Moderators: The Preacher, $iljanus, Zaxxon
You'll be back.So you know what? Fuck computer games. Fuck computers, and the rush to market mentality that creates buggy software and flimsy hardware. Fuck every hardware or software conflict I've ever had that's taken hours out of my life attempting to resolve so I could ostensibly start having fun. Fuck all of it. I'll still use computers for other things necessary in today's world, like letters, emails, shopping and research, but I am fucking DONE with spending my free time fighting them.
Still, the trick is to stay behind the curve. If you don't need cutting edge, you can pick up an ATI 9800 for $80, perhaps used. As someone pointed out, that's 4 hours at a bar, or some really nice colored pencilsRalph-Wiggum wrote:I understand your point, but how many people need an 9800 Pro for other applications?dfs wrote:
I'm not trying to stuff sand down your shorts, but nothing's free. If you need a pc for other applications, gaming is as close to free as you get.
Buy the low cost indie games like Mount & Blade ($11), or bargain bin games like Riddick ($20), and it's not so expensive. Assuming you already have a decent PC anyway.
And now you know why I never stopped playing D&D and other tabletop pnp gamesExrod wrote:http://www.boardgamegeek.com/
I have moved my attention to board games and been having a great time this year. From 2 player to 8 player games there is a ton of very fun stuff out there. My board gaming parties are so much more social than the big LAN parties that I have had. We would have a 16 man LAN with everyone online as well as playing 2 or 3 different LAN games. There would be guys at my place all weekend who I only spoke to while we were taking a pizza break.
Here is one that you can pick up for about $10 that we played for 5 or 6 hours last weekend. Great fun.
www.diceland.com
Game On
How did labor day weekend go? I was thinking about calling and making it out, but we elected to stay local and only played on Sunday and I think youse guys were playing Friday and Saturday. We had a broad spectrum going. We got in rounds of the new Civ, San Jaun, Titan, and Vinci.Exrod wrote:http://www.boardgamegeek.com/
I have moved my attention to board games and been having a great time this year. From 2 player to 8 player games there is a ton of very fun stuff out there. My board gaming parties are so much more social than the big LAN parties that I have had. We would have a 16 man LAN with everyone online as well as playing 2 or 3 different LAN games. There would be guys at my place all weekend who I only spoke to while we were taking a pizza break.
Here is one that you can pick up for about $10 that we played for 5 or 6 hours last weekend. Great fun.
www.diceland.com
Game On
You're really going to limit your choice of hobbies if you're unwilling to spend money on it.noun wrote:Well, as it turns out I still had an old GeForce 4 MMX card laying around (don't laugh, this one came with a used system I bought), and it appears to be able to run CoH (albeit barely). My wife told me she's really been enjoying our CoH sessions, so we'll still probably play CoH for a couple of hours per week. She's even given her blessing for me to buy a new video card, but that's not going to happen. It's a matter of principle now.
I'm serious, I am not spending ANY money for any additional or replacement hardware. I am NOT upgrading ANYthing on my system to run games. Those days are done, I'll be devoting my money to other things. In the unlikely event there's a new game I'm interested in, it better work with what I have or I'm doing without. I predict I'll be a lot more balanced in the long run.
? Sorry, but that's silly. I also play guitar, primarily acoustic. I buy a new set of strings every 6 months or so, to the tune of maybe $10. Those will last dozens of hours, and even hundreds if I don't care about dirt and oil affecting their tone.godhugh wrote:You're really going to limit your choice of hobbies if you're unwilling to spend money on it.
Somebody else disspelled hiking.I also play guitar, primarily acoustic. I buy a new set of strings every 6 months or so, to the tune of maybe $10. Those will last dozens of hours, and even hundreds if I don't care about dirt and oil affecting their tone
Jesus, this sounds exactly like what we've been doing lately.. I have weekly or bi-weekly lan sessions over here, and lately we've been a bit staled on games. So I pulled out a Settlers of Catan board game one weekend, and since then we play about an hour on the computer, and 5 hours in board games.Exrod wrote:http://www.boardgamegeek.com/
I have moved my attention to board games and been having a great time this year. From 2 player to 8 player games there is a ton of very fun stuff out there. My board gaming parties are so much more social than the big LAN parties that I have had. We would have a 16 man LAN with everyone online as well as playing 2 or 3 different LAN games. There would be guys at my place all weekend who I only spoke to while we were taking a pizza break.
Here is one that you can pick up for about $10 that we played for 5 or 6 hours last weekend. Great fun.
www.diceland.com
Game On
Exactly. I'll bet you just "playing around on a guitar" will cost you as much if not more than a computer. Every friend I have who plays the guitar spends LOADS of money on it. You're just going to trade a Video card for a new amplifier. That's not to say you *have* to spend a lot but noone forced you to be able to turn up all the graphics on your games either. You chose to go "high end". I but a new system every 3 years about. Cost me $1500 last time (with 6800GT and 20.5" LCD Monitor). I would say when you add in all the games / ISP connections...etc... I probably spend close to $1200 a year (used to spend more but now I have less time...). So that's less than $4 a day for my hobby. Now for my car I probably spend about twice that when you add it all up (gas, insurance, car payment, etc...). My point is is your *entertainment* really worth that much less than your car? You NEED entertainment in your life much like you need a car. If you like games - play em. As long as your not spending needless money (like more games than you can really play) then what's the harm. If you find a lot more enjoyment cranking the graphics up (like I do) then go for it as long as you can afford it.Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Some hobbies are expensive. Computer games is one of those hobbies. The real question is whether you enjoy it or not. Do you enjoy playing CoH with your wife? Did you enjoy GTA? If yes, then maybe it's worth it. If no, then give it up and find a better use for your money.
