Vista- PC gamings saving grace or the beginning of the end?

UOcUK Poopscoop · 6 May 2006 at 22:33

Will Vista and DX10 be the shot in the arm PC gaming needs or will it just throw more people into the arms of console gaming?

I really, REALLY hate the thought of playing games with a joypad but the thought of being a "beta tester" for MS on a new O/S and the costs involved in yet another upgrade are beginning to get to even me.

The screenies of Crysis help me keep the faith a little but then I remember that just to play it will demand another upgrade again!

Bah! :mad:

BTW, this is NOT a console vs PC thread. Just wonder what everyone thinks at the moment.

I know being a PC gamer has never been cheap but it seems to be getting a bit daft lately.

And surely DX10 being Vista only is just milking the cash cow just that little too far.

nikebee · 6 May 2006 at 22:42

i too think its ridiculous that DX10 is Vista only, i'm hoping... personally that something will be done about it a few months after Vista's release and XP users will be able to use DX10 as well?

although thats highly doubtful.

when all the new DX10 games come out, the majority (if not all?) will have backwards compatabilities with DX9... so we should be fine for a fair odd while.
then when prices of the new OS and new cards lower it should be easier (read: cheaper) to make the transition.

i'm personally holding off on Vista for a good 6 months unless feedback is stupendously good from the outset.

i've got a beefy rig at the moment (its not the greatest in the world, but for me it cost an arm and a leg on a students bank account

)
4000+, 7800GT, LanParty SLi-D, 2GB G.Skill, Raptor etc...etc...etc...

i'm certainly not giving up half my spec just for the likes of Vista :-/

edit:

on a side note, i'm hoping that with DX10 we see a couple of new games come out... not games that use others engines, or games that are sequals... games that are creative and push bounderies in a good way (spore for example)... without everyone just following the wonderful FPS, RTS and RPG bandwaggon that has hit PC gaming for so many years now.

Ex-RoNiN · 6 May 2006 at 22:45

The day I upgrade from XP, I won't upgrade to VISTA, that much is clear. I will not tolerate Microsoft telling me what I can put into my PC and what I can't, and what software I can run on it what I can't.

lemonkettaz · 6 May 2006 at 22:45

beginning of the end.

the end is nigh.

Reppyboyo · 6 May 2006 at 22:48

Im quite happy with XP.
Im not happy about having to upgrade my OS and graphics card just to use DX10.

So meh, Ill wait for another service pack.

Zirax · 6 May 2006 at 22:58

Not too sure about the whole pc gaming scene once vista comes out. In Jan I shelled out for an X1900xtx and opteron bundle. I have less time to play games and tbh i'm not that blown away when compared to my xp2500 (oc'd) and 9800pro.

This lot will get watercooled again as air cooling is annoying. Once that is done, I will *really* have to think hard about whether to bother upgrading the machine for vista. I am currently in two minds about selling my upgraded pc now and just get an xbox 360.

So to conclude my rambling post, there needs to be something special for me to bother upgrading my machine again. Not just a fancy gui. If the physics card takes off (and is MUCH cheaper) then I might be tempted, but even these are about £300 on their own (xbox 360 money) on top of £300 for gfx.

HighlandeR · 6 May 2006 at 23:04

Maybe its a good thing?

Ends all the issues of compatibility, everyone focuses and designs the game with DX10 in mind.

And we get the quality and uber graphics and since its Vistas new biggie all focus goes onto it meaning we get games quicker and less buggier.....

Jokester · 6 May 2006 at 23:06

People were predicting the death of PC gaming way back in the days of 486s, if not before.

Nothings changed.

Jokester

Zirax · 6 May 2006 at 23:11

You both make good points, pc gaming was going to die with the ps2 and xbox when they came out.... it carried on. If the games quality improved and games were delivered quicker, then yep this would be a big positive for vista

helmet · 6 May 2006 at 23:14

Jokester said:
People were predicting the death of PC gaming way back in the days of 486s, if not before.

Nothings changed.

