We don't have a section for gaming and I know there are a few other gamers on here (console or PC, all are welcome ) so I thought I would try to draw the rest of you in. I'm down for adding folks on Steam or Origin or BattleNet (we can get our Diablo or Hearthstone on), feel free to share some PSN or XBLive gamertags as well.

That being said who else is ready for the release of Fallout 4? I'm actually in the middle of building a new PC (literally right in the middle, I would be done if this damned Win 10 USB key would ever finish creating). After almost 20 years I'm switching back to Intel from AMD builds with the release of skylake, though I'm still sticking with ATI/AMD cards.

Specs are
Intel i5 6600k
Corsair 16gb ddr4
Corsair h55 water cooler
Corsair 750d full tower
Corsair (seeing a pattern?) 650hx PSU
ASUS Z170-a
R9 390

I was originally going to put the funds into an AR10 build, but with all the new games coming out and my current rig starting to be a little long in the tooth I thought what the hell. It's almost winter anyway and I won't hardly be able to shoot so I can build an AR10 this spring.

So, what are you playing lately? I've been having some fun with Mad Max, not the best game but I picked it up cheap and I feel I've gotten my moneys worth.

my desktop (acer ax1420 ur10p)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883103447
crashed. it's a slimline case, which means i had to be choosey about the video card i added, and the 220 watt power supply is marginal, so i think the PSU is fried. one day mid-game it just went "pop" and died. i'm going to order up a new power supply and hope for the best.
i've done the elder scrolls since morrowind, and fallout 3 and new vegas, and am looking forward to FO4, and they ran very well on high graphics quality for a couple of years, but they don't run on my laptop. so lately i've been playing "dungeon siege I", which runs very well except it crashes when the pixies and fairies sprinkle me with mana and life. gotta watch out for those damn pixies and fairies, they're deadly!

In line with my interest in milsurplus weapons, and my service, I tend to be more interested in realism in my games. As a result, I play games like America's Army, Insurgency, and Red October 2: Heroes of Stalingrad.

Quite realistic, and the benefit is that every time you die you get re-spawned with a full basic load and two grenades.

I'm deadly with iron sights, and not bad on the machinegun.

Trying to figure out the minimum laptop I'll need to purchase for Fallout 4. I played New Vegas through 4 times.

I got my rig rebuilt ahead of time for Fallout 4. Don't know the specs off the top of my head, but it'll run Skyrim in Ultra High detail with a mix of 2k and 4k texture overhauls plus about 150+ mods with barely a stutter and almost no CTDs.

i've done a couple of the FPS games like MoH and conflict: desert storm, and enjoyed them, but i like a little more dialogue and character development. sneaking under a tank with a satchel charge is fun and all, but i prefer the open-world sandbox and some of the weirder stuff that elder scrolls and FO throws at you.
i'd like a better desktop gaming rig, but i'm cheap and having trouble finding anything better than my 4 year old $400 in the price range . i look regularly at tiger direct and newegg for systems and components, and use passmark for component benchmarks.

lurker wrote:i've done a couple of the FPS games like MoH and conflict: desert storm, and enjoyed them, but i like a little more dialogue and character development. sneaking under a tank with a satchel charge is fun and all, but i prefer the open-world sandbox and some of the weirder stuff that elder scrolls and FO throws at you.
i'd like a better desktop gaming rig, but i'm cheap and having trouble finding anything better than my 4 year old $400 in the price range . i look regularly at tiger direct and newegg for systems and components, and use passmark for component benchmarks.

I haven't really used them in a while, but when I was building stuff http://www.pricewatch.com/ was very handy.

PC Gamer says these are the requirements for Fallout 4

Minimum
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent

Recommended
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz/AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent

I'm leaning towards this Asus. It weighs and costs almost as much as a Garand...

ASUS ROG G752VL-DH71 Intel i7 2.6GHz 16GB Memory 1TB HDD GTX965M 2GB Thunderbolt 3

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor

Operating System
Windows 10 64-bit

Chipset
Mobile Intel CM236 Express Chipset

Memory
16 GB DDR4 MHz SDRAM, up to 64 GB

Display
17.3" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) Hardware supported G-Sync

Graphic
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M with 2GB GDDR5

Storage
1TB HDD 7200 RPM

Weight
8.8 lbs

MSRP
$1499

You could get the Samsung 850 1tb ssd for an extra $300 and remove that slow HDD bottleneck.

