Share Your Nostalgic Gaming Memories

[garnerx]

Continuing in the dodgy admission vein. In the mid 80s some games were copy protected but that protection could often be bypassed using Locksmith. The games were on 5 1/4 inch floppy discs with a write protect notch on one side. These were expensive at $50 for 10 with a capacity of about 160 kB per side. They were labelled as single sided but we would punch a notch on the other side and so created double sided discs. I heard stories of people magnetizing single hole punches which would then corrupt the data on discs when a person punched that second hole.

There were similar programs for the Amiga, but they couldn't defeat every copy protection system. Sometimes I would buy games from the shop, copy them at home and return them the same day - all sorts of unlikely stores used to carry games back then, and most of the assistants didn't have a clue about why so many kids would be returning 'faulty' games, so they'd always give a refund.

I had a good system for when the copy programs didn't work. Since the games were usually distributed on the cheapest possible 3.5 inch discs, the plastic case of the disc would only be sealed in a couple of spots. This made it possible to cut through the glue holding the two halves of the plastic closed and remove the naked disc from inside... which would then be swapped for the blank disc that the copy program had failed to copy onto. Glue it up again, back to the shop.

 

[kaltsasa]

Anyone remember VV the directors cut (virtualvalerie) by Reactor software which also produced Spaceship Warlock and Screaming Metal. Considered racy in 1992 but would draw a yawn today. It runs best with an 030 or 040 chip as the sound is compromised with a PPC.

From MacWorld
"The graphic environments, navigation, original music,and game playing aspects make it the most progressive CD-ROM work done to date, BAR NONE."

From Playboy
"One interactive turn-on is Virtual Valerie... She's a party girl who lives in a penthouse to which you gain acesswith your trusty mouse."

In game there was a panic button to press which brought up a notice of back up activity in place of the game screen in case the boss or other authority was approaching.

View attachment 570219

I never played it but I had Space Ship Warlock and played it a lot as a kid. I remember years later being at a hotel and there was some weird show about the future of digital interactive sex (I think it was on HBO maybe) and there was an interview with some developers and i was like bloody hell that looks a lot like spaceship warlock if it were an adult game. Then there was a spaceship warlock poster in the background and I was like WHOA. I never could remember the name of the game, but that dum show has stuck with me because or the association with Spaceship warlock. Must be the same game they were talking about.

My childhood consisted of an awful lot of Star Trek Judgement Rites and Spaceship Warlock on the old Performa 575. We didn't have a lot of money for games but mom thought it important we had access to these new tools growing up (even if she never touched a computer until close to a decade later). As such it was always a treat to get a new game, and I'd sure play the hell out of them, and any demos to be found on Mac Addict disks. I still have Judgement Rites setup in a Centris 650 in the basement. I'm lame like that.

 

[vkd]

Manic Miner,

Catacomb Abyss,

 

[Dark Void]

Thanks everyone for continuing to share, I enjoy reading these.

I've recently been playing a lot of Dark Souls (specifically DSII) and honestly, I haven't had a game intrigue me like this in a long time. I am late to the party with this franchise, but I have read up a lot on it and have been playing it quite a bit in my free time. I purchased the copy with all of the included DLC for $40, and I'm really getting my money's worth. It's very fun, and while I am late as I said, I am not upset over not discovering it earlier because I can see this being a block in time where I am brought back by nearly giving up on gaming.

This game doesn't feel like all of the other games that are out there within the recent years where my perception is that the gaming industry has basically died (not as any sort of statistic, just for me, personally). It's a very fun game, and it is also difficult and offers a huge sense of accomplishment when you continue to progress.

I just really like the atmosphere of the game. It's very dark, reminds me of good times in gaming before everyone became so fluffy.

 

[dalstott]

I never played it but I had Space Ship Warlock and played it a lot as a kid. I remember years later being at a hotel and there was some weird show about the future of digital interactive sex (I think it was on HBO maybe) and there was an interview with some developers and i was like bloody hell that looks a lot like spaceship warlock if it were an adult game. Then there was a spaceship warlock poster in the background and I was like WHOA. I never could remember the name of the game, but that dum show has stuck with me because or the association with Spaceship warlock. Must be the same game they were talking about.

