Intel Alder Lake CPUs might struggle to play games with DRM like Denuvo

I'd buy them if they release them on GOG. I'd also re-buy GTA IV and EFLC if they put them on GOG to have a digital, DRM free backup to my disk versions. I can't stand the Rockstar launcher. It's like it doesn't want me to play games on it. What's the point of having a check box to remember my login credentials and auto log in, when almost every time I feel like farting around in GTA V, I have to log in, sometimes it gives me a CAPTCHA or two, and enter a 2FA code. A lot of times when it forgets my login, I just can't be bothered and go find something else to play.

I seriously doubt it if they make a gaming platform anything like their store and Prime Video. It's the absolute worst place to try to find anything. I shop/browse around at other places, then when I know what I want, I search to see if it's on Amazon, which I have a Prime membership, mainly for Prime Video. Amazon's Prime video is equally shit at finding anything. I usually find shows through other sources, then check to see if they're on Prime. Netflix is right there with them after they decided to update recently and compete with Amazon at who can have the shittiest video streaming service. No more list view on your watch list, and no more manual sorting. It's now like Amazon, a blob of random, large thumbnails. Unlike Amazon, which stays sorted by last added, Netflix seems to periodically randomly sorts your watch list making it harder to find what you're after.

Satoru wrote on Oct 5, 2021, 14:27:
To be honest thank god

Killer network drivers are only good at 'killing' games and the networking stack. It's such a terribly written driver I'm shocked anyone was ever tricked into using their shlock. I've had to fix more problems with these drivers than any imaginary benefits their terribly implemented QOS garbage ever did

My MB has a Killer network adapter built in, in addition to the one integrated into the Intel chipset. I've always used the Killer one, but I only install the driver. I've never had any problem. I use just the driver and it works like any other ethernet adapter. I tried out their software way back when I built it, and saw no reason to ever use anything other than the driver.

I hope they'll put these remasters on GOG, and even GTA IV. I really hate the Rockstar Launcher, and I'd buy them on GOG even though I already own all GTA games from the original up to Vice City on Steam, and GTA IV and EFLC on disk. The Rock Star launcher accepted the CD key for GTA IV and registered it as GTA IV + EFLC.

I'll probably never play GTA: San Andreas again though. It was the first GTA game I played, and the first 3rd person game I could stand because it didn't have controls that sucked. I still have the original disk version, and I played it to 100% twice, which was kind of a PITA. I bought a pack on Steam a long time ago that had all GTA games from the first up to GTA: SA. I tried GTA III and Vice City, but I couldn't play them because the mouse and keyboard controls were total total ass. In GTA: SA (and all since) you can freely move the camera around while driving, but in GTA III and Vice City, it stays fixed. I just can't drive like that. Worse was when trying to aim, for some reason the mouse was jerky, like it might have been doing some kind of mouse to controller emulation that wasn't working right. I hear they're good game, especially Vice City, but I just can't play it if the controls are crap.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Oct 4, 2021, 14:00:
Without even clicking on the link, I knew it would be about low octane gas. E85 is the absolute worst for this.

E85 is not a low octane fuel, with an octane rating of ~94-96, which is higher than premium gasoline. The video is about 85 octane fuel sold in high elevation places, not E85.

I beat E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Like many games back in those days, you had to read the manual.

Years ago, I saw a video on YouTube—since removed, it seems, though a few like it still remain—of a GTAV player deliberately brutalizing some of the game’s trans sex workers for his own amusement. In the comments, one viewer voiced these chilling words of encouragement: “You’re doing God’s work.”

Did the game actually encourage him to target the trans sex workers it, or was this person doing it because they're a piece of shit? Would they be calling for removing black NPCs from the game if a white supremacist played it on YouTube and went around only killing black NPCs for his amusement?

I don't recall ever knowing if a random NPC was trans, much less encouraged to hurt or kill them. There is a picture in the linked article that I certainly never knew that existed.

I heard the chairs were shaped like their rocket and employees weren't happy about it.

...or you can just unplug any webcam when you're not using it.

Rigs wrote on Sep 22, 2021, 18:19:
Always ways around all that bullshit, you know...

And those ways are technically illegal, and you shouldn't have to get shady prated versions or cracks to play something you legally bought.

Bill Borre wrote on Sep 22, 2021, 02:46:
Me too. I wish I could get them for gog or steam.

They were available at one point, but I forget why they got removed. I have the disk version of the original Escape from Butcher Bay, and Dark Athena on Steam. I regret not buying them on GOG before they were removed because the disk and Steam versions of Dark Athena have Tages DRM, and the activation servers have been taken down. The disk version of Escape from Butcher Bay has a version SecuROM which doesn't work on Win10. Fuck DRM.

Hattori Hanzō wrote on Sep 15, 2021, 16:15:
if only you could REMOVE your own ignorance

Ignorance is curable. Stupidity isn't.

