johnhuck wrote:So what was that one with the dwarves throwing axes at you and the twisty passages all the same.  I remember playing that using one of those old-fashioned modems that the telephone headset slots into at my sisters house in the mid 70s.  Great fun (at the time).  Can anyone point me at an emulator.  Would love to try it out again and see if it stands the test of time.

Was it Adventure aka ADVENT aka Colossal Cave? I believe it was a forerunner of Zork.

There's a whole web page dedicated to its history here:
http://www.rickadams.org/adventure/

There used to be a place you could play it on the web but I can't find the site quickly...if you search around that website you might find it. They've also got all sorts of downloads of different versions of the game. There's even a walk-through if you can't be bothered playing the whole thing.

I first played Adventure back in the early 80s on a computer without a monitor. Everything typed was printed out on a printer.

Deadlord39 wrote:Matt, what did you think of EverCrack? I was tempted to play it but I was told it was anime.

Definitley not anime, The graphics at the time were great but are pretty bad compared say with EQ II or Stormreach ( they are upgrading zones but the game is in it's last cycle of life ).

The main reason I stopped my WoW account in beta was because I felt there was to much of a "cartoonish" feel to the characters ( My opinion but shared by the other 6 RL friends I play EQ with ).

I can say the term "ever-crack" was true to name. It really did bring the whole experience ( visually ) of everything I imagined it D&D to life ( loosely used term for lack of better ). That first person view can't be beat ( I can't even play 3rd person games now I'm such a 1st person view snobb ) When the game was young we ( my 6 buddies, who btw all are in my D&D group ) would spend all night travelling to get to the other side of the world taking boats was a thrill...we were addicted . Then of course they "dumbed" it down and made it a 2 minute task to tgo anywhere

when EQ came out ( and for the next few years till the thrill was waning ) we would spend the first hour or two of our gaming nights talking about what happened the previous week in EQ and what we saw, it was just that exciting. Now of course combat. etc. was not D&D but it was still thrilling none the less and because we used ether our phones or Roger Wilco we could all be talking while playing which was fun.

Overall it was one of the best games I ever played and still do from time to time. Of course that "innocent" feel I had when I first played the game is gone and didn't seem to come back with anything else I have tried to date

EQ II is fun, but like most of the other companies they have dumbed it down to be more appealing to the "X-Box" generation. I'm looking forward to Vanguard ( from the original creator of EQ ) but I would assume that the current trend of making these games so easy your dog could play will continue. You can pick up EQ cheap if you wanted to try it, get something like "platnium" or "gold" as it will have the first few expansions ( latest it titanium but why bother ). Just make sure you have the expansions through veliuos ( 3rd expansion ) as that was the new character models.

As an EQ/EQ2 playerlike Lordan, I can agree with his comments.

If you've never tried them, the thrill of the game and the sence of discovery is quite exciting.  It can be rather addictive.  I think my favortie time was when my buddies made a dwarf guild (group of friends) and a coresponding guild of ogres and then had the two groups declare a guild war on each other.  The RP aspect was great.

There are folks out there that want to be the most powerful whatever and rush through it all, but I've always enjoyed alot of the lower level stuff.  Just like in the OD&D and 1E AD&D days, some of the best adventures were the lower level ones.  

Anyway, I also didn't like WoW because it was a cartoon.  EQ2 is fun but I don't have the same sense of awe and wonder I did back in the early EQ days.  Thinking about trying DDO if for no other reason than to see if it has some of that awe and wonder.

Been playing MMRPGs for years and, having played DaoC, WoW and EQ2, I'm sad to report that D&D online is really not very good at all. I'm gutted I was really hoping for something special for a game that, in alot of ways, started the whole genre. Not going to bother to post the reasons why (altho if people really want to know I can give you a run-down on why it sucks so mightily!).

I've never known any pen and paper roleplayer abandon his real-life game to play one online and nor do I ever expect to. It's my rather jaded (and self-righteous!) opinion that if you'd rather play with a bunch of people who you've never met than meet up some with buddies for a drink, something nice to eat and some damn good fun than you were never a real player in truest sense in the first place. Just my 2 cents/2 pence/2 cp. Feel free to disagree with me I'm a disagreeable sort of person at times!

Xaxaxe wrote:That's a long, long way from the days of pizza and Mountain Dew at mom's dining room table with four or five of your buddies ...

Oh, good lord, now I've quoted myself twice in the last five minutes. Could I be a bigger loser?*

I just wanted to clarify this one sentence, as it makes it sound as if I'm very enthusiastic about the direction that D&D Online is taking with the game we all know and love.

I'm actually not making a judgment either way, good or bad. I was trying to say that the actual forms of playing — dining room table in 1980, online with strangers in 2006 — are almost polar opposites. So by "long, long way," I'm actually talking about distance. Or something.

+++++

* Chandler Bing voice

One thing I would like to point out is that with the online games most people do not play with complete strangers.  Most of the time you play with people you have come to know and trust.  They may not live around the block from you, but online that doesn't prevent them from setting out on a mission together.  I personally would rather go do something solo than mix it up with a group of folks I totally don't know.  However, I will caveat that with the point that from time to time I do meet new people and go do things with them even though we haven't been buddies for a long time.

I like what the online world can do in that realm.  Growing up I lived way out in the country.  I often tried to play D&D with me being both DM and players.  Yeah I know, kind of lame.  But it was that or nothing.

The thing I really miss in the online is the DM.  The storyline can be automated and the mechanics of fighting an orc can be automated.  However, when you want to do something inventive or if you need a little guidance, or (heaven forbid) there is an error in the material, there's no one there to smooth things out.  If a little zest needs to be added, there's no one there.  If things need to be toned down or beefed up to make it more exciting, there's no one there.  I miss the DM when online.

That in my mind is the huge swing from old school gaming.

Are you allowed to give and receive items with other people?

Titan Games Owner wrote:I remember the first Pool of Radiance, too, and loved it.  I actaully STILL play it time to time, on this computer (yes, the original POR, not the new one).

I do plan to play D&D Online.  And, have been waiting for years to do so.  Never played EQ or any other MMORPG as yet - cause I want it to feel new and fresh.

I, too, wish it were Greyhawk, or even Forgotten Realms, but I will play the new, 3.5 based, Eberron thing, just to see what it's like.  I hope it's good, but have nothing to compare it against, as I have not gamed online, ever.  (though I played a lot of Civ of the years, on my computer).

Do you think this launch is a precursor to, perhaps, Greyhawk Online?  (I sure hope so!!)

If D&D online is the first MMORPG you've played then it has loads to offer. Al of my resevrvations are due to the fact there are parts of other games that *should* have been implemented imho. If you're not used to those features in MMORPGs then you'll never miss them! Go ahead and enjoy

For my money you can't beat Dark age of Camelot as the player vs. player element is, with a few minor class imbalance issues, the best implemented system in an MMORPG thanks in no small part to major battles frequently being three sided affairs!

Deadlord39 wrote:Are you allowed to give and receive items with other people?

do you mean in online games like EQ ? yes, unless they have some designation ( In EQ it's called "no drop" ) .