That game was kind of a banger honestly.

Pennies on today’s dollar. When I was looking at doing it in 2023, it was still pretty expensive. The ram was about twice the price, plus you’d need a motherboard upgrade. Juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze. I get that stuff like this can be 10 or 20% more efficient or whatever, but then you consider on the other hand that quite a lot of games get released in a trash alpha state where it’s CPU (edit meant to say GPU) bound, or your NVME hard drive isn’t operating at peak state, or something stupid like that. Stuff you never really think about.

If I could rewind, I’d maybe would have done it just to stay ahead of the need to upgrade down the road. I’m hoping to skip the AM5 generation, if I ever build another PC, big if (I’m getting kinda old, don’t game as much anymore).

Yeah and about a 400% increase in weight loss to my wallet.

I’m good with the 20% reduction, if that’s the cost.

I probably would have too, but back when I did it AM5 stuff was pretty steep and the value/dollar was still a bit hazy. I’m still not really quite sure what the real AM5 advantage over AM4 for the common person is, especially at the prices today. I mean obviously it’s better and newer and whatever, but is it really that necessary?

I did a 5800x3d/4070ti/128gb AM4 refresh three years ago, and honestly the thing still absolutely cooks. I’m not even sure why you would ever need more. Maybe if you game in 4k, or bragging rights or something. I’m more than content with the 1440p plebes though.

I think game designers and studios have to realize that there is a big market they arent serving as much. I’m not a basement dwelling teenager anymore, I’m in my 40s, I’ve got basically no time, I can’t spend 100 hours locked in on something anymore. Take Kingdom Come Deliverance II for instance, like it’s clearly a banger of a game, but I was like 15 hours in and it still hasn’t really started. I just don’t have the attention span for that kind of stuff anymore. I guess I’m desiring more casual like gaming.

Wholeheartedly agree. Games these past few years have been big letdowns for the most part. There’s been a couple exceptions, but for the most part it’s been disappointing.

I never played the third birthday one either. Number two is great, but it goes from like challenging to next level nightmare impossible right at the end.

I’ve got KCD2, and I mean it’s awesome, but the prologue drags on my god. I just got the darn thing finally started and I was bored of it. I’ll pick it back up at some point. It’s great, it just needs a special kind of attention and dedication that I’m not sure I totally have.

Carmageddon Max Damage. I used to live for the original Carmageddon, back when I was in high school. Between me and my old man, we annihilated that game and all the add on packs. This version is a pleasant return to a simpler time, but it’s a nice shake up of the classic too, it’s actually a bit challenging. I’m really enjoying it, about 55% done. I pick away at it here and there, and have been doing that this week. Probably going to replay Modern Warfare 2 (the 2009 version) on the weekend, as I just finished Modern Warfare 1 last weekend.

7 with VR was phenomenal. It’s not quite the same as the 1-4 series though, like it was almost a different universe. I never played its sequel, but I heard it was good.

Parasite eve 1 or 2? I don’t think I ever got past the final boss in 2, buddy was impossible

I’ve got a $50 game boy wanna-be clone that I bought on Amazon on my bedside table, thing runs PS1 games smoothly. It ain’t quite the same obviously, but it just about scratches the same itch (plus it’s portable, I’ve enjoyed playing it on the train to and from work for example).

I just struggle to be…into it anymore.

After the whole COVID thing, after all this other crap, now the ram, like I’m just not into this scarcity thing anymore. A lot of the games suck, everything’s released pre-alpha, all this pre buy hype and then the delays just to build more hype.

I dunno, call me jaded, but I’m just kind of over it, and I’m struggling to enjoy these newer games as much. I mean dont get me wrong, I love games still, I love computers and tech still (obviously), but I’ve as of late have discovered that I’ve missed so much over the past decade or so. I’ve been having a hoot playing older stuff, and it’s so much more enjoyable. Hence I’m not really caught in the hype as much anymore. My last build is about to hit 2 years old, and honestly it’s probably riding the decade out at this point, if not even longer.

I hate GTA online. Actually I have to admit I still don’t understand the appeal of online gaming, it has never scratched the itch for me.

I’ll play GTA 6, but I’m going to keep my expectations in check. I also agree, GTA IV was thus far the pentultimate. I really like RDR2 as well, both are definitely in my top 5.

Well the games for sure haven’t for the most part gotten any better. Maybe with the exception of the Rockstar games, like I totally get all the hate, but their games are also always next level.

And the dial up days lol. My dad wisely and thankfully got a second phone line.

Also I remember those underpowered computer days too lol. We got a 200 Pentium MMX the spring of 97, and that thing was cutting edge at first, but it quickly got pretty dated, like even around 2000 it was starting to struggle with some of the newer stuff. The old man insisted on riding it into the mid aughts. I was long and away at school and afterwards, with my own computers by then, but he rode that thing into the ground, and oh boy was it crawling at the end. We’d come home from school, where we had like wide open broadband, and have to suffer through Christmas break at dial up speeds lol.

8-tracks and 45s. I even remember early day modems where you actually had to pick up a landline, dial the number and then place the receiver in a specially built cradle that used analogue noise to communicate. My first computer was a Commodore VIC-20 that used cassette tapes to save data.

Best days of life if you ask me. Well actually maybe the mid to later 90s, when the Internet first started coming home for everyone. Watching live concerts and Napster and all of that. Instant messaging people, and being able to download every Nintendo game in existence, on demand. When computer games went from here to THERE, like Carmaggedon and games like that. Those were the magic days. When I discovered Napster I think we legit skipped school for almost the entire week.

Thanks for a trip through the memories!

I’m old enough I can remember operating an 8-track deck in my dad’s truck. Didn’t have GPS accessible until oh geez, probably my later 20s? My kids are very young, so they only know the touchscreen world.

I don’t think there’s any going back. If we had to, like if there was a bad event or whatever, I’d like to think we could all eventually adapt, but it would be rough for sure. A lot of people wouldn’t make it.

You definitely aren’t.

If they only still made them like Bowie…

I agree with everything that you’ve said, it’s sad and pathetic, but we’ve invited the monster inside. The calls are coming from inside the house now.