After reading that Steam would be required even for physical copies of HL2, and after getting over that initial anger, I decided to pre-order HL2 Silver through Steam. The only place to get software in my town was Walmart or Gamestop. I believe our Gamestop had completely stopped carrying PC games, and Walmart was always a week or more behind on getting new releases. If I wanted to play HL2 at release, that meant driving my ass 50 miles to the next nearest city with software stores and back. After coming to the realization of how convenient it would be to just download it and play, I decided to give it a try.

I remember reading about people having a lot of problem getting HL2 working on release day, but I personally don't remember too much trouble with it. I pre-loaded it a week or so before release, and I didn't try playing it right at release hour either. It was later in the afternoon/evening when I was able to. I do remember it taking quite a bit of time to decrypt the files, but I had no connection issues.

I still continued to buy physical games for the next few years, ordering from Amazon or NewEgg. Looking at my Steam purchase history, it looks like my first, non Valve purchase on Steam was Prey in 2008. I guess 2009 was the first summer sale because I bought quite a bit then.

Acleacius wrote on Sep 13, 2021, 13:20:
Lmao, bethlauncher, denuvo and online pvp, seriously?

I haven't even looked at any reviews yet. When I saw the Denuvo and Bethesda BS, it went instantly to not interested. Maybe like Prey, it will be on GOG in a year or so with all that crap stripped out.

jdreyer wrote on Sep 10, 2021, 20:30:

MeanJim wrote on Sep 10, 2021, 18:57:
Can Apple, Google, Microsoft, Steam, etc. operate on less than 30%? I don't know and neither do you, so until I see data proving otherwise, I'm not going to pretend I do know and you shouldn't either.
I think I just showed that they can operate well under 30%, and it is long past time for the government to force competition in these markets.

You guestimated, as I did, but showed nothing concrete. I'm not denying that Steam could operate on less than 30%, I'm pretty damn sure they can, but I'm not going to pretend to know it absolutely. I bet if Steam could operate on 1% and still make a profit, they would because I doubt anyone one else could compete with that, and then Epic would probably be suing Valve for being anti-competitive.

Also, I misread Hellcinder's post as "why does Apple... deserve 30% or anything for products they don't produce?". I just noticed that of was not an or when reading the replies. I should have coffee before I argue on the internet.

"The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive." - The Doctor

What is stopping publishers from putting their apps on the Apple store for free, and then locking everything inside the app behind in app purchases, cutting Apple completely out of the loop?

Hellcinder wrote on Sep 10, 2021, 15:32:
I've been hammered quite a bit for this view, but why does Apple (Google, Microsoft, Steam, name your leach here) deserve 30% of anything for products they don't produce?

The infrastructure argument is swiss cheese also, because if you need 30% to keep yourself afloat, you're doing something very wrong.

Running those app stores isn't free. They have bandwidth costs, utility bills, and employees to pay. With Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, they sell the consoles at a loss and make up for that by taking a cut from the games sales. I don't know if that's the same for Apple's phones or not.

As for Steam, their only income is from the cut they take from sales, and running a service like Steam isn't cheap. I did some rough estimates on Steam a year or so ago when this all started and lots of "experts" here where claiming to know small of a cut Steam could operate on:

Rather than make shit up, I actually made some effort to get an estimate of some of Valve's operating costs just now. Valve's Download Status page shows a peak rate of 5.8 Tbps in the past 48 hours. It looks like they average about 4 Tbps. I looked up prices for commercial CDNs and find prices from 4 cents to 80 cents per GB. Going with the lowest rate of 4 cents per GB means Valve would be spending an average of $20 per second to run their data centers.

That was from over a year ago. That download status page now shows their 48hr peak at 14Tbps, and averaging closer to 8Tbps.

Also Steam only a takes a 30% cut from sales directly on the Steam store. They don't take any cut at all from key sales.

Can Apple, Google, Microsoft, Steam, etc. operate on less than 30%? I don't know and neither do you, so until I see data proving otherwise, I'm not going to pretend I do know and you shouldn't either.

Nucas wrote on Sep 5, 2021, 00:55:
push it back to what? americans are fucking retarded and don't believe in medicine anymore; we're not getting the vaccine numbers we need to put a nail in it.

They believe in medicine, just the wrong kind.

I've been using an Ergotron monitor arm for several years, and I don't think I'll ever go without it or something like it. It makes the space under the monitor usable space, instead of a monitor stand taking up all of that room.

jacobvandy wrote on Sep 3, 2021, 14:46:
All these things and more, are why I never buy anything from the MS Store or use Gamepass...

I installed something through the MS store and will never do it again. I uninstalled the app, but noticed that it didn't free up space. I suspected that it didn't actually uninstall, and the directories are hidden and have weird permissions on them that ignore you if you attempt to take ownership and view/delete them. I was able to use Everything, since it runs in administrator mode, and was able to find the directory and see that it didn't get removed when I uninstalled it from the store. Using Everything, I was able to get ownership of the directory and remove it.