20 years old

[NJK]

http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/game_EU.php

one of the first shooter games.

you can play it for free on the website.

[prestigemusic]

why they don't let me try the site before the want me to sight in

[fc*uk]

damn. This thread makes me feel old. I remember being so excited to finally play that when it was originally released...

[Tuggummi]

So I was 10 years old when it first came? Surprisingly that sounds about right in my memory.

[Singomat]

Huh, it brings back memories...
And Wolfie fit one floppy back then

[turgenjev1]

Legendary game!

[Aminifu]

20 years? Castle Wolfenstein was released in 1981.

Which version do you like best? Return to Castle Wolfenstein was my fav.

That link doesn't work for me, I get a 404 code page. It's only been a year and a half.

[rockouthippie]

I look at some of these legacy games and think "How did I ever find this cool?" In those days I was using an Atari 800 (still have it) and later an Atari ST and Amiga. In those days, the 680?? Motorola chips whooped ass on Windows machines. Man, Windows 3.1 sucked. Then the first decent Win OS (Win 95 OSR2) and Pentium class machines changed the whole ball game.

So if I go out in the garage and plug in a Asteroids cart, it's nostalgic ... but really? Castle Wolfenstein? That might hold my attention for 10 seconds. Old video games (even Starcraft 1) cmon' really? How did we ever think that was fun? Legend of Zelda might hold up... maybe... if you were really, really, really bored.

This stuff is interesting for nostalgia, but give me modern toys. I'm jealous of the kids. Toys of all kinds are better and more fun than they ever were. And in adjusted dollars a lot cheaper too,

Machines that couldn't even play an MP3 without choking? Really? No thanks.

[Aminifu]

Old video games (even Starcraft 1) cmon' really? How did we ever think that was fun?.

Because it was fun and the only thing we had. Hell, I spent hours playing Pong, before there was anything else.

The new stuff is great and no comparison, but what's wrong with nostalgia? I think you need to try harder to rediscover the kid in you. He's still there, only deeply buried. It's fun to journey back for a few hours every now and again.

[rockouthippie]

It's fun to journey back for a few hours every now and again.

I think it's looking at nostalgia with rose colored glasses. It's 2013 and 30 year old video games might just remind me I'm an antique too if I needed any reminding. My back is reminding me this morning as usual as I pop a Centrum Silver, 2 ibuprofen and wash it down with a cup of herbal tea.

I think sometimes nostalgia sucks. You had to live through it to get there. I would have a hard time painting a lot of that rosy. The sound sucked. The video sucked. The controllers sucked. Go all the way back and I used to find playing lunar lander on a TTY semi-interesting.

Now, just give me Starcraft II. If I was gonna reminisce, I think I'd have to start with the SNES. Maybe Kirby on a Gameboy? Starfox and Zombies ate My Neighbors for SNES? Legend of Zelda on an Atari or C64? Duke Nukem? But really dude... modern video games are hella cool. I don't feel that nostalgic.

I also used to be able to roll a Centipede arcade machine for as many credits as anyone wanted. The same with Battlezone. Same with Galaga and Galaxian. Not feeling the need in 2013. Own a game. Move on.

Now if you could find me a 1978 Gottlieb Sinbad pinball machine.... we might be talking....

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2159

There were pinball machines. This one was the shit. There were fancier contemporaries but I always had a fondness for this one. It was one of the first electronic scored machines, but a throwback to the charm of mechanical machines. No sloppy bumpers. The flipper solenoids were so strong it'd damn near break the glass. Pride in workmanship......

Reminding me. Black Hole 1981. Another one of my favorites. Black Hole wasn't as well constructed. Very cool if you could find a machine that wasn't neglected. Most were.

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=307

[Aminifu]

I think it's looking at nostalgia with rose colored glasses. It's 2013 and 30 year old video games might just remind me I'm an antique too if I needed any reminding. My back is reminding me this morning as usual as I pop a Centrum Silver, 2 ibuprofen and wash it down with a cup of herbal tea.

I think sometimes nostalgia sucks. You had to live through it to get there. I would have a hard time painting a lot of that rosy. The sound sucked. The video sucked. The controllers sucked. Go all the way back and I used to find playing lunar lander on a TTY semi-interesting.

I completely understand what you're saying (my back is acting up today, too). Bad memories are just that and nothing will change them.

But everything wasn't bad. There was fun, now and then. Revisiting those fun times, is still fun (even if it only lasts for a little while). Comparing then and now while playing an old game, spoils it. It all depends on how you chose to look at things, but I agree it's not healthy to deny reality for too long or too often. Fortunately, my wife won't let me do that, she keeps me well grounded in the here and now.

TBH, the skills needed for some of the new stuff frustrates me at times.

[rockouthippie]

But everything wasn't bad.

I think my life did a pretty good job of busting me up. Reality? It's been real. A little too real.

[Aminifu]

You misunderstand, I'm talking about the reality that the new toys are so much better than the ancient that there is no comparison. But I maintain that the old ones were fun in their day.

There's nothing wrong with looking back, just don't go back to what was bad or not working. Embracing one's past lets the present be understood and the future be charted. I believe we all have a role in what happens to us. A major or minor one, but there are always choices. When we later resent or regret a choice made, we need to accept it and try to understand why it was made, after-all it can't be changed so why distress over it. There's always the possibility that the next choice may turn out better, but there are no guarantees in life.

There's life until there isn't and it is what you make it. Make new friends and try to keep the old. Be willing to accept others for who they are and not what you want them to be. If things get to be more than you want to deal with, just walk away. The only person you can control is yourself. No one (especially family) can truly upset me for long, unless I let them.

Anyway, that's how I'm trying to live my life, be it right or wrong. Now I'm usually content and have learned how to let anger and disappointments fade. Each new day is a new day and I now try to start them with a smile (most of the time I do).

[rockouthippie]

I'm finding myself doing a hell of a lot of walking away.

For video games from the 80's. Joust was good jokes. The Ultima series. Falcon. I mostly used Atari's 400/800/ST. PC's were kind of weak compared to the Motorola 6502/680X0 machines like the Amiga and the ST. PC's contemporary to the A400 were still running DOS. No real sound chip. No midi port. No player missile graphics chips. The TRS-80 was in there somewhere. The OS was even better on Commodore and Atari machines. Especially the Amiga. It was hands above DOS or Windows 3.1. Windows 3.1 sucked compared to AmigaDos. Windows 3.1 crashed way too much and those multicore Motorola processors were way faster. It would actually multitask and not crash.

Until we get to chips like the DX4/75 and early Pentiums circa 1993-95? I think Win95/OSR2 was really the first Windows I respected.

[Aminifu]

Sounds like you're doing a hell of a lot of walking back. This is what I meant about choices. Sometimes they are hard. Why associate with people you don't approve of and try to deal with all the BS? Because they're family doesn't grant them a special license. If you get along with your brother and sister, you can see them without their mates being present. If not, you can love and wish them well from a distance. It's their life and you can't do anything about their choices.

You can't pick your relatives and you don't have to put up with their BS. If they don't like it and turn away from you, so what. What are you losing? What's important, your peace of mind or theirs? If that's being selfish, then I'm selfish.

People change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not. You need to deal with them for who they are, not what they used to be or what they may become. Don't try to ignore or overlook what you truly can't. Walk away or run. If circumstances change you can always reconnect.

I've had to walk away from some family and former friends. It only hurt for a little while. I've been able to reconnect with a few. I found other people I liked being around (with their faults) and who liked being around me (with my faults). But it began with me. I had to put misery, bad times, and bad associations behind me. I had to be honest with myself. I had to accept my good and bad, my strengths and weaknesses. Some of my bad I've tried to work on and some of it I've owned. It's me, what the hell, I'm no saint, nobody is.

I deserve to enjoy the rest of my life, you deserve to enjoy yours. I sometimes think about what if, but I don't dwell on it. I have some guilt over some of my choices, but for the most part my conscience is clear. Thanksgiving is both the happiest and saddest holiday for me.