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Trying to get into old DOS games.
RoboChocobo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Let me start out by saying that I'm an avid gamer. Like many here, I've been at it since I was a wee little tike.
Sadly, I was too young to take part in the 80's and early 90's computer games. For some reason, this always brought on Sadness within me, as well as a nostalgia for old Adventure games I played when I was 4-5.
With the discovery of DOSbox, I've been trying to get into these old games, but needless to say, it's been difficult.
There are lots of minor problems at work here. I mean, I like to think I'm a gamer with a appreciation and taste for the classics, but in all fairness, these old DOS games are of a whole separate league. Whether it's battling with the confusing interface, or trying to understand what to do next, or even just trying to get by without a manual, it's tough.
It's also very difficult being on a Mac. (Yeah, you heard me. If I had XP dual-booted, I'd be going crazy with the massive number of abandonware, freeware, and Open Soource titles.) It also doesn't help that the only experience I had with DOS was playing Doom Shareware on a cast off at my Dad's office when I was 5. So far I've been able to get the hang of it (setup, mounting, that sort of thing), but I'm still pretty lost. I can't even figure out how to get this adventure game I'm trying out to run. And never mind all the technical speak that doesn't even apply anymore in the set up. A few months back I spent hours reading up on Amiga, Tandy, C64's, and Soundblaster. Confusing.
Finally, truth be told, I just don't have a clue what I'm doing.
1) Difficulty getting into these games due to modern games, poor aging, or lack of proper game materials
2) On a Mac, and never grew up using DOS. I've managed to get some games working, but it's frustrating.
3) No clue really where to start.
So this is where I plainly state what I need help with.
Could someone recommend some good DOS games that are easy to get into, and will help me figure out how to play others? I'm currently looking for a good RPG (yeah, Big Target). Preferably a D&D, or AD&D title.
I never played D&D growing up ( The one time I tried, it failed spectacularly, including a puddle of water destroying the white board map we'd made). So I figured that these games would be a fun way to play D&D without the pen and paper. Which of course I'm sure is just stupid logic on my part.
I figure I'll try and get Sam & Max, and of course Monkey Island, but like I said, any other suggestions on some easy to get into, or VERY worth it games that play well with DOSBOX would be VERY appreciated.
I feel so lost. I just want some guidance.
Sadly, I was too young to take part in the 80's and early 90's computer games. For some reason, this always brought on Sadness within me, as well as a nostalgia for old Adventure games I played when I was 4-5.
With the discovery of DOSbox, I've been trying to get into these old games, but needless to say, it's been difficult.
There are lots of minor problems at work here. I mean, I like to think I'm a gamer with a appreciation and taste for the classics, but in all fairness, these old DOS games are of a whole separate league. Whether it's battling with the confusing interface, or trying to understand what to do next, or even just trying to get by without a manual, it's tough.
It's also very difficult being on a Mac. (Yeah, you heard me. If I had XP dual-booted, I'd be going crazy with the massive number of abandonware, freeware, and Open Soource titles.) It also doesn't help that the only experience I had with DOS was playing Doom Shareware on a cast off at my Dad's office when I was 5. So far I've been able to get the hang of it (setup, mounting, that sort of thing), but I'm still pretty lost. I can't even figure out how to get this adventure game I'm trying out to run. And never mind all the technical speak that doesn't even apply anymore in the set up. A few months back I spent hours reading up on Amiga, Tandy, C64's, and Soundblaster. Confusing.
Finally, truth be told, I just don't have a clue what I'm doing.
1) Difficulty getting into these games due to modern games, poor aging, or lack of proper game materials
2) On a Mac, and never grew up using DOS. I've managed to get some games working, but it's frustrating.
3) No clue really where to start.
So this is where I plainly state what I need help with.
Could someone recommend some good DOS games that are easy to get into, and will help me figure out how to play others? I'm currently looking for a good RPG (yeah, Big Target). Preferably a D&D, or AD&D title.
I never played D&D growing up ( The one time I tried, it failed spectacularly, including a puddle of water destroying the white board map we'd made). So I figured that these games would be a fun way to play D&D without the pen and paper. Which of course I'm sure is just stupid logic on my part.
I figure I'll try and get Sam & Max, and of course Monkey Island, but like I said, any other suggestions on some easy to get into, or VERY worth it games that play well with DOSBOX would be VERY appreciated.
I feel so lost. I just want some guidance.
