Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: FlamingCobra on October 30, 2011, 06:50:05 pm
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Game finally finished downloading today. It took WEEKS.
I started the game up. Menu comes up ok. I start configuring the game options. Game says I don't have enough GFX mem. I know I do. After searching google figured out to add a commandline.txt file to the installation directory. It had to contain:
-availablevidmem 2.0
Did all that stuff. Clicked play. Then I found out I couldn't save without a Windows/Xbox live account. I already have a hotmail account so i'm like......suuurrrrre..... halfway through the process it's like YoU'rE nOt EiGhTeEn!!!!1!!
PARENT: ur child is trying to sign up for xbox live! we stopped his @$$. lol.
pwned
now u gotta make an XBL account.
No way in Hell am I letting my fifty-something year old parents get an xbox live account. So I'm like "Fine! I'll continue without saving!"
I hear the startup music. It goes to the loading screen and starts loading the first level. It never does. It just stays on the loading screen forever! I have to CTRL-ALT-DEL and end the gtaiv.exe process just to regain control of my computer. Tried it again. Doesn't work. I spent hours looking for a solution. I made countless tweeks to no avail. One forum post said to check the file of the GTA IV directory and see how big it is. Mine was below the 16 something GB. So I figured some files must be missing. Then I had Steam validate the cache files. It got to 100% and then stopped responding. Steam never did anything. I waited like half an hour at 100%. I had to Ctrl-Alt-Del that too. Spent some more time looking for a solution.
I finally ran across a post saying to uninstall QuickTime. I did.
The game now works perfectly.
Now my question is, "What relevance does QuickTime have to my ability to play Grand Theft Auto IV?"
Also, even if my parents did get an XBL account, which would let me have an XBL account, I figure microsoft wouldn't let me play the game on my account because GTA4 is an "M" rated game and I'm only 17. And ~1/2.
EDIT: Found out that, since uninstalling QuickTime, I can actually change all of the GFX options now. I can even play in 1440x900.
EDIT2: Steam overlay web browser is no longer laggy.
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Also, even if my parents did get an XBL account, which would let me have an XBL account, I figure microsoft wouldn't let me play the game on my account because GTA4 is an "M" rated game and I'm only 17. And ~1/2.
Reading is fun (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp#rating_symbols). I'll highlight the relevant section, though:
MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. (Emphasis added.)
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I thought everyone lied about their ages on those kind of things.
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<snip>
MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. (Emphasis added.)
* FlamingCobra blinks twice
Then why do you have to be 18 to have your own XBL account? I don't see how "legal age" is an issue. You don't have to be 18 to sign up for GameFAQs. Or pretty much anything else.
I thought everyone lied about their ages on those kind of things.
Don't want to do that on the offchance that I might work for Microsoft one day.
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You know, it's not exactly like they ask for an ID. You could just make another hotmail account with another date of birth and be done with all that bull****.
Secondly, QuickTime is known for doing weird **** all the time on Windows, and probably on Macs too but Mac users are less likely to admit it (they might think it's a feature). If avoidable, you should never install QuickTime on a Windows computer; other media players exist that do the same job a lot better, crash less, and don't grow sinewy tentacles of cancerous tumours all around your system that you need an equivalent of CERN grade chemotherapy to remove from your system.
Thirdly, let me register my opinion that GTA is a ****ty series of ****ty games and I don't know why you would want to play one released almost three years ago so badly as to go through all that trouble.
Finally, and I don't say this to be unkind, but perhaps you shouldn't be quite as ready and willing to use Internet Persons as reliable guidance. Something like this might happen to you some day.
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5015/19d5af6f06bb37e70a68e77.png)
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<snip>
MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. (Emphasis added.)
* FlamingCobra blinks twice
Then why do you have to be 18 to have your own XBL account?
Because opening an XBox Live account involves agreeing to a license (i.e. a legally binding contract).
Also, Herra, I want to find a forum full of people emulating Legend of Zelda games, so that I can tell them that's how they mod the Triforce into OoT.
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I wish I'd seen that before. Made me laugh so damn hard.
Don't want to do that on the offchance that I might work for Microsoft one day.
Good Lord, you're more naive than I was at 15. And I barely got out then.
