Personal Gaming Thread

[BDSooner72]

Reeeeeeeeesetera is a known Sony Pony love fest. They are a sensitive bunch.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/gabe-newell-prefers-xbox-series-x-to-ps5.257415/

PS5 is still going to win the hardware race, have a ton of great games. Just let Gabe have his opinion and move on with life.

[BDSooner72]

[Jason]

I may not be the 60fps snob I thought I was. I've been playing a ton of GRID this past week (about 40% through career mode) and really like it. It may only be 30fps, but it's a locked 30fps with absolutely no slowdown, even when there's a full grid (pun intended) of cars on the screen.

Having not played GT Sport, PC 2 or the first Assetto Corsa in a few weeks has definitely helped because GRID was hard to look at when I would play it after playing those silky smooth 60fps games.

[Jason]

Ted,

Do you know anything about the following flight stick? I'm looking for something entry level to try:

https://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-T-Flight-Hotas-4-playstation/dp/B07DLKVKD5/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1

[Ted]

I've never used that particular stick and I asked Jake and neither has he.  Some guys are really really picky about their sticks, throttles, and rudder pedals.  If it doesn't feel just like the real thing they don't want anything to do with it.  I'm not one of those guys.  Jake is more so than I am, but still not even close to unreasonable.

I use a Logitech Extreme 3d Pro.  It lasts me about 2 or 3 years before the deadzones are so screwed up I need to replace it. The one I currently use is at least 2 and it's pretty much ready for the scrap heap.  I have "lazy hands" and tend to abuse the stick by resting my hand in place with full weight on it instead of holding the stick and supporting my hands with my own muscles.  This causes the stick to wear out faster because there is always force in one direction on it.  Typically the rudder twist wears out first.  $40

I use an old Saitex X52 throttle from the X52 set I had.  The stick perished long ago, but the throttle has been rock solid.  It's going on 15 years old.

Jake currently uses the thrustmaster t1600 for throttle $100 and the vkb gladiator stick $150.  But he's into more military type stuff and plays multiplayer pretty hardcore so he needs something precise and a little more robust.


All that said I think that HOTAS4 looks like a decent combo.  The thing I would be thinking about in a console setting with joystick and throttle is

1. what is the base of support?  When maneuvering if you move the stick and the base is sliding or kicking out from under it's going to be a problem.  Are you going to be playing with this thing resting on your thighs?  Or on a tv tray or something?

2.  Does it have a lot of buttons?  I don't care about buttons that much on my PC setting because I use a keyboard to control the different switches in the aircraft.  But on a console that's probably not an option?  So the more buttons (wheels, sliders, toggles) generally the better.

3.  How long will it last?  $80 seems kind of cheap for a combo so do most guys get a year of hard use out of it?  2? 3?


I think that I've seen some videos of guys flying free form in Elite Dangerous with that stick and it's pretty amazing.  I think it's got a rocker on the front of the throttle that can also be used for rudder or strafe left/right functionality.  So for space sims it's probably pretty solid. 

[Jason]

Thanks. I really appreciate all the information. I added the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro to my Amazon wish list in case I decide to buy Flight Simulator 2020 for my PC. I'm hoping I can buy an decent graphics card for around $100 that would be able to play it on medium settings.

I never thought about a base of support, but I'd probably use a tray now that you've mentioned it. I've seen how much enjoyment my Logitech wheel has added to my existing driving games, so I'm thinking something like a flight stick would do the same for my flying games.

The button situation should be fine for PS4 games since it's officially licensed. I would do what you do and use the keyboard for any flight games that require more buttons, which would most likely be the case with most flight sims.

I guess for $80 it's worth a shot, even if it only last a year. At the very least, it'll give me an idea if a more expensive setup is worth it down the road for me.

[BDSooner72]

PGA game hitting next week, getting excited for that. Really just commenting to break the dry spell.

[Jason]

My father in law in leaving Sunday morning about 9 brutal weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to enjoy some gaming once he's gone. I am about 85% done with my career in Grid and unlocked almost every car in the game. The only remaining ones are the pieces of shit I don't want.

I'm thinking of picking of Train Sim World 2020 while it's on sale too.

[BDSooner72]

IGN Microsoft Flight Simulator review

https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-flight-simulator-review

Verdict

10 masterpiece - Unparalleled realism and an entire planet to explore makes Microsoft Flight Simulator a simulation like no other.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is legitimately incredible. It's difficult to fully describe how amazing it feels to jump into a plane and have the freedom fly to and from literally any place in the entire world. The base game's 20 included aircraft feel like more than enough for even hardcore aviation enthusiasts, and the ability to adjust the assists to tailor the experience to whatever skill level you desire makes it suitable for anyone looking to fly the friendly skies from the comfort of their home. The real-world mapping data, however, takes Microsoft Flight Simulator from being just an impressive game to the most awe-inspiring simulation I've ever experienced, in spite of its less than stellar load times. Seeing famous landmarks, landing at the world's most recognizable airports, or just touching down in a remote landing strip in South America is mind-bogglingly cool and an absolutely unparalleled way to virtually explore our world.

Other reviews seem to think it is one of the best sims ever made.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/microsoft-flight-simulator/critic-reviews

[Jason]

I expected nothing less. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to play it.

[BDSooner72]

I expected nothing less. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to play it.

I know just the setup.

https://tinyurl.com/y2hgdwvy

[Jason]

I ended up getting F1 2020 last night since it just went on sale for $38. I heard a lot of good things about this year's game, so I broke my rule of waiting for a $20 price.

[BDSooner72]

https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2020/08/17/tennis-world-tour-2-swings-for-strategy-and-success/

Must have dozed off and missed the trailer from last month. I still play the original but will probably buy this when it hits in Sept. I like some of the new additions and changes to the game engine. It is going to be interesting seeing that the developer of the sequel is Big Ant, the guys who made the AO tennis games. Hopefully the bring over some of the user created options so we have more court variety. Also nice that shots do not sound like they have been hit by a frying pan.

Some gameplay footage.

https://youtu.be/8mc51oJZmBQ

[Jason]

It looks good. I had seen that Big Ant was making this which is why they've had almost no post-release support for AO Tennis 2 after releasing 30+ updates for the original.

[GB_Simo]

I ended up getting F1 2020 last night since it just went on sale for $38. I heard a lot of good things about this year's game, so I broke my rule of waiting for a $20 price.

Interested to hear your thoughts. I've found it to be both instantly familiar and a big leap forward for the series, which is a neat trick. The My Team feature has generated a lot of buzz and I can see why but the big improvement for me comes in the refinements made to the handling model, which have made the cars both nicer and more convincing to drive.

Did you end up trying Train Sim World 2020? I know bugger all about trains but the game is really good at teaching you the basics of each train, the scenery whistling past you is oddly relaxing - soothing, almost - and once you get into it, there's something about trying to keep to a schedule, stop on your marks at the stations and so on that's surprisingly compelling.