My childhood consisted of an awful lot of Star Trek Judgement Rites and Spaceship Warlock on the old Performa 575. We didn't have a lot of money for games but mom thought it important we had access to these new tools growing up (even if she never touched a computer until close to a decade later). As such it was always a treat to get a new game, and I'd sure play the hell out of them, and any demos to be found on Mac Addict disks. I still have Judgement Rites setup in a Centris 650 in the basement. I'm lame like that.

Here is the opening scene of VV TDC which may be of interest...

And Valerie herself...

 

[Suture]

Countless memories from the 90s playing Sierra games on my IBM PS/2 Model 30. I still remember the specs: 8088 @ 8MHz, 640KB RAM, 30MB HD, 3.5" (low density) FDD. Eventually I secured a Soundblaster for it, or an Adlib. Can't remember which of those sound cards I added. Opened up a new world with General MIDI, and I wound up replaying almost all of my games again to hear the differences.

 

[dalstott]

Countless memories from the 90s playing Sierra games on my IBM PS/2 Model 30. I still remember the specs: 8088 @ 8MHz, 640KB RAM, 30MB HD, 3.5" (low density) FDD. Eventually I secured a Soundblaster for it, or an Adlib. Can't remember which of those sound cards I added. Opened up a new world with General MIDI, and I wound up replaying almost all of my games again to hear the differences.

The early flight sims were the beginning of the first person shooters. 3D gameplay with guns etc. Though simple in appearance the missions could be very hard. One of the Hellcats mission required you to sink 3 submarines before they torpedoed the carrier. You had to sink one then land on the carrier to rearm and return to battle. Carrier landings were rather touchy. I fired up my Powerbooks 540 and 1400 and took some pictures that may jog some memories.

Fokker Triplane (Red Barron)

P 51 (buzz the Eiffel Tower)

Hellcats (bomb the sailboats)

Valkyrie (the brown blob is an explosion)

A 10 Attack

 

[Suture]

These screenshots genuinely made me smile. I remember playing this game. Most people remember Sierra for their adventure games, but they made some great sim games, puzzle games, and more.

 

[Dark Void]

Thanks for keeping this thread up, everyone. I really like that quite a few people are sharing.

I've been spending most of my free time on Dark Souls II lately. I'm learning a lot more about its coming about and the actual lore of the game/series and I have to say this is one of my favorite games that I have ever played. This will definitely create a block of revitalization in my gaming world for sure.

I like the game a lot, and from what I am reading, even though the feedback on the game is positive - it apparently doesn't hold a candle to the original. I know Demon's Souls exists as well - and now Dark Souls III has been announced even after Bloodborne hit not too long ago - they must have separate development teams to be pushing all of this out.

For those familiar with these games or specifically DSII, I have only played DSII (Scholar of the First Sin disc version with all of the extra content) and I just finished my first playthrough. I thought I explored the game pretty well for being new to Souls, but it turns out I missed one optional boss (Darklurker, even though I did have the convenant established) and I knew that I missed a couple of bonfires but I just couldn't find them. I just started NG+ (all of this is in offline mode) and I'm just making my way to Heide's Tower after downing the first two bosses. During this second playthrough I intend on completing the game entirely, even though it basically never ends.

I am very much a fan, so much so that I am going to try to locate a copy of the original Dark Souls. I may even try to pick up Demon's Souls after that. I don't really mind playing them backwards. I'd like to play Bloodborne or DSIII but unfortunately those are not for the console I have and I don't have a capable PC. Time will tell though!

 

[Suture]

Another one I recall vividly... I had Daggerfall, and one of my friends was EXTREMELY addicted to it. His girlfriend didn't believe him that he was coming over my house to play a computer game, and accused him of seeing some other girl. I remember around midnight one evening, he was stuck in a dungeon and couldn't find his way out. There was a Lich somewhere that kept following him and he wasn't nearly strong enough to take it out.

I watched for a while, but mostly worked on my other PC while he played. Eventually I had to get to bed. "Go ahead and keep playing, just shutdown when you're done and lock the door."

I woke up around 7AM. There were Mountain Dew bottles everywhere. He never left. He was still in the same dungeon. He began to tell me all of the bugs/glitches he experienced while I was sleeping (falling through the floor, getting stuck in walls, etc.) Those of you that have played Daggerfall know how buggy the game was, and how terrible the 3D map was...

