So I should have a gaming PC by the end of the week, what am I in for?

[Oly J]

Hello people of the internet, long story short, if all goes well (which is a phrase I'm growing increasingly hesitant to use given how many hoops I've already had to jump through.) I should have a game-ready PC with windows 7 (I was offered windows 8 but I heard that a lot of programs I'm gonna want aren't compatible) an i7 processor 8GB of RAM and a sapphire radion HD 7970 (I think) graphics card, I'm not very tech-savvy but the person I spoke to on the phone when discussing it assures me it should be able to run any game I throw at it, and I'm getting this at around £800 which is apparently a £500 discount, (I'm getting it on a disabled student's allowance, bit I have to pay the difference for the upgrades and also warranty and insurance also I'm having it assembled for me, with microsoft office and some antivirus software with a 22inch HD monitor, so I assume it's a pretty good price for everything

so anyway, I've wanted to experience the PC gaming scene for a long time (also I've grown quite tired of the whole "no backwards compatibility" thing, it's my understanding that a PC game is a PC game and can be made to run regardless of age

so my question is, aside from the obvious (more games, mods and flexibility) how does the PC scene differ from consoles? I'm hoping it will be easier to find a multiplayer session with, well...fun people, I mean I have no complaints for console multiplayer, except that no one ever communicates and when they do it's not a pleasant experience, so the word "team" as it's used in multiplayer games evidently has a very broad definition, is that any better on PC?

also can someone describe Steam sales to me? how good are they generally? I have a steam account but the laptop I'm currently using can barely load up the program

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one? hell good PC games in general, I can normally get into pretty much any genre

 

[chozo_hybrid]

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a pretty good one to start with, space exploration, a little diplomacy in there and the battles are quite fun.

 

[Eve Charm]

Eh well easiest part to explain is steam sales, you'll get a black friday one and the christmas sales soon but it's basically expect 100's of games at 75% or around and even newer games at 50% off. Take that followed by other places like GOG doing sales and bundles and you'll be able to pick up a ton of stuff cheap.

As for playing with fun people, Well depends a lot about the game but they have stuff like steam groups or basically like every community has a gaming forum now a days that you can find stuff people play and play with them.

 

[sanquin]

1:
PC multiplayer isn't that different from console. However people more often use ingame chat than mic. So it's a bit easier to ignore the assholes. It's also a bit easier to find the friendly ones on pc, imo.

2: RTS games.
The obvious powerhouse in the RTS market is Starcraft 2. Some of the total war games are great too.

3: Steam sales.
They are awesome, and if you're not careful you can end up spending well over 100 dollars during a sale. (I haven't but I've heard plenty of people that did.) Sales can range from 25% to 75% off, with a select few going even lower than that. If you plan on buying some games, but aren't sure how much you'll like them it's best to wait for a sale, so you won't lose as much money if it's not to your liking.

 

[MysticSlayer]

so anyway, I've wanted to experience the PC gaming scene for a long time (also I've grown quite tired of the whole "no backwards compatibility" thing, it's my understanding that a PC game is a PC game and can be made to run regardless of age

Just to forewarn you that just because PC games originally made for older systems can run on the newer ones doesn't mean you won't have problems. From what I understand Windows 7 has fewer problems than Vista or 8, but it is still possible that the game won't run perfectly. This is particularly problematic for classic games, but can affect newer ones as well. Still, there are workarounds a lot of times (ex. fan-made patches), but just don't expect 100% backwards compatibility, and no, compatibility mode doesn't always fix the problem (trust me, I've learned that the hard way numerous times).

so my question is, aside from the obvious (more games, mods and flexibility) how does the PC scene differ from consoles? I'm hoping it will be easier to find a multiplayer session with, well...fun people, I mean I have no complaints for console multiplayer, except that no one ever communicates and when they do it's not a pleasant experience, so the word "team" as it's used in multiplayer games evidently has a very broad definition, is that any better on PC?

I haven't played a lot of console multiplayer, but there are a few things I do know about the general PC scene:

1. If you want a strong community that communicates well, stay away from the newer DICE games. Maybe they've fixed things in the last couple of years and maybe they fixed it for BF4, but their last few games have had one problem after another in getting people to communicate. BC2's VOIP was broken, MoH (2010) didn't even have any VOIP, and BF3 only allowed voice chat with those on your friends list (at least at launch). You could always use Ventrilo or TeamSpeak to bypass these problems, but from my experience, it isn't worth the trouble. You're not even guaranteed to get any communication from the people in those servers, making them a simple waste of your computer's resources.

