# Free PC game and free weekend notification thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [November 13, 2014, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513 "2014-11-13T08:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 56
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1105 "2021-11-05T21:02:47Z")
I’m not sure where you got that idea, it’s $30 to purchase it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1106 "2021-11-05T21:08:49Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m not sure where you got that idea, it’s $30 to purchase it It’s free on Epic, not Steam. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1107 "2021-11-05T21:15:31Z")
My apologies, it is Epic instead of Steam (not sure how I mixed that up). [Here’s the correct link](https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/aven-colony). Unfortunately it won’t let me edit my earlier post. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1108 "2021-11-05T21:33:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > It’s free on Epic, not Steam. > [@liirogue](#): > > My apologies, it is Epic instead of Steam (not sure how I mixed that up). Thanks both of you. It’s a good-looking game, I’m grabbing it. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1109 "2021-11-06T20:09:01Z")
It does look intriguing. Installing it now. (47%) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1110 "2021-11-07T02:06:40Z")
I’m liking it so far. At least I’m liking it better than Surviving Mars, which I also installed just to compare. (It was also an Epic free game I picked up over the summer.) I did the first tutorial mission on Surviving Mars, then switched to Aven Colony. After the first tutorial mission, Aven Colony seemed clearly better to me. Oddly, after the first 10 minute tutorial mission, I’m multiple hours into the second tutorial mission. There is a tremendous amount of information to take in, but still, will this second tutorial mission ever end? I think there’s like a half a dozen of these tutorial missions. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1111 "2021-11-07T17:19:29Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m liking it so far. At least I’m liking it better than Surviving Mars, which I also installed just to compare. (It was also an Epic free game I picked up over the summer.) I did the first tutorial mission on Surviving Mars, then switched to Aven Colony. That’s good to know - I enjoyed Surviving Mars for a bit, but found myself losing interest after a few days of playing. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1112 "2021-11-08T05:51:38Z")
I love city builders but I am used to Anno 1800 and Civilization and find most others lacking (or Cities: Skyline if you want literal city building). Are these games (Aven Colony and Surviving Mars) worth a go? Different in good ways other than setting? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1113 "2021-11-08T13:01:00Z")
I’ve never played any Civilization game. And in fact, I’m mainly trying to avoid spending $9 on Civilization 6, which is currently 85% off, I think until November 11th. (It’s a super old game to still be selling for $60.) The game I really want to play is Humankind, but that hasn’t gone on sale yet. The second tutorial mission on Aven Colony finally ended after about 7 hours. It was fun and engaging, so that’s fine. The very next map, however, appears to have an extreme nanite shortage. Nanites are the only building material in the entire game, so a shortage of those is kind of a bummer. To the point that I’m going to have to restart and rethink my entire strategy. Honestly I may just give up. I’m not sure the whole nanite economy game balance is thought through well enough. But I will definitely try again. I’m hoping the one-two punch of Aven Colony and Surviving Mars helps me resist the overpriced Civilization 6 sale. I do like Aven Colony’s hostile environment, at least. Ice storms and lightning and giant sand worms and all sorts of active threats. And you can build some nice defensive buildings to shoot them down with rockets and whatnot. That’s pretty fun and satisfying, at least. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1114 "2021-11-08T13:11:28Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m not sure the whole nanite economy game balance is thought through well enough. Specifically, during each map you get many little mini-missions, like build this building or get to this population or whatever. Completing each mission grants you a reward, which is frequently nanites. It would appear that the game may depend on and require those mission rewards in order to make the maps playable. There may not be enough nanites on the maps themselves to advance properly without mission rewards. I’m not saying this is a problem, I’m saying I’m worried that this could be a problem. I’ll find out later today when I can try again. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1115 "2021-11-09T15:32:22Z")
[Assassins Creed: Chronicles](https://register.ubisoft.com/ac-chronicles/en-US) is free on Ubisoft (added into UbiConnect) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1116 "2021-11-09T16:12:49Z")
[Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep](https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/tiny-tinas-assault-on-dragon-keep-a-wonderlands-one-shot-adventure): A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure is free on Epic. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1117 "2021-11-09T18:44:47Z")
