Topic: PC Gaming

@Xyphon22 PS3 controller certainly does work - I used one for ages on PC before I got an XBox one. Needs a program called SCP toolkit to recognise it as Steam doesn't have native support.

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ps3-controller-on-pc-guide/

@dmcc0 Thanks. I think I saw that guide once before, and it seemed pretty complicated and I generally don't like just downloading a bunch of random things to my laptop, so I was trying to find a simpler solution (and even that guide says that Steam has native DS3 support, but I guess that's wrong). I assume it's safe, though, so maybe I'll give it a try if I get bored. I don't play many games on PC that really need a controller, but I recently got a couple of Tales of games through a Humble Bundle that seem like they would be much better with one. Maybe I'll try them without, and if I just can't do it I'll try this setup. Thanks again.

@Xyphon22 Maybe a Windows (assuming you're using Windows) driver issue rather than Steam not supporting it, but it didn't work for me without that SCP tool kit program installed? Could always use a Switch Pro Controller if you have one of those.

@dmcc0 So I went ahead and tried it out and it worked, but when I went to play a game with it I guess it recognizes it as an XBox controller now, so I had to setup XBox recognition in the settings. When I did, it told me to restart the computer for some reason, and when I restarted Steam no longer said there was even a controller connected (the computer found it, but not Steam). But then I just reran/installed the SCP toolkit and now it works! So thanks, and hopefully I won't have to rerun that every time I want to use a controller.

@Xyphon22 Glad you got it working. I haven't used the SCP toolkit for a while - I use a 3rd Party (PowerA) Xbox controller on PC now, but I still see the window appear every once in a while to say it's up to date etc so I guess there's an option to have it run at startup or something similar.

Got my laptop in today! Got everything set up and have been trying it out with Dogfight 1942, a WWII era fighter released back in 2012. Running it at medium settings (just because it's the default) and it's averaging between 200-400 fps, lol. At first I was afraid as I wasn't getting any sound out of it, but then I realized that it automatically switched to headphone mode with the controller connected, and sure enough once I plugged in my headphones that did the trick.

Eventually want to try it out with something more demanding, though.

@RR529 Run Cyberpunk on it with raytracing @ high settings. You'll see those fps numbers plunge VERY quickly.

A little update. Set graphics to the highest setting in Dogfight 1942, and have had much more spotty framerates (it would still hit into the 80's to low 100's at times, but would often dip into the 20's as well, averaging between 40-60). Even turning graphics settings back down to medium didn't seem to improve performance to where it was.

Also, even when the game isn't in use, it says that about 6 GB's of my Ram (16 total) is being used. Is that normal? I haven't used it for anything else yet.

@RR529
Right click the taskbar, select Task Manager and hit the button to see all your running processes.

Could be boatware that came pre-installed. I tend to download Revo Uninstaller and remove any programs I don't want. It could also be running Windows updates in the background or malware scans. Need to set all those schedules to times you won't be using the laptop.

Or, at the very least, select the STARTUP tab in Task Manager and disable as much as possible for the boot sequence. That way only the bare minimum will start running when you boot up the computer.

You also have to consider your performance profile. If you click your battery icon in the notification display (bottom right) you can access your power profiles. If it's set to Low or Medium power usage when on battery, your performance will be stilted any time you're not plugged in. It's meant to save battery but if it's a gaming PC you probably want full performance when gaming.

@JaxonH, yeah, I figure not being plugged in at the time probably played a part.

Played the problem mission once more (at med settings) while plugged in and it never dropped below 80 fps (and played some other missions that all performed much better than that). I'll try it again at high settings (still plugged in), and see how it performs there, since that's what I had it set to the first time (unplugged).

@RR529
You can see here on my GPD Win 2 how if I click the battery when not plugged in I can choose power profiles.

You can also go to advanced power profile settings and choose brightness, CPU utilization, what happens when you close the lid (hibernate is best to save battery), etc , for both plugged in and when on battery.

All this talk of the Steam Deck got me realising how many games I have on PC I don't play because of the way I like to play games. And the Steam Deck is years away from an Australian release so I bit the bullet and got myself a laptop. Would've got a Switch Pro instead and pocketed the change if that was a thing but it's not so here we are. Putting my money where my mouth is.

Nothing high end or "gaming" grade just a fairly mid-entry level machine. Ryzen 4500U so a bit over the Steam Deck spec on CPU but probably a bit under on GPU. Plenty for indie releases and 360 era games at 1080p and even some early XBOne era releases. For the stuff it can't run in-home streaming can fill the gaps. More than enough for my usage. Really, doesn't take much to get a fairly reasonable spec these days

On a similar note, it's kinda crazy looking at reviews of this spec of laptop and it seems every other line is about how it's "not suitable for gaming". Then you look at the benchmarks and even this spec beats the mid-range desktop I built for myself 6 years ago. Crazy how fast things are moving when you stop and think about it, especially compared to the relatively slower pace between 2010 and 2015.

@skywake
I feel for you. It’s hard enough waiting on Steam Deck with NA release being prioritized. By the time it actually comes back in stock and releases worldwide, Switch 2 will likely be out.

That said, you could always look at a GPD Win 3 or Aya Neo. But for the price, you’re probably better off spending it on a Steam Deck from eBay. For $850 I’d rather have a Deck, tbh. But that’s just me. That gyro is crucial.

Laptop can be a good compromise though. It’s not as portable and isn’t something you’ll just carry around everywhere. But it’s got it when you need it. I’d invest in a nice shoulder bag where you can slip the laptop and a controller in, make it easier to tote around.

I thought about getting a laptop, but… with SteamDeck coming out there’s really no longer a need. It’s just a painful wait in the meantime. Glad you found something that works for you though. I think a lot of people are realizing they just don’t play their games when they’re tethered to a single stationary screen. The freedom of portability cannot be overstated, no matter how much trolls and console warriors try to diminish its importance.

Finished up Ys Seven & then downloaded Flight Sim last night.

Only tried out the latter for a few minutes as it took forever to download and I had to get to bed, but luckily it seems like my laptop should be able to run it at high settings (the game itself recommended based on my specs), and although I almost immediately crashed, it looks absolutely stunning.

Hopefully tonight I'll be able to put some time into the tutorials.

Here's the Steam page for Bravely Default II in case anyone wants to get that ....
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1446650/BRAVELY_DEFAULT_II/

I'm good.

I double dip on AAA games like Doom Eternal and stuff.

But AA Square Enix JRPGs, they're just not worth forking over price of a new game twice over for. DQXIS, DQ Builders 2, Octopath, Bravely Default 2, Trials of Mana... only way to squeeze two purchases from me is if I bought on PC first and then it came to Switch later. The benefit over Switch like with AAA games just isn't there. There's not even cross save.

Anyone played Soul Nomad on PC? Anyone recommend it? I have more interest in that game than Phantom Brave. I see Nintendo Life gave the bundle a not so great review, but Soul Nomad is exactly the kind of game I love playing in handheld on my Switch for an hour or so in bed. However, I can see I can get Soul Nomad just on it's own on PC for like a third of the Switch bundle, but I am struggling to find reviews of the PC specific version.

@Pizzamorg
Everything I heard was that it's not good.

Personally I'd avoid it unless you really think you'd enjoy it and are confident that money couldn't be better spent with a different game.

Thank you for the heads up, I think I'll give it a skip then.

@Kid_Buu, great if true! I've already played God of War & Ratchet & Clank on PS4, but I'll wait for Ghost of Tsushima & Sackboy to hit PC if the leak is correct.