so much time it would be "cheaper" to just buy it. I cheer on those who build their own, but ... no.

I am confident I could screw it up and spend so much time it would be "cheaper" to just buy it. I cheer on those who build their own, but ... no.

Do it with a techie friend the first time, you'll be surprised at how easy it is. Everything pretty much snaps together, the hard part is really in choosing which parts you buy to make sure each individual component fits properly with everything else, and that's easy enough to verify online.

Do it with a techie friend the first time, you'll be surprised at how easy it is. Everything pretty much snaps together, the hard part is really in choosing which parts you buy to make sure each individual component fits properly with everything else, and that's easy enough to verify online.

The issue is the volume of information and the number of choices. Also, the lack of direct support.

The physical assembly is about as difficult as that of an Ikea TV stand or desk, and likely the least of your problems. The components look intimidating but the only parts you care about are essentially slots and tabs (and maybe one or two screws to hold something in place).

There's no shame in going with someone like ibuypower or one of the other gaming-rig companies. You can find nice, affordable gaming machines, and at least you'll be sure to get a legit copy of Windows and some support if things break.

On the other hand, building a PC can be a very rewarding experience, and as others have pointed out, the physical assembly is pretty trivial if you can handle a screwdriver. Heck, the worst part is connecting up the 4 or 5 fiddly bits from the case's front panel to the motherboard.

I also agree with #55 that you can do it rather cheaply. Unless you want to crank up Crysis framerates, you can get a midrange video card and play everything you like...but if you DO want to invest in one component to make gaming better, it's the video card, not the CPU.

Also, do NOT cheap out on the power supply. Bad bad bad. Stick to a few well-known brands (these days I pretty much only get Thermaltake, but Antec is good, I've had good luck with OCZ, and I'm sure others here will recommend some). If you paid $30 for the power supply, that's probably not a good sign.

Also, do NOT cheap out on the power supply. Bad bad bad. Stick to a few well-known brands (these days I pretty much only get Thermaltake, but Antec is good, I've had good luck with OCZ, and I'm sure others here will recommend some). If you paid $30 for the power supply, that's probably not a good sign.

I'd also recommend not skimping on the case either. Besides the benefits of having more room to work, better cooling, etc; a well-built case can last you through several builds.

Also, awesome to see a shout-out for Ultima IV. The series of Ultima games back then -- and I'm specifically thinking of II-III-IV -- were just amazing. (But I'm old enough to have even played Akalabeth, informally known as Ultima 0.)

Ah, the C-64 days!

Anybody know if Owen G's kid ever ended up doing versions of these that were modified for faster clocks? I have an old CD of I-VI that I wanted to play a few months back (nostalgia, plus I think my 9 year old son would actually enjoy them; but, I think my wife would kill me if I pulled out the C-64 and took over the basement TV again), but I recall that trying to play Akalabeth or Ultima I was a nightmare as it took only a fraction of a second for 'Pass' to come up on the screen....

Wish I'd had a C-128, though...always wanted to hear the music on Ultima V, but the 64 couldn't handle it, and I don't believe the PC version ever had any (back in the days of the PC speaker sound!).

Re:59, if you're building your first system the power supply (and possibly the case) are the only components you should expect to have around for pretty much the rest of your PC-loving life. Buy a better, more robust power supply than you think you need so that as new gizmos and more power-hungry components come out you'll be able to pop them right in without another upgrade. 750W may seem like overkill but maybe you'll want to add a second video card and a Blu-Ray writer down the line. You'll be covered and get to laugh at your cheapskate friend who got a 350W knockoff at Best Buy.

Also, do NOT cheap out on the power supply. Bad bad bad. Stick to a few well-known brands (these days I pretty much only get Thermaltake, but Antec is good, I've had good luck with OCZ, and I'm sure others here will recommend some). If you paid $30 for the power supply, that's probably not a good sign.

NZXT, BeQuiet, Mushkin all make good powers supplies. For self building modular power supplies are a godsend.

Fractal and BitFenix do some great cases around the £80 mark which don't look like the computer equivalent of a rodded Japanese import. I'd just make sure you get a case which is dust filtered, has rubber gromits for cable management and hard drive bays with cables oriented to the cable space behind the side panel. When building also route the 24 pin connector for the motherboard behind and then up and through the CPU cutout - makes things a lot easier - and make sure you get all the cables properly tied up behind the side panel so you don't obstruct the airflow.

Anybody know if Owen G's kid ever ended up doing versions of these that were modified for faster clocks? I have an old CD of I-VI that I wanted to play a few months back (nostalgia, plus I think my 9 year old son would actually enjoy them; but, I think my wife would kill me if I pulled out the C-64 and took over the basement TV again), but I recall that trying to play Akalabeth or Ultima I was a nightmare as it took only a fraction of a second for 'Pass' to come up on the screen....

To be honest, I find it a lot easier to play them on an emulator. I use an Apple //e emulator because that was my platform of choice, but there are good C= emulators out there that could do the trick nicely for you.

Has anyone tried Kingdoms of Amalur yet? I was thinking of picking it up tonight.

Has anyone tried Kingdoms of Amalur yet? I was thinking of picking it up tonight.

I loved the demo, so I plan to pick it up, but not until I finish Mass Effect 3.

So not until at least March 12th.

Here's a pretty descriptive review from Ars Technica. It sounds like a decent enough RPG but nothing that should pull many people away from Skyrim, especially now that the SDK came out this week to allow better user-created modifications of the game. If all you want is an open world and some cool combat you'd probably have more fun with Arkham City.