DDO tonight! DDO forever!
Tonight: It's been a week since I've played, and months since I've played uninterrupted. But tonight is DDO-nite!
I stopped because of computer problems. An error message that announced every five miniutes that Windows Explorer shut down unexpectedly. That error message played havoc with all the other programs, so we stopped using our PC and did exclusively iPhone computing for a few days while Windows 7 fixed a half dozen "orphaned files" whatever that is. And then after that my wife monopolized the computer to make up for lost time. But tonight it's my turn to play DDO.
It's gonna be great. First I'm going to finish the "Tomb of the XYZ heart" quests. Then I'm going to take level 8. Then I'll reset my enhancements and respec into a Paladin 6 prestige class. I'm not sure what to take yet but I'm leaning towards Hunter of the Undead.
Oh right, and I also have a ML8 Air Guard full plate that I'll swap into. I don't think I'll do any of the Festivult stuff though. I'm too excited to get back into the game.
Forever: Long term I'm weighing my computing options. It runs DDO satisfactoraly, but the computer itself seems old and crappy. The fans are really loud, the drive makes odd noises, and worst of all my wife says it's too ugly to be seen outside of the basement (for lack of a better word.)
There's a few options I've been playing with:
Upgrade the (dying) hard drive, upgrade the meager power supply, and buy more graphics cards. I haven't priced this out yet but I presume it will be cheaper than a new computer, although I'll still have the stigma of playing in the basement (for lack of a better word.)
Migrate to iMac. My wife is crazy about apple products and next on her shopping list is a new computer. I've heard that people can play DDO on macs, and that Turbine will make DDO for iOS soon(tm). So if that's true, I don't need to buy anything. I can just play on the iMac (assuming that it's an upgrade from my five year old
PC). And I won't have to be in the basement (for lack of a better word.)
Buy a gaming laptop. Honestly I'd love to have the ability to set up my game outside of the basement (for lack of a better word). I'm not sure how much money I have to drop on a laptop to get a good gaming rig for DDO. And even if it is an upgrade, I'll still lose out on the larger screen size.
Who has a realy cool gaming laptop? Who plays on a mac? If this computer dies and fails it's system shock roll, I will be forced to make a snap decision!
Not sure of the version, but a friend of mine dropped 5 grand on a gateway that is supposedly made for gaming, and he has no complaints yet. So maybe that would be a good place to start looking.
ReplyDeleteGlad you get to get back in the game =D
Welcome back.
2 years ago i payed around 600 dollars in a laptop, which allows me to game DDO, close to some of the lowest settings...
ReplyDeleteLaptops always have a hard time running games unless they're over 1200 dollars...
I play on an iMac. I have Windows loaded as dual boot, so I am actually playing the Windows version. I do intend to try the iOS version but that means upgrading my current version.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the dual boot is extremely easy to set up - you just have the expense of buying Windows to install. And DDO runs great on it :)
My work laptop can run DDO pretty well, and my workplace is "cheap" when it comes to buying hardware. But we did manage to talk them into i7 2.2GHz, 8GB ram and 500GB HD. It's a Dell Latitude 6520 (definitely not top-end of the Latitude series). Ob board video is good enough to run on "high" (maybe "very high", but not "ultra high") with little problems.
ReplyDeleteAs far as re-building vs getting new: yes, it "can" be less expensive, but if it is 5-years old, why not just go ahead and upgrade the motherboad and processor too? An i7 quad core is very nice. If you know what you want or are savvy enough to build your own, you can get a new system for "not much more" (a relative term, of course) than upgrading.
Of course, if you know someone who does IT and/or builds systems for a living, talk with them and see what they can do for you. You might be surprised.
I'll stay out of the Mac vs. PC debate...
;-)
I play on a low-end (I think it cost about $400 before the sale...) laptop, and it handles DDO on the lowest settings fairly well. I have a couple of specific zoning issues (Marketplace to Harbor; anything involving kobolds collecting crystals) where SOMETHING (I think it's my display driver, and that's what I usually blame, but I'm not actually sure) flickers, sometimes to the point of actually crashing (so I'm forced to shut down via removing power sources and restart), but considering how many people I know who tend to crash zoning into Vale or Sands or GH, which I don't, it's something I can live with.
ReplyDeleteI do miss the larger screen, though; I'd suggest getting at least a 17" laptop. My 15" screen aJust isn't *quite* big enough for some windows (such as the ED window) or a lot of hotbars, and there's a VERY noticeable difference when I play on even a 17" laptop.
Oh, and I also suggest getting a cooling pad...
ReplyDeleteThe joys of playing w/o interruptions... I think it has been like 6 months since I haven't experienced it.
ReplyDelete