Thoughts and hopes for the PC and console gaming industry - feel free to add!

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First off this is not to have a PC Vs Console debate.

Ok so we all know that PCs have better graphics than consoles due to their better hardware and DX11.
This is great.
But what PCs do not have for me is the bridge between balancing the better looks with multi-player playability.

Now what I would love would be to have a PC game than you can have on your TV and you and your mates can do what you would with say a PS3 and 4 controllers.
Go in there.
Turn it on.
Load up the game.
*insert here perhaps a small amount of config stuff like press “X” to activate the controller.*
Then all 4 of you can go and play.
Sweet :thumbsup:

I just feel that PC gaming is missing the aspect of people playing on the same screen while enjoying the “better looks”.

If like me you had the N64 and the gamecube you will remember the good old days of going over to your mates house, few of you there playing Mario cart or golden eye and it was such good fun!

For me PC gaming is just a lot of people all over the world in different locations on their own playing a game with other people playing on their own.
So from the social aspect of playing the game with other people who are not 1000 miles away…there is none.

I would love it to have some mates round, get some controllers connected to the PC and we all have a gaming session with the pc looks and the console multiplayer aspect all rolled into one.


Now unless I have missed something big time here there are no modern or new games that can perform this function?

Also it would be sweet, as was mentioned in another thread, if we could have cross-platform gaming.
For me I think the first game creator that gets a game that has an online part to work with PS3, Xbox360 and PC would set the benchmark for playability.
Some work would have to be done either to balance the game by allowing the console gamers some sort of auto aim or indeed create a few types of match finding rooms:
e.g.
PC only
PS3 only
Xbox only
xbox + PS3
xbox + PS3 + PC (using gaming pads)
xbox + PS3 + PC (KB+Mouse)


Or instead of doing this game by game it could be done via a 3rd party program that can communicate your multiplayer traffic to its servers which can connect the consoles and PCs together.
You can download and add programs and games onto the Xboxes and PS3s now with their dashboard and PSN (respectively) so why not create something to download there which will allow you to play certain games with others on different platforms.



I don’t know if it is a bit too ambitious but I think if I/we on here can come up with some good ideas then perhaps I would email or post a letter to some game developers and see what they think.
Maybe I am the only one who is thinking these things but if not maybe we could submit our ideas and see what they come back with.

Anyways I realize that I have been rambling for far too long now so leave some feedback if you want and add any ideas or thoughts you have had.

Josh
 
I think as far as split screening is going, it's probably hardly used due to how easy and convenient it is to just play online. Many prefer to play online with friends because they get the full screen. On the flip side some with slow/bad connections may not enjoy playing online.

Shadowrun was basically MS' experiment of allowing 360 gamers and PC gamers to compete and it worked pretty well. It was commonly quite hard to tell who was on which system. The whole concept never really kicked off and I believe this is down to MS and Sony wanting to keep the systems locked down as much as possible. While a shame it's understandable.

What would I like to see? I honestly want what many would consider a backwards step. And this is for games developers to slow down. Year after year we get sequels with the number incremented and paid for DLC. Call of Duty is one of the main ones but you have sports games and many others following (Assassin's Creed could well be one).
I'd much rather they delayed a game 6 months and gave us plenty to do in it so that 5 mins later we aren't reaching for our wallets to buy expansions and up in arms about how broken the game is due to being rushed out OR the devs support the game with patches and updates as well as free DLC.
 
I just feel that PC gaming is missing the aspect of people playing on the same screen while enjoying the “better looks”.

Well there's no technical reason this can't be done, I'd assume it's just not done due to the lack of people with PCs plugged into their TVs.

Also it would be sweet, as was mentioned in another thread, if we could have cross-platform gaming.

This has been tried several times before but it's never taken off. I guess it's down to the difficulty of finding a way for the gamepad to keep up with the keyboard and mouse without it being blatant cheating (like auto-aim). A team game might be possible with a different types of gameplay for each platform so each team would have an equal split of PC and console users.


Personally I feel the three biggest problems with the PC gaming industry are:

1. DLC. Specifically 'only for the rich' DLC.

A pack of five outfits for £5, two new vehicles for £3, a set of horse armour for £1.50.

I don't mind extra content for games as long as it's competitively priced and will give you the same sort of length of enjoyment as spending the same amount of money on another game. What I do object to is giving people who can afford to throw money at a game more content than those who have to chose where to spend their money.

2. 'Free 2 Play' games that are actually 'Pay 2 Win'

Self explanatory really, and similar to the DLC above.

