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Joining the PC gaming elite after 10 years, what did I miss?

Get a desktop unless you absolutely need the mobility of a laptop.

As far as games go...

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Do it.
 
You won't regret it :) I don't think it's going to get significantly cheaper in the near future though since it's already 75% off at Amazon. And if you get the Plentiful Package, you're getting an insane deal even if you only play CK2 and Magicka (both Steam versions btw).

I'm not waiting for it to be cheaper. You see, I have 100+ unplayed/barely played games on Steam, including* Total War: Shogun 2 and Civ V, both of which are still beyond my feeble understanding at this point. I'm a bad human (._.)

*And Magicka
 
Also, don't be bound by Steam. It's great, and I love it, but please don't forgo good games just because they aren't on Steam. I feel that it's a mistake made by too many PC gamers.
 
I'm not waiting for it to be cheaper. You see, I have 100+ unplayed/barely played games on Steam, including Total War: Shogun 2 and Civ V. I'm a bad human (._.)

I have Civ V as well... but also Civ IV, Rome Total War, Medieval 2 Total War, Europa Universalis 3, Alpha Centauri, Gratuitous Space Battles, King Arthur... and those are just the strategy games I actually plan to play :P I just stopped caring about that stuff to avoid going crazy.
 
I have Civ V as well... but also Civ IV, Rome Total War, Medieval 2 Total War, Europa Universalis 3, Alpha Centauri, Gratuitous Space Battles, King Arthur... and those are just the strategy games I actually plan to play :P I just stopped caring about that stuff to avoid going crazy.

I don't factor in my Steam backlog when I'm buying console games, but I've made the difficult decision to take it into consideration when I'm contemplating buying more PC games.

My name is Koroviev and I am a Steam addict. I'm recovering (._.)
 
Ooh, better check the system requirements before I buy that one then

If it must be a laptop you at least checked with the PC gaming Laptop recommendations thread right? We don't want you falling for some manufacturer PR and paying tons of money for something that doesn't play games well.

On Topic, you must check out:
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, the best RPG/Shooter hybrid I've ever played (get the most up to date fan patch that only bug fixes)

Dawn of War 2, excellent real time tactics/loot RPG hybrid. (preferably playing in co-op with someone, the competitive multiplayers not really anything to write home about)

STALKER:Shadow of Chernobyl, and it's stand alone expansion packs. I don't like many FPS's but I love STALKER, probably because the way the content is organized is more like a traditional western RPG than the corridors more common to the genre. (download The Complete Mod to fix up some bugs)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Best horror game I've ever played, a must play experience regardless of your gameplay preferences imo.
 
Oh boy, you've missed a lot haha.


Half Life 2 + ep1/2

STALKER (all of them) with the complete mod. Incredible atmosphere. Shadow of Chernobyl is the best imo, but other prefer Call of Pripyat.

I would recommend Battlefied 2 but unfortunately you're a few years late as the community is pretty small at this point. Could be worth a go if you get it cheap though.

Crysis - the first couple of hours are amazing. Not just a tech demo.

Although you may not typically like fps stuff, the above are all amazing fps games and best of all will be super cheap during the steam summer sales so there is little to lose. Also, Team Fortress 2 which is free on steam :P



Rome/Medieval 2/Shogun Total War
Civ 4/5
Paradox strategy stuff
Sins of a Solar Empire
Homeworld 2
Company of Heroes
Dawn of War
World in Conflict

^those are just off the top of my head as highly rated strat games. Plenty more out there.


Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim/Fallout3/FalloutNV. Mods. That is all.
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines


X3 Terran Conflict - Haven't played much of this, but I played more of the earlier entry (X3 Reunion). Mix of space fighting and strategy/building. Deep and hard to get into at first, but very rewarding. Something that can only be done on pc.

Arma 2/OA - More fps, but these are pretty far in the simulator direction. Very unique experience. Plenty of mods, including the recent DayZ.

Minecraft - Good night sweet free time.

MMO's: GW2/WoW are the ones of the moment. Literally hundreds of free ones out there though for all tastes.

Indie games: *dies* Too many to list. Pick up a few packs that are of interest on a steam sale or in humble bundles.


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So, after you've tried all the above (and come back in, oh, about 5 more years :P) we can start recommending even ore stuff. Have fun.

Edit: Just looking through this thread i see tons more I've missed xD
 
Do yourself a favor and try indie/small developer games, since that's where PC has really been shining these past few years:

Vessel
Amnesia
Lone Survivor
Binding of Isaac
Natural Selection 2
Endless Space
Legend of Grimrock
Botanicula
Gemini Rue
Terraria
Atom Zombie Smasher
SpaceChem
Dustforce
Dear Esther
Hard Reset
Nuclear Dawn
The Ball
E.Y.E
Jamestown
Penumbra series
Mahicka
Mount & Blade
Serious Sam 3
Cryostasis
Frozen Synapse
To the Moon
Men of War
plus upcoming ones like Torchlight 2, Orcs Must Die 2, Resonance and Grim Dawn.


