Pick Your Upgrade Path (October 29, 2005)

ChrisReid · 10-28-2005, 17:00

Our new poll asks what sort of system you expect to need for the next Wing Commander game. Wing Commander fans have a long history of making major upgrades for each primary chapter in the series. The first option is a minimum spec that some current games already require. And it's only a matter of time before those same games' recommended specifications will become the future's minimums. The third option pushes the technological envelope another step further, and you have the choice to select a theoretical higher bar if you wish. If you think the next Wing Commander game will only be released for consoles or handhelds (like Prophecy Advance), then the last two choices are for you.

We don't run very many repeat polls, but this one was originally conducted back in the fall of 1999. Less attention was paid to RAM and video card requirements, so we simply gave fans the option of a Pentium 200, Pentium II 350, Pentium III 450 and Pentium III 600. The P2/350 won with almost half the vote. The 200 MHz system received almost a third. It seems that the 6% who expected to need a system faster than a P3/600 turned out to be right (or very wrong, since the GBA has just a 17 MHz processor).

Our old poll tried to gauge what non-Wing Commander titles by Origin were the most popular. Strike Commander took the lead, with Crusader in second place. The Ultima and System Shock franchises jockeyed back and forth throughout the poll. Cybermage was apparently one of our worst voting options ever.

What was your favorite non-WC Origin game or series?

Bioforge: 4.93%

Crusader: 21.42%

Cybermage: 0.69%

Strike Commander: 25.71%

System Shock: 19.46%

Ultima: 21.16%

Wings of Glory: 6.63%

Total Votes: 1583

--
Original update published on October 29, 2005

10-30-2005, 14:07

Seeing as EA is uniformly hostile towards Origin properties (even the UO cash cow, it seems), it's unlikely we'd see another official WC game anytime soon.

So, since I didn't see a Multi-Gigaquad, Bioneural, solid light holodeck listed, I chose "higher".

ChrisReid · 10-30-2005, 14:24

If by "hostile" you mean "hosts fan meets and releases annual expansions and retail box sets," then I'd have to agree with you. I voted for 3.0 GHz, 1.0 RAM, 256 Video though.

cff · 10-31-2005, 00:28

I don't think EA would ever release games that want killer hardware as Origin did. They aim for most profit and that would result in a game that runs on any office PC. So I think we are pretty much talking about the lowest end specs you have listed (as minimum requirements)

Bandit LOAF · 10-31-2005, 03:51

You know EA released every Wing Commander except the first two, right?

ChrisReid · 10-31-2005, 14:35

Yeah, saying EA wouldn't want a cutting edge game because they cater more to the mainstream doesn't acknowledge how many of their recent PC games are quite advanced. I had to upgrade for C&C Generals just like it was a Wing Commander game. And EA is now at the forefront of pushing the DVD standard for PC games. I could kind of see how someone might say they'd go for a more multiplatform push with the next game and there'd be some least common denominator they'd go for.. and in that case it'd be the next generation consoles, which sport better specs than the medium option in our current poll.

cff · 11-01-2005, 01:10

However WC1 also probably was the most hardware pushing WC game of all I'd dare say. Also note that I did say MINIMUM system requirements. There probably would be lots of options that need high end PC, but I still believe that minimum would be well below 1 Ghz for an EA title nowadays.
As for multiplatform: Considering the X-Box 360 and the PS3 I'd actually worry for the PC performance in comparison.

Onde Pik · 11-02-2005, 12:13

I know some dudes at EA. Trust me they are too busy taking over the world to care much about WC :/

Death · 11-02-2005, 12:35

And, of course, we have an infinite number of reasons to believe some random forum poster from Denmark who for all we know could be some 13 year old trying to make themselves sound important by claiming to have inside information at EA...

Sarty · 11-02-2005, 12:47

Why is it considered cool to hate big corporations? Despite "everyone" hating them, they still make a lot of money so they're doing something right.

Anyways, I choose 3.0 GHz, 1.0 RAM, 256 Video. Games like X3 and Nexus run very smoothly on my computer and they look gorgeous. I would very much like to see WC with said graphics.