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It really is astounding that Windows allows you to do something like that. :lol:
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From Vista upwards, you require administrator level permissions to change stuff from the Windows folder, and from what I can see, in Windows 7 that folder needs permissions above that (it lists CREATOR OWNER as owner and not being able to change anything).
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Finally, and I don't say this to be unkind, but perhaps you shouldn't be quite as ready and willing to use Internet Persons as reliable guidance. Something like this might happen to you some day.
I can't believe it hahaha
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How many fps should I be getting?
I got
Average FPS: 16.89
CPU Usage: 38%
System Memory Usage: 55%
Video Memory Usage: 90%
With all graphics settings as low as possible.
I need to get a new video card don't I?
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Depends, what are your specs? A RAM upgrade can do wonders depending how much of it you have, for instance.
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Windows Vista SP 2
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU
6 GB RAM
64 Bit
ATI Radeon 3400
Total Available GFX Mem: 3067 MB
Dedicated GFX Mem: 256 MB
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Yes, a low-midrange GPU that is 3 generations out of date is something that should be replaced.
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GPU Suggestions?
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Finally, and I don't say this to be unkind, but perhaps you shouldn't be quite as ready and willing to use Internet Persons as reliable guidance. Something like this might happen to you some day.
*schnip*
Thank you. I've been looking for that one.
GPU Suggestions?
http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N580GTX-Lightning-Xtreme-Edition.html
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Agreed with The E. Everything else seems quite good enough. Suggestions for new graphic cards depend on your budget. ATI's 6770 and GT 550 Ti seem decent mid-range cards to get for I believe 100-130 dollar. See what your local IT webshops have for you.
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Can I get GFX cards at some place like Staples or should I just pick one out on Amazon and ask my parents to order it for Christmas?
The Lord God will bless the day when outdated hardware simply replaces itself.
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Hardware stores like Fry's Electronics will have them in stock. Go with a 560Ti.
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Can I get GFX cards at some place like Staples or should I just pick one out on Amazon and ask my parents to order it for Christmas?
:wakka:
And I can see it now... "Mom, dad, can you spend $300 on one present for me for Christmas?" I wonder if you even have the PSU for it.
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Hardware stores like Fry's Electronics will have them in stock. Go with a 560Ti.
Evidently, you haven't figured out that I live in Roxboro. I have never even heard of "Fry's Electronics." (does punctuation go inside of quotation marks or outside?)
I'm supposing you mean this (http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-01G-P3-1567-KR/dp/B004XUCCRM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320079355&sr=8-2)?
Can I get GFX cards at some place like Staples or should I just pick one out on Amazon and ask my parents to order it for Christmas? (underlined for emphasis)
:wakka:
And I can see it now... "Mom, dad, can you spend $300 on one present for me for Christmas?" I wonder if you even have the PSU for it.
Evidently, you also haven't figured out that I live in Roxboro.
PSU = power supply unit?
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He could always find a part-time job.
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His mother won't let him. :D
Evidently, you also haven't figured out that I live in Roxboro.
Probably because I also didn't care to look in your profile, nor do I frankly give a damn.
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EDIT: I know you don't.
I also feel that I wouldn't get much use out of it, since I am graduating at the end of this school year and I will need a new laptop when and if I go off to NCSU. And my desktop will be left behind.......
EDIT: On second thought, if I major in computer science or any kind of engineering (as planned) then it would be more beneficial for me to have a workstation rather than a laptop. Hm.......
Ok. Scratch that! No graphics card. Now I better start looking on Newegg and pick out a nice gaming rig. A very powerful one.
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'Very powerful' = >$1000, just FYI. The one I'm building doesn't even have the best stuff and it's around $950 total.
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'Very powerful' = >$1000, just FYI. The one I'm building doesn't even have the best stuff and it's around $950 total.
Oh well. They'll just have to put out then. If it'll see me through 4+ years of college (depending on my final choice of a major), then it's worth the expense. IIRC, their HP Pavilion notebook cost them over $1000.
For a long time I have wanted to have a computer with both a windows partition and a mac partition. Recently, however, I have been told by one of my peers that such a configuration would be stupid; there is no situation in which it would be beneficial to have both windows and mac. I suppose that's true.