3. Steam, especially steamworks.

I don't want to turn this into a steam thread, but suffice to say a program that breaks the golden rule of good program design and removes one of the biggest advantages of PC games, being able to play a game how you want, should not be mandatory for any game.
 
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You can do this. Games For Windows Live can take 4 controllers at once.

Consoles are just holding games back at the moment. The only reason Grand Turismo 5 has taken so long is because they had to try work out how they could squeeze it on to run on the old outdated hardware.

Until the next console gen, we're stuck mostly in X9 mediocrity. :thumbsdow
 
You can do this. Games For Windows Live can take 4 controllers at once.

Consoles are just holding games back at the moment. The only reason Grand Turismo 5 has taken so long is because they had to try work out how they could squeeze it on to run on the old outdated hardware.

Until the next console gen, we're stuck mostly in X9 mediocrity. :thumbsdow

Can't blame the consoles for that though really. If the PC wasn't such a weak format it wouldn't matter what the consoles were doing.

One of the best selling PC exclusives of WoW. That game looks like a dog's dinner and you can't blame consoles for that.
 
I would like to see someone put out a marquee PC game that wasn't just about looking pretty. Eye candy is of course important but I would like to see every strength of the PC explored and maximised. An epic long running episodic adventure with moral choices that sway the direction of the narrative, also full co op play clan support so your friends can drop in or out without losing too much when they aren't there. Varied gameplay that reaches outside current genres and their respective confines yet feels comfortable and familiar. Its also importatnt that it is against a backdrop of elves and dungeons nor revolves around keyboard macros and "questing". And while we are at it, lets have the game reach out to you when your not even able to play. How about a game drop you an email or text, even if its just some creepy **** that sets the mood for that evenings gameplay.....

Just simple stuff really......no biggie :D
 
A game like pro evo or fifa is perfect for cross game online play. good luck playing those games using a keyboard lmao.

point is thise sorts of games are designed for control pads unlike FPS games.

Can't blame the consoles for that though really. If the PC wasn't such a weak format it wouldn't matter what the consoles were doing.

One of the best selling PC exclusives of WoW. That game looks like a dog's dinner and you can't blame consoles for that.

Yup. farmville looks better than WOW nowadays
 
Ive just started playing games on my pc and use an xbox 360 wireless reciever that allows up to 4 wireless 360 controllers. The only game i ever play with my mates is fifa when we get back from the pub once in a while so this works for me. I have my pc hooked up to my monitor via dvi and then to my amp via hdmi which sends it to my tv's in living room and bedroom and also my projector, when playing games like call of duty, medal of honor i like to play on my PJ with the surround sound blaring but other games i prefer to be sat infront of the monitor so i can have the tv on in the background like football manager.

Deadringers your comment took me back to going round my mates playing golden eye and perfect dark on the 64, i just dont get the same laughs playing online like i did back then:(
Maybe with the new hardware and things like eyefinity utalizing three monitors you could get three or four monitors connected to one pc giving you three or four multiplayer with a screen each, that would be pretty cool:thumbsup:
 
I would like to see someone put out a marquee PC game that wasn't just about looking pretty. Eye candy is of course important but I would like to see every strength of the PC explored and maximised. An epic long running episodic adventure with moral choices that sway the direction of the narrative, also full co op play clan support so your friends can drop in or out without losing too much when they aren't there. Varied gameplay that reaches outside current genres and their respective confines yet feels comfortable and familiar. Its also importatnt that it is against a backdrop of elves and dungeons nor revolves around keyboard macros and "questing". And while we are at it, lets have the game reach out to you when your not even able to play. How about a game drop you an email or text, even if its just some creepy **** that sets the mood for that evenings gameplay.....

Just simple stuff really......no biggie :D

hehe sounds pretty good there.

and I like the idea of not having to go "questing"
I am not sure what your definition of this is but for me it means hours of slogging away at killing enemies and doing the same ****, e.g. running around collecting something.

boring!

Ive just started playing games on my pc and use an xbox 360 wireless reciever that allows up to 4 wireless 360 controllers. The only game i ever play with my mates is fifa when we get back from the pub once in a while so this works for me. I have my pc hooked up to my monitor via dvi and then to my amp via hdmi which sends it to my tv's in living room and bedroom and also my projector, when playing games like call of duty, medal of honor i like to play on my PJ with the surround sound blaring but other games i prefer to be sat infront of the monitor so i can have the tv on in the background like football manager.

Deadringers your comment took me back to going round my mates playing golden eye and perfect dark on the 64, i just dont get the same laughs playing online like i did back then:(
Maybe with the new hardware and things like eyefinity utalizing three monitors you could get three or four monitors connected to one pc giving you three or four multiplayer with a screen each, that would be pretty cool:thumbsup:


I was going to say something like "a LAN gaming night could be pretty cool with a few people and PCs in a big room".

