RIP Jack Tramiel
Father of the Commodore 64
I have fond memories of the 64. I still think one of the best games I ever played was Autoduel.
I have fond memories of the 64. I still think one of the best games I ever played was Autoduel.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
In the 9th grade, 1985, I was the only kid in school writing papers on a computer. A C64 using the GEOS word processor, and inserting images (bio diagrams and shit) that I made in the GEOS art program. Of course this means I also had the 5.25 inch floppy drive, and the dot matrix printer.
The C64 was truly ahead of its time. I still have my old one out in the garage. Last tried to turn it on about 10 years ago... failed. I read that they had a lot of badly soldered components that couldn't last long.
The C64 was truly ahead of its time. I still have my old one out in the garage. Last tried to turn it on about 10 years ago... failed. I read that they had a lot of badly soldered components that couldn't last long.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I only had the one hard drive as well.
I am amazed that nobody has remade M.U.L.E. yet.
I actually had graph paper to draw out dungeons for Bard's Tale.
Impossible Mission was pretty cool as well. Let's not forget the little known titles of Wasteland (Fallout's dad) and the Ultima series.
I used to spend a lot of time on BBSs back then. One of my best friend's dad was Agent Orange. If you ever played any pirated games back then and saw that code name, that game went through this area.
I am amazed that nobody has remade M.U.L.E. yet.
I actually had graph paper to draw out dungeons for Bard's Tale.
Impossible Mission was pretty cool as well. Let's not forget the little known titles of Wasteland (Fallout's dad) and the Ultima series.
I used to spend a lot of time on BBSs back then. One of my best friend's dad was Agent Orange. If you ever played any pirated games back then and saw that code name, that game went through this area.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
I tried playing Bard's Tale 2, but Disk 2 had a glitch and when I entered one of the dungeons it would error, and I couldn't finish the game. Took it back to Sears(!), told them there was a bad disk, and was disappointed when I saw the box stapled shut and back on the shelf.
I graph-paper-mapped all the dungeons in Ultima III. I was pretty pleased with myself the first time I figured out what the ocean whirlpool did, and I had notes taped onto the cloth map that had the settings for every moongate, so I could use them efficiently.
That is how I got through my first breakup at the age of 16... Ultima III and Legacy of the Ancients on the C64.
I graph-paper-mapped all the dungeons in Ultima III. I was pretty pleased with myself the first time I figured out what the ocean whirlpool did, and I had notes taped onto the cloth map that had the settings for every moongate, so I could use them efficiently.
That is how I got through my first breakup at the age of 16... Ultima III and Legacy of the Ancients on the C64.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Oh yeah, Ultima series. SPY VS SPY! That was cool multiplayer.
I had graph paper for Bard's Tale too. My brother, friend, and I would stay up all night trying to beat it. We spent one entire weekend beating one version (can't remember which, either 2 or 3). There was one particularly challenging place I still remember, where you would warp around the maze, but could never use torches, so had to navigate by recording where warped to where and figuring out the map to get there without seeing.
I had graph paper for Bard's Tale too. My brother, friend, and I would stay up all night trying to beat it. We spent one entire weekend beating one version (can't remember which, either 2 or 3). There was one particularly challenging place I still remember, where you would warp around the maze, but could never use torches, so had to navigate by recording where warped to where and figuring out the map to get there without seeing.
It's not me, it's someone else.
YEP.TheCatt wrote: There was one particularly challenging place I still remember, where you would warp around the maze, but could never use torches, so had to navigate by recording where warped to where and figuring out the map to get there without seeing.
There were spinners and you could not keep track of the direction in which you were traveling. Pretty fucked up.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Wow, this is a lot of sudden nostalgia. My third computer was a C128, and I as well was the only kid in my school turning in reports written on a word processor. I remember that nasty little thermal printer I had. Looking back on it now, I can't believe my teachers accepted that stuff.
It may have been a C128, but I never used it in CPM mode. It was always in C64 mode. Of course I had a 1541 drive, and a shoebox full of hacked games. Bard's Tale, Impossible Mission, Summer Games, Strip Poker, Elite, M.U.L.E., Montezuma's Revenge, etc etc etc. This was also the computer I stated to learn to hack code on. I remember digging into the code of all my favorite games, figuring out how parts of it worked, and messing with it to see what would happen. I also remember figuring out how to make the drive hum Mary Had a Little Lamb, and setting up one of the Commodore Pets with a killer poke trap for my much-hated computer teacher.
By far the best computer of it's time, and it did a lot to shape many a childhood. I never heard of Jack Tramiel before today, but he had more to do with my formative years than many of my own family. RIP indeed.
It may have been a C128, but I never used it in CPM mode. It was always in C64 mode. Of course I had a 1541 drive, and a shoebox full of hacked games. Bard's Tale, Impossible Mission, Summer Games, Strip Poker, Elite, M.U.L.E., Montezuma's Revenge, etc etc etc. This was also the computer I stated to learn to hack code on. I remember digging into the code of all my favorite games, figuring out how parts of it worked, and messing with it to see what would happen. I also remember figuring out how to make the drive hum Mary Had a Little Lamb, and setting up one of the Commodore Pets with a killer poke trap for my much-hated computer teacher.
By far the best computer of it's time, and it did a lot to shape many a childhood. I never heard of Jack Tramiel before today, but he had more to do with my formative years than many of my own family. RIP indeed.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
I remember discovering the magic of font size around 6th grade, although that may have been on my dad's PC. I also remember a classmate saying "Hey! you put fewer words on that page than I did!" The magic of page-length essays. I was always mad that girls could get away with 1/2 the words cuz they wrote so big and flowery, and now, I had my own weapon.
Summer Games! Elite! OH god, yes, Elite. I even named myself Ryder in an online game due to that back in the day.
Summer Games! Elite! OH god, yes, Elite. I even named myself Ryder in an online game due to that back in the day.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Boulderdash, Defender of the Crown, Pirates!, Archon, Winter Games, California Games, Pool of Radiance, Little Computer People, Racing Destruction Set, Castle Wolfenstein, and of course everything ever published by Infocom.
I could go on for days, but those are the rest of the big names I remember off the top of my head. I wonder if any of them would still be fun after all this time...
I could go on for days, but those are the rest of the big names I remember off the top of my head. I wonder if any of them would still be fun after all this time...
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
Defender of the Crown... is that the one where you fight over territories in England? You siege castles by first knocking down the walls with catapults and then lobbing in disease and greek fire? Rescuing princesses?TPRJones wrote:Boulderdash, Defender of the Crown, Pirates!, Archon, Winter Games, California Games, Pool of Radiance, Little Computer People, Racing Destruction Set, Castle Wolfenstein, and of course everything ever published by Infocom.
I could go on for days, but those are the rest of the big names I remember off the top of my head. I wonder if any of them would still be fun after all this time...
Was about to mention "Racing Destruction." Spent many hours making my own tracks, and setting gravity to "Lunar."
Yep, played Pool of radiance, and its followup, "Curse of the Azure Bonds."
And speaking of Infocom, I still have "Wishbringer" in the original box, with its little glow-in-the-dark stone.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
There was one particularly challenging place I still remember, where you would warp around the maze, but could never use torches, so had to navigate by recording where warped to where and figuring out the map to get there without seeing.
I remember that too. My favorite character in Bard's Tale was a Monk I had, Amon Ra. He was pretty much the offensive juggernaut for my party, and was bare handed.
Defender of the Crown and Pirates were classics. Both were also remade.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell