Oh GOG. Must you put your freebies up on a Thursday too? We already
have somebody using that day. Let's space it out in the future, shall
we. How about, you take Tuesdays? That good with you?

The free game in question today is:

* Return of the Phantom
https://www.gog.com/en/game/return_of_the_phantom
A somewhat hum-drum classic point-n-click adventure
game from Microprose first released in 1993. Based on
the "Phantom of the Opera", it has you face off against
the eponymous villain. For its time, the visuals were
quite nice but... well, Microprose adventure games were
never quite up to the level of Sierra or LucasArts. The
puzzles aren't that satisfying and the writing is mediocre.
It's not a bad game, but rarely rises above average.
Honestly, it's mostly a game for classic adventure game
aficionados; if you're not into the genre already, it's
unlikely this one will excite you.

This freebies is only available for three days. Click now or forever
hold your peace. ;-)

On Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:15:01 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>
>Oh GOG. Must you put your freebies up on a Thursday too? We already
>have somebody using that day. Let's space it out in the future, shall
>we. How about, you take Tuesdays? That good with you?
>
>The free game in question today is:
>
>* Return of the Phantom
>https://www.gog.com/en/game/return_of_the_phantom
> A somewhat hum-drum classic point-n-click adventure
> game from Microprose first released in 1993. Based on
> the "Phantom of the Opera", it has you face off against
> the eponymous villain. For its time, the visuals were
> quite nice but... well, Microprose adventure games were
> never quite up to the level of Sierra or LucasArts. The
> puzzles aren't that satisfying and the writing is mediocre.
> It's not a bad game, but rarely rises above average.
> Honestly, it's mostly a game for classic adventure game
> aficionados; if you're not into the genre already, it's
> unlikely this one will excite you.
>
>
>This freebies is only available for three days. Click now or forever
>hold your peace. ;-)
>

"This game is powered by DosBox"

I would've guessed ScummVM had this by now, but they don't!

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:15:01 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>* Return of the Phantom
>https://www.gog.com/en/game/return_of_the_phantom
> A somewhat hum-drum classic point-n-click adventure
> game from Microprose first released in 1993. Based on
> the "Phantom of the Opera", it has you face off against
> the eponymous villain. For its time, the visuals were
> quite nice but... well, Microprose adventure games were
> never quite up to the level of Sierra or LucasArts. The
> puzzles aren't that satisfying and the writing is mediocre.
> It's not a bad game, but rarely rises above average.
> Honestly, it's mostly a game for classic adventure game
> aficionados; if you're not into the genre already, it's
> unlikely this one will excite you.
>
>
>This freebies is only available for three days. Click now or forever
>hold your peace. ;-)

I own this one. Box, manual and all. Last time I played it was when it
was released and so I barely remember it now.

Thanks Spalls for the post.

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 15:39 this Thursday (GMT):
> On Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:15:01 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>>
>>Oh GOG. Must you put your freebies up on a Thursday too? We already
>>have somebody using that day. Let's space it out in the future, shall
>>we. How about, you take Tuesdays? That good with you?
>>
>>The free game in question today is:
>>
>>* Return of the Phantom
>>https://www.gog.com/en/game/return_of_the_phantom
>> A somewhat hum-drum classic point-n-click adventure
>> game from Microprose first released in 1993. Based on
>> the "Phantom of the Opera", it has you face off against
>> the eponymous villain. For its time, the visuals were
>> quite nice but... well, Microprose adventure games were
>> never quite up to the level of Sierra or LucasArts. The
>> puzzles aren't that satisfying and the writing is mediocre.
>> It's not a bad game, but rarely rises above average.
>> Honestly, it's mostly a game for classic adventure game
>> aficionados; if you're not into the genre already, it's
>> unlikely this one will excite you.
>>
>>
>>This freebies is only available for three days. Click now or forever
>>hold your peace. ;-)
>>
>
> "This game is powered by DosBox"
>
> I would've guessed ScummVM had this by now, but they don't!

