9||0|2625|0| 0|0|0|||1||classic gaming|Gryphon||17:51:29|02/22/2016|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Feb-22-16 AT 05:53 PM (EST)]So just for laughs%2C I bought the original %5Bi%5DX-COM%3A UFO Defense%5B%2Fi%5D %28aka %5Bi%5DUFO%3A Enemy Unknown%5B%2Fi%5D%29 on Steam%2C then downloaded %5Blink%3Aopenxcom.org%7COpenXcom%5D and gave it a try.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m sure I%27ve mentioned this before%2C but I played the %5Bi%5Dcrap%5B%2Fi%5D out of the original %5Bi%5DUFO%5B%2Fi%5D back in the day. And I do mean the original %5Bi%5DUFO%5B%2Fi%5D%2C even though I live in the part of the world where it was released as %5Bi%5DX-COM%5B%2Fi%5D. When I worked at Leading Edge Products in 1994%2C another member of the hardware support team had gotten his hands on a bootleg of the UK version of the game somewhere%2C months before the US version came out. %28It might even have been a UK prerelease copy.%29 This was before the Web was really a thing for people outside of CERN%2C so I have no idea where he got it. Gopher%2C probably. Or someone in England mailed him diskettes.%0D%0A%0D%0AEither way%2C and despite the fact that we had %5Bi%5Dno documentation%5B%2Fi%5D for its%2C let%27s face it%2C %5Bi%5Dinsanely%5B%2Fi%5D complicated gameplay%2C %5Bi%5DUFO%5B%2Fi%5D became the game of choice for whiling away the downtime at Leading Edge. Particularly among those of us who were lucky enough to be assigned to the dealer support line %28as dealers called for support much less often than end users%2C and when they did call it was usually just because they needed a part number lookup%29. Because it was turn-based%2C it could be left sitting idle for the duration of a support call without ruining the game%2C unlike real-time games. There was a group of us who got quite good at it.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo%2C because I can%27t play either of the modern %5Bi%5DXCOM%5B%2Fi%5D games on my aging laptop%2C I figured I%27d give OpenXcom a shot%2C since it allows things like the use of modern display aspect ratios%2C windowed mode%2C and so on. I was anxious to see whether the various modifications and gameplay tweaks touted by the program%27s creators would affect that classic %5Bi%5DUFO%5B%2Fi%5D experience.%0D%0A%0D%0AWithin about a half-hour%2C I had gotten my whole squad killed on the first UFO crash site mission%2C on the easiest difficulty setting%2C after which the game crashed to desktop.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo yeah%21 It%27s the authentic %5Bi%5DUFO%5B%2Fi%5D experience%2C all right. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 1|1|0|||||RE%3A classic gaming|Wiregeek||21:23:15|02/29/2016|That%27s tempting me to do the same. I was always pants at the Xcom games%2C but they were lovely. 2|1|0|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Gryphon||18:51:30|03/16/2016|I had forgotten that in the original game%2C the Skyranger doesn%27t actually have a pilot. If your whole squad gets killed on an outing%2C you lose the aircraft too%2C because there%27s no one to fly it back to base. And I guess no one can go and find it in whatever field it got left in%3F Or downtown Cape Town%3F I got nothin%27.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28OK%2C so supposedly the sites of failed terror missions get nuked to contain the invasion. Fair enough%2C you won%27t get the Skyranger back after that. But when it gets abandoned in a field in Iowa%3F Really%3F%29%0D%0A%0D%0AI had also forgotten how your soldiers look like Guile joined the Ghostbusters.%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2Fx-com%2520soldier%2520screen.jpg%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 3|2|2|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Matrix Dragon||04:42:08|03/17/2016|%3E%28OK%2C so supposedly the sites of failed terror missions get nuked to %0D%0A%3Econtain the invasion. Fair enough%2C you won%27t get the Skyranger back %0D%0A%3Eafter that. But when it gets abandoned in a field in Iowa%3F Really%3F%29 %0D%0A%0D%0A%22They dropped the ramp%2C and three blaster bombs flew inside. Let%27s just admit that one%27s in no shape to fly home.%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%3EI had also forgotten how your soldiers look like Guile joined the %0D%0A%3EGhostbusters. %0D%0A%0D%0AHell%2C I%27d watch it.%0D%0A%0D%0AMatrix Dragon%2C J. Random Nutter 4|3|3|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Terminus Est||20:29:50|03/17/2016|Ah%2C the number of times this almost literally happened to me... Especially about the time the Snakemen start showing up.