Load "Retrocomputer Gaming Thread",8,1.exe

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Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

http://youtu.be/pxZj9sn6FKk?t=1m

Nothing special, except:
- we'll be loading these from tapes.
- WTF man, they're like 2 sides long, that won't work!
- It hardly worked when it was new, and these are 20 years old, so let's cheat a bit *pulls out an audio->tape adapter* We'll be loading them from a phone! :haw:

I totally forgot these even existed and didn't realize it'd be possible. Very impractical in the age of emulators and flash card adapters, but still.

Pierzak fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Nov 14, 2013

# ¿ Nov 14, 2013 03:30

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 16:28

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

(Or use suction cup controllers with the trigger button.)

Wait, people had other controllers at the time? Those were the worst. After playing some games emulated on a PS pad my only excuse for tolerating the loving joysticks back in the day was "I didn't know better".

quote:

Arrows or numpad to move while still needing to use the mouse? Feels WRONG.

What, like in 99% of PC FPSes ever?

# ¿ Dec 9, 2013 12:07

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

..btt posted:

Rituals of great importance to the young Amiga gamer

Rituals my rear end. You want real voodoo, go back to Atari XE and loading games from tapes :colbert:

# ¿ Feb 21, 2014 05:55

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

Consider this an Atari pro tip for running tape games:

Don't. That way lies misery and madness.

Been there, done that, have the PTSD to prove it.

This man speaks wisdom. Go get a SIO2SD drive or whatever the cool demoscene kids use nowadays.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2014 16:16

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

I hate you all. Now I'm getting Amiga cravings.

_{(please post more)}

# ¿ Feb 23, 2014 21:08

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

mod sassinator posted:

My favorite demos are from the early PC days. Future Crew in particular did some amazing stuff like Second Reality, which basically proved the PC could be just as good and even better than the Amiga:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFv7mHTf0nA

I still love the soundtrack from that demo.

And after watching the original Second Reality, watch this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVPW40ygds4

# ¿ Feb 24, 2014 06:33

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

d0s posted:

AMIGAAA

The list grows. Can you do strategy/RPG titles next?

# ¿ Feb 25, 2014 22:51

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

I'm not asking for files~. I can get many popular games cheaply enough and I have an actual local retro-gaming store (with reasonable, non-inflated prices! Last time I was there you could get best boxed versions of many games, complete/mint/originally sealed, for like $15-20 a pop), so I'm covered on this front.

I was mainly looking for some insight on which titles are actually worth playing, which ones were good back in the day but aged badly, and which ones are surprise turds that happen to be very pretty on the outside. For example, I'm absolutely in love with Perihelion's atmosphere and art style, but it seems that it's noticeably worse than it seems. I want to avoid pitfalls where actually playing the game would not be enjoyable, compared to watching a longplay.

I basically grew up on Dungeon Master-type games, so I'd love some more. As for strategy, I didn't mean that in the PC gaming "turn-based military game", but I know Amiga has quite a few of strategy/RPG hybrids. Also, economic and simmy (in the building/management sense) games.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2014 23:55

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Genpei Turtle posted:

oldschool Mac

So, what are good old Mac-exclusives to look out for? Marathon trilogy, Pathways into Darkness, Escape Velocity, what else?

d0s posted:

gently caress youuuu now I've got the Lotus theme stuck in my head again :argh:

And that joystick was the poo poo. The only thing better at the time was some little-known brand which was basically the same thing reduced for easier holding and with the durability turned up to 11.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2014 15:37

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Gromit posted:

Not little known, but you HAVE to be talking about the TAC-2. Still have mine right here.

No, I think it was some local (i.e. Polish) company. Visually the joysticks looked like bad Soviet knockoffs, but they performed extremely well.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2014 13:12

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Jedit posted:

maximised the scoreboard at 999999

Is this even a retro game? :psyduck:

usually high scores were measured by the number of times the scoreboard overflowed back to 0.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2014 00:28

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

TOOT BOOT posted:

Dumb story: When the original Quake came out I was stuck with a 486SX so I downloaded a program that emulated a math coprocessor.

