Min-Spec vs AAA - The Secret Accessibility of the PC - Extra Credits

[@LowSpecGamer]

An example of a single player game that recently embraces this accessibility (and I could not include in the script due to time) are most games on the RE Engine. Devil May Cry 5, the Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remakes, Resident Evil 7 and Village all can look spectacular at higher settings on capable PCs but can easily run on Integrated GPUs (and still look pretty acceptable). This level of optimization was likely not easy or cheap, but it shows what can be done when this is a consideration!

[@Crimson.carave1t]

Hi

[@michaelmu6765]

Love to see it still, especially with today's markets, and past issues.

[@MartinPurathur]

Interesting

[@JBproductions.]

@@MartinPurathur indeed

[@bemersonbakebarmen]

Siii!!!! Eres un héroe compadre. Primero LTT ahora Extra Credits. Poco a poco nos comemos el mundo. Que vivan los Potato PC!!!!

[@etepeteseat7424]

As one of The Poors, being able to run games on my decade-old laptop with decent results will absolutely increase my chances of purchasing said games.

[@BiggestCorvid]

I wish more of my friends understood this. Can we please just play stardew?

[@smt4090]

You have Mario 64 with low-poly Mario As he gets farther away from the camera, the game swaps out the round bod for a chunky one

[@Redskull1411]

Also the rush of "that game" that works with just some frame drops in 3 times of your playthrough are really blessed... Like that was my experience with Yakuza 0 a game that i loved.

[@walterhaider869]

Have you tried league of legends, that game can run on a graphics calculators.

[@ajbXYZcool]

@@walterhaider869 then I've had some really bad graphics calculator as my previous pc chugged on it... Haven't tried with my current one

[@videakias3000]

I wish steam had a feature that allows you to filter the games that are too demanding for your pc. If they can give us a filter about prices then they can give us a filter about ram and operating system.

[@ThePumpkinRot]

All hail gabe. Do not question his ways!

[@adankmeme651]

*me uses filter* Me: hey where did all the games go? Also me with a super shitty pc

[@moartems5076]

Screw "artistic vision", if a game doesnt let me turn off motion blur, then its dead to me.

[@Kuuribro]

Even as an animator I immediately try to turn both these options off. I want to see what I’m doing with as few bells and post processing as possible. One reason unreal engine is actually less preferable than Unity.

[@moartems5076]

@@AgentTasmania yes that one too, hdr and bloom can be excessive too. I wonder how many games have this enabled by default, just cause the engine can do it.

[@genroa3881]

@@Kuuribro Motion blur and depth of field are totally features you can disable on UE cameras in their post processing section.

[@MrFelblood]

@@AgentTasmania Whoever decided that depth of field belonged in gameplay, and not just movies/cutscenes can die in fire.

[@Hypastpist]

motionblur is the most useless of all i already have bad eyesight, i dont need a reminding

[@jackferring6790]

Honestly the biggest issue my family are having is new games taking larger and larger memory. Like my sister likes playing sims, but a big update nearly rendered the game unplayable on the old family computer

[@LowSpecGamer]

Mmm. I don’t think about this enough but you are right.

[@jonnunn4196]

That's also on Microsoft as well - every major update of Windows 10 uses the OS to use more RAM, leaving less for other programs. You might try if not already on the lowest graphics option that Sims has, lowering it one notch. Lower graphical settings are less taxing on regular memory in addition to less taxing on Video card memory. That goes double if that computer is on an integrated graphics processor.

[@Toonrick12]

Memory Leaks. Ugh. Those are terrible.

[@GroundThing]

For me it's not just low spec. I have a decent amount of memory, but if I'm not gaming, I like to have my browser open. I use, perhaps, too many tabs (currently have 412 open), and I can run memory light games without too much problem, but when it comes to bigger memory games, it becomes less like I have to choose which windows to close, and more like which windows can I afford to keep open.

[@benedict6962]

The last generation or two of games and software in general just pilled on RAM and hard drive consumption. The results can be worth it, but it's definitely not something that they can keep doing forever.

[@mapleplatoon]

As a person who uses a quote-on-quote "Gaming" Laptop that fails to meet the minimum requirements of many indie games, as well as tends to stutter and lag on 2D games, I find this topic highly important. Also, the stuff about cats and 2nd Dinner is too true.

[@tapaspanigrahi3331]

We're the same.

[@baraodascolinas979]

Emulators are our saving grace, every game until and including PS1 on consoles and GBA on portables runs smoothly on my weak computers.

[@petersmybro]

Yes, this! Performance on PC is a huge hurdle non-gamer players have, since they don't have gaming oriented computers!

[@bencetary6094]

I have this issue too. With a PC built to do large spreadsheets and run Word, when I load up big games the lowest gtaphics settimg can often barely, if at all, run.

[@jonnunn4196]

Indeed - actually those computers with "only" two cores are frequently better for games. Because most games won't use anything past the second core anyway - multi threading is hard so main business loop maxes out one processor, and the second handles the graphics at 25% use. Basically for gaming machine you want higher processor speed instead. You then run into issues where different types of games need different things - a machine optimized for a Paradox Grand Strategy game is different than a machine optimized for a Multiplayer First Person Shooter.

