Gnoman
2014-05-25, 05:53 PM
Somewhat complicated scenario here. I'm heavily into retro gaming, and consequently have a huge number of games that run just fine on my slightly aging laptop. However, for what I hope are obvious comfort reasons, I generally prefer my desktop. That said, I do like to stretch out on the couch to game sometimes, or sit on the front porch on a lazy summer evening with my laptop and Zork or Ultima.
The problem with this, of course, is that I wind up with all my maps, notes, and saves for a game on one device or another, and am locked into one or the other for that game. For example, I currently have a game of Might and Magic I going on my laptop, while I'm playing through Wasteland on the desktop. If, as now, I'm in the mood to play MIght and Magic, I have no choice but to pull out the laptop, despite being in no mood to deal with the small screen (which makes it cumbersome to take notes), horrible keyboard, and obscenely bad "mouse". On the other hand, I almost certainly will want to continue the game in the cool of the evening outside later. The question, then, is how to get the setup mirrored between systems. So far, I have only thought of three ways to do this, none of which I have found satisfactory.
1. Network share the games directory from the desktop, and mount it on the laptop.
2. Use a flash drive or external HDD for games
3. Utilize some sort of backup or cloud storage utility to synchronize files
The problems:
1. Lag was unacceptable in many games due to disk access delays.
2. Too easy to lose, a great deal of hassle to manage
3. Too many files get picked up, so a massive file transfer begins as soon as I run the service program.
Any alternative suggestions, or ways to improve 1-3?
The problem with this, of course, is that I wind up with all my maps, notes, and saves for a game on one device or another, and am locked into one or the other for that game. For example, I currently have a game of Might and Magic I going on my laptop, while I'm playing through Wasteland on the desktop. If, as now, I'm in the mood to play MIght and Magic, I have no choice but to pull out the laptop, despite being in no mood to deal with the small screen (which makes it cumbersome to take notes), horrible keyboard, and obscenely bad "mouse". On the other hand, I almost certainly will want to continue the game in the cool of the evening outside later. The question, then, is how to get the setup mirrored between systems. So far, I have only thought of three ways to do this, none of which I have found satisfactory.
1. Network share the games directory from the desktop, and mount it on the laptop.
2. Use a flash drive or external HDD for games
3. Utilize some sort of backup or cloud storage utility to synchronize files
The problems:
1. Lag was unacceptable in many games due to disk access delays.
2. Too easy to lose, a great deal of hassle to manage
3. Too many files get picked up, so a massive file transfer begins as soon as I run the service program.
Any alternative suggestions, or ways to improve 1-3?