GREAT video games that are helping us kill time until normalcy resumes.

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Groove said:
Hey man, I used to be MSCE certified and worked and programmed on MS servers/workstations in my old job and I’m here to say Macs are infinitely more secure after their Unix base. One difference I’ve had since using Mac is that I’ve never had to worry about an antivirus product. Ever. Apple doesn’t market very well to corporations and it’s their own fault that corporate America is addicted to Winblows.
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Mac is a good product, only problem is it’s 3x more expensive for the same processing power.

I can put together a PC for under 1000 dollars that will play pretty much any game I want on the market (maybe not at highest settings, but that’s ok). For twice that I can’t even get a low end Mac.
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thegenius said:
Yup...to buy their iphones. iPhone comprise a majority of their revenue.
RF forgot to add in students, but they are also considered the unemployed so I guess they are part of bucket #2.
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100%. PC all the way, iphone/ipad all the way for phone/tablet. Macs make no logical sense if in the market for a gaming PC.
 
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I'm no gamer, in fact I royally suck at video games (probably a blessing in disguise), but I've heard a lot about alienware as good gaming computers. Anyone ever tried them?
 
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Fox800 said:
Any recs for some nice relaxing games? I really wanted to play Islanders on steam, but it isn't compatible with the recent OS X updates.

Might have to fire up Skyrim again. That was the last super immersive game I played. Wow, I'm old.
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Animal Crossing for the Switch!
 
RustedFox said:
Get a PC.

Macs are for three types of people.

1.) Artists
2.) The unemployed
3.) Both (1) and (2) above.
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It's hard to believe I have been playing League of Legends for over 10 years now. I'm still addicted. If you have a PC you should try it, plus it's completely free.
 
PC Games.

Played this week while I was off (and not reading SDN for my mental health):
- Space Quest 1-5
- Stellaris
- Maniac Mansion

My sig other has been playing "Dr Mario" and telling me that he is curing Corona by throwing brightly colored pills at the virus......
 
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The newish Shadowrun games are pretty good (Dragonfall et al). Isometric, turn based, D&D meets The Matrix.

Got bored with Skyrim after I made all the enchanted dragonbone stuff and was able to kill pretty much everything.
 
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Mount and Blade II. We should honestly start an EM clan for some of these games. I think helps get the lead out.
 
GeneralVeers said:
PC Games.

Played this week while I was off (and not reading SDN for my mental health):
- Space Quest 1-5
- Stellaris
- Maniac Mansion

My sig other has been playing "Dr Mario" and telling me that he is curing Corona by throwing brightly colored pills at the virus......
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Did you ever play the sequel, Day of the Tentacle? One of my favorite mid 90s puzzle games.
 
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bravotwozero said:
I'm no gamer, in fact I royally suck at video games (probably a blessing in disguise), but I've heard a lot about alienware as good gaming computers. Anyone ever tried them?
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Alienware makes decent gaming machines. They're also overpriced. If you get a desktop, you'll be paying a premium so that you can get a case with a window and internal lights. Your laptop will similarly be more expensive because of the RGB on it.

If you're going the desktop route: just build your own. You can make a great machine for hundreds less than you'd pay for prebuilt. You can then use the same machine for years with appropriate upgrades (easy to do, check out Logical Increments)

If you're going the laptop route, hunt around for sales and then check out reviews. I just picked up an MSI GE75 raider for $1100 a couple months ago which runs everything out there and was a steal. Slickdeals is a decent place to look for discounts.
 
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Half Life Alyx is awesome and worth purchasing. I had never played Civ before, and Civ 6 is on Steam for $18 so I am playing that with friends while talking smack on a Discord server and enjoying that, even though it's complicated. And last but not least, DCS is going to be giving away its software for a month for free if you like flying planes and have a computer that can run it.
 
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DrDrummer said:
Half Life Alyx is awesome and worth purchasing. I had never played Civ before, and Civ 6 is on Steam for $18 so I am playing that with friends while talking smack on a Discord server and enjoying that, even though it's complicated. And last but not least, DCS is going to be giving away its software for a month for free if you like flying planes and have a computer that can run it.
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Alyx is the one thing that is making me seriously consider getting a VR headset.
 
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GeneralVeers said:
PC Games.

Played this week while I was off (and not reading SDN for my mental health):
- Space Quest 1-5
- Stellaris
- Maniac Mansion

My sig other has been playing "Dr Mario" and telling me that he is curing Corona by throwing brightly colored pills at the virus......
Click to expand...