[@Toonrick12]

It's also VERY confusing to those who don't know the difference between RAM and VRAM.

[@hellishcyberdemon7112]

@@bencetary6094 Thats because you run spread sheets.... its not the games fault thats what you do...

[@damedesuka77]

There's also the recent trend of games that used to be console-exclusive now also available on PC. Yakuza games, Horizon Zero Dawn, Final Fantasy games, SMT Nocturne remaster, etc. If this trend continues, I think I won't buy any consoles anymore going forward. Most console game developers whose games I care about have started to consider getting more of their works released on PC, because obviously they also realized that there's money to be made there.

[@jonnunn4196]

I'm also seeing PC games being ported over to consoles. Including Grand Strategy Games. Basically the publishers want to make sales and are now not only willing to port (or contract that to someone else) , but are also starting to spend the effort to allow multiplayer across different platforms where player X could be on a PC, player Y on a Max, and player Z on a console.

[@christophersudbrink4946]

We’ll see.

[@ributsuria]

But this is the thing, game consoles may what makes the PC versions of gpu/cpu prices stays down to earth. Do you want to pay scalper prices for eternity?

[@ThomasstevenSlater]

One problem I've had with a lot of ports is that the game still pretends its on a council with the game constantly telling you to press buttons that you don't even had. I was playing one game and I had to hunt around for the button to press to close a pop up that happened before I could do anything.

[@setcheck67]

@@ributsuria That is not how this works. TSMC and Samsung make chips for every electronics company. This means fabricators working on chips for PS5's are taking up space, which would otherwise be used on RTX 3080's. What reduces the prices is more than 2 fucking buildings on earth making them XD

[@mesektet5776]

Um, i don't hear gamers asking for game-consuls that can push more hard-core graphics and processing power. I honestly hear more, as in a LOT more, asking for back-wards compatibility. The people who tend to demand MORE processing Power and higher-graphics, are the game execs (and I'm sure that has nothing to do with just charging more.)

[@jonnunn4196]

When 4K monitors started appearing, I did see a bunch of whining on forums that X game isn't using the 4K mode of the monitor I payed for. But more common was the complaint of on highest resolution the game supports that the font size of the text isn't legible

[@ZombieBarioth]

Oh they do, generally in the form of complaining when games don't look "next gen" enough. They aren't any more a majority than those asking for backwards compatibility or higher frame rates, but their thing is the one with the broadest appeal. Even those who "don't care" about graphics appreciate fancy visuals after all.

[@tipulsar85]

Config files is also real handy when dealing with mods.

[@LowSpecGamer]

YES

[@plackt]

and servers. I love the way that the 7 Days To Die file is set up. Very straightforward to change things =)

[@ajbXYZcool]

Config files for me is inaccessible. If the game doesn't allow me to run min settings within the game itself then I probably will never pick it up again. How am I to know what settings to aim for to be able to actually play my game? Especially if it comes with a "not supported" warning. If it's not supported then I'm not a player.

[@iainbaker6916]

Yup, exactly this. I’m a frequent .cfg tinkerer. For me, the ability to alter a game to be the game I want to play is the best thing about PC gaming. I can’t go back to consoles now - they are too restrictive and prescriptive.

[@PashaGamingYT]

Or when you can't bother to make your DX12 not take a literal half hour to load every map or menu _cough cough_ BATTLEFRONT 2

[@captain61games49]

"How often have you been short a squad member the would usually play with you but can't run the game" yeah never but then im the one who missed out

[@rmsgrey]

"entry level" GTX1050s... Meanwhile, here's me with a GT730...

[@benedict6962]

I'm kind of scared of the future if the amount of money I shelled out for my gaming is considered "entry level".

[@ajbXYZcool]

I don't even know if my laptop has a specific graphics card or which it would be or which ones ar eminimum? Pc gaming is hard.

[@damiankaleomontero496]

Oof I had a similar model until a year ago

[@MrFelblood]

---30s are business cards(e.g. GTX930 etc), ---50 are "entry level" gaming cards and the 70/80/90 ranges are the "pro gamer" versions of each generation. Of course, these designations are made by the marketeers selling the products, not the consumers buying them, who will often buy a GTXxx30 card for school or work, and then try to figure out what games will run on the machine they already have.

[@benjaminchen4367]

@@ajbXYZcool you can check your system info. Google is your friend. But, if you don't know, then you most likely just have an integrated gpu

[@mackenziemcdaniel-paul8163]

Do you know why payday 2 is one of the most played games on pc? Low spec PC acess.

[@solchapeau6343]

When Hello Fresh says they have a smaller carbon footprint, they are quoting an intentionally flawed and morally wrong experiment. They had students at Uni of Michigan buy full sized items (boxes of pasta, whole cabbage, etc) then cook a single serving meal, and throw the rest in the trash. Plus the fact that they only got 25% carbon savings over this incredibly wasteful process shows how bad for the environment Hello Fresh actually is.

