Kippesoep wrote:

Hm. Something seems wrong with this ep. Although the ads play fine, the actual video stops playing for a long time while buffering after 27 seconds and stops altogether after 2 minutes or so, just after the Tandy section begins... All the other eps play fine and my connection should be able to handle it just fine (at 120Mbps).

I've checked and it's loading perfectly fine.

A glitch probably happened when you were trying to watch it last. Clear your browser cache and try again and you should be fine. If not, maybe you need to update your Flash player or use a different browser? As far as I can tell, the new filler episode loads and plays back flawlessly and no one else has mentioned any problems yet.

Gemini000 wrote:

A glitch probably happened when you were trying to watch it last. Clear your browser cache and try again and you should be fine. If not, maybe you need to update your Flash player or use a different browser? As far as I can tell, the new filler episode loads and plays back flawlessly and no one else has mentioned any problems yet.

Weird. Those things were the first I tried. It happens for me with 3 different browsers on 2 PCs (all updated to the latest versions). Trying again today, it says the video ended after 2 seconds or after 21 seconds. The only way I could watch it was by downloading the FLV file directly.

Kippesoep wrote:

Gemini000 wrote:

A glitch probably happened when you were trying to watch it last. Clear your browser cache and try again and you should be fine. If not, maybe you need to update your Flash player or use a different browser? As far as I can tell, the new filler episode loads and plays back flawlessly and no one else has mentioned any problems yet.

Weird. Those things were the first I tried. It happens for me with 3 different browsers on 2 PCs (all updated to the latest versions). Trying again today, it says the video ended after 2 seconds or after 21 seconds. The only way I could watch it was by downloading the FLV file directly.

Very weird. You might want to get in touch with Blip.tv and ask them about it because as far as I can tell there's nothing wrong with the video and you're the only one who's reported any trouble with it. *shrugs*

Ancient DOS Games Episode 21 - Captain Comic is online!

I somehow managed to make the episode exactly 9 minutes long, which means it's a little shorter than usual, but I managed to sneak in several on-screen moments such as the keyboard I use to display the controls for a game and a couple other neat things. ;)

Ancient DOS Games Episode 22 - Ken's Labyrinth is online!

Before starting Ancient DOS Games, I primarily wrote freeware and shareware games under my Pixelmusement banner. One of the biggest sources of inspiration for my games has been not only Ken's Labyrinth, but much of Ken Silverman's other work as well.

I've spoken with Ken Silverman before by eMail and on his forums. The first time I got in touch with him he took a look at my website and said he noticed I, quote, "...concentrate on gameplay more than anything else", which is entirely accurate. ;)

Oh! And before I confuse the heck out of anyone, I made a mistake while stating the hint for the next episode which I didn't catch until after uploading it: I meant to say "North Pole", not "South Pole". Kinda makes a difference. :P

I think you should mention KENSBFIX.EXE in the notes. I downloaded version 2.01 like in the episode but was baffled why it kept freezing with Sound Blaster selected for Digitized Sound. With PC speaker selected the music would hang during sound effects. I rewatched the episode to see if there was something I needed to do differently. Then I noticed the fix file which doesn't appear to be documented anywhere.

SKARDAVNELNATE wrote:

I think you should mention KENSBFIX.EXE in the notes. I downloaded version 2.01 like in the episode but was baffled why it kept freezing with Sound Blaster selected for Digitized Sound. With PC speaker selected the music would hang during sound effects. I rewatched the episode to see if there was something I needed to do differently. Then I noticed the fix file which doesn't appear to be documented anywhere.

Actually, it's documented right on Ken Silverman's website along with the 2.1 version: "Now includes a fix (KENSBFIX.EXE) for the 'Digitized Sound' crash."

But yeah, I'll add a note on the video page on my website saying to make sure to run that executable if playing the old DOS version instead of the source port.

Ancient DOS Games Episode 23 - Arctic Adventure is online!

