DracoNihil wrote:

I'm a bit rusty with my memory but is that the one mission where you get ganged up on by this guy who's jealous that you're working with the girl he normally always works with? I usually just quickly blow the guy up before he even has a chance to finish his sentence then leave.

No, it's the 2nd "clear the blockade at Palan" mission that you need to complete in order to talk to Dr. Monkhouse. The one that starts with 3 Demons, followed by 4 Centurions. Here's the mission: https://youtu.be/5dkuen_7cRI?list=PL83EA4D14BAB08B1E&t=455

DracoNihil wrote:

I still had a blast playing UT99 with you, by the way.

Same here. I still remember silently letting my son play in my place and he not having any better luck against you. 🤣 We'll have to do it again sometime. Maybe between Christmas and New Years...

Oh wow, it really has been forever... yeah that blockade mission is pretty lame. I also hate how it messes up your reputation quite a bit.

DracoNihil wrote:

Oh wow, it really has been forever... yeah that blockade mission is pretty lame. I also hate how it messes up your reputation quite a bit.

The Demons aren't that bad, but the 4 Centurions get me every time. I think I've managed to kill 1 or 2 at the most before being swarmed and beaten down. I'm in a fully-loaded Centurion myself, btw. With 20 missiles. And I'm not shy about using them.

Finally got past that mission. After each Centurion, I afternburned away until my shields could regen, then turned around and pumped the next one full of IR missiles. Rinse and repeat.

I just use neutron guns only. I rarely ever use missiles in Privateer 1 unless it's a large enough target.

Here's my games list. Bold and italic are games I'm actively playing (some more than others--I'm really focusing mostly on Privateer and RtCW right now and should finish one or both within a week or two). Underlined are games I'm most interested in starting next. Hours to finish column is estimated from howlongtobeat.com and YT Let's Plays. Personal Slant is my way of rewarding games I like that weren't reviewed well, or punish highly reviewed games that I'm not as interested in. I keep the factor no less than .9, to keep my bias from completely tanking a game's review average. Games I finish get moved down to the bottom (not visible in screenshot).

A little OCD?

I personally love a list! OCD or no it's fun having those sorts of stats to track and maintain, particularly if you have a memory like mine 😵

My favourite lists are my hardware lists, which help keep track of where things came from, what works with what, and ensures I'm not turning into a horder, and my games list, which is scary long and helps me to ensure that everything is backed up appropriately and that I don't buy multiple copies of stuff.

Back on topic I'm having a strange relationship with ELEX, which as mentioned above is a new RPG from Piranha Bytes. The world is fascinating and the story / characters I've met so far have been above-average interesting, but the combat is frustrating - not something I'd found with PB games previously. They've added in this stamina concept which is designed stop you from button mashing and add some strategy, but it's just annoying. Gothic II combat required timing and that worked just fine.

And secondly there's just some rough edges which suggest the game was rushed out the door, like dialog tree wonkyness and different voice actors being used for the same character.

Anyway, I find myself thinking about it and going back for more so I'm digging on it on some level.

BeginnerGuy wrote:

As much as I love RTCW, I've always hated that level 😒 ..

Well, I stumbled upon this video, tried it out, and beat the Super Solder easily and with no damage. 🤣

badmojo wrote:

I personally love a list! OCD or no it's fun having those sorts of stats to track and maintain, particularly if you have a memory like mine 😵

Eschalon: Book I won my trials! What's not to like about an RPG that is:
-FREE forever at GOG.com
-turn-based, isometric, single character (no party)
-great RPG soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLioEYN … 2qKcVqA3DSunxy8
-beautiful ambient sound effects
-engaging story and characters
-Short! GameFAQs estimates it at 26 hrs, howlongtobeat.com less than that.
-Decent graphics (maybe a notch higher than Baldur's Gate)
-low memory footprint (says <300MB RAM in Task Manager and install folder is 120MB)
-dice rolling character creation (if that's your sort of thing)
-easy to get in and out of if you've just got a little bit of time to play. Plenty of save slots plus a quicksave.
-great use of journal for documenting main and side quests
-although character creation can take as long as you want it to (re-rolling for base stats), level-ups are quick. Distribute 3 points in main stats, and 3 points in skills. No worries about a huge time commitment if you level up right before you have to leave to a party 😉
-gamebanshee.com has a walkthrough, maps, etc: http://www.gamebanshee.com/eschalonbooki/walkthrough.php

I'm just in the beginning of the game, but so far my criticisms are few:
-limited to 800x600 (either full screen or windowed). My 1280x1024 LCD shows it a bit fuzzy since it's not native res. Windowed looks much nicer, but too small. A CRT would be ideal for this game.
-the darks are a bit too dark (cellars/dungeons, even with a torch, are hard to see). No in-game gamma settings and messing with monitor/gpu brightness, contrast and gamma doesn''t help.

Perfect RPG for those who miss the old style and who don't want to commit many months to completing a game.

clueless1 wrote:

BeginnerGuy wrote:

As much as I love RTCW, I've always hated that level 😒 ..

Well, I stumbled upon this video, tried it out, and beat the Super Solder easily and with no damage. 🤣

hah, nice, gotta love super cheap boss kills. Like killing bosses through the fog in Demon's Souls. I've actually just acquired a dell studio c2d machine from a friend.. Threw XP on it and I'm enjoying RTCW again since you brought it back to mind.

