OT - Favorite games

[Executor]

I've started making my own mod nation, so I looked for units beyond Dom III, and than I remembered some games I used to play earlier,
What are your top 5 games besides Dominion? Here's my list,

Heroes of might and magic I,II,III, Heroes IV and beyond are crap.
Might and Magic VI,VII,VIII
Orion II
Alpha Centauti
and maybe Lords of the Realms II or Age of Empires.

And the two most played would be Heroes III and Alpha Centauri.

P.S. If anyone has an image I could use for a Phoenix unit that would be nice, since I wanted to use the Phoenix from Heroes III and it can't be found on the forum for some reason.

[Trumanator]

Well, for favorite games overall I would go

Company of Heroes
Oblivion
Battlefield 1942
AoE 2
Total War games

As far as games you could actually use for a Dominions mod...

Warlords Battlecry 3
Warcraft 3
Age of Wonders
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
LOTR Battle for Middle Earth

Edit: Oh, and I'll throw in Kohan 2 also

[Slobby]

the kohan series
the europa universalis series
the disciples series
arcanum
nobunaga's ambition lord of darkness

[GrudgeBringer]

I am not very computer savvy....

However I DO still have Heroes 3 and can load it if there is a way to get the image off there.

I agree Heroes 1,2,3 (after that they are very poor)

Orion2 (I used to play that on TEN at 19.95 a month) and Still have it and load er up once in a while.

Civil War Generals 2

Lord of the Realm 1,2 (three just didn't get it)

Fallout1 and 2 (havn't tried 3)

These where simple games, but brought hundreds of hours of enjoyment to me. I wish sometimes that maybe we didn't have so many graphics and 'real time' games, I guess I didn't mind how realistic they where.... I just adjusted to the game.

Just an opionion

[sansanjuan]

I've started making my own mod nation, so I looked for units beyond Dom III, and than I remembered some games I used to play earlier,
What are your top 5 games besides Dominion? Here's my list,

Heroes of might and magic I,II,III, Heroes IV and beyond are crap.
Might and Magic VI,VII,VIII
Orion II
Alpha Centauti
and maybe Lords of the Realms II or Age of Empires.

And the two most played would be Heroes III and Alpha Centauri.

P.S. If anyone has an image I could use for a Phoenix unit that would be nice, since I wanted to use the Phoenix from Heroes III and it can't be found on the forum for some reason.

My kids are nuts about HOMM3. Over the past year they have played it far more than the newer glossier titles. Even more than the Wii or PS3 stuff. Gets trickier to load with each computer iteration.

MOO2 is also a mainstay at our house.

For LAN play Supreme Commander is a riot. Even the wife joins in with the 3 of us boys against
computer teams.

CIV4 gets played WAN with our "big" kids in other states. Another good allied game.

For War games I still fire up the old SSI games in dosbox. Mainly War in Russia and Clash of Steel. Occasionally Carrier Strike. Funny to see the kids hovering over my shoulder when the torpedoes start dropping. Sub-VGA, crappy sound, but they are RIVETTED... ;)

-ssj

[Dragar]

If you haven't yet check out the Fall from Heaven 2 mod for Civ IV, a tonne of different races and units with excellent graphics there. It has a good downloadable manual so getting images shouldn't be too hard.

Light elves, dark elves, golems, dwarves, undead, demons, pirates, horse tribes, mystics, orcs, desert nomads, arctic types, arcane scholar types... you name it they got it

[Ballbarian]

1. Lord of the Realm 2 (All time favorite if excluding Dominions.)
2. Oblivion (modded to the hilt)
3. Total Annihilation:TCC / Supreme Commander (spiritual successor to TA)
4. Dungeon Keeper 1&2 (Imp slappin' goodness! :) )
5. Age of Empires series (including SWGB which used the same engine as AoK)

[RegnorVex]

I can't believe no one's mentioned some of my favorites:

1) XCom
2) Master of Magic
3) Imperialism II
4) Planescape: Torment
5) Betrayal at Krondor

[Executor]

Master of Magic Dungeon Keeper and Disciples, I forgot about those games, good games, Starcraft also.

Than it's not just me. Cause I can't think of a single new/newish game that's actually worth playing or mentioning, it's all about the graphics now, better graphic better game for some reason.

[Sombre]

That isn't true at all. There are hundreds of relatively recently released games that are superb. Definitely not so true in the tbs world though, especially fantasy tbs.

[LDiCesare]

Civilization (4 then 2 and 1 )
NetHack
Master of Magic
Arcanum
Daiblo II

Indeed Civ 4 Fall from Heaven 2 mod has a few nations which could be modded into something interseting.

[Executor]

I wouldn't agree Sombre, although I mostly play some RPG games and strategies mostly, and mostly turn-based strategies.
There are only a hand full of games that interested me in the last few years.

Diablo II was a great game, never menaged to finish it doe, if I recall correctly it was one of the top selling games of all times.

[SlipperyJim]

My favorite non-Dominions PC games:

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
PeaceMaker (http://www.peacemakergame.com/) (try it!)
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Conquest of Elysium
Master of Orion II


If you include other gaming platforms, I can add:

any Zelda game
Urban Dead (http://www.urbandead.com/) (web-based MMORPG)
iShoot (iPhone)
Loot Wars (iPhone MMORPG)
Tradewinds 2 (Palm)
Westward (Palm)
Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (Palm)


I spend way too much time playing games.... ;)

[Executor]

Do you have a link for Sid Meier's Pirates perhaps, I tried to find a while back on the internet without success. :)

[SlipperyJim]

Do you have a link for Sid Meier's Pirates perhaps, I tried to find a while back on the internet without success. :)

Sure, here's my favorite fan site for Sid Meier's Pirates:
Hooked on Pirates! (http://www.hookedonpirates.com/)

If you check their Links section, they can guide you to all sorts of other Pirates websites....

[Agema]

Spectrum - Lords of Midnight & Doomdark's Revenge, Tau Ceti, Jet Set Willy, Rebelstar, Atic Atac.

Amiga - The Chaos Engine, Civilisation, Laser Squad, UFO:Enemy Unknown

PC - Deus Ex, Counter-Strike: Source, Planescape: Torment, Medieval: Total War, Highway To The Reich

That's a pretty good representation.

[hEad]

Ah yes, favourite games. As i get older, i find my self finding it more difficult to find a game that keeps my interest longer than 5 mins. I don't know if it echos Executors sentiments, or if its me, but its nothing like the old days of gaming.

Top 5 (not including Dom3 as thats a given)

Civ series (I spent more time on Civ2 than...)

XCom (Great games - Enemy Unknown was a gem)

Operational art of War (oh boy, Nothing like a PBEM campaign fighting the entire Vietnam War or the the Eastern Front over 4 years. Truly epic contests!)

Titlebout (I used to have the boardgame version of this when i was a youngster, then the various computer versions took over - sports siming greatness)

Moo3 (With the Chocolate Mod. This game really deserves a second look by all. The modders have turned this one into an awesome space game experience... Great AI. Macro level decision making, Politics, Ship building, magic!)

My tastes of late seem to have shifted to the offerings of indie developers. Games like Armaggedon Empires ( the upcoming Solium Infernum looks really interesting)

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html

and Westnoth surely deserve a mention.

As a side hijack to the thread, what are some peoples favourite indie games? I'd love to have more of them to check out.

[Foodstamp]

I like Chess Titans and Mine Sweeper

[thejeff]

A fair point. If you're going by time spent over the years, Tetris, Mine sweeper and solitaire probably rank pretty high.

[alhorro]

I also can't remember any top-shelf strategy game in about 5 years.

Cossacks I (and especially American Conquest) — still unbeatable RTS;
C&C:Generals ZH — "quickplay" RTS;
Myth I-II — "pure" tactics;
Mechcommander I — x-tactics;

[DonCorazon]

My bests:

Warlords Battlecry II (best RTS)
MOOII (best TBS)
Civ 4 (best game mechanics - I really like how tech advances uncovered strategic resources that alter the landscape, also the concept of culture was cool though similar to dominion in hindsight)
BG II (best rpg)
Diablo II (best turn off my mind and click game)
M&M 6 (most fun exploring a world game and you got love flying)

[Frozen Lama]

For me:

Battlefield 2142 (whole series really)
Guild Wars
Oblivion
Star Wars Empire at War
Caesar 3 (4 is no where near as good)

[Burnsaber]

My bests (note that I've never been a too die-hard computer player):

Stragedy*: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on Wii. (the plot is pretty poor, but the battles are extremely well-designed and awakened my puzzling bones in a way I've never experienced before)

RPG: Baldur's Gate 2 + Throne of Bhaal + some mods (Final Fantasies have absolutely nothing on this, the battles are better, the chatacters are less one-dimensional, dialogue is actually good, etc....)

Action: Zelda: Twilight Princess (It's just so god-damned perfectly set-up gaming experience, at some points nearing to an artistic experience.)

Board: Agricola (I mean just whoopidy whoopidy damn. This is pretty damn well designed game. It never plays out the same as the last time. Even the solitaire version is good and addictive!)

*since nominating dom3 would be pretty stupid, I'm going for the second best.

[sector24]

My bests (note that I've never been a too die-hard computer player):

Stragedy*: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on Wii.

Have you played any other Fire Emblem games, Burnsaber? I think Radiant Dawn is possibly the worst in the series. Not knocking your taste in games, I love Fire Emblem but that was the one title I couldn't finish. If you haven't played the others it only gets better and better.

I thought we already had a thread like this but I don't mind repeating. I'll try to pick some that haven't been mentioned yet.

X-COM: UFO Defense/Enemy Unknown
Star Control 2
Master of Magic
Stars!
Final Fantasy Tactics

[sansanjuan]

I can't believe no one's mentioned some of my favorites:

1) XCom
2) Master of Magic
3) Imperialism II
4) Planescape: Torment
5) Betrayal at Krondor

I did indeed forget MoM and Xcom. Rumors or a MoM sequel still linger.
-ssj

[Humakty]

I'd give a Special Award to Chaos Control, loads of fun sending your weird gangs everywhere (Killer Clowns anyone ?), I still play it from time to time. It has everything a classical tbs must have, but packed in a very fun background and a special sense of humor.

[Burnsaber]

My bests (note that I've never been a too die-hard computer player):

Stragedy*: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on Wii.

Have you played any other Fire Emblem games, Burnsaber? I think Radiant Dawn is possibly the worst in the series. Not knocking your taste in games, I love Fire Emblem but that was the one title I couldn't finish. If you haven't played the others it only gets better and better.


Actually, I haven't played the other parts. I was thinking of playing the Gamecube (Path of Radiance?) one, once I manage to get my dirty hands on it and some appropiate controllers. Perhaps the "freshness" of the Fire Emblem experience was thedeciding factor? Is the plot/characters any better fleshed out in the prequels? IMHO, that was the only thing that really bothered me in Radiant Dawn (well that, and the existance of "junk" characters, you really should be able to see the growth percentages in-game)

[Gregstrom]

I'm currently enjoying the new King's Bounty game. It's got a lot of what HOMMV should have had.

[GrudgeBringer]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I also forgot an obsure game that started a huge movement...

It was called Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (around 94)

And the second one Warhammer:Dark-Omen (around 97)

I took my online name Grudgebringer from that series From the GrudgeBringer Cavelry.

I also took my Pretender name on D3 from the same title Dark-Omen

Now Warhammer is a staple

[the Vanishag]

Here's a game I'm surprised no-one's mentioned: Fantasy General. It was in SSI's Panzer General series, and the only one in that series I ever really got into (but I admit that I'm not generally big on historical wargames).

Top 5
1. MoM
2. Fantasy General
3. <a href="http://www.lasersquadnemesis.com/">Laser Squad Nemesis</a> (anyone who likes Dom 3 and liked X-Com should check this one out)
4. The Perfect General (the QQP game, no connection to the Panzer General series)
5. Warlords II

I didn't list X-Com because LSN kind-of includes it, and I didn't list MOO 2 because it was always second in my heart to MoM. I also really liked the feel of the Disciples games, but I have my gripes with them as well (which I'll hold my tongue on). Ditto for Final Fantasy Tactics, the only console game I ever truly loved.

I'm pretty disenchanted with the productions of the big players in the games industry: EA, Maxis, Sony, Microsoft, and even Nintendo and Blizzard, but part of that is because almost anything describable with the acronym FPS, RTS or MMORPG gives me hives.

