I've had a Gaming PC Since November...FSX and GTA: SA are Still the Only Games I Have. Recommendations?

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
05/16/2018 at 21:28 • Filed to: Computers

Meanwhile, I’ve been filming some stuff for the reboot of my YouTube channel, here are some screenshots! FSX stuff will really only be one part of it.

Dassault Mercure gear collapse on very hard landing at Lukla. This is one of the very few freeware aircraft out there that actually has physics that allow the undercarriage to fail without the sim giving the “Crashed!” message.

I reset the aircraft and attempted a takeoff...*sigh*

De Havilland Comet 4 climbing out of Chicago.

I usually set a few random items to fail before taking off. Sure, it’s not so realistic, but I like the challenge of finding out what broke. This time, it was a fuel leak (which in FSX your entire fuel load will instantly disappear...because reasons). Aiming for a nice road to touch down on...

A calm night flight through the Himalayas in a Falcon 50

Back to the Mercure, look at this adorable Ram Air Turbine!

Now that life has settled, I’ll be adding X-Plane 11 to the gaming PC as well as Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I had Project Cars for PC for a while...and while it was pretty, the game was absolutely unplayable. I spun out if I even dared to look at the accelerator the wrong way even in slow cars that can barely move under their own power. I heard PC2 fixes that.

Also, what’s a really realistic train sim?

I had Train Simulator on it (surprise, I really like trains, too) but I felt the sim experience was sort of ruined by the small-ish maps and the DLC that Dovetail seemed oh so eager to shove down your throat. It seems less “sim” and more “shovelware to sell DLC”. :/

Plus, unlike Microsoft Train Simulator (built similar to FSX in a lot of ways), addons like custom locos, consists, and rolling stock are much harder to build and install. Unfortunately, Microsoft Train Simulator is nearly 20 years old, surely there has to be something better out there. I genuinely enjoyed doing 500 miles in one night in MSTS and to date, nothing has matched that experience.

DISCUSSION (36)

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 21:32

An Origin Access subscription. 4.99 a month, access to a big library of games. It’s basically EA’s gaming Netflix.

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/origin-access/vault-games

TheRealBicycleBuck > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 21:39

Fork Knife. It’s what the cool kids are playing.

DutchieDC2R > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 21:56

Ive been doing a lot of SpinTires: MudRunner lately, I can recommend it! Beam.NG seems to be quite good. As for race games, Asetto Corsa was on sale a few days ago. Im waiting for WrekFest to go down in price (which probably wont happen for a while). I too loved MSTS, but it seems all of the train games have the same problem you mentioned already: the base game sucks and all the add-ons cost a fortune. Trainz maybe?

Im also waiting for The Division to go on sale, I could get it on Xb1, Im just not sure whether I really want it or if its just a rush and itll blow over.

Are you on steam?

djmt1 > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 21:59

Sounds like you need some management games in your life. May I present Cities Skylines:

Kinja'd!!!

Also Stellaris:

Kinja'd!!!

Also Also Transport Fever:

Kinja'd!!!

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:03

Cities Skylines

Civilization 5

Alien Isolation

Rocket League

If you have cash for a wheel Assetto Corsa is really fun.

Euro (or American) Truck Simulator

Just a few of my favorites off the top of my head. Haven’t played much lately though...MTB has been sucking up all my free time and money.

Mercedes Streeter > djmt1
05/16/2018 at 22:03

I FORGOT ABOUT CITIES SKYLINES! See also, Planet Coaster (or at least RCT3).

Mercedes Streeter > PanchoVilleneuve ST
05/16/2018 at 22:05

Had Origin before...Outside of COD, I never really used it. lol

Mercedes Streeter > DutchieDC2R
05/16/2018 at 22:07

Oh, good suggestions! Trainz is also a good pick; they are the closest I could find to MSTS. Maybe I’ll try a more current version of Trainz and see how it works.

I am on Steam! I’m “Miss_Mercedes30". Ignore my lack of hours in FSX, I mainly play the DVD version on my FSX rig. lol

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:09

I’d grab GTA:V if you haven’t tried it already.

