TWILIGHT STRUGGLE (closed beta) activating soon on Steam

[avrotim]

Dumb question time:

Way back when, I Kickstarted/pledged for a PC version of Twilight Struggle.  I rather assumed it would be something I could download and play on my computer...but only now realized I was likely wrong.

So is this how it will work?  I have to go thru Steam to use the game?  And does that mean I can't play off-line?  (I have never used Steam nor do I have an account and no Nothing about it).

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

You have to be online to run the game the first time.  After that, you can put Steam in offline mode and still play single player.  I don't know if multi-player will work if Steam's offline.

[Ubercat]

Dumb question time:

Way back when, I Kickstarted/pledged for a PC version of Twilight Struggle.  I rather assumed it would be something I could download and play on my computer...but only now realized I was likely wrong.

So is this how it will work?  I have to go thru Steam to use the game?  And does that mean I can't play off-line?  (I have never used Steam nor do I have an account and no Nothing about it).

I Kickstarted for a PC version and got to install it months ago. Did you miss an Email? It does require Steam.

[JasonPratt]

Not all Kickstarter backers got to participate in the open beta, apparently; I never got an email with a code to activate on Steam, either, until yesterday -- and even when I activated it, the Steam page didn't exist and I had no option from the game list to install it!

Avrotim, a Steam account is free (but addictive like crack cocaine, so beware be very aware). It will install a small application on your system which, depending on how you set it up, will check for updates to itself and for games you bought on Steam (or bought elsewhere like from Matrix and also activated on Steam), whenever you boot your computer. There have been security issues, but it's kind of de rigeur (or however the French spell it) to operate now. Odds are very good if you buy a boxed game, or a game off Gamersgate, all you're really doing is buying a Steam code. (Although GG still has some non-Steam games, they converted everything possible to a Steam code in the past few years.)

Personally I recommend setting up a Paypal account if you don't have one yet, and telling Steam to use that (but not automatically, so that it shifts you to PP and requires to to enter a password you don't have saved as a cookie or on Steam), if you're worried about security issues.

[Grim.Reaper]

so does this in anyway feel like a cold war simulator, or is it all just a boardgame?

I might be in the minority, but with my limited time in the beta, didn't really feel like a cold war simulator to me, it felt more like a boardgame.  It seems like it will still be a decent game to play, but doesn't replace my desire for a full blow global simulator....

[bbmike]

Great tutorial! I like the visual style but it does kind of remind me of Political Machine 2016. It is certainly a board game but I like that. I hope we see more of these.  O0
No review yet but maybe once I play a full game.

[PanzersEast]

So far I'm digging it.  I would be up for some MP once I get some play throughs.  I think they did an excellent job with it thus far.


PE

[Capn Darwin]

Just a Groghead's service announcement, keep an eye on your frame rates and GPU temperature when playing the game. My FPS numbers were 200+ and my GPU was 77C. The temperature and load was on par with the graphics intensive X-Com 2. This appears to be a known issue, but there is no word on a fix to rein in the frames.

The more you know...   O0

[bbmike]

So our GPUs might get thermonuclear hot?  >:D

[Philippe]

You usually see people complaining about low frame rates.  This is a switch.  Can it really overheat your computer and burn out your monitor, or is that just troll-talk?

[Nefaro]

You usually see people complaining about low frame rates.  This is a switch.  Can it really overheat your computer and burn out your monitor, or is that just troll-talk?

This is the second place I've seen it mentioned.

Wouldn't be the first game that has attempted to max out the CPU/GPU usage the whole time.  Even if your computer's cooling can keep up with everything running at it's hellbent maximum for long periods, causing very high temperatures, it can still shorten lifespans and slowly bake off the thermal transfer paste.  Aside from possible overheats and freezes if it does lose the cooling fight. 

Most games with this problem eventually get fixed with some kind of throttling being implemented.   

[PanzersEast]

I played on a MAC and did not notice any CPU or GPU spike while playing.


PE

[Philippe]

I think I may hold off on getting this one until the problem is fixed.

[Thomasew]

Hi,

Using Nvidia Inspector on my MSI GTX 980ti, running at 2560x1440 .. I locked the FPS at 60, .. and set Power Management Mode to Adaptive.

My GPU Usage= ~32%
GPU downclocks itself to 135 MHz
GPU Temp= ~58 degrees (idle temp is ~50)
Fan Speed= 0 rpm

Everything running nice and cool .. :)

It's an incredibly well done adaptation of the Boardgame, .. which I've had for a few years, .. but never played ..  :'(

.. now at last .. I can play TS ..  :)


EDIT: I've posted my Nvidia Settings, .. for those that might want to try them.


Cheers
Tom

[Ian C]

I bought and played the tutorial for 40 mins before I read this, then refunded it. I'll hold off until it's fixed. I don't want to start going under the hood of my OS to fix this. 200 FPS is pretty excessive so this needs to be fixed. I did really enjoy the game.

my GPU was 77C.

That's disturbing. I get an alert when I'm pushing 65 (which should never in fact happen) and at 67 I can smell electric things and plastic get very hot. I had a pc ignite once. It's not something I would want to see anyone go through. It was from a failed power unit fan, but nevertheless...