I love the point-and-click adventure games too.
There's one that came out last year called "Thimbleweed Park" that I think you'll really dig.
Its very "Twin Peaks".
 
Who remembers Myst?
 
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Torsion said:
Who remembers Myst?
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Classic. Many hours spent on that game back in the day. It's on GOG. I've got a few of my old favorites purchased through there.

Ultima 1-5
King's Quest 1-5
Zork Anthology
Might and Magic Series
The Bard's Tale Trilogy

Interestingly, I just noticed the Bard's Tale Trilogy in the Xbox store (GamePass I think) and recently installed it. It looks like a true to the original re-make with new textures and graphics but plays like the original.
 
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gamerEMdoc said:
100%. PC all the way, iphone/ipad all the way for phone/tablet. Macs make no logical sense if in the market for a gaming PC.
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I am a dedicated Mac user and I will completely agree to this. Macs just don't have the GPU strength to play a lot of games well. I tried and tried to optimize my top of the line MacBook Pro and it just never worked. You can get a low end PC, upgrade the GPU and you'll have a better experience.
bravotwozero said:
I'm no gamer, in fact I royally suck at video games (probably a blessing in disguise), but I've heard a lot about alienware as good gaming computers. Anyone ever tried them?
Click to expand...
I see a lot of ads for Alienware but I don't know much about them. Not too helpful there but I bought a Skytech Gaming PC and I've been really happy with it. It's almost 2 years old and I've never had a problem (no jinx!).

I know it seems extravagant to buy a PC just for gaming but it's a fun hobby. I also use it for work in that there are a few programs that only work with Windows like my state's super crappy death certificate system and Visio which we use for EMS protocols.
 
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Fox800 said:
Can anyone recommend a good follow-on to Skyrim?
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Well, on one hand...there's just no substitute to Skyrim. I've played hundreds of hours...probably close to a thousand between PC, PS4 and X1X characters. Make sure you've played all the DLCs and MOD expansions (along with all the Creation Club content). There's some really great MODS that extend the universe but can only be downloaded on X1X and PC. Sony locked down the MOD content and won't allow anything that's not an asset in the original .esp file.

After that, probably the closest thing out there would be ESO. ESO is fun, but definitely not Skyrim. However, even if you're not a big MMO or multiplayer fan, there's quite a bit of single player content. Zenimax did a good job of replicating the TES universe but you can definitely tell Bethesda did not develop the game.

If you're wanting RPG in a sandbox world...similar to Skyrim, but don't mind trading fantasy for a post apocalyptic universe, then consider Fallout 4. Great game, very similar mechanics and open world feel, but a completely different universe. (Developed by Bethesda)

If you want the next greatest fantasy RPG, then you probably want to look at Witcher 3. It's a huge open world game, but decidedly different from Skyrim in that you are following a story and are locked into playing Geralt. Gorgeous graphics, beautiful musical score, fun mechanics, intriguing story and characters.. It's a lot of fun so far but I've only played...maybe 30% of the game.
 
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docB said:
I am a dedicated Mac user and I will completely agree to this. Macs just don't have the GPU strength to play a lot of games well. I tried and tried to optimize my top of the line MacBook Pro and it just never worked. You can get a low end PC, upgrade the GPU and you'll have a better experience.

I see a lot of ads for Alienware but I don't know much about them. Not too helpful there but I bought a Skytech Gaming PC and I've been really happy with it. It's almost 2 years old and I've never had a problem (no jinx!).

I know it seems extravagant to buy a PC just for gaming but it's a fun hobby. I also use it for work in that there are a few programs that only work with Windows like my state's super crappy death certificate system and Visio which we use for EMS protocols.
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You guys should try switching to consoles. I was a die hard PC gamer for so many years but damn did I get tired of building new rigs and upgrading graphics cards. It gets expensive having to do that every 2-3 years or buy the latest and greatest graphics card. I finally gave in and splurged on a big OLED t.v. and experienced the bliss of sinking into a couch or lazy boy with my feet propped up and a controller in my hand. I'll never go back. I do miss the precision in say...FPS multiplayer shooters but I've gotten used to it now. I spend much less money on gaming hardware these days, that's for sure!
 
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Was anybody building PCs back when 3d graphics chips first came to market? I can still remember buying my first graphics card (3dfx Voodoo) from a local Best Buy and installing it. I fired up the intro demonstration game and remember walking around this Wizards tower and my jaw hit the floor. It was just so incredible. The 3dfx OpenGL patch for Quake was insane. It was like a brand new game. That's probably the single greatest evolution of graphics that I've ever personally experienced. Every iteration with hardware these days impresses me, but nothing like that first experience with that Voodoo card.
 
