Portal

I was loooking to play somethign on the PC last night - and so I bought Portal via Steam.

Wow, that's a damn good game. IMagine an action game that's as much a puzzle game. The only weapon your character has is a gun which can create portals.

My only complaint - the main story only takes 6-8 hours total. There's still some replayabiity and bonus levels, but it's still a bit short for $20.

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

The cake is a lie.

The game is over pretty quickly, alas, but all the bonus levels are amazing. There's levels where you do it again with additional challenges (like iron cages around all of the androids!) and others where you try to use the fewest number of steps, shortest time, and my personal favorite, number of portals. Definitely the best game I have played in a long, long time.

I sympathize Bruce, as it doesn't run on my new Vista computer for some reason. I have it through Steam, and I've gotten it to work on my work Vista computer, but at home it goes so slowly that it's hard to tell it's actually running. I haven't tried running it in XP compatibility mode, though, so maybe that would fix it?

http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/portal.php

I finally bought a computer than can play my Portal game!

Wow, what an awesome game! I loved the ending. LOVED it!

I'm going to ask my boss to sing my next performance evaluation.

And give me cake.

I loved all the comments made by the female computer voice too.

During the last level, I was thinking, "Ok, who let a woman write the source code?"

Bruce wrote:

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

I always buy my games thru Amazon. If there is a problem (like they crash again and again or they don't load or they go to the desktop etc etc) I simply return it as "defective" and get my $ back. Something that few if any other stores would do with an opened game.

ed wrote:

Bruce wrote:

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

I always buy my games thru Amazon. If there is a problem (like they crash again and again or they don't load or they go to the desktop etc etc) I simply return it as "defective" and get my $ back. Something that few if any other stores would do with an opened game.

Thanks for the advice. I've never bought anything through Amazon and didn't know they had that policy for games.

I downloaded the demo on Xbox. It was a lot of fun. It'll be 15 dollars to download the full game. I may just.

Bruce wrote:

ed wrote:

Bruce wrote:

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

I always buy my games thru Amazon. If there is a problem (like they crash again and again or they don't load or they go to the desktop etc etc) I simply return it as "defective" and get my $ back. Something that few if any other stores would do with an opened game.

Thanks for the advice. I've never bought anything through Amazon and didn't know they had that policy for games.

Amazon is a surprisingly easy and good to deal with. When I bought my HD television I was wary of buying something that large from there at first, but I was very pleased with the outcome. Aside from the no-tax (depending on where you live) and free shipping on many items, their prices usually can't be beat when compared to local stores.

I just got it on Steam.

To anyone contemplating buying the game: You won't regret it.

My favorites were the Companion Cube and the soft babyish voices of the killer droids.

Cake is a LIE!

(Unless you have the hack)

gnome wrote:

I just got it on Steam.

To anyone contemplating buying the game: You won't regret it.

My favorites were the Companion Cube and the soft babyish voices of the killer droids.

I love how the female computer voice slowly turns into a psycho-bitch as the game progresses.

"Congratulations. You disintegrated your trusted companion cube to save your own life faster than any other test subject."

"We were going to throw a party for you. We would have invited companion cube, but you disintegrated him. Then we realized you don't have any friends, because you are quite unlikable. Seriously. It says right here in your personnel file."

Aperture Labs would like to remind you that "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day" is the perfect time to have her tested.





These Advanced levels are a bitch!!!

Just started the last one.

They better be working on an awesome sequel. I hope there are more portal pairs per gun. Grenades would be nice too.

Nuts!!

Stumped on the last Advanced puzzle.

Can anyone help?

It the place just after the entrance. Cliff in front on me with no apparent walls, floors, or ceilings to place a portal except the wall of the cliff, which has a poisonous moat at the bottom. I've tried placing a portal near the bottom and one near the top of the cliff, then leaping in backwards to see if I would be flung high enough to blast a portal at the top of the cliff, but the drop-off isn't high enough.

Driving me crazy.

Never mind.

I got it now.

Those sick, sadistic bastards. Could they make it any harder?

I love them.

I won at Spider Solitaire on Difficult once.

DrMatt wrote:

I won at Spider Solitaire on Difficult once.

Me too! It was like winning the lottery, only not winning any money.

I suddenly feel lame....

Reminds me that I still need to play through the challenge levels on Still Alive.

http://skepticalcommunity.com/phpbb2/vi ... 928#470928

Bruce wrote:

I suddenly feel lame....

This is PRECISELY my approach to PC gaming.

Don't feel lame--feel AWESOME!

We're playing fully patched, final releases of games that can run on the highest settings because they don't need the latest hardware! Not to mention there's often tons of community content or unofficial patches...

I wouldn't have it any other way.

gnome wrote:

This is PRECISELY my approach to PC gaming.

Don't feel lame--feel AWESOME!

We're playing fully patched, final releases of games that can run on the highest settings because they don't need the latest hardware! Not to mention there's often tons of community content or unofficial patches...

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Really, that's probably the best way to go about it.

Yeah, but then you risk the problem of backwards compatibility problems. One of my favorite games was Civ II. Should run fine, right? No, it won't run because it can't find some dlls (this is from the disk, BTW). Same with a couple others when I wanted to try "The new hardware experience." Although that shouldn't be a problem nowadays, but for the big games, you never know.

Mentat wrote:

Yeah, but then you risk the problem of backwards compatibility problems. One of my favorite games was Civ II. Should run fine, right? No, it won't run because it can't find some dlls (this is from the disk, BTW). Same with a couple others when I wanted to try "The new hardware experience." Although that shouldn't be a problem nowadays, but for the big games, you never know.

Yep, that's the primary danger.

