The Game Tips And More Blog: direct2drive

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Friday, April 18, 2014

And More: Deals and Sales - Easter Weekend 2014 Blowouts

This weekend there may be a lot of people huddling over their computers. Maybe you are trying to avoid people at a family "get together". Maybe you don't currently live near family and have noone to visit. Or maybe you just don't have much planned this 'long' weekend (if you are getting extra time off of work or school) or maybe you had purposely set time aside this weekend to catch up on gaming... Whatever your case may be, whether you celebrate Easter Weekend or not (or get extra 'time off', or not) you can still take advantage of some of the great deals being offered by some game retailers this Spring Weekend. Here are a list of some of the sales going on:

GameFly, formerly Direct2Drive, has up to 75% off of their SEGA games
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This long image is EA's total sales going on, with many games at half price like Battlefield 4, Sims 3, and more
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Classic EA Oldies are also on sale at Good Old Games, now called GOG.com, like Theme Hospital and more
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Check out your favourite shop or closest game store, to see if there are any deals that you can jump on - and See You In The Games!

Friday, February 28, 2014

And More: Deals and Sales - End Of The Month Specials (February)

The transition from February to March this year isn't seeing a 'ton' of games on special sales, but there are a few deals on almost every gaming/dealer website (some are only on for the weekend and some last until the middle of March, see each sale you are interested in for details):

Steam, Valve's storefront has a Spotlight Sale of Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army (1 & 2), which can be purchased together in bundles or 4-Packs to play with your friends and is their Weekend Deal:

Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army Sale Page
Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army 2 Sale Page

also on sale
Trine is on sale for only One Dollar (90% off), or get Trine 1&2 for $3.74
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Retribution is on sale for $7.59 (75% off)
Alternativa is on sale for only $1.29 (90% off)
The Sims 3 is on sale for $7.99 for those who haven't played it yet (60% off)
Kung-Fu Strike: The Warriors Rise is on sale for only $1.99 (80% off)
Moto GP 13 is $12.00 (70% off)

Gamefly, the storefront that you can also subscribe to (that took over Direct2Drive in 2011) has a few sales going on, one featuring all 2K Games titles at 75% off:

(click image to see Full Size)

also on sale
Bioshock is $4.99 (75% off)
Bioshock 2 is $4.99 (75% off)
Bioshock Infinite is $9.99 (67% off)
Borderlands, Game Of The Year Edition is $7.49 (75% off)
Borderlands 2, Game Of The Year Edition is $19.99 (50% off)
Duke Nukem Forever is $4.99 (75% off)
Civilization V is $7.49 (75% off)

GamersGate, the storefront formerly part of Sweden's Paradox Interactive has a bunch of sales going on as well:

(click image to see Full Size)

also on sale
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is $9.72 (46% off)
with Battlefield 4 is out, Battlefield 3 is on sale for $4.99
Sniper Elite V2 is on sale for $7.50 (75% off) or get the
Sniper Elite V2 Collection (which includes: Sniper Elite V2, the Sniper Elite V2 Kill Hitler Pack, the Sniper Elite V2 The Neudorf Outpost Pack, the Sniper Elite V2 Original Game Soundtrack, and the Sniper Elite V2 The Landwehr Canal Pack DLC) all for $13.75 (75% off)
The Tropico Trilogy Bundle (which includes: Tropico, Tropico Paradise Island, Tropico 2 Pirate Cove, Tropico 3, Tropico 3 Absolute Power) all for just $4.99 (75% off)
and last but certainly not least
The Total War Master Collection bundle (which includes: Empire: Total War, The Medieval 2 Total War Collection (M2TW and the M2TW Kingdoms Expansion Pack), Napoleon: Total War™ Imperial Edition
Rome: Total War Gold Edition, Total War Battles: Shogun, Total War SHOGUN 2, the Total War Shogun 2 E-Guide, Total War Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai, and Viking: Battle for Asgard) all for $25.00 (80% off, regular price $124.99!)

Once again, some of these are only on for the Weekend and some last until the middle of March, so check out the sale you are interested in for details. I hope you catch something you want - and See You In The Games!

VRAM† USAGE SEEN IN GAMES (1080p)

