Goji

Humanity is in a forever war against tyranny

@exQUIZitely Actually didn’t play those two! Might be worth picking up now

@Gojiberry Just like |StarFlight I and II. Loved those too.

Some games were truly epic in the grandest sense of the word. Elite with its massive universe comes to mind, or EVE Online much, much later. Star Control II (also known as The Ur-Quan Masters, released in 1992 by Accolade) belongs to that very small group of massive world games. It is set in an open galaxy with over 500 stars and thousands of planets. Humanity has lost a devastating war to the tyrannical Ur-Quan, who enslave or imprison defeated species. Gameplay revolves mostly around exploration of the vast galaxy, diplomacy, and real-time combat sequences. For 1992 the scope and depth of this game was absolutely incredible.

@exQUIZitely Id say old games were certainly less forgiving, and had generally higher complexity curves

Hot take: Games from the 80s were tougher than modern games. I see that statement often and personally think it’s true. Older games had a higher degree of difficulty - or a higher skill ceiling. Some were outright insane (Ghosts'n Goblins, The Immortal, Ninja Gaiden, Elite, etc.) to the point of seeming impossible. Most modern games require you to invest more time (grind, repeat, log in daily) but aren’t harder than old games. The focus has shifted from “you have to be a highly skilled gamer to reach the end” to “you have to invest a lot of time and come back often” to reach new levels, unlock content, and progress without ever reaching any end. Some reasons for this shift: 1. Games used to be made by gamers. As a gamer, you create something that resonates with how you want to play. Financial aspects were probably secondary. 2. Games used to be “buy once, play forever” products. Modern games are often “subscribe to keep playing and pay extra to unlock more/better stuff.” 3. Today’s games are multimillion-dollar projects developed by publicly listed companies under shareholder pressure to keep the subscription and in-game purchase model running as long as possible. If a game’s skill ceiling is too high, you lose a lot of average players. Hence, games demand less skill but more of your time. Curious how you see this. Agree, disagree, or is something important overlooked?

@exQUIZitely Best multiplayer game ever

The self-proclaimed Mother of All Games! Did you play this back in the day with your friends? Scorched Earth, by Wendell Hicken, was released as shareware in 1991. It wasn't going to win awards for groundbreaking graphics, yet it's one of the best multiplayer games ever - highly addictive with endless replay value. It let you customize a huge range of settings, from gravity, wind, and meteor showers to many others. Building on earlier games like QBasic Gorillas, it took the concept to a much higher level, supporting up to 10 players with far greater complexity and variety. You set angle and power to aim, with a wide choice of weapons (unlike the banana in QBasic Gorillas). Computer-controlled enemies ranged from difficulty 1 (Moron) to 10 (Cyborg). No other game has named its lowest difficulty level so perfectly! Wendell Hicken, the Quentin Tarantino of game developers!

I’m using it to build a game I’ve always wanted to - integrating elements of many games I love without having to answer to anyone and without a huge outlay of capital. My friend calls us the “gentleman scientists” and I suspect you’ll see the fruits of our labor in the next year or so (not just myself specifically but an entire cohort of products built by people like me)

I am generally skeptical regarding the impact of AI on society and humanity as a whole. I am wondering if we are actively contributing to making ourselves obsolete. What’s your view on this matter? Do you think it will have a positive, neutral or negative impact on our future?

@oldyzach what was bad about TFTD??

You can write a lot of bad things about TFTD, but don't you dare criticize the music 😎🔊 Good night, folks.

@exQUIZitely Colonization over civ2, agree with MOO2 and I actually never played railroad tycoon, but I would choose xcom for sure

You can only play three of these great MicroProse games for the rest of your life, none of the other nine. Which three would you pick? I'd go with: 1⃣ Railroad Tycoon 2⃣ Civilization II 3⃣ Master of Orion II Tougher than I thought. Leaving out Colonization was painful.

@oldyzach Hell yes

Hello retro folks 😎 How you doin' ? ☕🔊

@exQUIZitely Best RTS of all time - and incredible it was one of the first.

Yes, there were RTS games before Dune II. And yes, many new ones have since been made. But what is indisputable is that Dune II was the one to give RTS games their breakthrough, making it such a massive success - both critically and commercially - that it paved the way for the rest. What Westwood Studios created will forever be remembered as part of gaming history. It became part of gaming pop culture. Many of the core principles -such as gathering resources (harvesting spice) - are still an absolute staple of most if not all great RTS games today, almost 35 years later. I remember when I first played it and it got me hooked instantly - so much that I even put aside (at least for a while) my #1 beloved game ever, Civilization. Dune II eventually turned into the Command & Conquer series, another milestone in gaming history. Westwood Studios were kings once...

