LucasArts classics coming to Steam

Johnny Nys

Member
Finn said:
Nonsense. At least as long as you know what to buy, and when to buy. With a bit of knowledge anyone can make his or her rig stand the test of time from two to three years without any major compatibility issues. And that doesn't mean buying state-of-the-art parts either.

That's exactly what I was talking about when I said "And if you're not a computer wizard who knows how to play with the settings and software, you're screwed." What I described above is fact, coming from hard personal experience, so if you label my lack of knowledge as nonsense, which to me is one step removed from calling me ignorant and that the fault lies only with myself, then you're insulting my intelligence, blaming me for not reading each edition of some computer magazine, blaming me for not going for a degree in computers in college, blaming me for making the wrong purchase choices and almost accusing me of violating some elite club by actually owning a computer.

I always respected you here, Finn, but saying that when you know nothing about me or the past seventeen years I've been actually using computers, has really shocked me. Seventeen years in which I learned quite a bit, but after which I still find myself put against the wall by these kind of software problems now and again. Perhaps you have always been lucky in that regard, but I'm hardly the only one who finds himself lost in that world from time to time.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
I apologize for my careless words and unappropiate tone of message, Johnny. It was never my intention to rile you.

What might have got me a little testy however was the (unintentional?) suggestion that basically goes as "new comps work well enough out of the box for a year or so 'til you're bound to run to problems that are most easily solved by getting a new one". Up to my experience it's quite the opposite. No computer newly bought (or freshly assembled) works as the initial user wishes but requires quite an amount of tinkering before the user is happy with the way it behaves. And I'm not talking simply about people who fancy themselves computer whizes, that holds true even to many layman users as well.

In fact, most comps should be in their best behavior after a year or so; you've most likely got it working the way you want (or got settled in with the differences it has with your previous setup) and it still should run most of the stuff you throw at it.

My favorite advice to people who have trouble with their computers is "think of it as if the problem was with your car and then act accordingly". There is no shame in not knowing all about motor engines and there is definitely no secret society that laughs at people who can't fix it by themselves, and same holds true to computers. And once you realize that, get someone to look at it. I mean, you don't ask instructions about changing a leaky piston in the Internet and once you get one go back outside with a wrench in your hand...
 

Vance

New member
Just reminds me of an encounter I had at a GameStop a couple of years ago...

A woman, guessing around in her 40s, came into the store, pretty clueless, and asked "I'm looking for Atari Games"... To her, ALL Video Games, of any stripe, were Atari games, and there was no difference between the venerable 2600 and the X360.

It was a fun few minutes watching the sales guy try to explain the nature of the beast to her... and it occured to me that MOST people who don't game probably look at it the same way.
 

Johnny Nys

Member
That's okay Finn, I myself tend to overreact sometimes as well, hence my response. I've actually thought about that car analogy myself last night.
I can't remember the amount of times we've brought a computer back to the store to give it an overhaul if you will, and yes, many problems can be solved that way. And like I said, if you're lucky enough to have those experiences, like you have, then I'm happy for you.

It's like finding the golden middle road when it comes to a brand new game you'd love to play but which you can't run: even if your computer is still good enough to do everything else except run that one game, do you do whatever it takes to get it running anyway? After all, it's just one game, is it really worth the effort?

That's the way I've been handling it for the past six years or so. When I bought GTA3 for the PC, I was able to run it but it lagged terribly. I'm talking completely frozen screen, which moved about once every minute. I'd already had my share of tinkering with computers, I was simply growing tired of it. I came to look at it as a war you can't win, because whatever you do the enemy always comes back with heavier weapons. But that's okay essentially, because like I said it's necessary evolution. We need to move our boundaries, always try for that little extra more, otherwise we'd still be driving around like the Flintstones.

So then I got my hands on a secondhand PS1. The newly released PS2 wasn't yet in my budget, so graphics wise I was actually taking a step back but at least I had a ton of new games to play. It was my first ever console experience and I enjoyed its simplicity so much eventually I also got that PS2, which I'm still using now (PS3 still isn't in my budget, but I don't think it'll be long).

In the meantime, I've always kept my computer at hand. I replaced it when it really got too old, and then I took the chance to finally play those games I was never able to run. So at this moment, I'm enjoying both my PS2 and "old" games on my PC. I'd really like to try out some new games, but because I've had so much bad experiences with getting them to run, I think I'll wait until I've finally got a PS3 and be able to play those versions instead. I just don't want to take those risks.

That's why I like demos so much. You can actually try out a game before you spend any money on it.
 

The Tingler

New member
I do get what you're saying Johnny, and you are right. Consoles are (for the most part) hassle-free, and I do understand why people go with them. Unfortunately you do run into the Exclusives battle any way, but that's something we've always had to put up with.

For my money though, while the PC takes a bit more effort to get running smoothly I think it's worth it. I feel much happier and more immersed playing games on my PC than on console. The last few months my consoles (for I have several) have only been brought out to review games, carry on an online Resident Evil 5 campaign I've been slowly doing with a friend, and of course Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. Okay, and Henry Hatsworth. :D

The only console games I will be buying this year are Brutal Legend and Scribblenauts. Every other game I'll get on PC instead.

That's why I like demos so much. You can actually try out a game before you spend any money on it.

Amen to that.
 

