Games with overwhelming gameplay and underwhelming graphics

[Sandman]

Anyone fancy another Apolyton game of Dominions 2? Or, failing that, Stars!?

[Urban Ranger]

Well if you ignore the physical limitations back then...

Zork and all those Infocom text based adventure games

Universe (by Omnitrend)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (original one)
M.U.L.E. (definitely not very good compared to modern graphics)
Civ

[Addled Platypus]

lemmy look for the stars CD, I kept it somewhere

[hexagonian]

Originally posted by Solver
You could also name the Europa Universalis/Hearts of Irons games here. The gameplay is big and complex, the graphics are certainly very simple.

I thought that the EU2 graphics were outstanding for that type of game.

Clean and simple! All the later Paradox titles were a step backward...

I actually fear what EU3 will look like.

Potentially cluttered comes to mind...

[Vesayen]

Originally posted by Sandman
Anyone fancy another Apolyton game of Dominions 2? Or, failing that, Stars!?

I would definatley be in for game of dominions 2. Want to set one up this saturday?

[DrSpike]

I think the thread needs some benchmark. Compared to say Civ1 EU2 had great graphics. Compared to HL2 it doesn't.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Chaunk
For a TBS at the time maybe, i.e. compared to civ 2, but seriously, they were shocking even then. I still love SMAC though

The game that came to my mind was Hearts of Iron II, although I guess pretty much any of the series would do it. Graphics are terrible, but it's all about the strategy, which is nice.

Actually, HOI2 has perfectly good graphics IMO, in that they aren't distractingly bad. A lot of the old or bad games I find distracting because they look so much clunkier than what I'm used to - HOI2 doesn't give me that feeling. In fact, the only real downsides to its graphics are the artificial 1024x768 resolution limit and the sprites - and the sprites aren't really bad either.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Vesayen


I would definatley be in for game of dominions 2. Want to set one up this saturday?

Well, I was more thinking of a PBEM game. Do you have something else in mind?

[Vesayen]

I don't like PBEM heh.

[DrSpike]

Yeah something about a game taking a year is offputting.

[Vesayen]

The only thing worst then loosing a game which takes a long time to loose... yet you can see the loss pretty early on.... is drawing the loss out even longer lol.

[quantum_mechani]

Originally posted by Vesayen
The only thing worst then loosing a game which takes a long time to loose... yet you can see the loss pretty early on.... is drawing the loss out even longer lol.

Ah, a blitz player. Personally my favorite way to play Dominions too (everyone takes as long as they want on a turn, but all at the same time).

Though long term games can be fun too for variety, big games with lots of players can be unwieldy as blitz games.

[Vesayen]

Not really blitz games but... by the time two PCs meet in Dominons, after having fought through whatever AIs are in the way... the level of power each one holds can be enormously different, so much so that whoever is stronger when they first meet often is almost guaranteed a win... it is not much fun playing a loosing battle that lasts ages.

When you lan it, it goes by quicker so its okay.

[DrSpike]

Maybe don't include AI?

[quantum_mechani]

Yeah, including AI's in MP dominions games is a rather bad idea. I'm not sure what you mean by not a blitz but lan... I classify any game where all the players are present and playing at the same time a blitz (as opposed to turn-a-day).