Nostalgic DOS games . . . let's go retro

[Castout]

I've been playing old dos games

One of the more interesting games is titled Middle East conflict: Political simulator which allows you to play as the Israeli Prime Minister trying to destabilize and crush your surrounding neighbors(I know it sounds draconian complete with terms such as psychopolitical team)

Anyway here's the screen to the ending of my first game
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun.jpg
The game is way too easy to be realistic but I had a lot of fun :DL

And the game which captured me in the early 1990s is this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun2.jpg
Nobunaga's ambition II. It was a hit in Japan so I read and it was a hit here then too.

Damn it DOS games are fun . . . .:O: and some of them really had some VERY good AI . . . .

Use dosbox to play the DOS games(google dosbox).(I hope the link is allowed because I don't think anyone is at loss here those are really some old games)


Oh how I wish creative assembly to start working on Shogun II Total War . . . . . .the first one no longer work on my current machine . . . .damn it

<edited by NeonSamurai>

[Lionclaw]

I didn't really get to experience the PC DOS era, but I rememberr some of the games on that site that I used to play on the Commodore 64 and Amiga. :up:

Games were really great back then, all focused on gameplay! :salute:

[Wolfehunter]

My favorite dos era games where, Space Quest, Starflight II, Dungeons and Dragons from SSI, X-Com and Oo-Topos. There are plenty more I liked but those where my favorite.

[razark]

I've been looking to find and play an old DOS game which I played in the early 1990s as a teen . . .couple days ago I found a site which makes these old DOS games available as free download


So do you have a nostalgic game that you want to play again? A trip down the memory lane . . .go ahead...find them here [removed]
Use dosbox to play the DOS games(google dosbox).(I hope the link is allowed because I don't think anyone is at loss here those are really some old games)


From the policy FAQ:
What is Subsim.com's stance in relation to warez and piracy?
SUBSIM Review has a longstanding policy against software piracy. We do NOT allow discussion or even mention of warez, abandonware, peer-to-peer game swapping, illegal download sites, or rip-off websites. Nothing will get you banned faster than pointing people to illegal software distribution sites. Don't ask for serial numbers, manuals, or cracks. Any admission that you have in your possession illegal software can and usually will result in revocation of your Radio Room forum account. Support computer game programmers buy legally purchasing their work. They have to eat too, you know.

The dosbox information should be ok, but your other link is in violation. I suspect a visit from the moderators will be occurring soon

[Robsoie]

I am primarly a retro-gamer, most of my gaming time is spent with such old games.
Give a try to those masterpieces, they all work perfectly in dosbox and i enjoy them regularly :

Darklands (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/darklands)
Awesome role playing game with tactical battles, very open ended (though you can always try to follow the main scenario if you prefer), the atmosphere of middle age dread is extremely well done thanks to superb art in pictures.

Carrier Command (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/carrier-command)
A game that was ahead of its time, strategy, action, planning etc... no wonder there have been several remakes through the ages, and one more (http://www.carriercommand.com/) is currently in development, the gameplay is always very actual.

Master of Magic (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/master-of-magic)
A cross between Civilization and heroic fantasy, a complete masterpiece that has often been imitated by good games (Heroes of M&M, Age of Wonders, and soon Elemental: War of Magic)

Master of Orion (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/master-of-orion)
My favorite 4X game, better in my opinion than the usually more popular Master of Orion 2 (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/master-of-orion-ii-battle-at-antares) (both game have a completely different gameplayn making them both always worth playing), this is not only very easy to play (tutorials (http://www.warpcore.org/~sirian/moo1/tutorial.html)) , but it has a lot of depth behind the pixels. The AI is really good in this one and can give a real challenge.

Red Storm Rising (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/red-storm-rising)
Despite it is 20 years old, i always have an awesome time playing it, the battles reminds a lot of an evoluted version of chess with you having to plan your moves in advance and think about what you will do to avoid a devastating counter attack.
Certainly not on 688/Sub Command/Dangerous waters level of simulation, but it has a lot of good points, the dynamic campaign is very nice.

Aces of the deep (http://www.mobygames.com/game/aces-of-the-deep_)
While years before i played a lot with Silent Service on my cpc464, it was Aces of the deep that really hooked me with subsims due to how immersive it was.
Always a good time to hunt for convoys and hope to avoid depth charges.
Funny to notice that the waves seem to be dependant on the amount of cycles you use in dosbox.

Daggerfall (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/elder-scrolls-daggerfall)
Certainly along Darkland, one of the rpg i have played the most, like in every of the bethesda games you control only an individual, but the immensity of the places you can explore help in forgetting this problem, randomly generated billions of dungeons may satisfy your random dungeon crawl (though you may notice a pattern in the random generations), while "story" dungeons have their own architecture sometime very different from what you expect.
It was released officially for free months ago :
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm
Be sure to read the how to install in the official boards :
http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showforum=15


X-com/UFO defense (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/x-com-ufo-defense)
Again a masterpiece in its time, and can always be fun to play for the tactical battles that were the main interest of it.
Though i admit that i play it very less often than in the past, mostly because of Jagged Alliance 2 and its 1.13 mod that fill my gaming needs in this genre, there is always some interesting going-on in XCom1.
Frustrating in the beginning as your squaddies are very bad at doing anything, but with the survivors gaining experiences in their capacities, your squads begin to be very good at hunting invaders and become more interesting.

[Oberon]

If you like Middle East Conflict you should also consider Crisis in the Kremlin and Shadow President. Both are very good political simulators. See how long you can last in the Kremlin, it's not easy at all. :haha:

[razark]

If you like Middle East Conflict you should also consider Crisis in the Kremlin and Shadow President. Both are very good political simulators. See how long you can last in the Kremlin, it's not easy at all. :haha:

Those two were fun. I remember the time one of my friends sat down at my computer and played Shadow President for slightly over 24 hours.

[Raptor1]

Getting deposed in Shadow President was always entertaining (Not that I ever managed much else, invading Canada is sometimes too tempting... :O:)

[Schroeder]

The dosbox information should be ok, but your other link is in violation. I suspect a visit from the moderators will be occurring soon
A lot of Dos games (and those of the commodore systems) are freeware by now. Therefore the link is likely legit.;)

[NeonSamurai]

A lot of Dos games (and those of the commodore systems) are freeware by now. Therefore the link is likely legit.;)

HOTU use to removed downloads for games when requested to do so by the IP holder, but after checking and downloading a few games that I know for a fact that the IP holder has not released to the general public, it would seem that they have not (or they put back a lot of games where the IP holder had requested the game be removed).

Contrary to popular belief most DOS games are still Intellectual Property and have not been released as freeware. Many of them are tied up where the IP holder is unknown due to the publishing company collapsing, this though does not mean that the games are not owned by anyone.

As such the first post was edited, and links were removed. Feel free to talk about the old games and stuff. Just please stay away from the topic of abandonware so that I won't have to issue any infractions.

[razark]

A lot of Dos games (and those of the commodore systems) are freeware by now. Therefore the link is likely legit.;)

Unless the game has been explicitly released as freeware or placed in the public domain, the software still has a valid copyright. For the copyright to expire would take 50 years at the least, longer in many countries. There is a difference between freeware and abandonware. (Mainly, freeware has a definition)

BTW- I am a fan of old DOS games. I find there to be much more variation in gameplay and types of games compared to today. I also am no fan of the way software copyrights are maintained on old games. Seriously, no one is making money off of these games anymore. Many of the original copyright holders have gone out of business, or been bought and sold so many times that tracking who actually holds the copyright now is a futile search. I think game companies could survive with a fifteen or twenty year expiration. Hopefully, us fans of old game may someday see that happen.

My original post wasn't to step on toes, I just don't want to see someone loose access to this forum for violating a clear policy.

