   I confess to being part of the problem
  http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/7877728.htm talks about how PC game sales were down last year and how game piracy is rampant across the internet.Last year I bought Temple of Elemental Evil and Lionheart.I did not buy any new FPS or RTS. I''ve become a bit of a casual gamer only playing 30 to 60 minutes a few evenings a week.Soldier of Fortune 2 is the cornerstone of my play.* It has good game play* New mods keep coming out* Network play is solid (BF:1942 is choppy)* Actual strategy (Unreal players all just want to play that instant-kill mod)* Punkbuster is solid (others apparently have rampant hacks)I like to play online games as an "interactive chat room". Firing a gun is secondary to cracking jokes.I was drooling over Fallout 3. I would love to play BF:1942, but the net play constantly makes me wish I was playing SOF2. It''s just not as smooth.But really, all the sequels and expansion packs just bore me. There was very little last year that was exciting to me. Instead I watched the closing of Fallout 3, the destruction of New World Computing, the failure of Lionheart.So this year, I think it is important that I get out their and put my money where I want to vote. I already have picked up the Spider Web Software games. Does anybody have any other Indi/Shareware recomendations for RPGs or FPS?This year I think about all I''m interested in is Star Ocean 3 (it is coming out this year, right??). Thief 3 might be good.I would like to say I''m interested in Far Cry. But with UbiSoft behind it I fear that''s multi-player will SUCK MUCUS-COVERED, ANTHRAX-DIPPED FETTID ALIEN EGGS. Waiting until the round is done before re-equiping and then re-loading the level is BORING. Not to mention I have no interest in using Ubi''s online multiplayer interface. I didn''t drag my PC + Monitor across town to watch a scroll bar! If that''s what I wanted to do I could just down and watch the PGA tour on Sunday (and not Tivo through the commercials).Anybody else looking at their collection of software and realizing last year was dead? 
  I am so f**king tempted to say "ok" right now, but for the ban threat.So instead, I say that we should be able to buy direct from the developers who need the money more than the publishers do. Even if you buy at market, you can always send cheques to the companies that actually make your favorite games.And me. Feel free to give me your life savings.   Christopher S. ''coldacid'' Charabaruk <chrisc*meldstar!com> [journal]Meldstar Entertainment - Creation, cubed."Every time I think I''ve heard it all from SCO, they come up with a new howler." Steven Vaughan-Nichols, eWeek ;  Shareware is your friend. ;  coldacid: Lol, I don''t think the thread was that   serious, but no more chains.Speaking of which, I photoshopped the entire "ok." chain, both pages, into a single very tall image that I''m tempted as hell to post right now...but I''m not sure I can get away with it.Oh, and I''m still not sure what this thread is about. ;quote:Original post by Dustin_00  So this year, I think it is important that I get out their and put my money where I want to vote. I already have picked up the Spider Web Software games. Does anybody have any other Indi/Shareware recomendations for RPGs or FPS?This year I think about all I''m interested in is Star Ocean 3 (it is coming out this year, right??). Thief 3 might be good.I loved Exile II when I played it ages ago, and recently rediscovered Spiderweb. Any suggestions as to which of their current crop of games to try first?I was also waiting for Theif III with baited breath, but recent press releases, info and Deus Ex 2 give a strong indication that its been very dumbed down for the ''cool'' Solid Snake crowd.  ;  I don''t think I am the problem.  I think publishers and developers are the problem.  I mean if you don''t like rehashed 1st person shooters, where are the games for the PC?  Where have all the quality RPGs gone?  What about decent strategy games?  Although their were a few exceptions, most of the big budget games on stores shelves are shooters.It seems like PC gaming is becoming more and more like consoles: graphics over substance, and this is what is hurting the pc market more than anything.But then there are shareware/budget developers out there and some of them produce some quality games.  Just takes a little digging to find the the good stuff. I don''t think that article figured the many shareware/budget developers who market online exclusively.  If you figure these in, it might paint a different picture of the health of the PC game market. 