There's also bigger games like ArmA 2/3, Company of Heroes 1/2, Crusader Kings 2, Red Orchestra 2, Stalker games, World in Conflict, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Planetside 2, Shogun 2 Total War, Mechwarrior Online, Civ5, Trackmania/Shootmania, Anno 2070, Tribes Ascend, Vampire the Masquerade and the upcoming Sim City, C&C Generals and X-Rebirth games.

Also get games from gog.com.
 
From 2003 to 2006 you missed plenty of amazing stuff, from 2007 to 2011 the PC games market pretty much turned to shit, thanks to the Devs & people like you switching to consoles.

Only in the last 12mths or so has it begun to swing back to the PC, so you've rejoined at the right time.
 
Ledsen, what is the main difference between EU3 and CK2?

They're not really that similar.

In EUIII, you play as a country. In CK2, you play as a character.

Ironically, Ledsen asked the same question in the Paradox thread, lol.

This is what I said:

Not really advantages or disadvantages, more like jsut differences


Crusader Kings II:
You play as a character (count at the lowest, emperor at the highest)
You 'goal' is to increase the prestige of your dynasty.
Tech advancement (AFAIK) doesn't depend on your size or how much money you put into it (since you don't put any money into it).
Economics are much simpler, you don't deal with trade. Your money comes from your demense + your vassals (depending on your laws and their opinion of you.)
There is no inflation
There are no standing armies, everything is levy based.
The map is smaller than EUIII (Europe, North Africa, Middle East)
No naval combat.
Royal marriages actually require you to have available children (and dynasty members in your court).
No explicitly Stability, it's more like replaced by individual vassal loyalty.

EUIII:
Much more focused on the State:
Your 'goal' is to increase the prestige of the state
You have five categories in which you pour money into to research.
Your money comes from tax of the State + tax on vassal states (if you have any) + trade. Money is based on tax efficiency, production efficiency, and trade efficiency.
If you mint, you'll get inflation, which slows your tech progress down.
There are standing armies and you pay maintenance on them. The maintenance level affects morale.
Royal marriages increase legitimacy/prestige (I think?) and they're limitless (besides diplomats.)
Certain actions require certain people availability (diplo requires diplomats, trade stuff requires merchants, building stuff requires.... i forget what they're called)?

This is what I think of off the top of my head.

In EUIII, the main challenge comes from managing the State. In CK2, the main challenge is managing your vassal relationships (and relationships to foreign leaders, also your marriages with regards to claims.)

EDIT: One more thing about tech advancement in CK2, it's much more out of your country, besides the use of spies to steal tech and being able to use your court to speed up research by 100%. It's much more fluid in the way it spreads. Unforunately, I don't really understand tech that much in CK2.

and here is what someone else said since my post doesn't make sense to those who have played neither game:

Europa Universalis can be boiled down to a complex game of Risk (with some elements of games like Axis & Allies).

While Crusader Kings shares some elements with a game like Risk or EU it's a character focused game about different dynasties(families) so it's more about intrigue, building relationships, building the prestige of your family than it is about straight up conquering.

If you have played a Paradox strategy game before Zoku's post will give you a bit more detail about specific differences.
 
Ledsen, what is the main difference between EU3 and CK2?

In EU3 you control a country, in CK2 you control a dynasty. I haven't played that much EU3 (a few hours), but it seems much more focused on military and internal economics, while in CK2 you will spend most of your time dealing with people: scheming and plotting, keeping your vassals happy, trying not to get murdered or deposed, marrying off your family members etc. The screens you will be using the most are ones that show family trees, peoples' disposition towards you, ongoing intrigues and plots etc. Of course you do military and economics stuff in CK2 as well, and vice versa for social interaction in EU3, but on a higher and more abstracted level. Then there's Victoria 2, which seems to focus a lot on economics and trading. CK2 is set from 1000s to the 1400s, EU3 from the 1400s to the early 1800s, and Victoria 2 from the 1800s to the early 1900s. So basically you can choose what you're most interested in out of those three series.

edit: wow beaten badly :)
 
Another mention for the Total War series, especially since the OP says he's a strategy fan. Choose one depending on your interests in history (Japanese feudal era, Ancient Rome, Napoleonic Wars, Medieval times etc) and go.

Also for RPGs, you've missed some good Euro jank. Risen for example.


Most of those who have been mentioned in this thread are good.
 
Some commercial independent games worth considering (some are available on consoles, but are better on PC--others are available on consoles and not much different on PC):

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Almost all of these games have puzzle or strategic elements, even if their overall genres vary wildly.
 
