Time to do some retro gaming

[Asbjoern]

http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=news&id=1141&cc=EN

Those childhood memories. I'm replaying Commander Keen and still undecided if I want to go through level upon level of pure FPS in Doom, Quake etc.
I think I'll just leave those games to the memories.

And hopefully Valve will get the Steam Community update released on Monday.

[JDR13]

Speaking of retro, I'm about to dive into System Shock.

[Corwin]

Ah, the pleasures that await you!! :)

[HiddenX]

I'm replaying Might & Magic 6 - The Mandate of Heaven -> but this is off-topic here :)

[JDR13]

Ah, the pleasures that await you!! :)

Hey Corwin, do you know about SystemShock-Portable (http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html)? A very nice hassle-free way to play SS on WindowsXP.

[Corwin]

No I don't, I played it via Dosbox last time with no problems at all.

[Jaz]

Nice packs! The only titles on the list I don't have (and don't care to play) are Quake III Team Arena (played the demo, ho-hum) and the Doom 3 addon.
I just looked at my Hexen II addon Portal of Praevus; no Id logo on that one, just the Activion and Raven logos, so that might explain why its not on the list.

[Asbjoern]

but this is off-topic here :)

No, that's okay. We might aswell turn the thread into a retro gaming thread, because it is questionable to how far an extent we can discuss id letting their games become available on Steam.

But it is interesting though, that Valve have incorporated DosBox into Steam, so that Commander Keen among others can be played. It works really well too.

Nice packs! The only titles on the list I don't have (and don't care to play) are Quake III Team Arena (played the demo, ho-hum) and the Doom 3 addon.
I just looked at my Hexen II addon Portal of Praevus; no Id logo on that one, just the Activion and Raven logos, so that might explain why its not on the list.

But yes, there are always some games that isn't released (or at least not immediately), which really annoys me, because I like the symmetry/harmony of mind. An example of this is the Hitman series. Hitman 1, 2 and 4 are available at Steam but not Hitman Contracts. And it is quite often that I'm irritated by this. Even though I aren't planning on playing any of the Hitmans.

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory hasn't been released either (I know it's free/gratis), but it bugs me.

[JDR13]

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory was just a multiplayer function, not much of a game really.

[Asbjoern]

Well, so are the Counter-Strike series, the Day of Defeat series and Red Orchestra too. But I see your point, though in my mind it would suit Steam to have it released there.

[Jaz]

But it is interesting though, that Valve have incorporated DosBox into Steam, so that Commander Keen among others can be played. It works really well too.This Spring I replayed Keen 1 to 6 and Keen Dreams under WinXp, and these games just ran, no fiddling necessary. No DOSBox, either. I do not remember if they required VDMSound or if I played them on the soundcardless rig, though.

[Gallifrey]

But yes, there are always some games that isn't released (or at least not immediately), which really annoys me, because I like the symmetry/harmony of mind. An example of this is the Hitman series. Hitman 1, 2 and 4 are available at Steam but not Hitman Contracts. And it is quite often that I'm irritated by this. Even though I aren't planning on playing any of the Hitmans.

Hitman Contracts is on Gametap. I think they have the entire series. And they also have a ton of old school games with the emulation built in so you can play them.
Not to sound like some viral marketer (I only have their free subscription) but I just thought I'd mention it as relevant to this thread.

[Sir Markus]

That 'Deathkings of the Dark Citadel' Heretic and Hexen package is a nice deal for $9.95

http://www.steamgames.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=439&cc=US

[Jaz]

...but slightly incomplete without Portal of Praevus. The Tibetan backdrop and succubus player character were nice additions to Hexen 2.
The Towers of Darkness collection I bought years ago cost me ~6€, it contained everything but Hexen 2. Too bad I already had both Heretic 1 *and* Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Rider. And Hexen. But the Hexen 1 addon was still worth the 6 € :).

And now that I think of it, Heretic 2 isn't part of the Steam package, either.

[Guhndahb]

Speaking of retro, I'm about to dive into System Shock.Ah, SS1. I believe it's my most replayed PC-era game. Enjoy! I'm one of those few who greatly preferred SS1 over SS2, although the latter is still a great game.

I just enjoyed a little retro gaming pleasure myself playing through Superhero League of Hoboken. The new scalars in DOSBox >= 0.70 are even better than those they had before. 320x200 scaled up to 1600w looked pretty good with the new "High-Quality 3x Magnification" scalar (at least I think it's new, if not I was missing out by using "Advanced MAME 3x" which is good but not as good, IMO).

[Asbjoern]

Hitman Contracts is on Gametap. I think they have the entire series. And they also have a ton of old school games with the emulation built in so you can play them.
Not to sound like some viral marketer (I only have their free subscription) but I just thought I'd mention it as relevant to this thread.

Thanks for the advice. But last time I checked the website you had to live in North America to use GameTap. Did I get this right?

Perhaps GameTap got a deal with Eidos so that Contracts became GameTap exclusive for a period of time.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

We have a gaming magazine called "Retro" here. Is it only a local magazine or does it appear in other countries as well ?

By the way, you can still order Commander Keen and other Apogee titles from 3DRealms ... You don't need steam for that.

[Gallifrey]

Thanks for the advice. But last time I checked the website you had to live in North America to use GameTap. Did I get this right?

Perhaps GameTap got a deal with Eidos so that Contracts became GameTap exclusive for a period of time.

You might be right on both counts. I know some Gametap stuff is USA-only so even in Canada I'd not be able to get everything which is why I haven't signed up for their Gold package subscription.

