no one's admitting to playing ultima online 🤣

leileilol wrote on 2026-09-05, 01:42:

no one's admitting to playing ultima online 🤣

While I liked, somewhat, Ultima IV,VI, I never enjoyed the series.
On the other hand, I did play quite a fair amount of time Diablo online. Just can't get the times I bargained with a cheater chopping me up to get an "ear" out of me...
I started cheating too for protection and even bigger cheaters appeared with nastier trainers....... ouch!

I started 1998 still using my first PC build with a Pentium Classic 133 MHz, an ATI 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV (Rage II and 8 whole MB of VRAM), a SB Vibra 16, a 6GB Hard drive, and a 12X CD-ROM drive in an AT-style mid-tower case. That summer I upgraded the motherboard and CPU for a Pentium MMX 233 MHz in an ATX-style mid-tower. Aw, the memories.

I wasn't much of a gamer back then (I'm still not), so I actually ran Windows NT 4.0 on my daily driver for stability. I could run games like Civilization II and Riven well on NT, but not any games that required low-level access to the hardware (even ones designed for Windows 95). I had a small FAT partition on my hard drive just to hold some old DOS games when I booted from the floppy drive.

1998? That was Need For Speed II SE and Thief: The Dark Project for me.
I remember my parents got me a Pentium 200 machine for 1997 christmas, which was awesome for that time, but no 3d accelarator, which did not matter for 12 yr old me.

what a great read 😀 Some of you were really up to date, others more 1988 than 1998 but all great memories 😀

What also comes to my mind, a little anecdote from the 90s.
Ok, so it basically was like this: My father had two main ISPs, T-Online and CompuServe (at the time AOL wasn't really available over here).

One was for BTX online service and internet access, the other one for access to international CompuServe forums (GO something).

Because the whole IT crowd was present on CS (just lilke how writers hung out on GEnie in the 90s): IBM, Microsoft, Borland and the other big ones
CompuServe also was important to my father because of his ancient CompuServe e-mail address.
Like so many users he had that number style e-mail address.

Now, T-Online software 1.02 ran fine on Windows 3.1x on any hardware.
It allowed visiting BTX service and then onwards was using that as a springboard for dialing further into internet.
It also had Netscape Navigator 2.01 bundled, which needed 386+.
So far so good..

The problem now was with CompuServe software, WinCIM..
It also ran just fine on Windows 3.1x (both v1.x and 2.x) and some versions on shareware CDs/multimedia CDs had Mosaic and Internet Explorer 3 bundled with WinCIM.
The browsers needed 386+, as well.

But by ca. 1996, there were connection problems using WinCIM software.
The problems were on CompuServe side in Germany, because sometimes it connected, sometimes not.
As if it was depending on the server/minicomputer taking the call.
(I assume the oudated ones still supported classic log-in protocol/script that we relied on.)

When I called CompuServe hotline for support because of our connection problems, the employee seemed confused or irritated.
He didn't really know what "WinCIM" was, asked for modem settings and told us to just switch to "CompuServe 3.0".
Some then-new Windows 95 software..
I thanked him for the tips but asked him if there's another solution/workaround.

Because I told him we had WinCIM running on Windows 3.1 on an 80286 PC, which was unable to run Windows 95!
The long silence that followed was very unconfortable.
Apparently, what I said must have been so very out-of-this world that the employee just sat there staring on his telephone in disbelief! 🥲
He perhaps could not comprehend if I was serious or if it was just a prank.
Sometimes, I wonder if these support guys and gals still had any calls by MacCIM or OS/2-CIM users! 😂😭
Or worse, users of the DOS-based CIM from the 1980s! 😆

PS: I had the 80286 PC, by the way. I spoke for both us when I told the support.
In reality, my father had Windows 95 RTM running on a 386DX-40 PC with 16 MB of RAM, 2x larger IDE HDDs (250 and 500 MB or so), a Mitsumi Lu005 single-speed CD-ROM drive,
a QIC streamer, 5,25" and 3,5" floppy drive, Towitoko telephone card reader,
a 33k6 Trust Communicator modem, a 20" CRT monitor and some Epson Canon printer.

He used speaker.drv driver on Windows 95 for system sounds.
So he was able to run CompuServe 3 software, in principle.
Albeit it would likely have messed up T-Online software and winsock files and Netscape.
So he kept WinCIM, but installed a slightly newer version hopeing that the logon scripts were more up-to-date.

Edited.