RoboChocobo on
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back in the day, making games run was a game in and of itself, so... it's hard for me to give you a concrete: do this type of thing.
i can recommend the golden stuff to ya, though, game wise at least. otherwise, you're just going to have to finagle around until you get it.
kings quest series
leisure suit larry series
duke nukem 3d
crusader: no regret
hero's quest/quest for glory series
there's like... a ridiculously large amount, but those above are some really fanfuckingtastic games that everybody should have played. some of the best games ever made, imo.
edit: oh man i thought of some more
the incredible machine
shadow warrior
blake stone
space quest series
some of the games are arguably not "dos" games but windows 95 games, so i apologize for that.
most of all, most of all
someone said true love was dead
but i'm bound to fall
bound to fall for you
oh what can i do
Edit: dammit you already said those. Loom and The Dig, then.
The strange thing is, that I really love alot of stuff about these old games.
Whether it was the old cheesy music, or the style of the incredibly detailed pixel art. It's just something so different that just vanished when Quake came out.
Funny thing is, the SSI Gold Box games are exactly what I was trying to tinker with today, and to get into AD&D. Man Dragonlance is confusing....
What SSI game should I start with?
I tried to get Champions of Kynn running, but after the initial set up, now it keeps having a save error, and won't play.
Tell me about it. I went to try and download Eco Quest 2 (Hey, I wanted Nostalgia), only to find that while the first game has been set free on the internet, the second is still under lock and key. Go figure.
It's not D&D, but I'll risk getting flamed and say it's probably the best RPG ever made.
You may want to look into Exult to help you get it working.
It links to my website. The site is still under construction. And will be forever. And apparently it's dead for right now. I guess I'll have to talk to my admin one of these days...Also. Myspace.
The problems you're having getting DOS games to run have little to do with you trying to run them on new computers. Getting games to run back in the day usually required 1) a boot disk, 2) mad config.sys and autoexec.bat editing skills, and if you were l33t and had DOS 6, you could actually configure your boot menu to have multiple configurations for different games (or classes of games). Does this game need XMS or EMS? How much conventional memory does it need? Does it need the mouse driver? Does it need MSCDEX? Can you load it high? Is it using some crazy DPMI memory manager like VOODOO?
I used to work retail back in the early 1990s selling software. You haven't lived until somebody calls up and says "I just bought Falcon 3.0 and it says that my computer needs 631 kay-bee of arr-ay-emm and I thought I had two emm bee of arr-ay-emm? Why won't it run?" Then you start walking them through editing their config.sys file over the phone. Yeah, good times good times.
I could probably still write a config.sys and an autoexec.bat if I had to today, but only because we learned very well how to do it back then. There were books on DOS memory management; you might be able to get one of these on eBay if you're really interested. With DosBox, however, I would just use Google and see how other people have gotten DosBox to work with particular games and apps.
The Windows 3.1 version was like cocaine to me.
I would also recommend One Must Fall: 2097, the greatest PC fighting game ever, and X-Com: UFO Defense, the greatest game ever (it's technically a squad based turn-based tactical RPG, but really, I think it should be under the genre Awesomesauce)
I also have a soft spot for the SHMUPs Tyrian, and Raptor: Call of the Shadows.
And the 2D platformer / action games Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, Halloween Harry, and Duke Nukem (1 and 2, but in particular 2) they're good if you are at all interested in those kinds of games. Not sure how well they've aged but I had fun with them as a kid. Plus they're pretty straight forward to play.
Epic too, back when they were still making Megagames.
Warcraft 2?
Standard settings were usually Soundblaster, IRQ5, DMA1, 220 (whatever the one that required 220 was :P) God why do I remember that?
Also Pool of Radiance.
Seriously. Civ, with tactical combat, mythical beasties, and a spellcasting system that was cribbed off of Magic the Gathering.
It's also totally unbalanced, but that's part of its charm.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
http://www.dosgames.com ...visit this site for some excellent (and free!) shareware and freeware DOS games. It makes me happy.
Chip's Challenge
Hocus Pocus
Wacky Wheels (racing game)
SquareZ (puzzle game)
Duke Nukem
Commander Keen
God of Thunder
Raptor (excellent vertically-scrolling flying game)
Crystal Caves
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure
Hexxagon (excellent puzzle game)
Jazz Jackrabbit
Astrofire
Lemmings
Wolfenstein 3D (violent)
Word or Math Rescue (more for young kids, but still fun)
Some of the games I played when I was younger, so they were more challenging...but they're still very, very fun. Hearts = "holy crap awesome" games that I can still get into.
Good luck on your quest!
Hahaha, me too. I remember I was so ecstatic after I beat the final boss.
The following need to be played as soon as possible:
Alter Ego
Ancient Art of War
Bard's Tale
Beyond Zork (or any Zork, really)
Thexder (for the love of God, PLEASE play Thexder)
Infiltrator
King's Quest series
Marble Madness
Lode Runner
Prince of Persia
Oregon Trail
There will be a test.
also, Blackstone (or was it Blakestone?).
Plus, if you get the version that came out on CD-ROM, you get some hilarious voice acting by Tim Curry, Leah Remini, and Mark Hammill.
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Loom was SO amazing. I'm glad someone remembers that game. I remember going to a friend's house and playing that everyday.
Freddy Pharkus: Frontier Pharmacist was also really good.
Magic Carpet 2
Holy shit play those games like now.
Dammit, now I want to get dosbox running and play them too.
Most of the ID games have been open-sourced, I recommend using a port for those.
Finally, check through liberatedgames.com sometime for quite a few legally free games.
The early Kings Quest (I and II) I think have been remade in VGA and are a free download over at Terra games...
Thexder for a shooting game
Monkey Island will never take you wrong
Police Quest I
Police Quest II
I think perhaps the least known game that should be is Codename:Iceman (A Sierra game)
Good luck, fun games!
NOT the one that was made for Windows 95, because it's missing several cool things like the music track and the original "in-between missions" cutscenes (they replaced it with much lamer ones). Even if it does come with Tie-Fighter and the demo for X-Wing Versus Tie Fighter, the Win95 version isn't worth it.
The original Collector's Series CD-ROM for DOS, however, is a gem... and if you're looking to play old DOS games, your collection should not go without it. The soundtrack is great, the UI is deeply immersive (even the menus feel immersive), and the gameplay is superb. Get it, any (legal) way you can find it. What an awesome game. You can also get mission creators/editors (also for DOS) scattered around the internet, so you can make your own missions.
If you get X-Wing, I recommend Historical Bonus Mission 2 once you've gone through the first couple levels of the X-Wing Historical missions. That was the first level I think I ever played in any video game where I felt like I was actually in the middle of something *big*. There's so much shit flying about, so many things getting blown up, so many lasers filling the screen and missiles whizzing past. It's fan-fucking-tastic.
NOTE:
This is the box cover art for the one you want. It's delicious like candy. I don't know if I'd trust eBay to get it, but it's the only place that I could find that has the DOS version.
This is the box cover art for the far less cool Win95 version, try to get the other version if at all possible.
This one is also the Win95 version, packaged with the Win95 version of Tie-Fighter. DO NOT WANT.
EDIT: Ah, I just saw this post...
The force is strong with this one. Listen to her words, you should.
ALSO, don't forget to find Jetpack. I haven't played it in ages, but it's got to be on the net somewhere. It's a freeware DOS game, and it was addicting as hell. It came with another game called Squarez, which was even more addicting if you like puzzle games (and also free).
Raptor : Only ever had the shareware version of the game. Nonetheless I topped the money counter by playing the same first episode over and over again... as in I reached the maximum score of 99999999 before it reset itself (in the shop, the in-level money counter actually has an extra digit...)
Commander Keen 1, 4, Dreams : I actually at a later date got the registered ones and found they had far less charm than the shareware ones. Just compare the *many* different and interesting parts of Commander Keen 4 to 5.
Any adventure game you can get your hands on : Specifically any made by Lucasarts. Fate of Atlantis is practically a subtitled fourth Indiana Jones film.
Dune 2 : "What? You can only select one unit at a time? There was a period in RTS where this limitation existed?"
Scorched Earth / Tank Wars : They actually both have their own different charms. Scorched Earth is marginally superior, though.
God of Thunder : A mostly puzzle game (that was funny!) Great fun to be had.
Monster Bash : Apogee side scroller again. Possibly even more awesome than Keen.
Apogee games in general : The original Duke Nukem games (I actually like the Duke Nukem 2 episodes less for whatever reason), Secret Agent, Crystal Caves, Hocus Pocus, Cosmo, and Mystic Towers.
Skyroads : Because who doesn't like Skyroads?
Also, the first two of Revolution's games are available for free download. I haven't played them but the Broken Sword series is excellent.
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands and Dark Sun Wake of the Ravager (Classic AD&D that's still playable, unlike the older gold box ones).
Wing Commander 1, 2, 3, 4, Armada, Privateer (My favorite gaming series ever. Space Sims with story and strong characters. It also has Mark Hamill, Tom Wilson, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies and Ginger Lyn Allen.
Syndicate Plus too.
specifically stonekeep
seriously
get stonekeep
i read the books based on those games (bad idea, just get the game)
hey screw you buddy the original was awesome
where the book starts off with them fighting the praying mantis things
god i can't remember their names
no yeah that was awful
thera awakening was the title of the one i'm talking about
(i think)
edit: totally is
rad cover too
only i used mine to kill a bee once.
bee guts don't come off of that material
i like to think of it as battle damage