Maybe the source code is lost forever?
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:15:01 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> >* Return of the Phantom
> >https://www.gog.com/en/game/return_of_the_phantom
> > A somewhat hum-drum classic point-n-click adventure
> > game from Microprose first released in 1993. Based on
> > the "Phantom of the Opera", it has you face off against
> > the eponymous villain. For its time, the visuals were
> > quite nice but... well, Microprose adventure games were
> > never quite up to the level of Sierra or LucasArts. The
> > puzzles aren't that satisfying and the writing is mediocre.
> > It's not a bad game, but rarely rises above average.
> > Honestly, it's mostly a game for classic adventure game
> > aficionados; if you're not into the genre already, it's
> > unlikely this one will excite you.
> >
> >
> >This freebies is only available for three days. Click now or forever
> >hold your peace. ;-)

> I own this one. Box, manual and all. Last time I played it was when it
> was released and so I barely remember it now.

I think I played this too, but it was boring because of its adventure
genre ((crosspost/CC)ed). Andrew Webber's Phantom of the Opera was cool
though. :D
--
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." --1 Corinthians 10:31. Doyers finally won b4 Halloween & da 4th annual stool test!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:35:13 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>I think I played this too, but it was boring because of its adventure
>genre ((crosspost/CC)ed). Andrew Webber's Phantom of the Opera was cool
>though. :D

I loved adventure games back in the day but I did find some of them
boring. I don't remember if I found this one boring. I don't even
remember if I finished it. I don't have a hint book for it... so
probably not. :-P

On Fri, 01 Nov 2024 08:39:45 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:35:13 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>>I think I played this too, but it was boring because of its adventure
>>genre ((crosspost/CC)ed). Andrew Webber's Phantom of the Opera was cool
>>though. :D
>
>I loved adventure games back in the day but I did find some of them
>boring. I don't remember if I found this one boring. I don't even
>remember if I finished it. I don't have a hint book for it... so
>probably not. :-P

Microprose adventure games were always average at best. A major
failing -at least for me- was their uninspired soundtracks; Microprose
games never had great music (at least not when compared to the music
from developers like Sierra, LucasArts or Origin).

But their adventure games were always just a bit off in gameplay. The
pacing wasn't great, the writing was forced, the worldbuilding
incomplete, the puzzles lacking consistency. It always felt (and in
fact was) that the adventure game division was an also-ran at
Microprose; an attempt to expand their horizons in case strategy and
flight-sims didn't pan out.

But their games weren't the worst on the market. They were head and
shoulders above the likes of Tsunami or Capcom.

On Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:40:29 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Microprose adventure games were always average at best. A major
>failing -at least for me- was their uninspired soundtracks; Microprose
>games never had great music (at least not when compared to the music
>from developers like Sierra, LucasArts or Origin).

I remember and have many soundtracks from Sierra, LucasArts and
Origin, but only one from Microprose and that is from one of their
strategy games, not their adventure titles. So yeah, I am definitely
not going to disagree with you on this one.

>But their adventure games were always just a bit off in gameplay. The
>pacing wasn't great, the writing was forced, the worldbuilding
>incomplete, the puzzles lacking consistency. It always felt (and in
>fact was) that the adventure game division was an also-ran at
>Microprose; an attempt to expand their horizons in case strategy and
>flight-sims didn't pan out.

I own another Microprose adventure game that I barely remember called
Rex Nebular And The Cosmic Gender Bender. I bought some weird crap
when I was younger.

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:35:13 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

> >I think I played this too, but it was boring because of its adventure
> >genre ((crosspost/CC)ed). Andrew Webber's Phantom of the Opera was cool
> >though. :D

> I loved adventure games back in the day but I did find some of them
> boring. I don't remember if I found this one boring. I don't even
> remember if I finished it. I don't have a hint book for it... so
> probably not. :-P

What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
was jealous!

--
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." --Hebrews 11:1. TGIF, Doyers, Diwali, weather, poops, Zs, mails, etc.
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>was jealous!

Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
for that one.

I remember Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers because I
played through it several times.

The Adventure Game genre does not hold my attention the way it once
did but I will always have a soft spot for it. I played so many of
them back in the day.

On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>>What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>>beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>>was jealous!
>
>Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
>adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
>Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
>the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
>for that one.
>

Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
are definitely some I hold above the rest.

"Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
amazingly forward-thinking.

"Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
what you could do with just 16 colors.

"Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.

"Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.

"Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.

And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.

After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
that those early DOS-era titles had.

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> writes:

> I own another Microprose adventure game that I barely remember called
> Rex Nebular And The Cosmic Gender Bender. I bought some weird crap
> when I was younger.