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You'd have to own a Mac then, given that OSX only runs on Apple hardware.
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1. Go to Tom's Hardware.
2. Look up the most recent $500 gaming rig or mid-range rig.
3. Order the parts from NewEgg or your local equivalent, and for Pete's sake see if you can find someone else to put it together because we don't want to give you lessons.
No computer is going to allow you to play new games at top settings for four years without upgrades. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. But a mid-range build will let you play new releases at reasonable settings for about four years, and memory and video cards are relatively inexpensive to upgrade if you get a decent processor to begin with.
At US prices, you should easily be able to build a pretty powerful system right at the price point where performance gains are still worth it for between $800-$1000.
And honestly, who fills in their actual birthdate for ANY online service not connected to credit card or banking info? Hell, I am well beyond the age where anybody cares and I still don't fill in [most] age fields if they aren't mandatory, and if they are then I lie. No one gives a damn, and most of the places asking for that information don't actually need it. Although BlueFlames is absolutely correct that the reason the account lists 18 is because you have to be 18 to agree to a legal contract of your own accord.
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You'd have to own a Mac then, given that OSX only runs on Apple hardware.
Sorta.
http://www.osnews.com/story/21564/Building_a_Hackintosh_Apple_Can_t_Sue_You_For
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'Very powerful' = >$1000, just FYI. The one I'm building doesn't even have the best stuff and it's around $950 total.
Oh well. They'll just have to put out then. If it'll see me through 4+ years of college (depending on my final choice of a major), then it's worth the expense. IIRC, their HP Pavilion notebook cost them over $1000.
For a long time I have wanted to have a computer with both a windows partition and a mac partition. Recently, however, I have been told by one of my peers that such a configuration would be stupid; there is no situation in which it would be beneficial to have both windows and mac. I suppose that's true.
Some things to consider when thinking about college and computers:
1) Every university worth its tuition will have computer labs with computers that have plenty of power for anything you'll need class-wise.
2) If you want portability, get a netbook. You'll never get the speed per dollar a desktop gets if you get a laptop you so you might as well get the cheapest thing you can that will let you shell/VNC into something that has decent performance (eg the desktop you bought with the money you saved from not buying a full laptop).
3) If you don't have a computer capable of playing games, you probably won't waste study time playing games.
additionally
4) There is little to no reason to run OSX if you are going into engineering.
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EDIT: I know you don't.
I also feel that I wouldn't get much use out of it, since I am graduating at the end of this school year and I will need a new laptop when and if I go off to NCSU. And my desktop will be left behind.......
EDIT: On second thought, if I major in computer science or any kind of engineering (as planned) then it would be more beneficial for me to have a workstation rather than a laptop. Hm.......
Ok. Scratch that! No graphics card. Now I better start looking on Newegg and pick out a nice gaming rig. A very powerful one.
If you actually plan to major in computer science, I strongly suggest that you start familiarize yourself with computer hardware, operating system functionalities, and most importantly programming fundamentals, A.S.A.P. Such a degree is not for the faint of heart, and your posts (no offense intended) lead me to believe that you are ill prepared for what will be required of you.
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Oh god I *hated* that Xbox Live/Windows Live system. They didn't even have a proper website for it when it came out, if you tried to look up anything about Windows Live you only got Xbox Live info, and you couldn't easily your screen name (and they didn't even tell you the name you put in would be your permanent screen name -.-).
But it was worth it for the epicness of GTA 4 and Ballad of gay tony D:
GTA 5 is probably gonna have the same crap, and take even longer to get to pc if ever u.u
If GTA 5 doesn't make it to PC I'm never buying anything microsoft again (that is, try not to)...they already took away halo from me </3
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2) If you want portability, get a netbook. You'll never get the speed per dollar a desktop gets if you get a laptop you so you might as well get the cheapest thing you can that will let you shell/VNC into something that has decent performance (eg the desktop you bought with the money you saved from not buying a full laptop).