%0D%0A%0D%0AI will admit to one bit of... gamebreaking%2C shall we say%3F I usually modded the laser weaponry %28especially pistols%29 to be %5Bi%5Dmuch%5B%2Fi%5D more accurate. I mean%2C c%27mon - they%27re %5Bi%5Dlasers%5B%2Fi%5D%2C light travels in a %28more or less%29 straight line. 5|4|4|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|ebony14||10:31:47|03/18/2016|Once we started getting alien grenades and blaster bombs%2C my group of friends and I started realizing that the most tactically sound battlefield was one that was blasted flat. They weren%27t so much weapons of war as landscaping tools. The lasers and plasma guns took care of any E.T.s that weren%27t removed from the equation by the carpet bombing.%0D%0A%0D%0AEbony the Black Dragon%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Life is like an anole. Sometimes it%27s green. Sometimes it%27s brown. But it%27s always a small Caribbean lizard.%22 6|4|4|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Peter Eng||16:42:17|03/18/2016|%3E%0D%0A%3EI will admit to one bit of... gamebreaking%2C shall we say%3F I usually %0D%0A%3Emodded the laser weaponry %28especially pistols%29 to be %5Bi%5Dmuch%5B%2Fi%5D more %0D%0A%3Eaccurate. I mean%2C c%27mon - they%27re %5Bi%5Dlasers%5B%2Fi%5D%2C light travels in a %0D%0A%3E%28more or less%29 straight line. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AI had a few good games where I just sent in teams with laser pistols%2C ganged up on the first thing I found%2C and took its weapon. Repeat as necessary%2C with each soldier acquiring better weaponry.%0D%0A%0D%0AI never could figure out how to find the alien bases%2C even after getting a few tips from better players. I%27m not sure if that%27s the result of downloading from Abandonia%2C or if I just was that bad at that part of the game. %28I%27m pretty sure the part where it eventually started crashing to desktop on start was the result of downloading.%29%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here. 7|5|6|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Sofaspud||20:40:51|03/18/2016|Might be Abandonia%2C might be that the game is just not well-suited for modern processors. Even DOSBox has it%27s limits %3AD%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Though I shouldn%27t be one to talk%2C I%27ve got a working copy of Windows 3.11 running in a DOSBox on my modern PC%2C just so I can play Simtower again.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AI still remember firing up Wing Commander on a modern computer back in... hm... 2001-ish%3F Somewhere in that range. Windows 98 SE%2C either the Pentium 4 or one of the first Celerons%2C I can%27t remember%2C a whopping TWO GIGS of RAM%2C whoo%21%0D%0A%0D%0AApparently Wing Commander relies heavily on the PCs internal clock for timing and doesn%27t lock to a specific rate -- it%27ll happily go as fast as the PC can run it. Which of course means that the music was a short chirrup of sound and the graphics flashed by so fast that the only thing I could make out were the still shots. I did manage to somehow get it into fighter sim practice. Explosions are pretty at 500 FPS%21%0D%0A%0D%0ABut it didn%27t crash%2C for which I am duly impressed.%0D%0A%0D%0A--sofaspud%0D%0A-- 8|6|7|||1||RE%3A classic gaming|Gryphon||20:51:24|03/18/2016|%3EApparently Wing Commander relies heavily on the PCs internal clock for %0D%0A%3Etiming and doesn%27t lock to a specific rate -- it%27ll happily go as fast %0D%0A%3Eas the PC can run it.%0D%0A%0D%0AYup%21 Used to be a fairly common thing%26mdash%3Bthat%27s why 286s and 386es had a Turbo button%26mdash%3Bbut %5Bi%5DWing Commander%5B%2Fi%5D was particularly infamous for it because of Origin%27s habit of requiring the latest hardware. A computer that would run %5Bi%5DWing Commander II%5B%2Fi%5D decently would make %5Bi%5DWing Commander%5B%2Fi%5D pretty much unplayable %28but hilarious%29.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 9|6|7|||||RE%3A classic gaming|SmkViper||09:41:47|03/21/2016|My favorite little %22old game tied to computer speed%22 story was when I was trying to get an installer to work for... hrm. I don%27t remember which game now.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhat I do remember%2C is that apparently the installer did a little loop with a counter to try to figure out how fast your computer was. The idea being that%2C if your computer got through%2C say 10000 loops%2C it would be a 386. %28Numbers pulled out of my hind quarters and are to be used for illustration only%29%0D%0A%0D%0AOn my modern PC of the time%2C it promptly crashed as it overflowed the counter and got horribly confused.