Vintage computing, unified

[hitty]

Who is into old games? 70's, 80's, 90's computers and consoles? Emulation? Old software?

I see several threads on gaming and retro computer stuff, how about a unified thread on the topic?

I am currently playing Dragonstomper on Stella, the Atari 2600 emulator. Who is in? I have all the resources you need to get into this hobby.

 

[Second Summer]

I have a long suffering interest in retro gaming. I've not devoted as much time, effort and especially money to it as maybe I should have. I'm in the process of slowly getting a Commodore 64 set up so I can play old favourites, such as ... Maniac Mansion, the Last Ninja series, and lots and lots of other titles ... But there's also a new C64 OS now which can connect to the Internet, and that sounds quite exciting to me, for some reason! But, that's a bit beyond gaming.

 

[hitty]

I have a c64, but it needs some love I think, color comes and goes every second. But emulation is amazing these days. I also have a few 90's pc builds that are almost complete. But I rely a lot on emulators for actually running stuff.

ADDENDUM: Also have a broken Vic-20 with no games lol. Some day she will live again though.

 

[Second Summer]

But emulation is amazing these days.

That's true. I have a C64 emulator (VICE) which seems to work reasonably well. I also have a C64 era-style joystick with a USB plug that works with VICE, which makes the experience 1000 times better.

I also have a few 90's pc builds that are almost complete. But I rely a lot on emulators for actually running stuff.

Good stuff. Unfortunately, I no longer have space for all the vintage computers I would have liked to have in my life. But emulators are great. I can play Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis on an emulator, and my life feels just a little bit better.

 

[hitty]

Cool with a ! We should start a game club, like a book club, where we play some old gold and then discuss it's merits! A new one every x weeks or whatever. We can help noobs get things running.

 

[hitty]

Finished Dragonstomper for Atari 2600, through the Stella emulator, great game!

 

[Andy_T]

I would love to set up a 90s PC. I really loved the « Command and Conquer » franchise, from the original « Red Alert » over « Yuri’s Revenge » to the apex, « Generals: Zero Hour ». Remember I had some epic fights with a good friend back then, brought my PC over to his place, and we would fight against each other for hours, while our wives were chatting.

I also recently found my old C64 and Datasette at my parents’ house, together with some cassettes and disks, but didn’t try to turn it on.

 

[hitty]

We can recreate this! I have the software for it. I am building a 2003 win98 overpowered machine hehe. I'll help you.

 

[Andy_T]

I even still should have all the original Red Alert CDs somewhere in my attic…

 

[hitty]

We should set up a ventrilo or something

 

[hitty]

Playing TES: Arena, what an amazing game!

 

[Tom L.]

Every now and then, I wish I still had my Atari 800 computer. Specifically, I sometimes miss playing "Star Raiders" and "Zork 1", as well as "Pac Man" and a game very like "Space Invaders". But I was wasting too much time on it.

I did have the cartridge for BASIC programming, as well as an assembly language cartridge, but assembly language was too hard to get my head around. I knew from the start it would be hard... maybe I overestimated my aptitude for it. I learned BASIC on my job in the early '80s, and have since learned some aspects for a couple of other apps (Lotus 1-2-3; dBase) but I never truly became a programmer.

 

[hitty]

Awesome, I have a few ideas for games I want to develop for some vintage machines, it's never too late

 

[Second Summer]

Every now and then, I wish I still had my Atari 800 computer. Specifically, I sometimes miss playing "Star Raiders" and "Zork 1", as well as "Pac Man" and a game very like "Space Invaders". But I was wasting too much time on it.

This is a very long time ago so my memory is quite fuzzy, but a friend of mine had what I think was an Atari like that with cartridge games. One of the games was all about shooting down those Star Wars tie fighters that Darth Vader infamously flew with such skill. The game was INCREDIBLY hard, but maybe that was because we were quite young. Anyway, I wish I knew what the game was called.

I did have the cartridge for BASIC programming, as well as an assembly language cartridge, but assembly language was too hard to get my head around. I knew from the start it would be hard... maybe I overestimated my aptitude for it.

I only managed to learn assembly language, and badly, because some of my friends and frenemies were so good at it, so I had to try and impress. But I never managed to reach their skill level. Sometimes I ended up more as a "wingman" in a pair programming setup where my friend would "drive" and I would try to help by pointing out possible mistakes or question programming decisions. Which wasn't a bad deal, as I learnt quite a few tricks that way, and we spent time together doing great things Anyway, I have watched a few "hello world" assembly language for Linux videos on YT recently.

 

[Tom L.]

Finished Dragonstomper for Atari 2600, through the Stella emulator, great game!

Cool! Was it a text-adventure game, action video game, in-between, or something else altogether?

I remember when I finished my first text-adventure game, "Zork 1". I cheated a little: there were two problems I might not have solved on my own. But I was surprised that I was a little sad when the game was over, even though I knew a sequel (Zork 2) was in the works. Zork 1 really drew me in- more than an action- based shoot-'em-up game like "Berserk" ever did. I remember getting a momentary chill when the game seemed to have gone really strange, I typed the command "diagnose" after several minutes of not knowing WHAT was going on, and it replied simply: "You are dead."

 

[hitty]

Cool! Was it a text-adventure game, action video game, in-between, or something else altogether?

I remember when I finished my first text-adventure game, "Zork 1". I cheated a little: there were two problems I might not have solved on my own. But I was surprised that I was a little sad when the game was over, even though I knew a sequel (Zork 2) was in the works. Zork 1 really drew me in- more than an action- based shoot-'em-up game like "Berserk" ever did. I remember getting a momentary chill when the game seemed to have gone really strange, I typed the command "diagnose" after several minutes of not knowing WHAT was going on, and it replied simply: "You are dead."

Dragonstomper is a top down dungeon crawler, let's call it, but with a bit different structure in 3 parts. An open wilderness to grind for money and upgrade stats and a weapon. Then a village where you gear up and recruit soldiers, then the dragon's lair that's full of traps, and an amazing boss fight, better than Alduin!

 

[hitty]

Just me, chilling out in Winterhold. What are you guys up to?