GWJ Conference Call Episode 474

Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, New PCs, Besiege, Viscera Cleanup Detail, Real Places, Your Emails and More!

Click here to download!

(We are aware direct downloads are a bit weird for some folks. Working on it! Try a different browser for now.)

This week Julian Murdoch, Allen Cook, Sean Sands and Shawn Andrich talk hot new games, new PCs and the kind of difference real places make in games.

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind.

  • Subscribe with iTunes
  • Subscribe with RSS
  • Subscribe with Yahoo!
Download the official apps
  • Download the GWJ Conference Call app for Android
  • Download the GWJ Conference Call app for Android

Comments

00:01:30 Fallout 4
00:14:01 Call of Duty: Black Ops III
00:25:25 New PCs
00:39:26 Viscera Cleanup Detail
00:46:20 Besiege
00:49:49 Real Places in Games
01:00:53 Your Emails
01:16:26 GWJ Holiday Contest

It was fun to hear Julian talk about the joys of firing up games on a powerful PC. Wasn't he the one talking about running 99% of games on med -high on a Macbook Pro a year or so ago?

This seems like a great place to link our Tech & Help forum, and the 2015 PC-Building Thread.

Episodes like this really make me want to get a PC. Mac gaming is surprisingly robust these days (especially in tandem with a PS4) but as pretty as Fallout 4 is on the console, I know it is waaaaaay nicer looking on the PC.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Episodes like this really make me want to get a PC. Mac gaming is surprisingly robust these days (especially in tandem with a PS4) but as pretty as Fallout 4 is on the console, I know it is waaaaaay nicer looking on the PC.

Aside from framerate Fallout 4 isn't really the best candidate but there are other games that more significant improvements. Right now I find the consoles do a pretty good job with the AAA stuff but in a few years the widening gap will probably start pushing me towards PC ports.

@Elysium - Let's start a new GWJ gaming communities called "ProudNoobsHavingFun". A group that likes to play multiplayer games because they are fun, but we suck at them. Anyone with K/D (or win/loss) ratios greater than 2 or 3 are instantly banned for life on that particular game.

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

This sort of reminded me of the "John Plays GTA5 With His Morals" series.

Really enjoyed the discussion on the new PCs, but it really got me wondering just what I'm compromising with my current hardware. It seems like PC technology started to far outpace game requirements 5-6 years ago, to the point that I haven't felt the need to upgrade nearly as aggressively as I did a decade ago. Everything seems to run fine. My current PC has an older Athlon X2 processor, I don't even know how many gigahertz it has. A couple? My video card is a Radeon 6840 which seemed like a pretty good card when I got it, but I don't even remember how long it's been (it's that long). I've been playing a TON of Witcher 3 lately, and I don't really have any issues with it, but maybe I've just gotten used to barely-capable performance? Maybe I've forgotten what silky-smooth performance looks like, or that a graphics setting called "Hairworks" can be a thing.

Funny to hear VCD lightly ribbed as "punishment" this week.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/OZkM57r.png?1)

I always knew I had a masochistic streak in there somewhere!

Boudreaux wrote:

Really enjoyed the discussion on the new PCs, but it really got me wondering just what I'm compromising with my current hardware. It seems like PC technology started to far outpace game requirements 5-6 years ago, to the point that I haven't felt the need to upgrade nearly as aggressively as I did a decade ago. Everything seems to run fine. My current PC has an older Athlon X2 processor, I don't even know how many gigahertz it has. A couple? My video card is a Radeon 6840 which seemed like a pretty good card when I got it, but I don't even remember how long it's been (it's that long). I've been playing a TON of Witcher 3 lately, and I don't really have any issues with it, but maybe I've just gotten used to barely-capable performance? Maybe I've forgotten what silky-smooth performance looks like, or that a graphics setting called "Hairworks" can be a thing.

Yeah, in the Build A PC thread some of us are often telling people that they really don't need full upgrades. An i5 from the last 5 years is still a very capable base for a gaming system with GPU and Ram upgrades. A CPU upgrade helps other computer uses, but for gaming the money generally is better spent on the graphics card.

Your PC is on the older side, but as long as you're still having fun, good for you. I tend to be well behind the curve myself and still have very good experiences. I'd guess that you'll start reaching the limits of Dual Core fairly soon though.

As for Fallout, I feel like I'm one of the only people in the world not interested. Bethesda's big boring open worlds are not for me. Then they add in crafting which is more busywork. Bleh. Apparently the 3rd person camera is decent, or they were saying it would be, but that's not enough to push me to buy.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Episodes like this really make me want to get a PC. Mac gaming is surprisingly robust these days (especially in tandem with a PS4) but as pretty as Fallout 4 is on the console, I know it is waaaaaay nicer looking on the PC.

Totally! I was having the same thought, while I listened to this episode. I have been using Macs for quite a while and gaming nowadays is pretty fun on a maxed out iMac, but even though it technically would be able to run The Witcher 3 or Fallout 4, I could only play it with Bootcamp. But then I would have to deal with Windows and I certainly don't want to do that, so I just wait for a port (which might never happen for Fallout 4, but at least the Witcher 1-2 were ported for Mac, so you never know...) and play other stuff instead. (I still use a PS3, so that is not an option either.)

Regarding real places in video games: I used to live in Berlin, so one of the main reasons why I started playing "Shadowrun: Dragonfall" was the fact that not many video games actually take place in Germany. But so far, the way that the city is represented doesn't really make me feel "at home". Sure, there are signs and names everywhere that are German but apart from that, nothing feels like this city could be Berlin at some point in the future. It just feels too generic.

Boudreaux wrote:

Really enjoyed the discussion on the new PCs, but it really got me wondering just what I'm compromising with my current hardware. It seems like PC technology started to far outpace game requirements 5-6 years ago, to the point that I haven't felt the need to upgrade nearly as aggressively as I did a decade ago. Everything seems to run fine. My current PC has an older Athlon X2 processor, I don't even know how many gigahertz it has. A couple? My video card is a Radeon 6840 which seemed like a pretty good card when I got it, but I don't even remember how long it's been (it's that long). I've been playing a TON of Witcher 3 lately, and I don't really have any issues with it, but maybe I've just gotten used to barely-capable performance? Maybe I've forgotten what silky-smooth performance looks like, or that a graphics setting called "Hairworks" can be a thing.

Wow, an X2! That processor initially released in 2005! I got rid of mine in 2008 because it struggled with 4v4 in RTS games like Company of Heroes. Lots of AI brought it to it's knees. I guess it depends on what type of games you enjoy and what your personal level of playability is.

Brainsmith wrote:

Regarding real places in video games: I used to live in Berlin, so one of the main reasons why I started playing "Shadowrun: Dragonfall" was the fact that not many video games actually take place in Germany. But so far, the way that the city is represented doesn't really make me feel "at home". Sure, there are signs and names everywhere that are German but apart from that, nothing feels like this city could be Berlin at some point in the future. It just feels too generic.

Yeah, that's a common danger in using a real place as a setting. Shadowrun doesn't have a lot of room to depart from real places, so it has to lean instead on the generic and alterations based on its mythos.

​Gosh, I love these technical talks. They make me want to build a whole new PC. Even though I have a GTX970, i5 (3.4 GHz) with a SSD and all that jazz. I only play games on my PC, no consoles (okay, my iPhone too), so yeah, my PC is... super important to me. But man, you guys are giving me that upgrade that itch, even though I can't really justify an upgrade! Must stay strong! Maybe I'll just get a second screen for Christmas instead.

Regarding the topic, playing games which take place in real places... I just knew, I KNEW Shawn would mention AC: Unity and Paris. Of course playing in a real place makes a difference! It's why I never got into Fallout 3 because DC is my hometown, and I could not bear the thought of seeing it ruins; so badly in fact, that I never got out of the Vault. However, I pretty much with the consensus that was reached, that having a real place grounds the experience and makes it more interesting. The Assassin's Creed games have been doing this really well, at least for the places I know and have been to (Paris, Venice, Istanbul), but also Florence, Jerusalem... I've yet to play Syndicate, but I'm definitely looking forward to running around London even though I haven't been back in years. Nothing will top that "OMG, that's my street" moment when playing AC: Unity though.
In the end, though, and this is something that only occurred to me at the end of the discussion when Sean spoke of "coming home", it also comes down to how well crafted the world is, real or not. It's easier to have a vibrant world when you have something to base your work on, but imagined worlds can feel just as real and alive when they're done well. Julian mentioned LotRO, but for me, it's the world of Guild Wars. The lore is so rich, the areas and city so distinctive, I had a huge "coming home" moment from the moment I created my first character, a Sylvari, who woke up in the Grove. The world of Tyria has a such strong, colorful personality that you really get attached to.

Great email on soaking up a game! I think the last time that happened to me was with Skyrim. I have a tendency to do that with Elder Scroll games, just play for hours and hours and hours, completely engrossed and sucked into the world. That was a while back though, and I unfortunately don't foresee it happening again anytime soon, what with work and small children. Kinda miss the binge gaming, those were the good old days!

As for Higgledy's question... I like overpowered games now. There used to be a time when I like a challenge, when I cranked everything up to Impossible or Nightmare mode, but now... Yeah, I've grown old and soft, ah well.

