I started playing MoM again a couple of week ago

[LordMortis]

My machine is mostly fubar at home and it only runs non memory intensive games, so....

It's the first time I have played in about a decade and it's really sucked me back in. Naturally I put it right on impossible level, like I do with most games. (I don't know why) The AI is pretty bad, especially when you attack towns, but I am still having fun. I had my ass handed to me about 5 times before starting to play a Myrrn race. I took over a troll town right away and now I seem to be in the game well, though I have only gone to war with one race so far.

I have been having a great time breaking out old games and they are reminding me why I consider myself a PC gamer. I really have no idea why I am in a rut with current releases. I was buying and hating 2-4 games a month for several years before I went on a game buying strike.

Now I am just re falling in love with the classics. I know I am in trouble when I start playing Ultima III again (which I actually bought again from the collectors edition) and start looking for Emulators (can I say that here?) to play Autoduel or Telengard or Miner 2049er again, all of which, if I went to my parents house and dug around for long enough, I could still find at my parents house somewhere, though the hardware to play them on are all long gone.

[Bakhtosh]

I was buying and hating 2-4 games a month for several years before I went on a game buying strike.

Now I am just re falling in love with the classics. I know I am in trouble when I start playing Ultima III again (which I actually bought again from the collectors edition) and start looking for Emulators (can I say that here?) to play Autoduel or Telengard or Miner 2049er again, all of which, if I went to my parents house and dug around for long enough, I could still find at my parents house somewhere, though the hardware to play them on are all long gone.

Discussing emulators is fine. No links or carefully hidden attempts to direct people to web sites where they can be found...especially if those sites have illegal or non-freeware ROMs for download. Besides, if someone in a thread can't figure out how to get that information, then they probably shouldn't be trying to download and install sotware to begin with.

Also, I haven't bought a new retail game since Christmas. I've been playing a lot of LaserSquadNemesis. It's a great game and modem friendly. You can create an account for free and play on 3 different maps using the Laser Marines just by clicking Here. Plus, anyone who ends up becoming a paying member gives me some free time.

I've been playing a lot of old-school games: X-com, Homeworld, System Shock2, Soldier of Fortune, Thief will probably be next. I probably won't ask for any new games this year...just a 1-year sub to LSN.

[Jow]

Telengard. Yeesh. I remember having a cassette tape with that game on it, putzing around with it on the Commodore Pet computers in the computer lab during freshman year of high school.

I understand the frustration, though. Seems like most everything these days is all style and no substance. My game buying has been curtailed for that very reason... I just bought games 3 and 4 of the year a couple weeks ago.

Did any of you own a C64 and do a lot of gaming on it?

[LordMortis]

We had the Atari 8 bit and I used an Apple and then apple IIe at school until we picked up our first PC (a 496DX66) shortly after highschool. I built a Pentium 100 (I think) a couple of years later.

We never used tape drives. We got our 5 1/4 floppy for about $800 sometime in the late 70s.

[Dramatist]

I often wonder if I could get my old floppy disk versions of MoO and MoM to work on my modern machine.

I remember MoO was the first game I ever patched and I had to write them a letter so they would mail me a floppy disk with the patch.

[freelunch]

MoM was the first game I ever patched, and it took many weeks of long-distance phone calls to convince Sega Tech Support* to send me the patch on a floppy disc. at this point there were no local ISPs in my area and I wasn't about to buy a modem just to hook up to Sega's BBS to get a patch.

*Sega OziSoft distributed Microprose software in Australia at the time MoM was released.

[mdsmith]

MOM, man I loved that game. I think I have a copy around somewhere I'll have to dig out. Hmm, a new permutation of the forum effect, you don't run out and buy a game you just replay an old one. Mentioning MOM just got me thinking. Did any company ever have a run of quality games like Micropose did during that era ?

[Bakhtosh]

I don't know...My Microprose folder was heavily used during that time. Sierra and Origin had some good runs.

As for MoM, the best part was just coming up with a wizard. I liked the Node Master pick. It made node battles SO much easier.

You didn't mention what kind of wizard you created for your current game.

I swear, if there was a graphics skin for this game, I'd probably still play 2 or 3 games per year.