PS: So yeah we were both early adopters and vintage computer users back then.
My father and me often participated in new technology of its time (online services, Photo CD),
but on other hand used what people now call "hot-rod" vintage conputers.:
A 286 but with 4 MB and 16-Bit stereo sound and a scanner, the highest-end 386 system model (am386DX40) of the aging 386 generation, but with 16 MB, 20" monitor and Windows 95..
We used to be period-correctly period-incorrect when things still were new. We were very weird, but in a good way (I guess). 🥲

Around 97/98 I moved on my own and started studying.
So it was time to move on from my second pc setup 486 dx2-66 with 8mb ram.
I bought
Pentium II 266
64mb ram
Matrox millennium II
4gb quantum bigfoot
Later I also bought voodoo 2 8mb card
Games I played, don't quite remember years
Tomb raider I and II
Final fantasy vii
Interstate 76
Carmageddon I and II
And heck lots of steel panthers I

That's a tough one...lots of changes that year. I was in the midst of doing a lot more PC gaming. I had more free time on my hands because I had just closed my DJ business and left the local volunteer fire department where I had been for 2 years. Prior to that I was doing the DJ thing, was on the FD, moonlighting for my local ISP, and working full time at Pepsi Co. I was basically working myself to death. So, I dropped everything but my full time job.

* I think I started on a Pentium II 266 32MB, but ended on an AMD K6-2 500 128MB.
* Started on Win 95, ended on 98.
* I had a Voodoo 2 in there, and I think the 2D card was a Rage Pro. However, by the end of the year I had moved to a Riva TNT.

For consoles, I had a lot of them back them. The PlayStation, N64, Dreamcast, Saturn, Panasonic 3DO, SNES, Genesis, TG-16, NES, and Master System. I also had several Commodore and Tandy computers that I had kept, or picked up at second hand stores.

My friends and I were playing, across multiple platforms depending on what they had, a lot of Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and Quake 1 and 2. We played a lot of Command and Conquer as well. Mechwarrior 2, Final Fantasy 7, Fallout II, Half-Life, Resident Evil. Interstate 76, Twisted Metal 2 and 3. I think that's the games we spent the most time playing.

1998 was a good year for gaming with my friends. 1999 was an amazing year becasue I met my wife! Though, technically we met in 98, we didn't start dating until 1999.

leileilol wrote on 2026-09-05, 01:42:

no one's admitting to playing ultima online 🤣

Had a roommate who was addicted to UO. It completely put me off ever playing an MMO.

Pentium II 333 Mhz, 64 mb RAM 6gb harddisk and a Monster 3D 3DFX card (I thought I'd treat myself). I was playing Thief, Jedi Knight, Monkey Island 3, Quake 2, Unreal, Monkey Island 3, Warcraft 2 and Red Alert.

In 1998 I think I started with a pentium 1 166 and no 3dfx I dont recall what video card I had, but later in the year I upgraded to a 266 mmx and bought a banshee 16 mb card. The first game i bought to test was FutureCop LAPD and I loved it. Though I also ended up buying Unreal. I remember seeing the box on the store shelf and I thought it looked amazing. I wasnt a FPS gamer at all. I didnt even like doom and quake all that much. Well i bought Unreal and loved it. I still love the game. Dont recall what sound card I had.

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-09-06, 16:48:

leileilol wrote on 2026-09-05, 01:42:

no one's admitting to playing ultima online 🤣

Had a roommate who was addicted to UO. It completely put me off ever playing an MMO.

My manager was obsessed with the game and if we wanted a 45 minute break we would just ask him how his latest gaming sesion went. He would describe it all and draw pictures and e verything.
He even offered to pay my monthly sub is i just bought the game. I declined as I didnt have time ot invest in online games. He did convince me though to buy a bunch single player games

I was almost certainly playing Interstate 76.

I had a variety of different comptuers in that era but the main one was a 233MMX with 64MB of EDO ram, a Shuttle brand motherboard, some kind of S3 PCI video card and an SB16 or maybe Vibra of some sort.

A bit hazy... IIRC Pentium 166 [or 233?] MMX, S3 [Virge?], Sound Blaster [Live?].. Played FIFA Road to World Cup 1998, Phantasmagoria 2, Larry 7, Space Quest 6, Wing Commander Prophecy, Red Alert, Nocturne (or was this later?).. and on the Playstation 1 it was Alundra, Bushido Blade 2, and Final Fantasy 8 (then I played it on PC as well).

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-09-06, 16:48:

leileilol wrote on 2026-09-05, 01:42:

no one's admitting to playing ultima online 🤣

Had a roommate who was addicted to UO. It completely put me off ever playing an MMO.

Same reason why I later avoided World of Warcraft. Ultima Online came out when I was a student and didn't have internet (but a lot of friends in town and a lot of partying around).

TombRaider. It was really a milestone on many levels, and the accelerated versions for Matrox Mistique/M3D/3DFx/... were a further revolution as well.

The swimming scenes alone (especially on the M3D/PowerVR version) were absolutely unprecedented, and when you ran out of oxygen, you really felt hard to breath...

Sure Doom's sons and nephews, Quake/Unreal were important as well but they were basically an evolution of the Doom concept, while Tombraider was a basket of fresh ideas.

Only Half Life can compare. Still a doom nephew, but the consistent story made it more like a Movie where you are the main character, rather than just a simple shoot them up game.