I remember that game. I suppose they tried for something like Space
Quest and Leisure Suit Larry in one but the jokes were eye-roll worthy
juvenile sexist and the other theme was cruelty to animals. Hmm, maybe I
need a replay since that game would probably be frowned upon these days.

On 11/2/2024 7:38 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>
>>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>>> was jealous!
>>
>> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
>> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
>> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
>> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
>> for that one.
>>
>
>
> Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
> are definitely some I hold above the rest.
>
> "Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
> It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
> looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
> at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
> believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
> one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
> amazingly forward-thinking.
>
>
> "Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
> Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
> real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
> large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
> what you could do with just 16 colors.
>
>
> "Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
> live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
> weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
> game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
> soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
> Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
> well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.
>
>
>
> "Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
> definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
> experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
> I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.
>
>
> "Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
> LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
> it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
> soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
> issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
> shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
> fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.
>
>
>
>
> And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
> bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
> show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
> hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
> of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.
>
> After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
> the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
> while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
> Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
> that those early DOS-era titles had.

I hated all those games, I did play some Zork, but still hated, and I
never bought it. HGttG was my most hated, also didn't buy. Both were
played with friends on their computers. I remember playing on of the KQ
games ad SQ games that way too. I hated Colossal Cave Adventure too, but
I'd probably have to put it in my least hated.

Unless you count The Curse of Monkey Island which I actually liked.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 06/11/2024 03:45, Justisaur wrote:
> On 11/2/2024 7:38 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>>
>>>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>>>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>>>> was jealous!
>>>
>>> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
>>> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
>>> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
>>> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
>>> for that one.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
>> are definitely some I hold above the rest.
>>
>> "Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
>> It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
>> looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
>> at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
>> believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
>> one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
>> amazingly forward-thinking.
>>
>>
>> "Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
>> Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
>> real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
>> large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
>> what you could do with just 16 colors.
>>
>>
>> "Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
>> live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
>> weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
>> game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
>> soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
>> Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
>> well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
>> definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
>> experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
>> I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.
>>
>>
>> "Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
>> LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
>> it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
>> soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
>> issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
>> shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
>> fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
>> bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
>> show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
>> hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
>> of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.
>>
>> After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
>> the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
>> while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
>> Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
>> that those early DOS-era titles had.
>
> I hated all those games, I did play some Zork, but still hated, and I
> never bought it.  HGttG was my most hated, also didn't buy.  Both were
> played with friends on their computers.  I remember playing on of the KQ
> games ad SQ games that way too. I hated Colossal Cave Adventure too, but
> I'd probably have to put it in my least hated.
>
> Unless you count The Curse of Monkey Island which I actually liked.
>

I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
(with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
such as The Forth Protocol.

The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!

On Wed, 6 Nov 2024 10:58:05 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

>I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
>(with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
>being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
>along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
>ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
>such as The Forth Protocol.

>The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!

Even on PC, text adventures lasted surprisingly long. I always thought
text-adventures as mainly an 8-bit thing; a genre that had its heyday
in the very early 80s but was quickly supplanted by more graphical
fare. But even into the 90s, there were still commercially-released
text-adventure games (albeit enhanced with pictures). Games like
Legend's "Homeworld" and "Spellcasting" series, or smaller titles like
"Scapeghost", "Transylvania", "Demoniak" and numerous games from
Magnetic Scrolls (although the last were ports of older games).

The genre of course exists to this day, but it's incredibly niche and
most releases are freeware put out by dedicated modders. There's a
host of great games on IFDB.org for those still inclined towards
interactive fiction.

Amongst all examples of the genre, I probably enjoyed "Portal" the
most (no, not THAT one; the game released in 1987). Although purists
might argue it's not really a text-adventure, since there's no
parser... and really, no game. It's more akin to a 'walking
simulator', except you're browsing through a database trying to piece
together the story (there are no real puzzles; the trigger to open new
articles is reading older ones). But it was a story told almost
entirely through text, so I think it qualifies. ;-)

On Wed, 6 Nov 2024 10:58:05 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, JAB
wrote:

