so how did y'all get so knowledgeable about all these games?

Dis · August 17, 2004, 19:43

1000 hours eh?

I really have no idea if I have broke that. I'm sure I have with Civ2. Maybe civ3. Possibly SMAC and Diablo2.

Spaced Cowboy · August 17, 2004, 21:17

Uh MULE was MP, FYI

pg · August 17, 2004, 21:56

i'm really knowledgeable about a few games that are usually multiplayer(quake), or a few great single player ones(civ, ogre battle, etc). i think i could do ok in that trivia thread but stuff like that bores me over a forum(too slow). i figured a lot of stuff out in quake by myself but a lot of the technical details i learned from modders(who by and large are clueless when it comes to the super competitive multiplayer gameplay mindset). just being in geek communities and having a good memory you will pick this stuff up eventually(it'll probably happen to you too lotm). other than forums irc has a lot of this type of info being talked about.

pg · August 17, 2004, 22:05

oh and i don't even want to know how much time i spent playing the original quake. that was literally an addiction for a few years. interestingly enough i've probably spent more time playing quake than all other games combined. this is mostly because when i played quake that's all i played. i'd probably still be playing it but the player base is very small(very large considering how old the game is though) and everyone playing has broadband so i can't compete. i'm probably a dumbass though because deathmatch is boring...

Urban Ranger · August 17, 2004, 23:07

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
Uh MULE was MP, FYI

You always have 4 players in M.U.L.E.. If there are less than 4 human players the computer takes over the rest. The computer Mechtron dudes are easy to beat after a few games, though.

That's why the Atari version is better. You can only have 2 human players on a C64.

One of the best part of the game is each player must walk a tight rope between cooperation and competition. You want to win, but you can't just screw everybody over or the colony would die.

Arnelos · August 17, 2004, 23:16

Ah, M.U.L.E. I have extremely fond memories of playing that game with my little brother and my cousins on our Atari 800 growing up.

Definately one of the most clever games ever made on limited technology.

Hell, that game did a better job of teaching basic microeconomic concepts of supply and demand than anything else we were liable to run into for another decade worth of schooling.

Zero · August 18, 2004, 01:59

Originally posted by pg
i figured a lot of stuff out in quake by myself but a lot of the technical details i learned from modders(who by and large are clueless when it comes to the super competitive multiplayer gameplay mindset). just being in geek communities and having a good memory you will pick this stuff up eventually(it'll probably happen to you too lotm). other than forums irc has a lot of this type of info being talked about.

Alot of us here probably do know alot of technical details about games. They might get confused when i talk frame advantage cammy has on fierce punch, but when i mention battle calculation on civ3 or slingshotting to republic on C3C, they'll be like "thats common knowledge"

i'm probably a dumbass though because deathmatch is boring...

I dont like DM as much either. What kind of Q1 games did u prefer? I was really into TF1 and painkeep mods. I thought that painkeep was seriously the future for L337 players back then, but popularity of TF1 kinda overshadowed it IMO. It didnt seem that popular so I played TF1 mainly...

DrSpike · August 18, 2004, 08:08

Originally posted by Solver
MP has longevity, but I think that for some game types, like DeathMatch, it must still get boring way before that.

Not really........in MP you can always improve.

Besides in any good FPS you could mix duel, FFA, TDM with clan, so you get a varied experience.

lord of the mark · August 18, 2004, 09:08

Originally posted by DrSpike

By my calculations it's just under 1 year.

Oops, dont know what i was thinking - perhaps i was getting confused with some post count calculations Id been doing in my head

Or perhaps i was thinking of 10 hours a week, at which rate i probably did play civ2, but not for 2 years.

duke o' york · August 18, 2004, 09:27

Originally posted by Zero

When i mention battle calculation on civ3 or slingshotting to republic on C3C, they'll be like "thats common knowledge"

Is that like the free settler with a mountain city, and the mining of hill squares before settling them then?

Does ship chaining work in Civ 3?

child of Thor · August 18, 2004, 09:58

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Oops, dont know what i was thinking - perhaps i was getting confused with some post count calculations Id been doing in my head

Or perhaps i was thinking of 10 hours a week, at which rate i probably did play civ2, but not for 2 years.

My harshest addiction to a game took up nearly 6months of my life(as in actually 178 complete days of gaming).

It was over a span of around 4 years from 1987, and it was the first and only time i had a computer game be a main part of splitting up with a girlfriend.
I decided to work it out approximately some time after the split.

There's a lesson in there?

girlfriends/wives+computer games = trouble

Spaced Cowboy · August 18, 2004, 10:21

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

You always have 4 players in M.U.L.E.. If there are less than 4 human players the computer takes over the rest. The computer Mechtron dudes are easy to beat after a few games, though.

That's why the Atari version is better. You can only have 2 human players on a C64.

One of the best part of the game is each player must walk a tight rope between cooperation and competition. You want to win, but you can't just screw everybody over or the colony would die.

It was a pain, cuz 2 players had to use the keyboard during the auctions, and pass around a joystick during their turn, but we regularly played 4 players on the C64.

It even had decent single player play, trying to get a good colony score (and not so much even winning).

The comp players loved to mine smithore, so I used to throw away the cheap mules to drive the price up.