I just got to the part where you break into the crypt and find the Germans being eaten by undead. Oh the joy of using a full clip just to take down some stupid zombie!!

I restarted one of my guilty pleasures, a game that I once played on real hardware but never got around to finishing, and sadly lost my copy for.

Ravenloft: Stone Prophet.

It's oozing with atmosphere and it's every bit as cool and creepy as I remember it to be.

That said, there might be merit in the idea of finishing the first game first..

Finished Monty Python and the Holy Grail (again), a very long time after playing it originally with my cousins. Next up : Complete Waste of Time, and Meaning of Life

clueless1 wrote:

Eschalon: Book I won my trials!

That does look pretty cool thanks for the tip!

I keep finding myself going back for more ELEX - there really is a lot to like I think and it just got better with a second patch being released. An option to adjust / turn off the stamina drain during combat has been included and that's a big issue of mine resolved, and I've taken my time to understand the melee combat - it is timing based after all, so that's another of my complaints taken care of.

badmojo wrote:

clueless1 wrote:

Eschalon: Book I won my trials!

That does look pretty cool thanks for the tip!

I keep finding myself going back for more ELEX

That's a fine looking game and doesn't sound bad by your description. It is out of my league, unfortunately (my gaming system runs XP). One of these days I'll get something a little more modern, perhaps by the time the System Shock remake comes out.

Eschalon keeps getting better. I know it's not a party-based game, but it does remind me a bit of Baldur's Gate. The same exploratory atmosphere and relaxed pace. Really digging it now and pretty certain I will play it to the end.

clueless1 wrote:

badmojo wrote:

...perhaps by the time the System Shock remake comes out.

Same here. Upgrading for the new System Shock and maybe Mechwarrior 5 as long as Piranha doesn't pull the same money grabbing asshattery they did with Mechwarrior Online. I still haven't finished Mechwarrior 3's single player campaign or the Pirate's Moon expansion which is my absolute favorite Mechwarrior game of the series.

appiah4 wrote:

I restarted one of my guilty pleasures, a game that I once played on real hardware but never got around to finishing, and sadly […]
Show full quote

I restarted one of my guilty pleasures, a game that I once played on real hardware but never got around to finishing, and sadly lost my copy for.

Ravenloft: Stone Prophet.

It's oozing with atmosphere and it's every bit as cool and creepy as I remember it to be.

That said, there might be merit in the idea of finishing the first game first..

I have both Ravenlofts in my sights (on my spreadsheet a few posts up!). I have very fond memories of playing through Menzoberranzan, which uses the same engine and was made between the two Ravenlofts. Strange how these things can stick with you, but I had an uncle die in early 1995, and I was playing Menzo at the time. I remember this game helping me through that rough spot. It was short and pretty easy for an RPG, but just what I needed at the time. Also, I really dig the art style and music in these games. Enjoy!

Sorting through the three boxes worth of disks that my dad made for his (now mine) Atari computers.

Lemmings 95. Best version in my opinion, as it supports higher resolution, compared to DOS/Amiga version, and MIDI unlike atrocious OPL3 only DOS release.

Been a super fun "gaming day" today. Made significant progress on Eschalon Book 1 this morning - finished the Amulet and Lilith main quests as well as a few side quests, and currently in the Whistling Cave trying to kill the Hive Queen for Main Quest #4. Then when I got a little burned out on it, I switched to RtCW and got through Mission 6 Part 2 and 3, and now working on Part 4. Nearing the end of this game, woohoo! This is the first retro game I'm going to beat on my Pentium III system. I've typically either played games on my 486, Pentium, or modern rigs.

Assuming I can get past Mission 6 Part 4, all that will be left is Mission 7 Parts 1-3. RtCW is a pretty impressive game!

clueless1 wrote:

Been a super fun "gaming day" today. Made significant progress on Eschalon Book 1 this morning - finished the Amulet and Lilith main quests as well as a few side quests, and currently in the Whistling Cave trying to kill the Hive Queen for Main Quest #4. Then when I got a little burned out on it, I switched to RtCW and got through Mission 6 Part 2 and 3, and now working on Part 4. Nearing the end of this game, woohoo! This is the first retro game I'm going to beat on my Pentium III system. I've typically either played games on my 486, Pentium, or modern rigs.

Assuming I can get past Mission 6 Part 4, all that will be left is Mission 7 Parts 1-3. RtCW is a pretty impressive game!

What do you have in your P3 system and what res are you playing at? I switched over to this new dell I have with a core 2 quad and XP to play it a little smoother... Nice bonus I get to play it 1600x1200 for a change. My p3 is a Coppermine 800 running at 100fsb with a geforce 3.. I'm thinking maybe a better graphics card would help smooth the game out a bit more but performance was a tad underwhelming. I believe I had an Athlon 1300 when I originally bought this game. I christened my pentium 3 by beating phantasmagoria (totally random choice).

I'm getting close to the Super Soldier on mission 5. Looking forward to the end, this game is ridiculously long 🤣

..Also, I just wasted about 2 hours on the first level of the first redneck rampage. I had to resort to a strategy guide to find the first key.. and who would have guessed you had to hit the guy at the end of the stage with a crowbar to exit the level.. sigh.