[NeonSamurai]

I happen to agree that copyright for software lasts way to long. Frankly I think 10 years before a piece of software becomes public domain is enough (though the owner should retain IP rights for longer then that).

But policy is policy and the law is the law (until it is changed). I haven't issued any infractions as of yet as this is a common misconception.

My original post wasn't to step on toes, I just don't want to see someone loose access to this forum for violating a clear policy.

I generally don't brig (temp ban) on the first offense, unless the person really goes overboard. Banning usually doesn't occur until the person has been brigged more then a few times, unless they do something really really bad.

[Castout]

I happen to agree that copyright for software lasts way to long. Frankly I think 10 years before a piece of software becomes public domain is enough (though the owner should retain IP rights for longer then that).

But policy is policy and the law is the law (until it is changed). I haven't issued any infractions as of yet as this is a common misconception.



I generally don't brig (temp ban) on the first offense, unless the person really goes overboard. Banning usually doesn't occur until the person has been brigged more then a few times, unless they do something really really bad.

Fair enough about the link. Didn't know. Most DOS games come before 1995. More like the early 1990s at the latest. So they are almost 20 years old at the minimum.:salute:

If you like Middle East Conflict you should also consider Crisis in the Kremlin and Shadow President. Both are very good political simulators. See how long you can last in the Kremlin, it's not easy at all. :haha:

Thanks for bringing them to my attention :)

[Schroeder]

@Neon & razark

O.K. my bad. I thought the companies had given up on the copyrights since the games are out of production for years and the game engines totally outdated.

[razark]

@Neon & razark

O.K. my bad. I thought the companies had given up on the copyrights since the games are out of production for years and the game engines totally outdated.

The game engines may be outdated, but the fun is still there.

[eddie]

I too enjoyed the old DOS games, spent many hours playing them! From Elite, to the original Carriers at War, and Panzer General. Panzer General was a hoot, especially now (at that time,lol) that I could step away from the board games, and let the machine handle the record keeping!

Panzer General has come a long way since then, I play "Panzer General Forever" now, it has been updated to run on new PC's, no need to use Dosbox anymore! It is a legal version of the original, since Ubisoft has not raised any concern's over this remake, as along as its free! It come's with not only Panzer General, but Allied General too. 2 more user created versions are with it, one is called "Kaiser", which uses this format to cover WWI. The last one is called k.u.k It deals with WWI from the Austria-Hungary perspective of WWI.

Don't want to get anyone here in trouble, but do a Google search for JP'sPanzer forum, it can be found there, they've remade all the PG series, biggest remake is for PG2. Dialup users beware, the dl size for Panzer General Forever is 12 MB's,LOL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Thony/PGF.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Thony/PGF1.jpg

Opening moves as the Brit's try to push the Italians out of Libya. One thing new for PGF, is the "Replay" feature! Its a video that you can save of a game you just played, so you can watch your mistakes all over again!:rotfl2:

[NeonSamurai]

@Neon & razark

O.K. my bad. I thought the companies had given up on the copyrights since the games are out of production for years and the game engines totally outdated.

Companies can be very strange entities. Some will happily release their old games to the general public, or do so for promotional reasons (such as the original GTA games), others will steadfastly hold on to games that haven't seen the light of day in 2 decades or longer.

So it comes down to if the IP owner released the game to freeware or not.


Btw Carrier Command is a great game from the time as was mentioned above. But not many people know about it.

Oh and if you want a real classic subsim, GATO is it.

[Raptor1]

Oooooh, WWI Panzer General, interesting...

[razark]

Oh and if you want a real classic subsim, GATO is it.

I think I need to go visit my parents, grab the PCjr and the floppies, and play Gato and Silent Service. I blame those two for getting me started in this genre.

I wonder if I can find my copy of M1 Tank Platoon.

[Blacklight]

Conflict: Middle East Poloitical Simulator is awesome and still a VERY playable game today. There's a fan made remake that's been done of it that's fantastic too !
You can find it here: http://ilfera.blogspot.com/2009/02/end.html

Shadow President is awesome too !

