Graphics and our community

[icepac]

They're trickling back in once they get a new system.

[SAJ73]

I got a Nvidia GTX 1060 something.. (not a computer geek)
Seems to run AH quite steady though, solid 60 frps with mostly every eyecandy turned up and on.

Sent fra min SM-G935F via Tapatalk

[Bizman]

They're trickling back in once they get a new system.

If not, they're not into computer games anyway.

It's somewhat sad to see the occasional lack of rational thinking. By this I mean people who apparently can't understand that there's a reason for the price gap between a $250 laptop vs. a $2500 gaming rig. There's been arguments like "this is a brand new computer" connected to a lack of game performance. "New" isn't a synonym for "powerful" as well as "old" would mean the same as "incapable". A late 60's Shelby Mustang would still outperform a brand new Ka despite both being Fords. But I wouldn't take a Fiat 600 to the German Autobahn any more.

[Adjuster]

A note, I strongly suspect our audience is older geeks. If I remember correctly, a few years ago a survey was done and the average age was roughly 47. Older folks use computers for the basics, and likely only play a few games, thus upgrading just to play AH3 doesn't make sense.

Well I fit the demographic being 50, but how dare you describe me /us as older   I am in my absolute prime, aside from the aching joints, need for glasses to read, grey hair.....
I have just returned and due to, change of hemisphere , and a costly DIVORCE had to build a complete system from scratch. Now I'm talking everything from the desk, chair and keyboard up. Yes I blew my budget completely out of the water but with the assistance of the lovely people at the Australian Tax office, I built a kicka** rig. AMD Ryzen 1700, 16gb ram, GTX 1080. I run AH3 at 2560x1440 at full tilt all sliders to the right and get low frames of 60fps and max out most of the time at 165fps.
I'm playing Asseto Corsa at full detail and benchmarked at 115fps etc etc.

My point is, just because I'm 50 don't mean I don't game. I was 11 when the first "home Computers" came out, a massive 48k ram in my ZX Spectrum   . I've had Commodore Amiga's PC's Xboxes. I now build my own. My steam account has around 130 games. I am gamer 

So 50 yr olds do own gaming rigs, we play games because that's what we were brought up doing, and we love the diversity and camaraderie that games like this bring. that's why I gladly pay my $14.95 to get my arse shot down time after time after time.

Don't confuse being "old" with not being a gamer because there's lots of us here who can whip the butt of some 18yr old in any game of their choosing


Edit

Funny "arse" is ok but a** gets changed to bellybutton.

You Americans are funny

[icepac]

Actually...............it's guys like you (and me) who built the original player base for this sim.

I still can create from memory the perfect Dos configuration files and modem strings to get maximum performance on pre-pentium machines.

It's what started me toward eventual MCSE and a lifetime of watching hardware innovations with an eye on how to use them to further quality gaming.

[Hajo]

I played AHIII just fine with an Nvidia GTX 750Ti.  I cut a few things back and got up to 60 fps.  It really doesn't take much to play this game.  I'm currently running a 970 at top performance.

Only thing I have off is shadows ( they bothered me).  I steadily pull 60fps.  It does not take an expensive card to play this game and take advantage of the new graphics.

[Max]

Ditto. My EVGA 760 GTX 2G runs the game (I'm not a fan of shadows either) between 55-60 FR with most of the candy turned up.

[The Fugitive]

So all of the dozens of comments about not being able to upgrade, bon voyage has nothing to do with numbers decline dramatically? It's all just coincidence?

Fascinating

Of the 20 or so people I use to fly with in the 47 Ronin there are less than half a dozen still playing. Only 3 quit due to needing major update/new computer. The rest rest left due to boredom/poor game play. Those that needed equipment couldn't afford it at the time, and one of them has recently returned.

Game play accounts for most of the people leaving. For some, it was not enough furballs, some, not enough organization, some just got bored of doing the same thing (and never trying other things or even just to get better at what they are doing) over and over again. How long can you play where the only thing you do is gun down guns and vulch? Life expectancy of subscriptions are measured in "months", not "years". Those of us who break that mold are outside the norm   

[AAIK]

Hopefully the cryptocurrency boom will soon implode and graphics card prices will fall dramatically.  I suspect it's getting to be about time.....

The people who mined bitcoin have moved on from GPUs (several years now [2012]):They use ASICs (machines made specifically for the job).

Cell shading is a rendering option. It holds well over time.

[pipz]

Well I fit the demographic being 50, but how dare you describe me /us as older   I am in my absolute prime, aside from the aching joints, need for glasses to read, grey hair.....

I agree with this sentiment! Its a outrage! 

[asterix]

Would be nice if clipboard map sector numbers were visible in 512 texture although I now use a higher setting.

[The Fugitive]

Would be nice if clipboard map sector numbers were visible in 512 texture although I now use a higher setting.

I believe they are visible in all texture sizes. You do have to be zoomed in enough to see them. HTC made it so as you zoom out on the map more and more of those details disappear to help cut down on the clutter when showing more than a few grids.

[eddiek]

For me personally, it's been a question of do I come back to a game whose gameplay had become stale and predictable (for me), and if so, is it worth investing $$ in a system capable of running the game.
The cost of even a new system is no longer an obstacle for me.  However, justifying such a cost when I am out on jobs for a month or more, and only home and able to play for a few days, maybe two weeks, is harder to do now.  My wife says I should give it a try........and I am probably going to do that.  Built my current system in February of 2007, and it still works fine for me.  If I can find a video card that will be backwards compatible with my mobo (PCI Express x16 slot), I would rather spend a smaller amount, see what the game play is like, and decide yes or no on investing further in the game.  I can justify spending a couple hundred to test the waters.......if I like the new graphics and gameplay has improved, THEN I can look at a new system and monitor or Oculus VR setup.

[haggerty]

I thought the numbers went up with the release of AH3.  I know I was getting bored with 2 because the numbers were so low, came back for 3 and so did alot of others.  This game is so low on the video demands, you could easily run it with onboard video.  I'm getting 144 FPS @1080 with a graphics card I got for $100 used.  My processor was only $84 for the latest gen intel.  If you are reading this and actually have a hard time running AH3, let me know and I will find your bottleneck as well as a cheap solution.

[asterix]

If I can find a video card that will be backwards compatible with my mobo (PCI Express x16 slot), ...

Isn`t that what all after AGP slot video cards use?