2. If you think Call of Duty's community is any better on PC, here's some insider's information: It isn't. There are still obnoxious kids. There are still obnoxious teenagers. And there are still obnoxious man children.

3. I'm not big into RTS games, but I hear it is a hit-or-miss in terms of community. They can be great, but they can also be horrible. MOBA games tend to just be horrible.

4. Looking on the bright side of things, I hear that ArmA's community is excellent, so if you are looking for an enjoyable community that might be one place to go. In general, most games have the potential to find an excellent community so long as you join the right server, so just because you had a bad experience on one server doesn't meant that you shouldn't look for a better experience on another server.

5. In general, don't expect that much of a difference from PC players and console players. Some games attract good communities, and some games attract bad communities (and some games don't even have communication to begin with). The point is finding which ones have the good communities and going to play those.

also can someone describe Steam sales to me? how good are they generally? I have a steam account but the laptop I'm currently using can barely load up the program

They tend to have weekly sales. From my experience, these tend to be 50% off, but I have seen it go up to 75% off before. Also, at holiday times, they tend to offer larger sales where you may have multiple games discounted at 50%+ every day. Around Christmas they also often play certain "Steam games" (not sure the official term) that can make it possible to earn even more games (I actually got Call of Pripyat free a couple years ago because of this). Overall, it depends on the time of year, but do expect some good sales throughout the whole year.

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one? hell good PC games in general, I can normally get into pretty much any genre

For starters, I know it is singleplayer only (well, it does have a multiplayer, but don't play it for that), but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a must. It is easily one of the best shooters of this generation, and it quite possibly has the best atmosphere of any game ever made. However, do make sure you patch them up before playing, and there are fan-made patches that go even further than the developers' patches. Also, the first Witcher game is something worth looking into, and if you didn't play the second on consoles, you might want to look into that as well.

As far as online, like I said, ArmA has a good community, so if you don't mind a military shooter game (particularly a more tactical one), then I would highly advise looking at ArmA2 or ArmA3. Oh, and you can always pick up TF2 for free on Steam.

Civilization V is also a must. I know it isn't an RTS, but it is still a great strategy game.

Unfortunately, though, I can't help you with RTS games, as I'm not really into the genre.

 

[josemlopes]

First things first, expect some time troubleshooting shit, with Steam it isnt that bad but it still does come up once in a while with some games. Nothing major (just some time on google searching for a fix, there is usually one for everything so just keep searching) but it isnt as plug and play as in consoles.

With that being said in the PC you really have the best place for niche tastes, even with mainstream games you can tweak "most" with mods to make it more like the game you want (a Skyrim game that looks like a JRPG in a tropical setting? Just mod that shit, son).

And PC's are also the best place for RTSs so there is that.


Now, about sales.

Like many said in Steam you got the big ones during the Summer and Christmas with a lot of games going for the 75% up to some rarities going to 90% (Serious Sam went once I think), attention though as they are usually not on sale for those amounts for the entire duration of the promotion, they rotate the big sales (usually 12h per game) so during the sales you have to keep tabs on the games to get the best prices.

Another place to find good sales are in these 2 sites:
http://www.epicbundle.com/
http://savygamer.co.uk/category/deals/pc/dd/

They cover somewhat the same but in Epic Bundles its exclusively bundles and Savygamer is sales in general.
In here you can expect to find a lot of indie or obsucure stuff for really cheap prices (like 5 games for a dollar, and even though they are not AAA they can still be really good like Death to Spies, Men of War, Section 8 or Necrovision).

Depending on the games and bundles they can give you Steam keys for you to add the games to your collection on Steam (no need to have a shitload of different accounts on different places to access your games).


And I think I have one Men of War key to giveaway if you want (the problem with bundles is that you will end up buying repeated games lol), I am not sure though, you would have to use it to see if its still available.

 

[Waffle_Man]

Honestly, the three big differences that I tend to notice:

1. Too many goddamn fucking sales.

Both a massive benefit and problem of PC gaming is that sales are common. One might even say that sales are stupidly common. You will burn through so much money on the impulse to save it if you're not careful. It would be wise to make sure you don't buy things unless you have the immediate urge to play them, not because you might hypothetically want to play them in the future.

2. Trends are very volatile and unpredictable.

Any given week, you can read about dozens of different games, mods, and phenomena that seem to come out of no where even if you try to stay up to date. This makes it a lot harder to have a consistently good experience on the PC even if you don't have technical issues and you are pretty much guaranteed to miss big stuff quite regularly, but it also makes the whole thing very exciting and adventurous.