[@CrossRoadsOfTime]

Yea, and if you happen to be someone who needs a low carb diet, they are no help. So you still have to spend time scrutinizing their recipes to see what ones are good, and if you look at the mean plans the smallest option is for two people eating so if your by yourself there's always going to be leftovers, but as the meals keep coming no time to eat them.

[@blandedgear9704]

Well, at least its not a VPN.

[@ThomasstevenSlater]

That and they'll be so much packaging.

[@coyraig8332]

I'm a laptop gamer and I'm glad you covered this, though I wish you went more in depth

[@ddis29]

the writer lowspecgamer has a channel dedicated to this, check him out

[@EduSolsa]

I am from Brazil and games here are way too expensive, specially with the increase of dollar. Using my computer is more viável with chapar prices of games (and use of emulators) than consoles. I still prefer to play on the Switch than my PC, but I need to save more money and get less games to do so.

[@NibelungJ]

Fellow brazilian here. I own a PS2, and once the PS3 generation started rolling around and their game acquisition was centered around a non-existent-in-Brazil online stores, I moved to boost my PC and focus on Steam. Most of the reasoning behind it is spot-on on the episode: HIgh end PC was the same price of a modern console, but I could use it for more things than just play games. I only bought a Nintendo Switch recently because of Nintendo games, that stand as the only console exclusives never ported to PC. Everything else I prefer to play on PC, and even choose to play on PC if multiplatform is an option (eg, I'm waiting for the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise).

[@lautaro3365]

We in Argentina are getting closer to you guys, in regard to taxes we have 65% for buying online so we have to pay half of the price of every game. They didn't attack the consoles yet.

[@EduSolsa]

@@lautaro3365 at least there still the option to play free game. And Epic offer free stuff often. And Prime also give some games for Twitch as part of the package, so there are options to save money. But this are also others advantage PC have over console, even if you don't have a gaming PC

[@thepillowmancer]

@@lautaro3365 65% ? BRUH... I mean, yeah, i understand the pain of terrible exchange rate but 65% is madness!

[@m.dave2141]

@@lautaro3365 son tiempos jodidos para ser un pc gamer en Argentina jajaja

[@TehlItER]

Age of empires is a great example of how to preserve a playerbase for a long time.

[@tengma9902]

wait...that game is still alive!? wow that game is almost as old as I am and I am only half alive.

[@10gamer64]

And Doom 1/2

[@WitherBossEntity]

Sadly AoE2 DE actually has too high systems requirements for me to play (while e.g. Factorio runs butter-smooth).

[@TehlItER]

@@WitherBossEntity i believe you need 4 gb ram and sonething like a core 2 duo, it won’t be in best settings, but it’s not that high

[@Toonrick12]

@@tengma9902 All three have definite editions to them.

[@nikhilrajput6191]

In India I have a second hand pc I got for studying and I love every game I played.

[@anthonydavis5288]

Is your picture Luz from that Disney show "Owl House"? Love that show

[@nikhilrajput6191]

@@anthonydavis5288 yes

[@JamonDeMarNatural]

It's also a Plus when Indies Tittle also took this accesibility and they also craft the game to low end players, and its play same as cool. Stardew Valley, or Blaphemous for a Example.

[@foxiestofstoats]

Absolutely this. As I get older, having an expensive machine just dedicated to my hobbies has becoming so much of a pipe dream. Getting a cheap computer has allowed me back into gaming but there's so much I can't do because my machine didn't cost £3000 and glow magenta

[@Jallorn]

If you can assemble it yourself, you can manage a decent gaming pc for ~$800-$1000

[@majorfallacy5926]

@@Jallorn These days that's the price of the graphics card alone

[@lambchopperdeluxe8181]

@@Jallorn do gotta say that's often still a big ask. say ya work in the usa. entry level jobs have a hard time payin rent. having basic insurances cost a large chunk. so on and so forth. so setting aside that kinda cash over necessities either often means going without the basics for a while. or being in a place where ya have those covered already like being an adult in a parents house. tldr: due to life stuff costing more than it should dat kinda cash is a big ask

[@Jallorn]

@@majorfallacy5926 Only if you feel the need for the latest and greatest. There are plenty of solid gpus that are a couple years old but can still manage modern games. Maybe you don't run them at max capacity, but you can run them.

[@cleitonoliveira932]

@@Jallorn he cited Brazil as an expensive country I have the numbers already, imagine these prices 5x higher, or if you prefer, the entire country with 5x less purchasing power. Before the pandemic, not the prices now. We still love games and the market is huge, because people still pay for it.

[@kendallonian9753]

I've always thought that one of the major reasons for the success of Minecraft in the first place is that it can run on potato computers.

[@ThePumpkinRot]

Fucking java man crazy.

[@damiankaleomontero496]

As someone that had a super potato pc for a while (even your “entry level” gpus would’ve been a huge upgrade) I am now going to work really hard to make my games run on old PCs.

[@DokuDoki]

Watched this video at 144p

[@MartinPurathur]

Mmmmmmm

[@TheRollsen]

wait, you mean to tell me there is a higher setting than low?