If you ask me, a lot of good games are being made, but they're indie or even freeware/open source. <a href="http://www.wesnoth.org/">Battle for Wesnoth</a> doesn't get me quite the way Fantasy General did, but it provides my hexmap TBS fix, and <a href="http://www.emhsoft.com/singularity/">Endgame: Singularity</a> is like X-Com without the squad combat - and yes, it works. But I suppose I should take these thoughts over to the favorite indie games thread.:rolleyes:

[sector24]

I love LSN, it's just a little too time intensive for me these days. I loved Warlords II as well, we have similar taste in games. :)

Burnsaber, I have not played the Gamecube Fire Emblem but I've heard it's very good. Both of the GBA Fire Emblem games are excellent. I think all the games have some junk characyers though.

[Ironhawk]

There is a third handheld Fire Emblem now. Keep meaning to get it...

[GrudgeBringer]

I was going to mention Fantasy General by SSI myself even though it got mixed reviews.

If you like that game get the semi-new game called Fantasy General.

VERY VERY similar but caution....don't expect to go through any scenario in one shot!!

[Executor]

Fantasy General is a nice game, but it gets a little boring towards the end.

[vfb]

Oh, this Laser Squad Nemesis game looks cool.

And now I've also got a hankering to play Panzer General too (I liked it better than Fantasy General).

[Lavaere]

Right now the games I have installed are...
SEiv, Dom3 and Dwarf Fortress
But normally atleast once a year I will install on my comp
Imperialism II, Warlords II, Crusader Kings, SNES Emulator to play roleplaying games
and every now and then I load up a Final Fantasy game on the PSII. Except for 9 and 11 I've got all the FF titles to play around with

[Agema]

If you love Laser Squad: Nemesis, you can check out their earlier work, they've been making that sort of game for about 30 years. Grab a Spectrum emulator, and check out Chaos, Rebelstar, Rebelstar II and Laser Squad. Only SP or hotseat MP and obviously much more simplistic, but they're still really playable today. It's amazing how much fun could be put into 48k.

[Gregstrom]

Lords of Chaos (again by the Gollop brothers) is also worth a look for retro fantasy TBS.

And FWIW Laser Squad was very good on the Amstrad CPC.

[Meglobob]

I like this thread, full of games I played and enjoyed.

Anyone heard of Out of the Shadows, that was a great early roleplaying game on the 48K spectrum, out about the same time as Lords of Midnight.

You wondered around random dungeons with a torch/lantern and each room had so many monsters to kill in real time combat, it was quite tense and frantic. Like when you ended up surrounded by trolls for the first time and dead 2-3 secs later, they used to hit for huge amounts of damage. Had Balrogs, dragons, giant spiders, wishes, magic wands, rods, a shop, teleport, pass through wall. Invisibilty, even you could not see yourself, so you used to bump into walls and take 1 hp damage, also the ring had a small chance of accidently falling off, no fun when nicking treasure from a room full of dragons! The was about a half a dozen quests to complete and each game had 500 random dungeon/wilderness areas.

Good fun.

[DakaSha]

I'd give a Special Award to Chaos Control, loads of fun sending your weird gangs everywhere (Killer Clowns anyone ?), I still play it from time to time. It has everything a classical tbs must have, but packed in a very fun background and a special sense of humor.

erm chaos overlords?

[jimkehn]

Yes, LSN looks to be real good. I loved X-Com.

Anyone here play MMORPG'S? If so I would recommend Perfect World. It is free but there are ways to spend plenty real life money if you desire. Caution! 1.2 gig download. I love the game but it requires more time than I have to give.

Otherwise some of my favorite games have been Panzer Campaigns, Hearts of Iron II, Gary Grigsby's American Civil War, and now I am playing the old boardgame monster turned computer game.....War in Europe. Also like Medieval: Total War

I never really got into fantasy games until Dominions.

[RegnorVex]

Guys, if you haven't tried Laser Squad Nemesis (LSN) then you're really missing out on one of the best TBS titles. I went back and took another look at it recently and I'm hooked solid (bought 3 subscriptions as gifts and we are having a blast with it). It's perfect for the more cerebral, busy crowd with its email-paced play and infinite subtlety. It's one of those chess-styled games that is very easy to learn but difficult to master (and there are a lot of masters out there playing in the uber tournaments regularly hosted). Great game and I obviously can't say enough about it.