[This alphabetical list was started to help others know the Highest VRAM usage I measured in games [in my experiences, with a 3GB VRAM GPU at this time, playing at 1080p**]; to know what to expect or to plan for when GPU shopping (updated as I collect more data, last added Pac-Man CE2 and Paladins and Star Wars: Battlefront II after playing the Trial on 2017-11-17]
Battlefield: Hardline = up to 2 GB
Battlefield 1 = up to 2.8 GB (Ultra Settings, GPU Memory Restriction Off)
Cities: Skylines = up to 2.5 GB
Diablo III = up to 1 GB (Highest/Slowest Settings)
Devilian = up to 1.8 GB
Fallout 4 = up to 2.4GB (Ultra Preset, Original Textures); up to 3+ GB (High-Res Textures, Maximum Possible Settings, Note that System RAM usage also increases (up to 10GB seen))
Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV) = up to 2.7 GB (Very High Settings, Limit On)
Guild Wars 2 = up to 800 MB
Gwent = up to 2 GB (High Graphics Quality Setting)
Hearthstone (High Quality) = up to 700 MB
Heroes Of The Storm (Extreme Preset) = up to 2.5 GB, (Ultra Preset) = up to 2.9 GB+
Hitman: Absolution = up to 1.8 GB (Ultra Settings with FXAA)
Hitman: Blood Money = up to 700 MB
Just Cause 2 = up to 600 MB (Very High Settings, 4x4x AA)
Just Cause 3 = up to 2.8 GB (Highest Settings, FXAA)
League of Legends (Very High Preset) = up to 1GB
Left4Dead 2 = up to 800 MB
Marvel Heroes = up to 1.5 GB (Highest Settings)
Minecraft = up to 1 GB
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 (2016) = up to 900 MB
Paladins = up to 1.2 GB (Maximum Settings)
PowerDirector by CyberLink (Application) = up to 600 MB (720p Render), up to 1.5 GB (1080p Render)
No Man's Sky = up to 2.8 GB (Maximum Settings)
Overwatch = up to 1.9 GB (Epic Settings, 150% Resolution)
Planetside 2 = up to 1.2 GB (Ultra Settings)
Rollercoaster Tycoon World = up to 2.5 GB (Highest Settings)
Star Wars: Battlefront II = up to 2.8 GB (Ultra Settings)
Team Fortress 2 = formerly up to 900 MB, TF2 appears to go up to 1.5GB now, at Highest Possible Settings
Tomb Raider (2013) = up to 1.5 GB (Ultimate Settings with FXAA)
Trove = up to 1.2 GB (Highest Settings)
Vegas Movie Studio (Sony, MAGIX, Application) = up to 1.5 GB (720p Render)
World Of Warcraft (Ultra Settings) = up to 2GB
[†**Note that these values are not System RAM ("regular RAM") Usage, they are Video RAM usage (GPU-based, "on the card") and in some games the upper limit is Configurable (eg. Minecraft, et al)]

PC Peripherals I Have Liked, Am Using

Monitor: Samsung (I have liked Viewsonic, LG, Benq, others in the past)
Speakers: Using None (I have liked Creative Labs, Koss, Sony, Logitech, others in the past)
Keyboard: Logitech - I think K120, some inexpensive board, it has soft, quiet keys though, I like that (I have liked Microsoft, Logitech, Gigabyte, others in the past)
Mouse: Logitech G600 - for da'buttonz! heh. G500 is good too, and more comfortable (I have liked Logitech, Gigabyte, Red Dragon, others in past)
Headphones: Kingston Cloud series - alpha I think, great bass/treble and around-the-ear fit (I have liked Creative Labs, Sony, Kingston, others in the past)
**Note - I have not, and will not, be compensated by any of the companies above for mentioning them here in this list; I am merely an enthusiastic user of Gaming/PC products and will use the other brands again in the future

Who Are You In Games?

For those wondering, when I do Game Recording, take Screenshots, or just play and collect Data, I always change my in-game name once in a while, or use one that is 'me' - but noone really knows is 'The Blog'.

The reason why is, I've noticed that when I record with a name that is too obvious, such as "Game Tips And More Blog" or some version of that, people 'act differently'... This is a normal human 'on camera' trait, of course; but I wish to try capture 'the true essence' of the gameplay experience when I record gameplay or take screens - the experience that others would see, if they were gaming [if online, then capturing it how not a lot of people would know them] - so, although it may be nice to say 'hello' or be 'greeted' once in a while... unfortunately for those wondering when or where I'll be recording at a certain time, or what my name will be in a specific game; it will not be obvious... Sorry, eh - I think this makes for more 'interesting' footage though, too - it's 'real'! It's 'raw'! [Hmm.. I wonder if this is how Journalists or Documentarists (Documentarians?) think - I am definitely not putting myself in 'their League' - but it is curious to me now..].

Moved This Button To Here

I used to have this higher up on the Blog, but I don't think it properly reflected my reason for starting this site - I didn't start this site only to make a few dollars, I only added it because I learned that it was perhaps possible to make a few dollars for pizza or other little treats. Before I started this Blog, I was a Security Officer in the past, an IT Support Personnel, and eventually an IT Instructor, helping others prepare for their IT Certifications, being a Gamer all along the way! I have always wanted to help others, and I always seemed to choose occupations that would do so - and I will continue to do so, despite becoming ill. I enjoy helping out - and the main thing here is the information within and that it might help someone, not this. Thus, this button is now down here instead of at the top... If you found my information useful and can Donate towards ordering a pizza someday, great. If you cannot, I still hope that you find my information useful, or that my findings have helped you in some way. I really do. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you find something that helped you, no matter what. Take care. ~Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog