-=> Nightfox wrote to Mr Ned <=-

Ni> Nintendo, behind? In the 90s, I thought their Nintendo 64 was really
Ni> good. I thought the N64's graphics were better than the Playstation (I
Ni> always thought Playstation's graphics looked blocky), and the
Ni> Playstation seemed to suffer from slow load times due to using CD-ROM
Ni> games rather than cartridge games. The N64 also had a 64-bit processor
Ni> whereas the others were using a 32-bit processor, I believe - though
Ni> maybe that didn't really offer much..

The N64 was a more powerful system but Nintendo were still selling SNES games
when the PS1 was released, which was more my point realy. The PS1 suffered
with slow loads but it had wayy more storage, which made it better for RPGs
and anything else that needed more data. N64 games looked nicer but were
massively restricted in that way.

I dunno, I liked both systems although I was more a PS1 user. It was
impressive what developers managed to get out of the system by the end of its
lifespan.

MN

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-=> Arelor wrote to Nightfox <=-

Ar> Nintendo's games excelled at being built around original concepts or
Ar> interesting designs, more than on superior technical capabilities. Even
Ar> if you compare the blatant Playstation copies of Nintendo 64 titles
Ar> (say, Mario Kart vs Crash Team Racing, or F-Zero vs Wip3out) the
Ar> blatant copies don't fall behind at all.*

Ar> * I just learned there is a Wipeout port to the Nintendo 64.
Ar> Interesting find.

I feel like Wipeout went a little beyond just being a blatant copy -
Psygnosis put enough into it that it was its own distinctive series. The
music was pioneering - 2097 in particular used a load of music that was
extremely popular in the UK around the time, not really a thing video games
did or were able to do until that generation.

I'm massively disappointed that the new game is a, er, mobile phone card game
rather than a racer, though.

MN

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-=> Ksource wrote to The Lizard Master <=-

> Have you seen this? NHL '94 is still pretty popular and they are constantly
> modding it with new rosters, graphics, etc - https://www.nhl94.com/

Ks> That is so cool! I hadn't heard of it before. I'm not surprised,
Ks> though. NHL 94 was definitely the best game in the NHL series, at least
Ks> going into the 2000s, and I know I'm not alone in thinking that.

The greatest thing (to me) to happen in gaming was for ID Software to open
source the DOOM engine and allow third-party levels. I'm still playing a
game I started playing almost 30 years ago, and it's bigger and better than
when I started.

Maybe it's because it's the first thing I played, but I think some of the
levels on DOOM are some of the best I'd played. Then again, I played a *lot*
of it back then.

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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Ksource on Fri Sep 17 2021 07:56 am

> The greatest thing (to me) to happen in gaming was for ID Software to open
> source the DOOM engine and allow third-party levels. I'm still playing a
> game I started playing almost 30 years ago, and it's bigger and better than
> when I started.
>
> Maybe it's because it's the first thing I played, but I think some of the
> levels on DOOM are some of the best I'd played. Then again, I played a *lot*
> of it back then.
>

I agree. The ID 1 engine and its derivatives are way cool.

Lots of WADS and Megawads to have fun. The gameplay may be simplistic but it
still beats many modern shooters IMO.

Don't forget to try Cyberdreams, a megawad in which you must defeat a legion of
Cyberdemons on each level, armed only with a gun with no bullets. It is
actually a sequence of megapuzzles. The last level has 156 cyberdemons
surrounding you right from the start. So much fun with that one.

--
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---
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Who else is into retro gaming?

I really started getting into retro gaming when I first saw emulators appearing in the late 90s. I thought it was really cool that there were emulators that allowed playing NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other console games on my PC. Some emulators also had some fairly interesting features, such as allowing multi-player gaming with other people over the internet.

Although I have typically been more into PC gaming, I do enjoy console games. And for a while now, it seems there are many ways to emulate old systems, beyond emulation on a PC. A few years ago, I modded my Nintendo Wii and installed some emulators on it (though life got into the way, I got busy, and I haven't played the emulators on that as much as I thought I would). Before that, I bought a GCW Zero (an open-source handheld gaming system that supports emulators, among other things). Unfortunately, it seems the screen on my GCW Zero has failed and doesn't work well now. :/

In recent years, there's also the Classic Mini systems that the popular game companies have released; there was the NES Classic Mini & SNES Classic Mini from Nintendo, and then Sega, Sony, and TurboGrafX made their own versions for their respective systems. Those are generally moddable too, so you can add additional games.

Although I've been emulating old consoles for a while, sometimes I've missed having a real console. A long time ago, I had an original NES, a Nintendo 64, and a TurboGrafX-16. For a while, a SNES as well. I just bought a SNES on eBay.. I'm not sure what all I'll do with it, since I can play the games with emulators, but it might be fun.

