This thread will attempt to provide a place to discuss past/present/future PC gaming deals. While mainly focusing on Steam games, any standout sales may also be presented. I will not be updating every Daily/Weekly/etc. sale. The tools to help individuals become a smarter shopper will be provided below.
See this POST for links to store sale pages, threads of interest and other tools to help you become a more informed PC game shopper.
Picked up DOOM: Eternal - Deluxe Edition (Bethesda.Net version/PC) for $17.90.
Some thoughts incoming from DOOM: Eternal's Campaign here from the base game.
I'm a little over an hour and a half here in Eternal. Damn, this game's action has tons of intensity; jumping & double-jumping; and whatnot - this is bananas. Graphics look amazing maxed-out on my RTX 3070 here w/ DLSS On & also RT On at 1080p, running in the 80fps-160fps ballpark; depends what's happening on-screen and whatnot.
Given how awesome Id's games have always looked & usually have ran historcially, this is really no surprise, as the visuals are top-notch here. Of course, the combat & gunplay here is insanely awesome, per Id's usual standards. Smoking this game was past the 60fps mark on a regular basis, everything just feels smooth as butter & ultra-smooth.
Not even much really into this game & not that far here, this feels like it's similar to the back half of DOOM (2016). It feels like Eternal's basically picking up right after DOOM (2016) Campaign, both story-wise and gameplay-wise - as there's a lot of fast, furious, and open-spaced arena style battles before you advanced to the next area, like that of the Painkiller games. I also feel like I have to use less bullets & not waste them; use my Glory Kills smartly to save ammo & get Health; use the Chainsaw smartly to get any needed Health & also get more needed ammo; and be much more strategic here than ever before in a DOOM game w/ whatever skills, move, shots, and bullets I have and also happen to be throwing here.
If this isn't enough, the soundtrack already is awesome, sounds absolutely slamming and banging.
My mind is fried, brain's fried, and absolutely stunned by awesome the combat & gameplay is in this game. This game's relentless...and I hope it doesn't let up and keeps up the action & awesome-ness.
I didn't really care for Doom Eternal. The emphasis on chainsaw and melee kills and constantly having to work for the ability to fire your gun was too much of a departure from why I play Doom -- straight up shootin' lots of monster-dudes. Fortunately I played it off Game Pass so nothing lost aside from an evening and some bandwidth.
Not a fan of the nu-Dooms in general. I put Doom (2016) aside after an hour or so. Too modernized although I'm sure I'll get back to it eventually. I'm thinking of picking up Doom 3 for a bucko because I always enjoyed it and, imo, the graphics still hold up today. Atmosphere is a lot better, too.
Other Quakecon sale stuff: The Fallout 4 Season Pass is only $5.24 -- does this contain all of the FO4 DLC? If so, I might grab that, too. Decent enough price.
I didn't really care for Doom Eternal. The emphasis on chainsaw and melee kills and constantly having to work for the ability to fire your gun was too much of a departure from why I play Doom -- straight up shootin' lots of monster-dudes. Fortunately I played it off Game Pass so nothing lost aside from an evening and some bandwidth.
I was skeptical when Doom 2016 came out. But there was a great game there. Rockin soundtrack, knee-deep in gore, fun visceral weapons.
Then came Doom: Eternal. Hey guys, let's take everything you liked about 2016 and got along the way for free in game and now you get to farm for it! Reduce your ammo until you go farm some zombie simps... Oh yeah and enjoy the platforming, suckers!!
Glad I didn't pay for it and just played it on GameAss..
Other Quakecon sale stuff: The Fallout 4 Season Pass is only $5.24 -- does this contain all of the FO4 DLC? If so, I might grab that, too. Decent enough price.
The crap from Creation Club's missing, but you likely won't need any of that.
Season Pass contains the 6 main DLC's/expansions - and you'll really want Far Harbor and Nuka World, as those are the main content ones.
Easily worth $5.24 just for those 2 DLC's that I listed above, TBH - but you might as well also take the rest of what's in the Season Pass for the ride, so that if there's any mods that need all the main DLC's (i.e. like what often happens w/ Bethesda's games on the super-moddable Gamebyro Engine and/or Creation Engine), you're all set here.
Far Harbor DLC's great for DLC decision-making stuff (lots of shades of grey on decisions, w/ pro's & con's - it's as if Bethesda heard the complaints of the base-game not having much choice); atmosphere; and is easily the best thing & content entirely for FO4 here.
Nuka World DLC's good for high-level combat for high-level characters; it's tough & action-packed. And if you hate Preston Garvey bugging you all the time, since this is an evil-themed & evil-routed questline
- then, make sure you do all the quests and then turn evil on your settlements; Preston will never bug you again.
Automatron DLC is good if you want to pimp out robot - and you should, as that can gain that NPC (Ada) a lot of weight to carry and she can get quite powerful. Mission/quest-line isn't long and not anything special (2 hours, maybe) - but this is good for robot making/building and for the new NPC Ada.
Rest of the DLC's are for the building stuff in the game - eh, not really my thing.
Here's the DLC List for the Pass, as stated on the Steam page.
Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, Far Harbor, Contraptions Workshop, Vault-Tec Workshop, and Nuka-World
Yeah, it's a good price on all the DLC. First time I think it's had a significant discount. I actually never played the New Vegas DLC but the way they insist on pricing it (only 60^% off after a decade) means buying the GOTY version is cheaper.
Yeah, it's a good price on all the DLC. First time I think it's had a significant discount. I actually never played the New Vegas DLC but the way they insist on pricing it (only 60^% off after a decade) means buying the GOTY version is cheaper.
Old World Blues DLC in particular is out-standing.
All the other content DLC's are really good too. Lonesome Road's the most linear and wraps up the Courier's story & is good (probably the weakest of the content DLC's, but it important b/c it wraps up the Two Couriers storyline); and all of the other DLC's are really good too.
If you want to use Josh E. Sawyer's Hardcore Mod (i.e. made by the lead developer on the game, as he think it's still too easy out-the-box for him, even at its tops difficulty), you're going to need to go Complete; that mod requires all DLC's, including the two item DLC's.
I actually never played the New Vegas DLC but the way they insist on pricing it (only 60^% off after a decade) means buying the GOTY version is cheaper.
I wish I was like MysterD easily amused. I enjoy stuff, but it takes a decent amount to really wow me or even make me say, "This is pretty good." I'm always like it's OK, alright, meh, below average, and poop tier. Likely going to get either Jupiter Hell or Library of Ruina. Anyone play them during there EA days? Going to watch some review videos for sure.
Unless it's a prevert deviant mom/sister sandwich visual novel, which are always awesome, I'm always like it's OK, alright, meh, below average, and poop tier.
I wish I was like MysterD easily amused. I enjoy stuff, but it takes a decent amount to really wow me or even make me say, "This is pretty good." I'm always like it's OK, alright, meh, below average, and poop tier. Likely going to get either Jupiter Hell or Library of Ruina. Anyone play them during there EA days? Going to watch some review videos for sure.
I think when it comes to games - yeah, I'm much easier to amuse & can be more forgiving there. I can be a bit more forgiving on certain stuff in there; probably b/c of the player interaction factor and stuff of that sort. That can go a long way w/ me - as even games like Doom and/or Bethesda Games ain't great at story and/or character stuff, but can still be a lot of fun to play. That can get me around complaints of story, character development, and stuff of that sort much easier.
Movies and TV shows, I can be much rougher. Without the player interaction, I can easier get bored, disappointed, and/or not happy w/ a film or TV show - especially if something like storytelling, narrative, and/or acting is weak.
I did recently watch The Suicide Squad 2021 movie (dir. by James Gunn) on HBO Max - and it was quite good. Ayer's Suicide Squad film and even Birds of Prey were mediocre at best; both of those were disappointing to me.
Doom Eternal is both better and worse than 2016. It's a victim of feature creep. Platforming sections, a central hub, everything now has to be upgraded (and there are upgrades for your upgrades). The core gameplay is at least just as fun as Doom 2016 but there's so much unnecessary bloat that gets in the way. Although I did really enjoy the loop requiring you to constantly mix in chainsaw + flamethrower + glory kills.
And while we're talking about the series, go get Doom 64 for a buck and a quarter if you haven't already. Almost 25 years old and it's aged like wine.
I feel like I'm the only person who wasn't impressed with Old World Blues. Obviously I'm not since it's a big world but I'd consider it fairly overrated. It's five minutes of amusing NPC chatter followed by a couple hours of tedious robot scorpions trying to zap you. If you aren't skilled in energy weapons, it's five minutes of NPC chatter followed by ten hours of super-tedious robot scorpions trying to zap you while your weapons do almost no damage.
How are the new Unity ports v. the old Steam ports v. source ports (like say GZDoom)?
Me, I have the old retail version on disc from Activision, before Doom 3 came out on disc - i.e. Doom Collector's Edition Classic Collection (with Doom 1: Ultimate, Doom 2, and Final Doom).
How are these WADS, in particular - SIGIL (by Romero)? Master Level for Doom II?
Any thoughts on other official supported community Mods/WADS via new Unity Port that you can right from Bethesda.Net in-game?
There are some more modestly priced new GPUs, a whole slew of Radeon 6600 XT's, on today's Newegg shuffle if you want to give it a whirl. You've got about 90 more min. to collect your losing lottery ticket for free.
There are some more modestly priced new GPUs, a whole slew of Radeon 6600 XT's, on today's Newegg shuffle if you want to give it a whirl. You've got about 90 more min. to collect your losing lottery ticket for free.
Checked the reviews from Steve (GamerNexus), Anthony (on Linus Tech Tips) and Hardware Unboxed.
They seem...underwhelming. Especially at *that* price.
And these are 1080p cards.
Seems like it's priced like a 3060 Ti ($380-400), but performs more like it's around 3060 ($320). I guess...at least the 6600 XT has 8GB VRAM and has RT & FSR support. [shrug]
3060Ti for $380 is a pipe dream though. I'm not saying the 6600XT is "worth it" but the reviews comparing it to MSRP that only exists in mythical Best Buy reference card drops are pretty meaningless for making real world comparisons. It's like when people ask "Is $7 a good price for Space Laser Dragons 3?" and people say "Was in a bundle glitch for 14¢ in 2019!". Technically accurate but not at all helpful for making purchasing decisions.