ChrisReid · 11-02-2005, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by cff

However WC1 also probably was the most hardware pushing WC game of all I'd dare say. Also note that I did say MINIMUM system requirements. There probably would be lots of options that need high end PC, but I still believe that minimum would be well below 1 Ghz for an EA title nowadays.

You haven't seen many of the EA games lately. Something like Generals, released two years ago, needs almost 2 GHz to play decently. New EA games like Black & White 2 or Battlefield 2 have bare minimums starting at 1.6 and 1.7 GHz respectively (with an appropriate video card to match), but aren't smooth unless you have quite a bit more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cff

As for multiplatform: Considering the X-Box 360 and the PS3 I'd actually worry for the PC performance in comparison.

Yeah, it'll be a few years before many of us get PCs powerful enough to play these games in their flagship platform fidelity if that's the route they go.

Onde Pik · 11-03-2005, 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Death

And, of course, we have an infinite number of reasons to believe some random forum poster from Denmark who for all we know could be some 13 year old trying to make themselves sound important by claiming to have inside information at EA...

I was about to write a long reply, but then I noticed your incredibly original name. And while hystericly laughing at your ingenuity, these two lines was all my trembling hands could muster.

Dyret · 11-03-2005, 13:59

In addition to being death incarnate he's is also one of the administrators. He's also a great guy unless you do something stupid.

Onde Pik · 11-03-2005, 14:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyret

In addition to being death incarnate he's is also one of the administrators. He's also a great guy unless you do something stupid.

I am sorry, but I must have missed that 'great guy vibe' in his reply.

Bandit LOAF · 11-03-2005, 15:10

It's okay, we know you were busy being stupid.

Onde Pik · 11-03-2005, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

It's okay, we know you were busy being stupid.

Another 'great guy' I see.

Why hello there. I see that the Admins here have a charming personality to go with their good looks.

Bandit LOAF · 11-03-2005, 16:46

Clever fellow.

Eder · 11-03-2005, 17:09

Let me try to save everyone else the minute they'd otherwise waste trying to figure out why that swabbie avatar showed up there...

"I know for a fact that EA hates WC! They just want to take over the world!"
"Why should anyone believe you?"
"Your name is stupid! You're all great big jerks!"

11-03-2005, 17:30

Glad I could contribute to your Intarweb Pen0s LOAF, now that your real one is derelict.

Oh and for the record, I never said I hated EA. I know some people in their marketing division and get all kinds of nice stuff for free so why would I hate them?

Eder · 11-03-2005, 17:31

Cleverer than LOAF thought!

Not?

11-03-2005, 17:31

Nice ban BTW

Better luck next time.

Bandit LOAF · 11-03-2005, 17:33

Oh, no, you mean you can post as unregistered in the forum we've set up that lets unregistered users post in? You've really tricked us!

11-03-2005, 17:35

So what you are saying is that the ban was just something you did to boost your ego?

Bandit LOAF · 11-03-2005, 17:41

Well, you can't post to the forums people actually read. Whenever he wakes up, Kris will do a site-wide ban for your IP range.

I guess I could turn off unregistered posting to this forum until then, but you're not really that important.

11-03-2005, 18:13

Well I wasn't planning on posting in the other forums. I was just commenting on the news. I mean... afterall look at my postcount, it should point to the fact that I don't really care to waste my time posting thousands of posts on a forum. I have better things to do... like watching paint dry.

Lukily, fact has it that my GF just asked me to come to bed. So that is it for now.

Oh and btw. Threatening with IP bans have always amused me. You would have to ban the entire internet

Have a nice life LOAF.(If you actually call 18k posts having a life)

Bandit LOAF · 11-03-2005, 18:18

These always make me feel bad, because it clearly shines through that you're really, really sure you're being clever -- and that's just emabrassing for both of us.

Maj.Striker · 11-03-2005, 18:51

It's not everyday you get someone who reaches such heights (depths is probably a better word) of defensive stupidity. Kids, what we have is a situation where newbie poster perceives that someone does not agree with him so like an animal in the wild feeling cornered, he lashes out at the perceived threat. Instead of realizing his mistake he decides to dig his own "virtual" grave with each post further and further going deeper and deeper until he was well below the frost line and now all the administrators have left to do is shake their heads in pitiful disgust and throw the dirt over him. A truly fearful fate...learn from this. *shudders*

Hmm, I must be in a strange mood tonight.

10-28-2005, 17:00	#1
ChrisReid Super Soaker Collector Administrator Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Posts: 9,946	Pick Your Upgrade Path (October 29, 2005) Our new poll asks what sort of system you expect to need for the next Wing Commander game. Wing Commander fans have a long history of making major upgrades for each primary chapter in the series. The first option is a minimum spec that some current games already require. And it's only a matter of time before those same games' recommended specifications will become the future's minimums. The third option pushes the technological envelope another step further, and you have the choice to select a theoretical higher bar if you wish. If you think the next Wing Commander game will only be released for consoles or handhelds (like Prophecy Advance), then the last two choices are for you. We don't run very many repeat polls, but this one was originally conducted back in the fall of 1999. Less attention was paid to RAM and video card requirements, so we simply gave fans the option of a Pentium 200, Pentium II 350, Pentium III 450 and Pentium III 600. The P2/350 won with almost half the vote. The 200 MHz system received almost a third. It seems that the 6% who expected to need a system faster than a P3/600 turned out to be right (or very wrong, since the GBA has just a 17 MHz processor). Our old poll tried to gauge what non-Wing Commander titles by Origin were the most popular. Strike Commander took the lead, with Crusader in second place. The Ultima and System Shock franchises jockeyed back and forth throughout the poll. Cybermage was apparently one of our worst voting options ever. What was your favorite non-WC Origin game or series? Bioforge: 4.93% Crusader: 21.42% Cybermage: 0.69% Strike Commander: 25.71% System Shock: 19.46% Ultima: 21.16% Wings of Glory: 6.63% Total Votes: 1583 -- Original update published on October 29, 2005

10-30-2005, 14:07	#2
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Why does EA hate Origin so much? Seeing as EA is uniformly hostile towards Origin properties (even the UO cash cow, it seems), it's unlikely we'd see another official WC game anytime soon. So, since I didn't see a Multi-Gigaquad, Bioneural, solid light holodeck listed, I chose "higher".

10-31-2005, 03:51	#5
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	You know EA released every Wing Commander except the first two, right? __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-02-2005, 12:35	#9
Death gh0d Administrator Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Taylors, SC, USA Posts: 2,089	And, of course, we have an infinite number of reasons to believe some random forum poster from Denmark who for all we know could be some 13 year old trying to make themselves sound important by claiming to have inside information at EA... __________________ SubCrid Death Official Net.Nazi, LOAF's Merry Guild A Meeting of Minds - a (mostly) cliche-free "first contact" story; updated periodically If you don't fear ^Death_ then there's a socket loose in your fear factory, buddy. - The Book of LOAF

11-02-2005, 12:47	#10
Sarty Captain Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hudson, MA Posts: 346	Why is it considered cool to hate big corporations? Despite "everyone" hating them, they still make a lot of money so they're doing something right. Anyways, I choose 3.0 GHz, 1.0 RAM, 256 Video. Games like X3 and Nexus run very smoothly on my computer and they look gorgeous. I would very much like to see WC with said graphics. __________________ "Don't follow your instincts, they seem to be killing you"

10-30-2005, 14:24	#3
ChrisReid Super Soaker Collector Administrator Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Posts: 9,946	If by "hostile" you mean "hosts fan meets and releases annual expansions and retail box sets," then I'd have to agree with you. I voted for 3.0 GHz, 1.0 RAM, 256 Video though.

10-31-2005, 00:28	#4
cff Disciple of Murphy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Austria Posts: 2,546	I don't think EA would ever release games that want killer hardware as Origin did. They aim for most profit and that would result in a game that runs on any office PC. So I think we are pretty much talking about the lowest end specs you have listed (as minimum requirements)

10-31-2005, 14:35	#6
ChrisReid Super Soaker Collector Administrator Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Posts: 9,946	Yeah, saying EA wouldn't want a cutting edge game because they cater more to the mainstream doesn't acknowledge how many of their recent PC games are quite advanced. I had to upgrade for C&C Generals just like it was a Wing Commander game. And EA is now at the forefront of pushing the DVD standard for PC games. I could kind of see how someone might say they'd go for a more multiplatform push with the next game and there'd be some least common denominator they'd go for.. and in that case it'd be the next generation consoles, which sport better specs than the medium option in our current poll.