[Moriendor]

Nice packs! The only titles on the list I don't have (and don't care to play) are Quake III Team Arena (played the demo, ho-hum) and the Doom 3 addon.
I just looked at my Hexen II addon Portal of Praevus; no Id logo on that one, just the Activion and Raven logos, so that might explain why its not on the list.

Have you tried buying them though, Jaz? Pardon my French but I'm sooo fucking angry about this shit. They really need to implement an adult verification system in Steam or do something else... anything... to allow us ADULTS to buy games that have been put on the index here in Germany. That IP detection crap and "haha, you German sucker... fuck off and suck some Kraut" is bullshit. It really sucks that you have to pay VERY close attention to what you're buying on Steam. As a German gamer you constantly need to be on the look-out so you don't end up with a cut or censored "special" German version of a game.

[JDR13]

Doesn't that go both ways though? Why do the German Gothic games have titties everywhere while the US versions have bikinis?

[Corwin]

Ah, SS1. I believe it's my most replayed PC-era game. Enjoy! I'm one of those few who greatly preferred SS1 over SS2, although the latter is still a great game.

I just enjoyed a little retro gaming pleasure myself playing through Superhero League of Hoboken. The new scalars in DOSBox >= 0.70 are even better than those they had before. 320x200 scaled up to 1600w looked pretty good with the new "High-Quality 3x Magnification" scalar (at least I think it's new, if not I was missing out by using "Advanced MAME 3x" which is good but not as good, IMO).

Hi, I'm with you. The original is far better than the sequel, though I enjoyed it too!!

[Moriendor]

Doesn't that go both ways though? Why do the German Gothic games have titties everywhere while the US versions have bikinis?

Yep. It's just plain silly. Any adult should be able and allowed to make their own decisions.
Though it sucks even more for US gamers if a foreign game gets cut because due to the language barrier, you can not simply order an original version online. A German original version of Gothic won't do a US gamer much good usually unless that person happens to know enough German to play the game.
That's a little easier for us (or at least for those of us Germans who know enough English to play games). We can still easily buy all US/UK original uncut versions of id games over here (with age verification) from online retailers such as Okaysoft and the games do not even cost more than German games anymore (at least the UK versions... they are frequently even cheaper than the German versions).
It sure would have been nice in case of these classic games to just get the whole id bundle (which is a little over $60, I think) from Steam and to have every single id game only a mouse click away from installation forever and for always.
I hope that Valve will do something about this sooner or later so us Germans who are over 18 can buy all of the games they have on offer and not be excluded from some purchases or be limited to DE versions.

[Jaz]

Have you tried buying them though, Jaz?No, because I already own all the Id games I'm interested in. I see your point, though. Age verification would be nice to have - if it worked.
Not being a fan of downloads at all I wouldn't buy games via Steam, anyway. I hate online verification crap in general. Didn't reinstall Steam since I remade my rig with Vista/XP/Linux not too long ago, and I'm not planning to do so: it's highly unlikely that I'll try to replay HL2 or DM, anyway - probably not even for TF2. When I want to play Day of Defeat, I'll whip out my pre-Steam version.
I still have to finish one PS2 game and play five more, and with my current gaming speed - up to two hours on Sundays - finishing them will take me, like, forever.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Commander Keen 6 is by the way officially unavailable - it was commercial software, and somehow the rights got "blown by the wind". According to an article I've read, no-one knows for sure right now who's got the rights for it now - and whoever it is, the company might not be willing at all to release this game, because it's simply too old and wouldn't sell.

[Artran]

Ah, Apogee games... What about Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure? One of my first PC games...

[txa1265]

http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=news&id=1141&cc=EN

Those childhood memories. I'm replaying Commander Keen and still undecided if I want to go through level upon level of pure FPS in Doom, Quake etc.
I think I'll just leave those games to the memories.

And hopefully Valve will get the Steam Community update released on Monday.

Yep, that is wonderful ... I already have most everything in the collection, some on both Mac & PC ... but I love Steam as a way of getting these classics.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Ah, Apogee games... What about Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure? One of my first PC games...

Same here. Still want to buy the final episodes, only had the shareware-version ...

[Ammon777]

I cant get DOSbox working with Pool of Radiance, the damned game asks for me to insert a floppy! :(

[Guhndahb]

I cant get DOSbox working with Pool of Radiance, the damned game asks for me to insert a floppy! :(You should be able to get some help in the VOGONS forums. There's an active DOSBox community there that I've always found helpful. (So helpful, in fact, I've never had to ask a question, I always found my answers with a search.)

[Asbjoern]

If you're taking part in the Community Beta at Steam, then there's been created a great roleplaying games group. Some interesting people. So I hope you'll join us! The link is below.

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/rpgc

[Alrik Fassbauer]

http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=news&id=1141&cc=EN

Those childhood memories. I'm replaying Commander Keen and still undecided if I want to go through level upon level of pure FPS in Doom, Quake etc.
I think I'll just leave those games to the memories.

And hopefully Valve will get the Steam Community update released on Monday.

I just found out (late, isn't it ?) that they use a version of DOSBOX for this:
http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=16285

[Asbjoern]

Yes, and that has been mentioned in the thread, so yes, you are a bit late. :D

But I was also very surprised to see this happen. If we are going beyond the whole license problematic, where Valve didn't fulfill it in the beginning, then I have a very positive attitude towards this.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Yesterday I managed to get the first part of the ROA games running under Mac OS X.
(Via DOSBOX.)
I'm currently using this machine because my PC's down and my sister is on vacation.