By the time your bank account recovers there will be more nifty thunderbolt 3 accessories.

Not a huge gamer, Im still trying to figure out this on my phone... https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ory.Sniper




I think the last game I was into on PC was Lemmings.

dandad wrote: I think the last game I was into on PC was Lemmings.

lemmings was good. puzzles!

based on the min and recommended specs posted above, my current machine's cpu is bit inadequate.
i've been building a table based on new, not refurbed computers on newegg.com in my price range, which tops out about $400, which is what i paid for my current desktop.
i've been looking mostly for another acer if i need to replace my ax1420-ur10p, which has been a real trooper apart from being knocked off the desk 3 times. judging from these #s, i'll have to consider a refurb unless prices drop significantly. no hurry, i'll not pay release-day prices for FO4 or any other game.
<--- indicates current machine.
* indicates minimum cpu.
** indicates recommended cpu.
then there's the video cards, which are a whole other ball of wax.

passmark scores all scores approximate (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/)
name cores ghz score computer model
j1900 4 2.0 1887
j2900 4 2.4 2046
g3240 2 3.1 3282
g3250 2 3.2 3330
x4 645 4 3.1 3518 <------
x4 945 4 3.0 3725 *
A8-5500 2x2 3.2 4015
a8-6500 2X2 3.5 4437
a10-6700 4 3.7 4635
i3-4130 2x2 3.4 4792 AXC-605-UR11
i3-4160 2x2 3.6 5038 AXC-605-UW20
i5-2300 4 2.8 5294 *
i3-4170 2x2 3.7 5383 AXC-705-UR53
i5-2400 3 3.1 5821
i5-2400 4 3.1 5823
fx-6300 6 3.5 6351
i5-4440 4 3.1 6436 ATC-605-UR19
i5-4460 4 3.2 6650
i5-4590 4 3.3 7255
e3-1240 4X2 3.4 9291
i7-4770 4x2 3.4 9864
i7 4790 4X2 3.6 10041 **
FX-9590 4X2 4.7 10283 **

Check out PCHound.com, it will help you build a price a rig if thats your thing. Still need a new videocard, would like some new SSDs and a beefier power supply but this machine has proved pretty strong out of the box. Using just the included AI suite software I hit 4.5ghz stable under the corsair H55 cooler. Idles around 30C peaks at about 48C under heavy load.

The Battlefront beta ran smooth and pretty (though I won't be buying it, just wasn't feeling it) and everything else seems to run just fine as well. I've actually been playing quite a bit of Armored Warfare (did closed beta for it, and a founders pack) and it can be quite a bit of fun.

Also someone mentioned America's Army? I played a shitton of that back in the day, so much so that briefly around 2004 I worked for them.

Feel free to add me on steam under [Paragon]

senorgrand wrote:I'm leaning towards this Asus. It weighs and costs almost as much as a Garand...

ASUS ROG G752VL-DH71 Intel i7 2.6GHz 16GB Memory 1TB HDD GTX965M 2GB Thunderbolt 3

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor

Operating System
Windows 10 64-bit

Chipset
Mobile Intel CM236 Express Chipset

Memory
16 GB DDR4 MHz SDRAM, up to 64 GB

Display
17.3" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) Hardware supported G-Sync

Graphic
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M with 2GB GDDR5

Storage
1TB HDD 7200 RPM

Weight
8.8 lbs

MSRP
$1499

It would run fallout 4 just fine at 1080P, the smaller amount of VRAM is going to be the limiting factor with most stuff but as long as you don't mind turning some stuff down graphics wise you'll be just fine. Its a beast of a machine, and asus makes great stuff. You could build a comparable PC for less, or an even better one for about the same amount. Unless mobility is key of course.

GravyBoat wrote:

senorgrand wrote:I'm leaning towards this Asus. It weighs and costs almost as much as a Garand...