Nightfox

---
■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to All on Tue Sep 14 2021 09:14:45

Yes to some degree I am as well, although I must admit its more about the retro computers than the consoles for me.

8-)

> Who else is into retro gaming?
>

Regards..Geo
ooooOOOOoooo

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Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to All on Tue Sep 14 2021 09:14:45

> Who else is into retro gaming?
>
> I really started getting into retro gaming when I first saw emulators
> appearing in the late 90s. I thought it was really cool that there were
> emulators that allowed playing NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other console
> games on my PC. Some emulators also had some fairly interesting features,
> such as allowing multi-player gaming with other people over the internet.

I don't know that I'm "into" retro gaming so much as my taste in games just
never advanced beyond a certain era. In 1995, I was playing games released in
1995. In 2005, I was playing games released in 1995. In 2015, I was playing
games released in 1995.

I don't have time these days to play games (kids, you know), but when I do, I'm
sure it'll be the same old games.

I grew up with PC games, so all the games I play are PC games usually, but I
did get into console emulators about 10 or 15 years ago. When I was a kid, the
consoles really were black boxes, much moreso than PCs, so they held a bit of
mystery for me. Now in the emulator we can see precisely how everything was
specced out, and it's kind of cool to peer inside the box a little.

I once took one of my old favourite SNES games (NHL '94) and started tinkering
with it to make it more difficult. I could have never dreamed of doing
something like that in 1995 when the tooling for consoles (cartridges!!) was
far beyond what mere peasants could tinker with.

---
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-=> Nightfox wrote to All <=-

Ni> Although I've been emulating old consoles for a while, sometimes I've
Ni> missed having a real console. A long time ago, I had an original NES,
Ni> a Nintendo 64, and a TurboGrafX-16. For a while, a SNES as well. I
Ni> just bought a SNES on eBay.. I'm not sure what all I'll do with it,
Ni> since I can play the games with emulators, but it might be fun.

It would be worth hooking the SNES up to an original CRT TV. There is an
experience you get with the old TVs that modern PC screens struggle to emulate.
RetroRGB is a pretty good site looking at how to get the best signal from
consoles if you want to look into stuff like that - enjoy!

Ned

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Re: Retro gaming
By: Ksource to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 12:41 am

> I once took one of my old favourite SNES games (NHL '94) and started tinkering with it to make it more
> difficult. I could have never dreamed of doing something like that in 1995 when the tooling for consol
> (cartridges!!) was far beyond what mere peasants could tinker with.
>

What tools are you using to edit the games? Hacking propietay games is very popular but I have never
taken the time to check how people is doing it in the wild.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

---
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Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to All on Tue Sep 14 2021 09:14 am

> In recent years, there's also the Classic Mini systems that the popular game
> companies have released; there was the NES Classic Mini & SNES Classic Mini
> from Nintendo, and then Sega, Sony, and TurboGrafX made their own versions
> for their respective systems. Those are generally moddable too, so you can
> add additional games.

I just set up retro pi with my son the other day and got him a C64 Mini for his birthday. Next step is he wants to write some stuff in his emulator and then transfer it to the C64 mini. Not sure how far we will get in that effort, but we've been having fun.

I also got a cheap arcade stick and button kit from Amazon and we hooked that up to Epic Pinball from the 90's. Definitely a lot of fun.

---TLM

---
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Re: Retro gaming
By: Ksource to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 12:41 am

> I once took one of my old favourite SNES games (NHL '94) and started
> tinkering with it to make it more difficult. I could have never dreamed of
> doing something like that in 1995 when the tooling for consoles
> (cartridges!!) was far beyond what mere peasants could tinker with.

Have you seen this? NHL '94 is still pretty popular and they are constantly modding it with new rosters, graphics, etc - https://www.nhl94.com/

---TLM

---
■ Synchronet ■ Nite Eyes BBS - To make people happy about my tagline everywhere...

Re: Retro gaming
By: Ksource to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 12:41 am

Ks> I don't know that I'm "into" retro gaming so much as my taste in games
Ks> just never advanced beyond a certain era. In 1995, I was playing games
Ks> released in 1995. In 2005, I was playing games released in 1995. In 2015,
Ks> I was playing games released in 1995.

Yeah, I think one of the reasons I like retro gaming is because I grew up in that time and enjoyed the games available then.

Ks> I grew up with PC games, so all the games I play are PC games usually, but
Ks> I did get into console emulators about 10 or 15 years ago. When I was a
Ks> kid, the consoles really were black boxes, much moreso than PCs, so they
Ks> held a bit of mystery for me. Now in the emulator we can see precisely how
Ks> everything was specced out, and it's kind of cool to peer inside the box a
Ks> little.

