Be Excellent To Each Other

Anyone else on the closed beta for GoG here? I just managed to stumble in at the last moment, and it's exactly the kind of thing I like to see. A hand-picked selection of downloadable classic PC stuff, no DRM, yours to download as much as you want and backup whatever way you like, and at two price points - three quid and a fiver(ish). Even the tiny initial selection includes such absolute gems as the Fallout series, Freespace series, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Die By The Sword, Hostile Waters, Shogo, Kingpin, Soldiers: Heroes of WW2 and Sacrifice, and all of those (except Soldiers) are in the cheapie section. They even throw in extra gubbins like wallpapers, original soundtracks and manuals. I'm extremely impressed, frankly.

Anyway, there's another point to all this rambling - all us beta types get a single friend invite, and I thought I'd give it to whichever bezzie likes the sound of all this and is likely to put it to good use

I got emailed two codes, if anyone fancies one.

To add to this, lots of nice extras like downloadable manuals, soundtracks, wallpaper etc.

Descent 1 and 2 are 3 quid TOTAL.

Wouldn't say no.

Ooh, yes please.

I'll take one.

Did I mention my Xbox broke?

Okay, PMs sent to Myoptika and Craig (as it turns out I had a second spare lying around).

I'm also on there. Just about to experience Fallout 2 for the first time ever.

<edit> gah typed the code in here. It's meant for Mimi's Craig. </edit>

I signed up a while back, but I'm too skint at the moment to enjoy it. If the pass they sent is transferable I'm happy to loan it to someone. I'm not entirely sure how it works, to tell you the truth.

I already sent him one over. I think there's just Craig G short of one now.

These Craigs don't half confuse matters

This is harder than it should be

I'm surprised that no one has done this before ( or if they have, done it properly as I can't think of anywhere straight off ). There must be vast amounts of games sitting about earning zero cash for their publishers / developers. Sticking them on here for a couple of quid seems the obvious way to earn a few more bucks from old titles. People playing Fallout 2 for 3 pounds can't hurt sales of Fallout 3 either.

Any of those fancy beta codes left? Anyone?

Me also would like one, if there's one going - or an idiot's guide as to how to get hold of one...

This sounds ace! I hope the firm can stay in business though. Making some of these games Vista compatible can't come cheap, and adding on support, billing, and hosting charges on top feels like there may not be much profit margin some of the games. Nevertheless, I'll presume they've done their sums. I hope it works.

This is ace as there's games on there which may actually stand a chance of working on my old, old PC!!

Now... how to sign up?!?!?

It's reasonably cheap to stick a copy of Dosbox in a folder and write a quick config file.

It can be time consuming, though. It was trouble enough getting Falcon 3 to work on the 386 it was designed for, let alone a Vista machine.

Depends how much QA they are prepared to go through for their "works on Vista" promises.

Well I popped my email address in on their site yesterday and I've just had the code through so if there's no invites going spare, you should be able to sign up anyway for the moment.

Yeah, I've just got one having signed up a couple of hours ago.

Ooh they take Paypal too.. very handy.

After some deliberation, I went for Fallout 2 as it looks like Laser Squad with knobs on. I think it'll either be a case of starting that or Diablo II tonight - only found out yesterday that the latest patch for that stops the requirement for the CD to be in the drive, which is nice.

You can't play Diablo 2 without me, it is illegal and against the laws of our friendhip!!!

I'm sure you've said you're too busy

If anyone still wants a code, I have one going spare.

Man, Hostile Waters is class. It never really clicked with me before, but this time I got completely drawn in. I mean, it's an evolution of Carrier Command, scripted by Warren Ellis, voiced by people like Tom Baker, Paul Darrow and Glynis Barber*, what's not to like? Wonderful stuff.




* ask Chinny if you're at a loss.

Fallout 2 seems pretty good so far though I'm just getting to grips with it as I've not played any of them before. The GOG installer is very painless too - I can see me buying more from them soon.

I think we need a RMD list for GoG...

I think Fallout 2 might be my first purchase on there, too.

I might get Sacrifice. I've always wanted to try it.

*gets out Fallout 1 & 2 CDs*

Was Fallout Tactics actually any good, as that's the only one I never played?

i'm so disappointed i've played both fallout's to death. I wish i could erase them from my memory so i can play them again

It was good bordering on okay. It's not an RPG at all. It's just a series of missions in which you do tactical shootery and collect booty, and then trade said booty in at your Brotherhood of Steel base. The combat has a slightly less good "feel" to it than Fallout 2, but is still good.

One bonus is the multiplayer mode - obviously no one on the whole internet is playing it anymore, and the Gamespy room for it is always empty. However, I want to play MP, and Squirt has said he may be interested as well.

didn't liked fallout tactics. yet i loved fallout combat and also love tbs squad-games. I can't really point out why

I think I might grab a copy and have a play with it. I'm assuming as there's no DRM it'll play in WINE, but if not I still have XP installed anyway. That it's so old it'll probably play in the virtual machine anyway.

I'm fairly sure I have this on CD in my attic, never played. Was a pack-in bundle copy with, umm, something. A graphics card maybe. I'll look for it on the weekend and if it's any use you can have it.

To be honest, I'm fairly sure I have the CD shrink-wrapped in a box somewhere, too, which I could probably dig out if I wasn't so damned lazy, but thanks very much for the offer.

I'll take it!

I've still got a Steam copy of HL2:Ep1 to give away, if anyone wants it.

I have a Steam Guest Pass for Team Fortress 2 as well, although it only grants you temporary access to the game.

This looks really good! Hopefully they will accept me, if not I shall have to wait until it is fully released. Any ideas how long that would take?