[@jonnunn4196]

Yup - my most recently purchased game came out the same year as my machine so I can play that one on medium. And I can play the older games on high. But indeed - it's basically always the case that any game bought after the machine has to be kept on the low graphics setting.

[@TheRollsen]

@@jonnunn4196 i know that feeling, to be honest im surprised i can still run recent games on min settings and still having fun, im surprised of my laptop being capable of running most stuff ive tried on the minimum since it is a 6 year old laptop and wasnt supposed to be for gaming, since nothing of it says it is good for gaming, yet it had a dedicated gpu

[@naryanr]

As a political lefty, I appreciate this video. In my opinion, the political left in recent years hasn't spent nearly enough time talking about the most oppressed group of all: *The poor.* Tackle poverty in general and watch as most other problems magically evaporate.

[@AlgaeNymph]

Well, it's a good thing my game idea is already graphics-light, and I was _already_ thinking of a global audience. : )

[@punkcanuck69]

You forgot TF2, it's still being updated against hacks.

[@Angel_Underscore]

Man, fuck those games where you press "video settings" and you are greeted with a whole 2 settings: resolution and graphics quality, each with 4 whole options Also let me choose where the audio comes out of

[@jonathanmenard1001]

Dev here. Would depend on the game, but for many games, they just want the frame rate to be as high as possible. Thus we can interpret “very low” as “give me the highest FPS”. Normally you would at least have VSYNC shown as well.

[@10gamer64]

Meanwhile Doom: Yeah, you can run it on anything year 2000+

[@Angel_Underscore]

the 2016 version? is it that easy to run? it looks great

[@falconJB]

Meanwhile Original Doom: Yeah, you can run it on literally anything

[@walterhaider869]

Yes

[@rmsgrey]

Do you mean Doom or Doom? Because Doom ran just fine on early 90s hardware, while Doom's min spec puts it to early 2010s or later. Edit: and, yes, it is silly that they released two fairly different games with exactly the same name...

[@margibso]

I can't tell you how happy I was when I learned that my 5 yro laptop could play Dragon Quest 11. Never before have I seen a game that lets you adjust render resolution. This is also why I appreciate demo's. I would have never bought the game without being able to try it for free.

[@ets3000]

The mention of possible bugs reminded me of an issue I had in No Man's Sky where setting the graphics to low made the LOD cutoff so short that interacting with most anything would pull the camera out past a detail shift and kick me out of the interaction, or just never load the full detail model and collision mesh at all. I thought my save was corrupted or something.

[@ujingamer]

I used to be a poor boy with a poor computer and now I'm a poor boy with a fantastic computer so I know the struggle of playing my favorite games with poor graphics to get it to work

[@penname8441]

Thank you for talking about how lowering graphic options and stuff makes a game accessibility to those of us who can't afford better CPUs, I can't afford to buy a fancy tech device just for gaming and I'm pretty sure that I ain't the only one

[@qwellen7521]

I definitely feel that some genres should majorly consider minimum requirements; like co-op shooters; so many great and promising games starve themselves of wider player base because only the most high end of rigs can run it. Looking at you GTFO.

[@ShawnHCorey]

Graphics is only half the experience. The other half is the CPU(s). The AI in many games is limited not by how smart they can make it but by how much time it has to do the smarts. If the frame rate is 30 fps, then the CPU must go thru the decision tree of each unit 30 times a second. That's a lot of work. Smaller CPUs mean smaller decision trees. Which means the experience is not as rich for those on less powerful equipment.

[@masonbarber871]

Config files and advanced settings can be great, but something to be careful of is what the defaults are. If 99% of players change a setting to something else, maybe consider making that the default. For example, starter guides for the first person shooter TF2 often have a huge section what to settings change to make the game far more playable. This can include raising the fov up from 70 to 90, hitsounds, damage numbers, better weapon switching, fixing overbearing view models, etc. All of these are big improvements to the experience but some of them are hidden in the advanced settings or even variables only accessible from the dev console. Config files are great, but please make the important stuff accessible in the settings and have a good default value.

[@BisectedBrioche]

I've appreciated low settings just because bitcoin's priced me out of building a new PC for a while now.

[@brockmckelvey7327]

Man, I love XCOM 2. I would really love if the game finally loads on my laptop. Maybe someday soon.

[@JJadx]

as a kid i had only a old family PC to play on. right now i have gaming laptop... but my friends don't haha. so i'll still end up playing low spec friendly games!

[@Robertganca]

Being able to use a laptop to take my games with me on the go would be awesome even though they would have to be at lower visual quality.

[@panickedpan875]

And then there's me who plays from a goddam second-hand Asus using my mom's wifi.

[@scaredpolandball2313]

I love the fact when you said to set the graphics to low in the intro and the video quality went to 144p automatically.

[@PantaroParatroopa]

Watching this video in 144p because it's apropos.

[@tiagoSS90]

Oh thank you thank you thank you. Someone understands me an my country. I went the console route because pc games are single-minded on higher visual quality, to the point of my modest pc not being able to run 5 year old games.