Brainsmith wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Episodes like this really make me want to get a PC. Mac gaming is surprisingly robust these days (especially in tandem with a PS4) but as pretty as Fallout 4 is on the console, I know it is waaaaaay nicer looking on the PC.

Totally! I was having the same thought, while I listened to this episode. I have been using Macs for quite a while and gaming nowadays is pretty fun on a maxed out iMac, but even though it technically would be able to run The Witcher 3 or Fallout 4, I could only play it with Bootcamp. But then I would have to deal with Windows and I certainly don't want to do that, so I just wait for a port (which might never happen for Fallout 4, but at least the Witcher 1-2 were ported for Mac, so you never know...) and play other stuff instead. (I still use a PS3, so that is not an option either.)

Dealing with Windows on a Boot Camp partition isn't so bad. I bought my latest iMac (mid-range late-2013) to be my "PC gaming" PC, precisely to have my cake and it eat with a mobile graphics card too. I treat the OS like a Steam platform: reboot into Windows, Steam launches on start-up, play game, backup game save with GameSave Manager to OneDrive, reboot into OS X. I could probably count all the programs I have installed on the Windows side on two hands and have fingers left over (Classic Shell, Steam, Firefox, GameSave Manager, OBS, FaceTrackNoIR, GeForce Experience, Xbox 360 controller drivers—I think that's it).

That said...

Eleima wrote:

​Gosh, I love these technical talks. They make me want to build a whole new PC.

Maybe I shouldn't listen to this episode. As satisfied as I am with my current set-up, I do sometimes lie awake at night dreaming about a proper gaming PC I have no money for: SSD, ultrawide monitor, non-mobile graphics...

Gravey wrote:

Dealing with Windows on a Boot Camp partition isn't so bad.

I have to use Windows at work and I've got no love for it left. Even thinking about drivers and the Windows Registry makes me cringe... and crashes... those bloody crashes... Though it's sad that I can't play some AAA games with my Macs, it's not really that much of a problem. There are still so many games left that I haven't played through yet. Perhaps I should finish The Witcher 2 before thinking about playing Part 3 anyway

Brainsmith wrote:
Gravey wrote:

Dealing with Windows on a Boot Camp partition isn't so bad.

I have to use Windows at work and I've got no love for it left. Even thinking about drivers and the Windows Registry makes me cringe... and crashes... those bloody crashes... Though it's sad that I can't play some AAA games with my Macs, it's not really that much of a problem. There are still so many games left that I haven't played through yet. Perhaps I should finish The Witcher 2 before thinking about playing Part 3 anyway

I've had to support OS X at work for most of our users for about 4 years. I now hate all my operating-system children equally.

Brainsmith wrote:
Gravey wrote:

Dealing with Windows on a Boot Camp partition isn't so bad.

I have to use Windows at work and I've got no love for it left. Even thinking about drivers and the Windows Registry makes me cringe... and crashes... those bloody crashes...

Knock on wood, Windows 8.1 has behaved pretty well (at home and at work for that matter). I was a monogamous PC gamer back when dealing with the registry was an accepted Thing, but that's as in the past as editing config.sys. But yeah, once bitten, hence backing up my saves to OneDrive and only using the partition for games—so if Windows eats itself, recovery is a relative snap.

The only thing I wish I could get the Windows side to do is have OS X-like mouse acceleration, but whenever I Google it, I only find people trying to get their OS X to have Windows-like mouse acceleration. I'm all like whaaaaaaaat.

I enjoyed the commentary on games set in real world locations. I actually loved GTA V in large part because it was based on Los Angeles and took the best landmarks and smushed (technical game development term) them together. I have often told people that the best part of that game is that I can do my real world daily commute to and from work in the game...and I can do it in a physics sandbox that is just...joyful. I try to avoid the misogynistic parts as much as possible. But may daily commute down PCH is sublime.

I love having games in real world situations.

That definitely improved Fallout 3 for me, and New Vegas to a lesser extent (if only because I've been to DC but not Vegas).

Two games that came to my mind as part of this discussion:
Flight Simulator - I bought a number of scenery packages for this, and being able to fly around places I've lived, and to airports I've visited, was cool.

The Simpsons Road Rage - not exactly a "real" place, but it was still grounded in a show I had watched for years as much as possible in a universe where geography is that fluid.

...also a bonus game, Elite: Dangerous. The starting basis for the game includes all the known stars of our galaxy. I've found it really interesting to fly around and visit all of our stellar neighbors (Except for Alpha Centauri).

EvilDead wrote:
Boudreaux wrote:

Really enjoyed the discussion on the new PCs, but it really got me wondering just what I'm compromising with my current hardware. It seems like PC technology started to far outpace game requirements 5-6 years ago, to the point that I haven't felt the need to upgrade nearly as aggressively as I did a decade ago. Everything seems to run fine. My current PC has an older Athlon X2 processor, I don't even know how many gigahertz it has. A couple? My video card is a Radeon 6840 which seemed like a pretty good card when I got it, but I don't even remember how long it's been (it's that long). I've been playing a TON of Witcher 3 lately, and I don't really have any issues with it, but maybe I've just gotten used to barely-capable performance? Maybe I've forgotten what silky-smooth performance looks like, or that a graphics setting called "Hairworks" can be a thing.

Wow, an X2! That processor initially released in 2005! I got rid of mine in 2008 because it struggled with 4v4 in RTS games like Company of Heroes. Lots of AI brought it to it's knees. I guess it depends on what type of games you enjoy and what your personal level of playability is.

OK, you made me go look it up, because I knew there was no way it's been 10 years.

It's an Athlon II X4 620 quad-core 2.6GHz processor, running on a Gigabyte AM3 board with 12GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 6840 vid card. The processor I got almost exactly 6 years ago. Still running!

Gravey wrote:

The only thing I wish I could get the Windows side to do is have OS X-like mouse acceleration, but whenever I Google it, I only find people trying to get their OS X to have Windows-like mouse acceleration. I'm all like whaaaaaaaat.

I had no clue what you were talking about, so I Googled it... and it really seems like this a thing. The only time that I wanted to change anything about my mouse settings was playing Heroes of the Storm several months ago. For some reason, I always lose track of my cursor in intense fights and there is no way to change it inside the game. It seems like there are some options for Windows, where you can change the colour and the size of the cursor. But apart from that, I have always enjoyed using the mouse on OS X. Especially on the track pad everything is wonderfully smooth compared to our Windows 7 (Yes, Windows 7 is still a thing over here) laptops at work.

I always enjoy the podcast. But this time there was something more to it. Keep it up

Boudreaux wrote:
EvilDead wrote:
Boudreaux wrote:

Really enjoyed the discussion on the new PCs, but it really got me wondering just what I'm compromising with my current hardware. It seems like PC technology started to far outpace game requirements 5-6 years ago, to the point that I haven't felt the need to upgrade nearly as aggressively as I did a decade ago. Everything seems to run fine. My current PC has an older Athlon X2 processor, I don't even know how many gigahertz it has. A couple? My video card is a Radeon 6840 which seemed like a pretty good card when I got it, but I don't even remember how long it's been (it's that long). I've been playing a TON of Witcher 3 lately, and I don't really have any issues with it, but maybe I've just gotten used to barely-capable performance? Maybe I've forgotten what silky-smooth performance looks like, or that a graphics setting called "Hairworks" can be a thing.

Wow, an X2! That processor initially released in 2005! I got rid of mine in 2008 because it struggled with 4v4 in RTS games like Company of Heroes. Lots of AI brought it to it's knees. I guess it depends on what type of games you enjoy and what your personal level of playability is.

OK, you made me go look it up, because I knew there was no way it's been 10 years.

It's an Athlon II X4 620 quad-core 2.6GHz processor, running on a Gigabyte AM3 board with 12GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 6840 vid card. The processor I got almost exactly 6 years ago. Still running!

Haha, quad core makes more sense. I think I built a buddies system with one of those and he is still rocking it.

Because people asked, here's a gallery of a handful of shots from witcher and F4.

http://imgur.com/a/cW3yt

One nice thumbail of one for here:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tjSA6ju.png)

Warning, they're all 2560/1080

It's kinda dumb how much making a game take place in a familiar space adds to it for me. The "Chicago" level was my favorite as a kid in RAMPAGE. In PilotWings 64, I liked to fly between the antennae at the top of the Sears Tower, the only landmark used to represent Chicago. But even in World Of Warcraft, I got pretty excited the first time I saw the portal in 3D.

I don't think I've ever played a game set anywhere I've been, but even knowing that a setting is based on reality is a good thing to me. Spaces feel more natural, and often they are places I've seen thousands of time on TV or in movies, so there is still some resonance.

Having Fallout 3 set in Washington DC definitely affected my experience with the game. I'd been there before to see the sights, and seeing them in ruins was depressing and creepy, to the point that I could only play during the day - probably so I could look out the window to assure myself everything was still OK.

Of course, I was unemployed at the time and on the soul sucking job search treadmill, which might have contributed to my melancholy.

I think the only time a real world place has affected me was in Blur.
Otherwise though, my favorite games are Castlevania, Metroid, Zelda, Twisted Metal, Mario 2d, Wipeout, Einhander.
Of those only Twisted Metal had stages set in places around the real world and even then it was theming.