Steam/PC Mega Thread

[RPS]

34 minutes ago, Bobfoc said:

This video shows how the game looks with the lowest settings.

Everything I've read suggests that it runs surprisingly well on modest hardware. The only thing to be aware of is that the keyboard controls aren't very good. A controller or flight stick is recommended.

Is this available on Game Pass? 

[Bobfoc]

1 minute ago, RPS said:

Is this available on Game Pass? 

It most certainly is.

[RPS]

Just now, Bobfoc said:

It most certainly is.

Cool. Will install. What happens if I crash? I actually have a pretty significant phobia of planes and in particular, a plane crash. 

[Bobfoc]

1 minute ago, RPS said:

Cool. Will install. What happens if I crash? I actually have a pretty significant phobia of planes and in particular, a plane crash. 

Either the plane comically bounces off a building or the screen just fades to black.

[RPS]

1 minute ago, Bobfoc said:

Either the plane comically bounces off a building or the screen just fades to black.

Amazing. It might actually help me get over my fear of flying. If there was literal plane crashes in the game, that would be incredibly stressful. 

[Meacon Keaton]

As someone who has been an avid Flight Simulator player for the last 20 years, I can tell you that you most definitely don't want to play with the keyboard. If you can't afford or don't want to rush out and get a flight joystick, use a controller or something. Keyboard using is beyond booty, unless they've drastically improved this version, which doesn't seem likely. 

[Bobfoc]

I've been doing OK with a combination of an Xbox controller and keyboard. The controller is the better option for flying and the keyboard has all the useful hotkeys for activating all the extra functions.

[Baddar]

Watched a YT video of someone flying over the Las Vegas strip, and was a little disappointed to see how old the satellite images of it are. It's at least 12 years behind.

[Bobfoc]

I worked out how to use the drone mode, which lets you move the camera wherever you like while the game is paused. Going around my area at street level was really interesting. I had the game map and the actual Bing Maps images open at the same time, and it was clear that the data used by the game is several years out of time, which is a bit strange. Buildings that have existed for quite a while aren't present in the game. I also live in a place where Bing Maps only has aerial/non-3D images, so it was never going to be as detailed as some of the bigger towns and cities.

But I'm not bothered. Exploring where I live in video game form is amazing. I still need to do a few more flight tutorials, after which I'm hoping to do some longer flights around the UK. Maybe then I'll venture overseas.

[RPS]

Has anyone played Gears Tactics? Good? 

[Bobfoc]

33 minutes ago, RPS said:

Has anyone played Gears Tactics? Good? 

I got it on Game Pass and had fun with it. If you're expecting a full XCOM-like experience, you'll be disappointed because there's no base-building and the unit customisation really only amounts to changing types and colours of weapons and armour, but I think the combat itself is superior in some ways. The side missions, of which you often need to complete a set number to progress the story, are sometimes a little bit repetitive too, mainly because there aren't many map types.

If you have Game Pass, it's definitely worth a go. It isn't too long and it scratched my turn-based strategy itch more than Phoenix Point did.

[RPS]

11 minutes ago, Bobfoc said:

I got it on Game Pass and had fun with it. If you're expecting a full XCOM-like experience, you'll be disappointed because there's no base-building and the unit customisation really only amounts to changing types and colours of weapons and armour, but I think the combat itself is superior in some ways. The side missions, of which you often need to complete a set number to progress the story, are sometimes a little bit repetitive too, mainly because there aren't many map types.

If you have Game Pass, it's definitely worth a go. It isn't too long and it scratched my turn-based strategy itch more than Phoenix Point did.

Maybe I will just play XCOM 2.

[apsham]

That makes me want to play Gears Tactics because I don't have time for all the extra shit in Xcom.

[Bobfoc]

I certainly appreciated the more focused approach. I like XCOM a lot, but I sometime just want the combat without the extra-curricular activities.

[RPS]

6 minutes ago, apsham said:

That makes me want to play Gears Tactics because I don't have time for all the extra shit in Xcom.

Chimera Squad!

[OctoberRaven]

Met Vetra. Also, met my character's romantic interest.

[METALMAN]

So my computer had the specifications for flight sim but as it’s an Apple I had to run it in Bootcamp and in doing so the computer seemed to lose something because it doesn’t run well at all.

So I got Euro Truck Simulator 2 for a more scaled-down, grounded experience and oh my god I think I’m addicted. I wasn’t expecting this to happen...

As for Flight Sim - my flatmate is a quantitative geneticist and she uses massively powerful computers over the cloud to run simulations. I’m going to ask her if she will let me play Microsoft Flight Simulator on it. : /

Edited August 23, 2020 by metalman

[METALMAN]

So I eventually set up a virtual machine on Microsoft Azure so I could play this on a decent computer. Who says gaming doesn't teach you any useful skills?

The other nice thing about hosting the game on microsoft's servers is that the massive 90GB download is getting done pretty quick.

Edited August 27, 2020 by metalman

[Lint]

Anyone play State of Decay 2?  I liked the first one but felt it was a little too limited as far as the sandbox stuff goes, like eventually you'd get to a point where you'd have to move on.

I'd love a zombie game that was a bit more Walking Dead-like I suppose...establish a community, bring in survivors etc...

[RPS]

6 hours ago, Lint said:

Anyone play State of Decay 2?  I liked the first one but felt it was a little too limited as far as the sandbox stuff goes, like eventually you'd get to a point where you'd have to move on.

I'd love a zombie game that was a bit more Walking Dead-like I suppose...establish a community, bring in survivors etc...

I played an hour. It is a polished looking game. I found the gameplay unsatisfactory. Nothing felt particularly fun to do. The atmosphere and tension of the game is what sells it.