3060Ti for $380 is a pipe dream though. I'm not saying the 6600XT is "worth it" but the reviews comparing it to MSRP that only exists in mythical Best Buy reference card drops are pretty meaningless for making real world comparisons. It's like when people ask "Is $7 a good price for Space Laser Dragons 3?" and people say "Was in a bundle glitch for 14¢ in 2019!". Technically accurate but not at all helpful for making purchasing decisions.
Hey, I recently replayed Doom Eternal following the RTX update. I was a big fan of Doom 2016 (which was actually the first game I played when I made the switch from consoles to PC!) and I was initially disappointed when I played Eternal at launch. Felt like it lacked focus and I never got in a rhythm since the game was constantly interrupting me with various messages and tutorials. But things really clicked on my second playthrough, especially after going through the DLC. When I really got in the zone during a big encounter the gameplay borders on perfection. So fast-paced with a surprising amount of strategy involved in the really tough battles. And christ if only other developers would optimize their games like this one.
That said, I don't think there's anywhere else for this style of Doom to go. I hope the next one picks up where Doom 3 left off.
Spent a fair chunk of yesterday playing through Katamari Damacy on Game Pass. Compared to all the other games I've played that involve rolling a ball to gather up as many people/animals/objects as possible until you reach sizes of absurd proportions, I'd place it somewhere near the top.
Thank you for recommending this, I probably never would of touched it otherwise but its actually pretty fun and I agree with you on Doom Eternal, Doom 2016 was awesome but Eternal was to much first person platforming for me. I didn't make it very far, maybe I should give it another go as long as I have gamepass for PC.
No interest in Doom Eternal. Even a buddy who liked it admitted it had flaws and wasn't getting the dlc until it was dirt cheap. Another said he was not into the platforming and quit. The glory kill system being a requirement turned me off from even thinking about it, months before it was released. Toss in the platforming and no thanks.
Interesting interview with the Dev though, about 1min into it he says that if you prefer 2016/traditional run and gun slaughter Eternal might not be the game for you.
There are some more modestly priced new GPUs, a whole slew of Radeon 6600 XT's, on today's Newegg shuffle if you want to give it a whirl. You've got about 90 more min. to collect your losing lottery ticket for free.
No interest in Doom Eternal. Even a buddy who liked it admitted it had flaws and wasn't getting the dlc until it was dirt cheap. Another said he was not into the platforming and quit. The glory kill system being a requirement turned me off from even thinking about it, months before it was released. Toss in the platforming and no thanks.
Interesting interview with the Dev though, about 1min into it he says that if you prefer 2016/traditional run and gun slaughter Eternal might not be the game for you.
There are some more modestly priced new GPUs, a whole slew of Radeon 6600 XT's, on today's Newegg shuffle if you want to give it a whirl. You've got about 90 more min. to collect your losing lottery ticket for free.
Interesting interview with the Dev though, about 1min into it he says that if you prefer 2016/traditional run and gun slaughter Eternal might not be the game for you.
He said "if you just want 'I just wanna shoot stuff the game' I dunno that you're gonna like Doom Eternal".
He wasn't at all implying that Doom 2016 was a 'just shoot stuff' game.
Indeed, precisely the opposite: the context of the conversation was that Doom 2016 was all about its finely crafted combat loop, and all the changes he was talking about that they made for Doom Eternal were about even further honing and perfecting that same combat loop.
Honestly, he didn't express himself very well, because the combat loop is obviously about shooting stuff. What he clearly means is that it's not completely stupid: more "it's not Call of Duty" than "it's not Doom 2016".
Also, the things he admits are flaws in Doom Eternal he says were bigger flaws in Doom 2016: that they were improved on for Doom Eternal, but that they still weren't improved on enough.
I believe one of the major fabs (fabrication facility used to make advanced silicon components) was out of commission last year. Earthquake or some such?
Anywho, thanks to grand order of business, a lot of these chips are made in a increasingly smaller number of suppliers in more and more advanced, one of a kind facilities.
When one has a bad day, the whole market suffers.
So add 'Rona, shipping issues, general China kerfuffles, and a natural disaster, and you get years of production issues. And it normally takes months to years to per-coordinate manufacture runs, to include quantities. Thus, they can't just work overtime to crank out more; the chips are already stacked up in a big queue.
So without more production facilities to come online, which also take a large number of unique machines with their own chip requirements, it may take months to years to get out of this shortage constraint.
The increased demand due to nerds being on their couch more due to the plague, plus commodity fetishism extreme a la crypto, gets you a hot mess of an electronics market.
TL;DR: Love what you got for now or pay a lot more for upgrades, likely until 2023.
I wouldn't call it luck necessarily, but Best Buy dropped some cards while I was in the bathroom today and long story short--I ordered a 3080ti Aorus Xtreme. Probably going to cancel it, but if folks here can come up with enough useful things I could do with a gigantic, overpriced GPU with a dumbass LCD screen on it I might change my mind.
