Video Games

I just wanted to play something on the hexbox but it wanted to update. If I stay offline it won't work.
I'm not accepting of a slow internet but I got no choice. There's only one company, CENTURYSTINK, providing it. 3.5 mbps . I've tried tethering off my cell phone but that's even worse. I've been waiting for nearly a year for one of those Starlink satellite internet dishes with no foreseen estimate of when I'll ever get one.
I don't want to move either...

 

I think this post belongs here,

Bill to Outlaw Bots From Snatching Up Online Goods

https://www.pcmag.com/news/democrats-push-bill-to-outlaw-bots-from-snatching-up-online-goods

 

Hey man, to each their own - that's what's great about America.

 

PUBG on PC... Used to play WOW, but then rug rats came along and 30 minute PUBG matches are a lot less hassle to sneak in then 4 hour long WOW games... Running 2 x 1080 ti and 32 mb of RAM on a desktop I built a few years back.

 

If you've been following along the retro video game scandal, Karl Jobst did a follow up video:

https://youtu.be/mKbuNwS-gaI

 

I can understand your point of view and if I were in your position, I would think that this would extend to the PS5 as well. Makes sense why you bought Nintendo.

From my point of view, I thoroughly enjoy the Xbox ecosystem. I'm subscribed to Gold and have Game Pass. This allows me to "rent" games for as long as they're in Game Pass without having to do anything but download them. This would be very prohibitive with a slow internet. I recently purchased a mesh system and have a 500/500 internet. I'm probably one of their target audiences. I used to have a group of friends where we played co-op and multiplayer games all the time and there was no better system that was casual enough and stable enough than the Xbox. Also, with Game Pass, certain games are playable on the phone through either touch controls or a bluetooth controller and can be played on the PC. So, things like this attract me.

Don't get me wrong, I love Playstation but I've always used them for more of an exclusives-only console. And I get that as technology progress, so do their complexity. So, I can see the appeal of Nintendo and their easier to use system.

Edit: I also noticed a significant jump in network speed coming from the original Xbox One to the Xbox Series X, so that itself was well worth the upgrade as well as the other technical aspects.

 

I was a big 360 guy, got the X One, but quickly gravitated to PS4. I did get the Series X first and it's been siting for the past year mostly unused. Played my PS5 here and there and the Switch (OLED now) a ton. Last couple weeks or so have been fun again on the Xbox as better titles have come out, added GamePass back and having a blast. So I seem to go through game cycles of each system, ha.

 

Interesting that you say this. I've got Ubiquiti networking equipment @ home (wife and I both WFH and so I need to ensure we have stable networking), and I've noticed that as soon as I put the PS5 on our network, I *HAVE* to either turn it off, or disable auto downloads, because if it downloads during working hours, it grabs ALL the bandwidth. LOL

We have about 60Mbps (not the fastest, but I live in the middle of nowhere, and 60Mbps in the stix in Missouri is blazing fast), so it's not a big deal to just either turn it all the way off OR to prevent auto downloading...but eventually I need to just limit that device to a certain download speed between working hours.

On the gaming front again, what's interesting is that I probably spend 90% of my gaming time on the Switch, and 10% on the PS5. (Currently working my way through Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the New Game Plus.)

 

Weirdly enough, it's been kind of the opposite for me. Ever since getting the XSX, I've been able to enjoy games again just because I can utilize 4K/HDR for my TV with quicker load times and being able to play the 'Enhanced for XBX' games. The quick resume feature is a godsend. Unfortunately, my TV can't handle above 60 Hz so I can't utilize the 120 the console can output.

With PS going mostly the same route that Xbox went with their subscription based access, I've shied away from it since PS4. With my gf and I playing online, we've had to budget for only one company. I don't know if Sony allows it but with the Xbox, I can share my account with her so I only have to keep one account active with Gold. So, that allows her online access and Game Pass access without having to purchase another sub.

 

Then I might have to pick your brain because I'm not a network guy and I've noticed that my XBX will say that I have a double NAT. I've tried looking it up but I still don't know how to disable the NAT settings in one or both of either my mesh or modem. Since I'm not network savvy (and I've seen the high praise for Ubiquiti but heard it's best left to those who can really configure it), I landed on using the TP-Link Deco system. I would've gone with the Google Mesh network as I heard really good things about the stability of that one but they didn't offer Wifi 6.

I'm really close to purchasing the OLED Switch but finding stock and allowing myself to recover from buying two XSX's at the same time means it might have to wait until after the holidays. There are a few games I can see myself sinking into that are Nintendo exclusives.

 

PSN allows you to share your PS+ with anyone on the same console as long as you set that console as your Primary console. From there, you can play online with your account on any other PS4 as long as you have said PS4 set as your Secondary console. This is how I share my PS+ with my son. My account is Primary on his PS4, and my PS4 is set as Secondary. At least this is how it worked on PS4, not sure if there's any changes on PS5 as I still haven't gotten my hands on one.

 

That is good to know. Since I've been complacent with Xbox Gold, I haven't really researched the real differences between PS and Xbox. I've also heard that Sony has been pushing for more cross compatibility but I don't really know how it compares to Microsoft's ability to easily integrate theirs into Windows. I'm a little biased because the Xbox can do everything I need it to do so far but I'm still open to switching main brands if there's enough to entice me.

 

For you guys that have issues with download speeds, look into MOCA adapters. They give you a wired connection anywhere you have a cable jack. I downloaded a PS5 game this morning in about 80 seconds.

As for those looking for new systems: First of all, I wouldn’t sweat it a ton. I have both PS5 and XBox Series X. There’s just not a lot of content for the new generation yet. I’m still playing older games for the most part.
That said, I’ve encountered the Xbox Series S at Costco on a few occasions. Those do seem to be relatively easy to come by.
The Switch OLED, I randomly found in Best Buy when I was there looking for something else. I’ve heard they will show up in stores like BB or Target, even if their sites say they don’t have any. Just keep an eye out.
The PS5, that’s just luck and timing. Follow some Twitter accounts that notify of upcoming drops and be ready. Have your account and credit card info already loaded. I used a link last year to Walmart that took it straight to my cart and I just had to click checkout. Just kept refreshing that link until it went through.

Another thing is to regularly check Costco’s site. They have a more limited customer base since it’s a paid membership. That gives you a little more time during a drop if you have a membership.

Not sure if any of that will be helpful. Like I said though, it’s not going to blow your mind when you land one.

 

Anyone on Battlefield 2042? Recently got it downloaded and I've been nerding hard to it. I play PC but it's crossplay with console.

 

I'm the same way, but with PC. I haven't really played much on XB since the 360 as most XB games I want to play are on PC anyway, and I much prefer KB/Mouse to a controller. PS4 did steal my PC thunder for a while, but not being able to get a PS5 has me almost completely back on PC, and I've only used my PS4 for exclusives of late. My XB One has been unplugged since I think 2016 lol.

 

Do you have more than one device handling routing? I know a lot of people who use more than one router on the same network. 99% of the time, this usually means that when an aftermarket router is introduced into a home network, the ISP router hasn't been bridged. (Where the ISP router essentially just handles syncing with DSL, and then hands off all of the DSL logon and routing to the aftermarket router.)

If you haven't done that, that's the best way to eliminate the double NAT thing.

 

I would've been the same as you but I've had to strategically figure out which is the most cost effective approach for me. Whatever I choose, I have to pay double because I game with my gf. With rising costs of PC parts and our computers probably barely hitting above recommended on most graphic intensive games, I've had to relegate myself to mostly console gaming if I want to get the most impact gaming with her.

 

You make a good point, I did fail to mention that my cable modem also acts as a router, so that's obviously where I'm getting my second NAT. I'm just having a problem at finding where I can disable it.

Edit: Did some minor digging. Apparently, the Arris modem/router I have with Frontier can't do a bridge mode but I think I found an article that will help with possibly finding an alternative.

 

For sure, that's also why I stayed mostly with console for gaming with my boys when the PS4 released. Much more affordable. Although I wish consoles still had screen-share capabilities. I miss Halo, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and racing games having us all plopped on the couch.