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO!
netbooks are WORTHLESS. there ARE laptops available for almost the same price as netbooks, which while at the bottom end of the laptop power spectrum, have FAR more than a netbook and also such basic features as an optical drive and a display you can ****ing see from more than 3 feet away.
on a different note, i took my desktop to school (also NCSU). I also got a laptop for school work, but in retrospect you really don't need one except maybe for computer science. even then it wouldn't be mandatory, just make life easier. i certainly didn't end up actually needing it for engineering. there was only one class i ever took that it was required (a 3d modeling class), and i'm pretty sure there are sections of that one that are non-laptop. using a laptop to take notes doesn't really work in core engineering classes, unless you get REALLY good at LATEX. it was kinda handy for history and such though. by the end of my first year i stopped carrying it to class every day, and it became my laze back in bed and type up reports computer. could also take it to the library or lounge to do work outside of my room (away from distractions).
tl;dr
laptops are convienent for college but far from mandatory.
one final note, don't buy a laptop from the bookstore. they are way overpriced and garbage. my lenovo is slow as **** and drives me NUTS. they really over-inflate the recommended/required specs for students. really, just make sure if you get a laptop, it has a discrete graphics chip. i probably only even needed that for the modeling class.
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
netbooks are WORTHLESS. there ARE laptops available for almost the same price as netbooks, which while at the bottom end of the laptop power spectrum, have FAR more than a netbook and also such basic features as an optical drive and a display you can ****ing see from more than 3 feet away.
:wtf:
1) If you actually need an optical drive you can do what I did and get a $10 USB optical drive and chuck it in a drawer whenever you're not using it. If you have a legitimate reason for getting a portable computer, chances are it's really not worth the extra size for something that you'll be using maybe twice.
2) If you can't see the screen from more than 3 feet away, try decreasing the screen resolution. Getting a bigger screen won't help. Not that it matters because I can't imagine why on Earth you'd be using your computer display from the other side of the room.
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To be honest, I can't stand netbooks because of their keyboard.
I can't understand how some people are willing to code on those things. Which incidently, brings up screen space which is also needed.
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keyboard layout in majority of laptops and netbooks especially is simply atrocious. Every time I'm forced to operate on such a PC, it drives me nuts as I can't type properly, much less find other keys intuitively.
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
netbooks are WORTHLESS. there ARE laptops available for almost the same price as netbooks, which while at the bottom end of the laptop power spectrum, have FAR more than a netbook and also such basic features as an optical drive and a display you can ****ing see from more than 3 feet away.
:wtf:
1) If you actually need an optical drive you can do what I did and get a $10 $40 unless you want a cheap piece of crap USB optical drive and chuck it in a drawer whenever you're not using it. If you have a legitimate reason for getting a portable computer, chances are it's really not worth the extra size for something that you'll be using maybe twice.
2) If you can't see the screen from more than 3 feet away, try decreasing the screen resolution. Getting a bigger screen won't help. Not that it matters because I can't imagine why on Earth you'd be using your computer display from the other side of the room. yeah no. The reason it's hard to read is because there is so little on the screen (at least for most I'm sure) and decreasing the resolution makes the problem worse.
my 2c
EDIT:
To be honest, I can't stand netbooks because of their keyboard.
I can't understand how some people are willing to code on those things. Which incidently, brings up screen space which is also needed.
that too.
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$40 unless you want a cheap piece of crap
It would depend on what you use the optical drive for, then. Personally I've needed discs on my netbook twice in two years, and I wouldn't recommend paying four times the price unless for some awful reason you regularly need discs.
yeah no. The reason it's hard to read is because there is so little on the screen (at least for most I'm sure) and decreasing the resolution makes the problem worse.
So little on the screen != cannot operate from a distance, which is what klaustrophobia was talking about. Getting a bigger screen wouldn't make things easier to read from farther away because all it does, generally, display more things at a similar dpi. If you want to use a computer from >3 feet away you need either low dpi or high dpi and a computer capable of blowing everything up and running the high resolution (ie neither a laptop nor a netbook).
Which brings me back to reiterate points I've made earlier: Laptops powerful enough to be your primary computer are generally not worth the money. Use a small, cheap computer to shell/VNC into either your primary computer or your school's/workplace's servers and work there. Chances are at school there will be plenty of labs available for student use, so unless you plan on doing things on your computer that shouldn't be done in public and are system intensive, personal computers are unnecessary. If you have the money, a netbook is a good way to access more powerful computers when you can't be there in person (I agree, you'd be insane to use it as your primary computer, just as insane as you'd be to use a laptop as your primary computer). If you have even more money, you could get your own desktop. But a full size laptop is nothing more than an overpriced, lackluster compromise of the two.
