PCs and Steam: Thread 01

[Leon Retro]

It does look gorgeous.

I can't make up my mind. I see nice aspects and bad aspects. When I see the original PC Engine version, all of it blends together perfectly. The new version's visual design has some nice shiny effects, but some things stand out as being quite poorly drawn/designed. So overall I'd say it's a mishmash of good and bad. Take away the neon effects and I think it clearly lacks the gothic beauty and overall charm of the original.

I think it looks pretty good overall though. The intensity of the action will be a good thing for me, as I'll enjoy trying to get to grips with it and improving my scores. I might buy it when there's a Steam key sale.




Why the hell do they recommend an "i7, 8GB of RAM, and a 1080 GTX"???

How high-level and unoptimised is their code?

[Digfox]

Yea, that look great. Might have to put this on my wishlist. Although a console version would be nice too.

I did notice the huge jump up between the Mac OS or PC minimum specs and the recommended. Maybe that's the game running at 4K @ 60fps+ or something.

I did see this useful feedback in the discussion threads:

Performance has improved dramatically since launch, it certainly doesn't require a GTX 660.
My laptop (i5-6200u / 8gb RAM / Intel HD 520) manages 45-60fps @ 1600x900 with Graphics Quality set to Fastest.

[fuse]

It's a fairly small team and still in early access so I'm not particularly stunned that it's not mega-optimised, but I think that might also be them being fairly conservative. I'm on a 2013 iMac and it runs fine, if that's any indication?

Sticking those two images side-by-side at a tiny res isn't a good indicator IMO - not saying that the overall point re: 'gothic charm' isn't valid, but a lot of what's good is the tiny detail going on in a great big, high-res table. Oh, and it has a tate mode! I've got a monitor that I'd love to play it on but sadly no (non-work) Windows machine to actually play it on.

[Digfox]

It's a fairly small team and still in early access so I'm not particularly stunned that it's not mega-optimised, but I think that might also be them being fairly conservative. I'm on a 2013 iMac and it runs fine, if that's any indication?

Sticking those two images side-by-side at a tiny res isn't a good indicator IMO - not saying that the overall point re: 'gothic charm' isn't valid, but a lot of what's good is the tiny detail going on in a great big, high-res table. Oh, and it has a tate mode! I've got a monitor that I'd love to play it on but sadly no (non-work) Windows machine to actually play it on.

So you're either on an Intel Iris or Nvidia GT 750M GPU? The min OS states Iris for the Mac OS version, so that sounds good.

When I had my iMac (2011 21.5" model) it was possible to output to a second monitor. Is that not an option for tate mode?

[wakka]

Maybe I should try it on my machine. It’s a 2016 MacBook so only has an m3 processor and Intel HD graphics.

What would be really banging is if they brought it to iOS.

[Digfox]

I'm not hugely knowledgeable on Intel GPUs but my understanding is that Iris is a step up from the Intel HD graphics and therefore there will be a risk. The HD user above in the example I found has a better i5 CPU as well, although maybe there are more examples in the Steam discussion pages for the game.

Worse case Steam has the 2-hour refund policy I suppose.

[fuse]

So you're either on an Intel Iris or Nvidia GT 750M GPU? The min OS states Iris for the Mac OS version, so that sounds good.

When I had my iMac (2011 21.5" model) it was possible to output to a second monitor. Is that not an option for tate mode?

755M, it would seem - full specs are over here. I'd never really thought about using an external display before, but looking into adapters I'm now getting confused - is this what I want? I may have said some four letter words when I saw the price.

[Digfox]

[MENTION=3822]fuse[/MENTION] it's been a while since I did it as since 2015 that iMac has been at my Mum's and I played around with 2 monitors when I first got the iMac in 2011.

That said I'm pretty certain I just used Mini DisplayPort to DVI adaptor or something. It's the Thunderbolt port if I remember correctly. I use miniDP to DP now with my Windows Laptop now and should be cheap.

Woof at the price of that adaptor though. I might still have the adaptor I used somewhere but would need to have a look around if it helps.

[Digfox]

[MENTION=3822]fuse[/MENTION]

Dig some digging and can't find the adapter but did find the receipt from the Apple Store and confirmed that I did buy a MiniDP to DVI adaptor with the iMac. I used this with a second Samsung monitor.

Apple Mini-DP to DVI Adapter
Part Number: MB570Z/A £25.00

That said it appears there are load of MiniDP to HDMI or DP options on Amazon (example: Amazon Basic cable for 1080p/£5.99 or a bit more for 4K). So there shouldn't be any need to go near that £75 USB-C option. Also found a good guide here: https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/ma...n-mac-3621421/

That said I don't know whether a second screen will play ball 100% with allowing Steam to use it in tate, but I would imagine there's a good chance, and/or third party programs that improve multiple monitors (like DisplayMon used to do).

Still at £5-10 you won't have broken the bank and have the capability for dual monitors for productivity if required.

[fuse]

You are a gentleman and a scholar. That's super helpful, and you're right in saying that £10 is worth rolling the dice on an experiment. Cheers!

[Digfox]

Np, and good luck. I thought if I could have found my adaptor I'd have offered to give it to you, but I can't find it anywhere so must have gone with the iMac.

[Leon Retro]

I
Sticking those two images side-by-side at a tiny res isn't a good indicator IMO - not saying that the overall point re: 'gothic charm' isn't valid,

Well, it at least shows the graphic style for each. You can clearly see the different approach taken.

My main point was all about the graphics being a 'mixed bag' when it came to quality. I really like some graphical features and don't like others. I think the neon eye candy helps to captivate the eye away from any shortcomings, but I still noticed a few dodgy bits and pieces.

Maybe I am being picky. I guess that's because I really love the original and can't help but compare the two. But I didn't say this new version is bad, just not as polished as I'd like. I will probably still buy it at some point.

[fuse]

Six quid well spent.

[Digfox]

Six quid well spent.

Yay!!! That's awesome (the OS X wallpaper isn't bad either).

Genius suggestion of course. Although glad it worked out.

[fishbowlhead]

Six quid well spent.

That’s a nice little set up there. Never thought of having a smaller screen in portrait before to be honest.