Team-Based Racing/Combat game [KEO](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424910/KEO/) is free on Steam So is dystopian state-spy simulator [Beholder](https://store.steampowered.com/app/475550/Beholder/). Discourse is lecturing me on making too many posts in a row but they’re not the boss of me. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1118 "2021-11-10T18:28:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I love city builders but I am used to Anno 1800 and Civilization and find most others lacking (or Cities: Skyline if you want literal city building). > > Are these games (Aven Colony and Surviving Mars) worth a go? Different in good ways other than setting? I haven’t played Aven Colony yet, but the game mechanics for Surviving Mars are much simpler than the Civ games. Surviving Mars has a few things that I don’t recall in the Civ games (such as colonists have personality traits that affect how they work and interact with each other) but things like the tech tree are much simpler. It’s worth a free download to check it out - while it may not be as involved, it may be enjoyable to you for a bit. > [@Jophiel](#): > > So is dystopian state-spy simulator [Beholder](https://store.steampowered.com/app/475550/Beholder/). I downloaded this the last time it was free and thoroughly enjoyed it! In fact, I liked it enough that I bought the sequel ([Beholder 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/761620/Beholder_2/), which happens to be on sale for the next 24 hours for $2.99!), which I also really enjoyed. Simple game mechanics, but great storyline. Be prepared to be confronted with morally/ethically difficult choices. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1119 "2021-11-10T18:47:54Z")
[SteamWorld Dig 2](https://www.gog.com/game/steamworld_dig_2) is currently free on GOG ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1120 "2021-11-10T19:14:22Z")
[SteamWorld Dig 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/571310/SteamWorld_Dig_2/) is now also free on Steam which people will probably like even better. Options! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1121 "2021-11-12T19:55:10Z")
I’ve got a pretty good gaming rig now. I _think_ it came overclocked from CyberPower where I bought it, but I am not sure. How do I check? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1122 "2021-11-12T20:58:08Z")
When you turn it on, you’ll get a prompt to hold a button to enter the BIOS or UEFI (basically same thing, different interface). This is typically the F2 or DEL key. From there you can check and see what your CPU clock speed is set at. Alternately, you can download a utility such as [CPU-Z](https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) or [CoreTemp](https://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/) or [HWMonitor](https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html) that will display your CPU’s clock speed. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1123 "2021-11-12T21:22:04Z")
Cool. Thanks! I will check in when I get home from work and see what’s up. I think I have overclocking capability as it’s an i-9 10 series processor. Edit: I found the specs: CAS: CyberPowerPC Alumalight 241V Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Tempered Glass Window [+20] (White/Orange) CPU: Intel(R) Core™ Processor i9-10900KF 10/20 3.70GHz [Turbo 5.2GHz] 20MB Cache LGA1200 [w/o Integrated Graphic] (Comet Lake-S) [+120] CS\_FAN: Default case fans FAN: CyberPowerPC DEEPCOOL Castle 360EX ARGB 360mm AIO Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ Copper Cold Plate [+40] (3 x Standard 120MM Fans) FREEBIE\_CU: Marvel Avengers Game [+0] HDD: 1TB ADATA ASX8100NP-1TT-C PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD - Seq R/W: Up to Up to 3500/1900 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 290/240k [+5] (Single Drive) HDD2: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 256MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+46] (Single Drive) HEADSET: None IUSB: Built-in USB Ports (Based on motherboard and case selection) KEYBOARD: CyberPowerPC Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/3600MHz Dual Channel Memory [+90] (Corsair Vengeance PRO RGB [+45]) MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z490-A PRO ATX, ARGB, 2.5GbE LAN, 2 PCIe x16, 4 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 2x M.2 SATA/PCIe NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network OS: Windows 10 Home (64-bit Edition) OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - GIGABYTE GP-P750GM 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active Power Supply [+59] PRO\_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19] SLI\_BRIDGE: None SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO TUNING: None USBHD: None USBX: None VIDEO: GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6 (Ampere) [VR Ready] [+434] (Single Card) So I guess no overclocking but that “turbo” function I guess delivers up to that 5ghz-ish number when under duress? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513/1124 "2021-11-13T13:38:07Z")
As mentioned, [CPU-Z](https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) will tell you all for this. It will not tell you if you are overclocked. It just tells you what the system specs are when you run it. You would have to compare to the original specs to see if you were delivered an overclocked machine. I doubt they overclocked from the store since that tends to void warranties but maybe they did. Honestly, overclocking is a bit overrated. There was a time when it was well worth the effort. These days, the manufacturers tend to send the chips out at close to max ability. They learned people were buying cheap chips and jazzing them up. They learned to charge you for it now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513.md?page=55) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-pc-game-and-free-weekend-notification-thread/704513.md?page=57)