For me hiking has cost me (without regards for transportation to get to the spot) maybe $300. A good pair of hiking boots is well over $100. If you go in the winter on icy trails you need more gear (crampons, spikes, etc..). Yeah walking is free but like ANY hobby there are plenty of ways to spend your money.godhugh wrote: What about hiking? Other than some shoes and maybe a map, how much does it cost to go walk somewhere?
Same here. My last two cards were a ti4200 bought for $200 when they first came out. Served me well for 3 years, and still does.Carpet_pissr wrote:I never pay more than about $200 for a vid card...that is just a hard and fast rule I have. Has not limited my ability to play games either, as far as I know.
i just spent $2 for stronghold AND tropico from bestbuy's old games section.Jeff Jones wrote:Still, the trick is to stay behind the curve. If you don't need cutting edge, you can pick up an ATI 9800 for $80, perhaps used. As someone pointed out, that's 4 hours at a bar, or some really nice colored pencilsRalph-Wiggum wrote:I understand your point, but how many people need an 9800 Pro for other applications?dfs wrote:
I'm not trying to stuff sand down your shorts, but nothing's free. If you need a pc for other applications, gaming is as close to free as you get.
My point earlier was addressing the amount of time spent in front of a PC, not so much it's cost as a hobby.
I had similar thoughts when I was almost the same age. Then I impulsively made a career change...into PC game development! It turned out that all those hours wasted on computer games had been career training. You never know where life is going to take you, so you might as well enjoy the ride.noun wrote: I'm almost 38 and this is how I'm spending my life?
I understand this point, but I don't consider my time "wasted" (at least not yet). I actually only actually game 1 or 2 hours a day and I spend the rest of my time doing other things that I tend to consider "work". So, I like having those 1 or 2 hours to myself to play a game. If it wasn't playing a game, it would be watching TV or reading a book. All in all, the same difference to me.D.A.Lewis wrote:Hey Noun
I had that same light turn on except it was when I completed one of those really long CRPGs back in the early 90s. After conquering the game with some 200 or more hours put in I started to think of all the other things I could have done.
I was staggered. The time and the cost but mostly the time. Money can be recouped but in real life for me . . . time can not.
However, I didn't quit computer gaming, I just started putting more time into other things.
Naw - tabletop roleplaying games are cheaper. All the core material is free on the web now and you can spend a lifetime with creative friends telling interesting storiesKobra wrote:The answer is board games.
$500 buys a lifetime supply of the best German/Import board games money can buy, and you can play them thousands and thousands of times.
Invite some pals over, break out Carcasonne, and some other games and have a damn fine time with it all.
PC's make fine email clients and browsers.
I've always hiked, but since getting decent days off last year, I decided to plunge full bore into all season backpacking. My initial cost outlay was $1800 to get all the equipment I wanted. What's nice is if I take care of it all that stuff should last for years, except things like boots. But ya, even hiking is damned expensive! But it's so worth it.KiloOhm wrote:For me hiking has cost me (without regards for transportation to get to the spot) maybe $300. A good pair of hiking boots is well over $100. If you go in the winter on icy trails you need more gear (crampons, spikes, etc..). Yeah walking is free but like ANY hobby there are plenty of ways to spend your money.godhugh wrote: What about hiking? Other than some shoes and maybe a map, how much does it cost to go walk somewhere?
I've been debating on picking up a GPS (probably not) just for hiking so I can track what trails I've been on and see how far I've gone, elevation, etc...
This is true, i'm finding massive amounts of free tabletop resources.. I really miss board/tabletop gaming, glad to be back to it! PC gaming is pretty poor lately for me and my friends - well all seem to agree - and nobody is complaining about migrating to tabletop/boards.IceBear wrote:Naw - tabletop roleplaying games are cheaper. All the core material is free on the web now and you can spend a lifetime with creative friends telling interesting storiesKobra wrote:The answer is board games.
$500 buys a lifetime supply of the best German/Import board games money can buy, and you can play them thousands and thousands of times.
Invite some pals over, break out Carcasonne, and some other games and have a damn fine time with it all.
PC's make fine email clients and browsers.
In theory anyway - I'm sure I spent more on RPG books than PC games last year
Racing cars is the worst. Racing HEAVY cars (like Vipers) is just insane. I know guys that go through $1000 worth of tires EACH WEEKEND.Interloper wrote:I've always hiked, but since getting decent days off last year, I decided to plunge full bore into all season backpacking. My initial cost outlay was $1800 to get all the equipment I wanted. What's nice is if I take care of it all that stuff should last for years, except things like boots. But ya, even hiking is damned expensive! But it's so worth it.KiloOhm wrote:For me hiking has cost me (without regards for transportation to get to the spot) maybe $300. A good pair of hiking boots is well over $100. If you go in the winter on icy trails you need more gear (crampons, spikes, etc..). Yeah walking is free but like ANY hobby there are plenty of ways to spend your money.godhugh wrote: What about hiking? Other than some shoes and maybe a map, how much does it cost to go walk somewhere?
I've been debating on picking up a GPS (probably not) just for hiking so I can track what trails I've been on and see how far I've gone, elevation, etc...