3. Multiplayer communities tend to be more rigidly established.

On the question of how people act in multiplayer games, I'd say that it's the same mix of toxic and mature that you'll find on most console games. The difference, however, is that groups often have more control over how they operate, especially when it comes to privately owned servers. This means that once you're on the inside, people will tend to treat you better, but you might have to put up with a bit of being singled out as an outsider. In other words, once you find a good bunch of chums to play with, you'll be able to play with them a lot, but you might have to sort through a lot of garbage to find the gems.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one?

2002? Holy fuckbubbles, that means you missed all the Dawn of War games. Get them, all of them... except maybe Dawn of War: Soulstorm which wasn't made by Relic and is crap compared to the others. If you're looking for something less traditional, there's the Dawn of War 2 games... but they're more real time squad tactical gaames than RTS.

Also, as Wombat said, the Company of Heroes games, also by Relic.

If you're looking for a more traditional RTS but with fucktons of units and unit variation, Supreme Commander is for you... maybe also the Forged Alliance add on... Avoid the sequel at all costs.

 

[Weaver]

You should try diving into the wild world of MOBASs. DOTA2 and LoL are really fun (according to me anyways) games that cost $0 so it costs nothing but time to try.

Also, in terms of RTS: I recommend Dawn of War (and all expansions except soul storm), all the Company of Heroes games, and Dawn of War 2.

 

[Muspelheim]

Another great addition to the RTS department is the Men of War series. Men of War: Assault Squad is the most current one. They are set in WW2, but are not very similar to Company of Heroes beyond theme and genre. They are ridiculously detailed, every soldier got their own inventory, for ammunition, weapons and hats. Wearing or not wearing a helmet makes a difference, delightfully. The armour penetration system is very in-depth, and means you will need to be very tactical with how you use your tanks. Armour slope, distance, canon size, all makes a difference.

The main defining feature of the series is Direct Control, where you can directly control a unit yourself, very useful for driving tanks when the AI is being cowardly. Or to toss AT grenades on careless enemy tanks advancing without infantry cover.

There is no base building, other than building sandbags, hedgehogs and barbed wire. It could be a drawback, depending on how much you're interested in base building.

It's a bit tricky to adjust, but it's a marvellous game once you've got the know-how. There is so much you can do, without anything really being the sort of tech-tree "I Win!" button that often plagues RTS games.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

The Typing of the Dead: OVERKILL! Awesome game.

This may be a bit off topic, but if you're getting into PC gaming, I recommend keeping this bookmarked:

http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Home

This has saved me uncountable hours of grief.

 

[loc978]

Cross your fingers about that Sapphire card. They have relatively high failure rates, and their customer service is practically nonexistent. Almost any other brand would be preferable, but it sounds like you're going through a shop as opposed to a friend making a custom build... so good luck. I've got nothing but horror stories about pre-built or "custom shop" systems.

Any idea which i7 is going in there? Because there are actually some fairly low-end i7s. More than likely you'll have nothing to worry about on this front... but there are dual-core i7s out there that can be outperformed by any old quad-core from 2009. Might wanna ask for actual model numbers and specs... even if you don't understand 'em yourself, post 'em here and people will be able to tell you if you're being swindled.

As for RTS... if you were ever a fan of Total Annihilation, try Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance. The ability to zoom out incrementally all the way to a satellite view of the map is a gorgeous revelation for planning (also, if you have time to kill, this is a decent overview [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apsm0gazwzE] in the form of a co-op match).

 

[BloatedGuppy]

so anyway, I've wanted to experience the PC gaming scene for a long time (also I've grown quite tired of the whole "no backwards compatibility" thing, it's my understanding that a PC game is a PC game and can be made to run regardless of age

For the most part, yes, but it does depend on the game. A few will require excessive hoop jumping. If it's not already been prepped for more modern rigs via GOG or something, you may need to become versed in DOS Box to get really old stuff running.

so my question is, aside from the obvious (more games, mods and flexibility) how does the PC scene differ from consoles? I'm hoping it will be easier to find a multiplayer session with, well...fun people, I mean I have no complaints for console multiplayer, except that no one ever communicates and when they do it's not a pleasant experience, so the word "team" as it's used in multiplayer games evidently has a very broad definition, is that any better on PC?