But having thought about it what modern games allow you to use LAN gaming?

MW2, blops, Bad Company 2 all rely on servers and using a matchmaking service...cannot just hook them up to a LAN?

:(
 
hehe sounds pretty good there.

and I like the idea of not having to go "questing"
I am not sure what your definition of this is but for me it means hours of slogging away at killing enemies and doing the same ****, e.g. running around collecting something.

boring!




I was going to say something like "a LAN gaming night could be pretty cool with a few people and PCs in a big room".

But having thought about it what modern games allow you to use LAN gaming?

MW2, blops, Bad Company 2 all rely on servers and using a matchmaking service...cannot just hook them up to a LAN?

:(

I dont really know much about multiplayer play on the pc i just like going through the story then get onto the next game:D

What i was thinking was like a lan party but more towards what you had said in your first post, about getting a few mates round and playing that way, rather than everyone lugging their pcs round to someone house it would be cool if you could just connect 3 or 4 monitors/tvs to one pc as some people already use 3 monitors for single player could they not design games to use each pc for a seperate player? Its probably quite far fetched as i guess most people wont have 3 monitors but id prefer it to playing over the net or having 4 players on one screen:thumbsup:
 
Not all console players embrace a "social" aspect when playing. Much like PC gamers they all sit in their own houses and connect online to play games with each other - well at least all my mates do :D

Personally speaking very few people I know go around to each other house to game on anything. And personally I wouldn't really see the appeal of that now - maybe a game of pes/fifa but beyond that it would more likely be something on the wii.
 
I would like to see someone put out a marquee PC game that wasn't just about looking pretty. Eye candy is of course important but I would like to see every strength of the PC explored and maximised. An epic long running episodic adventure with moral choices that sway the direction of the narrative, also full co op play clan support so your friends can drop in or out without losing too much when they aren't there. Varied gameplay that reaches outside current genres and their respective confines yet feels comfortable and familiar. Its also importatnt that it is against a backdrop of elves and dungeons nor revolves around keyboard macros and "questing". And while we are at it, lets have the game reach out to you when your not even able to play. How about a game drop you an email or text, even if its just some creepy **** that sets the mood for that evenings gameplay.....

Just simple stuff really......no biggie :D

World of Warcraft has been out for over 5 years mate. :D
 
Once you folks play a huge game like Arma 2 : Operation Arrowhead you realise how limited consoles actually are. They couldn't possibly do anything like it.

I also hate the misconception that everything is mouse and keyboard on PC. LoL I use a 360 controller to play alot of games with.
 
Once you folks play a huge game like Arma 2 : Operation Arrowhead you realise how limited consoles actually are. They couldn't possibly do anything like it.

I also hate the misconception that everything is mouse and keyboard on PC. LoL I use a 360 controller to play alot of games with.


Defo on the 360 controller if had no problems with it so far (apart from getting the wireless reciever driver installed but all is good now). Someone pointed me in the direction of a Fragnstein which looks interesting might see if i can find one cheap to give it a try:thumbsup:

What is Arma 2 like, I thought it got some really bad reviews so i gave it a miss:confused:
 
DLC, releasing unfinished games, overcomplications especially in terms of gameplay vs graphics.

Dropping these bad habits will make the industry so much better. Oh and destroying EA. The Sims is the best example. Why is the Sims 2 coming out again with the same expansions, and why are people buying it :S
 
I also hate the misconception that everything is mouse and keyboard on PC. LoL I use a 360 controller to play alot of games with.
Defo on the 360 controller if had no problems with it so far
I can't stand mouse & keyboard for anything but RTS games, it's not comfortable at all. Keyboards were designed for typing only whereas the sole purpose of a controller is for gaming and I find it really surprising that PC gaming (excluding strategy games and others that need lots of hotkeys) hasn't moved to some kind of mouse + thumbstick combo similar to the Wii nunchuck.

On a different note I think PC games need more work on maximising performance on lower end systems. If you played a multiplatform game on a PC that was similarly spec'd to a 360 it would look awful so people need to spend a decent amount of money just to get console level graphics. Sure, the hardcore gamer with dual 3 month old GPUs will get amazing graphics but someone who spends that kind of money is already a done deal, it's the mid-low level that makes up the majority and it's these that PC devs have been ignoring for years and then wonder why games on 2005 technology hugely outsell what they are making. Crytek is the perfect example - no one bought Crysis because no one could run it...
 
World of Warcraft has been out for over 5 years mate. :D

Released in November 2004 - a year before the 360 was released, and 2 years before the PS3.