Wait for the Steam sale. It's about a month away and some of the games listed in the OP like the Witcher will probably go on sale.

Since you mentioned liking rpgs and strategy games. Here's some to look out for during the sale.

Drakensang
King's Bounty
Torchlight
Divinity II
Vampire the Masquerade
Titan Quest + Immortal Throne
Risen
Legend of Grimrock
Ys: The Oath of Felghana

This is a good list.
Risen 2 is much worse than the first one but it's still worth a look if you like exploration RPGs.

Other games you might like:
Gothic 2. Exploration RPG.
Recettear. Dungeon crawler / item shop sim.
The Binding of Isaac. Dungeon crawler / top down shooter. Currently 60% off on steam.
Dungeons of Dredmore. Dungeon crawler. Currently 50% off on steam.
Fortune Summoners. Sidescrolling action RPG. Controls take some time to get used to so try the demo first.
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. Turned based strategy, similiar to Heroes of Might and Magic. If you somehow haven't played a Heroes of Might and Magic game get the 2nd or 3rd game in the series.
Arx Fatalis. Dungeon crawler.
 
Make sure to get a Xbox 360 for Windows controller, makes games like Jamestown more fun to console gamer...I wish Binding of Isaac supported it
 
If you like more strange games one of my favorite games of all time The Void is on sale with 'the graduation bundle' at http://www.indieroyale.com/

The Void is a masterpiece that must be experienced if you are at all interested in thought provoking games that tries something new.

Otherwise Mask of the Betrayer is a must and probably the best written RPG since Planescape: Torment.
 
Just don't go out and buy a million games at once. Make a very short list and go though one game every so often. You'll find some people trying to push you to develop a mythic steam backlog but buying games you're not going to play makes you stupid. A few off the top of my head include Civ4, Sacred 2, even Skyrim has fairly strong RPG elements.
 
Just don't go out and buy a million games at once. Make a very short list and go though one game every so often. You'll find some people trying to push you to develop a mythic steam backlog but buying games you're not going to play makes you stupid.

This.
Don't be like us, there's still time for you.
 
Just don't go out and buy a million games at once. Make a very short list and go though one game every so often. You'll find some people trying to push you to develop a mythic steam backlog but buying games you're not going to play makes you stupid. A few off the top of my head include Civ4, Sacred 2, even Skyrim has fairly strong RPG elements.

But... but... Steam Summer Sale. You must buy everything during the Summer Sale. That's what the rest of us do. Be like us. Buy EVERYTHING. YOU MUST HAVES IT ALL AND IT'LL ALL BE ON SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE.
 
My backlog on STEAM is slowly getting bigger and now I finally have a gaming PC... I fear what the sale will do to me.
 
All the games I would recommend have already been mentioned so I'll just repeat the two that stand out for me:

Terraria
VVVVVV

TotalWar&DawnofWar2&Amnesia&Trine&AtomZombieSmasher&Machinarium
 
Poring over the CK2 OT and downloading the demo as I type this. Is there any reason why that Paradox bundle is like 90% off?
 
I just got a gaming PC this year after being out since about Roller Coaster Tycoon II so this thread is super helpful, only thing I don't understand is why people say Steam makes their wallets hurt? My wallet has never been so happy since getting a gaming PC, everything is so fucking affordable
 
I just got a gaming PC this year after being out since about Roller Coaster Tycoon II so this thread is super helpful, only thing I don't understand is why people say Steam makes their wallets hurt? My wallet has never been so happy since getting a gaming PC, everything is so fucking affordable

That's the problem: everything is affordable. Ergo, you buy everything like a shameless animal and play nothing (._.)
 
That's what I'm worried about, I do buy a lot but I'm still saving a ton in comparison but the backlog is growing far too quickly

You think you're saving money, but you're not really saving money when you're buying games simply because they're on sale and not because you actually wanted those specific titles in the first place. It's a trap (._.)
 
Ys Origin is just about to unlock for download. Just an awesome and intense action game with the best goddamn music ever.

Also even there are V's in this thread there are not enough so let me compensate:

VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVV

Best goddamn 3 hour game you will ever play. And that's just single player, first time through. There's a level editor and trinkets to hunt and cheevos and everything.

Also have we covered Portal and Portal 2 yet? That's a sick place to start too.
 
Just popping in to second (third..fourth?) the Total War series, Civ 5, and Company of Heroes.

Dang it...I am now intrigued by this CKII, as well.
 
Gotta check out the Total War series, a definitive PC gaming experience if you like strategy games.

Shogun 2 is the most recent and technically the best, it would be a great starting point. If you like it they also have Total War games set in the Roman period, Medieval, & Napoleonic era.

Rome is my favorite :)
 
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