Those are two retro games that never leave my laptop.

Oh.. Don't forget "Balance of Power" ! That game is one of the best political sims I've ever played despite it's age.

[Castout]

Conflict: Middle East Poloitical Simulator is awesome and still a VERY playable game today. There's a fan made remake that's been done of it that's fantastic too !
You can find it here: http://ilfera.blogspot.com/2009/02/end.html

Shadow President is awesome too !

Those are two retro games that never leave my laptop.

Oh.. Don't forget "Balance of Power" ! That game is one of the best political sims I've ever played despite it's age.

Thanks . . .Hidden agenda is pretty good too :DL

A screenshot of it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun3.jpg

[Robsoie]

As i see the mention several times of Shadow President, i wonder if any of you played with its sequel having never played it myself, "Cyber Judas (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cyberjudas)" ?

Was it better, or just more of the same ?

[Castout]

You know what I wouldn't mind playing and paying for some of these DOS games had they been intended or converted into cell phone or mobile phone games. There's hardly any cell phone game that can catch my interest. Sure they look decent but the most fun ones are usually puzzle type of games and that's about it...while these old DOS games offer a variety of gameplay...alien to the cell phone game market.

[Raptor1]

As i see the mention several times of Shadow President, i wonder if any of you played with its sequel having never played it myself, "Cyber Judas (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cyberjudas)" ?

Was it better, or just more of the same ?

Never heard of it...

[Raptor1]

Oh.. Don't forget "Balance of Power" ! That game is one of the best political sims I've ever played despite it's age.

Ah, I remember...

"You have ignited a nuclear war. And no, there is no animated display of a mushroom cloud with parts of bodies flying through the air. We do not reward failure."

:rotfl2:

EDIT: Double post...whoops...

[razark]

You know what I wouldn't mind playing and paying for some of these DOS games had they been intended or converted into cell phone or mobile phone games. There's hardly any cell phone game that can catch my interest. Sure they look decent but the most fun ones are usually puzzle type of games and that's about it...while these old DOS games offer a variety of gameplay...alien to the cell phone game market.

My boss discovered that he could run dosbox on his iphone. For a few hours, from his office, was nothing but the sound of old games, and the exclamation "I'm totally geeking out!"

[NeonSamurai]

Again as a reminder, please stay away from discussing, or naming abandonware sites. Yes some of them do take down downloads when requested by the IP holder, but their legality is still very gray. Which is why it is against Subsim policy.

I don't want to have to start issuing infractions, but I will if I have to step in here again as a moderator (this is in reference to a post I deleted in case anyone is confused).

However by all means discuss your favorite oldie games and stuff. Just no more references to abandonware.

[eddie]

Ok, sorry for the problem.

On another note, which snapshot program is the best to use when trying to take snaps when running a DOS based game?

[NeonSamurai]

If your using dosbox you can probably use any windows based full screen screenshot grabber program to take snaps of the game. Never tried it out myself though.

[Tweety]

This sure is a interesting thread that was started.

This brings back a lot of memories of old games.

I think the first game I ever played on the computer was underworld.

I remember playing Railroad tycoon.
Arena that came out before Dagger fall. Then Battlespire.
Dungeon keeper one and two.
Dungeon master one and two.
The original sim city.
Colonization, a game to discover the new world.

I don't even remember the games I played on Atari. A lot of games made it to the pc.

Tweety

[Arclight]

If your using dosbox you can probably use any windows based full screen screenshot grabber program to take snaps of the game. Never tried it out myself though.
Or just hit PrtScn and paste in Paint. :yep:

[Castout]

My boss discovered that he could run dosbox on his iphone. For a few hours, from his office, was nothing but the sound of old games, and the exclamation "I'm totally geeking out!"

Umm how about Symbian phone?:D I'll try it later..that hidden agenda is too tempting not to be carried with me all the time ...can't get Crisis in the Kremlin and Shadow President to properly work with dosbox though which is a shame.


