Computer games.

[Black Belt Jones]

Just done a no death run of Dark Souls 2 - pretty challenging as it's the one I've played least, so needed some gitting gud. You actually get a special item for completing the challenge (also for no bonfire, which is way easier).

Took a few weeks of practice / false starts but enjoyed it in the main, calm sort of gameplay. Some horribly frustrating deaths late on, though, mainly to gravity. Going to park the Souls now for little bit until Elden Ring.

 

[Oasis1878]

Ubisoft+ coming to Xbox, but not part of Game Pass as rumoured at one point. Rainbow 6: Extraction is coming to Game Pass on release day though.

Liked Six Siege on PC, but couldn’t get into it on Xbox. Will give this new one as go though as it’s essentially free.

 

[Dylan]

Finally got round to checking out DCS World after years of trying to avoid the inevitable money pit that it is... i like realistic and deep games but i think this is a level too far for me, is going to take hundreds of hours just to learn how to fly one vehicle properly lol.

They make boss trailers though

I am all over that game. Fly the Hornet on a very regular basis.

It is t that hard if you have someone to fly with, but going in alone, it's super difficult.

There are some amazing guys on YouTube doing wonderful tutorials (redkite and spudknocker) then some semi-serious missions (growling sidewinder, longshot, ralfidude, hellreign51) and the clowns of the DCs world, making silly but fun videos (grim reapers)

I have been consumed by DCS.

 

[longers]

I am all over that game. Fly the Hornet on a very regular basis.

It is t that hard if you have someone to fly with, but going in alone, it's super difficult.

There are some amazing guys on YouTube doing wonderful tutorials (redkite and spudknocker) then some semi-serious missions (growling sidewinder, longshot, ralfidude, hellreign51) and the clowns of the DCs world, making silly but fun videos (grim reapers)

I have been consumed by DCS.

Im currently doing the free trial offer where you can try every piece of content for 2 weeks. I decided to go with the A-10C first but am having a nightmare getting the controls setup as I only have a crappy £30 joystick and no throttle... mapping all the HOTAS stuff to it is impossible even with modifier keys setup. Im thinking I need to go for a plane with more simplified controls where I don't have to map a thousand HOTAS commands.

 

[Dylan]

Im currently doing the free trial offer where you can try every piece of content for 2 weeks. I decided to go with the A-10C first but am having a nightmare getting the controls setup as I only have a crappy £30 joystick and no throttle... mapping all the HOTAS stuff to it is impossible even with modifier keys setup. Im thinking I need to go for a plane with more simplified controls where I don't have to map a thousand HOTAS commands.

The absolute worst module to learn on. Its SUPER complicated, and singularly the one you really need a proper HOTAS to get the most out of.

The Hornet gets a lot of crap (it was the plane that replaced the Tomcat), but it is a SUPER capable do everything plane that is easy to fly and easy to learn. Plus, it has the MOST tutorials available, and with the exception of the A-10 is the most complete module.

The Hornet still has a lot of HOTAS commands, but they are easier to use on the keyboard. Until I get a proper throttle, I do a lot of the TDC and sensor select stuff on the keyboard. And, unless you are flying in VR, its quite easy to do.

Also, look at headtracking. I am not saying go out and buy a TrackIR 5 (like I have) but if you have a spare webcam, check out FACETRACKNOIR for free headtracking that works pretty well.

 

[longers]

The absolute worst module to learn on. Its SUPER complicated, and singularly the one you really need a proper HOTAS to get the most out of.

The Hornet gets a lot of crap (it was the plane that replaced the Tomcat), but it is a SUPER capable do everything plane that is easy to fly and easy to learn. Plus, it has the MOST tutorials available, and with the exception of the A-10 is the most complete module.

The Hornet still has a lot of HOTAS commands, but they are easier to use on the keyboard. Until I get a proper throttle, I do a lot of the TDC and sensor select stuff on the keyboard. And, unless you are flying in VR, its quite easy to do.

Also, look at headtracking. I am not saying go out and buy a TrackIR 5 (like I have) but if you have a spare webcam, check out FACETRACKNOIR for free headtracking that works pretty well.

Cool. Ive ditched the A-10 and just gone through the Hornet controls tutorial on the Grim Reaper Youtube channel and managed to map most of the stuff he mentions to my joystick, so its already a bigger success than the A-10.

Im currently using an app on my iPhone called smoothtrack which works alongside opentrack to give me head tracking, it works really well and honestly isn't that far off my previous experiences with Track IR.

 

[BNJ1878]

Finally got round to checking out DCS World after years of trying to avoid the inevitable money pit that it is... i like realistic and deep games but i think this is a level too far for me, is going to take hundreds of hours just to learn how to fly one vehicle properly lol.

They make boss trailers though

I have been tempted to build a sim gaming pc for ages. Fed up of idiots on GT Sport really like the look of DCS.

Had a PPL for over 30 years so will probably lose my mind with cockpit workload of an F15 or similar, it just looks incredible.

I'm guessing VR headset is the way to go with DCS, how does that work for racing is is multi screen/curved still the best route?

 

[zebedee]

Bought my son a raspberry Pi with over 100 original Atari games.. even looks like a 1980s Atari. It's awesome for a bit of nostalgia trouble is I can't remember what the hell your were supposed to do

 

[grandjoeblue]

Is Death Stranding good or terrible? Reviews seem excellent but a lot of people call it a walking simulator?

