Rumor: Microsoft to relaunch PC gaming with Windows 8

[shortylickens]

Why am I not surprised at the results of this thread?

You guys are making ME disgusted! Do you know how fucking hard you have to work in order to do that?

 

[ElFenix]

But that trend is coming to an end. People are buying tablets, netbooks, and smartphones now instead of laptops, while spending more on their desktop.

"PC Prices On The Rise" http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374486,00.asp

i was wondering if that was going to happen: we'll have small, relatively unpowerful portable devices and some big iron back home, thereby killing much of the notebook market (not as portable as your phone, not as powerful as your desktop)

 

[BD2003]

All I know is that they need to do something. I used to be a die hard PC gamer, but I've moved primarily onto consoles. Most of my friends were on XBL, so I had to buy a 360 just to play with them, and I havent played on my PC much since. Still, I miss being able to throw money at a system and get a truely premium visual experience.

Decided to give black ops a try on my PC today. Big mistake.

Here's what happens when I want to play black ops on my 360:

1 Put the disc in.
2 Download an update that takes 10 seconds
3 Press start and play.

On the PC:

1 Put disc in.
2 Install.
3 Download huge patch/s.
4 Install patches.
5 Restart PC.
6 Load up game.
7 Get the settings right.
8 Start game.
9 Crazy stuttering, practically unplayable.
10 Quit game.
11 Download new drivers.
12 Restart PC.
13 Reload game.
14 Problem still there.
15 Exit game.
16 Google "Black Ops PC Stuttering". Find a lot of angry people complaining about stuttering.
17 Try some dubious sounding tweaks.
18 Reload game.
19 Still unplayable.
20 Quit in frustration.
21 Bitch on internet about it.
22 Hope in vain they eventually patch the problem.

Lets not pretend like every one of us has not had this experience over and over with PC games throughout the years. I know they've got a much more difficult time programming for the myriad configurations a PC can have. But I shouldnt have to care about that. If microsoft can do something, ANYTHING to ensure that you can put a PC game in and just have it work, I'm all for it.

 

[lupi]

All I know is that they need to do something. I used to be a die hard PC gamer, but I've moved primarily onto consoles. Most of my friends were on XBL, so I had to buy a 360 just to play with them, and I havent played on my PC much since. Still, I miss being able to throw money at a system and get a truely premium visual experience.

Decided to give black ops a try on my PC today. Big mistake.

Here's what happens when I want to play black ops on my 360:

1 Put the disc in.
2 Download an update that takes 10 seconds
3 Press start and play.

On the PC:

1 Put disc in.
2 Install.
3 Download huge patch/s.
4 Install patches.
5 Restart PC.
6 Load up game.
7 Get the settings right.
8 Start game.
9 Crazy stuttering, practically unplayable.
10 Quit game.
11 Download new drivers.
12 Restart PC.
13 Reload game.
14 Problem still there.
15 Exit game.
16 Google "Black Ops PC Stuttering". Find a lot of angry people complaining about stuttering.
17 Try some dubious sounding tweaks.
18 Reload game.
19 Still unplayable.
20 Quit in frustration.
21 Bitch on internet about it.
22 Hope in vain they eventually patch the problem.

Lets not pretend like every one of us has not had this experience over and over with PC games throughout the years. I know they've got a much more difficult time programming for the myriad configurations a PC can have. But I shouldnt have to care about that. If microsoft can do something, ANYTHING to ensure that you can put a PC game in and just have it work, I'm all for it.

lol, talk about cherry picking.

 

[BD2003]

lol, talk about cherry picking.

What do you mean?

 

[LumbergTech]

Rumor: Microsoft to destroy PC gaming with Windows 8

 

[Emultra]

I hope it's an elegant solution rather than some proprietary, heavy-handed one with codes, ID's, DRM etc.

Just make it fast, reliable and compatible. Have it emulate DOS, Win3.1 and Win98 so we can play 90's games. Maybe even ship with a small PCI hardware emulation card for supreme performance?

DOSbox is nice but not flawless, and early Windows-only games are unplayable atm.

 

[showb1z]

What do you mean?

He means it's a very well known fact that Black Ops is a piece of crap port. A terrible example of PC gaming.
Don't buy junk like that and you'll be fine on the PC. I haven't had a major issue running a game in years.

 

[BD2003]

He means it's a very well known fact that Black Ops is a piece of crap port. A terrible example of PC gaming.
Don't buy junk like that and you'll be fine on the PC. I haven't had a major issue running a game in years.