 

[Anonymous Freak]

My first gaming experiences were on an Intellivision (competitor to the Atari 2600.) I learned to play poker with the pack-in "Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack" game. Then later, on the PC my dad bought in the mid '80s. My primary early-PC games were mostly shareware, plus IBM's "AlleyCat," and EA's "Pinball Construction Set" and "Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer" (which helped instill in me a fascination with high-performance aircraft like the X-15 and SR-71.)

A little later came the Macintosh, and NetTrek. In school, we had Apple IIs with Where in the x is Carmen Sandiego. I have an Apple II now, and my daughter loves those games, even though some of the information in them is horribly out of date now! ("What is a "Deutschmark"?")

Most recently, to fulfill my vintage gaming nostalgia, I bought the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series from GOG. Been having fun re-playing those the past couple days.

 

[Suture]

Most recently, to fulfill my vintage gaming nostalgia, I bought the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series from GOG. Been having fun re-playing those the past couple days.

Are you playing those on Mac or the PC version? If they're the Mac versions, I was wondering how they ran, and how flight stick support was. I bought them off Steam, and didn't realize until after the purchase that they were PC-only on Steam. Granted I can use Bootcamp, but... if they go cheap enough I'd rather just play them in OS X if they run okay.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Are you playing those on Mac or the PC version? If they're the Mac versions, I was wondering how they ran, and how flight stick support was. I bought them off Steam, and didn't realize until after the purchase that they were PC-only on Steam. Granted I can use Bootcamp, but... if they go cheap enough I'd rather just play them in OS X if they run okay.

The original versions work fine on a Mac (including my ancient one,) and I have a USB Microsoft Sidewinder flight stick that works fine, other than having a slightly large dead zone (and no apparent way to adjust it.) The later 1998 versions are native-Windows apps, and don't run on OS X.

 

[antonis]

Thanks everyone for continuing to share, I enjoy reading these.

I've recently been playing a lot of Dark Souls (specifically DSII) and honestly, I haven't had a game intrigue me like this in a long time. I am late to the party with this franchise, but I have read up a lot on it and have been playing it quite a bit in my free time. I purchased the copy with all of the included DLC for $40, and I'm really getting my money's worth. It's very fun, and while I am late as I said, I am not upset over not discovering it earlier because I can see this being a block in time where I am brought back by nearly giving up on gaming.

This game doesn't feel like all of the other games that are out there within the recent years where my perception is that the gaming industry has basically died (not as any sort of statistic, just for me, personally). It's a very fun game, and it is also difficult and offers a huge sense of accomplishment when you continue to progress.

I just really like the atmosphere of the game. It's very dark, reminds me of good times in gaming before everyone became so fluffy.

I've finished DSII a few months ago (re-played on increased difficulty levels that unlock every time you finish it, as well) and I couldn't agree more. This game brings back the so-missed difficulty of past times. Just wait till you get to fight the gargoyles on the roof, they'll drive you insane.

 

[Paulk]

The early flight sims were the beginning of the first person shooters. 3D gameplay with guns etc. Though simple in appearance the missions could be very hard. One of the Hellcats mission required you to sink 3 submarines before they torpedoed the carrier. You had to sink one then land on the carrier to rearm and return to battle. Carrier landings were rather touchy. I fired up my Powerbooks 540 and 1400 and took some pictures that may jog some memories.

Fokker Triplane (Red Barron)
View attachment 571494

P 51 (buzz the Eiffel Tower)
View attachment 571495

Hellcats (bomb the sailboats)
View attachment 571496

Valkyrie (the brown blob is an explosion)
View attachment 571497

A 10 Attack
View attachment 571500

I also remember the early flight sims. Thanks for the memory, dalstott.

 

[Tilpots]

We had the Commodore 64 growing up in the early 80's. I still remember waking up in the middle of the night and creeping down the stairs and finding my Dad on an unbelievable Mr. Cool run. Sat up and watched him play a few levels before falling back asleep again. Good times.