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Groove said:
Was anybody building PCs back when 3d graphics chips first came to market? I can still remember buying my first graphics card (3dfx Voodoo) from a local Best Buy and installing it. I fired up the intro demonstration game and remember walking around this Wizards tower and my jaw hit the floor. It was just so incredible. The 3dfx OpenGL patch for Quake was insane. It was like a brand new game. That's probably the single greatest evolution of graphics that I've ever personally experienced. Every iteration with hardware these days impresses me, but nothing like that first experience with that Voodoo card.
Click to expand...

Oh man, getting all nostalgic over here. For awhile, I was building and upgrading back in the Quake 2 and Quake 3 Arena era. Back when Counter-Strike was at version 1.3, then 1.5.

I think the first graphics card I installed into a home rig was an AMD Radeon 9800. So, early 2000s? Got me beat.

Groove said:
You guys should try switching to consoles. I was a die hard PC gamer for so many years but damn did I get tired of building new rigs and upgrading graphics cards. It gets expensive having to do that every 2-3 years or buy the latest and greatest graphics card. I finally gave in and splurged on a big OLED t.v. and experienced the bliss of sinking into a couch or lazy boy with my feet propped up and a controller in my hand. I'll never go back. I do miss the precision in say...FPS multiplayer shooters but I've gotten used to it now. I spend much less money on gaming hardware these days, that's for sure!
Click to expand...

I always liked the precision with mouse/keyboard as opposed to controller on console, but I tried an Xbox 360 in med school, and I have a PS4 Pro sitting around now that hasn't been used in forever. Didn't even get hooked up again after some furniture moving around and whatnot.

Maybe it's time.
 
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Veil said:
Oh man, getting all nostalgic over here. For awhile, I was building and upgrading back in the Quake 2 and Quake 3 Arena era. Back when Counter-Strike was at version 1.3, then 1.5.

I think the first graphics card I installed into a home rig was an AMD Radeon 9800. So, early 2000s? Got me beat.
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Yeah, that brings me back. Playing CS back in the early beta days. That and playing TF when it was a mod for quake using gamespy to find servers. Damn, miss that crap.
 
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Groove said:
Was anybody building PCs back when 3d graphics chips first came to market? I can still remember buying my first graphics card (3dfx Voodoo) from a local Best Buy and installing it. I fired up the intro demonstration game and remember walking around this Wizards tower and my jaw hit the floor. It was just so incredible. The 3dfx OpenGL patch for Quake was insane. It was like a brand new game. That's probably the single greatest evolution of graphics that I've ever personally experienced. Every iteration with hardware these days impresses me, but nothing like that first experience with that Voodoo card.
Click to expand...
Building computers back then was hell. Now motherboards have such fancy BIOS they are better than the operating systems from the 90s.
 
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Tenk said:
Building computers back then was hell. Now motherboards have such fancy BIOS they are better than the operating systems from the 90s.
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Just built one last month for gaming. The new hardware is so much more refined than even 3 years ago. Those PCI-E solid state hard drives are sickening.....
 
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Kind of surprised no one has mentioned Red Dead 2. I haven't played it, but debated between that and BOTW. For me Zelda fantasy land won over Western shooter.
 
Haven’t read through all this but I pray someone has mentioned Conker’s Bad Fur Day. The game is... amazing and hilarious. I just started it during the lock down.
 
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GeneralVeers said:
PC Games.

Played this week while I was off (and not reading SDN for my mental health):
- Space Quest 1-5
- Stellaris
- Maniac Mansion

My sig other has been playing "Dr Mario" and telling me that he is curing Corona by throwing brightly colored pills at the virus......
Click to expand...
Groove said:
Classic. Many hours spent on that game back in the day. It's on GOG. I've got a few of my old favorites purchased through there.

Ultima 1-5
King's Quest 1-5
Zork Anthology
Might and Magic Series
The Bard's Tale Trilogy

Interestingly, I just noticed the Bard's Tale Trilogy in the Xbox store (GamePass I think) and recently installed it. It looks like a true to the original re-make with new textures and graphics but plays like the original.
Click to expand...

Quest For Glory 1-4 (5 sucks)
Replaying the old Sierra games is a blast of nostalgia.
 
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LoZ: Links Awakening. Not the remade version, but the original GB game. I'm telling you, it holds its own against games of today, and it came out in the early 90s. What a classic
 
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Anyone still play Duke Nukem? We used to play that constantly multiplayer in the computer lab during the first two year Medical School to break up the boredom. Not sure I wouldn't gotten through without it.
 
