Yesterday I beat the Dark Forces Remaster in one sitting, and it was rather fantastic. Only problem I have with it is the music, which is just gently wrong . Something about the iMuse emulation they have going on leads to some notes falling out of sync, and the soundfont they used doesn't hide it too well. Since then, though, I've been doing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is going to be taking up a lot of time in the near future.

BetaC wrote on 2024-03-01, 04:38:

Yesterday I beat the Dark Forces Remaster in one sitting, and it was rather fantastic. Only problem I have with it is the music, which is just gently wrong . Something about the iMuse emulation they have going on leads to some notes falling out of sync, and the soundfont they used doesn't hide it too well. Since then, though, I've been doing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is going to be taking up a lot of time in the near future.

Was just looking at that on Steam. I generally like Nightdive remasters, but decided to wait for a sale.

However, it did make me fire up The Force Engine and start a replay through Dark Forces using that source port. Loads of fun!

From IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

TFE: https://theforceengine.github.io/

A little update on my struggle agains NFSIII: I switched to the Tournament mode, changed my car from the C-tier Mercedes SL600 to the B-tier Ferrari 355 F1 Spider and somehow managed to beat the game, although I only finished 1st in like maybe half of the races, even though the difficulty was set to Beginner 🤣 Yeah, I STILL suck 😁 Can't imagine myself beating the Knockout or Hot Pursuit modes any time soon 😐

Playing some Tomb Raider II. Have not played it in ages. I remember it being more action oriented than 1&3 and it is. It is also kind of easy to get lost, maybe that is the puzzle part...

I’m on mission 10 of Warcraft 2 (Orc campaign), never played it before and it’s very nice! The only downside compared to modern titles is the limited number of units one can select at the same time.

Minutemanqvs wrote on 2024-03-06, 20:09:

I’m on mission 10 of Warcraft 2 (Orc campaign), never played it before and it’s very nice! The only downside compared to modern titles is the limited number of units one can select at the same time.

Heh. Don't try playing Warcraft 1 then. 😜

dr_st wrote on 2024-03-06, 21:04:

Minutemanqvs wrote on 2024-03-06, 20:09:

I’m on mission 10 of Warcraft 2 (Orc campaign), never played it before and it’s very nice! The only downside compared to modern titles is the limited number of units one can select at the same time.

Heh. Don't try playing Warcraft 1 then. 😜

4 units is still better than 1 (Looking at You Dune 2.. *click* "Re-" *click* "Ack-" *click* "Re-" *click* "Acknowledged".. "Harkonnen unit destroyed.")

Yesterday I installed Max Payne. I'm playing it for the first time in my life, having beaten Control and Alan Wake recently (well, uh, last year, not that recently then 😉 ).
I have a couple of observations so far:
1. The hype regarding the EAX 3d audio is very much real! It sounds great on my 5.1 speaker setup.
2. Even though the game requires 16MB of VRAM and directx 8.0, it actually runs pretty well (30-45 fps) on my 12MB voodoo2 😳
3. Wheeee, bullet time!

revolstar wrote on 2024-03-09, 08:21:

1. The hype regarding the EAX 3d audio is very much real! It sounds great on my 5.1 speaker setup.

Agreed. Max Payne 1&2 have some really nice positional audio, which sounds superb when using a 5.1 surround system. For me, this definitively increases immersion, and makes it feel like I'm actually inside the game's world.

2. Even though the game requires 16MB of VRAM and directx 8.0, it actually runs pretty well (30-45 fps) on my 12MB voodoo2

I think you might end up with slightly diminished visuals on that card. From what I remember, even the first Max Payne has enough texture detail to benefit from 32-bit color depth and higher resolutions.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-03-09, 08:28:

I think you might end up with slightly diminished visuals on that card. From what I remember, even the first Max Payne has enough texture detail to benefit from 32-bit color depth and higher resolutions.

Oh definitely, I'm not taking any chances, I'm playing it with 32 bit textures on my FX5500. I just checked if it would run at all on the voodoo2 😀

Payne on a V2 though will have broken decals on walls. (V3 fixes this and is officially supported, blurry text aside!)

played a bit of Wolfenstein 2009

it looks good and plays fine, not sure i care for the supernatural gameplay elements though, i kind of preferred the balance/mix in "return to" from 2001

one drawback of it looking good - there is so much stuff that you cant interact with. typical of many games of the era where the graphics 'overpromised' on the environment

overall its ok, just not all that engaging really

any one else like it?

gerry wrote on 2024-03-12, 14:36:

played a bit of Wolfenstein 2009 […]
Show full quote

played a bit of Wolfenstein 2009

it looks good and plays fine, not sure i care for the supernatural gameplay elements though, i kind of preferred the balance/mix in "return to" from 2001

one drawback of it looking good - there is so much stuff that you cant interact with. typical of many games of the era where the graphics 'overpromised' on the environment

overall its ok, just not all that engaging really

any one else like it?

I remember enjoying this game when it came out, but its been to long for me to give any specific impressions about it. I don't think I thought it was an amazing game but good.

Chex Quest!

For those unfamiliar, it's basically a "family friendly" port of DOOM that was given away as a promotion for Chex cereal. I had Chex Quest 1 and 2 when I was a kid. I can't remember if they were included in the box of cereal or if we had to send away for it in the mail. At first, we didn't have a computer fast enough to run them (we had an old 286) so I had to wait until we got a Windows 95 PC in 1997. Before that I played at the neighbor's house sometimes.

These screenshots were taken tonight on my Pentium 200 MMX system running Windows 95.

Shagittarius wrote on 2024-03-12, 15:50:

I remember enjoying this game when it came out, but its been to long for me to give any specific impressions about it. I don't think I thought it was an amazing game but good.

i think thats about it, i played a bit further and got the particle cannon weapon but still its all just ok, oh well - i'll carry on while its fun enough

nezwick wrote on 2024-03-12, 23:06:

Chex Quest!

For those unfamiliar, it's basically a "family friendly" port of DOOM that was given away as a promotion for Chex cereal. I had Chex Quest 1 and 2 when I was a kid. I can't remember if they were included in the box of cereal or if we had to send away for it in the mail. At first, we didn't have a computer fast enough to run them (we had an old 286) so I had to wait until we got a Windows 95 PC in 1997. Before that I played at the neighbor's house sometimes.

a classic! it's actually a nice enough game imo with some effort evident in its implementation, simple but fun

StriderTR wrote on 2024-03-01, 17:46:

Was just looking at that on Steam. I generally like Nightdive remasters, but decided to wait for a sale. […]
Show full quote

BetaC wrote on 2024-03-01, 04:38:

Yesterday I beat the Dark Forces Remaster in one sitting, and it was rather fantastic. Only problem I have with it is the music, which is just gently wrong . Something about the iMuse emulation they have going on leads to some notes falling out of sync, and the soundfont they used doesn't hide it too well. Since then, though, I've been doing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is going to be taking up a lot of time in the near future.

Was just looking at that on Steam. I generally like Nightdive remasters, but decided to wait for a sale.

However, it did make me fire up The Force Engine and start a replay through Dark Forces using that source port. Loads of fun!

From IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

TFE: https://theforceengine.github.io/

The guy behind TFE was hired by Nightdive to do porting work on the remaster, so the two aren't really that far apart in quality. One is meant for enthusiasts and the other is meant for those who just want to play the game in high quality, without having to do much work.

Tough to find time to play games right now. My wife and I take turns putting the kid in bed and that would be the hour or so I'd have to play but recently stuff has gotten a habit of cropping up. The night before last the boy developed GI symptoms, requiring all hands on deck for several hours just do deal with that and the resulting laundry. Other nights, because I do sit at my desk a fair bit for my job, I notice that my eyes are frequently getting tired with even more screen time, so I have to do something different after hours rather than looking at another smaller screen.

Anyway, not to complain, I did make a bit of headway with Fire Hawk: Thexder - The Second Contact.

