Originally posted by DarkHyren

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It's all a matter of having [...] your PC drivers patched and up to date OR DOWNGRADED to minimise those crashes.

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Fixed for you too. :p Try running System Shock 2 or Thief with the latest top-of-the-line graphics card, or say, Final Fantasy 7 ported to PC, or a variety of other ancient games or poorly coded, or just poorly aged games.

The Vista comment was a joke anyway. No need to dissect it, I'm aware that Vista has vastly improved upon what it once was, and can now be seen as a fully functional and competent OS. But it's infamous more for what it once was than for what it is now. :p And you knew that to begin with.

OP probably just has overheating or a crapload of malware, or a silly problem like that.

Most of the MUDs are virtually all the same. And the ones that aren't feel like the same games wearing a mask. Kind of like all the Mafia Wars clones and how most browser games feel similar.

Haven't played em in years, but here's a couple I checked that are still running that kicked arse back in the day.

godwars2.org:3000
God Wars, an EXTREMELY complex combat system. It's nothing short of beautiful. Duels are a bit ridiculous, though. I remember as a handicap someone beat me to death ... with a pair of socks. I can't explain to you how amazing this game is, you have to go out and try it. The level of customization in this game is amazing, and I have probably not played any game ever, MUD or not, that has paralleled this amazing combat system. A bit of a learning curve, but worth it.

ginka.armageddon.org:4050
By far the best roleplay I've probably ever seen in my entire life, these guys are very serious, with matching gameplay to boot, a rich background and very unique systems. The only problem is that there's permadeath... And for each character you need an acceptable name, description, and history. And then you need to apply to an admin to have it approved so you can play. Is it worth it? Yes. Just prepare to cry if you die and lose all your hard work. :p This game is for very Serious Business roleplayers only. Really, they're hardcore. Big learning curve, requires lots of reading of backstory.

avpmud.com:5000
Raze The Dead
Zombie survival MUD. Last I checked it still was under a good deal of construction, but that was years ago. Has a slew of interesting abilities and skills if I recall correctly. Definitely unique, but not easy. You'll be running from a lot of fights, if I remember right. Worth checking out.

There have been more, but a lot closed down. I'm sure there's some interesting ones left. I remember a MUD that was a build-your-own fortress RTS sort of deal, man, that was an amazing game...

I'm fairly sure OP wants to be directed to a USB adapter for an actual console controller, I don't think he's referring to configuring an already-compatible joypad.

Victoro, what controller do you want to connect?

I own the Logitech controller. Both of them seem pretty much identical in appearance, however, one has force feedback, the other is wireless. The one I have has neither force feedback, nor is it wireless, but it is EXACTLY the same as it appears in the force feedback controller. From personal experience, I find it to be an adequate controller. I use it for PSX emulation and some PC ports of console games that can't be played properly with the keyboard. It's nice, but the analog sticks are not 'precise'. They seem to be either on or off. You can tilt them slowly, but it does not work well. I have heard others condemn this controller over and over again, it seems that over time the analog sticks degrade and become unusable.

It is not an amazing controller, but it is adequate. It is still much more convenient than playing with the keyboard.

What I would seriously suggest is buying USB adapters for your old N64/PSX/PS2/Gamecube etc. controller. The controllers are made for consoles and hence are durable and precise, and work just as intended, and are quite probably very cheap if you were to go out and buy one (Assuming you don't have one laying around your house).

As a matter of fact, there's a very interesting driver floating around on the internet for free to turn your PS3 controller into a USB joystick. If anyone expresses interest and for some reason can't find it themselves from googling, I'll kick it up for you.

If for some reason you HAVE to buy a joypad specifically for PC, I'd recommend the two that aren't Logitech, just because they seem less... imitat-ey, and I'm somewhat unconvinced on recommending Logitech's stuff.

I very rarely experience crashes, and if I do, it's very, very rarely the program's fault. Most malware slows down your computer because it's running it's own processes in the background, it might disable your antivirus, but going about deleting your game files? Quite unlikely.

Believe it or not, most games are made to actually run, and run well. If you're experiencing constant freezing and glitching, your computer is either extremely outdated, or overheating, or both.

Or you're running Vista.

Even if you ripped all the videos and music out of a game -- which is totally ruining the playing experience -- you're still at several, if not dozens of times larger than an N64 ROM. To give you an idea of the ratio of sizes...
N64 varies from 4 MB to 64 MB.
PSX varies from 200~ MB to 700MB.

Not to mention it was not uncommon for PSX games to have two or more CDs...

I'm quite sure a ps2/DS emulator via plugin on the internet is really unviable. And even if it was possible, it's better that you just set up your own emulators using the program, because I know PS2 emulating takes a lot of tweaking, and that DS has its problems too.

NO$GBA or DeSmuME seem to be the recommended emulators for DS, for PS2 PCSX2 is definitely the way to go.

Not to mention that even if PS2 or even DS emulating was viable on the site, bandwidth costs would go through the roof. The most complex gaming system is pretty much the N64 on here, and the ROMs for that are only a few MB, whereas the DS can go up to about 128MB, the PS2 has DVDs which iirc is around 4.7 gig. That's... a huge difference. It's just not plausible. If you want to emulate those systems, you need a good PC and optimal conditions.

Absolutely RPG. RPGs stand up by themselves, and can go much, much farther with experimentation and unique ideas and storyline than an MMORPG ever could-- which is to say that RPGs HAVE a story, whereas MMORPGs often only have a very loose one. MMORPGs are mostly all generic and every single one pretty much ends up looking exactly like the other, bar maybe one or two different, small features. Not to mention you don't have to pay monthly for an RPG-- you pay once, and you're done. You don't have to buy money or items or pets or perks either.

MMORPGs are more a business venture by companies to gain a crapload of cash on a game using a tried and true (see: boring) equation, and to make them really 'fun' you need friends, or lots of real life money to throw around.

RPGs just need your time, and they give you much more in return.

Just poking around to see just how well an N64 works in-browser, via a plugin.

I'm not entirely sure I consider myself that much of a retro gamer, but anything within the last, maybe, ten, eleven years I consider fair game.

Favorite games is too broad of an area. The Longest Journey, Wild Arms 2, Ace Attorney games, System Shock 2, GMod, XCom/UFO, Deus Ex, Shadow of Destiny, the Chzo Mythos to name a few. Mostly a PC gamer, but I've always lurved the playstation too.