imthesoldier

On 3/12/2023 at 5:03 AM, Spork3245 said:

Everyone on reddit now thinks if your video card has less than 16gb of vram it’s obsolete because RE8 and RE4 Remake use over 12gb of vram at their max settings

Mind you, I was playing the demo at 1080p, but with high settings (or whatever the default settings were), it never came close to 12GB, and I'm using an RTX 3060. It probably only got to 6 maybe, but I never looked hard enough. I was too busy trying to stay alive than concern myself with how much vram I was using. 

Just cloned my boot drive, which is a SATA SSD to my new 2TB NVMe drive. Everything working as intended, and nice for WD to have a program available on their site to clone a drive.

I've joined 2015 finally.

54 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

I'm not a big LTT fan for a multitude of reasons, but I'm glad he made this video if only because I was always curious what's actually in that scam-16tb SSD:

  Hide contents

It's a 64gb SD CARD hot glued into a usb reader

 

I enjoy LTT's content overall, though I'm also not some LTT-stan that thinking Linus is a God or anything. But especially when it comes to these types of PSA videos, they're really great at exposing shit like this. 

And yeah, it's hilarious what scammers will do on sites like Amazon. It's bullshit scams like this why I refuse to buy almost anything from Amazon. Consumers need to reconsider where they buy their shit, and for most reputable brands, you can buy directly from them rather than going through a middleman. That, or buy it locally, which is my preferred method for buying shit. 

10 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

The games would be made around using the m.2, though. Thus, it would be weird not to take advantage of m.2s on PC for the port. I think you're confusing my statement with making m.2s a requirement - I'm talking about "taking advantage of m.2s".

Truthfully, I think it's weird not to take advantage either, but developers be developers. And yeah, I probably mistakened your previous comment. 

16 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

Big disagree. Why? XSX + PS5 are using versions of it.

Consoles though are highly optimized pieces of hardware, so developers have a very specific benchmark to hit when designing games. It's much different for PC with its millions of potential hardware specs, and storage speeds. I don't see the PS5 and XSeries disproving my theory that we won't be seeing games on PC only requiring SSDs, let alone nvme-based drives anytime soon. Again, it'll take years. How many years? Not sure. Probably 2-3 years, and given how much development times have increased over the years. 

But there can be use-cases where companies, or even developers can help to convince gamers to upgrade to SSDs, or even NVMe drives by having comparisons with loading screens (or lack thereof), plus if there are no duplicate assets required, file sizes can also be reduced. Quite honestly, Sony did just that with the PS5 showcase with Dana Carvey playing the role of Mark Cerny showing the advantages of using SSDs vs HDD, plus GPU decompression to help offload the cycles normally used on the CPU. 

14 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

Only one game has utilized m.2 speeds so far, Forspoken. There’s barely a difference in load speeds on most PC games with a SATA SSD vs a gen4 m.2, and when I say “most”, I mean all except Forspoken  

 

The reason Forspoken has a large difference with an m.2 vs a SATA SSD (unlike what’s shown in those benchmarks) is because it utilizes direct storage. Until now, getting a high end m.2 was mostly only beneficial for synthetic benchmarks  

Correct. Direct Storage is supposed to be that secret sauce, but like anything, games have to be designed around it to really take advantage of it. And even then, I want to say the majority of games still are designed around the humble HDD

15 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

There are absolutely games that now have an SSD in the minimum requirements.  They're (mostly) not taking advantage of things like DirectStorage -- so the incremental benefits of NVMe drives probably aren't really there.  But loading on an SSD vs. a HD makes a BIG difference in modern gaming -- and has for years.

 

I am just surprised, my last Desktop in 2016 did have one HDD -- but that was ripped out of the computer I was retiring, and was solely used for storing pictures from our iPhones.  My last 3 work PCs, and the last 3 laptops I've purchased for home use have been SSD-only.