Johnny Nys

Member
To get back on topic, anyway, LucasArts classics are games I play at least once a year, also thanks to ScummVM for running them on new machines. I'm glad they're being re-released, but I'm a bit disappointed they're only available through online download. I haven't met many fans of Steam here in Belgium because payment is so troublesome it seems. But I guess that evolution as well.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Johnny Nys said:
That's okay Finn, I myself tend to overreact sometimes as well, hence my response. I've actually thought about that car analogy myself last night.
I can't remember the amount of times we've brought a computer back to the store to give it an overhaul if you will, and yes, many problems can be solved that way. And like I said, if you're lucky enough to have those experiences, like you have, then I'm happy for you.
Well, I'm usually the one doing all the tinkering be the machine my own or somebody elses, and doing a lousy job (or outright suggesting this rig's a piece of crap, get a new one) wouldn't do much good for my reputation...

What comes to that one game... well. You see, sometimes it's really not your system. It's the game. Funny that you mention GTA3, which is one of the prime examples of this. Back in the day, some people with all the best parts couldn't get it to run satedly. It gets especially frustrating when the game looks like it could be run easily with a wide range of nowadays machines, but there is something wonky in its coding architecture that prevents it from doing so. This is called bad optimization, and it's really not the end user's fault. The funny albeit sad thing is that Rockstar pulled the same f**kup with GTA4 - just check any board dedicated for that game.

And yeah, I've never resorted to hardware acquisitions due to one game. If it refuses to run even after extensive tinkering (and most yield to that, actually), then I'll simply get back to it after the next upgrade. Some people might argue that it's a good enough reason to get some new parts since the game might just be a "harbinger of doom". To which I usually respond that if it came within a year since the last upgrade, it really isn't. Publishers aren't stupid. And even if they are, they need to run a business that doesn't hurt their wallets. And sending games that only run with state-of-the-art rigs to the store shelves are seriously hurting them since it diminishes the amount of potential customers.

So, the bottom line is that if a game doesn't run smoothly out of the box, you can usually solve it by changing your system settings or installing a new driver or two. (Of course, even this seems to be too much for some people.) If it still doesn't run, you've probably run into an optimization hitch. At that point, it is appropiate to curse a bit at the developer, and then try something else. Luckily these cases are usually so far and few between that one can simply accept them as an example of that sad fact that there is no tech without flaws and getting things to run 95% of the time is still pretty damn good.

No, it really is.
 

Hanselation

New member
michael said:
I purchased Fate of Atlantis and Last Crusade through Steam this weekend, always fascinated with the allure that Fate of Atlantis gets around here, so I've been meaning to try it.
I'm hoping I will get the same out of it as the people who love it so much.
I never played those games growing up.

If you like the Indy-Movies, a good storys and to solve riddles you will have pleasure. :hat:
 

AlivePoet

New member
Nurhachi1991 said:
How much are the games anyways?

The new Monkey Island series can only be purchased as a package to my knowledge for $34.99, but it's a 5-part monthly series, so it's more or less like a pre-order at this point. Then the remake of MI 1 is $9.99.

Hanselation said:
If you like the Indy-Movies, a good storys and to solve riddles you will have pleasure. :hat:

Very true, and it's nearly indisputable that FoA contains the most adventure elements known to the Indy games, as opposed to action, which is far more common but less Indy-esque.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
AlivePoet said:
The new Monkey Island series can only be purchased as a package to my knowledge for $34.99, but it's a 5-part monthly series, so it's more or less like a pre-order at this point. Then the remake of MI 1 is $9.99
You forgot FoA and LC. They cost $4.99 each.
 

AlivePoet

New member
ResidentAlien said:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/6010/

...please tell me those screenshots are not indicative of the actual appearance of the game? I've heard of DNR being applied to film.... but never to an old video game... *VOMITS*


They didn't ruin the game with Digital Noise Reduction, did they?

Looks similar to an optional filter from ScummVM. If this is the deal that they've gone with, I'm guessing they attempted to de-pixelate some of the graphics, and in effect ruined the sharpness levels. You're right, it looks like crap.

It's silly when industry producers can't come to grips with the fact that part of a classic's appeal are the vintage production values.
 
AlivePoet said:
Looks similar to an optional filter from ScummVM. If this is the deal that they've gone with, I'm guessing they attempted to de-pixelate some of the graphics, and in effect ruined the sharpness levels. You're right, it looks like crap.

It's silly when industry producers can't come to grips with the fact that part of a classic's appeal are the vintage production values.


Yeah, it's disgusting.


So who here has played it? Does it look like this?
 
DocLathropBrown said:
It can be toggled off by pressing Crtl-S.


Good to know.


Still bull****, but at least it's optional bull****. Shame that all the screenshots depict it with that crummy filter turned on. Seems they're trying to sell it on this so-called "clean" appearance.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
ResidentAlien said:
Still bull****, but at least it's optional bull****. Shame that all the screenshots depict it with that crummy filter turned on. Seems they're trying to sell it on this so-called "clean" appearance.
That same enchancement feature has been present in ScummVM for ages... purely optional, of course, but just so you know. The version Steam hands out is not the first so it's hardly a marketing point.
 
Finn said:
That same enchancement feature has been present in ScummVM for ages... purely optional, of course, but just so you know. The version Steam hands out is not the first so it's hardly a marketing point.


ScummVM isn't for profit or official.


Besides, I stopped using ScummVM. DosBOX with the Boxer frontend does a better job.
 
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