[Peacedog]

I used to play this all the time, but I haven't tried it since I moved to XP. I should try that (I could always run it in D-Fend I bet).

High elves were my favorite race (those archers were cheap and brutal). Humans probably my second favorite (pikemen are great early units do tue defensive bonsues, and those paladins are hell on wheels, err hooves). My favorite of the advanced races was the dragons.

[LordMortis]

I finally have a game that it looks like I will win. I am Myrrn Race (draconis), Node Master, Warrior(?). This only left me with like 5 books. I took one life, one chaos, one nature, and two sorcery. Huge Map, 4 NPCs, Impossible, normal magic.

I have about 500 turns until I have finished research the last spell, and I just picked the arcane skill last night. I have two crappy champions and 3 meh heros. I killed the other Myrrn guy and took all of his troll towns. Trolls absolutely rock. I'd take them as my next starting race, but when I take the time to take a Myrrn race, it's too hard to turn down two move two flyers to explore with.

After about 6 or 7 losses on impossible level, this looks like it will be my first win, though I really haven't started duking it out with any of the races on the surface yet and they are beginning to cast maliscious spells at me. Especially that damned annoying Volcano. (Is there any defense against that?) I don't have (and can't get) the change terrain spell.

I hope this game works on XP when I finally replace my machine. As bad as the AI is, the opening of the game is still a real challenge and I am really, really enjoying it like I haven't enjoyed video gaming for some time.

[Biyobi]

I hope this game works on XP when I finally replace my machine. As bad as the AI is, the opening of the game is still a real challenge and I am really, really enjoying it like I haven't enjoyed video gaming for some time.

No worries, I was able to get this to play in XP without any 3rd party software. If you've ever messed with config and autoexec to get a game to run in DOS you should be able to get it to work.

If not, there's DOSbox or VDMSound.

[LordMortis]

No worries, I was able to get this to play in XP without any 3rd party software. If you've ever messed with config and autoexec to get a game to run in DOS you should be able to get it to work.

I did it a lot 10 years ago...But that was 10 years ago and I was usually getting my hand held at the time. I remember about nothing.

[JayG]

I'm doing the same thing. There hasn't been that many games this year that grabbed me, so I've played a lot of the classics. Ultima 7 (still the best RPG ever released. Why couldn't this have been a huge hit instead of Diablo), Baldur's Gate 2, Outcast, Thief 2, AoW. I'll probably work my way back to Sam and Max, MoM, Day of the Tenticle and others.

[LordMortis]

As of last night, I have 200 turns until I have researched the final spell. I am in the underworld uncontested I am summoning my 6th champion, so I will be buffing them every turn. One computer player is dead and the other three barely come down stair. My heros are wimpy as I am summoning champions as quickly as I can, so they can't take out the ruins, but I am rebuilding that power base. This will be my first win since reloading it though.

Man, we can keep the graphics and even the sometimes awkward, pain to micromanage interface. Get me a better AI that doesn't cheat to be competitive and I could so play this game again for a long time to come. It takes the very few things that HoMM does wrong and makes it right, such as making the game more than just making one or two uber stacks.

How long until Stardock releases the sequel? If they make this one go the way of MoO, HoMM, and X-Com I am going to be so bmmed.

[mdsmith]

My understanding is that Stardock is still negotiating to get the rights to MOM. There next project after Gal Civ 2 will be a fantasy strat game but whether it will be MOM 2 or their own title has not yet been decided. If they do make MOM2 they are talking about upgrading the graphics and the AI but not making any drastic changes in the game. After the MOO3 mess I am a little leery, but it looks as though they are going in a direction I would like.

[Mudfrost]

Mortis,
I revisit old games all the time. I always have a few of the BattleGround games on my hard drive (Battleground Gettysburg, Battleground Shiloh, Antietam, etc.). One or two QQP games like Conquered Kingdoms -- I can't forget. The list goes on. I'm continually revisiting the old stuff. A good game's a good game after all.

[Bakhtosh]

MoM keeps telling me it needs XXX kb of extended memory. I'm running XP. What did you do to get it to run? I've tried putting it into compatibility mode with extended memory in the properties with no luck.