(A note: This OP turned more into a gush-fest story about my introduction to PC gaming than a salute to Dynamix. I apologize for the nostalgia-fest)
What a sad day it is when the etchings on Dynamix's tombstone have weathered away
Known for Mech Warrior and Red Baron for the DOS, Dynamix later bloomed into the studio that may have developed many of your favorite PC games of the past. The Incredible Machine, Betrayal at Krondor, Space Quest V, 3D Ultra Pinball...
However, my love affair with Dynamix began when I got my first computer with one of those new fangled "graphics accelerators" or "graphics cards" rather...
This was the first game I bought, with zero knowledge as to the game itself. I simply found the box art and screenshots to look cool. Boy was I surprised.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voOJ__7Cqrg
Starsiege was the first game that took me from the old days of Wolfenstein, DOS, 7th guest, etc. and HURLED me into what was then modern PC gaming. It was the first online deathmatch game I had ever played, and that alone was amazing.
The loved the music at the time, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ak52Hkg50c&feature=related
I came into the relatively modern world of PC gaming with ZERO knowledge of what was good, what was bad, what the elitists were playing, or anything like that. But with the name recognition of "Starsiege" and "Dynamix" I had gained from my first-ever PC game, I picked up my second-ever PC game.
Ho-lee-shit. I can't stress enough the lack of context I had as far as what the good games were, etc. For all I knew, Tribes was the norm, or at the very most...a decent PC game. I was thrust into the world of 32 person capture the flag, vehicle based combat, base-to-base battles...armor upgrades...multiplayer 'classes'. The ability to build
vastly different sentry guns, upgrade stations, and so on.
For fucks sake you guys, this was 11 years ago! Most of my friends were playing Goldeneye when I bought this game. I had to often bite my tongue (hell, I had and loved Goldeneye, too).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_tYMRyaj8s
I was sold. Dynamix, I thank you for introducing me to this crazy world of PC gaming.
What's funny is...to carry on this whole "I was totally ignorant to the world of PC gaming" thing further (which is true. There was no gamerankings back in the day, and I didn't frequent gaming boards or review sites, or anything at the time)...my next game I bought was, once again, based solely off the appeal of the boxart and screenshots.
That game was Half-life...with Team Fortress Classic coming out the subsequent year. Needless to say, I was incredibly lucky with my first go at PC gaming. I never looked back after this. This time in my life is a vast nostalgia reservoir...when I was a teenager and could spend hours and hours in front of the glowing screen. It was a good time to be a PC gamer.
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It had the large box, with the front panel that flipped open to reveal a ton of screenshots and art on the inside. Not only did it come with a full color 100+ page trade back manual...it also came with a 150+ page trade back art/story book that I absolutely DEVOURED in my early teens. It was one of those books laced with quotes from fictional heroes, intricate timelines, concept art for the mechs, back story, etc. etc.
I never threw it away...I'm sure it's around somewhere, boxed up in my parents basement or something.
Let me tell you about Demon's Souls....
this is so true. I was playing a game that is still years ahead of console games and my buddies were just starting to understand what deathmatch was. Tribes was so amazing.
I have fond memories of...
*Someone enters game*
Voice-command: Hi
voice command onslaught from the 20 other people responding:
Hi!
Hiiii!
Howdy!
SHAZBOT!
Heya
Free Mars! :P
Indeed, I loved the story most of all. I just checked some stuff out online that I remember reading from the compendium that shipped with the game.
Scientists reports of prometheus's "child-like naivete, incapable of deception, lacks creativity."
And transcripts from prometheus's 'orders' : "Acknowledging new directive. >>EXECUTING 'FIRE.'<<"
or the little poems and aphorisms
"E is for Earth,
which is pretty and blue.
Don't trust the Earthborn,
they're greedy as glue"
there is so little that can compare with it.
Hamlet will be Hamlet
An ineffable tragedy of the human spirit that still resonates, even today.
Rise of the Dragon is still one of my favorite adventure games. I replay it almost annually.
Dynamix made some good adventure games. Willy Beamish and Heart of China are both great too.
Thank you Dynamix and Sierra.
now i have that rap song from any given sunday stuck in my head
Pretty sure you can download and play for free now... I thought there was a thread floating around here...
Oh wait, here it is.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=79371
Holy fucktits. If I wasn't in the final stages of procuring an excellent-condition x52 flight control system/penis enhancer to play Freespace 2 and every other space/flightsim known to man, I would totally be all for reliving my Tribes 2 addiction.
WE NEED MORE DEFENSE
GOING OFFENSE!
I played the "Tank Series" to death. (Stellar 7/Arctic Fox on my C64 and Nova 9 on the PC)
The original Red Baron was one of my favorite flight simulators ever!
PSN: TheScrublet
Too bad Full Canvas Jacket's pretty much gone these days. $35 or so to Amazon for RB3D and a copy of that pretty much solves the problem until hardware support ceases to exist.
I do want an updated Red Baron, though. Tired of WW2.
Yes, I think we have enough WW2 FPS games now.
PSN: TheScrublet
I didn't buy it but wasn't even Red Baron II or whatever the sequel was called a disappointment?
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
What there needs to be is an RTS based on WWII naval combat. A really hardcore military naval combat sim.
Indeed. Might as well include some WWI action since even some of the ships are the same.
[edit] Didn't someone recently rerelease Carriers at War or something?
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
That could be a beautiful game.
I don't remember hearing about it so I'm guessing the answer is yes.
PSN: TheScrublet
It's been at least five years since I played Red Baron 2 last, and much, much longer since my last game of the original, so I don't have hard evidence or fresh recollection.
As for naval stuff, I think Pacific General did an excellent job for WW2 naval combat. There was a game released a while ago that had theater level naval strategy for the Pacific that scaled down to RTS combat and also allowed the player to fly individual aircraft during battles. However, I got the impression that it was largely crap. Tried to do too many things at once, I guess.
I agree. I was so excited, expecting it to be an updated version of the original. What I ended up downloading made me cry....
I bought Red Baron II back in the day. It was horrible. I added the patch hoping it would fix everything. It made the game playable, but it was still a horrible sequel to a classic game.
They had everything great to build on. In my opinion the original Red Baron was flawless. Hell, the same game with updated graphics would have been awesome. It's like they had to put in some serious effort to fuck it up.
The menu music for 3D was fucking fantastic, by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lupk2oqy4JU