Well, that may be the case, but doesnt that basically make the point for me? Whether or not you care about CoD, its undeniable that its pretty much the biggest game out there across all platforms. The series even started on PC. And they cant get it to run properly at all? But ok, if thats a bad example, let me go through my other recent experiences.

Starcraft II - Disc didnt work in my perfectly functioning DVD drive, I assume due to some wacky DRM. I had to put it in the drive of another PC and share it over the network. Took about an hour+ to install, and I STILL had to patch it, on day 1. Thankfully, the game itself wasnt buggy.

Fallout 3 - Where oh where do I begin. The console port had its problems too, but this game would hardly run, and whenever it did, it would crash to desktop within the hour. There was also terrible mouse lag. The games for windows client also caused some issues.

Maybe quality has fallen in recent years. Even though I've got years of practice playing PC games, tweaking them to work, etc, etc, I no longer have the patience for the bullshit you often have to go through just to get a game to work or play well.

Even though I'm sure itll never happen, I certainly welcome any attempt for microsoft to set a basic quality bar.

 

[lupi]

And I've had console titles that required a system update or patch install prior to being able to play.

 

[fatpat268]

All I know is that they need to do something. I used to be a die hard PC gamer, but I've moved primarily onto consoles. Most of my friends were on XBL, so I had to buy a 360 just to play with them, and I havent played on my PC much since. Still, I miss being able to throw money at a system and get a truely premium visual experience.

Decided to give black ops a try on my PC today. Big mistake.

Here's what happens when I want to play black ops on my 360:

1 Put the disc in.
2 Download an update that takes 10 seconds
3 Press start and play.

On the PC:

1 Put disc in.
2 Install.
3 Download huge patch/s.
4 Install patches.
5 Restart PC.
6 Load up game.
7 Get the settings right.
8 Start game.
9 Crazy stuttering, practically unplayable.
10 Quit game.
11 Download new drivers.
12 Restart PC.
13 Reload game.
14 Problem still there.
15 Exit game.
16 Google "Black Ops PC Stuttering". Find a lot of angry people complaining about stuttering.
17 Try some dubious sounding tweaks.
18 Reload game.
19 Still unplayable.
20 Quit in frustration.
21 Bitch on internet about it.
22 Hope in vain they eventually patch the problem.

Lets not pretend like every one of us has not had this experience over and over with PC games throughout the years. I know they've got a much more difficult time programming for the myriad configurations a PC can have. But I shouldnt have to care about that. If microsoft can do something, ANYTHING to ensure that you can put a PC game in and just have it work, I'm all for it.

PS3 Version of Black Ops:

1. Turn system on
2. Update PS3 firmware
3. Pop game in
4. Google why the game plays like shit
5. Do nothing and bitch on the internet about it.

Well, that may be the case, but doesnt that basically make the point for me? Whether or not you care about CoD, its undeniable that its pretty much the biggest game out there across all platforms. The series even started on PC. And they cant get it to run properly at all? But ok, if thats a bad example, let me go through my other recent experiences.

Starcraft II - Disc didnt work in my perfectly functioning DVD drive, I assume due to some wacky DRM. I had to put it in the drive of another PC and share it over the network. Took about an hour+ to install, and I STILL had to patch it, on day 1. Thankfully, the game itself wasnt buggy.

Fallout 3 - Where oh where do I begin. The console port had its problems too, but this game would hardly run, and whenever it did, it would crash to desktop within the hour. There was also terrible mouse lag. The games for windows client also caused some issues.

Maybe quality has fallen in recent years. Even though I've got years of practice playing PC games, tweaking them to work, etc, etc, I no longer have the patience for the bullshit you often have to go through just to get a game to work or play well.

Even though I'm sure itll never happen, I certainly welcome any attempt for microsoft to set a basic quality bar.

Fallout 3 is notoriously buggy on any system. At least with the PC version, you have the opportunity to install mods and unofficial patches that the dev will never release on their own. So if you're playing Fallout 3 on the console, you have mostly a static experience. Play it on the PC, and you have a game that changes over the years if you're willing to put the effort in and install some mods.

Not sure what your problem with SC2 is. I've managed to use 3 different DVD drives with the game without any problem, and complaining about having to download updates (which it does automatically for you) for a multiplayer heavy game isn't a valid complaint.

 

[showb1z]

fatpat pretty much already said it all.