That the game is still going strong despite its short comings kind of blows a hole in a few arguments (both ways). But regardless, it shouldn't be used as a means of gauging game progress.
 
I can't stand mouse & keyboard for anything but RTS games, it's not comfortable at all. Keyboards were designed for typing only whereas the sole purpose of a controller is for gaming and I find it really surprising that PC gaming (excluding strategy games and others that need lots of hotkeys) hasn't moved to some kind of mouse + thumbstick combo similar to the Wii nunchuck.

On a different note I think PC games need more work on maximising performance on lower end systems. If you played a multiplatform game on a PC that was similarly spec'd to a 360 it would look awful so people need to spend a decent amount of money just to get console level graphics. Sure, the hardcore gamer with dual 3 month old GPUs will get amazing graphics but someone who spends that kind of money is already a done deal, it's the mid-low level that makes up the majority and it's these that PC devs have been ignoring for years and then wonder why games on 2005 technology hugely outsell what they are making. Crytek is the perfect example - no one bought Crysis because no one could run it...

Have to disagree with you here mate.

my gtx275 which is by no means a "top end GPU" can max out every game I play.

ok you have to turn down the AA a bit but it can max them out with some decent frames.

for sub 200 quid you could get a really good GPU, sub 150 still a good one.

then of course if you go 2nd hand it will be even better! :)
 
How about a game drop you an email or text, even if its just some creepy **** that sets the mood for that evenings gameplay.....

Just simple stuff really......no biggie :D

The idea that a game could text me, has just made me moist....

Especially as you think about it, it could be almost storyline in execution:

Dragon Age: "Tumah* has just completed the quest for the Dragon bones and killed the Crystal Dragon, and has just stepped into the Mines defended by the StoutFeet**.."

* - My Character
** - Those Legionares in the Awakenings Expansion

Crysis Warhead: "I just bloody killed more of the korean nano suit wearers and have stormed the warship in the ice, over?"

Rainbox Six vegas: "Listen mate, both you and I know this game is ****. **** graphics, and a **** poor redention of a franchise that deserves sop much more than this. Please finish me, you really are right at the end and then you can delete me for ever. And break the disc if you want."

:D
 
Have to disagree with you here mate.

my gtx275 which is by no means a "top end GPU" can max out every game I play.

ok you have to turn down the AA a bit but it can max them out with some decent frames.

for sub 200 quid you could get a really good GPU, sub 150 still a good one.

then of course if you go 2nd hand it will be even better! :)
But that's £150 just on a GPU vs £150 on an entire system. I bet the 360 performs better than a GPU on it's own :smashin:.
 
I hear what the bass is saying but im with deadringers on this one, i currently have a hd5770 which can be had for under £100 new now, and it performs really well, most games on high without issue. I can also add another 5770, maybe get one for under 70 quid 2nd hand, then it will breeze through the games for a long time. I currently have a ps3, xbox 360 and pc, so have no bias to either one. The only edge consoles have is that they are the bigger market for game developers, so games are designed around the consoles hardware. I would like to see more game developers branch out and utilize the hardware thats available for pc gamers:thumbsup:
 
But that's £150 just on a GPU vs £150 on an entire system. I bet the 360 performs better than a GPU on it's own :smashin:.

Yeah but how many console players have just a £150 system? None of my mates meet in the same house to play they all co-ordinate online gaming (same as pc players).

They plug the £200 console (more for a ps3) into the £1000 or £1500 tv. Net cost is £1800 for some of them. They'd choke at the thought of spending £1k on a PC system but nothing on spending £2k on a TV.

There few systems that are cheap outlay - we want the best visuals and that comes at a price. Never had these issues on the spectrum :D
 
Console gaming is like owning a Goodmans/Bush/[insert cheap brand] television and DVD player. Does the job.

PC Gaming is like owning a proper home cinema system in comparison.

More people have Goodmans/Bush/[insert cheap brand] television & DVD combinations than a proper home cinema system... which is better?
:devil:
 
Yeah but how many console players have just a £150 system? None of my mates meet in the same house to play they all co-ordinate online gaming (same as pc players).

They plug the £200 console (more for a ps3) into the £1000 or £1500 tv. Net cost is £1800 for some of them. They'd choke at the thought of spending £1k on a PC system but nothing on spending £2k on a TV.

There few systems that are cheap outlay - we want the best visuals and that comes at a price. Never had these issues on the spectrum :D
I guess I can't comment on that as I much prefer to play consoles on my 24" monitor over the 42" plasma :thumbsup:.

Someone with a £1500 TV is hardly at the low end of the market though are they?
 
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