>On 06/11/2024 03:45, Justisaur wrote:
>> On 11/2/2024 7:38 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>>>>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>>>>> was jealous!
>>>>
>>>> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
>>>> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
>>>> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
>>>> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
>>>> for that one.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
>>> are definitely some I hold above the rest.
>>>
>>> "Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
>>> It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
>>> looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
>>> at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
>>> believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
>>> one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
>>> amazingly forward-thinking.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
>>> Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
>>> real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
>>> large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
>>> what you could do with just 16 colors.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
>>> live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
>>> weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
>>> game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
>>> soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
>>> Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
>>> well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
>>> definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
>>> experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
>>> I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
>>> LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
>>> it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
>>> soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
>>> issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
>>> shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
>>> fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
>>> bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
>>> show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
>>> hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
>>> of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.
>>>
>>> After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
>>> the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
>>> while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
>>> Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
>>> that those early DOS-era titles had.
>>
>> I hated all those games, I did play some Zork, but still hated, and I
>> never bought it.  HGttG was my most hated, also didn't buy.  Both were
>> played with friends on their computers.  I remember playing on of the KQ
>> games ad SQ games that way too. I hated Colossal Cave Adventure too, but
>> I'd probably have to put it in my least hated.
>>
>> Unless you count The Curse of Monkey Island which I actually liked.
>>
>
>I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
>(with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
>being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
>along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
>ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
>such as The Forth Protocol.
>
>The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!
>
My first floppy disk based game was Zork II on a C=64 with a 1541. My
friends and I (they played it on Apple ][) competed to see who could
solve what first.

I loved those interactive fiction games for years. I can still remember
Infocom's ads describing its advanced graphics processor: the human
imagination.

I cut my IF teeth on Colossal Cave when I was about 7, on an Altair kit
computer or something akin (I can still remember my dad's friend talking
about buying a clock card for it at a computer show. I bought Boulder
Dash and Drelbs there). I got frustrated after a few hours of not being
old enough to really solve puzzles, but never bored. Went and played
Space Invaders on an Atari VCS. Got bored.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
> On 06/11/2024 03:45, Justisaur wrote:
> > On 11/2/2024 7:38 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> >> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
> >>>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
> >>>> was jealous!
> >>>
> >>> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
> >>> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
> >>> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
> >>> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
> >>> for that one.
> >>
> >> Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
> >> are definitely some I hold above the rest.
> >>
> >> "Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
> >> It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
> >> looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
> >> at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
> >> believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
> >> one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
> >> amazingly forward-thinking.
> >>
> >>
> >> "Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
> >> Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
> >> real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
> >> large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
> >> what you could do with just 16 colors.

I remember my next door neighbor though it said Doom. Heh! I don't
remember if I played Loom. I would probably not like it if I did!

> >> "Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
> >> live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
> >> weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
> >> game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
> >> soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
> >> Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
> >> well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.
> >>
> >> "Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
> >> definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
> >> experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
> >> I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.
> >>
> >>
> >> "Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
> >> LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
> >> it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
> >> soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
> >> issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
> >> shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
> >> fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.
> >>
> >> And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
> >> bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
> >> show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
> >> hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
> >> of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.
> >>
> >> After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
> >> the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
> >> while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
> >> Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
> >> that those early DOS-era titles had.

I still can't get into those graphical adventure games. Give me graphics
and actions like Atari 2600's Adventure game. ;)

> > I hated all those games, I did play some Zork, but still hated, and
> > I never bought it.  HGttG was my most hated, also didn't buy.  Both
> > were played with friends on their computers.  I remember playing on
> > of the KQ games ad SQ games that way too. I hated Colossal Cave
> > Adventure too, but I'd probably have to put it in my least hated.
> >
> > Unless you count The Curse of Monkey Island which I actually liked.

> I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
> (with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
> being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
> along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
> ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
> such as The Forth Protocol.

> The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!

I could never get into those text adventure games because I hated
reading. ;)
--
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." --Hebrews 11:6. 4 yrs. again. :(
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
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( )