Jokester

I think it may well mean the death of some smaller software companies though. As you said PC gaming as a whole will continue but at the cost of some good companies and their games.

FeFiDoh · 6 May 2006 at 23:16

*yaaaaaawn* U all say this but as most people on this forum they have to have things first for willy waving rights so no doubt people will have a dx10 card so they can post screenies etc.. its not the end just people whining

Eliot · 6 May 2006 at 23:26

me: oh vistas gonna be awesome man
other dude: do u know it wont play dx8 or lower and dx 9 will have a performance hit?
me:what? no Raven sheild?
other dude: nope.
me:**** U MICROSOFT

Lanz · 6 May 2006 at 23:42

Id be willing to bet a fare amount that DX10 will be availlable for XP a few months after Vista's release. MS will always deny it right up until the day it happens, but once they have sold enough copies of Vista in the initial rush, DX10 will come for XP.

Psyk · 6 May 2006 at 23:47

It's not going to change anything significantly. Might make installing and organising games a little simpler for the people that do upgrade but that's about it. Do you really think developers are just suddenly going to make games dx10 only, automatically cutting out most of their potential customers? Of course not. And eventually, almost all of you will upgrade to vista. Might be a few years but you will. How many people are still using 98? 95? 3.1?

I know halo 2 will be vista only but that's hardly surprising since it's an MS game. There probably aren't many more examples.

Zacko · 6 May 2006 at 23:48

I REALLY can't see it dying, sure it may go slightly down hill in terms of sales but things like Steam are going to make PC Gaming unique IMO.

NathanE · 6 May 2006 at 23:52

Ex-RoNiN said:
The day I upgrade from XP, I won't upgrade to VISTA, that much is clear. I will not tolerate Microsoft telling me what I can put into my PC and what I can't, and what software I can run on it what I can't.

False.

Eliot said:
me: oh vistas gonna be awesome man
other dude: do u know it wont play dx8 or lower and dx 9 will have a performance hit?
me:what? no Raven sheild?
other dude: nope.
me:**** U MICROSOFT

False.

mark_t50 · 6 May 2006 at 23:54

I fell for a fair bit of the hype surrounding Vista and what it does or doesn't do. I was also one of those who was initial reaction was 'OMG WTF MS can get stuffed, blah, blah, blah'. But the more I learn about Vista the more I don't see what the big fuss is about.

I'll get Vista when I have a reason to get it. For me that probably means when the first decent DX10 game gets released. I don't get all the fuss about Vista telling you what you can or cannot do/run/play. I'll just have a dual boot system, or leave XP on my second system for anything that doesn't run on Vista.

At the end of the day it is only a new operating system, if that means I can play the latest games, using the latest hardware and those games are worth playing, then sure I think it could be good for PC gaming in the long term. It's just my bank balance that is going to suffer

Kainz · 7 May 2006 at 00:10

I'll be buying vista for general work/net use, not gaming as I've got the 360. MS can shove DX10 and all the eye candied tarted up games to promote the OS up the you know what.

UOcUK Poopscoop · 7 May 2006 at 00:10

Jokester said:
People were predicting the death of PC gaming way back in the days of 486s, if not before.

Nothings changed.

Jokester

True.

I remember the Amiga in its heyday though.

It died as a gaming platform (as a platform at all in-fact) due to the huge problems it had with piracy and the emerging console/ PC market.

Of course I am not saying that the PC will die but it is not inconceivable that it could become only a mere niche market for gaming with the big money going to the consoles.

In some small way that would actually be good as you would see a reemergence of a "home" coding scene that could actually make some innovative games.

nikebee · 7 May 2006 at 00:22

UOcUK Poopscoop said:
In some small way that would actually be good as you would see a reemergence of a "home" coding scene that could actually make some innovative games.

i too would actually like that to happen if PC games were suddenly to "die" or lose commitment from big name publishers...

i'd love to see more "bedroom programmers" like Introversion (producers of Uplink, Darwinia and the up and coming Defcon game).