Posts tagged update
Jun 7th
Note: There is a newer version of DirectX available.
Microsoft released a new version of DirectX yesterday, the newest release since March 2008. DirectX, for those of you who don’t know, is what developers use to help power games on Windows-based computers, and DirectX 10.1, which is the latest version on the market, allows things in-game like motion blur, god rays, and other sweet effects. If you are currently having any problems with your games, upgrading to the latest version of DirectX is always a good way to try and fix it.
DirectX Runtime Download
June 2008 Only Download
May 31st
Steam, the service that Valve uses to distribute games online, is known for its excellent copy protection, easy game downloading, and large base of players. Valve announced that they will be adding two more features to help gamers in the near future, namely keeping save games and key bindings on the user’s account, so that players that play their games on multiple computers can keep their data with them. I, who use two computers to play Steam games, find this news a godsend from Valve. This news is also great for people on a single computer, because if a freak accident like a hard drive wipe or fire wipes out the data on your computer, then you still have it when you get a new one! The games that will first see the effects of this update are Half Life, Half Life 2, Counter Strike: Source, and the upcoming Left 4 Dead. I can only hope that they add it to Team Fortress 2 soon after. For those of you that don’t have Steam, you can take advantage of the download button below to get it.
May 13th
The newest drivers for nVidia were released today, the first drivers in 5 months to not be “beta.” This brought minor game performance improvements among other things. You can download the new drivers here.
I would like to point out to people reading this that I personally, and some others on the nVidia forums, aren’t having the best of times with these drivers. My speakers are putting out a really annoying static sound when they’re turned on. Others are reporting install issues in Windows Vista (i.e. they won’t install at all). One person recommends using the 174.74 drivers until the issues can be sorted out, but I haven’t tested these out myself yet. All in all, make sure that you are upgrading to the newest drivers for a good reason, otherwise stick with the ones you have that work.