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The W - Video Games - Why I am not a PC gamer
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vsp
Andouille








Since: 3.1.02
From: Philly

Since last post: 6468 days
Last activity: 2723 days
#1 Posted on
I picked up Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind the other night, figuring that it'd be a nice diversion while I'm recovering from an illness. (That, and the price dropped.)

Despite the fact that I threw some decent specs into my home PC last summer (Athlon T-Bird 1300, 256MB RAM, 32MB GeForce2 GTS, ASUS A7V133 mboard, SB Live! Value, 60GB HD, Win98 SE), I'd never really used it much for 3D gaming. (I'm more of a MAME/emulator junkie when it comes to PC gaming, and leave action/RPG games to my console systems.) However, I was well over the minimum specs across the board for Morrowind, so I figured I'd have no problems with this title.

Silly me.

The install went smoothly, and added DirectX 8.1 to my system. I started the game, got halfway through character creation and KABLAM! Crash To Desktop. Repeat several times. Thorough troubleshooting revealed that the workaround was to disable AGP Texture Acceleration in DXDiag, which got me to where I could at least save a game but slowed it down mightily.

My manufacturer-supplied drivers for my ASUS GeForce2 were up-to-date, but applying additional NVidia Detonator drivers were necessary to turn AGP Textures back on. With that done, it became playable... but CTDs have persisted with a vengeance. The game will run smooth as silk for some time, and then BLAT! DDHelp error, CTD. WHAM! Render Creation Error, CTD. BLOOP! Page fault, CTD. It's getting to where I'm saving my game after I do ANYTHING of any consequence.

Anyone else played this title, and have any suggestions as to what I can do to ease the pain? The game is entertaining, when it's playable.



"When I feel depressed, I sit under a willow tree by a cool river, and imagine that I am strangling a duck." -- Kotaro Sarai
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Guru Zim
SQL Dejection
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Since: 9.12.01
From: Bay City, OR

Since last post: 4 days
Last activity: 3 days
ICQ:  
#2 Posted on
If it makes you feel any better, my Gamecube is freezing on me at the end of the cut scenes in Metroid Prime - and has a habit of locking up in Super Monkey Ball 2. I've returned both the GC and SMB2 - and I still have the problem.

It's not overheating - and that's the best that Nintendo could come up with on the phone.

So - even though I bought the GC to avoid problems with computer hardware, I'm still getting them.

This is the first console I've ever had crash.



Your analogy is similar to:

"They already have cars that you can drive, why not blenders?"
"I can already write with my hands, why not my pancreas?"
"They already have beef that I can eat, why not granite?"

-- my new favorite quote from Slashdot comments.

Jaguar
Knackwurst








Since: 23.1.02
From: In a Blue State finally

Since last post: 1894 days
Last activity: 1894 days
#3 Posted on
X-Box crashes all the freakin' time. Oh and the PS2 DVD drivers burnt out. Haven't had a problem with the Gamecube though.

-Jag

Of course, these are my friend's consoles. I'm still waiting for the holiday season to deliver me a Gamecube.



With poison running through your veins, and death marching solemnly towards you, heroic acts become more of a necessity as you see your time dwindling.

Vanquishing your enemies, making amends to those you have wronged, and leaving words of love and kindness for those around you become second nature as your own mortality looms

However, true strength lies not in these last desperate acts, but in the actions of one who has to get out of bed the next day and face the consequences of doing that which you believe is right.
Bongo P. Michinoku
Italian








Since: 31.8.02
From: VanCan

Since last post: 7250 days
Last activity: 7047 days
ICQ:  
#4 Posted on
My Dreamcast likes to reset itself occasionally, which REALLY sucks when you've been playing Skies, Grandia II, or Shenmue for several hours without saving. Also, my old faithful Genesis is finally starting to burn itself out.



What the hell, I'll give this a go.
Vancouver: 14-5-4-0. Winning streak now at 9 freaking games.
EddieBurkett
Boudin blanc








Since: 3.1.02
From: GA in person, NJ in heart

Since last post: 54 days
Last activity: 3 hours
#5 Posted on
My NES loads up with a grey screen unless we stick a sock in it to hold the cartridge down.



Now I can go back and play more Animal Crossing
Ender
Blutwurst








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 7399 days
Last activity: 5329 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 10.00

    Originally posted by vsp
    I picked up Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind the other night, figuring that it'd be a nice diversion while I'm recovering from an illness. (That, and the price dropped.)

