Survey: Which Game Client Do You Use? (08/31/2011)

[Souljacker]

Why would my eyes bleed? Most of the games I play are at 640x480, since they are on console. The stability of the console (at least before Abyssea) heavily outweighed any visual improvement I could get out of the PC version, and I've been playing since the 2002 game release, so I'm used to how it looks. Gaming on Windows is such a headache involving more than just starting the game. I have to worry about driver compatability being broken, a system update fucking something up, and all the support programs causing trouble if one of them updates and breaks something.

Are you really saying that the only games you play are on the Ps2, and the reason is that computers are a headache? You could always update to the 360 if you like the stability of a console, and even that is a visual upgrade from the Ps2 (though not as much as the PC).

If you think that maintaining a basic PC is a headache, what the heck are you going to do when that add on nic card fails or the HDD on the Ps2 crashes? Talk about a headache finding parts. No thanks, I'll take my chances with a Win7 update "fucking something up".

I think that you need to take a look around and see what's going on in this day and age. We moved beyond Windows 95 you know.....

[bungiefan]

I'm a computer technician at work, and I spend enough time fixing other people's problems. I don't want to have to keep doing it while I'm trying to have fun with a game. WotG broke the framerate on my XP PC. Network Adapters for PS2 are fairly common in the game shops I have here in Alaska, and I have a few spares friends have left with me. I have a ton of IDE hard drives, and progress has been made on the hacking scene to understand how the official HDD works, so I should be able to get it running on a non-Sony HDD if need be.

My PC is a file server for the house, I don't play a lot of games on it because it needs to be stable, and when I've been gaming it tends to not be stable. An Xbox 360 is a larger investment than I want to plunk down now, and I don't agree with the current system of having firmware updates issued by the companies to break console hacks. I like to have my consoles modified. There's also not much in the way of games I want to play on the 360. From what I hear, 360 FFXI is much less stable than any other platform.

I can play on PC if I need to, but it's much less headache to just play on the PS2. I don't have to troubleshoot so much that way.

[Tagus]

I can play on PC if I need to, but it's much less headache to just play on the PS2.

I've always felt so sorry for PS2 players, because I know that this is the reason why they still exist, but it's been holding back the game for so long that it has to be cut out of the picture at this point. If ffxiv had been a success it would be a different story and they could focus on that, but I think the unexpected lesson they learned was that while people are going to go play something else if they let ffxi stagnate, it's not necessarily going to be ffxiv. It's a different ballgame now as a result, and it just seems like they've gotta keep the old game alive any way possible to keep that money rolling in.

[bungiefan]

If it wasn't on PS2 in the first place I never would have started playing. It was a chance to try a MMORPG when I only had consoles and a Mac. The only current console I have is a Wii, and about a dozen other systems from previous generations. Gaming on those consoles, I know the game is just going to work and not crash strangely. The Wii I have because system updates are uncommon and don't tend to be needed to play a bunch of games, though the update they had that bricked a bunch of systems had me worrying, and thus I exploited mine right away and stopped official updates. I figure if it's going to brick, it might as well be my fault, and I can install patched updates that avoid problems when I feel like doing so. My computer was mainly a tool alongside FFXI to use for research, and to tinker with the PC install to see how well it worked on the rig school gave me. It looked nice, but Windows was never something I gamed on for long periods of time, and wasn't stable enough for me to want to switch just for a shiny look. PS2 look is still functional, and I started at launch. I don't expect better, I game on an SDTV much of the time.

I still have a sizable PS1, PS2, SNES, and GCN collection to go through, that will keep me busy for years at my current rate of free time, which FFXI was filling until the billing system change knocked me out.

When playing FFXI I already spent enough time on wikis and such researching how to complete p[arts of the game while I was playing. Spending more research time out of the game just to make the game work on PC didn't seem like a good time investment when it already took me 8 years for a single level 75 job to be achieved. I wanted as much playtime as I could get. Research and troubleshooting is work time, and I already had a lot of that. I also don't have as much disposible income as I used to, so a new rig/console is not appealing with the amount of backlog I already have and the diminished free time. I don't even really buy games anymore.

This new billing scheme is something too. They won't let me convert my account to something local so I can pay them (though yes it would convert to less in equivalent currency), and so instead of just losing a tiny amount per month from me, they are losing all the money per month from me. I had FFXI's fee in my budget, and now it is likely going to be spent somewhere else on something I won't want to switch back from. My ISP is offering to double my internet speed for an increase in monthly charges of about what FFXI costs, and they want to take the money I have to spend.