I completed the second mission which also has the first boss fight. Just a big square floating enemy in a sealed-off cave. This turned out to be relatively easy but it's still overall a challenging game. Energy pickups are not abundant and by the third mission it is becoming clear that you have to a) learn the levels/locations of enemies by heart and b) judiciously kite enemies, shooting at them with both lasers and missiles while backpedalling out of harms way. I still really like the graphics and controlling the Thexder feels snappy and intuitive. The auto-aiming laser really is the USP of this game, because it makes the core gameplay mostly about assessing the level-geography, kiting and outmaneuvering enemies while you lay down fire with the laser and missiles. Thexder is not really a typical platformer; sure, you run and jump etc. but there are not many environmental hazards so far. Jumps don't need to be timed or gauged because a lot of the time, if in doubt, you can always turn into a jet and fly up or down that ledge or over the lava pool. It feels more like 1995's Abuse in the way that mobs try to swarm you and you have to use the geography to control them, or like a dungeon crawler or even an FPS with an emphasis on kiting.

I know there are more weapons later in the game so we'll see how that changes things up.

henryVK wrote on 2024-03-15, 11:26:

Tough to find time to play games right now. My wife and I take turns putting the kid in bed and that would be the hour or so I'd have to play but recently stuff has gotten a habit of cropping up. The night before last the boy developed GI symptoms, requiring all hands on deck for several hours just do deal with that and the resulting laundry. Other nights, because I do sit at my desk a fair bit for my job, I notice that my eyes are frequently getting tired with even more screen time, so I have to do something different after hours rather than looking at another smaller screen.

Its incredibly tough to find time for gaming when you are a new dad. I try to squeeze in an hour or so when the kid goes to bed. Hes just over 2 right now.

I have been having a great time though in gaming lately. I had 3 days off work this week and made a lot of progress in South Park the Fracture but Whole , which is super fun, hilarious and the gameplay is very fun.

I have also completed 4 episodes in Wolfenstein 3D and am nearly done episode 5. I have never gone past episode 1 before. so I'm exited to beat the game and the game is super fun. The sounds are so great and when the guards yell at you suddenly I nearly crap my pants!

I'm also playing Blake Stone Aliens of Gold, but I just started and I'm only on floor 2 of the first episode. Just like Wolf 3D but a nice new aesthetic. Another game where I never played past the shareware.

Also , I opened my sealed copy of Rise of the Triad and started to play it on my 486 but I think it runs too slow and i need to install it on my Pentium 1

These old games are incredibly fun and i'm having so much fun gaming again.

Unavowed
I went into this expecting a sort of a mix of Quest for Glory and Maniac Mansion, but it seems more like some kind of interactive graphic novel with your typical point and click stuff. I was immediately annoyed with the game as it just funnels you from scene to scene with little real interaction, then for the first "puzzle" sticks you in a room with a demon menacing your two companions, who are basically demon-fighting superheroes. So you, as some nobody who has just awakened from being possessed by a demon, has to solve the problem. It's a dumb setup, but whatever. The demon just stands there while you go around the screen clicking on everything you can, and ultimately connect a wire you find in a dumpster from a power box to a puddle that just happens to be next to the demon, to electrocute it. This is just dumb on so many levels. Why can't the veteran demon hunters do anything? Why would some powerful demon just stand there waiting for you to electrocute it? Why would you even think to electrocute it, other than the fact that this is all you can do with the items available?
It's easy to say, well, this is just what point and click adventures are like! Okay, but at least give me a chance to explore the world a bit before sticking me in a single room puzzle that is impossible not to solve.

Under a Killing Moon
I've been reading through a lot of old magazines lately, and this game came up in a preview... and immediately brought me back to nostalgic times. The first time I played this game was back when it was first released, and a friend was talking it up as this amazing game. At the time, it was indeed amazing, and I remember looking at that first scene of Tex Murphy's office, thinking what a great drawing/render it was, but then following the on-screen instructions to enter "interactive mode"... and suddenly I was walking around it! It blew my mind.
I never got very far in that game, so decided to give it another shot. I must say, that first moment when you enter interactive mode in Tex's office is still very impressive and looks pretty good even today. I didn't play much beyond that, since I want to read the manual first, but there's something really fascinating about this one! I like that it just drops you in the world to explore after the short (but charming) intro.

Yeah I played and beat mean streets back in the day but never had a decent machine to run the sequels when they came out. Played the last Tex Murphy game and liked it a couple of years ago. My backlog is so huge I doubt I'll ever play the ones I missed since other games rank higher for me on my must play list but they are on there.