[jimkehn]

Regnor...I only downloaded the demo, but man you are right!! This is a fun game and I can see where a person could waste a whole lotta time playing this one!!!!

[Sombre]

Strange, I bought the game about 3 or 4 years ago and couldn't get into it at all - it seemed like the combat system was much simpler/worse than in the xcom series (particularly apocalypse).

[RegnorVex]

Sombre, I had a similar reaction the first time I looked at LSN. But my first impression was approximately the same as dismissing chess because of the funny way that knights move. The first impression many people have of this game is the things that are *missing* from it. But after spending some time playing against much better players (and reading a couple of the more esoteric guides) I came to realize that there was a world of subtlety and nuance to the combat system that gives the game significant tactical and strategic depth. One of those rare games (like Dom) where your choices really make a difference.

Jimkehn, if you feel like playing a friendly noob game some time, send a Challenge to Regnor Vex (two words, spaced).

[chrispedersen]

Loved X-Com, don't like LSN.

Lacks atmosphere.

[RegnorVex]

Yeah, Xcom and LSN are very different games. It's probably not a good idea comparing them because it feels like comparing checkers and chess simply because they use the same gameboard. The games have the same developer and the artwork is similar, but that's about it. A game like Xcom is an experience, you against the AI and you are right, it is very atmospheric. I loved it and that was just one reason.

What I like about LSN is almost exactly what I like about chess: it's you vs. a human opponent in a game of tactics, strategy and wills. Like chess, it doesn't have much atmosphere and its appeal is defined almost solely by its gameplay. And of course, like any game, it won't appeal to everyone.

[Omnirizon]

I recently DL the 'orange box' from steam and love it. Portal is quirky and fun. Half Life 2 has excellent story-telling and an atmosphere unlike any I've experienced since System Shock 2. Team Fortress 2 is just, well, wacky, violent, and encourages team work :D. Make of that what you will.

[RegnorVex]

I'll second that vote for Portal. Talk about atmosphere, I still carry around the end theme song (Still Alive) on my iPod lol because it's so hilarious and brings back such fond memories.

[Omnirizon]

"We were going to throw a huge party for you, and we were going to invite your friend the Companion Cube. But he couldn't make it. Because you killed him."

priceless

[jimkehn]

Regnor, I only have the Demo....will that work as two player with what you have? If so, I may have to try it on. Did one two player game. I lasted about 2 turns, lol.

[RegnorVex]

I think a trial version can play against a full version (but I'm not certain). Let's give it a try! You will only be able to play as Marines, but they're one of the better races IMO. From the game menu, go to the web interface and see if you can issue me a Challenge. My game name is Regnor Vex (2 words).

[Ironhawk]

There will be cake!

[Omnirizon]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2369/2360114569_4fb8ce81bb.jpg

[Sombre]

Proof that literally anything can be turned into lolipron.

[Omnirizon]

human ingenuity.
it never rests.
it has no morals.

the atomic bomb.
skynet.
lolipron.

all the same underneath, really.

[the Vanishag]

Yeah, Xcom and LSN are very different games. It's probably not a good idea comparing them because it feels like comparing checkers and chess simply because they use the same gameboard. The games have the same developer and the artwork is similar, but that's about it.

I have to agree - I like both, but for very different reasons. I'm too busy to re-up my subscription to LSN for now, but if people are still there in the fall, I'll join in.

I think you can multiplay w/ the demo, but both players are restricted to the Marines (or something like that).

I strongly recommend taking a look at <a href="http://www.lasersquadnemesis.com/Resources/Grenadiers.pdf">"the Grenadier's Bible"</a>, an excellent guide to the Laser Marines and to game strategy in general. The Grey Aliens are my favorite, tho.

[RegnorVex]

Yeah, I would second that. Grenadier's Bible is not only a great general reference work on the game, it's extremely well written (a rarity in game guides).

I like Marines, but greys are definitely my 2nd favorite.

And we did confirm that the trial account can play against subscribers. Jimkehn and I have a game going now on his trial account.

It's ironic that you've determined that you can't play now because you're busy. I considered LSN the perfect game for my busy lifestyle precisely because it's PBEM and allows me to play asynchronously. But what I've come to learn is that I spend hours going over each turn before I send it in. So in the end, I've found it every bit as time consuming as any other game I play, and the only real time advantage is the asynchronicity. :cool:

[sector24]

At my highest level of LSN activity, I was plotting 200+ seconds of orders each turn for each unit to make sure they would do exactly what I wanted no matter what the opponent did. I consider LSN more time consuming than most games, important turns could take hours to set up correctly. But of course it was all worth it when you totally crushed your opponent. :)

[RegnorVex]

I'm still very much the noob at this but I'm glad to know that it's not just that I'm slow, even vets can take a long time on their moves. Right now I've got about 10 games going simultaneously and it literally takes me all night after I get home from work to plot all my moves if I were to do them all in one night. Fortunately I can stagger them. I used to think it was a shame this game was email only with no LAN option. Now I realize that there's really no other way to play it and have the same level of depth. Can you imagine playing this in real time waiting for each other to move lol?

[the Vanishag]

It's ironic that you've determined that you can't play now because you're busy. I considered LSN the perfect game for my busy lifestyle precisely because it's PBEM and allows me to play asynchronously. But what I've come to learn is that I spend hours going over each turn before I send it in. So in the end, I've found it every bit as time consuming as any other game I play, and the only real time advantage is the asynchronicity. :cool:

The main thing for me is the amount of time I'd spend adding that to Dominions, especially as LSN games generally have more turns/day that Dom, where it's more like days/turn. The only time in my life that I've ever been completely on top of my email was when I was playing LSN.

Can you imagine playing this in real time waiting for each other to move lol?

LSN convinced me to stop trying to like RTS games. I don't actually hate them - I played a lot of Starcraft as an undergrad - but I really don't like the way they combine strategy and tactics (and "twitch"). They almost play like high-level strategy: like Dom, where you create formations and give orders and then have to see how things play out, BUT victory depends on intervening and micromanaging individual units at "videogame" speed.

On that note, Positech is coming out with a game that I'm really looking forward to: <a href="http://www.positech.co.uk/gratuitousspacebattles/">Gratuitous Space Battles</a>

Dom-style strategic battles combined with baroque (loosely MOO 2-like) spaceshship design. :heart:

[RegnorVex]

Wow, that looks intriguing! I'll be keeping an eye out for that one. Thanks for the link! The multiplayer sounds kind of sketchy, but perhaps it will evolve with enough fan feedback. I don't really like this trend of "Spore-like" share-your-accomplishments "multiplayer". The great new strategy game "Dawn of Discovery" has this, too, and it's a LAME alternative to actually playing a human.

[Endoperez]

My new computer suffered a bit in a thunderstorm so I decided to try something oldschool. System Shock 1, to be precise. It's a scary, scary game!

I don't know why. It's not the graphics, which are poor. It's not the gameplay (I have plenty of ammo and keep finding better weapons), I haven't encountered any surprise twists yet, and it's not the music either. Still., being in the elevator, listening to the elevator music, saving the game (twice, to different slots, to make sure), getting ready to go into a new floor, is for some reason very nerve-wracking experience. And then you peek at the corridor with the electronic eyes-in-the-back machine, and see nothing, and then the nothing kills you. :o

[Gandalf Parker]

Im back to playing Ultima Online (on free servers).
You can download the latest version of the Ultima Online game legally from their official server (blizzard.com) and then point it to go to one of the over 300 free servers. There are MANY variations.

The one Im in love with (and host the domain for) is Shazzy's Shard.
http://www.ShazzyShard.org
Its adult run (husband and wife team), down on PvP, lots of added materials and crafts, hard gains. What I love thats different than the official servers is no crowds of Pkillers, and no crowds period. When I build my house in the wilderness its REALLY in the wilderness. No neighbors.

Gandalf Parker
--
"A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. " - George Carlin, r.i.p
I didnt know GC played Ultima Online.

[RegnorVex]

You can download the latest version of the Ultima Online game legally from their official server (blizzard.com)

Blizzard owns UO these days? I went to Blizzard.com and looked around but saw no references to UO. Do you have a link to the client download? I had way too much fun playing UO in beta and release and would consider giving it another try to introduce my wife to it. Shazzy's Shard does look cool.