11-01-2005, 01:10	#7
cff Disciple of Murphy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Austria Posts: 2,546	However WC1 also probably was the most hardware pushing WC game of all I'd dare say. Also note that I did say MINIMUM system requirements. There probably would be lots of options that need high end PC, but I still believe that minimum would be well below 1 Ghz for an EA title nowadays. As for multiplatform: Considering the X-Box 360 and the PS3 I'd actually worry for the PC performance in comparison.

11-02-2005, 12:13	#8
Onde Pik Cadet Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 28	I know some dudes at EA. Trust me they are too busy taking over the world to care much about WC :/

11-03-2005, 13:59	#13
Dyret Super Carrot! Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 2,155	In addition to being death incarnate he's is also one of the administrators. He's also a great guy unless you do something stupid. __________________ Glory to the many

11-03-2005, 15:10	#15
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	It's okay, we know you were busy being stupid. __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-03-2005, 16:46	#17
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	Clever fellow. __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-03-2005, 17:09	#18
Eder Mr. Standoff Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Posts: 3,243	Let me try to save everyone else the minute they'd otherwise waste trying to figure out why that swabbie avatar showed up there... "I know for a fact that EA hates WC! They just want to take over the world!" "Why should anyone believe you?" "Your name is stupid! You're all great big jerks!" __________________ Hi, I'm Ed. You may remember me from such great fan projects as 'Standoff' and 'Unknown Enemy'...

11-03-2005, 17:30	#19
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Glad I could contribute to your Intarweb Pen0s LOAF, now that your real one is derelict. Oh and for the record, I never said I hated EA. I know some people in their marketing division and get all kinds of nice stuff for free so why would I hate them?

11-03-2005, 17:31	#20
Eder Mr. Standoff Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Posts: 3,243	Cleverer than LOAF thought! Not? __________________ Hi, I'm Ed. You may remember me from such great fan projects as 'Standoff' and 'Unknown Enemy'...

11-03-2005, 17:31	#21
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Nice ban BTW Better luck next time.

11-03-2005, 17:33	#22
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	Oh, no, you mean you can post as unregistered in the forum we've set up that lets unregistered users post in? You've really tricked us! __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-03-2005, 17:35	#23
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	So what you are saying is that the ban was just something you did to boost your ego?

11-03-2005, 17:41	#24
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	Well, you can't post to the forums people actually read. Whenever he wakes up, Kris will do a site-wide ban for your IP range. I guess I could turn off unregistered posting to this forum until then, but you're not really that important. __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-03-2005, 18:13	#25
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Well I wasn't planning on posting in the other forums. I was just commenting on the news. I mean... afterall look at my postcount, it should point to the fact that I don't really care to waste my time posting thousands of posts on a forum. I have better things to do... like watching paint dry. Lukily, fact has it that my GF just asked me to come to bed. So that is it for now. Oh and btw. Threatening with IP bans have always amused me. You would have to ban the entire internet Have a nice life LOAF.(If you actually call 18k posts having a life)

11-03-2005, 18:18	#26
Bandit LOAF It wears the skull of its dead mother on its head. When it becomes lonesome, it is said to cry loudly. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Ashton, MD, USA Posts: 23,950	These always make me feel bad, because it clearly shines through that you're really, really sure you're being clever -- and that's just emabrassing for both of us. __________________ Long live the Confederation, Ben "Bandit" Lesnick, LMG. "You go, Loaf! Get some!" -JPG

11-03-2005, 18:51	#27
Maj.Striker Swabbie Banned Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Des Moines Posts: 2,067	It's not everyday you get someone who reaches such heights (depths is probably a better word) of defensive stupidity. Kids, what we have is a situation where newbie poster perceives that someone does not agree with him so like an animal in the wild feeling cornered, he lashes out at the perceived threat. Instead of realizing his mistake he decides to dig his own "virtual" grave with each post further and further going deeper and deeper until he was well below the frost line and now all the administrators have left to do is shake their heads in pitiful disgust and throw the dirt over him. A truly fearful fate...learn from this. shudders Hmm, I must be in a strange mood tonight.