Lawnie wrote on 2022-11-24, 11:52:

I started a topic on Reddit about this and posted a video on my channel about it, but for the few Vogons that haven't already s […]
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I started a topic on Reddit about this and posted a video on my channel about it, but for the few Vogons that haven't already seen either of those and frequent this thread:

Recently I made a Megalist of 960 DOS games that were highly-regarded by publications back in the day or people looking back fondly upon them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnnMgOKbsyU.

For the Community Additions Edition I open the floor to the internet to come up with 40 DOS games that I missed, 40 titles that weren't covered by the all-encompassing list, be they obvious selections or obscure classics.

The list can be found here for now: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DaVZZAIcrXnt … 5oBy2I6Z9d/view

Feel free to take a look and decide what's missing and tell me in the comments if you come across anything.

...have at it!

Here's a quick few I brained up, which seem to not be on the Google Drive list so far.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/crime-wave **
https://www.mobygames.com/game/galactix
https://www.mobygames.com/game/jetfighter-ii- … actical-fighter
https://www.mobygames.com/game/paganitzu
https://www.mobygames.com/game/prehistorik-2

** this one might have an alt. name, in different countries, so check on that.

Oh - and this is slightly counter productive, as I might be reducing the list here!, rather than expanding it! 😁 - but Legend of Kyrandia 3 seems to be on the list twice. (Err, and also 2.)

In addition to the duplicate, I noticed a couple of minor mistakes: Subwar 2040 should be Subwar 2050 and Wayne Gretsky Hockey 3 should be Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3. Maybe you could create a shared google document for the community to suggest revisions or make new suggestions?

I plotted the number of DOS games by year (I only included up to 2001 to avoid a bunch of blank space). No big surprises. The dropoff is pretty noticeable after the mid 90s.

1995 had the most games. There was a bit of an increase in 1984 compared to the two surrounding years. That might just be a coincidence.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=150867

I think it would be interesting to break it down by developer/publisher, but I'd have to find another dataset to do that, as there are too many to look up manually.

Another few. Largely found by plumbing the SSI/"Goldbox" games back catalog.

The GD list has Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday, but not it's sequel -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/buck-rogers-matrix-cubed

Likewise it has Champions of Krynn but not the two sequels -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/death-knights-of-krynn
https://www.mobygames.com/game/dark-queen-of-krynn

And another Goldbox pair -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/gateway-to-the … savage-frontier
https://www.mobygames.com/game/treasures-of-t … savage-frontier

A lesser known one from the SSI stable -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/spelljammer-pi … s-of-realmspace

And their last Goldbox release -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/unlimited-adventures

Also we have Silverball, which is basically the Epic Pinball engine, but different tables iirc -
https://www.mobygames.com/game/silverball

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2022-11-25, 04:47:

I plotted the number of DOS games by year (I only included up to 2001 to avoid a bunch of blank space). No big surprises. The d […]
Show full quote

I plotted the number of DOS games by year (I only included up to 2001 to avoid a bunch of blank space). No big surprises. The dropoff is pretty noticeable after the mid 90s.

1995 had the most games. There was a bit of an increase in 1984 compared to the two surrounding years. That might just be a coincidence.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=150867

I think it would be interesting to break it down by developer/publisher, but I'd have to find another dataset to do that, as there are too many to look up manually.

That's very interesting. Cool to have been there at the peak, fully a part of it, enjoying all those games in their time, when young and carefree 😀

Thank you for these fantastic responses so far! I've edited the original list with the corrections and alterations. The list of 40 is already over halfway full! Keep them coming!

Update the ninety-fifth!

Like a list-counting mad man, Lawnie just won't stop!

Most of you already know what the two scripted videos were about this week! My 1000 Great DOS Games list! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnnMgOKbsyU Plus the inevitable followup where I asked the community for suggestions! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz0n1-5CSMc

I had a disastrous time playing The Hobbit this week, though it proved entertaining all the same! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrDyvCv5QX4

Solid Snake made his first and probably only appearance on the show in Metal Gear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWeP_hKeHE

There were also a pair of sports games, but neither really lit up my life.

The results of the list should come in the next week or so, stay glued until then!

Lawnie... away!

Speaking of sports games, time to put yer helmet and pads on for some american football!

Have you tried Powerslave yet? Just got it on GOG to use it with the GDX mod.

Update the ninety-sixth!

Like a glorious American football in flight temporarily masked by the blinding sun, Lawnie has reappeared from his previous trajectory! (I will get to playing some of those sports games soon)

This week's scripted video was about diminishing graphical returns in gaming, and how the modern industry is suffering when compared to earlier efforts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUCYAws6oW0

The first Ys game appeared in Random DOS Game land, and my playthrough was unfortunately interrupted and brief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWcTgFjnlls

None of the other games really stood out to me, but a video of eighties artillery game Tank Wars inexplicably got 400+ views in the first few days. I have no idea why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu_sQsJzMFU

As always, there will be more next week, including the results of my 1000 DOS games list. Until then... Lawnie... away!

buckeye wrote on 2022-11-28, 15:52:

Have you tried Powerslave yet? Just got it on GOG to use it with the GDX mod.

I have not! I've seen a playthrough of it though, it looks like a suitably entertaining Build game and I look forward to dying horribly in it.

Update the ninety-seventh!

Explosions! Madness! Outrageous goings on! Lawnie has returned!

This week's scripted video concluded the community additions to the Top 1000 DOS game list! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViOt8GSvbVM Thank you to everyone for contributing, your suggestions were taken into account!

In other news, I also posted a channel update about stuff and things. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-1Exv0Kjrc

Feedback was an DOS conversion of an eighties MSX Space Harrier clone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wwSuboLkg

CHAMP Ms. Pac'em was another fantastic arcade port to DOS from CHAMProgramming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQwRWMsQH80

I think Fun'n'Games Deluxe is a DOS port of a 3DO game from Williams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfqny4n1aMo

And last but not least was The American Challenge, a sailing simulation of all things! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4Lras6vm4

That's plenty of videos to be getting on with! Hope you enjoy and your December has been decent!

Lawnie... away!

Update the ninety-eighth!

Like a falling block in a puzzle game, Lawnie will continue regardless of whether you want him to or not!

This week's scripted video was Croina thrashing me in Tetris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgOZ1nIdeYg

Three puzzle games were featured in Random DOS Game land, but the real standout was Speedball, a futuristic sports game by The Bitmap Brothers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jllZdU01qWg

Of those puzzle games, F-Tetris was the most interesting, but not for any reason to do with the gameplay! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHlNqc-mlew

Soul Magician also wasn't too shabby, but not my cup of tea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqhjJjm6ANY

Will Lawnie get to one hundred updates? Will he survive December? Find out... next time!

Update the ninety-ninth!

Hope you all had some festive fun! Merry Christmas!

My Christmas video this year was me spectacularly failing at the first level of Christmas Lemmings 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCodrJ8N0Ug

This week's scripted video talked about GeneralUser GS, a well-known and nifty soundfont that packs a lot of punch for its small size! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0gLvnfPkkg

Barney Bear Goes to School was a nightmarish trip through a children's entertainment game with a robotic voice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPZXTNQjYGo

Starflight was a legendary space exploration RPG hybrid that took a while to get going but is utterly compelling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHzpO14N6MI

John Romero's Sigil turned up, and I predictably died several times in the second level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d79WA4kQJ1E

Now get back to your presents and leftovers! Go! Shoo!

Lawnie wrote on 2022-12-26, 10:00:

This week's scripted video talked about GeneralUser GS, a well-known and nifty soundfont that packs a lot of punch for its small size!

I have been using this soundfont for years but it sadly has some caveats to it. Some music is completely unbalanced, and I'm unaware of what FluidSynth settings this SoundFont was designed around because turning Chorus completely off will make some of the sounds VERY QUIET.

For music like TES II: Daggerfall it's a very right at home SoundFont to use assuming you're using a softsynth that can properly handle how it's designed. Daggerfall Unity sadly cannot.

Update the hundredth!

One hundred updates! A thousand new subscribers in a year! More and more people are realising that this channel exists!

This week was Christmas and New Year, so I decided to kill some Lemmings with my ineptitude in Christmas Lemmings 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCodrJ8N0Ug

Due to time constraints the scripted video on Influential DOS games was split into two parts, the first part was released this week and the second part will be out on Tuesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tr0g1E6wPw

Moraff's Super Entrap was an upgraded version of Entrap that does exactly what you'd expect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-qeJLdBLKI

FIFA International Soccer was an average port I didn't enjoy of the console game that started the biggest sports game series in the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac2z4YOkgxU

And last but not least was my disastrous requested playthrough of Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 from way back in 1982. Keep an eye out for the easter egg towards the end of the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81-5n54NuLU

As always, thank you for your support and messages in this topic over the past year, especially when helping to compile the 1000 DOS games list. You can expect more of the same from the channel in 2023!

Lawnie... away!

DracoNihil wrote on 2022-12-26, 10:53:

Some music is completely unbalanced, and I'm unaware of what FluidSynth settings this SoundFont was designed around

It's funny you mentioned that, because I bypass all additional Fluidsynth effects settings these days, and one of the things that drew me to the font in the first place was that I felt it was well-balanced! Isn't it marvellous what different ears make of things?

Lawnie wrote on 2022-12-26, 10:00:

Barney Bear Goes to School was a nightmarish trip through a children's entertainment game with a robotic voice.

HEY!

That's "Dr. SBAITSO from Creative Labs" providing the TTS voice! (Which was probably a TTS engine Creative licensed to make that dumb chatbot program)

DracoNihil wrote on 2023-01-01, 21:58:

Lawnie wrote on 2022-12-26, 10:00:

Barney Bear Goes to School was a nightmarish trip through a children's entertainment game with a robotic voice.

That's "Dr. SBAITSO from Creative Labs" providing the TTS voice!

This is exactly the kind of incredibly niche nit-picking that I love about this forum. I didn't even know Dr. SBAITSO existed until now! Thank you for the correction!

Lawnie wrote on 2023-01-03, 00:40:

This is exactly the kind of incredibly niche nit-picking that I love about this forum. I didn't even know Dr. SBAITSO existed until now! Thank you for the correction!

There's a high chance you might run into that same synthesizer again, because I vaguely remember ZeroXDiamond coming across a edutainment MS-DOS title using very robotic speech synthesis and it may be the same voice engine that Creative uses for Dr. SBAITSO.

Update the hundred and first!

In what critics have called an inadvisable move, Lawnie has returned in 2023 with another update!

This week's scripted video was the concluding part of my two-part Influential DOS Games video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjD4alB8ZVI

As for games? Well we had two really good ones. The first being Simon the Sorcerer, an excellent witty fantasy point and click adventure game! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxPJr7LJzbk

The second that I found a surprising amount of enjoyment from was Puzznic by Taito, a conversion of the classic shape moving arcade game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG-JIh-EUR0

The other two weren't much to write home about, but hey. Until next time! Hope you all had a good new year and all that... I sure did!

Lawnie... away!

Update the hundred and second!

Like a trusty pair of work gloves, Lawnie just keeps going!

This week's scripted video highlighted what we all knew: there are for more great DOS games than I thought! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKP5eOBPGJ8

In Random DOS game land there were two real stand-outs: Asteroids upgrade Piranha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=242A7FA8DzA

And the latter? Dinopark Tycoon! A management park sim with lots of fun visual menus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pAZ5ML_0_U

You want MORE? Well Freaks was an interesting early Spanish FPS with 90 degree turning. It got a remake in 2002 that's much more playable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3aTNvrxqlY

Next week's games are even better. Until then!