[Gandalf Parker]

Sorry I meant EA.
For Shazzys we use Mondains Legacy version of UO.
You can get it here and download a manual also.
http://www.uo.com/uoml/

The software for hosting an Ultima Online world is just finishing up a version that can run on Ubuntu Linux servers which has me drooling. I understand that WoW has started to create player servers also but from what I gather they are still abit buggy. Worth watching though. Id also love to see player servers for StarWars Galaxy, and for City of Heroes.

[RegnorVex]

This idea of player servers is very interesting and smart for IP owners. The idea of a player-owned SWG server is appealing, if it's the original version. I don't think I'd be too interested in the more recent vintage. And player servers for WoW? I can't imagine a world in which Blizzard would ever authorize that. Remember how actively they went after the battle.net clones? Will wonders never cease?

My wife and I have been in contact with Shazzy about getting set up, I'm DL'ing the ML client as we speak. She said something about getting Razor, too. Not sure what that is.

Maybe we'll see you there! Sounds like a cool environment.

[Gandalf Parker]

Razor is a front-end that people like. You can click on razor and it will open UO for you going to Shazzy. But since its "in between" you and the UO program it can do helpful things like provide easy access to more options, count things in your backpack and display it so you know if you are running out of something (like arrows), auto-actions (like picking up arrows on the ground from misses, or buying them anytime you click on a vendor), and create some really useful macros for some of the more irritating re-occurring actions.

You also want to be sure and download Shazzy's hues file and unzip it. then move it from the subdir it creates to the UO directory. That has some specific colors for some of the things Shazzy has programmed into the game. For instance, your new character will appear in the town of New Haven. If the Donations Chest there is all black then you need the hues file to make it a pretty green.

Gandalf Parker
--
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, virtual power is almost as good.
Ultimate Virtual Power dances on the edge of sanity.
I AM AN ULTIMA ONLINE GOD

[RegnorVex]

I decided to try something oldschool. System Shock 1, to be precise. It's a scary, scary game!

Omg, I have nothing but the fondest memories of System Shock 1. It had some of the greatest moments in gaming computing history. Talk about personality, after all these years I *still* remember Shodan.

There was this one scene when I killed some of Shodan's minions. It was a brutal battle, and it was one that started off somewhat half-heartedly but developed into a desperate fight that left Shodan completely mystified, wondering what she had run into. I'll never forget the moments after the battle when the dust was settling and she said, in her stuttering voice, ... "wh...wh...who *are* you"? I still get chills thinking about it.

Great game. One of the best.

[Endoperez]

I decided to try something oldschool. System Shock 1, to be precise. It's a scary, scary game!

Omg, I have nothing but the fondest memories of System Shock 1. It had some of the greatest moments in gaming computing history. Talk about personality, after all these years I *still* remember Shodan.

There was this one scene when I killed some of Shodan's minions. It was a brutal battle, and it was one that started off somewhat half-heartedly but developed into a desperate fight that left Shodan completely mystified, wondering what she had run into. I'll never forget the moments after the battle when the dust was settling and she said, in her stuttering voice, ... "wh...wh...who *are* you"? I still get chills thinking about it.

Great game. One of the best.

Thankfully I could stop myself reading after "there was this one time I". I'll get back to you once I finish the game. :D

[chrispedersen]

Does anyone remember insane asylum?

"Look up"

[Strabo]

Hmm.. I play only DotA, Dominions 3, Dungeon Crawl, Spring and Cortex Command

[AlgaeNymph]

In alphabetical order:

Aquaria (http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/)
Avernum series
Chaos Overlords
Final Fantasy VI
Oxyd

[DakaSha]

Does anyone remember insane asylum?

"Look up"

you mean Sanitarium?

[vladikus]

Out of curiosity, has anyone played Disciples 2 and beat it with all the races?

[Strabo]

And similar question: has anyone played Doom 2: The Plutonia Experiment and beat it on Nightmare?

[Foodstamp]

In alphabetical order:

Aquaria (http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/)
Avernum series
Chaos Overlords
Final Fantasy VI
Oxyd

I've been following aquaria for a while, I really like the look of the game and I thought about picking it up, but it slipped my mind until I saw your post :).

[GrudgeBringer]

Yes, I have played Diciples 2 and won with all 4 races.

Long time ago tho and took a few restarts.