If my PC can run HL2, will it be able to run this? If so, I would be most grateful. (How would this work, I presume you would need my Steam ID?)

Can't see it being a problem - I imagine it's more-the-merrier while staying in control of bandwidth.

For those who haven't registered yet and want a code, here's a spare -
S2WG72YA to use with this url. If you use it, please post to say so to save others wasting their time.

Here's a quick one, based on what I've played.

INTERPLAY STUFF

Die By The Sword - Hilarious hack and slash that plays out like Python's 'Black Knight' scene extended over several hours. Uses a fairly unique control system where your mouse (or keypad/joystick) controls the hero's sword arm independently. In theory it allows for limitless analogue movement. In practice, you dash around drunkenly flailing your arm all over the show while trying not to fall arse-over-tit into a lava pit/big spinny blade thing. Rubbish quest mode, but a fantastic 'Arena' deathmatch mode against the AI. It'd be damn near essential if the multiplayer wasn't a complete pain in the arse to set up. As is, it's a unique little curiosity that you'll love or hate.

Earthworm Jim 3d - Rubbish attempt to bring Jim into the third dimension. Avoid like the plague.

Fallouts 1 & 2 - Fantastic post-apoc RPGs. Both start out fairly crappily (especially the fucking awful bit at the start of the second one), but open up into something very special indeed. Some excellent turn-based tactical combat action too. There's a good reason everyone's snapping these up, and it's not just sequel frenzy.

Fallout Tactics - A FO spinoff focusing on the excellent tactical combat. Except this time it's a bit less excellent and a bit more dull. I put countless hours into this at the time, but it leaves a very hollow feeling after, like there just wasn't much enjoyment to be had in there. It's not a total loss, but still, could have been far, far better. If you must have more turn-based action, get JA instead.

Freespace 1 & 2 - Very much the definitive space combat shooter, only improved upon by its even more tremendous sequel. If you're at all this way inclined, buy it immediately. The second also has a plethora of flashy mods bringing it up to modern day high-detail visual splendour, all of which are supported by this GoG version.

Giants - A Wonderful third-person action adventure (with a dash of RTS) with a very British sense of humour and three very different races to play as. Loved it at the time, and still do to this day. Four words - jetpacking cockney space marines.

Hostile Waters - Or Carrier Command - the next generation. Except better, lots better. I've waffled on about this already, let's just say it's a day one purchase.

Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business - Rock-hard standalone addon pack for what many consider to be the finest example of turn-based strategy around. Personally I think it's dated badly compared to a lot of others, but it seems to have quite the following to this day. Quality then, but people coming to this from something like Silent Storm might find themselves wanting.

Kingpin - Ultra-violent, relentlessly foul-mouthed shooter from the team who would go on to bring you Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Quite good actually.

MDK 1 & 2 - The original's widely loved as a classic bit of third-person action, while the sequel tends to split opinion, but it's certainly got a lot more character. Personally I enjoy both. The first one introduced the 'sniper rifle bit' we've been playing in every shooter ever since, or so it's claimed.

Messiah - Play the part of a fallen cherub who can possess the bodies of anyone in the world. So, a modern take on Paradroid, then. Except it's not nearly as good. A great idea, but it really could have been a lot better.

Redneck Rampage - Vintage shooter courtesy of Duke 3D's build engine. A bit so-so, but entirely worth it at this price for the excellent Psychobilly soundtrack that comes with the first one.

Sacrifice - Another one inspired by a classic, except this time it's an RTS take on speccy Chaos. Everyone raves about this, but I haven't ever given it the time it deserves. Certainly visually lovely, and funny to boot. I'll have to see what all the fuss is about some day soon.

Shogo - Mobile Armour Division - Anime-style Giant Robo-shooter with added on-foot bits from the team who brought you blood, and would go on to bring you No-One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. I've got a real soft spot for this, it's aged as all hell but still has a nice feel to the action.

CODEMASTERS

Haven't played a lot of these, oh well.

Operation Flashpoint - Worryingly realistic war sim with the mission editor to end all others. Excellent multiplayer, dizzying scale and a generous array of mods. It's not out yet, but it's well worth a buy when it hits.

Soldiers - Heroes of WW2 - Another classic, playing like a cross between your typical small squad RTS and Cannon Fodder. Be warned - it's absolutely rock-hard, but rewarding with it.

And there you have it for the first part. True to their name, they really do have a lot of great stuff there. the cheaper Interplay section in particular is well worth exploring most of. And if in doubt, demos for most of them are still widely available around the net, and are tiny downloads to boot.

(EDIT: Paradroid, not Robotron, you tit)

Thanks, MsCheeba. Excellently, I have about half of those already, but I shall definitely be investing in at least some of the rest.

S:HoWW2 is the best thing ever in the world ever. CoH should have just been more of the same.

GOG.com is now in open public beta, for anyone who didn't sign up last time. This also means you can browse the catalog without an account.

Many of those games are so cheap ($5-10) that it would be feasible to buy them for a themed BETEO night, where they support multiplayer.

I've just had a newsletter from these guys. Theyve just added Unreal and Unreal Tournament, and are soon to add Unreal 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004. $10 each.

UT2k4 still holds up really well today, IMO. Perhaps it's time to put it back on my laptop.

UT2004 is nice just for some of the outrageous mods available. Are their any more BEZZIES with it?

I've long since lost my copy, but would definitely be tempted to pick up a fresh one on GoG if we can get a bit of a crowd for an occasional bash. It's aged well as I recall, and should run on most anything.

I have the Unreal Anthology, so yeah, I have it.

I'd be up for some UT2K4 too. I've only played it a little so I'll probably be as rubbish as I am at CS but I'm happy to make up the numbers anyway.