It allowed the game to run, but only at about one frame every 2 minutes.

Running original Quake reminds me how the old FPSes had variable windows size for when 320*200 was too much for your hardware to handle :allears:

# ¿ Apr 23, 2014 02:33

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

What's a good place to read up on running an Amiga/Amiga emulator? I'm not interested in any coding/fiddling with the hardware, just getting and playing the games I wanted but couldn't get as a kid. I want basically the Amiga equivalent of autoexec/config/conventional memory configuration, IRQ/DMA on sound cards, etc. Something that gamers of the day took for basic skills but would surprise a first-time user.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2014 00:58

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

Well there is a place that has made a shitload of Amiga games into UAE executables in Windows with a couple function keys for emulation option menus and to savestate things. (No normal saving possible.)

But that would be :files: so I can't link it here. Ask me in #retrochat if you ever come by IRC way. (irc.synirc.net)

I have bought DOS ports on GOG or owned an Amiga game then played it using an executable. Win UAE can be fiddly. In some cases there are Genesis or PC ports for the early 90s era that hold up nicely. Maybe not as good but usually. Sometimes better! (And for Genesis if the game runs too fast? Go to 50hz PAL mode in your favorite emu!)

If a game comes from DOS or has a good DOS/console port you can safely assume I've played it or I'm not interested, it;s the Amiga exclusives I'm looking for. And I think I know the site you're talking about, I didn't know those allowed savestates. I'll check them.

d0s posted:

I seriously don't get what's so hard about using WinUAE that people need things like this.

I once had an older version of WinUAE that was pretty easy to run, but then the devs apparently went full demoscene/software gurus support and added a fuckton of hardware options I don't have a clue about. If I could still find that old version I wouldn't be asking.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2014 12:46

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

(I am working on another smallish effort post. Here is a hint:

If you gently caress it up I will track you down and post angry things about you. Also, this needs to be a full SSLP :colbert:

I assume it's Skullkeep?

# ¿ Jun 13, 2014 11:06

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Police Automaton posted:

Do games like "Der Planer" "Der Patrizier" "Pizza Connection" "Ports of Call" "Oldtimer" "Mad TV" "1869" "Dyna Tech" or even the dirty, dirty "Biing!" ring any bell with anyone? I have the feeling they were never a thing elsewhere, but maybe I am wrong.

I know and have played all of them except 1869 (is it from the 18XX boardgame genre, like 1830?), Dyna Tech and Der Planer (might have under different names). And I know others did have different names. So no, definitely not just a German thing.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2014 12:27

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

reading posted:

What's a good RTS from the past 20 years that I could play on Linux? Steam doesn't have much other than ultra casual tower defense games in this category.

Warzone 2100, I loved it back in the day.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2014 23:12

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Police Automaton posted:

I really hate what the german community does sometimes to the old computers. One one side they call themselves Amiga fans, on the other side the computers are treated like old crap and often there are pushes to have things replaced with modern things that have nothing to do with the old hardware.

It's not only the Germans. In Poland we have a sizeable 8-bit community (new games, demoscene, music, the works). I don't code or otherwise actively participate, but I've always loved the notion of pushing a limited platform way beyond its limits. Well, some people apparently think that attaching a custom-made video card that relegates the basic hardware to pushing a few buttons is still "8-bit Atari demo". Well yeah, technically it does run through an Atari. Does it mean that if I hook up a modern PC to an Atari modded into nothing more than an audio/video adapter, it's still an Atari?

# ¿ Jun 28, 2014 13:51

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Police Automaton posted:

Oh yes, I played it on the Amiga back then too. It was awesome although for modern sensibilities way, way too slow. Nowadays people would call that "unplayable" really, although it made the game easier. The last few missions were hard as balls though, I never managed to do the last one. The mission description literally tells you "Try to stay alive somehow but you prob. won't manage". The PC version also has more sprites for civilians and cars IIRC. I remember the manual, too. Black paper with white font and random drawings on some pages, looked really fancy and futuristic.

