VOGONS

Common searches


What game are you playing now?

Topic actions

Reply 3342 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Finished my Transport Tycoon game. I ran it until I got the monorail, at which point I was too lazy to upgrade all of my regular railroad tracks/stations to it and called it quits. Had a lot of fun replaying this, so I might check out that OpenTTD port at some point.

Moving on to Tyrian. I tend to replay it every couple of years, and it still holds up marvelously. It's a great game, reminiscent of arcade shmups from the early '90s. The difference is, you can also play Tyrian in "full game" mode which allows you to upgrade your ship, generator, shields and weapons for some extra fun. For sound purposes, I'm using WSS + FM synth this time around, simply because my OPTi card supports that.

Tyrian_Setup.jpg
Filename
Tyrian_Setup.jpg
File size
243.39 KiB
Views
1074 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3343 of 5856, by NovaCN

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-10-03, 08:57:

Finished my Transport Tycoon game. I ran it until I got the monorail, at which point I was too lazy to upgrade all of my regular railroad tracks/stations to it and called it quits. Had a lot of fun replaying this, so I might check out that OpenTTD port at some point.

Moving on to Tyrian. I tend to replay it every couple of years, and it still holds up marvelously. It's a great game, reminiscent of arcade shmups from the early '90s. The difference is, you can also play Tyrian in "full game" mode which allows you to upgrade your ship, generator, shields and weapons for some extra fun. For sound purposes, I'm using WSS + FM synth this time around, simply because my OPTi card supports that.

Tyrian_Setup.jpg

Tyrian is fantastic. Episode 5 is a bit disappointing but a few crappy levels at the very end isn't enough to ruin an otherwise extremely fun shmup. I've lost count of how many times I've played through it since learning about the freeware release.

I finally started AI: The Somnium Files the other day, since a sequel was announced a little while ago. Dialogue-heavy adventure game from the same writer behind the fantastic Zero Escape visual novel/escape room hybrid trilogy, the first of which is one of my favorite games ever. AI does the same sort of branching narrative thing those games had going, except instead of your dialogue choices being what change the story, many of the puzzles now have multiple solutions and the plot branches based on which one you find. I love how the puzzle segments all take place inside people's minds, so they follow this surreal dream logic you need to poke and prod at to figure out the rules of, and those rules change with each new dream. I could do without the time limit during the puzzles since there's a lot of trial and error involved, but the mechanics of how it works (time only moves while you do and each action costs a certain number of seconds, but you can reduce the cost using these special items) are really interesting and it definitely adds a lot of tension to these parts of the game.
I am at least really enjoying the vaguely sci-fi serial killer murder mystery story so far anyway.

[Insert late-aughts overly-elaborate animated signature banner here]

Reply 3344 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
NovaCN wrote on 2021-10-03, 13:29:

Tyrian is fantastic. Episode 5 is a bit disappointing but a few crappy levels at the very end isn't enough to ruin an otherwise extremely fun shmup. I've lost count of how many times I've played through it since learning about the freeware release.

I remember trying episodes 4 and 5 when the GOG version of Tyrian became free and not really feeling the same vibe as with the first three. The new levels somehow felt too gimmicky.

I might give them another shot, thanks for reminding me. Not sure if the GOG version can still run on real hardware though. Guess I'll find out.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3345 of 5856, by Namrok

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Well, I wrapped up Shogo on my newly rebuilt P233/Riva 128 build. Since I was using a Super7 motherboard, I thought I'd try going for a 2.5 x 100 clock instead of a 4.5 x 66 clock, and take advantage of some spare PC100 ram I had. Worked like a charm, and I didn't have to touch voltages at all. So that was basically "free" performance I took.

The end of Shogo was rather brutal. Especially this wall of mechs that all had giant one shot kill super bazookas right before the final boss fight. Overall I enjoyed it though. I definitely got exactly the hit of nostalgia I was looking for, playing it on the same graphics card I originally had. Even if a lot of the trappings around it were slightly better.

Debating what to play next now. I guess I can try going back to Wing Commander 2 and seeing if it grabs me at all. It's dynamic difficulty system was just driving me up the wall. Especially when the difficulty would just climb and climb and climb, and then when I died, instead of getting easier again, the game would crash.