Uh...well. People are people, and online play provides them a veneer of anonymity that a certain percentage of folks will use as license to behave like flaming assholes. That's the same on PC as on consoles. And if you dip your toe into MOBAs, except to find a degree of player on player hostility that puts even the notorious COD community to shame.

also can someone describe Steam sales to me? how good are they generally? I have a steam account but the laptop I'm currently using can barely load up the program

Strong. Other digital distribution platforms like Green Man Gaming or Amazon or even Origin from time to time will also compete. Generally speaking, unless you're dying to get a game on its release date, you can very easily maintain a huge backlog of titles to play through that you bought for 10-25% of normal retail price. Wade into one of the major seasonal sales and you can come out with a dozen games for the price of one.

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one? hell good PC games in general, I can normally get into pretty much any genre

The list of good PC games is long and illustrious, but if you're looking for RTS in particular Starcraft is still king of that mountain. MOBAs are ARPG/RTS hybrids. And then there's a more laid back/less competitive RTS experience like Anno 2070...that's a pretty strong game.

One thing you might look into that's a little on the obscure side is Mount and Blade: Warband. It's VERY rough around the edges, but it's an extremely rewarding/unique title. And it has a bit of RTS in its soul.

Enjoy your PC. =)

 

[Techno Squidgy]

snip

Learning!
Prepare yourself to learn a hell of a lot about:
Bugs
Fixes
Patches
Crashes
Graphics
Drivers
Compatibility
Mods
Quality Retro games
Quality Indie games
Really bad ports.


Most of it you pick up as you go along, but you have to be prepared to learn how to fix your problems. Google is you best friend now.

Enjoy it! The benefits of PC gaming far outweigh the benefits, provided you have the time/money/dedication to make the most of it.

EDIT: I posted having just read the thread title. Having read the OP and the rest of the thread, everyone else seems to have covered what I would have said.

 

[EmilShmiengura]

so anyway, I've wanted to experience the PC gaming scene for a long time (also I've grown quite tired of the whole "no backwards compatibility" thing, it's my understanding that a PC game is a PC game and can be made to run regardless of age
I'm hoping it will be easier to find a multiplayer session with, well...fun people, I mean I have no complaints for console multiplayer, except that no one ever communicates and when they do it's not a pleasant experience, so the word "team" as it's used in multiplayer games evidently has a very broad definition, is that any better on PC?

also can someone describe Steam sales to me? how good are they generally? I have a steam account but the laptop I'm currently using can barely load up the program

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one? hell good PC games in general, I can normally get into pretty much any genre

Don't worry about compatibility for now. I've been running even 10 year old games without any problems (some of them are on their 4th OS) and for the truly vintage classics you can get your fix at GOG.com .
The multiplayer scene, especially in FPS-s is the same. Unless you have some friends to form a team or the basis of a team I honestly can't see any difference.
As for RTS games DO NOT miss out on the Company of Heroes franchise (others have posted this before but I can't stress this point enough). The Starcraft 2 campaigns quite good also. Other than that Rome 2 - Total War (TBS/RTS hybrid) will be a good game in a couple of updates Personally I liked the Warhammer 40k games too but I understand that makes me a horrible person somehow (Yahtzee said that and we all know that here whatever Yahtzee says goes).
Game purchasing - be conscious, be informed, always compare prices. NEVER EVER preorder. If you can find it in yourself, don't buy any of the so called AAA titles in the first couple of weeks, wait till they release the updates first
To end this, my advice about Steam. They generally exploit the modern day need for convenience ( where I live Rome 2 costs 37 euros(aprox 51 dollars) on Amazon with free shipping ans steam sells it for 55 euros-roughly 76 USD). But the sales are good and they often offer very interesting titles at good prices.
P.S. I'd like to hear about you experience in a couple of months, consider writing about it.
P.P.S. sometimes you do get to meet decent people playing MMORPGs though,but only sometimes. It's true that there's alot more communication between MMORPG PC players when compared to console players. On odd occasions that's also a good thing.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

bit I have to pay the difference for the upgrades and also warranty and insurance also I'm having it assembled for me, with microsoft office and some antivirus software with a 22inch HD monitor, so I assume it's a pretty good price for everything

I can save you about another 200 by telling you these things...

You can get a free version of microsoft office called "open office". It has all the same features of microsoft office with free updates, full backwards and current compatibility, and free updates (can't emphasize that enough since Microsoft makes you constantly pay for new versions).

There's plenty of free antivirus that works better than ANY paid antivirus you could possibly pay for AND I know of one for sure that has such a tiny impact on your computer's resources it won't drag down your gaming performance (antiviruses like Norton have been known to have a bad impact on gaming performance)

Assemble it yourself or have a friend do it for free. There's a lot of great tutorials out there, and paying to have someone assemble it for you is a scam. Seriously, watch about a 10 minute video on building a PC and you'll see it's pretty much LEGO with sharper bits.