[@GoofballPaul]

I play on a 2011 imac, when I play CS:GO I have to close nearly every program I'm using or else the framerate tanks when a player comes into view for the first time in a while as the computer scrambles to render them; ever since a few updates ago Warthunder dropped support for apple OS versions that didn't have the "metal" engine, this old computer can't be updated to a version with such engine; Xcom 2 won't open, hollow knight has render issues and often plays at less than 1 frame per second. As if playing on a platform PC games don't always get ported to wasn't enough, most non-indie modern games wouldn't even run on my computer. :'D Maybe catering to a 10 year old computer is a bit too much to ask for, but I hope companies do start thinking a bit more about low spec computers, maybe that way when I do upgrate to a contemporaneous computer it won't be rendered utterly obsolete in just 2 years? :'D

[@mambodog5322]

Config files can also allow people with monstrous computers to push the limits the other way as well. For example, Minecraft shaders have many, many customisation options that you can tweak to make the game look exactly the way you want it to, from things like general quality all the way to the temperature that torches appear to burn at.

[@petersmythe6462]

"All the way from spain" I could make an entire video about everything cursed with that map...

[@bevanfindlay]

"Of the five most popular GPUs, three could be considered entry-level." Me, where most of the machines we use are laptops with onboard graphics only: "A GTX1650 is entry-level? Hahaha, good joke..." 😕 Seriously though, if you own a laptop that doesn't have dedicated graphics (because, y'know, gaming laptops aren't cheap), finding games that are actually playable can be an... interesting experience. Also, this is one of the reasons why I find I spend more time and money on indie titles than ones from the big companies: you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a computer able to experience the game as intended. Low hardware requirements FTW, IMHO.

[@vHindenburg]

Are you sure that you aren't holding a netbook in your hands?

[@royalanempire2965]

Heck 2020 been hell for us gamers. Due to the lack of availability of them too us as the shortage of the new consoles and the shortage of PC parts due too bitcoin miners.

[@Toonrick12]

Bitcoin miners aren't the only reason why PC parts are hard to come by, but they sure didn't help it!

[@badreddinekasmi8919]

3:58 I've legitimately played many games on 800X400 windowed mode, just so that I can run it at a stable 30FPS. This is very true and I wish more companies took notice of that.

[@xtz2100]

im glad you made this video even with an upgrade i made to my pc i still cant run rdr2

[@ValkyrieTiara]

Not even just people playing inflated prices in other countries, but even right here at home a lot of low-income people are going to opt for a $300-$400 computer the whole family can enjoy rather than a $400-$500 console that half the family can't or wont use. Low-income kids and families deserve to play games too! And it's not only about accessibility, it's also just plain good business. Consider this: Everybody wants their game to be the next viral smash. The next major cultural talking point. But it's important to remember that the people most likely to be driving that sort of (to call it what it is) word-of-mouth marketing? The ones most likely to be making and sharing memes, fanart, and tiktok videos? Are kids and teens. And what demographic is the least likely to have a lot of personal disposable income and the most likely to be playing on underpowered hardware? Kids and teens. Remember that essentially every game that's ever become a huge viral sensation, and I mean EVERY game from Among Us to Fortnite to Minecraft to Fall Guys to Undertale, didn't just get huge because they were good games but also because EVERYBODY CAN PLAY THEM. The game on that list with the HIGHEST minimum requirements is Fortnite which asks for a GTX 660 and an i5. Come on. It's not that hard.

[@KimFareseed]

What do you mean getting ~12 to 24fps from TF2 on potato settings is unplayable? As long as the thing dosn't become a slideshow I will deal with it. That old laptop served me for 6 years, fighting far outside its comfort zone. Though, after even launching or even loading steam became a problem for it a few years ago, it was time to retire it, and it had earned its retirement.

[@FlfyCats17]

A lot of fans have been speculating that Halo Infinite may be sticking to a simple art direction for these exact reasons. The past few games were SO graphically intense it's not even funny. Halo 2 Anniversary Edition takes crazy processing power, and Halo 5 didn't even get a proper PC version. A big part of Halo Infinite's marketing has been that "the game will launch fully optimized for PC". And while recent screenshots have improved since July's horrendous gameplay demo, it's still clear that the game is taking a "clean and simple" approach to it's graphics, instead of going full "next gen" high fidelity. And honestly? As a PC player who has experienced THE PAIN of running all my games at low settings to prevent my potato from catching fire? I'd say Halo Infinite could be taking a great step in the right direction here.

[@greuropeanunion5641]

Bro l remember my 2008 PC l had on 2017 trying to play fortnite(idk why l just wanted to try it)and my PC couldn't handle it even though l had graphics on low.Same problem and with Detroit becomes human.Thank god l now have a better PC

[@ajbXYZcool]

Honestly having to mess with files in my game, especially if they come with a "not supported" warning scare me to the point that if mjnimum options within the game itself doesn't allow me to play the game on my potato, then I'm not playing it. I've had too many poor experiences playing games on my laptops that I don't even try anymore. Consoles give me the assurance that the game SHOULD run on my hardware, so there's more confidence in what I buy.