Win95/DOS 7.1 - P233 MMX (@2.5 x 100 FSB), Diamond Viper V330 AGP, SB16 CT2800
Win98 - K6-2+ 500, GF2 MX, SB AWE 64 CT4500, SBLive CT4780
Win98 - Pentium III 1000, GF2 GTS, SBLive CT4760
WinXP - Athlon 64 3200+, GF 7800 GS, Audigy 2 ZS

Reply 3346 of 5856, by DracoNihil

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Namrok wrote on 2021-10-03, 23:37:

Well, I wrapped up Shogo on my newly rebuilt P233/Riva 128 build. Since I was using a Super7 motherboard, I thought I'd try going for a 2.5 x 100 clock instead of a 4.5 x 66 clock, and take advantage of some spare PC100 ram I had. Worked like a charm, and I didn't have to touch voltages at all. So that was basically "free" performance I took.

The end of Shogo was rather brutal. Especially this wall of mechs that all had giant one shot kill super bazookas right before the final boss fight. Overall I enjoyed it though. I definitely got exactly the hit of nostalgia I was looking for, playing it on the same graphics card I originally had. Even if a lot of the trappings around it were slightly better.

I take it you did the "Don't side with The Fallen" section which, if you were playing on MADNESS you'd instantly get destroyed the moment the map after the museum starts because the player's starting point isn't within the MEV dock but out in the open for some stupid reason...

Yeah I don't get why they put so many Red Riot users in the mountains level. The other path is even more ridiculous because they somehow expect you to take down Ryo in his UCA Enforcer with onfoot weapons and there actually is NOT enough ammo to pull that off without cheating.

By the way, the multiplayer is fairly stable if you're bored and feel like trying it out.

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 3347 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Well, the good news is, the GOG version of Tyrian works just fine on real hardware. The bad news is, episode 4 is as crappy as I remember.

Level design relies too much on gimmicks like restricting the player's field of vision to the front while having an invincible enemy attack from behind. Or suddenly making the screen upside down during a boss fight. Still, I soldiered on and finished all the levels only to fight a literal giant nose with a pair of eyes attached at the very end. A fittingly terrible finish to a truly crappy episode.

Episode 5 was very short but at least it tried to follow the original Tyrian design a bit closer. Except for that very last level with all the fruit of course.

In summary, the first three episodes of Tyrian are top notch and well worth revisiting. OTOH, the fourth and fifth episode feel like they were made by a totally different team with a noticeable reduction of quality in the overall level design. I don't think I'll be replaying those any time soon.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3348 of 5856, by NovaCN

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-10-04, 10:57:
Well, the good news is, the GOG version of Tyrian works just fine on real hardware. The bad news is, episode 4 is as crappy as I […]
Show full quote

Well, the good news is, the GOG version of Tyrian works just fine on real hardware. The bad news is, episode 4 is as crappy as I remember.

Level design relies too much on gimmicks like restricting the player's field of vision to the front while having an invincible enemy attack from behind. Or suddenly making the screen upside down during a boss fight. Still, I soldiered on and finished all the levels only to fight a literal giant nose with a pair of eyes attached at the very end. A fittingly terrible finish to a truly crappy episode.

Episode 5 was very short but at least it tried to follow the original Tyrian design a bit closer. Except for that very last level with all the fruit of course.

In summary, the first three episodes of Tyrian are top notch and well worth revisiting. OTOH, the fourth and fifth episode feel like they were made by a totally different team with a noticeable reduction of quality in the overall level design. I don't think I'll be replaying those any time soon.

I really enjoyed episode 4 for the added variety in challenge but I completely understand this opinion. It is very much a "love it or hate it" sort of thing.

[Insert late-aughts overly-elaborate animated signature banner here]

Reply 3349 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
NovaCN wrote on 2021-10-04, 13:43:

I really enjoyed episode 4 for the added variety in challenge but I completely understand this opinion. It is very much a "love it or hate it" sort of thing.

And likewise, just because I didn't enjoy episode 4 doesn't mean that everyone will dislike it. Somehow, I think it might have worked better as a standalone experience. But for me, coming fresh off of the outstanding first three episodes, it just didn't feel right.

Hmm, I think I'll probably play some Master of Orion 2 next. Should look super crisp on my 17" CRT monitor at 120 Hz.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3350 of 5856, by bakemono

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Just installed Windows 2000 extended kernel v30g. Playing the GOG release of Mirror's Edge, which didn't seem to work before...

again another retro game on itch: https://90soft90.itch.io/shmup-salad

Reply 3351 of 5856, by Joakim

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Started up Kyrandia 3 Malcolm's revenge. I was surprised that there was no midi music. The game sound awful on my sb16 ct2290 noisy like an old worn out record.

Booted up windows 98 and played it with my aureal vortex 2 though SB pro emulation and it sounds ok noise wise but I am still disappointed. I prefer the art style and music of kyandia 2.