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$40 unless you want a cheap piece of crap
It would depend on what you use the optical drive for, then. Personally I've needed discs on my netbook twice in two years, and I wouldn't recommend paying four times the price unless for some awful reason you regularly need discs.
Problem is, usually what you need them for is OS installs... yeah, random corruption on my WinDOwS install? /no want. I realize there are probably cheap drives available that can reliably read data, but I haven't seen any yet.
Also, for the price of a netbook (what, $250-300?), you might as well drop another $100 and get the cheapest Toshiba laptop you can find for $399 at Wal-mart. Probably 3x the performance and it's reliable and you can see and it has a optical drive and a decent sized hard disk too. Oh and you can type on the keyboard!
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Also, for the price of a netbook (what, $250-300?), you might as well drop another $100 and get the cheapest Toshiba laptop you can find for $399 at Wal-mart. Probably 3x the performance and it's reliable and you can see and it has a optical drive and a decent sized hard disk too. Oh and you can type on the keyboard!
A cursory glance at the walmart website tells me that, on average, $100 will get me 100gb more storage and 2gb more memory. It's harder for me to compare processor architectures but it seems like on average you also get 0.5GHz and a core more. Maybe it's just me, but I'd honestly rather put the $100 toward desktop hardware and keep my netbook's superior battery life.
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Which brings me back to reiterate points I've made earlier: Laptops powerful enough to be your primary computer are generally not worth the money. Use a small, cheap computer to shell/VNC into either your primary computer or your school's/workplace's servers and work there. Chances are at school there will be plenty of labs available for student use, so unless you plan on doing things on your computer that shouldn't be done in public and are system intensive, personal computers are unnecessary. If you have the money, a netbook is a good way to access more powerful computers when you can't be there in person (I agree, you'd be insane to use it as your primary computer, just as insane as you'd be to use a laptop as your primary computer). If you have even more money, you could get your own desktop. But a full size laptop is nothing more than an overpriced, lackluster compromise of the two.
If you go into computer science or into other computer related degrees, chances are you will have a laptop as your primary computer for your entire studies. The computers available in the labs will often be substandard compared to what you can bring with you.
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Which brings me back to reiterate points I've made earlier: Laptops powerful enough to be your primary computer are generally not worth the money. Use a small, cheap computer to shell/VNC into either your primary computer or your school's/workplace's servers and work there. Chances are at school there will be plenty of labs available for student use, so unless you plan on doing things on your computer that shouldn't be done in public and are system intensive, personal computers are unnecessary. If you have the money, a netbook is a good way to access more powerful computers when you can't be there in person (I agree, you'd be insane to use it as your primary computer, just as insane as you'd be to use a laptop as your primary computer). If you have even more money, you could get your own desktop. But a full size laptop is nothing more than an overpriced, lackluster compromise of the two.
If you go into computer science or into other computer related degrees, chances are you will have a laptop as your primary computer for your entire studies. The computers available in the labs will often be substandard compared to what you can bring with you.
False.
EDIT:
1) I can't speak for other universities, but you'll easily spend a grand on a laptop comparable to the computers in the UM CoE computer labs. In contrast, my desktop is better than those computers and I haven't spent $600.
2) CS degrees, at least where I am, have no special requirement for a laptop over a desktop. Personally all of my CS related work has been done on my desktop.
3) Most CS courses do not even require a powerful computer. If you see a CS student says otherwise it is either the exception or much more likely it's just an excuse to buy a new computer.
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Right, what do I know, I'm just finishing my thesis and have otherwise completed a 5 year degree in what amounts to computer science...
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alsopeoplearefromdifferentcountriesandhavebeentodifferenteduca tionalestablishments
Just thinking aloud here.
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Come to think of it can this be split out? I'd like to talk about this more but it isn't exactly GTA 4. :nervous:
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The entire thread pretty much deviated from it.
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You'd have to own a Mac then, given that OSX only runs on Apple hardware.
Hackintosh.
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Well yeah, there are ways, but in the end, you're left asking yourself why you'd even bother in the first place. :p