I can second this. For years I'd had a watch in Steam that had regular popups "CrossCode has started an event" that I just kind of ignored. Finally played it a couple of years ago and it was delightful. Reminded me a ton of Alundra.
Gaming thoughts, bite-size chewables - new orange flavor!
- Thread starter pauli
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My Switch is docked 95% of the time, but if the TV is busy doing something else, I'll use a tablet stand to hold the screen at eye height and keep my hands on a controller in my lap. Not as portable, but way more ergonomic for me.
Seconded! Holy shit that was NOT what I was expecting to see!
I am giddy with excitement at the potential, and filled a bit with dread considering some of Stardock's more recent work.
But still!
Very little info on gameplay, but I remember much enjoying the first (plus, tons of mods / overhauls / total conversions, later.)
Poking around, I found out that SoaSE 2's engine will utilize 64-bit and multicore right out of the box. So strange to me that both of those features are still in question in 2022 (x86-64 is 23 years old), but here we are.
Personally, I think we need a SoaSE / HW crossover. :devious:
Personally, I think we need a SoaSE / HW crossover. :devious:
And Stellaris. Different levels of zoom. Stellaris (galactic/region) to SoaSE (system) to HW (battle).
Basically what I imagine Total War: WH40K would be.
Old ways die hard.
And work well enough for most games.
Figure, too, that designing an engine capable of fully utilizing current next-gen / bleeding edge hardware is going to lag behind said hardware by several years. UE5 development started about 2018, was "complete" in 2020, but not available to developers until April of this year. And I don't think any UE5 games have yet fully released; all slated for late this year or into next. And will be the first fully 64-bit UE engine.
23 years is so much lag that the connection's making noise before saying "You've got mail!". And multi-core ain't exactly the newest thing on the block either.
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Someone make a thread, please.
23 years since...? Apologies.
But yeah, real multicore support in games didn't really show up until about a year or two after the first such CPUs hit market, and even then was often tacked on or poorly implemented until the new engines were finished and folks could make games in them. 1-2-3 years lag behind any given hardware leap. 2005 was the first multi-core CPU, and 2007 was the first engine / game supporting such (Crysis, OG CryEngine.) And it did so poorly for a number of years.
As do many current gen games; they support multicore CPU's and 64-bit and all that, but will still use 32-bit address spaces, or will very poorly thread to CPU's with more cores.
Games used to lead the rush, not trail it so badly. Look at the transition from 16- to 32-bit. We got games pushing the memory envelope long before we got a Microsoft OS running natively in it. Then there was the push for dedicated 3D-acceleration and hardware T&L for the first GPUs. It's so weird to see the memory addressing and threading lag so badly.
DOS/4GW for life, yo.
Even without connecting it to a TV, you can treat it mostly like a console. I almost always use my Switch on a table-top with a Pro Controller. I rarely use it fully handheld, pretty much only when I don't have a good surface to put it on. So, I'd say get a Switch and a Pro Controller (which is a very comfortable controller, at least for my hands) and use it as a portable set-on-the-table gaming console.
That's kinda ironic seeing how Crysis is notorious for being single threaded limited as it was expected to scale with the expected clock speed increases (Intel's 10ghz vision) rather than adding more cores.
The first 64bit game I remember was the OG Far Cry which had an optional 64 bit patch. It didn't really improve performance, but it was out there and was a bullet point that games based on Unreal or Quake engines didn't have.
I'll give credit that many stable, unmodified games run just fine in 32-bit address space or at least have no limitation due to system memory. But any game where a dev expects mods to play in really needs the memory.
Editing to say that Far Cry was still the WinXP days, so the patch didn't even work on most pcs as WinXP64 was pretty rare (and unstable) and who could afford >4gb ram anyway?
It worked ok under Win7, haven't tried it in anything newer even though the first level of Far Cry is one of my favorite gaming experiences. The color, lushness and scale of the island after you get out of the bunker was jaw dropping, especially compared to Quake3 engined games.
Well, again, Far Cry was also one of the first CryEngine games.
And CryEngine, when finally dead, still used 32-bit address spaces. CIG had to gut it and completely redesign it for their 64-bit addressing StarEngine.
Which has allowed for some sheerly amazing scale in their game. Literally a memory address for every square inch of the gamespace, which is a 1/6 scale solar system complete with orbiting planets that rotate and experience sunset and with PES, you can set a coffee cup on its side anywhere in game, leave, and come back a week later and that cup will be just as you left it if nobody else came along and grabbed or moved it.
And there are *very few* completed, in progress, or planned projects using 64-bit addressing, *still*, compared to games that are "64-bit" but still using 32-bit addressing.