PC has otherwise always been a mancave thing for me. I have it all setup on a 5.4.2 Atmos system.

 

My friends and I are going to try it out on my friend's server at some point but we haven't gone through the install process yet.

 

Ha ha, these are my types of games. So, currently I've been switching between Halo's Multiplayer beta, Forza 6 (I know it's old but not playing all the time and trying to 100% this has been taking me forever), and games like RDR2 and Cyberpunk for solo action. We used to play COD/BF pretty religiously back in the day but we've really slowed down recently just due to timing (may also have something to do with rise of battle royale mode as it's shifted the way these games are played, IMO). May get back into them at some point.

 

Whenever ya do add me on EA if you want: catsinmyear1

Generally just play with my brother. Portal is kind of cool and being able to play the old ww2 versions is nice.

 

I love the Forza games! But I haven't played since Horizon 3. But the new Horizon is available for PC, which I have on my Christmas list.

That's really cool having your significant other to game with. My wife is pretty cool and gets into most things I like (like she rides mountain bikes with me), but she draws the line at gaming lol. But at least she's cool with me gaming. I have a gaming laptop so I can plop on the couch with her while she watches her shows. And Steam supports automatic cloud saves so it's seamless gaming between my PC and laptop.

 

Argh, yeah, when I wrote what I did, I thought "$10 says he has cable modem and they won't allow bridge mode."

With that said, if you want help looking around, let me know (probably PM me your ISP, and the make/model of your cable modem) and I can look around to see what options there are.

On a side note, not knowing anything other than that you have an Arris router, there's some suggestion that it's possible. I Googled 'Frontier Arris cable modem bridge mode' and it seems to suggest that it's possible, but I could always be wrong.

 

How is gaming with an Atmos set up? I literally just got a new receiver today, can support 9.2 with Atmos. Currently running a 5.1, and was considering adding surround back, or front height. I wasn't sure which was better.

 

I appreciate the help. I'll look into what I can find out first before bothering you. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything simple enough that can be solved with a 'flick of the switch' so to speak. Might be a while before I do anything since it's currently not interrupting anything too major. So, you might see me PM you a year from now when I finally get around to it, lol.

 

Phenomenal! I played-through Resident Evil 2 Remake recently, which supports Atmos, and the Mr. X sequence was insane! His footsteps were literally stomping above me when I was on lower floors. It was probably the most heart-pounding stress I've had in a single-player game. It took the crown from the first time I encountered a Berserker in Gears of War.

However, not all games support Atmos. In which case, the key is DTS Neural:X for games that do not support object-based audio. Nerual:X will apply an object-based effect, which is very convincing in games. I'm playing Far Cry 6 now, which doesn't support Atmos, but with Neurall:X enabled there's plenty of overhead effects, and it's easy to pinpoint helicopters. The latest iteration of Dolby Surround will also apply overhead effects, but I much prefer Neural:X when it comes to games, which is way more immersive. Although I still prefer Dolby Surround for non-Atmos movies.

The general recommendation if you won't be running front and rear overheads is to do fronts over rears. But if you're only going to be running heights vs overhead and only front height or rear surround (not both), then I would try each one and see which you like better. Personally, I would still prefer a 7 channel surround setup with surround backs over a front-height-only Atmos config as I feel that balances the sound-field more. On the other hand, if you happened to pick up a newer Yamaha, front-heights-only would still be effective if you use the Yamaha DSPs. They've been doing the front height thing since forever, and their DSPs work great in games IMO. They also managed to incorporate Atmos and DTS:X into their DSPs, which I found to be effective with front and rear heights. Yamaha Surround:AI is also a nice feature.

 

I'm looking to pick it up closer to Christmas, I'm waiting for a few of the bugs to get worked out. I'm on PS4. I'm going to give crossplay a shot, but I'm guessing it will be a massacre. PC is so much faster.

 

I was told that 2042 didn't have crossplay. Buddy on PS4 told me because I'm on PS5.