[@MK.5198]

I'm disappointed that you don't talk about how this is an economics issue, or give any mention of the GPU shortage because of cryptocurrency. Maybe you didn't want to date the video, but I think bringing attention to how fucked up cryptomining is is more important than that.

[@EnriqueTDL]

Great episode! You're right that this was a *major* factor is VALORANT's development. Especially competing with a 15 year old game that runs on..."modest" machines. :)

[@PlatinumAltaria]

We're all just gonna ignore the flag map including the Soviet Union, "Brazilian Chile", "Indian Arabia" and Canada as the 51st state?

[@NAYRUthunder99]

Overly pedantic question: if Canada were annexed into US, rather than being "the" 51st state, wouldn't it be the case that all provinces of Canada become US states?

[@ThomasstevenSlater]

No its Canada with 51 (D.c. gets the vote of course) extra provinces.

[@johnm9263]

Sometimes, those ULQ settings give an unfair advantage over the default settings, meaning those who don't know or want to decrease the quality are at a disadvantage simply because they dont have the time, patience, know how, or interest to change it in that way War Thunder is one of the most egregious examples

[@thefrogger6507]

The big reason I mostly play old games and indie games is because my dusty little laptop can't handle big games. And it's also why I absolutely adore Borderlands 2 for running on what is realistically a toaster if you reduce the visuals just a little bit

[@InvasionAnimation]

Even though there is a comment here from yesterday I am still claiming to be 1st like the weird blue fella I am!

[@Aeronor2001]

Sometimes lowering fidelity can lead to balance issues, such as environmental render distance in hardcore survival games. Being able to change to a lower setting can lead to an advantage in spotting enemy players trying to hide, which results in some players lowering their settings just to get an advantage. But in general I agree that trying to widen a game's options to include all sorts of hardware types should be an ethical choice for a developer as much as an economic one.

[@AjarTadpole7202]

This literally just happened to me. I bought Hearts of iron 4 a few days ago and it is Very laggy to say the least

[@arutka2000]

Mine lags a lot too. I also have this fun little thing where, while I'm playing, my screen goes to sleep and will not turn back on. I think the game is too much for my video card. It being......11ish years old now.

[@cybervantyz]

It takes 5..7 minutes for CK2 to even display it's main menu )

[@blakedake19]

Hoi4 lags everywhere due to engine limitations. You could have a 5k pc and it will still lag. Just download some mods that disables south american nations and you should be fine.

[@jonnunn4196]

Basically for HOI4 (or any Paradox title) - speed 5 is what it says on the tin - "as fast as the processor allows" and so some lag is expected. A lot of processing only happens once a game day, and so the game date rollover will always be slower. (For other titles such as EU4, CK3, Stelllaris it's once a game month.) So even if you bought a faster processor speed 5 is still going to do that. Instead you want to look at speed 4 - that's supposed to have a set time - but if that's slower once a day / all the time after WW breaks out then a faster processor would help - but first you might try lower graphic settings, that won't help much though since more of the time is main processing and not graphics. Still an 11 year old machine or card may be below minimum specs.

[@asdafkgmify]

With HoI4 you hit a wall of lag during 44ish when the big boys come to play. Its a problem with engine and concepts in the game. They changed mechanics in stellaris for this reason so you could actually finish the game.

[@InkAndSatin]

My tastes lean heavily to retro style indie games, but I wonder how much of that is preference and how much a long stretch of low income, an older computer, and unreliable internet has shaped that. I now have an immediate drop in interest if a game trailer looks too pretty.

[@redcomn]

I only play games from the past decade bc. All my backlog are there. Clearing backlog is more important then watching pretty color move fpr me

[@Jackpkmn]

idk man my gtx 1650 feels pretty dang high end compared to the other computers i've used my whole life.

[@1leggeddog]

As someone who's job is all about pc performance, i can tell you that the 768p resolution skew is because of cheap laptops screens.

[@takashy87]

+1 I'm literary happy just being able to play the game @ a reasonable framerate XD (more so when i was younger and couldn't afford more beefy hardware, but it's still the same now.. just that I can financially afford to crank up the settings now )

[@partyjams]

I play all my stuff on the lowest settings. Don’t have the option of a high PC right now

[@beanieboi5477]

As someone who uses a non gaming pc I would love these settings

[@kaeseblock1362]

Really enjoyed watching this episode. Brought back memories of editing CS config files and and I think it's a topic that should be talked about even more.

[@StephenYuan]

I have been gaming a lot on a pretty low to mid-range pc recently, so this episode is kind of about people like me.

[@tusharvashisth4182]

I always wanted someone to address this problem

[@jonasphilbert6175]

Thank you for drawing attention to this!