Yeah, it's interesting. And I tended to play PC games too. I had a few consoles when I was growing up, but as expensive as they & the games were, I didn't have a big collection of console games. One of the consoles I did have was a TurboGrafX-16, which I bought new for $30 in 1993 at a store that was selling them cheap to get rid of them. And I sometimes found used TurboGrafX games at pawn shops & such. I don't see a whole lot of old games at pawn shops anymore.. And the other day I stopped at a retro game store in my area - They had a bunch of NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis, etc., but I don't recall seeing any TurboGrafX stuff in there..

Ks> I once took one of my old favourite SNES games (NHL '94) and started
Ks> tinkering with it to make it more difficult. I could have never dreamed of
Ks> doing something like that in 1995 when the tooling for consoles
Ks> (cartridges!!) was far beyond what mere peasants could tinker with.

That's cool :)
That sounds similar to the Game Genie, though the Game Genie helped make games easier.. :P

Nightfox

---
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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: Mr Ned to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 07:43 am

MN> It would be worth hooking the SNES up to an original CRT TV. There is an
MN> experience you get with the old TVs that modern PC screens struggle to
MN> emulate. RetroRGB is a pretty good site looking at how to get the best
MN> signal from consoles if you want to look into stuff like that - enjoy!

I enjoyed console games back in the day, but I can't really think of anything I miss about playing the games on a CRT vs. newer screens. I might give it a try again some time.

Nightfox

---
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Re: Retro gaming
By: Geo to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 10:14 am

Ge> Yes to some degree I am as well, although I must admit its more about the
Ge> retro computers than the consoles for me.

I like retro computer stuff as well. For a while now, I've been watching Clint Basinger's LGR videos on YouTube - His LGR videos are all about retro computers and the hardware and software from the 80s and 90s. It takes me back to those days.. He has some cool retro computer setups. I feel like I don't really want to invest too much time and money collecting retro stuff, but I enjoy watching his videos. His enthusiasm for retro computers is pretty much what I felt for computer technology growing up in the 80s and 90s.

Nightfox

---
■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

-=> Ksource wrote to Nightfox <=-

Ks> @MSGID: <61417960.722.dove-hobby@mutinybbs.com>
Ks> @REPLY: <6140CA75.2287.dove_dove-hob@digitaldistortionbbs.com>
Ks> Re: Retro gaming
Ks> By: Nightfox to All on Tue
Ks> Sep 14 2021 09:14:45

> Who else is into retro gaming?
>
> I really started getting into retro gaming when I first saw emulators
> appearing in the late 90s. I thought it was really cool that there were
> emulators that allowed playing NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other console
> games on my PC. Some emulators also had some fairly interesting features,
> such as allowing multi-player gaming with other people over the internet.

Ks> I don't know that I'm "into" retro gaming so much as my taste in games
Ks> just never advanced beyond a certain era. In 1995, I was playing games
Ks> released in 1995. In 2005, I was playing games released in 1995. In
Ks> 2015, I was playing games released in 1995.

Ks> I don't have time these days to play games (kids, you know), but when I
Ks> do, I'm sure it'll be the same old games.

Ks> I grew up with PC games, so all the games I play are PC games usually,
Ks> but I did get into console emulators about 10 or 15 years ago. When I
Ks> was a kid, the consoles really were black boxes, much moreso than PCs,
Ks> so they held a bit of mystery for me. Now in the emulator we can see
Ks> precisely how everything was specced out, and it's kind of cool to peer
Ks> inside the box a little.

Ks> I once took one of my old favourite SNES games (NHL '94) and started
Ks> tinkering with it to make it more difficult. I could have never dreamed
Ks> of doing something like that in 1995 when the tooling for consoles
Ks> (cartridges!!) was far beyond what mere peasants could tinker with.

Similar story with me. I still play a lot of games from the mid 90, a few from
the late 90's and a rare few from the 2000's. Perhaps I'm stuck in my ways,
with the PC's I had in that era, but I don't find much appealing in newer
games, apart from better graphics. I find myself playing new levels for
classic Doom or Quake, than new FPSs. Even the computer I use now, is using a
90's era graphical environment (FVWM).

I don't consider it 'retro' gaming. It is just for me, gaming.

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Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to Ksource on Wed Sep 15 2021 08:38 am

> That's cool :)
> That sounds similar to the Game Genie, though the Game Genie helped make
> games easier.. :P
>

game genie was just fun to tinker with. i used to make some of my games do some weird things by experimenting and making up my own codes.
---
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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to Mr Ned on Wed Sep 15 2021 08:43 am

> I enjoyed console games back in the day, but I can't really think of anythin
> miss about playing the games on a CRT vs. newer screens. I might give it a
> again some time.
>
> Nightfox

I did some testing with friends some years ago. There is certainly a big
difference when playing a Nintendo 64. The image looks more jerky on a modern
display than on a traditional one. It is definetively noticeable and not
something only a graphicsfag will complain about.

I have heard there is an actual, knwon reason, but I don't recall which it was.

