Gaming Then vs Gaming Now

Meme transcription: A table comparing the steps to start a game ‘then’ vs. ‘now’.

Content of the “Then” column:

  • Double-click GAME.exe
  • Play game

Content of the “Now” column:

  • Launch Steam

  • Steam updates

  • Steam opens

  • Close Steam’s ad window
  • Select Game

  • Game launcher starts

  • Game launcher launches Game launcher updater

  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Ok

  • Would you like to sign up for our newsletter?

  • No

  • Our EULAs have changed. Please review them before continuing

  • Scroll
  • Scroll
  • Scroll
  • Scroll
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes, sell my soul
  • Start game
  • Skip vendor intro
  • Skip vendor intro #2
  • Skip vendor intro #3
  • Sit through nVidia The way it’s meant to be played
  • Skip opening cutscene

  • Main menu opens

  • Would you like to connect your Steam account to account?

  • No
  • Press play.
  • Play game.
KSPAtlas,
@KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz avatar

Depends on the game, factorio is available both on steam and as a direct download (in fact, devs recommend purchasing on their site and transferring to steam if you want) and you can just click the factorio executable to start the game. Now KSP2? That’s the second thing by far

bleistift2,

Factorio is the shining example of doing things right in the gaming industry, IMHO.

AngryCommieKender,

Dyson Sphere Program as well. Though this whole Unity thing may fuck that up

KSPAtlas,
@KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz avatar

Why do factory games do well so much?

NigelFrobisher,

Somebody clearly doesn’t remember boot disks and configuring your soundblaster hardware interrupt number.

Droechai,

Going through .ini-files to find any bugs and manually change to get it to run is something I don’t miss with modern releases.

Or buying a game and realize your specific graphic accelerator isn’t supported in the dark ages before DirectX

neonred, (edited )

Install with GOG a single time. Be able to archieve old versions in case gameplay changes.

wine ./bin/x64/Cyberpunk2077.exe

Done.

Zerush,
@Zerush@lemmy.ml avatar

I hate this, above Steam client is slow as hell (GOG isn’t much better). But you can hack it in most games to start the game clicking in the Icon. Look at the properties of the games in the folder, there is usually a game launcher, it is this one whose icon appears when this game is installed, it is this one that launches Steam (or GOG), but apart from that there is usually the original executable (look also in the subfolders, mostly in bin) which directly launches the game without Steam or GOG.

Atomic,

If your steam client is slow. Try disabling hardware acceleration. Worked wonders for me. Steam went from being slow to super responsive.

Zerush,
@Zerush@lemmy.ml avatar

Maybe, but anyway I use it only to install the Game, but not to play it. All this shit when launching a game, with all the Steam loads makes me sick, plus it stays resident after finishing the game, having to close it separately, uselessly spending RAM on my poor Laptop which is not very bulky in this sense either.

doctorcrimson,

TBF it used to take a really long time with multiple disks to install literally anything.

Atomic,

Diablo 2 was like 3 different discs. One for every 2 acts i believe.

chillhelm,

It was a “Game Disc” and a “Video Disc”. You could choose to copy the Videos during install or you would have to physically swap discs when you got to a rendered cutscene (which was only between acts, but still).

Blackmist,

You guys were installing things?

I used to load my games from scratch. Every time. From tape.

Dave,
@Dave@lemmy.nz avatar

From tape? Amateur. Why doesn’t anyone key in the code for games that were printed in magazines anymore?

Floey,

For most games, including ones on Steam this is what I do.

Being up program launcher with key combination.
Start typing name of game, hit enter.
Then if Steam is not open Steam launches,. Game launches.

Get yourself a launcher program. Having to bring up Steam and search a library of dozens of games seems maddening when you could just type a few letters.

bleistift2,

So I install a launcher that launches steam to launch the game launcher?

Floey,

By launcher I mean something like Spotlight on Mac OS. The Windows Start menu probably has some of this functionality, at least for launching applications and can be brought up with a key, there are probably alternatives as well. I’m on Linux and use Rofi for this.