I'm not disagreeing about the benefits of using SSD vs. HDD. All I'm pointing out is our own anecdotes do not represent the masses in terms of what they run their computers with. In my case, up until 2020, with my previous work laptop, it used a HDD, and now my current work laptop only uses a SATA SSD, though it does have an m.2 slot built in, and I could expense out a cheap 256GB nvme drive if I really wanted to. But again, anecdote. 

Regarding DS though, it's still going to take years before developers take advantage of it like they do with say Vulkan, or DX. Thankfully, as mentioned before, SSD prices have gone down considerably over the last few years. As far as games are concerned, what games actually REQUIRE a SSD though? Because even Forspoken doesn't require it. The game will still run on a HDD, though it is certainly not recommended. Not trying to start an argument, I'm just curious is all. 

Another factor I think is despite Gen 5 just starting to roll out, games haven't even really utilized SSD speeds, let alone  

3 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Not a great analogy.  Most computers sold today are 1080p, and come with an SSD.  A 1 TB SATA SSD is under 50 bucks.

Fair enough, though I wouldn't be surprised if there's still a fair amount of folks who still use HDDs in their computers vs. even a SATA SSD. Adoption is likely growing everyday, but majority of people don't buy latest and greatest either. 

5 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

SSDs have been cheap for so long, I am still somewhat surprised when I see someone is using a HDD for other than storing large media files.

It's probably still more common than you realize. 

Similar to how most people still use 1080p displays rather than 1440p, let alone 4K monitors. We'd like to believe most have already dumped their 1080p displays for 4K monitors, but it's still kind of niche. 

On 3/2/2023 at 2:15 PM, stepee said:

nvme pricing has gotten a bit better huh? 2tb are pretty darn affordable now and it looks like maybe by the end of the year 4tb nvme will be affordable which will probably solve my woes with hard drive space this gen at that time! I saw a crucial 4tb 5000mbps for $260, can’t be long until 7000mpbs is like $250!

I previously had bought a 2TB WD SN850X nvme drive around Black Friday for like 150 to use a a boot drive (since I do have PCIe Gen 4 available for that), and just yesterday decided to plunge on another nvme drive, this time the WD SN770 2TB variant for like 110. 

I still haven't actually installed the SN850x into my Rig yet, but with 4TBs of speedy fast storage available now (one Gen 4, and one Gen 3), plus a third M.2 slot available (also Gen 3) for perhaps a 4TB, or even 8TB down the road, I'll be covered for SSD storage. My plan is to convert everything to SSD, and fend off a normal HDD for games for good. 

10 minutes ago, stepee said:

What bothers me is when I’m giving a direct url and they put it in the search field instead of the url field and keep clicking on ads instead of the site I’m trying to get them to go to.

This is why I prefer having one single bar on my browser. Search bar, address bar. They're all the same. 

20 hours ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

 

Nintendo vastly under estimated demand for the game

Hopefully, if the rumors are true, then the rest of the Prime Trilogy are getting the same remastered treatment. A long shot, yes, but if it's true Prime remastered was finished around 2021 (around the time Dread was announced), then Echoes may not be far away. 

Firmly believe Prime 4 is a 2024 title, and the Prime trilogy will complete by the end of this year. That's my dream anyway. 

30 minutes ago, TheShader said:

The larger headline is it's been 12 years since he left Capcom. Jesus Christ I'm getting old.

I realized this morning that the movie "3 Ninjas" came out in 1992, and is now 31 years old. And the brothers are all into their late 30s, or early 40s. Mikami leaving Capcom 12 years ago is a drop in the bucket. 

Maybe he can create a sequel to Vanquish, or make another Viewtiful Joe. We could use another Joe game in this day and age. Even a remaster would work well given its art style. Still looks good even today. 

17 hours ago, Ominous said:

 

I have to hold back from killing people at work.... Sometimes I'll be helping someone with some loan underwriter shit and they will use the windows calculator, which is fine, but then they use the mouse to click on the numbers and don't use the number pad.... what the actual fuck.