 

[Paulk]

The early 1980s were really the start of the revolution in gaming and in personal computers in general.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

My first gaming experiences were the machines at a local pool hall, when asteroids, pac man, etc. were a quarter a pop to play. That same place had a ton of great pinball machines, an area with pool tables and was on top of it all a bowling alley. There was nothing and I mean nothing in the small town I grew up in so weekend nights or afternoons we'd travel a town over to where this place was and have a blast.

Fast forward some years (I am too lazy to try and figure out how many) and I was working at an Egghead software store where I became interested in the many cool looking games available for PC relatively early on. The one that really sucked me in and made a gamer out of me and RPG lover as well was Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Oh, my God that game was so amazing, so immersive and it looked and sounded so good too. Incredible! It was perfect basically. I thought so anyway. I got so into that I used to walk around the store occasionally announcing, "I AM the Avatar!" to make my co-workers laugh.

The rest is history as they say. Around that same time I recall loving Space Quest IV, King's Quest V, Lucas Arts Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain 1942, Stellar 7, A-10 Tank Killer and I forget what else off the top of my head but those were all very popular titles in their day. Oh, and my first PC game before any of these which I did like a lot too was Microsoft Flight Simulator. I was never very good at that being too lazy to learn how to fly properly, etc. but I did enjoy it just the same. It seemed so real which is funny to think about now given that you could count the total number of polygons on the screen with your hands probably. That's an exaggeration but not by much. Still, they did manage to achieve the sensation of flying just the same.

Fast forward again to the one game I'd have to say I have loved more than any other I have ever played or likely ever will play and that was EverQuest. I spent thousands of hours there over nearly a decade, rising up from a humble, confused, High Elf Cleric in Greater Faydark to a mighty raiding cleric in the top guild on my server in the finest raid gear. That took a very long time for me and was an amazing journey with many wonderful friendships made along the way, fantastic places visited, so much wonderful mood setting music, genuinely scary places because death had consequences early on and it was all punctuated by epic quests that were truly epic undertakings. I did many other classic quests too such as the famous Journeyman's boots and others. Later, I finally found time to raise up alts to varying levels and twinked them with all manner of classic twink gear worth a fortune at bazaar prices at the time. I just have so very many fond memories of the world of Norrath. I played the follow up EverQuest II and raided there also which was fun but could not match the original in my mind despite some substantial improvements in certain areas. In other ways, EverQuest II was too much of a departure from the original for me. It was fun though, just not to the same level as the original which set a very high bar in my mind. I've enjoyed and still do enjoy various MMORPGs since the glory days of EverQuest but I just loved that game like no other before or since. I just installed it again so I can go back and level up another alt when the mood strikes. Lots of people still play despite its age.

 

[Paulk]

My computer gaming goes back to the early 1980s in Bruce Douglas Known World Campaign, ancient politics and warfare. I played it for 25 years until Bruce got seriously ill. Had some good players in it, like Phil Barker. I also enjoyed role playing games, Ultima Online being my favourite. I wrote stories around it and even though I was a lousy role-layer I still enjoyed it.

 

[denisvj]

Nice memories .

All I remember was playing for the first time Space Quest I , in that time I didn't know english so I have to play with a dictionary next to me, loved that game and how that kind of games help me to learn english eventually with noticing .

Later was all the Eye of the Beholder which were my first RPGs and that how felt in love with RPG .

I remember playing UFO Enemy Unknown, woke up and playing that game until 11 PM without stopping and repeating the next until I finished the game .

 

[Narked Diver]

Gaming on the ZX Spectrum - The Lords of Midnight, Daley Thompson's Decathalon, Jet Set Willy, Marsport - all great gaming memories

 

[MacAlien]

I remember fondly sneaking in playing Nimble Number Ned on our Odyssey while watching V: The Final Battle on the other TV downstairs. Wasn't allowed to do either but parents were out and sister was in charge. Think I was about 7 or 8. Best early memory. Both were epic.

 

[Paulk]

There was a game called Hanseatic league about trade in the Hansa, it involved buying and selling goods, buying fur in Novgorod I think it was and selling in the Hansa Capital, Lubeck, was the most profitable, but the sea journey was long and pirates were active. It was also about marital alliances and family power. It was many years ago but great fun, and I got to learn about the Hanseatic League and its widely different markets.