Fallout NV/4 are incredible experiences. I recommend added Skyrim and Fallout 3 to round out your collection (and destroy any free time you’ll have for the next year). And once you’ve wasted the entire year on those 4, you can mod them to the nines and get another year out of them.

Not sure how powerful this “Gaming PC” is (specs are important!), but you may want to keep an eye of the development for Star Citizen. This will (eventually) scratch the “simulator” itch that you might have when it reaches completion in a few years.. Playable alpha is available for it though.

Fortnite is the FOTM right now. I recommend it.

Anything made by Blizzard is always solid too. (Overwatch, Starcraft)

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:17

GTA 5 and Fortnite so we can probably cross platform play! I’m on PS4 and cross play is available for Fortnite. Username is GiAnT_MaN76

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:20

Assetto Corsa if you want a fairly realistic game, better than PC2 imo (I have both) but dont want to pay the subscription for iRacing or rFactor. That said AC does not have wet weather and is not really a “game” i.e. the offline career is a snoozefest. Also, there are very few public servers all running GT cars or the Nord. I’ve played with some good league racing groups so you can join them if you have enough time.

Beam.NG is awesome as well although it isn’t really a game. Its a really good soft body sim sandbox thingy (Devs are always adding stuff tho). There are lots of mods though and it isn’t that difficult to at least create some basic mods, if you are into that.

I know its old, but CSGO as well if you like fast paced games which require good reflexes and split second decision making. Don’t pay attention to all the memes about the player base, I have close to 1k hrs and its good if you can accept that there will always be better players than you. And it is just $15.

Get Far Cry 5 if you like FPS and haven’t played any of the previous ones. It is pretty.

Ooh and play the first 3 Mass Effect games if you haven’t!

Mercedes Streeter > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
05/16/2018 at 22:25

Oh crap, I forgot to add V to my list. I love modding the heck out of GTA games and I’ve been itching to do it to V. You know, I adored Overwatch when I had it on Xbox (wait, maybe I still do have it for Xbox. (I haven’t used my Xbox in a year because of my crappy living situations.)) and lost so many hours being really good at stupid stuff like I was with Halo games.

I have Fallout 4 on Xbox and have always wanted the PC version because the PC mods are way cooler. Plus, I wouldn’t mind doing the story again but being less of a pacifist.

I’ve only played an hour of New Vegas on Xbox before, I think it’ll be awesome on PC.

The Gaming PC’s specs are decent, I guess. I’m running a Ryzen 1300X with Windows 10 booting off a SSD (with a 1tb HDD as extra storage) and complimented with a GTX 1060 3GB that I got for under MSRP during the height of Bitcoin price surges. I built it to match my ex-girlfriend’s gaming PC (she has a second gen i7 with a 1050TI) since hers can basically play anything, and in my testing mine is actually a decent bit better. lol

The PC I use for FSX is an ASRock Deskmini with a Core i3-7100. Since FSX really only cares about clock speed, I didn’t feel the need to pair it to something with a graphics card. The integrated graphics are purrfect for this application.

Mercedes Streeter > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
05/16/2018 at 22:30

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Sounds like I should make my “racing sim rig from an IRL car seat” thing a reality. lol I actually thoroughly enjoy iRacing...enough to almost beat Scott Speed and Tanner Foust at a racing challenge and get some sweet swag for it! :D

Thanks for the suggestions!

Mercedes Streeter > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
05/16/2018 at 22:32

I’m so in for GTA V! Ironically, I’ve gone all this time without really knowing what Fortnite really is. Sounds like PUBG but seemingly more popular?

DutchieDC2R > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:37

Lol, no worries, I dont own FSX myself (am an avid follower of AirForceProud95 though!) and my steam game list isnt that extensive yet, but I love multiplayer shennanigans nonetheless!

DutchieDC2R > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:40

Oh btw, Im the ‘Monkeyballs’ dude.....(too much Southpark..:p..)

scoob > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:43

Car Mechanic “Simulator” is a pretty chill game . I got the 2015 version from a $3 bundle someone posted on here, but there is a 2018 available.

My Summer Car is a more funny/annoying type of game.

Assetto Corsa is great, but sadly you just missed the sale on Steam.

sony1492 > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 22:45

Beamng Drive is interesting, there’s softbody physics so the cars are difficult to drive (unscripted chassis flex, etc.) but the crashes are amazing. There is also airplanes that fly/ break apart.

Kinja'd!!!

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 23:01

Cities Skylines!

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 23:05

Kinja'd!!!

Hey my cheap ass setup works too!

MrDakka > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 23:38

I would say the story and plot of New Vegas are much better than F3/4. Grab the ultimate edition for the DLCs, they’re worth it.

carcrasher88 > Mercedes Streeter
05/16/2018 at 23:57

Personally, I could recommend a few various different games, not sure whether they’d suit your tastes, and this is also coming from an XB1 player, but...

- Forza Horizon 3: Open world racing game in Australia, with a vast selection of cars and trucks, and two amazing expansion packs, one being snowy mountains, the other being basically Hot Wheels Island with TONS of huge orange track and some real life Hot Wheels cars that are driveable.

- Watch_Dogs 2: It’d probably be best to go through the original first, but the sequel blows the original out of the water. The SF Bay Area is SO much brighter and more beautiful than dreary Chicago, you can race sailboats, and there’s a lot of things to do, even outside of story missions.

- Burnout Paradise Remastered: While technically not out yet, the release date for PC hasn’t been announced yet, it’s definitely one to look into. Includes nearly every piece of DLC for the game (aside from the Time Savers pack), including the official PC debut of Cops and Robbers and Big Surf Island. When it comes out, I highly recommend it,hours of car smashing fun.

- BeamNG Drive: While I’ve never actually played the game, I’ve watched tons of videos with both the standard cars and mods, and it’s so entertaining just to watch, I can only imagine how fun it is to play.

- Wreckfest: From the original FlatOut developers, a brand new game that is, on some sense, both a modern day Destruction Derby and a modern day Test Drive: Eve of Destruction. Big selection of vehicles that is constantly being added onto for free, plenty of tracks, and destructive multiplayer action.

- Grand Theft Auto V: Modern day San Andreas, ability to switch between three characters, immersive online that is sadly hindered by being nearly impossible to get ahead in without microtransactions, tons of cars, including a GTA version of the ForTwo.

Also, I’ve played PC2, started with the Ginetta G40 Junior series...and I had a very hard time keeping myself on the track. I’ve literally played it once, haven’t touched it since. Guess I’ll stick with Forza, even though I haven’t considered FM7 yet.

John-Palazzo > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 00:04

Get GTAV. Install the following mods: IVPack, Vanillaworks, Dispatchworks. Be amazed by what a good community can do to a game. (Disclaimer: I’m a moderator at the Vanillaworks discord, so I’m biased, but the work everyone does is amazing)

Mercedes Streeter > carcrasher88
05/17/2018 at 00:41

Well I’m a fellow XB1 owner, so these do sound appealing!

How’s the online mode in Horizon 3? Part of why I skipped Horizon 2 and Forza 6 is because I would have come in so late that I wouldn’t have had anything close to the experience I had with Forza 4 and Horizon 1.

Oh man, I loved doing the Top Gear track challenge in FM4 every single day since release night to hold my top 1% position. I stuck it out for a whole year. The closest I got to #1 was #21. I was something like #2,200 before I finally gave up trying to shave ms off my time. lol

I have GTA V for Xbox 360 and the XB1. I love it so much, I got the stupid collectors edition with the money bag and such. lol I’m totally adding it to my list!

Sadly, I lost interest in the Burnout series after Burnout 3. Idk why, but I just can’t get excited for Burnout anymore, likewise with Flatout and the game it evolved into. :/

Mercedes Streeter > sony1492
05/17/2018 at 00:42

Oh I’m so sold on this now!!! :D

Mercedes Streeter > John-Palazzo
05/17/2018 at 00:43

Ill keep that in mind! I’m a fan of modding, so it’ll be right up my alley!