Well, that may be the case, but doesnt that basically make the point for me? Whether or not you care about CoD, its undeniable that its pretty much the biggest game out there across all platforms. The series even started on PC. And they cant get it to run properly at all? But ok, if thats a bad example, let me go through my other recent experiences.

You could consider CoD as 2 series of games, one by Infinity Ward, one by Treyarch. The ones by Infinity Ward are usually better on pc.
Well, that's what I hear anyway, lost interest since CoD 2.

Fallout 3 - Where oh where do I begin. The console port had its problems too, but this game would hardly run, and whenever it did, it would crash to desktop within the hour. There was also terrible mouse lag. The games for windows client also caused some issues.

Bethesda's games have been buggy for 15 years. I don't think this has to do with platform...
But like fatpat said, mods sure make a much more diverse, better looking, better playing experience.

Maybe quality has fallen in recent years. Even though I've got years of practice playing PC games, tweaking them to work, etc, etc, I no longer have the patience for the bullshit you often have to go through just to get a game to work or play well.

Well I can certainly understand that. But in my experience it's not the case for most games. And when a game does have major issues it's usually cause they just didn't put any effort in the pc version.
But for me the little annoyances are still nothing compared to the advantages.

 

[BD2003]

I'm not here to argue PC vs console. It's not like I'm not trying to say PC gaming doesn't have it's advantages. That's why I'm here. Deep down inside, I'm eager for a way to have the best of both worlds - the flexibility of the PC and the ease of use of the console. These two things are not diametrically opposed. Only the platform holder can do this, and that company is microsoft. I'd like to see them try.

Yes, fallout 3 is buggy, but it's buggiest on PC. Yes, BO apparently plays worse on the Ps3 than the 360, but it's a nightmare on the PC. In order for me to really get excited about the possibilities on the PC, I have to know it's going to be a trouble free experience.

I'm honestly not holding out much hope they. In order to enforce a quality program they'd need to control many more aspects than most PC gamers and developers would be comfortable with. There would be money and licensing issues that would probably kill ot before it got off the ground. I don't think it'd succeed, but I'd still like to see them try.

I guess you could say I'd be more interested in a console with the upgradeability of the PC rather than a PC to be molded into a console, but that sounds even more far fetched. At least there's hope on the PC.

 

[BladeVenom]

here's what happens when i want to play black ops on my 360:

1 RRoD
2 send 360 back for repairs
3 360 scratches disk

 

[fatpat268]

Yes, fallout 3 is buggy, but it's buggiest on PC. Yes, BO apparently plays worse on the Ps3 than the 360, but it's a nightmare on the PC. In order for me to really get excited about the possibilities on the PC, I have to know it's going to be a trouble free experience.

I haven't had problems with Black Ops on the PC since right after launch. I get the occasional hiccup during MP sometimes, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was in november.

 

[wirednuts]

i use this method

1. put in cd-laser cleaner disc and run it
2. give black ops cd to a homeless man

this will leave you with a better working pc and someone really pissed off at you

as far as windows 8 pc gaming goes, i think theyre just going to buy up OnLive, put a shortcut to the website in the games folder and call it good enough

 

[zagood]

as far as windows 8 pc gaming goes, i think theyre just going to buy up OnLive, put a shortcut to the website in the games folder and call it good enough

that's actually pretty brilliant.

"Microsoft - finding new ways to bring mediocre gaming experiences to the masses."

 

[NoQuarter]

All I know is that they need to do something. I used to be a die hard PC gamer, but I've moved primarily onto consoles. Most of my friends were on XBL, so I had to buy a 360 just to play with them, and I havent played on my PC much since. Still, I miss being able to throw money at a system and get a truely premium visual experience.

Decided to give black ops a try on my PC today. Big mistake.

Here's what happens when I want to play black ops on my 360:

1 Put the disc in.
2 Download an update that takes 10 seconds
3 Press start and play.

On the PC:

1 Put disc in.
2 Install.
3 Download huge patch/s.
4 Install patches.
5 Restart PC.
6 Load up game.
7 Get the settings right.
8 Start game.
9 Crazy stuttering, practically unplayable.
10 Quit game.
11 Download new drivers.
12 Restart PC.
13 Reload game.
14 Problem still there.
15 Exit game.
16 Google "Black Ops PC Stuttering". Find a lot of angry people complaining about stuttering.
17 Try some dubious sounding tweaks.
18 Reload game.
19 Still unplayable.
20 Quit in frustration.
21 Bitch on internet about it.
22 Hope in vain they eventually patch the problem.