--
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---
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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 01:05 pm

>> I enjoyed console games back in the day, but I can't really think of
>> anythin miss about playing the games on a CRT vs. newer screens. I
>> might give it a again some time.

Ar> I did some testing with friends some years ago. There is certainly a big
Ar> difference when playing a Nintendo 64. The image looks more jerky on a
Ar> modern display than on a traditional one. It is definetively noticeable
Ar> and not something only a graphicsfag will complain about.

Ar> I have heard there is an actual, knwon reason, but I don't recall which it
Ar> was.

I used to have a Nintendo 64 in the 90s. I've since played some N64 games on emulators. I remember N64 looking fairly nice on a CRT, but I didn't feel like it really looked worse on a modern screen.

Nightfox

---
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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Sep 15 2021 11:46 am

> I used to have a Nintendo 64 in the 90s. I've since played some N64 games o
> emulators. I remember N64 looking fairly nice on a CRT, but I didn't feel l
> it really looked worse on a modern screen.
>
> Nightfox

I don't mean playing an emulated game on a modern screen. I mean playing a real
game running on a real Nintendo 64 using a modern screen.

But then a friend of mine said he tested with an emulator and said it didn't
work great there either. I haven't seen that myself, though.

--
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---
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Re: Retro gaming
By: The Lizard Master to Nightfox on Wed Sep 15 2021 08:25:32

Hi,

> I just set up retro pi with my son the other day and got him a C64 Mini for his birthday. Next step is he wants to write some
> stuff in his emulator and then transfer it to the C64 mini. Not sure how far we will get in that effort, but we've been having
> fun.
>

There are some Great IDE's around for writing stuff on Windows then transfering it to Emu/Real Machine.

ie CBM Prg Studio etc.

8-)

---
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Re: Retro gaming
By: Geo to The Lizard Master on Thu Sep 16 2021 09:51 am

> There are some Great IDE's around for writing stuff on Windows then
> transfering it to Emu/Real Machine.
>
> ie CBM Prg Studio etc.

Thanks! I ran across this and was freaking floored. Especially because even though it's been 25 years since I've programmed in Pascal I miss it. So I think we are going to have some fun - https://lemonspawn.com/turbo-rascal-syntax-error-expected-but-begin/

---TLM

---
■ Synchronet ■ Nite Eyes BBS - To make people happy about my tagline everywhere...

-=> Nightfox wrote to Geo <=-

Ni> I like retro computer stuff as well. For a while now, I've been
Ni> watching Clint Basinger's LGR videos on YouTube - His LGR videos are
Ni> all about retro computers and the hardware and software from the 80s
Ni> and 90s. It takes me back to those days.. He has some cool retro
Ni> computer setups. I feel like I don't really want to invest too much
Ni> time and money collecting retro stuff, but I enjoy watching his videos.
Ni> His enthusiasm for retro computers is pretty much what I felt for
Ni> computer technology growing up in the 80s and 90s.

Helps he's very funny while he does it - I love those videos. Extremely
jealous of the freebies he receives...

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-=> Nightfox wrote to Mr Ned <=-

MN> It would be worth hooking the SNES up to an original CRT TV. There is an
MN> experience you get with the old TVs that modern PC screens struggle to
MN> emulate. RetroRGB is a pretty good site looking at how to get the best
MN> signal from consoles if you want to look into stuff like that - enjoy!

Ni> I enjoyed console games back in the day, but I can't really think of
Ni> anything I miss about playing the games on a CRT vs. newer screens. I
Ni> might give it a try again some time.

In any case there's plenty of quality games on SNES which hold up today, more
than the Genesis/Mega Drive I think.

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Re: Retro gaming
By: The Lizard Master to Geo on Thu Sep 16 2021 09:11:58

Hiya

> Thanks! I ran across this and was freaking floored. Especially because even though it's been 25 years since I've programmed in
> Pascal I miss it. So I think we are going to have some fun -
> https://lemonspawn.com/turbo-rascal-syntax-error-expected-but-begin/

Yeah thats a great one too. I was also doing Pascal back in my UNI days. So TRSEEBB is a great system. 8-)

---
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Re: Re: Retro gaming
By: Mr Ned to Nightfox on Thu Sep 16 2021 11:10 pm

MN> In any case there's plenty of quality games on SNES which hold up today,
MN> more than the Genesis/Mega Drive I think.

So it seems. I've also read that hardware-wise, the only real advantage the Genesis had over the SNES was a higher CPU clock speed. Otherwise, the SNES had better technical specs in other areas.

One thing I think was interesting about cartridge-based consoles was that cartridges allowed game developers to include additional processor chips inside their game cartridges if they wanted. I heard Starfox had a processor chip in its cartridge that was some sort of graphics processor, which helped with the 3D graphics in the game. I think I heard F-Zero used it too.

Nightfox

---
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