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 02:01

Buy Fallout 3 and New Vegas. There is a mod that lets you play them both as a single game. The mod is called Tale of Two Wastelands and you play as the same protagonist in both games.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 05:06

Yeah, it’s like PUBG but more user friendly and the map is more interactive. Only thing you can’t do is use the vehicles. But other than that it’s really fun, and once you master the PC controls it’s easier than console. There’s a button for everything whereas on console you have to keep clicking one of the bumpers like R1 and L1 to slide across to a certain object.

random001 > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 06:27

Step 1: Load EVE: Online onto computer

Step 2: Start a corporation

Step 3: ???

Step 4: realize you’ve lost the last 3 years of your life, but you own a significant part of a fictional galaxy and new players quake at the sound of your name....

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 09:06

If the idea of building planes, rockets, spaceplanes, and rovers then launching them into the inky blackness of space(and frequently watching them explode because you made a mistake) sounds like something that would tickle your fancy, Kerbal Space Program with the MechJeb2 mod. MechJeb2 just automates some of the more boring/time consuming parts of spaceflight, things like planning transfer orbits, intercept courses, etc.

Usually for every $1 I spend on a game I want to get back at least 1 hour of gameplay, that’s generally my threshold for when I feel like I got my money’s worth out of the purchase. With Kerbal I just passed $0.01 per hour of gameplay(I bought it at $15 and change. I currently have have 1633 hours in).

Outside of that the Mass Effect trilogy is arguably one of the best single-player story-tell arcs out there. The Borderlands series like Mass Effect if everybody was insane(but in a funny way) and there were several billion possible weapons. Half Life 1 & 2 are basically required or any PC gamer. DOOM 2016 is great, if the idea of ripping a demon in two is something you’d find enjoyable. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is also quite worth the gameplay.

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 09:49

carcrasher88 > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 10:03

The online in Horizon 3 is pretty fun, but I’m not entirely sure now, since it’s been months since I’ve played it. There are Playground Game spots across the map that are great for modes like King and Ghost and such.

Yeah, FlatOut eventually became garbage, but that’s really because of the studios that stepped in after Bugbear left to make a new game, which is what evolved into Wreckfest, which recaptures a lot of what made the first two FlatOut titles great, minus all of the ragdoll physics stuff.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Mercedes Streeter
05/17/2018 at 12:22

If you’re looking for a challenging racing game that’s still drivable with a controller, there’s no getting around Dirt Rally.

My biggest time sinks:

Skyrim: 420h (without even finishing the main DLC quests)

Elite Dangerous: 260h (seriously, try it, it sounds like it’s right up your alley!)

FSX: 243h

Euro Truck Simulator 2: 158h

XP11: no clue, a lot

Other suggestions: L.A. Noire, The Talos Principle, Fallout NV, 80 Days (best writing ever), Anno 1404, Simcity 4 with NAM, The Sexy Brutale, LEGO Star Wars/Indiana Jones/LOTR, The Witcher 3, any of the Rollercoaster Tycoons, ABZÜ.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mercedes Streeter
07/17/2018 at 19:34

What kind of games do you like?

Automation is a great game where you get to design and build your own cars - it’s still in development, but it’s a great time sink, and you can export them and play with your own cars and engines in BeamNG now! (Though the crash damage for exported Automation cars is nowhere near as good or as realistic as the official BeamNG cars...still fun to actually realistically drive cars you designed though!)

If you want a sci-fi sim-y type game and like Mechwarrior/Battletech, you could try Mechwarrior Online. I grew up with the Mechwarrior series since 1996 when we got our first family PC and Mechwarrior 2. If you do try it let me know as I play it semi- often!

Kerbal Space Program is awesome if you like space stuff!

Stardew Valley is a great way to relax and kill some time and doesn’t take a lot of brainpower, etc...just slow paced and relaxing.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > carcrasher88
07/17/2018 at 19:36

Try Wreckfest if you want a modern equiv to FlatOut! Very fun game for multiplayer!

PS9 > Mercedes Streeter
07/17/2018 at 21:25