I really enjoyed Ultima X when it first came out. It was one of the first 3D world games for the PC. At the time it was very slow, but the graphics and detail were amazing for its time. There was one major bug in the game where a critical item to advance the storyline would not appear. I found a patch for this bug online.

I re-discovered the game about a year ago when I was going through some old boxes. I started playing it again on my new PC and the game went much faster. The graphics and gameplay were still very enjoyable. Unfortunately, the patch would not work on my new PC, so I was stuck very early in the game.

Mentat wrote:

Yeah, but then you risk the problem of backwards compatibility problems. One of my favorite games was Civ II. Should run fine, right? No, it won't run because it can't find some dlls (this is from the disk, BTW). Same with a couple others when I wanted to try "The new hardware experience." Although that shouldn't be a problem nowadays, but for the big games, you never know.

I haven't looked into Civ2... but you're right that it's an issue. The good thing is that most backwards compatibility problems have solutions because there's a big enough retrogaming community. I can still play games I bought in the 90s if I'm industrious enough.

Haven't figured out how to get Interstate '76 to work though. Got it for a song a few years back and I can't seem to do anything with it.

By the way...

THE CAKE IS A LIE! THIS WAS A TRIUMPH!!!

(I just won today)

gnome wrote:

Fixed that for you.

DrMatt wrote:

I won at Spider Solitaire on Difficult once.

Pfeh, I win on Spider Solitaire at the difficult level all the time.

Cloverlief wrote:

DrMatt wrote:

I won at Spider Solitaire on Difficult once.

Pfeh, I win on Spider Solitaire at the difficult level all the time.

Yeah, but I'm not a gamer.

Bruce wrote:

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

Guess what I got for Father's Day!

Portal 2!

And guess what happened!

It didn't fucking work!



I tried all the suggestions on the troubleshooting page and read all the game forum questions. There was one person who was having the exact same problem I'm having, but she didn't get a reply on how to fix it.

De-ja-fucking-voo

I can't remember a single game for my PC that worked right after installing it.

I tried every suggestion that didn't have the comment "try this at your own risk".

Gagh.

All the extras, video clips, and audio work just fine, but when I start the game all I see is a black screen and a little white polka-dot cross hair. I can see pop-up instructions when the computer voice prompts them, but nothing else. Updated all my drivers, re-installed the game. No dice.

Game looks awesome too. Grrrr.

Drink water

Bruce wrote:

Bruce wrote:

I bought it, and like just about every other game I've ever bought for my PC, it's not working!!!!

I believe it may be because I have a dual CD/DVD ROM drive. I did a search on the internet and found someone who is having the same problem as me with the same drive. The drive isn't reading the disk. It's not even aware a disk is present in the system.

The reply to this guy's forum question was to try installing WinDVD or Nero. There wasn't a reply back, so I assumed it worked. Problem is, I spent 20$ on Portal and WinDVD and Nero are both $90.

I never have any luck with PC games. I've never bought a Playstation game and had to patch my system, upgrade software, or pay extra just to make the stupid game work.

Guess what I got for Father's Day!

Portal 2!

And guess what happened!

It didn't fucking work!



I tried all the suggestions on the troubleshooting page and read all the game forum questions. There was one person who was having the exact same problem I'm having, but she didn't get a reply on how to fix it.

De-ja-fucking-voo

I can't remember a single game for my PC that worked right after installing it.

I tried every suggestion that didn't have the comment "try this at your own risk".

Gagh.

All the extras, video clips, and audio work just fine, but when I start the game all I see is a black screen and a little white polka-dot cross hair. I can see pop-up instructions when the computer voice prompts them, but nothing else. Updated all my drivers, re-installed the game. No dice.

Game looks awesome too. Grrrr.

Too bad, Bruce, the game was awesome! Better than the first! Cave Johnson is a hoot!

Bruce, do you have a Steam account? Oh, and what system are you playing it on?

Yadda. No game rocks like NetHack.

Cloverlief wrote:

Too bad, Bruce, the game was awesome! Better than the first! Cave Johnson is a hoot!

Cloverlief wrote:

Bruce, do you have a Steam account? Oh, and what system are you playing it on?

Yes, I have a Steam account.

Windows Vista.

Yes, I know that I should get a better OS.

No, I don't have time to do it.

Yes, I'm going to keep whining about it.

No, Winow's Vista doesn't appear to be the cause of the problem (not directly anyway.)

I'm heading off to Ohio tomorrow with the kids to visit my parents for a few days, so I don't have time to mess with it for now.

One more pissy-fit before I get back to work.....

WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

There, I'm done. Now back to science.

Bruce wrote:

Cloverlief wrote:

Too bad, Bruce, the game was awesome! Better than the first! Cave Johnson is a hoot!

Cloverlief wrote:

Bruce, do you have a Steam account? Oh, and what system are you playing it on?

Yes, I have a Steam account.

Windows Vista.

Yes, I know that I should get a better OS.

No, I don't have time to do it.

Yes, I'm going to keep whining about it.

No, Winow's Vista doesn't appear to be the cause of the problem (not directly anyway.)

I'm heading off to Ohio tomorrow with the kids to visit my parents for a few days, so I don't have time to mess with it for now.

One more pissy-fit before I get back to work.....

WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

There, I'm done. Now back to science.

Do you know what your video card is?

Just to rub it in, Bruce, I've been playing cooperative mode with my son for the last 2 days... Playing with my 8YO is both fun and frustrating.

Go left

DrMatt wrote:

Go left

That instruction can be a bit too vague when there are up to 2 potential "lefts". One of the nice things about cooperative mode is they give you a few tools to use. One of which I've used often was a marker. I could tell my son, "Put a portal here" - and mark the wall I'm talking about.

Cloverlief wrote:

Do you know what your video card is?

Intel G31/33, I believe.

Supposedly compatible. Drivers fully up to date.