Peter Swinkels wrote on 2021-02-07, 22:45:

No it can’t and I don’t give a damn about old computers especially not Amigas and what not. You want to dabble with them fine. I only dabble with a few crummy old DOS programs.

With all due respect, if I understand you correctly, your interest in older computer technogy is limited to some software that you seem to dislike anyway (you did call them crummy).

If that is the case, I can respect that and you are definitely within your rights, but I wonder what motivates you to participate in these forums as (please correct me if I am wrong)

a) you seem to dislike using old hardware and especially Amiga computers
b) you seem to consider aforementioned old computers to be e-waste and advocate for their destruction
c) you seem to dislike even the older software that you do use

Again, respectfully, is there anything in the retro computing field that does make you happy or at least brings you an ounce of joy ?

I ask this because if all things retro have no appeal to you, then why do you make yourself suffer ?

I do not want to be judgemental or condescending, but I really do not understand why you put yourself through this .

I like retro computing and though I have specific fields of interest, I find happiness in seeing and sometimes helping (I try) others succeed in doing things that are of interest them, even if I do not always agree with them on certain points or even share their specific retro interest. Of course, I am even happier when I get to be involved in something that specifically interests me, whether it be completing a personal project, solving a personal technical issue, trying to help somebody or simply reading about a cool project/idea/experience .

my retro confession is that we need to lock this thread and never allow it again

I kept the CD's & threw out all of my boxed PC games back in 1999 because they took up too much space. I have been picking some back up recently.

foil_fresh wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:42:

my retro confession is that we need to lock this thread and never allow it again

You are probably right, but I still have hope that it can be salvaged . You could call me a naive optimist and you would probably be right on that point too .

Drittz wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:58:

I kept the CD's & threw out all of my boxed PC games back in 1999 because they took up too much space. I have been picking some back up recently.

I did a similar thing, but I tried to neatly fold some of the ones I cared most about and kept them . I likely still have those . Whether they can ever be brought back to their former glory remains to be seen .

darry wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:59:

foil_fresh wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:42:

my retro confession is that we need to lock this thread and never allow it again

You are probably right, but I still have hope that it can be salvaged . You could call me a naive optimist and you would probably be right on that point too .

also it's not like closing this thread will solve any of the underlying issues, these quarrels will just pop up in other threads, like they already have been in the past.

imi wrote on 2021-02-08, 01:05:

darry wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:59:

foil_fresh wrote on 2021-02-08, 00:42:

my retro confession is that we need to lock this thread and never allow it again

You are probably right, but I still have hope that it can be salvaged . You could call me a naive optimist and you would probably be right on that point too .

also it's not like closing this thread will solve any of the underlying issues, these quarrels will just pop up in other threads, like they already have been in the past.

You may have a point as well, but the "Retro confessions" subject may be especially conducive to people sharing some of their darker or controversial secrets/frustration/neuroses (EDIT : hopefully in the context of or as they relate to the retro computer hobby) . This may well be cathartic to a point, but it can be quite flammable as well .

I confess that, despite being a die-hard PC person in those years, I was actually jealous of some Amiga capabilities in the early 90's.

And, part of me realises that the life of technical mucking around which early PC's instilled in me, is time that could alternatively have been spent, I dunno, actually playing games, creating World Peace 🤣, or being outside or something.

I don't think I was even aware of Amigas existence back then, can't honestly remember anyone that had one which feels really weird seeing how it was pretty popular in europe, I just grew up with IBM compatible PCs from a very early age and only learned about Amiga decades later.

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-02-08, 03:12:

Every topic on earth has 1% who don't fit in, e.g. who weirdly go onto a retro computing forum to declare they hate retro computing. That's no reason to trash the other 99%.

I confess that, despite being a die-hard PC person in those years, I was actually jealous of some Amiga capabilities in the early 90's.

And, part of me realises that the life of technical mucking around which early PC's instilled in me, is time that could alternatively have been spent, I dunno, actually playing games, creating World Peace 🤣, or being outside or something.

That may be true, but would have enjoyed it as much ? 😉

Personally, I have zero regrets (except maybe not having gone retro sooner) .

imi wrote on 2021-02-08, 03:18:

I don't think I was even aware of Amigas existence back then, can't honestly remember anyone that had one which feels really weard seeing how it was pretty popular in europe, I just grew up with IBM compatible PCs from a very early age and only learned about Amiga decades later.

I first got to see an Amiga 500 in use on a 1084 in 1992-ish. It belonged to a friend's older brother . It did not change my life (we had a 386 DX 25MHz at home), but it did leave a good impression . I have since purchased the Amiga Forever package from Cloanto (best way to get the required ROMs legally) and have mainly used it to play Amiga demos .

Fun stuff, but unless I find an affordable one locally, get a MiSTer or buy an OSSC Pro (likely same functionality as a MiSTer ), I will be sticking to emulation on PC .

1) i dont like graphic adventures, they are boring and force me to click to everything in order to advance some parts, also i got stuck many times and its super annoying (more 30 years ago without internet)

also never played any SCUMM based game.

maybe its because i dont give a damn about the history and its more important the gameplay

2) i never understoood the appealing of RPG games like Final Fantasy, thats another genre i dont like

I’ve never came close to an Amiga, Commodore or Apple II. However, I admire them. My dad had an Apple II brazilian clone, a TK-3000 or Unitron, if I am not wrong. We’re probably going to build some sort of clone for him, using an emulator with raspberry pi so he can play with it.