And CryEngine, when finally dead, still used 32-bit address spaces. CIG had to gut it and completely redesign it for their 64-bit addressing StarEngine.
Which has allowed for some sheerly amazing scale in their game. Literally a memory address for every square inch of the gamespace, which is a 1/6 scale solar system complete with orbiting planets that rotate and experience sunset and with PES, you can set a coffee cup on its side anywhere in game, leave, and come back a week later and that cup will be just as you left it if nobody else came along and grabbed or moved it.
And there are *very few* completed, in progress, or planned projects using 64-bit addressing, *still*, compared to games that are "64-bit" but still using 32-bit addressing.
I think it's a combination of consoles and 3D that resulted in games not pushing the envelope there. 3D rendering grunt is limited by how many transistors you can fit in a reasonably-priced GPU, especially for consoles. Combine that with the fact that the art and geometry for a certain complexity level (limited by GPU grunt) are only so large, and RAM beyond a certain amount ends up with pretty significant diminishing returns, again being especially so for consoles. The PS3/X360 only had ~512MB, so it wasn't until late 2013 that consoles had more RAM than 32-bit addressing could handle.
Another thing to keep in mind is that 32-bit was much more of a "we need this now, 16-bit isn't good enough" thing in general (not just for games), whereas 64-bit was more forward-looking since desktops in 2000 still usually only had 256MB.
I remember that Supreme Commander (2007) would also take advantage of multiple CPU cores, since it was a simulation-based RTS game. I know that it did up to two cores very well, and could theoretically scale up to four at the time, but am not sure if it will take advantage of more CPU cores if they're available.
I also remember that back when the first Ryzen CPUs were released in 2017, they found that Crysis 3 was the only game in their test suite that scaled beyond four threads. That was one of the only games where first-gen Ryzen could match or beat its Kaby Lake competition in gaming performance.
I also remember that back when the first Ryzen CPUs were released in 2017, they found that Crysis 3 was the only game in their test suite that scaled beyond four threads. That was one of the only games where first-gen Ryzen could match or beat its Kaby Lake competition in gaming performance.
And again it did so very poorly, and more poorly as more cores were added.
If you look at "64 bit games" that "support multi-core CPU's" you'll find *most* are not running on all cylinders when you check performance tab of task manager.
Yeah, it's _hard_ to take advantage of a ton of cores if you still are something that fundamentally has to do a fair amount of synchronization to keep a single state.
I do love Supreme Commander, was very disappointed in the dumbing down of SC2.
I wonder if it should just be common practice for threads about Epic exclusives, timed or otherwise, to be polls instead of regular threads. Polls with one option, an 'I'm interested, but not until it's available elsewhere' option. Inevitably, the first page is going to be half "Nope! Not while it's only on Epic!" responses anyway, so why not give those people an avenue to express both their interest and discontent without detracting from ongoing discourse?
Anyway! I think I'll be putting Rage 2 on the back burner for a few weeks, unfortunately. The flooring in my apartment downstairs is being worked on, and I want to put the PC in the bedroom closet for a bit until that is done so the contractors don't mess it up. So, Switch games for a few weeks it is! Luckily I wasn't that far in Rage 2 (maybe 45 minutes or so?), so restarting is something that can be done really easily. Bummer, but can't be helped. So, Pokemon Legends: Arceus it is!
Anyway! I think I'll be putting Rage 2 on the back burner for a few weeks, unfortunately. The flooring in my apartment downstairs is being worked on, and I want to put the PC in the bedroom closet for a bit until that is done so the contractors don't mess it up. So, Switch games for a few weeks it is! Luckily I wasn't that far in Rage 2 (maybe 45 minutes or so?), so restarting is something that can be done really easily. Bummer, but can't be helped. So, Pokemon Legends: Arceus it is!
We are still using 32-bit multithreaded code for 2 apps at work, because Windows was still selling a 32-bit OS up through Windows 10, Windows 10 on ARM only offers 32-bit emulation for x86 code, and the older Atom processors in Netbooks and Nettops were 32-bit. They didn't kill their 32-bit OS until Windows 11. Especially with the pandemic we can't just tell customers to upgrade or get stuffed.
Multithreading is ancient but 64-bit for all customers has meant giving up sales until recently, or still happens if your customers have enough old machines they are unwilling or unable to replace.
Multithreading is ancient but 64-bit for all customers has meant giving up sales until recently, or still happens if your customers have enough old machines they are unwilling or unable to replace.
So Batman Arkham Origins turns out it's just a shitty PC port. Either that or something goofy is going on with my controller plugged in. The map stopped responding to WASD and needed a joystick then the hacking puzzles also required a joystick. So either way, just going to set it down.
But now I'm looking for something to fill the Tarkov hole in my life. Looking for tactical-ish FPS, with progression and inventory. Know there aren't a lot of games like it out there. Only ones I can think of might be STALKER or Metro games. Other thoughts?
But now I'm looking for something to fill the Tarkov hole in my life. Looking for tactical-ish FPS, with progression and inventory. Know there aren't a lot of games like it out there. Only ones I can think of might be STALKER or Metro games. Other thoughts?
FWIW, you aren't missing much, IMHO. Origins was the worst Arkham game, and the controls in it seemed really off to me. Like, I could achieve near perfect flow all the time in Asylum, City, and Knight, but they must have tweaked something about the combat control in Origins because I would almost always either miss counters that I shouldn't have or Batman would not hit the enemy I thought I was targeting but instead hit an armored or shield-bearing enemy that would break flow. I just could not get high combos in that game no matter how hard I tried. It almost felt like the button timing was somewhat random or something.
I'd chalk it up to a need to "GIT GUD SCRUB", but like I said, I never had trouble getting into the flow and getting high combos in any of the other games. Origins was just frustrating in that regard.
YMMV, but Fallout 4 on survival mode might fill that kind of hole for you? Not quite as limited by inventory as the others because it's pretty easy to do a build with perks that maximize your carry weight, but FO4 on survival mode, especially in the early game at low levels, does require a more tactical approach to many situations, and it is far more of a shooter feeling game than FO3 and FONV.
I'm not a survivalist, but there might also be some good mods to tweak FO4 survival mode at Nexusmods.
There are. I turned on fast travel for survival, and that made the difference for me. I simply didn't have the time for all the back-and-forth required to do a lot of the quests without it.
I think there's one that will do limited fast travel to where you make settlements as well, if you want an incentive to build and maintain settlements.
Doomlord_uk
Ars Legatus Legionis
On the one hand, my mad jumping skillz in Prince of Persia Doom Eternal are coming along just fine, on the other ...I'm about ready to punch a hole in a wall 
Why the fuck did id think I'd enjoy bouncing up and down in a lift shaft trying like fuck to time to perfection a double dash through a hole, that had to take in one of those jumping pills mid-air? Fer fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckksssssssssssss sake! I've just died about 20 times in another absurd gynmastics challenge too. I wouldn't mind if the worst that happened was I had to run round the map a bit to get to the last jumping point, but falling to my death every time? No! fuck that. This is not funny.
Why the fuck did id think I'd enjoy bouncing up and down in a lift shaft trying like fuck to time to perfection a double dash through a hole, that had to take in one of those jumping pills mid-air? Fer fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckksssssssssssss sake! I've just died about 20 times in another absurd gynmastics challenge too. I wouldn't mind if the worst that happened was I had to run round the map a bit to get to the last jumping point, but falling to my death every time? No! fuck that. This is not funny. On the one hand, my mad jumping skillz inPrince of PersiaDoom Eternal are coming along just fine, on the other ...I'm about ready to punch a hole in a wall
That was a more extreme version of my reaction to all the jumping around in the first map of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order. I want to force-smack and laser-sword-chop not hippity-hop like a demented rabbit. :: Uninstall :: . Maybe I'll try again later.
Thank you for validating my experience.
Yeah, I super loved FO3 and FO4 might fill that hole. Thanks for the suggestion.
Heaps of stuff that doesn't absolutely need an update every tick can be delegated to asynchronous threads; background audio, world simulation, AI strategizing, asset streaming etc.
You can also do things like predictive execution if you've got cores idle. Run stuff likely to be needed, and even if the prediction is wrong a lot, you're getting some advantages of those cores. Basically take branch prediction up to the core level.
Doomlord_uk
Ars Legatus Legionis
Yep, an outstanding game and one with good replay value, I would say. I haven't got into it yet, but there are apparently different ways to develop your character's abilities with weapons. I really need to look into that properly.
Async can work well in model games like the older SimCity titles, where it doesn't matter that the plumbing is updated at exactly the same time as the electricity, or where the traffic model can be generalized. On a modern 8C16T/64bit system, you could construct gigantic metropolises. It might take awhile for the city to adapt to new things you built, but real cities are that way, too.
Agent sims can burn all the CPU you can throw at them, a big reason why the last SimCity was so bad. They don't scale well.
Agent sims can burn all the CPU you can throw at them, a big reason why the last SimCity was so bad. They don't scale well.
Some games will also run such tasks on the server. The Division games do this for world simulation, NPC AI and audio raycasting.