Ok, sorry for the problem.

On another note, which snapshot program is the best to use when trying to take snaps when running a DOS based game?

As for me I'm playing them with Dosbox and I could alt tab out of full screen then use snipping tool which is Vista's tool to take screenshots.



Does anybody remember this particular game? I logged quite a bit of hours into this game on a CGA monitor computer then . . .and liked it a lot . . .and I thought it was a real plane too...it's true when they said ignorance is a bliss. I can't seem to find the perfect flight sim now . . .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/F-19.gif

Opening screen
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun4.jpg

My memory failed me I couldn't take off . . .:D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun5.jpg

[razark]

Umm how about Symbian phone?

I really don't know. I have a cell phone. I use it for making calls, and that's it.

Does anybody remember this particular game? I logged quite a bit of hours into this game on a CGA monitor computer then . . .and liked it a lot . . .and I thought it was a real plane too...it's true when they said ignorance is a bliss. I can't seem to find the perfect flight sim now . . .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/F-19.gif



Ah, another one of those games with a manual you could bludgeon your friends to death with. I put in quite a bit of time in my F-19, and the later sequel F-117. F-15 Strike Eagle II and 3 were there, too. I liked those games because they weren't a string of pre-scripted missions. Every time you went to a briefing, you'd get a different set of targets, and you had to choose the right set of weapons to take. There was no general "bomb" that would take out everything. Durundals for runways, FAEs for the sub pens, cluster bombs for vehicles, and even a camera for photo recon. Loads of fun.

Microprose used to take up quite a bit of space on my hard drive, and their manuals were great reading.

[Blacklight]

The retro game that gave me the most milage (and I still do stuff with it) is the old "Adventure Construction Set" for the Commodore 64. It's a computer RPG creater that created games like the old original Ultima series. To this day, it's STILL the RPG creater that you can do the most with. Where most RPG makers today stick you with just a single genera, there were NO limits with this one. You can make your own graphics, items, characters, scenery, magic spells, triggers, EVERYTHING. There's NOTHING in there that's not editable. PLUS, it was multiplayer !!! Up to four people could play at once !!!

I made everything in that game from recreating the old Marvel Comics Secret Wars, My own version of "Rendevous wish Rama", and "Aliens" to elaborate maze arenas where characters would have to build up skills, find weapons, avoid traps, and find and kill each other.
Fansite:
http://www.adventureconstructionset.com/Webs/ACS/default.asp

There's a modern remake here that is pretty darn good. The only dissapointment for me is that the guy who's writing it doesn't want to incorporate multiplayer.
The main website is here:
http://www.mozomedia.com/ack/

[Arclight]

Wow, first time I've seen that one. I was born in '83, so it's no surprise really, but still. :lol:

I always tag myself as a gamer, but the fact I didn't know about this shames me. :oops:

[goldorak]

Does anybody remember this particular game? I logged quite a bit of hours into this game on a CGA monitor computer then . . .and liked it a lot . . .and I thought it was a real plane too...it's true when they said ignorance is a bliss. I can't seem to find the perfect flight sim now . . .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/F-19.gif

Opening screen
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun4.jpg

My memory failed me I couldn't take off . . .:D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/roh_kudus/Sillyfun5.jpg

Yep F-19 Stealth Fighter. It was the first pc game I've ever bought. At the time almost 100 $ worth of software.
And I got the luxury of playing it in full CGA glory. :haha:
I loved how you could kick the ass of the Lybians or do covert missions in eastern europe. I must have played this game several years straight.
I have it in dosbox and still play it from time to time, now in full VGA graphics. :rock:

[Ships-R-Us]

to obtain a LEGAL copy of the old silent service game on floppy and make it play on the pc's we use today yet still look and act as it did on the Commodore64 computer???
I realize you would have to copy data off the floppy somehow and get it on a cd. Is this doable???