ASUS ROG G752VL-DH71 Intel i7 2.6GHz 16GB Memory 1TB HDD GTX965M 2GB Thunderbolt 3

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor

Operating System
Windows 10 64-bit

Chipset
Mobile Intel CM236 Express Chipset

Memory
16 GB DDR4 MHz SDRAM, up to 64 GB

Display
17.3" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) Hardware supported G-Sync

Graphic
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M with 2GB GDDR5

Storage
1TB HDD 7200 RPM

Weight
8.8 lbs

MSRP
$1499

It would run fallout 4 just fine at 1080P, the smaller amount of VRAM is going to be the limiting factor with most stuff but as long as you don't mind turning some stuff down graphics wise you'll be just fine. Its a beast of a machine, and asus makes great stuff. You could build a comparable PC for less, or an even better one for about the same amount. Unless mobility is key of course.

Thanks for the reply!

It will probably be my graduation gift to myself next term (I can't start Fallout 4 before school is done). There might be a better machine available by then in my price point, but I'm hoping this one comes down in price by then.

Yeah...I gotta be mobile. I got no place to put a pc.

Picked up Rebel Galaxy a couple of days ago. Its pretty fun and has a fantastic soundtrack. Gets a bit repetitive but I got around 30 hours out of it and it was only 20 bucks, so not a bad value proposition. Small two man team made the game and they seem to be constantly updating it. It's got a real Firefly/Cowboy Bebop vibe going on.

[youtu_be]http://youtu.be/HMZPVgycrAE[/youtu_be]


Steam Link

I made sure to finally check my machine specs yesterday because I thought I only had a 1GB video card. Turns out it's actually a 4GB vid card so I should be fine. Currently kickin' it old-school with Fallout 3 and this machine runs it like melted butter even on Ultra detail with 200-something mods installed.

TheHunterOfSkulls wrote:I made sure to finally check my machine specs yesterday because I thought I only had a 1GB video card. Turns out it's actually a 4GB vid card so I should be fine. Currently kickin' it old-school with Fallout 3 and this machine runs it like melted butter even on Ultra detail with 200-something mods installed.

What are your favorite mods? I'm going back and playing fallout 3 for the second time. I LOVE the weapon mods. I also killed Tenpenny as soon as I could get a combat shotgun, because fuck that guy.

senorgrand wrote:What are your favorite mods? I'm going back and playing fallout 3 for the second time. I LOVE the weapon mods. I also killed Tenpenny as soon as I could get a combat shotgun, because fuck that guy.

I'll go down the list from start to finish on my load order, and then see if I can figure out what cosmetic stuff I have added that won't show up there.

Fallout Street Lights - adds light effects to the streetlights and signs in the DC Wasteland
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8069

CRAFT - sets up a framework to add additional schematics to the workbench, like being able to reload your own ammo
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/4447

CALIBR - Community Ammunition Library, framework for a huge number of new ammo types
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/3447

xCALIBR Universe - Massive weapon replacer mod, changes pretty much every firearm in the game to a high-quality model of a real-world firearm (10mm Pistol becomes Glock 10mm and so on), reworks all the unique firearms in the game, adds a new gun shop to Megaton with unmarked quests. Hard to find because it's not hosted on FO3Nexus anymore.

Mart's Mutant Mod - overhaul of the creature system in the game, adds new variants of existing creatures, options for scaling difficulty, add-ons for increasing feral ghoul spawns to the point where you'll want to stock up on ammo before going into the underground (plus they have a random chance of getting back up if you don't decapitate them or blow their heads off)
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/3211

DC Interiors - reworks many interior spaces in the game and adds a bunch of new interior locations plus new items and unmarked quests
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/5573

Point Lookout Reborn - tons of changes to the worldspace of the Point Lookout DLC, interiors, creatures, quests, items, and general aesthetics
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19891

Ultimate Perk Pack - Loads of new perks, some of which are awarded automatically after certain story events or after hitting milestones, and adjustments to existing perks
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/1409

Fellout - removes the green tint in outdoor areas and makes other subtle changes to outdoor atmosphere
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/2672

Dragonskin Tactical Outfit - adds a SWAT-type outfit to the game with load-bearing vest, helmet, gas mask and other add-ons
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10183

Wearable Backpack - adds variety of backpacks to vendors that will increase your carry weight
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/2553

TUPAM: The Ultimate Power Armor Mod - complete overhaul of all powered armors. Now you can wear power armor without training, but doing so incurs an agility penalty. Power armor carries its own weight while you're wearing it instead of counting towards your encumbrance. Lots of other neat little tweaks to the power armor system in game.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/6128

BoS DX - Visual improvement for the Brotherhood of Steel power armor
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/5830/?

Outcast DX - Visual improvement for the Brotherhood Outcast power armor
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/5858

Tribal DX - Visual improvement for the Tribal power armor from The Pitt DLC
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/6520

COL Enclave Replacer - Badass visual improvement for all Enclave power armors, lots of options for colors and armors
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8158

Underground Hideout - Adds a quest for a player-owned home near Rivet City, lots of storage and display space, ability to purchase defenses, almost too many features to mention
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/9592

Wasteland Melee Mod Pack - Adds loads of new melee weapons to the game. Ever feel like smacking a raider upside the dome with a pipe wrench? Now you can! Ever think Super Mutants might want to maim you with a splitting maul? Now they can!
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/10856

JIP Companions Command and Control - Great new system and interface for interacting with companion characters, actually very similar to Skyrim. Also has add-on modules for companions added by other mods.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20035

Bittercup Companion - My favorite clueless Goth girl NPC, now as a companion. Bittercup + heavy automatic weapon + 2000 rounds of ammunition = hilarity. JIP Companions has an add-on module for her.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/1991

Bittercup Companion Restyled - This mod makes her look a lot more Gothy and I consider it essential for the companion mod
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/2195

Jessi Companion - Probably one of the more well-done companion mods, has her own side-quests (I think?). JIP Companions has an add-on module for her.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/2732

Brianna Companion - Turns Brianna from The Family into a companion with her own short questline. JIP Companions has an add-on module for her.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7408

Mothership Zeta All Access Pass - Allows you to return to previously-visited areas of Mothership Zeta after finishing the storyline. Be aware, enemies WILL respawn in those areas.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8279

Repair Rethought Reborn Updated - Expands and improve repair item lists. More "junk" items are now usable for repair and more repairs make sense (wonderglue fixes just about everything, Brotherhood power armor can be repaired using Enclave power armor, etc.).
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7351

Burns Flames and Fire - Complete Pyromaniac Rebalance - Rebalances fire-based weapons, NPCs on fire may now flee from combat, afterburn causes much more damage, adds new perks and new weapons.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/6183

All Companions Essential - Sets the "essential" flag on every HIRED companion in the game plus a few others who have the annoying habit of getting themselves corpsed. The HIRED bit is important, as sometimes they can still be killed if you haven't hired them yet or if you sent them home.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8954

Ammo Press With CALIBR - Adds all the ammo types available in CALIBR to the ammo press menu in The Pitt.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/15385

F3 Project Reality - New weather types and visual effects, all customizable in-game.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/17418

Master of Disguise - Disguise yourself as a member of different factions, add-ons adjust things like whether or not this will cause previous "friendly" factions to go hostile (ie, Brotherhood soldiers attacking you if you're dressed up in Enclave power armor).
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8707

Karma-Independent Companion Rehiring - Allows you to rehire dismissed companions even if your karma level changes after you dismiss them.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/9693

Flora Overhaul - Improved world models for trees and vegetation, multiple options for how you want your wasteland to look.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19864

NMC's Texture Pack - High-resolution textures for pretty much every part of the game world
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/12056

And, of course, I can't forget the best mod of all, the one that makes the Super Mutants sound like Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/16544

Wow. Thanks!

I added the street lights last night. Very cool. I also added the mod that gives you a Dogmeat chewtoy and makes him unkillable, which is good considering how quickly he charges into combat!

No problem, just remember that the more mods you add, the more points of conflict are potentially created. It can get pretty ugly if you don't know your way around FO3Edit and/or Wrye Flash. Most of mine came over clean from the dead computer, but unfortunately one of my favorites stopped working, a weather mod that made The Pitt constantly shrouded in Silent Hill-style fog. I took it a step further and created a music folder specifically for The Pitt and filled it with dark ambient stuff like Lustmord and the Hellraiser score, then I added a new creature to the area that goes invisible when it attacks (which means you can't target it in VATS, found that out the hard way) and cripples all your limbs when it gets a good solid hit. Because apparently I want my characters to have severe PTSD.

Seriously, the testing for that was hilarious in hindsight.
*Me, wandering around the abandoned areas in the pit, spots new critter (the Bloodsucker from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl)*
"Oh cool, there he is. He doesn't see me yet, so he's visible, I'll get his attention and see if the cloaking works."
*Stands up from sneaking, fires a few shots*
"Yep, he just went invisible and he's coming right at me like a freight train."
*Unslings custom FN SCAR, goes into VATS; then realizes all the hit locations are at 0%*
"Hmmm. That could be a problem. Manual targeting it is then..."
*Drops out of VATS and one second later get smashed in the face by the invisible horror, realize half my health is gone in one shot and my arms and legs are now broken*
"FUCKSHITFUCKFUCK!"
*Can't hit the damned thing with the SCAR, start spamming stimpaks to heal, switch to unique flamethrower and do my best to set the entire area on fire, figuring that I'll be able to see where the fucking thing is if it's engulfed in napalm*
"DIE DIE DIE!"
*Remember that I gave the damn thing health regeneration too, so being engulfed in napalm is on par with a warm Spring rain for it*
*Runs away valiantly, pursued by monster-shaped bonfire*
*Switches back to SCAR, toggles grenade launcher on, completely ignores M203 grenade launcher safety briefing and shoots Bloodsucker in the godsdamn face from about 10 feet away, instantly re-crippling all of my limbs*
"Is it dead? It's dead, right? It has to be dead."
*Flames finally go out, Bloodsucker is indeed dead*
"WOO, YEAH, SHOWED YOU DIDN'T I?"
*Post-battle celebration interrupted by arrival of second Bloodsucker, which proceeds to hit me so hard that my head explodes*
"Shit."

TheHunterOfSkulls wrote:No problem, just remember that the more mods you add, the more points of conflict are potentially created. It can get pretty ugly if you don't know your way around FO3Edit and/or Wrye Flash. Most of mine came over clean from the dead computer, but unfortunately one of my favorites stopped working, a weather mod that made The Pitt constantly shrouded in Silent Hill-style fog. I took it a step further and created a music folder specifically for The Pitt and filled it with dark ambient stuff like Lustmord and the Hellraiser score, then I added a new creature to the area that goes invisible when it attacks (which means you can't target it in VATS, found that out the hard way) and cripples all your limbs when it gets a good solid hit. Because apparently I want my characters to have severe PTSD.

Seriously, the testing for that was hilarious in hindsight.
*Me, wandering around the abandoned areas in the pit, spots new critter (the Bloodsucker from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl)*
"Oh cool, there he is. He doesn't see me yet, so he's visible, I'll get his attention and see if the cloaking works."
*Stands up from sneaking, fires a few shots*
"Yep, he just went invisible and he's coming right at me like a freight train."
*Unslings custom FN SCAR, goes into VATS; then realizes all the hit locations are at 0%*
"Hmmm. That could be a problem. Manual targeting it is then..."
*Drops out of VATS and one second later get smashed in the face by the invisible horror, realize half my health is gone in one shot and my arms and legs are now broken*
"FUCKSHITFUCKFUCK!"
*Can't hit the damned thing with the SCAR, start spamming stimpaks to heal, switch to unique flamethrower and do my best to set the entire area on fire, figuring that I'll be able to see where the fucking thing is if it's engulfed in napalm*
"DIE DIE DIE!"
*Remember that I gave the damn thing health regeneration too, so being engulfed in napalm is on par with a warm Spring rain for it*
*Runs away valiantly, pursued by monster-shaped bonfire*
*Switches back to SCAR, toggles grenade launcher on, completely ignores M203 grenade launcher safety briefing and shoots Bloodsucker in the godsdamn face from about 10 feet away, instantly re-crippling all of my limbs*
"Is it dead? It's dead, right? It has to be dead."
*Flames finally go out, Bloodsucker is indeed dead*
"WOO, YEAH, SHOWED YOU DIDN'T I?"
*Post-battle celebration interrupted by arrival of second Bloodsucker, which proceeds to hit me so hard that my head explodes*
"Shit."

Who picked up Fallout 4? Its on my list, but I want to actually pass this semester so I will wait till winter break to grab it. I did pick up Black Ops 3 though, its not without its issues but the multiplayer is pretty entertaining. I did play the single player campaign, beat it to but its pretty much what you expect from a michael bayish experience.

I have FO4 and have to fight back the urge to constantly restart to try new things in the beginning area. I'll be able to provide a better feel for the game once I stop restarting it and get past Concord and into the area proper.

If you have one I highly suggest the Pip-Boy companion app for your smart phone. Besides the crafting system it is one of the best features of the game. My only gripe with it so far is that I can't level up through it.