[Appie]

So wait... you're a computer technician, yet can't be arsed to have a simple rig (I understand your money issue, but besides that) to play FFXI? I know PS2 is superstable, I played on it for years, but the amount of crashes I had on the PC because of FFXI in like 6 years of playing I can count on 2 hands? Most of those weren't actually caused by FFXI, but some other program I was running in the background or windower plugin messing up. This is spread over 2 PC's even, one with XP the other with Windows 7. Xbox360 is version utter shit, played it for a year, had more crashes in that year than ever on PS2 or PC. There were times, especially when I made my relic, that I would leave FFXI running on my 2006 XP PC for days or weeks in rolanmart, never crashed, I have done the same on my new Windows 7 PC too. You are seriously making this bigger than it actually is, Windows is not that unstable, does not require research to set up. Install game>install windower>done.

Also for the record: WOTG rapes my framerate too on PC when there's weather up with an i7 and 5870, it's called shitty PS2 engine.

[Souljacker]

So wait... you're a computer technician, yet can't be arsed to have a simple rig (I understand your money issue, but besides that) to play FFXI? I know PS2 is superstable, I played on it for years, but the amount of crashes I had on the PC because of FFXI in like 6 years of playing I can count on 2 hands? Most of those weren't actually caused by FFXI, but some other program I was running in the background or windower plugin messing up. This is spread over 2 PC's even, one with XP the other with Windows 7. Xbox360 is version utter shit, played it for a year, had more crashes in that year than ever on PS2 or PC. There were times, especially when I made my relic, that I would leave FFXI running on my 2006 XP PC for days or weeks in rolanmart, never crashed, I have done the same on my new Windows 7 PC too. You are seriously making this bigger than it actually is, Windows is not that unstable, does not require research to set up. Install game>install windower>done.

Also for the record: WOTG rapes my framerate too on PC when there's weather up with an i7 and 5870, it's called shitty PS2 engine.

I have to agree; I don't think he's a PC technician either. I happen to actually be a PC tech, and between my server, my m11 and m15x, my custom built desktop rig, and my various handheld devices I'm probably up to about 6-7 working machines. That's not counting the consoles. Collecting hardware and software is an occupational hazard of being in the IT industry, and anyone even remotely interested in tinkering will surround themselves with the things they love.

This guy is dropping names like the SNES and XP that makes him look like he never came out of 1995.

Here's a protip on how to get FFXI to work on a PC:

Install it.

[bungiefan]

I was working on the computer that school gave me parts for in 2005 until the motherboard fried at the end of December. I built a new system a few weeks later. I don't have a spare rig just to run FFXI on, I can't do it on the G4 Mac tower I got from salvage. I've been trying to get into a non-retail job for a long time, and nobody wants to hire without a full college degree (or several years for a company doing similar work), while I'm still paying off the student loan from vocational school, which is all the computer science classes, but none of the others to complete the degree. I was at a small business repair shop for about a year until they downsized and hired foreigners to replace me at a lower pay rate. As such, my funds for equipment are limited, and I don't end up collecting much spare hardware working retail. Officially, I'm not even allowed to do some of the repair work I do in-store, and they don't equip me for it. However, it's fix it or refund the customer and lose them to the competition.

I had a ton of problems on the old system getting FFXI to stay running smoothly, and Win7 does work better, but I still have so much going on that one system, and any query for administrative rights crashes the game. I've never been much of a PC gamer, and there's a lot more to it than a console. I do networking primarily, and OS related tasks otherwise. Gaming was never important to anything that was taught to me, and job-related work has not really involved it. I seem to run into more driver compatability issues with gaming than anything else.

PC is a backup platform to me, but I'd hate it to be my only platform.

[Souljacker]

I was working on the computer that school gave me parts for in 2005 until the motherboard fried at the end of December. I built a new system a few weeks later. I don't have a spare rig just to run FFXI on, I can't do it on the G4 Mac tower I got from salvage. I've been trying to get into a non-retail job for a long time, and nobody wants to hire without a full college degree (or several years for a company doing similar work), while I'm still paying off the student loan from vocational school, which is all the computer science classes, but none of the others to complete the degree. I was at a small business repair shop for about a year until they downsized and hired foreigners to replace me at a lower pay rate. As such, my funds for equipment are limited, and I don't end up collecting much spare hardware working retail. Officially, I'm not even allowed to do some of the repair work I do in-store, and they don't equip me for it. However, it's fix it or refund the customer and lose them to the competition.

I had a ton of problems on the old system getting FFXI to stay running smoothly, and Win7 does work better, but I still have so much going on that one system, and any query for administrative rights crashes the game. I've never been much of a PC gamer, and there's a lot more to it than a console. I do networking primarily, and OS related tasks otherwise. Gaming was never important to anything that was taught to me, and job-related work has not really involved it. I seem to run into more driver compatability issues with gaming than anything else.

PC is a backup platform to me, but I'd hate it to be my only platform.

Retail? Oh so you are a sales guy. It's a world of difference fixing someone's PC as opposed to joe idiot walking in because he didn't understand that the little yellow shield icon meant he needed to install Windows updates.

Vocational Technical school doesn't teach computer science - you might have taken some training courses but computer science would have taught you how to write an OS from the ground up. It's very in-depth coursework and you won't get that at a VoTech.

