Game Survey

[Talolan]

Exactly.

[Lasarian]

Do we know how many respondents we have to this?

[Tundrra]

I checked it a couple times last week I will get the new numbers and send them to both of you:)

[HollyCNY]

I was going to keep quiet, but holding it in ends up hurting a lot more, over a longer period of time. Someone please help an old lady out here.
(Yes, I know I'm younger than some of the NOR roster, but I still call myself that from time to time )

I don't read computer game magazines or internet articles, and maybe I should, and if that's the case, you can scold me later on haha.

• I figure NOMAD is an acronym. What does it stand for?
• These non-MMO's, if NORbies can still play them together, how do we connect?
• Will I need any other peripherals, such as a joystick?
• How high-end a hardware spec do most of these games require? I can provide my current rig's full specs on request.
• I'm still subject to the 'not home due to RL activities' thing on Tuesdays, most Thursdays, and some Fridays (which are temporarily postponed due to the weather and remaining snowfall in New York, but next week, I'm expecting things to resume full throttle). Would I still be able to be matched with anyone?

I'm asking for help here because I'm strongly considering unsubscribing from SWTOR after finishing class stories for my Jedi Sentinel and Sith Assassin, without getting any of my below-55 toons to 55. I've run out of things to do, and the extent of help I've offered to provide for the guild (particularly in crafting), nobody needs. Some NORbies have generously offered to help get me geared, but gear alone isn't going to prep me for operations, and since our key ops nights are on days when I'm not home, I'm mostly excluded anyway. I've begun dabbling in RIFT again, but our RIFT branch has very little activity. I was given permission by the High Council to take my RIFT toons out of our guild's RIFT branch, and my last check of the guild's log before pulling them out showed no more than half a dozen entries for the previous 100 days. I'm not having much luck in trying to find a RIFT guild that I'm suitable for, and I may fade back into inactivity there again as well. I couldn't get into Everquest, NW, nor GW2. I'm at a point where, effectively, I'm only part of NOR via the message board forums.

I've never heard of most of the games on the list in the Survey that Talo linked to, but there was a time when I'd never yet heard of RIFT, or SWTOR, or even WoW. If I can do something with another NORbie or two via NOMAD, I should strongly consider giving it a try. Right now, I'm just clueless as to how NOMAD works, and either I keep silent on that and let the pressure cooker build up until it explodes, or I get help in managing it. As this post shows, I've chosen the latter.

[Talolan]

I figure NOMAD is an acronym. What does it stand for?

NOMAD looks like an acronym, but we haven't actually decided what it means. So there is that. Some people have jokingly suggested "New OutRiders Mobile Armor Division." It is a place for NOR members who have no home in the MMOs we play or bounce from game to game without settling down. Nomads.

These non-MMO's, if NORbies can still play them together, how do we connect?

There is a NOMAD channel in TS3 for anybody who has voice chat capabilities, with some specific game sub-channels. Many people responding to the survey are also active Steam users (as are 75 million other people), which makes connecting easy. Scheduling and non-in-game communication can he handled via the NOR forums. Once you are in game, most multiplayer games include some kind of chat feature.

Will I need any other peripherals, such as a joystick?

That would be game specific. The list compiled isn't a be-all, end-all list of multiplayer games available, just some of the more popular games of the last few years and many respondents are filling out the "other" boxes with additional games.

Looking at the list I used, the majority of those games are meant to be played with a Keyboard and Mouse. Castle Crashers is probably the only game on the list where I'd say that a gamepad is mandatory.

How high-end a hardware spec do most of these games require? I can provide my current rig's full specs on request.

If you can run SWTOR reasonably well, there are no games on this list you should have problems with. Some of the Strategy Games require a beefier CPU to run, but that would effect your single player experience more than your multiplayer experience (as the AI will be offloaded to the host computer).

I'm still subject to the 'not home due to RL activities' thing on Tuesdays, most Thursdays, and some Fridays (which are temporarily postponed due to the weather and remaining snowfall in New York, but next week, I'm expecting things to resume full throttle). Would I still be able to be matched with anyone?

This is an ongoing process. I'm going to continue taking results, and when I decided we've got a decent cross section, I will facilitate communication between those members so they can come up with a time that works for them. I imagine that most of the people who said "yes" to specific games already have those games, and would like to play them with NOR if possible.
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What we're trying to accomplish is simply helping NOR members play games together outside of our normal branches. For example, personally, I love NOR, I don't love SWTOR, Rift, DDO, EQ2 or Neverwinter. If I could find some like-minded NOR members to play PayDay 2 with on a semi-consistent basis I'd be over the moon.

This is a no-money-down, risk-free-trial offer. If there aren't many NOR members who want to play non-mmos with other members, then it doesn't hurt anything. Players can continue to play on MMO branches and we'll all go on with our lives, but if a group of 4 people wants to rob banks every other week in PayDay 2, or siege the tower in Hammerwatch, then I'd like to help them do that.

[Lasarian]

• I figure NOMAD is an acronym. What does it stand for?
• These non-MMO's, if NORbies can still play them together, how do we connect?
• Will I need any other peripherals, such as a joystick?
• How high-end a hardware spec do most of these games require? I can provide my current rig's full specs on request.
• I'm still subject to the 'not home due to RL activities' thing on Tuesdays, most Thursdays, and some Fridays (which are temporarily postponed due to the weather and remaining snowfall in New York, but next week, I'm expecting things to resume full throttle). Would I still be able to be matched with anyone?

• New Outriders Mechanized Armored Division - although it's just BS really that Talo made up. The name actually hearkens back to our MC origins. Many bike clubs have a so-called "Nomad" charter, which is for members that don't have a home base.
• You will connect via whichever game you choose to participate in, so, for example in the case of SolForge or the Civ V nights, everyone gets on their "Steam" account and is able to play together that way.
• I don't believe so, just your PC, as it is.
• If anything most of these games are much easier on PC resources than any of the MMOs.
• In the case of the CCG Tourney using SolForge, the individual participants actually schedule their matches on their own. There is no set schedule for that event.

[Lasarian]

Nevermind, Talo beat me to it ... and was more thorough ;-p