Later on the PC I also got the "American Revolution" mission disk and I think that one was written to be played by actual cyborgs. I am not sure I ever managed to win a single mission.

All those years and I still remember that the basic tactic was to load 6 lasers on each agent and boost reflex and aggression to max. Syndicate :argh:

VVV: Oh yeah, and kill my agents the moment I get into a close-quarters firefight.

Pierzak fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Jul 30, 2014

# ¿ Jul 30, 2014 02:57

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Lord Dudeguy posted:

I wonder if DOSbox is stylus-friendly. That has to be the equivalent of cheating in Life & Death.

So, like Trauma Center but realistic?

# ¿ Nov 10, 2014 13:32

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Jedit posted:

Whenever you see "flexible funding", it's a scam.

Fixed.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2014 11:55

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

And to bring more retro computer stuff into something remotely modern:

http://www.smspower.org/Homebrew/BruceLee-SMS The Atari 8 bit classic BRUCE FUCKIN LEE now in SMS form! If you don't want the PC fan remake or the PC fan sequel or the sequel demade for the Commodore 64 you can now play Bruce Lee on a good console. (Comedy option would be on the Genesis with a Power Base Convertor. The same CPUs in the Amiga, ST, Macintosh, X68000, plus the CPU daddy of cheap micros everywhere, the Z80 working as a team!

http://kollektivet.nu/brucelee2/ (And if you want Bruce Lee 2.)

The only thing is now I need to see if I can't find that fan made expanded version of Fort Apocalypse on the C64 with like three times the level size total. I've only seen some map on a german website someplace and that's it.

Holy poo poo I've played so much of this as a kid. So grabbing it.

Pierzak fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Jul 8, 2015

# ¿ Jul 8, 2015 20:09

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Is there a noob-friendly explanation of WinUAE's setting somewhere? As someone whose Amiga knowledge was limited to switching floppies I'm a bit intimidated.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2015 19:34

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Prenton posted:

Point it to the ROMs in the "paths" bit and hit scan. Then stick to the Quickstart menu which lets you quickly choose the most common setups, otherwise you'll soon find yourself asking questions like "How Fat does my Agnus need to be?"

Too late, now I want to learn what all this stuff means. :v:

# ¿ Sep 28, 2015 23:29

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

I have heard some folks say NOPE THATS NOT PLAYING THE GAME.

My counter-argument is that to get the ~real troo experience~ I'd have to play most 8-bit games with a loving JOYSTICK, and gently caress that.

Also, loading from cassette tape under "the planets must be aligned right so it loads" rules. Again, gently caress that.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2016 11:52

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Jedit posted:

The "pray to the head alignment gods" poo poo never actually happened

Someone never had an Atari XE, which were ubiquitous in my area. But I agree on the C64/Amstrad point.

quote:

Don't whine because they aren't what you're used to.

I'm sick of them precisely because it's what I had in the old days. When I encountered good gamepads I moved on and never looked back, not even at the supposedly awesome models, deluxe arcade sticks and all that crap.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2016 21:11

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Captain Rufus posted:

Quest for Glory series till I get bored (PC) Why? It might be the only point and click adventure games I had any enjoyment of besides Jurassic Park on the Sega CD. And its got RPG bits!

Are you playing the ones you haven't beaten yet, or replaying? If replaying, may I recommend new QFG-alikes, there seems to be quite a few of them? Start with Heroine's Quest and work your way from there.

# ¿ May 5, 2016 12:13

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Gromit posted:

As for good platformers, I'd include Gods, but that's a weird game where you're better off watching a playthrough where someone else knows about all the secrets.
Lionheart, The Lost Vikings (puzzle platformer though), and Nebulus I recall as being pretty cool.

Oh, we're including multiplatforms? And not mentioning Fury of the Furries? < :mad:

# ¿ Aug 11, 2017 02:54

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Xenomrph posted:

Hmm, so the GOG version is unsalvageable? If that�s the case, does GOG offer refunds?

You're probably set to keep the original resolution and not scale it to screen. It's changeable either in the configuration link from your version or as Luigi said, your video driver might be set to preserve lower resolution so if DOSBox config fails check that too.

And no need to gently caress around with a config file if you don't know what you're doing. Launch the config shortcut and tell us (or take a screenshot) what's set there (both basic and advanced).

Pierzak fucked around with this message at 11:51 on Feb 5, 2018

# ¿ Feb 5, 2018 11:12

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO posted:

installing an app to let me rebind mousewheel to zoom

Tell me more.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2018 14:32

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

GutBomb posted:

Are there any good 4 axis sticks (pitch, roll, yaw, and throttle) that work in DOS?

For Descent you want those weird ball 3D controllers with 3 axis rotation and movement in 6 directions.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2018 22:45

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

JnnyThndrs posted:

Oddly enough, the most reliable �CF cards� I�ve used (in terms of being recognized by weird adaptors) were those SD�>CF adaptors with a name brand microSD card. Everything from iPods to ancient 486 systems run reliably using this combo. I usually use Samsung Evo microsSD cards.

So microSD -> SD -> CF -> IDE?
I dunno, you might squeeze a few more stages in there.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2019 14:27

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Luigi Thirty posted:

and it�s pretty amazing the demos and games that have come out recently.

Such as? Serious question, I've been out of the loop for a decade.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 00:00

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Seat Safety Switch posted:

I put a massive amount of super glue on this

(in the future, try plastic glue (as in, the kind scale modelers use) first. Not all types of plastic will take to it, but it's solvent-based so works by welding the plastic, the bond is really strong and if you do this inside there's little to worry about w/r/t visible traces, especially compared to superglue)

# ¿ Nov 21, 2019 03:20

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Good tip, thanks! I didn't even know they were materially different. The joint is holding, but it's extremely ugly. I'll pick some up, especially since the case cracks also need repair.

I personally use this stuff. The needle might need cleaning after long disuse but it's a far cry from some low quality poo poo with a huge brush that's not that cheaper.
Also, first try it out on some random place inside the box - if it starts melting, you're good. If not, don't close the box for a night anyway, unless you wanna know which electronic components dissolve in contact with solvent fumes.
If you need extra plastic to fix a hole or get an extra spacer/place to thread a screw into, two good sources of glue-meltable plastic are sheets of HIPS (aka plasticard) and actual model sprues (frames that individual parts come on, ask any modeler for leftovers).

# ¿ Nov 21, 2019 13:30

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

You Am I posted:

Or making icy corners right after long straights and watching friends skidding off into the distance

Those had a different color, too obvious. Obstacle slalom right after a corkscrew worked better.

# ¿ Nov 22, 2019 03:14

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

DildenAnders posted:

Again any input is welcome, if anyone knows about the feasibility of running stuff like Fallout 1/2, Jedi Knight, System Shock 2, or Deus Ex it'd be much appreciated. I'm also interested in possibly emulating old GBC/NES games if possible, but I don't have much experience with this stuff so I have no idea how feasible it would be.

I've run all you mentioned on a much weaker desktop PC so the main/only hurdle should be the graphics card. GBC/NES emulation works fine even in MS-DOS on a 486DX, so no problems there, just grab an appropriately old emulator.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2020 23:43

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

DildenAnders posted:

It's for attempting to run a Fallout 2 Demo, which says it requires DirextX3 to run, though obviously if a later one would work that would be great too.

It's really rare that a game would accept an early DX and not 9. Is there some issue specific to the demo? Because all the versions of F2 I ran had no problem with needing an early version.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2020 20:54

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Fil5000 posted:

I deleted basically everything off my hard drive in order to play Ultima VII Serpent Isle. Worth it.

drat, I remember trying to run that poo poo back in the day, I never managed to wrangle the memory just so. I think that was before I discovered QEMM, too. I only played 7 years later on Dosbox or Exult.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2020 16:09

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 16:28

Pierzak: Oct 30, 2010

Sweevo posted:

Banshee - WW2/steampunk vertical shooter

Getting a real strong Chaos Engine vibe from this one, is it from the same guys by any chance?

# ¿ Dec 2, 2020 16:52

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