Reply 3352 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

To my surprise, I just noticed that the GOG version of Master of Orion 2 comes with some fan mod applied by default. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to revert this by downloading the latest official patch v1.31 and replacing the modded version of ORION2.EXE with the one from the patch archive.

I'm personally not a fan of modding my games, but I have nothing against other people doing that. Still, a mod should not be applied by default on a digital store such as GOG. By all means, offer it as an optional download, but keep it out of the official release.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3353 of 5856, by BitWrangler

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

What did the mod do? I'd understand GoG doing it if it made use with a touchscreen or touchpad easier or something like that.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 3354 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
BitWrangler wrote on 2021-10-05, 13:57:

What did the mod do? I'd understand GoG doing it if it made use with a touchscreen or touchpad easier or something like that.

It seems to be a collection of unofficial bug fixes and balance changes. The latter of which not everyone would appreciate, I imagine.

For reference, the original game works just fine with the official 1.31 patch applied.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3355 of 5856, by DracoNihil

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I just finished the last two missions of Urban Assault and started it's expansion pack "Metropolis Dawn", starting with the Ghorkov campaign first rather than Taerkasten campaign first.

Of course this is all being streamed on Twitch, I'll try to stream again tonight at around 10 PM Central Time.

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 3356 of 5856, by appiah4

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Hit Level 15 in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and it feels like I am stalling entering Act III by doing sidequests and bounties for various factions, which is fun in itself. I hope to get all my current side quests sorted out before I head out to meet Eothas, I should hit Level 17 or thereabouts by then. I found pretty much all new companions pretty boring and ended up playing with just the returning companions in my group, aside from Maia. Enjoying my time with the game but not as much as I did with the prequel.. It really feels like I have no agency in this game, and it really fouls the experience.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 3357 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Master of Orion 2 is an absolute masterpiece. I just used up the better part of my afternoon playing as the Mrrshans. Their combat bonuses allow them to engage enemies early on before they get a chance to expand their empires. I got rid of 4 out of 5 opponents in less than an hour, leaving the last one with a single colony on some backwater planet while I built up my fleet and researched powerful technologies in order to attack the Antarans. And that's just one of the many ways to play this exceptional game.

I spent hours upon hours on MOO2 as a kid. Glad to see it still holds up so well. Playing it on period-correct hardware was a treat too. No more ultra-fast scrolling during combat, just a nice smooth experience.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3358 of 5856, by Namrok

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-10-06, 16:25:

Master of Orion 2 is an absolute masterpiece. I just used up the better part of my afternoon playing as the Mrrshans. Their combat bonuses allow them to engage enemies early on before they get a chance to expand their empires. I got rid of 4 out of 5 opponents in less than an hour, leaving the last one with a single colony on some backwater planet while I built up my fleet and researched powerful technologies in order to attack the Antarans. And that's just one of the many ways to play this exceptional game.

I spent hours upon hours on MOO2 as a kid. Glad to see it still holds up so well. Playing it on period-correct hardware was a treat too. No more ultra-fast scrolling during combat, just a nice smooth experience.

I played MOO2 so much as a kid. It was one of the first games I replayed on my first retro rig. I'm astounded how well it held up.

It's also remarkable reading reviews of Galactic Civilizations 2 in Computer Gaming World, 10 years on, and they are still comparing 4X games to MOO2 and finding them lacking. I honestly can't even think of another notable space 4x except for MOO2 during it's extended reign. Maybe that's just my own ignorance.

It's also amazing for a single game to achieve the unambiguous pinnacle of it's genre and squat on it so long. I'm hard pressed to think of a single other example of it.

Win95/DOS 7.1 - P233 MMX (@2.5 x 100 FSB), Diamond Viper V330 AGP, SB16 CT2800
Win98 - K6-2+ 500, GF2 MX, SB AWE 64 CT4500, SBLive CT4780
Win98 - Pentium III 1000, GF2 GTS, SBLive CT4760
WinXP - Athlon 64 3200+, GF 7800 GS, Audigy 2 ZS

Reply 3359 of 5856, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
Namrok wrote on 2021-10-06, 16:35:

It's also amazing for a single game to achieve the unambiguous pinnacle of it's genre and squat on it so long. I'm hard pressed to think of a single other example of it.

Same here. I've been searching for a "spiritual successor" of MOO2, but nothing that I tried came close. It was just that good.

That said, I haven't really checked the 4x games market during the last 5 years or so. Maybe something new and good came out and I'm simply not aware of it.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi