Direct2Drive sale is even more awesome in WK 2

[Smooth Groove]

http://www.direct2drive.com/d2dturns5

Bunch of newer games this time including: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Stalker 2, Saint's Row 2, Bioshock.

I think I'll give Riddick and Saint's Row 2 a try. 

EDIT: It's actually Stalker 1. 

[archie4208]

Hopefully the RPG week has The Witcher and NWN 2

[fistfulofmetal]

avoid saints row 2 PC at all cost.

[demi]

The site says just regular Stalker, not Clear Sky

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

avoid saints row 2 PC at all cost.

Why? I was actually just about to buy it.

[Smooth Groove]

avoid saints row 2 PC at all cost.

Why? I was actually just about to buy it.

For 5 bucks, I'll give it a chance that the patches will eventually fix all the problems. 

Besides, the 360 version didn't run that well either and I kinda like the challenge of overcoming a poorly optimized game with more powerful hardware. 

The site says just regular Stalker, not Clear Sky

Oops, sorry about that. 

[Bebpo]

I'm all over riddick.  Was looking around for the X360 for <$20 and couldn't find it recently. but I'll gladly take the same game with better graphics minus achievements for $5.

[demi]

Riddick cheves suck, had to boost pretty much all of it online. Dark Athena section is garbage too.

[Eel O'Brian]

thanks for the link, gonna snag riddick

[fistfulofmetal]

avoid saints row 2 PC at all cost.

Why? I was actually just about to buy it.

it's one of the jankiest PC ports I've ever seen.

[cool breeze]

Thinking about thief 3

how does direct2drive work? do you need a program or anything? I like to stick with steam for these things

[Bebpo]

80% done downloading the 7.1gig Riddick, lol.  At least it's going fast at 1.7MB/s.  It's just a giant zip file so far and they gave me an activation code.

[pilonv1]

will be all over rpg week. witcher, nwn and something else please.

[Joe Molotov]

For some reason D2D won't accept my CC or PayPal, so screw them.

[GilloD]

Now I just need to trick them into thinking I'm from the USA

[Bebpo]

Played some Riddick.  Butcher Bay is real shimmery even with AA, not really a looker but definitely an improvement over the Xbox one.  It looks especially nice in cutscenes at 60fps with depth of field blurring out the backgrounds.  Dark Athena looked legit though; good textures and nice color.  I guess I suck at it though cause the first section in the training opening with a full on FPS I kept dying in like 20 seconds.   

Also I'm not sure what this Screen Space Ambient Occlusion is.  Between it on HIGH and OFF I can hardly tell a difference other than there's slightly better lighting and it's more blurry with it on HIGH, oh and it sucks a lot of gpu power.  On my 9800GTX+ I get about 60+ constant without it and maybe 20-30fps with it on HIGH at 1280x720.

[Bebpo]

There's a 1.01 patch.  I'm not sure if the D2D one comes patched, but I installed it anyway.  Supposed to improve performance and fix a few things.  I think I did get a performance bump.  Butcher Bay now never dips below 60fps and Athena runs pretty well in the 30fps with ambient occlusion on.
http://worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=61739

[Bebpo]

Ok did some research.  You can't patch or use mods on games bought from D2D unless there is a D2D version of the patch on their site (very limited amount).  For $5 most of these games are still worth it vanilla unpatched, but still it's kinda sucky.  I'd never buy a game outside this sale from them because of that policy.  Like I wouldn't recommend Stalker even for $5 since you can't use the Stalker 2009 mod which is amazingly awesome.  There's no D2D version of the Riddick patch so I guess it didn't work when it said it patched it.  :\

[pilonv1]

Ok did some research.  You can't patch or use mods on games bought from D2D unless there is a D2D version of the patch on their site (very limited amount).  For $5 most of these games are still worth it vanilla unpatched, but still it's kinda sucky.  I'd never buy a game outside this sale from them because of that policy.  Like I wouldn't recommend Stalker even for $5 since you can't use the Stalker 2009 mod which is amazingly awesome.  There's no D2D version of the Riddick patch so I guess it didn't work when it said it patched it.  :\

Now I remember why I don't buy from D2D

[Bebpo]

Bebpo, can you post 2 screens with ambient occlusion on/off? I am intrigued by what it really does.

How do you take screen shots for PC games?

[Great Rumbler]

Bebpo, can you post 2 screens with ambient occlusion on/off? I am intrigued by what it really does.

How do you take screen shots for PC games?

You can use a program called Fraps.

[Bebpo]

Ok, here's comparisons.  You can tell which is which cause 4xAA (look at all those jaggies even with 4x AA) is usually 60 except for that last shot and Ambient is always 30fps (using v-sync)  If you can see a difference worth 30fps and no AA, let me know cause they look pretty much the same.  I mean I notice ambient a little but it's not a very big deal.













Also the DRM only lets you install the game 3 times with your activation code and uninstalls don't revoke any of your uses.  So in a few months/years you won't own the game anymore.  Total shit situation, but for $5 it's still worth it to just play it once.

[Great Rumbler]

The lighting in the second set of pictures has a bit more depth to it, but that's all and it's really only noticeable when compared directly.

[Eel O'Brian]

i'll bet you can find a crack for that 3-time activation limit if you look around

[Brehvolution]

I wish more people would get Civ 4. An 8-10 or more person Bore match would be pretty sweet.

[Fragamemnon]

Just an aside, Frontlines: Fuel at War is actually a very good game and probably worth as much of a look as Riddick/Bioshock are at that price. Highly recommended.

[Smooth Groove]

It's not true that Direct2Drive will only allow you to install a game 3 times.  You just have to contact them and explain why you need a new key.

I did this about a year ago and they readily gave me a new key. 

Here is a better comparison of the difference between Ambient Occlusion On and OFF:

OFF

http://www.hardware.fr/marc/tridam/ao/bioshock.png

On

http://www.hardware.fr/marc/tridam/ao/bioshock_ao.png

[Bebpo]

Just an aside, Frontlines: Fuel at War is actually a very good game and probably worth as much of a look as Riddick/Bioshock are at that price. Highly recommended.

What kind of game is it?  Can you give more details?  Is the PC version a quality version compared to the console ones?

I wish more people would get Civ 4. An 8-10 or more person Bore match would be pretty sweet.

I want to try Civ4 one day (only played the first Civ as a kid at my grandparents and don't remember it), but I figure I should wait and get the complete version with all the expansions when I do.  Otherwise I'd bite at $5.

[Bebpo]

Also how is Thief Deadly Shadows?  It has ~85% on gamerankings which is pretty high.  Tempted to get Frontline  & Thief too.  Maybe Sid Mier's Railroads as well.

[demi]

Just an aside, Frontlines: Fuel at War is actually a very good game and probably worth as much of a look as Riddick/Bioshock are at that price. Highly recommended.

What kind of game is it?  Can you give more details?  Is the PC version a quality version compared to the console ones?

I can answer this one. It's UE3, but really well made (think Batman). It's a FPS battlefield type game. It has a decent SP campaign, I enjoyed it. The online is basically like how Battlefield plays (take over control points, etc). I dont know how active it is online, but the devs gave it much love.

[Bebpo]

I'd just play the SP, soooo don't care about MP.  But that sounds good for $5.  If it's UE3 it should run really well on PC too

[GilloD]

Frontlines is a great deal at 5 bucks. It's Battlefield-y FPS that feels maybe not quite finished. It has a couple of really heinous levels, but it's kind of an overlooked gem. If you like CTF modes or Capture modes in Multiplayer games you'll really like this.

[Dickie Dee]

The downloader freezes up on me everytime, after I'd bought Bioshock and X-com 

What's the word on your re-download options? I saw 3 time activation mentioned, if I re-install for a 4th time, on the same computer, is cracking it the only option?

[Bebpo]

The 3 time limit is riddick specific.  DRM should be different for every game.  I'm guessing stuff like X-com won't have any.

I just installed thief.  4:3 and no controller support; man I can't believe this came out in 2004.  I thought it was an X360/PS3/PC game, lol ^^;

[archie4208]

Week 3 was updated:

NWN2
Assassin's Creed (how is this an RPG? )
Elven Legacy
EVE Online
NWN 2 - Storm of Zehir (Sucks there is no Mask of the Betrayer)
Age of Conan
Titan Quest Bundle
Planetside: Aftershock
Drakensang ( )
GTA: Vice City (how is this an RPG? )

[demi]

lol, pc gaming

[Kestastrophe]

Gonna try and pick up NWN2. I am tempted to get Conan, even though I don't mmo. Anyone play that anymore?

[Great Rumbler]

Everybody needs to get Drakensang.

[Vizzys]

bought titan quest, fast download so far

[Bebpo]

Already have Titan's Quest on Steam, so I guess the only other one worth buying is Drakensang?

[Bebpo]

I would get NWN2 but I think the D2D versions are unfriendly with most mods and I know NWN2 has a shitton of them.

[Kestastrophe]

I would get NWN2 but I think the D2D versions are unfriendly with most mods and I know NWN2 has a shitton of them.

I took this from the NWN2 page on D2D: Note: Works with the official game patches and autoupdater.

If I had to guess, I would say that you're right and it won't work with mods. I bought it anyways because it was only $5.

[pilonv1]

drakensang runs like ass on my pc

And I have Titan Quest already

[Smooth Groove]

Great sale.  I'll be picking up NWN2 and Zehir.  I already have NWN2 but I remembered that the retail copy had a CD-Check.  Also, it'll probably be safer to have D2D versions of the game + expansion. 

Anyone still played Titan Quest MP recently?  Are there still servers for it?  If so, I'll get a copy for my cousin to play with me. 

Gonna try and pick up NWN2. I am tempted to get Conan, even though I don't mmo. Anyone play that anymore?

Eric P says they've improved it a lot since a year ago.  Several PC gaming sites have said the same.  I already own the retail copy but I'll be buying it to give it a second chance.  It'll be cheaper than buying a 30 day card. 

The downloader freezes up on me everytime, after I'd bought Bioshock and X-com 

What's the word on your re-download options? I saw 3 time activation mentioned, if I re-install for a 4th time, on the same computer, is cracking it the only option?

No, just email them and explain why you need a new activation key. 

[BlackMage]

planetside?! people still play that? if not, why buy it?

[Kestastrophe]

Good lord, I got to the character creation screen in NWN2 and there were at least 30 classes to choose from (albeit some of them weren't unlocked yet). The RPG effect before I've even started playing

[Brehvolution]

Downloading NWN2 now. I hope it's good.

[Kestastrophe]

I'll play with you sometime Zero.

[Brehvolution]

[Vizzys]

its indie games week now

http://www.direct2drive.com/d2dturns5

not a whole lot worthwhile even for 5$ i think

maybe defense grid

[Brehvolution]

Any thoughts on Mount and Blade? It's the only one that interests me.

[Bebpo]

Already have World of Goo & Defense Grid.  Only game I might buy is Mount & Blade as well.

[Great Rumbler]

Any thoughts on Mount and Blade? It's the only one that interests me.

Mount and Blade is a pretty fun game. The graphics and presentation are really bare-bones, but it makes up for it by being incredibly deep and having some interesting battles. There's also a lot of mods out there to play around with.

[Kestastrophe]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

FatalT

I might have to pick this up

[GilloD]

I still can't buy anything, proxy or not. FU D2D.

[Bebpo]

Ok, this week seems REALLY good to me.  But maybe that's because this is the first week where I own nothing on the list and have contemplated buying a couple many times at $20-30 in the past.

http://www.direct2drive.com/d2dturns5

Company of Heroes Gold
Supreme Commander Gold
World in Conflict Gold
Dawn of War Dark Crusade
Battlestations Pacific
Codename: Panzers - Cold War
Hearts of Iron II collection
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Delta Force: Land Warrior
Delta Force: Task Force Dagger

Now I've been wanting to pick up CoH forever since people tell me it's a great RTS and I don't like RTSs but if they are GREAT I do occasionally enjoy.  Same with Supreme Commander cause I like robots.

How are the other games?  I think I heard good stuff about World in Conflict?  I have Dawn of War & Winter Assault, but not Dark Crusade.  I think I heard Hearts of Iron II was a real good strategy game?  Recommendations plz.

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

Quick and dumb Q on D2D games: If I buy Titan Quest here can I use the serial D2D gives me and activate the game on Steam?

[MyNameIsMethodis]

There's a list somewheres and Titan Quest wasn't on the list, IIRC

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

Cool, I'll probably grab it and try. Any thoughts on the MP? I'm thinking of getting another copy for my bro as well.

[Joe Molotov]

Quick and dumb Q on D2D games: If I buy Titan Quest here can I use the serial D2D gives me and activate the game on Steam?

Here's a list of the only games you can activate on Steam with codes:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?s=ce5f641e4e03ec0adada50037c59030b&ref=7480-WUSF-3601

Generally it only works for Valve published or SteamWorks games.