[@mutedunknown2734]

I've had a 1050 2gb since 2017 and was never able to upgrade due to me being short on cash and Now everything is over priced due to covid so I'm probably stuck on playing 2018 games for a few more years sadly

[@dylanschmidt9056]

Same, but a GTS 540 since 2011. Student debt + no software jobs outside of 3 or 4 cities in the whole country + housing affordability crisis in those cities + "entry-level" jobs in those cities demand 5-14 years experience will do that. I can't exactly move halfway across the province to intern for free, but that's what's expected somehow.

[@Digiflower5]

My last pc was 14 years old. For my own pc i’ve always use pcs from the trash or relatives giving theirs away as they upgraded. Low end is the whole reason I love indie titles. Games like Cave Story, 20XX, Offspring Fling, Recetear, Crystal Crisis, and Spelunkey Classic are what I think of as default when playing pc games. Its definitely shaped my taste in gaming on pc.

[@baraodascolinas979]

My taste was developed by this factor too, in my case i went to indies but especially emulators of older consoles and pc games. I sort of became a video game historian, going backwards to discover several classical games like Sonic 2D, Doom, SNES, Donkey Kong, And ROM hacks of those.

[@walterhaider869]

Those colour-blind tests can burn in hell. I have minor colour-blindness and it always nice when a game includes them. Funny video, I have a five year old I game on and I hate it when a game can't run on it.

[@loyalpiper]

I miss read that as you game on a 5 year old child.

[@roquejo6194]

this is a big problem for 3rd world pc gamers, specially here in venezuela, where you're lucky to even have more than 4 gb of ram and a gpu in your computer, almost no games can run on these computers.

[@jonnunn4196]

At only 4 GB RAM - Windows 10 itself is going to have massive trouble running even if you don't start up a single program.

[@lkawsome1711]

I always get scolded by PC Players when my PS5 doesn’t out preform a 13k Computer

0:32 I'm pretty sure there is a faster route from the U.S. to Spain than over the entire Asian continent... But I'm just nit-picking here (I wish there was a stronger version of that term in English)

[@MCHelios618]

"Being pedantic" is like a stronger term for nitpicking

[@WardenTheWanderer]

Finally I feel represented.

[@zarinloosli5338]

This is especially important with Iris XE graphics coming out and AMD apu's on the horizon. By the end of the year, pretty much every computer on store shelves will be capable of running low end graphics

[@lamihadamshareef5270]

I set my quietly of the video on lowest setting

[@A7230-q3o]

I watched this video only on 144p

[@Redchocobo]

Ps5 in the US: 50% of the minimum wage Ps5 in Brazil: 10x the minimum wage For real. Not an exaggeration.

[@Icysnowman256]

Why does this happen, do you know?

[@ace_nano]

Minimum age how? Like per hour?

[@Redchocobo]

@@ace_nano per month, yeah

[@cinomontague]

Super cool seeing low spec gamer on here

[@beatrizklotz8183]

In Brazil, minimum wage is LESS than 200USD. Depending on which platform you choose, games are only available if you import them (which costs $60 for the game + $15-20 shipping, and then add 60% over it all as taxes). Imagine playing minimum wage for a single AAA physical game. Even for consoles that are officially distributed here (like Playstation and Xbox) a new AAA release can cost almost $100.

[@798Muchoman]

I really appreciate this video. My PC runs with a GTX 650 TiB. It's a fantastic card, and packed by far the most punch per dollar of any in decades, but it's not high spec (comparable to a 780). Only 2 GB VRAM and 8 GB RAM. Lots of games work very well for me. And, fortunately, I don't tend to favor FPS games. Really, the only graphics-intense games I play are Bethesda games, and since there hasn't been a new Elder Scrolls or Fallout since around when I built it, there's been no pressure.

[@empoleonmaster6709]

THANK YOU for covering this! As someone that grew up poor each family member (3 of us) could have at MOST a pre-made $600-$700 computer, preferably a laptop in my case as a teenager and later a university student, which would inevitably last only 3-4 years due to problems in the physical design of the laptop or computer as a whole (ask me about them in the comments). My family didn't know anyone who could magically custom build better computers for the price, and even then think of how few people that can make better custom build laptops for that price. It was only through a long series of coincidences that I recently had enough money to buy a $1,800 gaming laptop which WILL have to last me at least 10+ years. It's the first time anyone in my family has or likely ever will "have a computer with a graphics card that can make Minecraft look like the face of God." or "One of those computers with a fancy graphics card that has letters before it." Prior to this, my old laptop over the span of 3-4 years became unable to even play Overwatch (with a wired connection) without 3-4 seconds of lag every 8 seconds with graphics set to "cheese grater".

[@zhulikkulik]

I love how people praise consoles which are nothing more than an entry+ level PC that is also extremely limited in terms of customization and functionality. Each "Next Gen" console is just slightly better than any recent entry level PC build and it is not upgradeable meaning you're stuck with your device for years to come. PC can be upgraded in any possible way tho. Not like I hate consoles (even tho I do, a bit), but they're really not THE BEST option for gaming. Just a better one, than super budget pc you get for same price. Funny enough, I love my iPhone and hate android for same reasons I hate consoles and love my PC. Also I'm more concerned with games not being able to let top level PCs shine. Unless it's an unoptimized piece of code - Highest settings in 99% of cases are either not reaching the limits of High-end gear or do virtually nothing to the game's look while eating on resources like Google Chrome. The difference between med and ultra is sometimes just texture size. Which doesn't matter if you have a top grade PC running 1080p or 2k display. I'd rather have smoother geometry or higher draw/detail distance than stuffin my GPU with gigabytes of 4-8k textures pulled on top of 800 poly mesh. Damn, I'd love to be able to see THE WHOLE MAP at 720p than having fog covering everything at 4k. And the opposite problem - devs focused on looks of the game totally forgetting gameplay, story and stuff like that. Games are dumbed down. Health regen, fake choices, dumb enemies, markers, more markers, tutorials that describe EVERY button but not letting you to try it out and memorize the skill this button is assigned to, guided cameras that take over your character in cutscenes, even more markers primitive stories and plot twists, pointless mechanics etc...

[@badreddinekasmi8919]

3:35 I have never heard of this. Honestly, I remember trying to run it when it launched and getting 5FPS even using LowSpecGamer's tips to make it work. Right now I'm playing another Battle Royale (Super Mecha Champions) which I'm enjoying greatly, but it is not designed for my computer (I barely top at 25 fps, with many many possibilities of lag, freezing, and often even crashing). Might look that up honestly.

[@kas1987kas]

You do NOT need a strong computer to play latest games. If you choose wise in past, you have: avx, 2 cores or more (icore or amd fx/ryzen), some GTX with 2GB at least (eg: 9xx series), 8gb ram -- you still can play latest games (some even on high). Do not buy that low, but if you have similar spec, this is the minimal for today. Bad choices for games: athlon, pentium, celeron, amd apu axx, Nvidia GT (without X, with low memory amount), integrated gpu. This is office level hardware.

[@lucidity1]

Last summer my graphics card broke and with the new offering on the horizon, I decided to wait a bit. I am very happy to have gotten my 6800XT in February (especially since they've doubled in price since then) but in the meantime, I did want to play video games. so I replayed some classic games like Transport Tycoon, indie games like Factorio and Prison Architect. eventually, though I decided to try World of Warcraft and found out Shadowlands will run even if you don't have a graphics card. once my graphics card was in I crancked Cyperpunk to the max and patch 1.1 ran like a dream. though I can't tell you how much I appreciated the ability to play modern games and even a AAA MMORPG while I had hardware problems.

[@doomgod314]

This summerizes my pc gaming philosophy since 1995. I didn’t get consoles until they were 10 years old, I learned to game on other people’s discarded PCs from age 8. I’m building my first gaming PC from scratch in 12 years, gaming on a toughbook cf-31 I picked up on ebay for $300 until I have enough parts

[@oktyrant8953]

Gotta love a utilitarian device, who knew users of the mAsTeR rAcE were SoCiAlIsT? XD But yes, I buy parts on the consideration that I can run a game smoothly on the lowest settings. Right now it's finding a decent refurbished AMD 3/3+ processor since the cheap GPU I bought isn't holding me back from most games.

[@KotCR]

This is why the companies publishing games for Playstation 3's and XBox 360s really missed the mark on a far larger potential user-base, during those couple years during that console generation when companies just would not publish their multi-format games on PC (around 2010 to 2012ish), under the excuse that "it wasn't profitable enough" - when really it would have been if they had just bothered to put the minimum amount of effort in. Eventually they all did start publishing their titles to PC too (though for some reason would always strip out the couch co-op in games that had it), but it took them a long time - too long a time - to realise how lucrative the market they were skipping actually was. Always reminds me of how Dragon's Dogma originally didn't get a PC port, and the game slipped under the radar and was ignored as another "me-too" fantasy RPG, being only a console title, by the vast majority of gamers, until it finally got noticed and reached the critical acclaim it absolutely deserved when they released it on PC many many years later. They could have had that so, so much earlier if they had just bothered to release a PC version in the first place. While Dragon's Dogma is always my most memorable example of this, I know there was many many other games that followed this trend and originally were not going to release a PC version during this era of gaming.

[@AbyssalManta]

The way some people talk, it's like you're gonna have 8 bit graphics with your "entry level" GPU, whereas the reality is a difference of, like, 1% in perceived fidelity. We're in heavy Diminishing Returns territory at this point. Improving graphics now is a complete waste of time.

[@I_am_somebody_1234]

1:46 in central america, a console is worth 3 times more than in the US, games also have that problem

[@danilooliveira6580]

and Steam could very well have stopped with regional pricing when people started using VPNs or asking people to buy games on countries were they are a lot cheaper, but instead they implemented restrictions so I can still buy my games for half the price I would pay if they had real conversion.

[@jonnunn4196]

@@danilooliveira6580 Basically even Steam isn't happy about the price they have to set for Australia.

[@ZackRToler]

I've always had a low-end PC so tolerating lower resolutions and frame rate is just normal to me. I'm sure playing at 4k 120fps can be great. But I have no problem playing a game at 800x600 at 23fps if the game itself is fun. Like I once did with Darksiders