 

[Dylan]

I have been tempted to build a sim gaming pc for ages. Fed up of idiots on GT Sport really like the look of DCS.

Had a PPL for over 30 years so will probably lose my mind with cockpit workload of an F15 or similar, it just looks incredible.

I'm guessing VR headset is the way to go with DCS, how does that work for racing is is multi screen/curved still the best route?

VR for immersion, TrackIR and a screen for competitive.

With the Hornet and F-16 system automation is way up, so it isnt so much of a mental strain to fly, monitor sensors, employ weapons, defend etc.

 

[Dylan]

Cool. Ive ditched the A-10 and just gone through the Hornet controls tutorial on the Grim Reaper Youtube channel and managed to map most of the stuff he mentions to my joystick, so its already a bigger success than the A-10.

Im currently using an app on my iPhone called smoothtrack which works alongside opentrack to give me head tracking, it works really well and honestly isn't that far off my previous experiences with Track IR.

I found most of the GR tutorials to be a bit wank, as it often involved Cap giving a tutorial in a plane he has never used.

Redkite, spudknocker and 104th_Maverick do some excellent tutorials. As does Matt Wagner (Wags from Eagle Dynamics) for the main systems.

GR is good for entertainment.

Edit:. Google "Chucks guide to *****"

Dude does some amazing manuals for the jets!

 

[navidson]

Is Death Stranding good or terrible? Reviews seem excellent but a lot of people call it a walking simulator?

I enjoyed it but it's definitely an acquired taste

It is essentially a simulation about walking - but it's not a 'walking simulator' in the derogatory way that idiots refer to that genre (I love 'walking simulators' BTW)

 

[Baines' left foot]

6 months in to PC gaming and I'm considering my first upgrade. I received a bit of a windfall at the end of the year so I'm thinking of treating myself (again).

Seeing as the GPU prices are still crazy I'm on the lookout for an RTX 3080, as if I can get one at around RRP then I can sell my 3070 and make a profit. Although I will have to upgrade my PSU from 550w.

Another option is to upgrade my i5-10400F to an i7-10700 variant which will boost my RAM speed from 2666mhz to 2933mhz. I could also increase the RAM from 16GB to 32GB although I'm not sure I would ever see a benefit. Also when I consider a i7-10700F is around £250 and the newer and more powerful i5-12400F is £180 it makes me think I'd be getting poor value for money. But swapping the motherboard is not what I really want to be doing right now.

Also considering swapping my Gigabyte G27QC for this Samsung Odyssey G7 as they have come down in price a fair amount. I can't stand IPS screens for the terrible contrast, but this Gigabyte I have suffers from noticeable ghosting and it annoys me a bit, especially when reading text on a dark background. Apparently the G7 has a lot of issues but it's the best VA panel going with minimal ghosting. The only other issue is the screen curve is much more pronounced than my Gigabyte so I worry it'd take over my small 60cm deep desk.

Amazon product ASIN B08WXD3YPQ

 

[LocalNative]

6 months in to PC gaming and I'm considering my first upgrade. I received a bit of a windfall at the end of the year so I'm thinking of treating myself (again).

Seeing as the GPU prices are still crazy I'm on the lookout for an RTX 3080, as if I can get one at around RRP then I can sell my 3070 and make a profit. Although I will have to upgrade my PSU from 550w.

Another option is to upgrade my i5-10400F to an i7-10700 variant which will boost my RAM speed from 2666mhz to 2933mhz. I could also increase the RAM from 16GB to 32GB although I'm not sure I would ever see a benefit. Also when I consider a i7-10700F is around £250 and the newer and more powerful i5-12400F is £180 it makes me think I'd be getting poor value for money. But swapping the motherboard is not what I really want to be doing right now.

Also considering swapping my Gigabyte G27QC for this Samsung Odyssey G7 as they have come down in price a fair amount. I can't stand IPS screens for the terrible contrast, but this Gigabyte I have suffers from noticeable ghosting and it annoys me a bit, especially when reading text on a dark background. Apparently the G7 has a lot of issues but it's the best VA panel going with minimal ghosting. The only other issue is the screen curve is much more pronounced than my Gigabyte so I worry it'd take over my small 60cm deep desk.

Amazon product ASIN B08WXD3YPQ

Don’t know much about the G7 but I have a 27” G5 and it’s class.

Would be mental if you got a 3080 for RRP, tbh unless you’re gonna play 4K or needing consistently strong frame rates for competitive gaming the 3070 is still more than good enough.

 

[Baines' left foot]

Don’t know much about the G7 but I have a 27” G5 and it’s class.

Would be mental if you got a 3080 for RRP, tbh unless you’re gonna play 4K or needing consistently strong frame rates for competitive gaming the 3070 is still more than good enough.

I've joined a few stock alert pages and Scan had 3080s earlier this month on two occasions I believe.

I don't need the 3080, but it's significantly more powerful than the 3070 and I think i'd notice the difference playing heavily modded DayZ servers in 1440p. FPS can drop to around 50 in heavily populated places. Now I've had a taste of 140fps I've found myself turning my nose up at anything less than 100.