NC> I know the 21" ones I used to use at work were gigantic 
 NC> up close, I couldn't even see over the top of them! :) 
 NC> Pity Wolfenstein ran like a dog in a small box in the 
 NC> centre of the screen, with like 6 inch borders. :) Not 
 NC> enough memory/processor power to run at full screen 
 NC> Hugely-Big resolution. 
  Poor you!  :-)
 NC> Unfortunately the norm for PC 'bundles is still just 
 NC> the little 14" or 15" as an option for most companies. 
  Actually, that doesn't seem to be the case around here.  If you get a 
Pentium II, you're likely to receive a 17" monitor with it.  So, I think this 
issue on the playing screen is pretty much moot.
 NC> You mean your drawn in fully to the game so it doesn't 
 NC> matter what your viewing it on, or have I mis-
 NC> interpretted what you wrote there? :)
  That's more or less what I meant.  Since the screen and sound envelop you 
more, it doesn't feel like you're sitting in front of a screen, playing a 
game; it feels more like you're in it.
 NC> Unfortuneatly not, I'm sure they are very reasonable, 
 NC> I'm just a picky sod who hates white-plastic-speaker 
 NC> systems. :) Black boxes, wooden cabs: sonic bliss! 
  Well, my ACS-55s don't have oak cabinets, but they ARE black!  And they do 
sound good too, in addition to having a weird, curved look to them.
 NC> But then: JBL and Bose make some good sounding PC sound 
 NC> systems over here. Personally I'd just hook any new 
 NC> sound source up to my audio rig.
  I couldn't really argue against those people, but Cambridge is definitely 
the ideal company for PC sound.  Altec-Lansing (at least, with their ACS-55s) 
comes close.
 NC> Any system can pump out loud noise, a good system 
 NC> delivers perfect, powerful, controlled hi-fi sound.
  I know... it does that!
 NC> On a constantly shifting platform that is the PC, no 
 NC> programmer can ever squeeze every last drop of power 
 NC> out a system simply due to shifting goalposts IYSWIM, 
 NC> the developers push the hardware needed further, to 
 NC> cope with sloppy, bloated coding.
 NC> I mean no operating system or game should *require* so 
 NC> much power and space and deliver so little in return.
  Do you actually play PC games though?  Most of the ones I've played are 
anything BUT sloppy coding.  There are notable exceptions, such as 
Carmageddon (they could've optimized a bit more); but on the whole most PC 
game designers do an admirable job.
  Besides, I might remind you that there are PC versions of G-Police and 
Formula 1, and both are examples of good coding combined with good gameplay 
(in my view).  You should see the G-Police demo at 640x480 with EVERY detail 
on.
  And what's this about "so little in return?"  High-res, faster loading 
times, the built-in ability to save games at any point, multiplayer 
capability, add-ons... it's hardly limited.
 NC> And do the PC versions require as little space, 
 NC> processor and memory requirements as the PSX versions? 
 NC> No! They use /loads/ more on the PC.
  And get faster load times... aww, too bad!
--- Maximus 3.01
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