    Despite the fact that I threw some decent specs into my home PC last summer (Athlon T-Bird 1300, 256MB RAM, 32MB GeForce2 GTS, ASUS A7V133 mboard, SB Live! Value, 60GB HD, Win98 SE), I'd never really used it much for 3D gaming. (I'm more of a MAME/emulator junkie when it comes to PC gaming, and leave action/RPG games to my console systems.) However, I was well over the minimum specs across the board for Morrowind, so I figured I'd have no problems with this title.

    Silly me.

    The install went smoothly, and added DirectX 8.1 to my system. I started the game, got halfway through character creation and KABLAM! Crash To Desktop. Repeat several times. Thorough troubleshooting revealed that the workaround was to disable AGP Texture Acceleration in DXDiag, which got me to where I could at least save a game but slowed it down mightily.

    My manufacturer-supplied drivers for my ASUS GeForce2 were up-to-date, but applying additional NVidia Detonator drivers were necessary to turn AGP Textures back on. With that done, it became playable... but CTDs have persisted with a vengeance. The game will run smooth as silk for some time, and then BLAT! DDHelp error, CTD. WHAM! Render Creation Error, CTD. BLOOP! Page fault, CTD. It's getting to where I'm saving my game after I do ANYTHING of any consequence.

    Anyone else played this title, and have any suggestions as to what I can do to ease the pain? The game is entertaining, when it's playable.



Oh, Morrowind is just a really, really nasty piece of software. It likes to run horribly on my system, and the movies don't play at all. But at least it runs, and I love it.

I don't know what to say, really... don't E-Mail Morrowind support, 'cause they decided that I wasn't worth helping, and they'll probably say teh same to you.

Uh... it has a problem when I have any kind of Anti-Aliasing on, it does all that crashing stuff... so... if you have anything like that on, turn it off.

Oh, and interestingly enough, Morrowind, for me, runs at the exact same framerate whether I'm running it at 640x480, all the way up to 1280x960... odd...

So, yeah...



Get MY music at http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/331/dj_fromlo.html
drjayphd
Scrapple
Moderator








Since: 22.4.02
From: New Hampshire

Since last post: 757 days
Last activity: 341 days
ICQ:  
#7 Posted on

    Originally posted by Bongo P. Michinoku
    My Dreamcast likes to reset itself occasionally, which REALLY sucks when you've been playing Skies, Grandia II, or Shenmue for several hours without saving.


Dreamcast reset? Never heard of that one before. I was just getting into a hearty session of NesterDC, though, when it decided to hang while loading games. So I calibrated the DC, and it works fine. I wish there was a replacement or whatever that wouldn't hang.

And if anyone wants instructions on how to calibrate your DC (which you will need to do periodically), I can post them, as C&P'ed from some other board



Today's Out-Of-Context Quote, Courtesy of Punkinhead:

"I'm gonna go dig up a date!"
Alessandro
Lap cheong








Since: 2.1.02
From: Worcester MA

Since last post: 458 days
Last activity: 63 days
#8 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.04
I've had Metroid Prime freeze up during one cut scene, but that only happened on the second day that I played it and it hasn't happened since ... Eternal Darkness also froze up a couple of times during cut scenes, but nothing major, and none of my other games have given me problems (yet).

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the first line of GCNs produced may have trouble processing the really high-end cut scenes that second-generation titles can churn out ... However, if Nintendo's official "trouble shooters" didn't mention this as a possible reason for your problems over the phone, then perhaps I'm mistaken.





Alessandro "Hercules" Boondy

  • Primordial Soup Productions (Returning Soon!)
  • The Mean Green







    Which Princess Bride Character are You?


    I make the examination of this shipment, he pleasant true altitude of the enamel, hard give to return to this feminine line lateral and posts he in the right its donkey of the sugar refinery! If odore he, of who the cook of the form of the cliff!
    --"Translation" of a popular Rock catchphrase (guess which one!)


  • bash91
    Merguez








    Since: 2.1.02
    From: Bossier City, LA

    Since last post: 4233 days
    Last activity: 2091 days
    #9 Posted on

      Originally posted by Ender
      Oh, Morrowind is just a really, really nasty piece of software. It likes to run horribly on my system, and the movies don't play at all. But at least it runs, and I love it.

      I don't know what to say, really... don't E-Mail Morrowind support, 'cause they decided that I wasn't worth helping, and they'll probably say teh same to you.

      Uh... it has a problem when I have any kind of Anti-Aliasing on, it does all that crashing stuff... so... if you have anything like that on, turn it off.

      Oh, and interestingly enough, Morrowind, for me, runs at the exact same framerate whether I'm running it at 640x480, all the way up to 1280x960... odd...

      So, yeah...



    I tried, I really tried, to play the game, but I couldn't because I couldn't keep it running for longer than about 3 minutes a session. Eventually, I returned it and the counterperson said that mine was the 15th or 16th copy he'd gotten returned with the same issue. When they rewrite the game via several large patches, maybe I'll try it again. Until then, I'll go back and replay the best RPG of all time, Planescape: Torment and await MOO 3.

    Tim



    "Verhoeven's _Starship Troopers_: Based on the back cover of the book by Robert Heinlein."
    PalpatineW
    Lap cheong








    Since: 2.1.02
    From: Getting Rowdy

    Since last post: 6265 days
    Last activity: 6107 days
    #10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.44
    You may also want to upgrade your O/S to something that crashes less. I'm using 2K, personally, and I enjoy it thoroughly.



    Damn your eyes!
    Bongo P. Michinoku
    Italian








    Since: 31.8.02
    From: VanCan

    Since last post: 7250 days
    Last activity: 7047 days
    ICQ:  
    #11 Posted on
    In my case, no amount of Windows upgrades ever helped, so I decided to screw it and get a Mac.

    The PSOne I borrowed from a friend has maybe three or four months left in it. I have to tilt it on an angle occasionally just to load past the first couple intro screens.



    What the hell, I'll give this a go.
    Vancouver: 15-6-4-0. Winning streak lasted 10 games.
    MollyFan2K2
    Blutwurst








    Since: 26.6.02
    From: Ware, MA

    Since last post: 6150 days
    Last activity: 6096 days
    #12 Posted on

      Originally posted by EddieBurkett
      My NES loads up with a grey screen unless we stick a sock in it to hold the cartridge down.


    Mine loads up with a blue screen sometimes, so I have to use the old "blow on the back of the game or inside the NES" trick to kickstart it up. The only other console problem I've ever had was the minor problem of a PlayStation controller burning out.



    A shark on whiskey is mighty risky, a shark on beer is a beer engineer.
    vsp
    Andouille








    Since: 3.1.02
    From: Philly

    Since last post: 6468 days
    Last activity: 2723 days
    #13 Posted on
    I did a bunch of recommended fixes (dropping the resolution down a bit, cutting out DX 8.1 sound acceleration, toning down some settings, etc.), and it helped... some. When it plays, it plays great -- relatively smooth framerate (an occasional two-second burp when moving from area to area, but everyone gets those).

    Loading and reloading games seems to be one culprit, which in a way is a good thing (it keeps me from doing the old copied-Moria-savefile cheat, where I save right before killing Monster X or opening Chest Y and keep reloading until I get a reward I like). Loading once in a while will work, but reloading too often can produce freeze-ups.

    Other than that, it's just a batch of annoying random freezes -- I'll be exiting a building or walking around and WHAM! System lockup, reboot, wait through Scandisk, kill startup processes, and try it again. The game IS fun, despite the hassles -- my main character has somewhere around 50-60 savefiles at this point.

    (The open-endedness of the game's skill system is massively entertaining. It's like Star Ocean 2 taken to an extreme level -- you can tweak your skills, your items, your spells, your weapons, EVERYTHING to your exact specifications. It's really cool to make all sorts of decisions at character-creation time, discover that you want to go in a different direction several play-hours later, and be able to adapt and raise those other necessary skills instead of having to start over. I just wish I knew where I could find a reliable source for empty soul gems...)

    As far as consoles go, I have had one lockup in the history of my PS2 -- I finished some mission in Vice City and it froze about two seconds later. Oh well, it's never happened since. My PS1 is twitchy, but that's because it's older than dirt and has had its CD drive replaced once already. (It's my modded unit, so I can't just play Tobal 2 on my PS2.) Never had a problem with my Dreamcast or Saturn, and EVERYBODY had problems with the NES.




    "When I feel depressed, I sit under a willow tree by a cool river, and imagine that I am strangling a duck." -- Kotaro Sarai
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