On 11/6/2024 6:17 PM, Ant wrote:
> JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
>> On 06/11/2024 03:45, Justisaur wrote:
>>> On 11/2/2024 7:38 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 09:21:59 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>>>>>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>>>>>> was jealous!
>>>>>
>>>>> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
>>>>> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
>>>>> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
>>>>> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
>>>>> for that one.
>>>>
>>>> Ah, favorite adventure games. I can't say I have a favorite but there
>>>> are definitely some I hold above the rest.
>>>>
>>>> "Kings Quest VI" was impressive largely for its production values.
>>>> It's story and puzzles were pure Sierra tripe, but man that game
>>>> looked and sounded great; it was head-n-shoulders above anything else
>>>> at the time (especially the CD-ROM 'talkie' version). You really could
>>>> believe that one day video-games might surpass Hollywood! Also, it was
>>>> one of the first games to offer 'multiple endings', which felt
>>>> amazingly forward-thinking.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Loom" wasn't that great a _game_, but boy did it have atmosphere!
>>>> Even moreso the CD-ROM version, which replaced the tinkly MIDI with
>>>> real CD-Audio. But even the EGA version (which introduced dithering to
>>>> large swathes of the gaming population) was gorgeous; it was amazing
>>>> what you could do with just 16 colors.
>
> I remember my next door neighbor though it said Doom. Heh! I don't
> remember if I played Loom. I would probably not like it if I did!
>
>
>>>> "Mission Critical" is one of my favorite games, ever. While the
>>>> live-action video (mainly used in the intro and closing cinematics)
>>>> weren't that all impressive (sorry, Michael Dorn!) the rest of the
>>>> game was fantastic, with an excellent story, fantastic MIDI
>>>> soundtrack, a fun strategy mini-game and a realistic sci-fi setting.
>>>> Even thirty years later, every time I play it I'm surprised at how
>>>> well it holds up. Well, with the exception of those live-action bits.
>>>>
>>>> "Zork" (in all its many forms) may not be one of my /favorites/ but it
>>>> definitely ranks up there was one of my more memorable adventure
>>>> experiences. I can still remember the vivid impression it had on me as
>>>> I crept through its dungeons one spring morning so long, long ago.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Full Throttle" doesn't get a lot of love but I think it's one of
>>>> LucasArt's best adventure games. It's got humor, drama, and action;
>>>> it's got an terrific voice-acting, great visuals, and an awesome
>>>> soundtrack. The puzzles were a bit hit-or-miss but that was always an
>>>> issue with LucasArts adventures. The action sequences and the game's
>>>> shortness were turn-offs to many too. But the overall package was a
>>>> fantastic experience; LucasArts at their very best.
>>>>
>>>> And there are so many more! Adventure games used to be the
>>>> bread-n-butter of the PC platform. The genre really allowed the PC to
>>>> show-off its impressive RAM, storage and CPU capabilities even as it
>>>> hid the fact that it couldn't move sprites very fast. There were a lot
>>>> of stinkers in the genre too, but so very many classics.
>>>>
>>>> After Myst (or, more importantly, the flood of Myst-clones that aped
>>>> the style but lacked the atmosphere) the adventure game crashed for a
>>>> while, but even then there were still a trickle of games coming out.
>>>> Some of those were quite good too, but none had the impression on me
>>>> that those early DOS-era titles had.
>
> I still can't get into those graphical adventure games. Give me graphics
> and actions like Atari 2600's Adventure game. ;)
>
>
>>> I hated all those games, I did play some Zork, but still hated, and
>>> I never bought it.  HGttG was my most hated, also didn't buy.  Both
>>> were played with friends on their computers.  I remember playing on
>>> of the KQ games ad SQ games that way too. I hated Colossal Cave
>>> Adventure too, but I'd probably have to put it in my least hated.
>>>
>>> Unless you count The Curse of Monkey Island which I actually liked.
>
>> I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
>> (with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
>> being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
>> along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
>> ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
>> such as The Forth Protocol.
>
>> The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!
>
> I could never get into those text adventure games because I hated
> reading. ;)

And here you are now on a text only system....

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
....
> > I could never get into those text adventure games because I hated
> > reading. ;)

> And here you are now on a text only system....

I didn't even read the whole thread. ;P
--
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." --Hebrews 11:6. 4 yrs. again. :(
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( )

On 11/2/2024 2:21 PM, Mike S. wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Nov 2024 01:39:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>> What was your favorite adventure games? I did like the humor in the
>> beginning of Space Quest IV on my friends' fancy full tower 386 PC! I
>> was jealous!
>
> Hero's Quest, later renamed to Quest For Glory is my favorite
> adventure game of all time. It is also my favorite series. King's
> Quest IV, V and VI are also some of my favorites. Maniac Mansion is
> the game that got me into the genre so obviously I have a lot of love
> for that one.
>
> I remember Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers because I
> played through it several times.
>
> The Adventure Game genre does not hold my attention the way it once
> did but I will always have a soft spot for it. I played so many of
> them back in the day.

oh, if we talk Quest for Glory we can crosspost to .rpg as well I guess :D

I do actually wonder why there weren't more of those adventure/rpg
crossovers. The whole genre started as way to emulate DnD and spelunking
on a computer, but they all went into different directions. Very few
adventure games crossed genres like the QfG series did.

On Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:11:11 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
wrote:

>Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>...
>> > I could never get into those text adventure games because I hated
>> > reading. ;)
>
>> And here you are now on a text only system....
>
>I didn't even read the whole thread. ;P

Ant's reply is TL;DR. XD

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On Thu, 7 Nov 2024 17:13:46 +0100, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

>I do actually wonder why there weren't more of those adventure/rpg
>crossovers. The whole genre started as way to emulate DnD and spelunking
>on a computer, but they all went into different directions. Very few
>adventure games crossed genres like the QfG series did.

When adventure games cross genres, it is usually into the action game
genre by adding action elements which I don't like. I'd like to see
more games like Quest for Glory myself.

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:11:11 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant
> wrote:

> >Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
> >...
> >> > I could never get into those text adventure games because I hated
> >> > reading. ;)
> >
> >> And here you are now on a text only system....
> >
> >I didn't even read the whole thread. ;P

> Ant's reply is TL;DR. XD

Bingo.
--
"For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face." --Psalm 11:7. Achy & itchy, including 3 bug bites above the crotch, on a windy busy humpy post-election day. :(
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Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 14:30 this Wednesday (GMT):
> On Wed, 6 Nov 2024 10:58:05 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
>
>
>>I have fond memories of the simple text adventures on the Specky 48k
>>(with even more simple names such as Adventure A with the follow up
>>being Adventure B) in the early days as that was one of the staples
>>along with arcade games. It didn't take long for devs. to be more
>>ambitious and you got titles like Sherlock, Valhalla and even hybrids
>>such as The Forth Protocol.
>
>>The nostalgia is bringing a tear to me eye!
>
>
> Even on PC, text adventures lasted surprisingly long. I always thought
> text-adventures as mainly an 8-bit thing; a genre that had its heyday
> in the very early 80s but was quickly supplanted by more graphical
> fare. But even into the 90s, there were still commercially-released
> text-adventure games (albeit enhanced with pictures). Games like
> Legend's "Homeworld" and "Spellcasting" series, or smaller titles like
> "Scapeghost", "Transylvania", "Demoniak" and numerous games from
> Magnetic Scrolls (although the last were ports of older games).
>
> The genre of course exists to this day, but it's incredibly niche and
> most releases are freeware put out by dedicated modders. There's a
> host of great games on IFDB.org for those still inclined towards
> interactive fiction.
>
> Amongst all examples of the genre, I probably enjoyed "Portal" the
> most (no, not THAT one; the game released in 1987). Although purists
> might argue it's not really a text-adventure, since there's no
> parser... and really, no game. It's more akin to a 'walking
> simulator', except you're browsing through a database trying to piece
> together the story (there are no real puzzles; the trigger to open new
> articles is reading older ones). But it was a story told almost
> entirely through text, so I think it qualifies. ;-)

Honestly, that sounds exactly like the kinda game I'd like, considering
one of my favorite games is literally a internet simulator with the
only gameplay being reading (Hypnospace). Are there any roms available?
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On 11/7/2024 7:58 PM, Mike S. wrote:
> On Thu, 7 Nov 2024 17:13:46 +0100, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I do actually wonder why there weren't more of those adventure/rpg
>> crossovers. The whole genre started as way to emulate DnD and spelunking
>> on a computer, but they all went into different directions. Very few
>> adventure games crossed genres like the QfG series did.
>
> When adventure games cross genres, it is usually into the action game
> genre by adding action elements which I don't like. I'd like to see
> more games like Quest for Glory myself.

Yes, it was really nice having both the usual adventure game tropes and
the RPG-like progression. But they also did good work making puzzles
solvable by all three classes. In fact if you started with a thief you
could solve even the warrior and wizard dependent quests if you trained
up far enough.

(that didn't work with the other classes because you would miss the
points to assign to the right skills in the beginning. If you started
with a thief you were able to get all skills, even if only at the lowest
level)