GameTap ~ Has anyone else tried it?

[Mozgus]

I finally decided to try the gold version, after messing with the free trial, and after seeing so many ads on Adult Swim lately, and I have to say, this is a solid piece of software. I love the look of everything. It's very optimized, and easy to use. I'm not going to bother listing everything it does right, because that would take forever. I'm just ganna list minor gripes.

1) The games should ask you to configure the controls on the very first run. I keep forgetting to configure them, and then I have to back out and do it and then run the game again. Obviously this doesn't apply to modern PC games that have internal configuration menus.

2) Gametap TV sometimes doesn't load videos at all. Strangely, it has no trouble loading the ads before the videos. :-\
Edit: Since upgrading to Gold, the problem videos from before seem to be working. Maybe they weren't supposed to be usable from the Free account, or maybe Gold users get priority on the streaming lines.

3) We should be given some advanced video or audio configuration options for emulated games. Maybe keep them hidden from casual users or something. I'd like the option to use 2xsai and cubic filtering on the audio, at the very least.

4) Some of the emulated games have very minor static in the audio that isn't in those same games when I play them on my own emulators. Audio emulation can be quite poor on some of the older titles in general. Joust, for example, sounds pretty terrible.

5) If you need your Nintendo brand fix, you're out of luck here, except for the Konami pack, which has the Castelvanias and Contra from NES emulated.

6) While downloading games in the background, Gametap performance overall is hurt. For example, while I'm downloading 4.8GB Tomb Raider Legend right now, all my games are suffering noticeable stutters, as does the Gametap menu.

7) I tried Chu Chu Rocket for Dreamcast but no matter what I do I cant get my mapped controls to do anything in the game. The other DC games might have this problem.

I'll be adding more later if I find any. Overall, this is a fantastic service, especially for retrogamers with busy lives who can't deal with the complicated aspects of normal emulation routines, not to mention the legal issues.

I'd also like to point out that, as a video editor, I admire their efforts with their ads. They can make even the oldest, or most obscure, or just plain shittiest game ever, appear worth playing. Sometimes they even craft up an ad/trailer for a game that always had terrible videos to show it off.

Looks like I've found two massive issues

http://www.gametap.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=2894 *Fixed. nForce Networking Configuration Tweak required.
http://www.gametap.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=2916

[baphomet_irl]

so u reckon its worth buyin stuff from?

I have to admit I am very excited about getting a PROPERLY working WIng COmmander IV in Windows XP - are all the games
updated to ensure they run perfect on most modern machines?

[Mozgus]

so u reckon its worth buyin stuff from?

I have to admit I am very excited about getting a PROPERLY working WIng COmmander IV in Windows XP - are all the games
updated to ensure they run perfect on most modern machines?

I know nothing of that game so I can't say. It's 1.5GB to download, and gametap users give it a 9.4 rating, so it must run well.

[Mozgus]

Ok I tried Wind Commander 4 and it doesnt get past the intro video. I've found a ton of Windows games with massive problems. I'm really disappointed in this category. Basically, if you know of a Windows game that doesnt work for you, it's not ganna work on Gametap, and if you know of one that does work in Windows, it's going probably going to have some new flaws on Gametap. Other examples I've found so far:

Oregon Trail won't save. Says theres no space.
Grandia 2 won't even start up.
Prince of Persia Sands of Time feels...slippery in motion. I don't remember having that before.
Virtual Pool 3 won't start. A blank red x window pops up with no error message.
Worms 2 has all it's music removed. I imagine a lot of PC games with CDDA music now have the music removed. Gametap needs to make mention of edits such of this.
X-Com only halfway appears on my screen. It's vertically stretched by 2.
Farcry's sound effects only work half the time, enemies AI sometimes stops working.
GunMetal's voice clips like to stick in a loop and not stop.

[roushimsx]

Ok I tried Wind Commander 4 and it doesnt get past the intro video. I've found a ton of Windows games with massive problems. I'm really disappointed in this category. Basically, if you know of a Windows game that doesnt work for you, it's not ganna work on Gametap, and if you know of one that does work in Windows, it's going probably going to have some new flaws on Gametap. Other examples I've found so far:

Snagging Grandia 2 to check it out, but Wing Commander IV works fine for me. FWIW, are you using Vista or XP? I know Vista owners have been having issues since Vista rolled out and while they've been getting better, shit's still not nearly as good as it is in XP. I feel especially bad for people with Vista 64, since I think the only game they're able to play is Uru

For the most part, games that are hard to run in Windows (Interstate '76, Nitro Pack, and the incredibly disappointing '82) have had their engines tweaked to work fine in XP (and hopefully Vista). I can not wait until they finally add Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen so that I can play the damn PC version. The PS1 version's load times killed it for me

The biggest drawback to the larger Windows games (especially Far Cry and Beyond Good & Evil) is the progressive downloading. I also don't like that they picked the Windows version of X-COM...I've stuck to just running that in DOSbox for a while now and it's doubtful that I'll ever bother running it on anything else (especially since I like snapping high res shots in DOSbox to use as wallpapers). Lack of multiplayer in the windows games also kinda bites (though realisticly, I doubt I'd ever really use it in anything other than Interstate '76).

...since typing that, Grandia 2 finished downloading, starts up fine, and I watched the whole damn introduction (until after you get your job and gain control of the character). I'd always heard that the port was pretty half-assed in a FF7-ish fashion, but at least it supports 1024x768.

Worms 2 is downloading in the background right now while I have it up, so perhaps its CDDA is set to progressively download. I'm going to leave it up overnight for a little testing (heading to bed now anyway) and I'll try out the audio configuration in the morning to see if it pans out or not.

[Mozgus]

No, I use XP. Vista is shit. Why would these games not work for me then? I have a very clean system, newest drivers, no other harmful processes running. And Gametap is still using up to 50% CPU when it's downloading or playing an online challenge, which then massively harms performance of it's own games. This is just inexcusable. I find myself comparing Gametap to Steam in most situations, and Steam is definitely coming out on top when it comes to performance and reliability.

It's kinda sad. After 1 day I feel like I'm done with this service already. At least they only got 99 cents from me for this whole month.

[thegore]

i'm just playing the free stuff. that Neo Geo shmup "burning star" is among the best I"ve played.

[baphomet_irl]

Ok I tried Wind Commander 4 and it doesnt get past the intro video. I've found a ton of Windows games with massive problems.

Damn! - you know probably the only reason I would consider using Vista is because apparently for some bizzare reason it has VERY good DOS gaming support, even running a lot of previous DOSbox only games perfectly.

[Mozgus]

i'm just playing the free stuff. that Neo Geo shmup "burning star" is among the best I"ve played.

Blazing Star you mean? Grabbing it now.

[thegore]

i'm just playing the free stuff. that Neo Geo shmup "burning star" is among the best I"ve played.

Blazing Star you mean? Grabbing it now.

yeah thats it. fun times.