I don’t mean a large program necessary for launching games, I mean a very lightweight program that can launch your games, or any other app, and more.

dutchkimble,

He means like Wox or Power Toys Run

elxeno,

EULA bullshit

  • uninstall
  • reinstall
  • uninstall
  • reinstall
  • uninstall
  • reinstall
  • uninstall
  • reinstall
  • uninstall
  • reinstall
  • uninstall
  • refund

😬

ObviouslyNotBanana,
@ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world avatar

The steam ad window can be disabled in settings.

doctorcrimson,

I leave it on just in case a game I never got to play goes 90% off.

Dave,
@Dave@lemmy.nz avatar

You can wishlist games and they will email you when they go on sale.

danteog,

Wishlisting all the games

doctorcrimson,

TBH I open steam more often than my email. Probably not a good thing, in hindsight…

boogetyboo,
@boogetyboo@aussie.zone avatar

*never will play

Collecting is most of the fun

BackOnMyBS,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

Vulcan Shaders have stepped into the ring

thefool,

I remember visiting my friend while he was in the middle of installing a game, and it failed on the 10th of 10 disks

pineapplelover,

Itch.io is pretty straightforward. Download .exe and play.

sounddrill,

Same with gog except it needs installation

rotopenguin,
@rotopenguin@infosec.pub avatar

https://infosec.pub/pictrs/image/734708cd-03fc-4c4c-b905-03248e08e13b.jpeg

Kecessa,

“What’s the seventh word on the fourteenth page of the manual?”

Has lost the manual

Can’t play game ever again

GreenMario,

Had a hand written cheat sheet for X-wing which used 3 symbols per page for its copy protection.

Valmond,

Load game for 12 minutes

Select IRQ for sound: 7

MEEEP

Select IRQ for sound:

Game starts

No controller does absolutely nothing at all, keyboard included.

Helicopter flies over the tutorialish level getting flak

Almost dead starts level “1”

Gets shot down quickly.

Load game for 12 minutes

WuTang,
@WuTang@lemmy.ninja avatar

I love the fake “offline mode” of Steam which for certain game, doesn’t work.

I knew it was already shitty 20years ago when Steam get popularized by this shitty game (Counter Strike),

thisfro,

Half of that never happens to me tbh and the vendor intros were mostly a thing in 2010ish games (for me).

But something that is not on the list and I hate is if steam just starts another game launcher where you have to click something (like Witcher 3 or cities skylines).

KrankyKong,

deleted_by_author

    •
    ElectricCattleman,

    X-COM: UFO Defense has joined the chat.

    Dubious_Fart,

    wasnt there a XCOM knockoff game that deleted your tire C drive if you uninstalled it?

    casmael,

    Oh my god I both do no don’t want this to be true

    Dubious_Fart,

    Theres been a couple games that had this issue.

    I know Myth 2 had it if you installed it into the wrong directory or something.

    There was some not-mainstream MMO that had the issue too at one point.

    but I cant remember the name of the xcom knockoff that had it.

    and I cant find anything about it cause I keep finding 5000 pages of results about recovering uninstalled games.

    twistedcarbon,

    Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor was one of them.

    Valmond,

    One big game installed itself as a boot option

    Turn PC on

    Want to play or open windows?

    O_o

    Damage,

    Set up soundblaster irq dma bzzz bzz

    Sphks,
    @Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    “NOT ENOUGH CONVENTIONAL MEMORY”
    Ok. Time to set and launch a specific autoexec.bat.

    altima_neo,
    @altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

    “Please insert disc into drive D:/”

    BuboScandiacus,
    @BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz avatar

    You alt-tabbed ? Then fuck you and your unsaved progress

    WhyIDie,

    mortal kombat 2 on pc was a game changer tho.

    but I’ll bring up one that’s a step further, startropics on NES: dip a manual page in water to reveal the code, or you don’t get to progress, mid-way through the game

    averagedrunk,

    I’m full l having flashbacks to Fantasy Empires. I don’t know if I ever had the manual. I think I just got a list of words from someone.

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