DrSpike · August 18, 2004, 14:35

Originally posted by duke o' york

Does ship chaining work in Civ 3?

Yeah but it's tedious as hell.

DrSpike · August 18, 2004, 14:38

Originally posted by child of Thor

girlfriends/wives+computer games = trouble

Amen. But we had to grow up sometime right? Plus, they have their advantages.

Of course I am constantly trying to find a game my gf will like playing, so I can spend time with her and game at the same time!

Arnelos · August 18, 2004, 15:05

Originally posted by DrSpike
Amen. But we had to grow up sometime right? Plus, they have their advantages.

Of course I am constantly trying to find a game my gf will like playing, so I can spend time with her and game at the same time!

I am going to give you the answer, but also solemnly warn you about the potential consequences.

Several years ago, I got my girlfriend playing Civ3 and she really liked the game, as she liked a few of my other games (she was even playing Deus Ex for a while).

Then someone introduced her to The Sims.

...

Though I broke up with her less than a month later for completely unrelated reasons, her poor next boyfriend hardly ever saw her and it's really only because he had some serious self-esteem problems that I think he clung to her despite that she never spent much time with him.

Addiction to the The Sims does not seem to be a phenomenon limited to my x-girlfriend among women. Indeed, Penny Arcade even did a humorous little comic on it.

You have been duly warned.

Arnelos · August 18, 2004, 15:12

Actually PA had several comics on the topic, but here's one of them:

DrSpike · August 18, 2004, 15:12

I'd rather never play games than have a gf who wanted me to play the Sims with her.

Kuciwalker · August 18, 2004, 15:14

Spaced Cowboy · August 18, 2004, 16:22

Actually I just got the sims for my wife, but have yet to install it on her machine or get here to give it a try. I'd be happy if she'd leave me alone to play my games, but for some reason she wants to be in the same room as me???

Anyway, she is really not a gamer, although she likes board games. Hopefully the sims will get her started on the way to.... something besides solitare and taipai.

dunk · August 19, 2004, 13:55

My first system was the Atari 2600. Oh the joy. Combat. Berserk. Ms PacMan. Ah.

Then I got a C64. Oh how I loved that thing. I got it in 2nd grade and had it until 9th grade. I bought 3, maybe 4 games for it. Yet, I had a huge library. The C64 is where I first met Ultima IV, and my love of gaming hasn't ceased since. And MULE, which I see people mentioning. And Defender of the Crown. And Kennedy Approach.

Then I got a PC. And shortly after, Ultima VII. Oh the joy. And somewhere in there, Civ. Oh the joy. Two PCs later and I'm still pluggin away. Baldur's Gate, Civ III, etc. etc.

Oh the joy of a great game and a comfy chair.

Kuciwalker · August 19, 2004, 14:38

Did rah edit that image?

DrSpike · August 19, 2004, 14:40

Probably Arnelos did.

child of Thor · August 19, 2004, 15:36

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
edit........... I'd be happy if she'd leave me alone to play my games, but for some reason she wants to be in the same room as me???
......edit

Its the same for me - it makes it logisticly very hard to do the 12hr sessions i used to........still its probably a good thing

Although we have talked about moving the xbox into the same room as the PC. not sure though.

On topic:

having a wide ranging exposure to different game types over the years also helps.

I guess when i started out(on my ZX81) - i would just buy any game(or type them in from magazines). Some were really bad(well probably most were - i guess 1k of memmory had its limits!).

Then as the years go by you get to know the types of game you like best.
I got the taste for TBS games on the amiga(Xcom+Civ being my favourites), then it seemed the amiga wasn't powerfull enough so most of the good strat games only got PC releases(Civ2 etc).
Now i use an old PC out of preference - it can play all the great TBS games(Civ2/CTP/Imperialism/Xcom/SMAC/etc).

So time playing and haveing used many different platforms does seem to help get you in the ball park when playing guess the game. Still i'm sure i could have spent my time more constructively

DrSpike · August 19, 2004, 16:02

Originally posted by child of Thor

So time playing and haveing used many different platforms does seem to help get you in the ball park when playing guess the game. Still i'm sure i could have spent my time more constructively

Impossible.

child of Thor · August 19, 2004, 16:51

Originally posted by DrSpike
I'd rather never play games than have a gf who wanted me to play the Sims with her.

but i thought that maybe you secretly loved the Sims? ..........i didnt follow the joke closely but it could actually be ideal, especialy if the new version gets a console release - then you can get an xbox

DrSpike · August 19, 2004, 18:01

Nah I'm not 14. :stir:

lord of the mark · August 19, 2004, 18:17

quick note - i wasnt thinking only of the guess the game thread, but of all the threads where people seem familiar with so many different games and genres.

Arnelos · August 19, 2004, 18:25

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Did rah edit that image?

I edited the image after I remembered site rules here at Apolyton concerning profanity.

Kuciwalker · August 19, 2004, 21:16

Ah

Lord Nword · August 19, 2004, 23:02

I've found one game to play with the girls online is Yahoo Pool.... just don't try too hard at it or they might get mad

My addictions are untimed.

SMAC and D2X are both in the 500-1000 hours range I think...

I have about a month of active playing on Super Smash Bros. Melee... That game almost NEVER gets old