You aren't making much of a case for your knowledge either, complaining that you have had more driver issues with gaming than anything else. It's possible you ran into a bad drive for a GPU once, but those are fixed almost as soon as they are discovered. I'm running the game on nvidia's 280.26 and have not had one crash. Not one. My 5850 in the desktop and other laptop have never given me issues, either.

Here's my advice if you are interested in IT and can't pay for a college education. Go get yourself entry level certifications:

Comptia A+, Network+ and Security+. They are cheaper than college, and will show that you have put in some effort to learn your craft from a source that is standardized and accepted in the industry. It might help you get out of that retail position and on a tech bench, whereas people are looking at that "votech" education and not really understanding what it means.

[Anomander]

Are you sure that you took actual computer science courses? I'm just curious because as a recent computer science graduate, I didn't take a single class which involved anything remotely like IT.

That all being said, I find ffxi incredibly easy to run on all the windows platforms that have been out since its release, including vista which gave so many people headaches.

[SephYuyX]

Im a Senior Systems Engineer for a multibillion dollar international company, and thusly anything I say is correct.
PS. I actually am.

[bungiefan]

The state vocational school classes converted to state college credits for computer science courses. I got CCNA, MCP, A+, and Network+ certifications, and was the only person in my class to get all of those before the course ended, though some may have done the CCNA after we graduated. Except for the past year at a local small business repair shop (not retail for a company), I've been stuck in retail because I can't stay looking for a job as long as it seems to take to get hired. I was unemployed for 5 weeks and looking for work before I had to go back to my previous retail job to pay the bills.

I went to AVTEC (Alaska Vocational Technical Center) in Alaska for that, and it converted to UAA credits. I was in a 3-way tie for top rank in the class. Before I went I had been working at a convenience store for about 4 years.

All I've had no callbacks to even interview for a job I've applied for (besides getting a personal reference from the manager of the repair shop for the owner to hire me) are the two local ISPs, and that was before I started working a retail office store in the computer department in 2008. This past time trying, nobody called me back during the 5 weeks, and a lot of the companies have you apply with a web site with no phone number posted to inquire about submitted applications.

I learned to do software and hardware setup, TCP/UDP/IP networking with Cisco router configuration at command line level, and Windows server management and configuration involving Active Directory and Group Policy. The credentials don't seem to matter, I get rejected because I ddin't finish a 2-4 year degree (which needs the social studies and language arts credits), or I haven't worked for a major company doing the type of work for several years already. AVTEC had the course in a small town to reduce distractions, so I know nobody locally in the industry, and in the case of getting your foot in the door, I'm told it's who you know in this state that helps with getting a job, not necessarily what you know.

Working retail, I'm not allowed to practice my skills to the full extent, because I'm not supposed to ever open a customer's case (though they relaxed that for RAM install). I'm supposed to send the machine to Texas for hardware repair. The local repair shop was a blessing for letting me use my skills and order parts, but they moved to a less central location of town for more affordable rent, had less customers walking into the store, and thus cut down the number of employees at that location.

[Septimus]

I'm told it's who you know in this state that helps with getting a job, not necessarily what you know.

Sadly, that is how it works everywhere. As the old saying goes, "It's not what you know, it's who you blow."

[Omniyoji]

Why would you bump this to ask this question


Stability wise:

PS2 > PC > Xbox

Gfxs wise:

PC > Xbox > PS2

You're using PC version. Just stick with that. Not missing much with Xbox version.

[Colenzo]

Why would you bump this to ask this question


Stability wise:

PS2 > PC > Xbox

Gfxs wise:

PC > Xbox > PS2

You're using PC version. Just stick with that. Not missing much with Xbox version.

sweet necro bump bro

[Yugl]

Someone else bumped it first and he responded. The post was removed. You are mistaken.

[Kaisha]

Why would you bump this to ask this question


Stability wise:

PS2 > PC > Xbox

How the heck do you rank PS2 as more stable than PC when it has the freezing issues in Voidwatch, along with a bunch of broken cutscenes and random NPC lock-outs throughout the game?

[Omniyoji]

sweet necro bump bro

Learn to read bro

How the heck do you rank PS2 as more stable than PC when it has the freezing issues in Voidwatch, along with a bunch of broken cutscenes and random NPC lock-outs throughout the game?

Stopped playing a long time ago but it was the platform with the least amount of problematic problems.

[Chamaan]

PS2 users used to constantly disconnect in Sea too. Used to love getting Ix'Drg and losing half the LS.

[Colenzo]

They won't ever drop ps2 support though unless they somehow offer sony a huge amount of money to sever their contract they have with them. They're making money off ps2 users still afterall.

[Alvein]

PS2 has a ton of freezing problems these days, e.g. anyone try to get the Asuran Fists quest started? I had to do it on PC, it was literally impossible on PS2.