This game's actually a lot older than its 1991 copyright date, but information about the game prior to its Apogee release is virtually non-existant. The only piece of solid evidence I could find was a text file included with the freeware release of the game stating that this was one of the games developed by George Broussard at Micro F/X that was eventually rolled into the Apogee product line when he joined the company.

BTW: The laughing at the names Nevada Smith and Dr. Jones due to their (and the game's overall) similarity to Indiana Jones was intentional, but I'm not really sure if it worked out well. Anyone have any comments about that? Do you all prefer a more natural-sounding approach or would you rather I keep the dialouge as straight as possible like a comedian would?

Idea: consider editing your O.P, to reflect the changes you make on a weekly basis. That way, readers can see at a glance what the latest episode is.

retro games 100 wrote:

Idea: consider editing your O.P, to reflect the changes you make on a weekly basis. That way, readers can see at a glance what the latest episode is.

Done! ;)

I didn't like the laughing very much.

Ancient DOS Games Episode 24 - Doom is online!

Please note that because Doom is a graphically violent game that this episode is only intended for mature audiences. If you are under the age of 18 or if you are offended by such things, it is best to skip watching this episode. If you still want to guess at the next episode, I've placed the hint for the next episode on the main page of my website: http://www.pixelships.com

But let's face it, I had to cover Doom sooner or later. The game has sold MILLIONS of copies. For something that started out as shareware, that's pretty impressive.

Gemini000 wrote:

Ancient DOS Games Episode 24 - Doom is online!

Please note that because Doom is a graphically violent game that this episode is only intended for mature audiences. If you are under the age of 18 or if you are offended by such things, it is best to skip watching this episode. If you still want to guess at the next episode, I've placed the hint for the next episode on the main page of my website: http://www.pixelships.com

But let's face it, I had to cover Doom sooner or later. The game has sold MILLIONS of copies. For something that started out as shareware, that's pretty impressive.

Don't be such a baby Gemini000 😀, it was in USA the real shit hit the fan (yeah okay Germany my neighbouring country has some EXTREME censor laws, just like the UK even though Germany is even WORSE) but the main point is this. In America.. the shit hit the fan, when that game came out. But anywhere else it was more like "oh is it that scary ? well let us have a smoke", but sadly that has changed ever since: Thanks to certain countries bad influence on other peoples attitude towards games, and other kinds of culture. I am not going to mention names. But let us just say, I have uttered in my past my dis likings of such things on other forums. Also I personally played this game when I was twelve. But if we are hitting upon the Columbine act and what not. Well there has been accusations about violence and what not, since the Bruce Lee films in the 1970, well the only difference between the Bruce Lee films, and the so-called violent games has been the media it was released on, cause stupid people will do stupid things. It is not the films or the games fault for their actions. Damn all that crap.

Gemini000 thanks to all those warnings and what not you gave out for the first many second of the video. I have decided not to spend much time on it, except for trying to figure out what your next game will be.

Gemini000: I think your shows are great, and you got a good voice for the reviews. So it is not exactly you, when I get turned off watching, just the whole ludicrous stuff about censorship and what not.

Ah, the usual blah blah blah from Mr. Irrelevant. Prey, which german "censor laws" are EXTREME in your opinion? And which in the UK? I'm looking forward to your elaborate, informed and well-written explanation.

Anyway, thanks for the new show Gemini. About time you reviewed what is possibly the most important and influencial DOS game (; .

Gemini000 wrote:

Ancient DOS Games Episode 24 - Doom is online!

I was 11 when Doom came out. My father and I took turns playing it. It didn't turn me antisocial or violent. I was already antisocial years before that from being in a particularly rough elementary school. The only time I've turned violent was when I didn't own a computer. So I guess Doom was actually a positive outlet for me.

I never understood the Satan worship fear the game inspired. There is no Satan in the game. Hell, demons, but no Satan. If anything, since you're fighting against the demons, I'd worry it might inspire impressionable children to become evangelists.

WolverineDK wrote:

But if we are hitting upon the Columbine act and what not.

Ugh... You had to bring that up. I think he was trying to avoid mentioning it.

WolverineDK: Just so you know, over half of the visitors to my website are children, so the warnings are there for their benefit and the benefit of parents who are monitoring their children while they browse. Don't let that turn you off, I'm just trying to make sure not to offend people when I don't have to. Obviously I take a more intelligent look at these issues in the video itself. I have the exact same warning on my System Shock episode even though that game was such a sleeper hit that very few people cried foul.

ADDiCT: My first version of Doom was v1.2, when the health gauge could go higher than 200%, saving under an open door would break the game, and the swastika was present in the level design of one of the first episode levels. I don't know the reason why they changed that in later versions, but I have a few ideas.

SKARDAVNELNATE: Ha! Same age as me! Actually, it was one of my mother's friends who introduced me to it. Statistics have shown that violent crime has decreased since the dawn of video games, but whether video games have played a role in that is anyone's guess and there's not really a good way to figure that out scientifically. I've always believed the younger someone is when they are exposed to violence, sex, or other such things, the more responsible they will be in those terms later in life, but it is ultimately the parents of a child who need to decide which age is right for their offspring, regardless of what age I or anyone else might think is right.

Before the Columbine shootout, Doom only was controversial in that it destroyed worker productivity - news stories covering Doom in 1994/1995 was mostly "DOOM- it took over my poor life forever!!! good freaking bye, sol.exe!". Wolfenstein 3D was controversial in the worker productivity destruction too. No one really gave a crap about its violence then - the butt monkey for being the evil 'murder simulator' was Mortal Kombat. 😜

WOOHOO! DOOM... one of my all-time favs 😀

Started playing when it was in... eehhh... beta stage <grin>, and it's ruined my life ever since <LOL> 😀 Started playing as an old fart of (damn, I can't count) 32 or so. Later on, wrote the score for Eternal DOOM 1/2/3 (here's a tune for ya -> http://www.cmoo.com/snor/weeds/Weeds_Music/DOOMin_Live.mp3 ), and then joined TeamTNT (originally, of retail "Final DOOM" fame) as a musician.

Ahh, the memories... co-opp-ing with my buddy over the modem (with an additional seperate voice line/speaker phone for our hand-held "radios"), kicking arse (and getting my arse kicked) in Deathmatch with my nephew, and generally talking over a large portion of my life (or "no life", I should say <grin>).

To partially quote SKARDAVNELNATE, I was already anti-social from many years before <LOL>!

Anyhow, a funny story (although the outcome *could* have been rather "unfunny"):

I taught my nephew to DOOM back when he was 6 years old or so (BTW, he just turned 19). We had been DOOMing for about 3 months, when my brother-in-law (his father) told me "I don't know what's up with Daniel... I found him out in the garage the other day trying to start my MCCullough chainsaw!".

Heh, needless to say, *I* had a good hunch as to why he was doing that <grin>...

I played Doom almost 10 years after its release, when I was about 9? I always thought it looked cartoony, not really violent 😜 I had already played games much gorier by then (call me Quake, Kingpin, Soldier of Fortune...),but I don't really think I'm that a violent person 😜
Nice review man. By the way, to all those interested in the backstory behind Doom and ID Software as a whole, you should get the book by the name Masters of Doom. It's fantastic.

Just watched the episode, nicely done indeed. I've especially liked the fact that you're talking about the controversity surrounding the Doom games, and your line of argumentation in that respect. Also, kudos for mentioning the source ports. There's really no point in using DOSBox when it's much more convenient using one of the many ports. Some people probably don't know what a "source port" is though, so maybe it'd make sense to add a link to this Wikipedia page.

One thing I've noticed is that the video quality is quite bad, with lots of artifacting. Would it be maybe possible to re-encode the episode with a larger bitrate?

Also, I'm wondering about how many people actually view the show. Do you have any numbers for us? Like, how many views, from which countries, etc.? I'm just curious (; .