I like almost all sorts of retro things, we are always looking back thinking and saying “back then these things were better, more fun...” sometimes it’s just rose tinted glasses with some nostalgia. Not always everything was better. Some things were just a PITA. But were needed for better things to come. To help us understand how we’ve got the technology we have today. Well, I think so.

BetaC wrote on 2021-02-07, 08:10:

EvieSigma wrote on 2021-02-06, 21:24:

I don't care about the Apple II at all outside of the IIGS, and even then I don't care as much about the IIGS as I do say, the Amiga.

The Amiga is also far less crippled a computer, so there's no shame in that. And, if we're being honest, most of the appeal for a lot of 8-bit systems boils down to childhood usage.

I didn't grow up with a C64 either (I wasn't even born until 1992) but the much nicer looking and sounding games certainly makes it easier for me to like the C64/128 than the Apple II.

Commodore during 1982-1992 was one of the Great home computing eras/'dynasties' - primarily, the C64/128 and A500. At the time, they ruled the world. When you were there, it was easy to see (and hear) why.

In 1990 you could have the complete A500 kit for $700, or you could instead pay that $700 ($1400 in today's money) just for an MT-32 sound module, to get your $3000 IBM AT compatible to play proper music (but still no sound effects or voice, sorry!) in the comparatively limited library of games it had.

Socially, entire demographics were totally priced out of the early PC experience - it's sad in a way, and also speaks volumes about the way the computing world has evolved since. But these are other topics...

As the 90's progressed, things got a lot better in PC-world (and fast!), but pre-(let's say)-1992 it was a very different market share.

Peter Swinkels wrote on 2021-02-07, 22:04:

I wouldn’t want an amiga if you offered me one for free. What in world would I do with antiquated cr*p except let it collect dust?

*facepalm*

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-02-08, 03:12:

I confess that, despite being a die-hard PC person in those years, I was actually jealous of some Amiga capabilities in the early 90's.

Yes the Amiga had the edge for a while over PCs, but by the time VGA and SoundBlaster were becoming common and Commodore was launching the A600 (not a bad Amiga, but it was a pricy repack of the same old stuff) and other products that did not make sense at all (Amiga CD32), the writing was on the wall. And it read 'PC domination'.

EvieSigma wrote on 2021-02-08, 05:07:

I didn't grow up with a C64 either (I wasn't even born until 1992) but the much nicer looking and sounding games certainly makes it easier for me to like the C64/128 than the Apple II.

That's why I said most of the appeal. A part of me wants to get a C64 some day so I can use it as a game-music player, but I don't have any attachment to it beyond that.

I was born in 98, this stuff is all before my time! I didn't start any kind of PC gaming until probably the late-late Windows XP era?

I was a Nintendo kid up to that point, but I use to play a ton of Railroad Tycoon 3 on the family's XP Compaq machine in the kitchen.

It wasn't till a friend lead me to Steam and then Alienswarm/Half Life 2 Deathmatch when I was like...10 maybe, that i became addicted to PC gaming

darry wrote on 2021-02-07, 23:41:

With all due respect, if I understand you correctly, your interest in older computer technogy is limited to some software that y […]
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Peter Swinkels wrote on 2021-02-07, 22:45:

No it can’t and I don’t give a damn about old computers especially not Amigas and what not. You want to dabble with them fine. I only dabble with a few crummy old DOS programs.

With all due respect, if I understand you correctly, your interest in older computer technogy is limited to some software that you seem to dislike anyway (you did call them crummy).

If that is the case, I can respect that and you are definitely within your rights, but I wonder what motivates you to participate in these forums as (please correct me if I am wrong)

a) you seem to dislike using old hardware and especially Amiga computers
b) you seem to consider aforementioned old computers to be e-waste and advocate for their destruction
c) you seem to dislike even the older software that you do use

Again, respectfully, is there anything in the retro computing field that does make you happy or at least brings you an ounce of joy ?

I ask this because if all things retro have no appeal to you, then why do you make yourself suffer ?

I do not want to be judgemental or condescending, but I really do not understand why you put yourself through this .

I like retro computing and though I have specific fields of interest, I find happiness in seeing and sometimes helping (I try) others succeed in doing things that are of interest them, even if I do not always agree with them on certain points or even share their specific retro interest. Of course, I am even happier when I get to be involved in something that specifically interests me, whether it be completing a personal project, solving a personal technical issue, trying to help somebody or simply reading about a cool project/idea/experience .

My usage of DOSBox has gotten less and less. I used to be interested in older software but have started to believe I should forget about it. I have played a few old games which I kind of liked but they completely shrivel in light of more modern stuff. I have tried converting a simple Tetris clone to GwBasic. I know the language fairly well but it is about as much fun as trying to use stone-age technology for most modern tasks. Funny at first, tediously frustrating as you realize you are wasting your time trying to get anything done with a rock when you have a modern toolbox sitting right next to you.

And as to old hardware, have you seen the lengths people go through to restore old computers? Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing games on long obsolete hardware but if anyone here thinks I am interested in buying some worn out piece of junk for a long tedious restoration so I can put it somewhere to occasionally play games I used to like long ago? I don’t know about anyone else but if I am desperate for nostalgia I just run DOSBox, which is easier and quicker than afore mentioned methods. You know what is even easier? Forgetting about all that ancient stuff and trying a game that is actually fairly recent. You get a whole lot more experience for less effort. That is what I have found out.