You think that's bad, I have older coworkers who still use Google to type in a website name, and then click on the hyperlink. Not to mention, they still type in "www." beforehand. So it's "www.google.com," enter the website name in the search bar, hit enter, and find the relevant site, and click it. 

Even most if not all browsers now will automatically take you to a search engine by just typing in the words in the address bar, but that's too futuristic for them I guess. 

I even have another coworker who is now semi-retired, and I absolutely blew his mind that I was able to use multiple monitors on my work laptop. I was trying to explain how it works, and even demonstrating how it works, but all he ended up saying is, "I can't do that. I'll stick with a single monitor." Suit yourself I guess. 

And keep in mind, I work at an Engineering firm that does consulting services on construction projects of all kinds. Many still write up their reports in pencil and paper rather than type it up (which eventually get scanned anyway). Thankfully, we're getting more and more digital in our workflow, and our State jobs use Box courtesy of the Department, so accessing those servers is easy peasy with a simple WiFi connection, or if using my Phone's hotspot if I'm being mobile in the field. 

I will still write handwritten notes in the field if needed, but those are my personal notes that'll get transcribed onto an official document afterwards anyway. 

16 hours ago, ort said:

Speaking for me personally, back in the day, exploring every nook and cranny in a game for hours and hours was a great time. I also didn't have the internet, or 100 other games, or a smartphone or YouTube or Netflix or adult responsibilities and wives and kids and whatnot...

 

I made it into my mid-30s as an avid gamer... but kids did it for me. I really don't play many games anymore at all. I have a very limited amount of free time and I just don't want to use it backtracking in a video game. This isn't a knock on Metroid Prime, which is one of my favorite games of all time.

 

I changed. Gaming didn't change.

Also in my mid-30s. Though no kids, I work in construction, so hours are pretty crazy during the season. There are also always projects, and other things to do at home, so I'm finding out I also don't have as much time to game as I used to. Though my Wife is understanding, and will say, "You go game, while I make dinner, ok?" Yes, dear...

Being a responsible adult is hard work. 

7 minutes ago, Biggie said:

Y’all playing Metriod

We could wipe our asses, and blow our nose at the same time. I call that efficiency! 

1 hour ago, best3444 said:

Man. Every time I make progress I get stuck. 5 hours in and just cannot get into a good rhythm. I love it though.

Discovery is the name of the game, man. You'll get there. 

I can't wait to pick up the physical release, and re-experience this gem once again. 

16 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

I did it just fine without guides or smartphones back in 2002.  It’s not obtuse.  It’s easy to parse for these types of games.  Much more than the series was before it in 2D.  Prime is simpler to navigate, find your bearings in, and resorts to fewer cheap tricks like dummy walls and tiles that can stunt progress.  It gently points you in a direction with its hint system, and you absolutely don’t have to find and collect everything.  You can make out pretty okay following the critical path as you come to it.  Which again, is not that hard to follow. 

 

Never play Hollowknight if Metroid Prime 1 is too much for you.  You should probably avoid some of the harder Zeldas as well. (Master Quest, Oracle of Ages, etc). Some great games aren’t for everyone. 

I'm going through Hollow Knight for the first time as we speak, and about 30 or so hours in, and it's been a blast to play after the first 15 or so hrs of getting the hang of the mechanics, and such. Compared to Prime like you said, HK is brutal, and does not hold your hand. Some people love it, and others hate it. I love not requiring a guide, and just literally going where I feel like it. It begs to be explored without a guide I'm realizing. And I feel Prime falls squarely into that realm as well, but with actual hints, and stuff to help steer you in the direction. 

But that's Metroidvania in a nutshell. Gamers either love them, or they don't. Prime is clearly a Metroidvania, but in a Three-dimensional space. 

Just now, AbsolutSurgen said:

Listing fees have been widely reported as ~30% for most publishers -- although I assume that some are able to negotiate lower numbers.

 

But for Switch, which is dominated by Nintendo published games, this is less of an issue.  It's is more the cost of digital distribution vs. the cost of physical distribution.  One would think that Nintendo would make more on their games that are published digitally.

Exactly. That's my whole point. Even though my original post was directed at you, my intention was to convey that in general, folks should not be surprised when prices don't suddenly go down once physical dwindles. 

12 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Why would I expect prices to go down?  Prices are not driven by cost.

My point is without physical, there's no retail, or manufacturing fees for the Publisher to pay. The only thing would be a listing fee for having the game on whatever distribution platform (or none at all if on your own platform), and I'd be surprised if that was somehow as much, or more expensive than manufacturing physical copies. 

So the Publisher should in theory take more percentage of the cut as a result at the same price point. 

1 hour ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Physical media isn't a thing anymore.  Movies are mostly streamed.  Music is mostly streamed.  Phone/Tablet content is exclusively download/streamed.  PC games are exclusively downloaded.  Solid state memory is now really cheap to include in a console.

 

There is no reason to have cartridges in 2023 -- let alone 2024/2025.  Particularly ones you need to manufacture, package, distribute and pay a margin on.

 

 

Just don't expect prices to go down from 60-70 dollars. Publishers laugh all the way to the bank they can sell a digital game for the same price as a physical one. 

8 hours ago, Brick said:

 

I'm assuming the next system will use cartridges as well. Makes more sense, and more portable for a console that can be taken with you as a handheld. I wouldn't have minded if the Switch cartridges were a bit bigger though so that they could fit more memory on them as well as possibly faster, say about the size of a CompactFlash card you'd use in a DSLR camera.

One of the things I keep wondering is due to the PS5 and Xbox Series using SSDs for their storage, the read/write speeds for the Switch are woefully slow by comparison (Like ~100MB/sec). And remember even for microSD, that's only using the UHS-I card speed. It would be nice if Switch 2 offered UHS-II speeds (156-312MB/sec according to Wiki), or even UHS-III class speeds, but I highly doubt it. 

One potential alternative then would be an m.2 2230 nvme drive ala Steam Deck, though the Switch 2 would more than likely have to increase in size. 

The dream would be using SD Express since it uses the same PCI-E interface as nvme, but using a much smaller footprint. It's not as small as MicroSD, as it's a standard SD Card size, but using a much faster reading interface would be the dream. Unfortunately, SD Express cards don't appear to be cheap, and they're still fairly new, which also doesn't fit Nintendo's M.O. of using "withered" technology that is readily available, and relatively cheap. 

7 minutes ago, 5timechamp said:

 

Imagine my surprise back in the day that old Shadow Man was a 3rd person metroidvania

Don't forget PowerSlave Exhumed as well, which could be considered a precursor to Metroid Prime. 

99.9% Chance. 

Like seriously, they've spent billions over the last several years getting their online service going, porting/remastering/remaking old games, and continue to expand their lineup of the NSO classics library of NES, SNES, N64, and most recently GB/GBA titles. 

I know we all say "Because...Nintendo," but I don't believe it for a second they'll just drop support entirely. Switch 2 more than likely will be fully BC, and on top of that, be a 2 or so year transitional period where cross-gen titles will be present. 

1 hour ago, HardAct said:

Struggling with the map. I know there is a learning curve but it's just very confusing. I'll get used to it but it's annoying to say the least. The rest of the experience is just awesome. Having 2 sticks in this FPS is really an HUGE UPGRADE. The game looks and runs beautifully!

I think Doom Eternal's map is worse to navigate than Prime's, and I'm sure some former Retro people actually worked on Eternal. No excuse really. 

53 minutes ago, Biggie said:

You are out of your damn mind buddy boy. 

Hogwarts Legacy will be known as one of the better games based on an existing IP, whether TV/Movie, or Literature. Metroid Prime though will always remain as one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time.