Other than that though, GET CIVILIZATION 5! I can not recommend it enough and I wish I had gotten into it sooner.

 

[DrOswald]

Hello people of the internet, long story short, if all goes well (which is a phrase I'm growing increasingly hesitant to use given how many hoops I've already had to jump through.) I should have a game-ready PC with windows 7 (I was offered windows 8 but I heard that a lot of programs I'm gonna want aren't compatible) an i7 processor 8GB of RAM and a sapphire radion HD 7970 (I think) graphics card, I'm not very tech-savvy but the person I spoke to on the phone when discussing it assures me it should be able to run any game I throw at it, and I'm getting this at around £800 which is apparently a £500 discount, (I'm getting it on a disabled student's allowance, bit I have to pay the difference for the upgrades and also warranty and insurance also I'm having it assembled for me, with microsoft office and some antivirus software with a 22inch HD monitor, so I assume it's a pretty good price for everything

That's great. Everything sounds pretty good to me, though I would recommend a second monitor if you end up using the computer often. It is really worth it.

so anyway, I've wanted to experience the PC gaming scene for a long time (also I've grown quite tired of the whole "no backwards compatibility" thing, it's my understanding that a PC game is a PC game and can be made to run regardless of age

True to a point. I have never found a game that I can't get running correctly, but I am an expert. I have many years of experience in IT work. It is a lot better than consoles though. You might start having problems with a game around 10-20 years after its launch, but you can almost always work around the problems.

so my question is, aside from the obvious (more games, mods and flexibility) how does the PC scene differ from consoles? I'm hoping it will be easier to find a multiplayer session with, well...fun people, I mean I have no complaints for console multiplayer, except that no one ever communicates and when they do it's not a pleasant experience, so the word "team" as it's used in multiplayer games evidently has a very broad definition, is that any better on PC?

My recommendation is to find a few good online friends who have similar interests and coordinate with them when buying games.

Also, I am always looking for new guys to play with. Let me know what games you get into, maybe we can play sometime.

also can someone describe Steam sales to me? how good are they generally? I have a steam account but the laptop I'm currently using can barely load up the program

Here is a detailed breakdown of steam sales:

1. Steam Daily sales. As the name implies, this updates daily. You can expect anywhere from 25%-75% off. I would recommend checking on the daily sale each day, you can get really good games for really cheap this way. You can see this sale on the front page.

2. Steam weekend sales. They happen every weekend and are much more flexible in how they play out, sometimes being every game in a franchise or by a certain developer, or being a free to play weekend for a popular game with a 50% discount if you decide to buy, etc. You can expect 25%-75% sales, but these occasionally go as low as 85% off. I think I may have saw a 90% off once.

3. Midweek Madness. Sometimes (about every 2nd week) steam will have a midweek madness sale. They are basically the same thing as a weekend sale but happen in the middle of the week.

4. Steam events. This is where the big sales are that steam is famous for. Hundreds to thousands of games will be on sale for 25%-85% off, most games usually around 50%. Save your money for these sales and you will have more great games than you could ever reasonably play.

Other important info: If you have a game on your wishlist you will receive an email when it goes on sale. Also, there is a "special" tab on the front page of steam that will list up to 100 of the current sales. There are usually around 30 items on sale for 10%-25% off at any given point and this is where you can find those if a bigger event is not going on.

On other thing I think you should know about is the Humble Bundle. Pay what you want for games. Look it up, it is by far the best deal you can find.

one thing I'm also particularly looking forward to is to be able to play RTS games again, I've been out of the loop since 2002, so could someone also recommend a good one? hell good PC games in general, I can normally get into pretty much any genre

Starcraft II is pretty good and great for someone breaking back into the genre. It has a great single player campaign to learn on and is very fun.

I would also recommend Dawn of War II and Company of Heroes. Both are very fun and accessible examples of the squad based RTS that you probably have never really played before if you dropped out of the RTS scene in 2002.

I have more games to recommend outside of the RTS genre, but I have to go for now. Be back later.

 

[Pink Gregory]

GOG.com

For god's sake, go there. Very compatible, very reasonably priced, very wide collection, very good support in the forums.

(I'm kind of a GOG.com whore. So sue me.)

In fact you'll find a lot of the games mentioned in the previous post.

Also, for RTS, Company of Heroes. I really like it anyway.