[goldorak]

to obtain a LEGAL copy of the old silent service game on floppy and make it play on the pc's we use today yet still look and act as it did on the Commodore64 computer???
I realize you would have to copy data off the floppy somehow and get it on a cd. Is this doable???


Is it legal ? Who cares, you own the game you can put it in whatever format you like. Its like ripping cd. Is it legal to rip cd's ? No, and according to the letter of the law in certain jurisdictions you could go to jail for doing something as heinous as that. In pratice no one gives a **** what you do with your own things in your own house.

As for transfering the contents from the floppy to the pc, yes its doable.
You can create an image and then use an emulator of the c64 to play your game.

[Castout]

Yep F-19 Stealth Fighter. It was the first pc game I've ever bought. At the time almost 100 $ worth of software.
And I got the luxury of playing it in full CGA glory. :haha:

A 100 bucks software? That's nuts. An older friend lent it to me then :D
The same friend who introduced me to Nobunaga's Ambition 2 too. In fact most of my PC games then came from his lending. Nice guy.
I still remember my very first PC game. It was played on CGA computer and my then best friend named Mikha brought it to my house. It was an off road racer of sort complete with breakdown and winch and seasonal and terrain changes etc and I loved it. I can't recall the title though. Time surely flew very fast especially the last 10 years or so

[Ships-R-Us]

Is it legal ? Who cares, you own the game you can put it in whatever format you like. Its like ripping cd. Is it legal to rip cd's ? No, and according to the letter of the law in certain jurisdictions you could go to jail for doing something as heinous as that. In pratice no one gives a **** what you do with your own things in your own house.

As for transfering the contents from the floppy to the pc, yes its doable.
You can create an image and then use an emulator of the c64 to play your game.

Thank You for the information Admiral Goldorak......... that is way over my head. I just thought it neat to go play one of the originals just for fun.

[kiwi_2005]

The Zork universe :up: Role playing

Zork 1 to III text based. Return to Zork and Zork Nemesis cd interactive.

Zork Nemesis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PJbxIN1iz8

This game took me ages to complete as it was my first point-click adventure. Good game kinda a weird horror theme to it.

[Wolfehunter]

I happen to agree that copyright for software lasts way to long. Frankly I think 10 years before a piece of software becomes public domain is enough (though the owner should retain IP rights for longer then that). Agreed.. :salute:

[Dowly]

Ah, F19. Had it on Commodore 64. :haha::salute:

[Wolfehunter]

Yep F-19 Stealth Fighter. It was the first pc game I've ever bought. At the time almost 100 $ worth of software.
And I got the luxury of playing it in full CGA glory. :haha:
I loved how you could kick the ass of the Lybians or do covert missions in eastern europe. I must have played this game several years straight.
I have it in dosbox and still play it from time to time, now in full VGA graphics. :rock:I have this game. Very fun. In its original box too. But its aged and my parrot at the time chewed on the box.. damn bird. The only other flight simulator I like was Red baron.

[goldorak]

I have this game. Very fun. In its original box too. But its aged and my parrot at the time chewed on the box.. damn bird. The only other flight simulator I like was Red baron.


I happened to buy the game by pure chance actually. There were tens and tens of games on display, F-19 just had a very nice box (the version with the 5 1/4 inch floppies !!!!). I grabbed the box and was astounded how heavy it was. That for me was good. Heavy box = big manual or lots of goodies inside = has to be a good game. :haha:

[Wolfehunter]

I happened to buy the game by pure chance actually. There were tens and tens of games on display, F-19 just had a very nice box (the version with the 5 1/4 inch floppies !!!!). I grabbed the box and was astounded how heavy it was. That for me was good. Heavy box = big manual or lots of goodies inside = has to be a good game. :haha:Ya the manual was insane... lol Super big.. Great for reading on the throne.. :har:

[GlobalExplorer]

some I would still play:

Sword of the Samurai
Sea Rogue
Buzz Aldrins Race Into space
Critical Mission