Lets not pretend like every one of us has not had this experience over and over with PC games throughout the years. I know they've got a much more difficult time programming for the myriad configurations a PC can have. But I shouldnt have to care about that. If microsoft can do something, ANYTHING to ensure that you can put a PC game in and just have it work, I'm all for it.

On console:
1. Put pants on
2. Drive to Gamestop
3. Wait in line behind stupid customers
4. Ignore shitty banter with guy behind counter
5. Buy game
6. Drive home
7. Put disc in console
8. Download updates
9. Restart game
10. Play game

On PC:
1. Click purchase on Steam
2. Click download
3. Put pants on (optional)
4. Click play

 

[wirednuts]

that's actually pretty brilliant.

"Microsoft - finding new ways to bring mediocre gaming experiences to the masses."

it would fit right in with their "cloud os"

 

[Maximilian]

All I know is that they need to do something. I used to be a die hard PC gamer, but I've moved primarily onto consoles. Most of my friends were on XBL, so I had to buy a 360 just to play with them, and I havent played on my PC much since. Still, I miss being able to throw money at a system and get a truely premium visual experience.

Decided to give black ops a try on my PC today. Big mistake.

Here's what happens when I want to play black ops on my 360:

1 Put the disc in.
2 Download an update that takes 10 seconds
3 Press start and play.

On the PC:

1 Put disc in.
2 Install.
3 Download huge patch/s.
4 Install patches.
5 Restart PC.
6 Load up game.
7 Get the settings right.
8 Start game.
9 Crazy stuttering, practically unplayable.
10 Quit game.
11 Download new drivers.
12 Restart PC.
13 Reload game.
14 Problem still there.
15 Exit game.
16 Google "Black Ops PC Stuttering". Find a lot of angry people complaining about stuttering.
17 Try some dubious sounding tweaks.
18 Reload game.
19 Still unplayable.
20 Quit in frustration.
21 Bitch on internet about it.
22 Hope in vain they eventually patch the problem.

Lets not pretend like every one of us has not had this experience over and over with PC games throughout the years. I know they've got a much more difficult time programming for the myriad configurations a PC can have. But I shouldnt have to care about that. If microsoft can do something, ANYTHING to ensure that you can put a PC game in and just have it work, I'm all for it.

I used to say the same thing but actually thinking about it games have gotten more stable in my experience.

Bad company 2 has never crashed at all for me whereas battlefield 2 crashed occasionally and had other miscellaneous bugs.

Company of heroes never crashes, neither does starcraft 2, older RTS titles like tiberian sun or generals were never stable and still arent.

Call of duty titles have always been rock solid for me.

Left 4 dead/left 4 dead 2 dont crash, they can do when minimized too long however.

Even free and indie stuff like league of legends or super meat boy run perfectly. Only problem child was fallout 3 and with the dual core fix it runs fine, plus it wasn't exactly rock solid on the consoles either and they couldn't just go and download a fix or tweak files to sort the problem they had to wait for a patch.

In conclusion, pc gaming is more solid than it has ever been. YMMV but its only been getting better for me.

 

[Sulaco]

1 RRoD
2 send 360 back for repairs
3 360 scratches disk

What is this, 2007?

I'm pretty sure all 360s that were going to have problems from that time, have done so.

And the newer ones are rock solid.

 

[QueBert]

So they bring PC gaming back with Win 8, and then 3 years later they come up with some uber high tech feature that Windows 8 isn't powerful enough to support so they release Windows 9.

Kind of like how they claimed XP wasn't good enough to run Halo so they release Vista with the updated Direct X. Only to have some 14 year old hax0rs make the DX version & Halo run on XP.

Opps?

 

[mizzou]

He's just too young to remember how much a pain in the ass it was to play games in dos.

sometimes playing a Win95/DOS game was more worthwhile in DOS because of the HUGE boost in FPS :shrug:

but yeah, setting your mouse drivers, sound drivers, boot disk, was a gigantic pain in the ass and probably a good reason why most 30 - 40 year olds around today are all computer software troubleshooting experts.

 

[tvdang7]

lol the same way they forced us to buy vista for dx10..... cant wait.

 

[Pia]

Starcraft II - Disc didnt work in my perfectly functioning DVD drive, I assume due to some wacky DRM. I had to put it in the drive of another PC and share it over the network. Took about an hour+ to install, and I STILL had to patch it, on day 1.

That last point is not really a negative - frequent patching is good. I mean, just look at the first Starcraft: last patch issued in 2009.