@exQUIZitely Xcom2: TFTD

There were a lot of exceptional games in the 80s and 90s. Some blew me away with stunning graphics (Defender of the Crown on the C64 comes to mind), others were great multiplayer experiences (M.U.L.E.), and some were pure genius (Elite). One game stands out for me because it felt like the most open, “anything is possible” world I had ever seen at the time: Civilization (1991). I loved browsing the Civilopedia to read up on all the technologies and historical connections. I enjoyed how you could tweak so many settings (world size, age, opposing civilizations, etc.) and that there were endless ways to approach and win the game. No other game had such a “wow” effect on me until then. Iy felt truly massive and glorious. The music was almost hypnotic - soft, soothing, and perfect for that “just one more turn” feeling before saving. And then that turn became another, and another. The graphics, while not mind-blowing, were excellent for a strategy game. The detailed city view, watching it grow, building wonders, the satisfaction of finally connecting cities with roads (or later railroads) to move armies and caravans smoothly. The careful decisions about where to place new cities - just in range of that gold mine or oil resource… or maybe a little closer to the coast so you could build mighty battlecruisers. I could go on for hours. What’s a game that left a similar impression on you? One that totally struck you with awe and still makes you remember how awesome it was - which game comes to mind?

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@moothefarmer Most of those people are bots. Also anyone hiding behind a screen and saying crazy shit is only half human at best and can be safely ignored.

This is why sometimes I hate people. Jupiter airdropped the community literal millions. LITERAL FREE MONEY (a whooping ~$700m). And now that there's conversations around whether they should continue giving FREE MONEY, the community gets pissed. If you show this to any sane person not in CT, they would be flabbergasted. @kashdhanda being professional and still trying to facilitate the conversation. @weremeow still trying to remain hopeful for the future. PEOPLE, be grateful please. I'm also still convinced that DAOs are broken. It's just an awful structure. At minimum, migrate to @MetaDAOProject style where your money gets put on the line if you make a stupid vote.

@SandyofCthulhu Make it now with AI!

MicroSoft, in keeping Age of Empires alive, has done so by double-downing on the same old stuff. Age 2 Definitive, Age 4 (which does make it 3D and more asymmetric), but all back in the same time period. If Ensemble Studios had lived, our plan to go on with the Age series was a debate between two possible directions. 1/3

@exQUIZitely loving your posts so much nostalgia. There will inevitably be a star control 2 post right?

@exQUIZitely I was trying to remember the name of this game!

Master of Magic by Simtex/MicroProse (1994) Over 200 spells, two seperate worlds (Arcanus and Myrror) that are linked through portals, a Civ-like interface to build/upgrade your cities, and infinite replayability - what's not to love? For a game that's over 30 years old it still looks pretty good today. There was a sequel in the works but sadly Simtex shut down in 1997, and MicroProse decided not to proceed (why MicropProse, why?), so it got lost in time. 90s were a great decade for turn-based fantasy/strategy games. Heroes of Might and Magic, Fantasy General, Lords of Magic, and of course this little gem were among the best.

@exQUIZitely Best game with friends ever seriously what happened to our games

The Mother of All Games Scorched Earth, by Wendell Hicken, was released as shareware in 1991. Not easy on the eyes, but one of the best multiplayer games ever! It let you customize everything - from gravity, wind, and meteor showers. Building on earlier games like QBasic Gorillas, it took the concept to a new level, supporting up to 10 players with far more complexity and variety. You could set the angle and power to aim, combined with a wide choice of weapons (unlike the banana in QBasic Gorillas). Computer-controlled enemies could be set from difficulty 1 (Moron) to 10 (Cyborg). No other game has named its lowest difficulty level so perfectly! Here’s to Wendell Hicken - thank you, wherever you are!

@exQUIZitely Also same struggle but I think I give the edge to colonization simply because there was never a sequel (at least that im aware of) and so it’s gameplay remains wholly unique

When Colonization was published in 1994, my curiosity was pretty high. I was wondering if a game could possibly be better than Civilization (1991). And to this day, I can't decide between the two. What I will say is that Colonization has a different spirit, it feels a bit "warmer" if that makes sense? Instead of the race to space, or simply nuking the crap out of your enemies and conquering the whole world, in Colonization you care more about the little things - what trade or skill experts you ship over and assign to tasks in the New World, your relationship to the native Americans, trading with them, buying and selling goods. It feels more like an economy/trade/build simulation rather than a "I discovered the steam engine first, so now all your triremes are mine" world-dominance game. So, I will always cherish both games for what they are, absolutely brilliant and benchmark-setting for their era. And even now, over 30 years later, both are still a blast to play.

@TukiFromKL Lol Luddite

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