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RustedFox said:
Get a PC.

Macs are for three types of people.

1.) Artists
2.) The unemployed
3.) Both (1) and (2) above.
Click to expand...
I didn't know "Mac vs PC" was even a thing anymore. Everything's compatible across the platforms now, and even the most hardcore PC people now type "Mac's suck!" on their Apple iPhone's, iPads and Apple watches. I used to be all-PC, then all-Mac, now I have one of everything. But the only people I'm jealous of anymore are those who use none of them.
 
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Birdstrike said:
I didn't know "Mac vs PC" was even a thing anymore. Everything's compatible across the platforms now, and even the most hardcore PC people now type "Mac's suck!" on their Apple iPhone's, iPads and Apple watches. I used to be all-PC, then all-Mac, now I have one of everything. But the only people I'm jealous of anymore are those who use none of them.
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Yeah; it was more of just an opportunity for me to crack a joke.
The joke is not even mine, actually. I borrowed it from "The Best Page in the Universe" back when Mac v. PC was a real thing.
The stereotype still holds true in at least one direction. I've yet to meet a filthy, knit-hat wearing hipster who will touch a PC because "Mac".
 
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Birdstrike said:
Anyone still play Duke Nukem? We used to play that constantly multiplayer in the computer lab during the first two year Medical School to break up the boredom. Not sure I wouldn't gotten through without it.
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Damn man, that game was so much fun! We used to play multiplayer on the TEN network, gamespy and Kali. There’s no telling how many hours I sank into that game. Multiplayer was an absolute riot. I’d set trip mines at all the spawn points in the map, lol. Good times.
 
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Groove said:
Damn man, that game was so much fun! We used to play multiplayer on the TEN network, gamespy and Kali. There’s no telling how many hours I sank into that game. Multiplayer was an absolute riot. I’d set trip mines at all the spawn points in the map, lol. Good times.
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Forget the RPD or big guns. Dude, I was deadly with the crossbow. Just deadly.

Lol :laugh: . So much fun.

Is that game still around?
 
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Big fan of Splinter cell, Wish they would come out with a new one...
 
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Birdstrike said:
Forget the RPD or big guns. Dude, I was deadly with the crossbow. Just deadly.

Lol :laugh: . So much fun.

Is that game still around?
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They rereleased it on steam. I have a hard time justifying spending 20 bucks to shoot 2d sprites propped up in a 3d environment though.
 
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Birdstrike said:
Forget the RPD or big guns. Dude, I was deadly with the crossbow. Just deadly.

Lol :laugh: . So much fun.

Is that game still around?
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Haha, yep...that was some of my best times gaming. I actually just found it on XB1 store...the 20th anniversary edition. It plays just like I remember and they even have rigged it to work in full screen mode. Check out these pics....Red light district, first map. Man, I still remember where the hidden rooms are...LOL. That second shot is the hidden room that you have to jump up to get to in that level. I tried finding some games in multiplayer but nobody is playing apparently. Man, I think I'll play through the entire game again, it plays perfectly on the XB1.

IMG_0071.PNG


IMG_0072.PNG
 
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Groove said:
Haha, yep...that was some of my best times gaming. I actually just found it on XB1 store...the 20th anniversary edition. It plays just like I remember and they even have rigged it to work in full screen mode. Check out these pics....Red light district, first map. Man, I still remember where the hidden rooms are...LOL. That second shot is the hidden room that you have to jump up to get to in that level. I tried finding some games in multiplayer but nobody is playing apparently. Man, I think I'll play through the entire game again, it plays perfectly on the XB1.

View attachment 303028

View attachment 303029
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Aw, man! Lol

Memories, memories!
 
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I still have an old Pentium PC with Windows XP running on it. It's completely off the grid so it doesn't get infected with all kinds of crap. It still plays GTA Vice City, DOOM, Quake, some other old FPS games. I can really get lost driving around in Vice City listening to the radio.

I also boot up an Atari 2600 emulator I have and play Adventure every few months. I'm amazed how the muscle memory still gets me through the mazes after 40 years.
 
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docB said:
I still have an old Pentium PC with Windows XP running on it. It's completely off the grid so it doesn't get infected with all kinds of crap. It still plays GTA Vice City, DOOM, Quake, some other old FPS games. I can really get lost driving around in Vice City listening to the radio.

I also boot up an Atari 2600 emulator I have and play Adventure every few months. I'm amazed how the muscle memory still gets me through the mazes after 40 years.
Click to expand...
I won't lie, I've thought about buying Vice City for that reason
 
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