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  #31  
Old 01-29-2020, 07:15 AM
Frug Frug is offline
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Originally Posted by mcoy [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Odd - I found the name from that Wiki article when I searched for "ww2 flight sim aol":

Kesmai also did business deals to provide access to Air Warrior through additional on-line services, including Delphi, CRIS, CompuServe, America Online, Earthlink, Gamestorm and CompuLink. A version of Air Warrior for Windows was ported back to the Macintosh in 1997 in an Internet open beta, and then later moved to America Online.

Of course it could have been something else, but it definitely reminds me of it. I mostly did bombing runs though because the concept of working different positions in the aircraft with other people was fascinating to me.

There's a game called HMS Marulken (that now is called Wolfpack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil.../?id=501529353 ) that has a similar mechanic.

-Mcoy
I think there were later versions that may have been on AOL, but the original (and I think what the youtube shows) was GEnie.
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  #32  
Old 01-30-2020, 12:03 AM
Siege Siege is offline
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I still have the charter for a Troll-only RP guild that I joined in phase 4 beta. I'll have to dig it up and post it here.
  #33  
Old 01-30-2020, 01:38 AM
ScottBerta ScottBerta is offline
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So many great places to exp in p99 on every continent across all level ranges. Every time I
make a new alt (after previous one hits 60) I focus on a new continent and try to go to several new zones. So much fun and adventure to be had!
Last edited by ScottBerta; 01-30-2020 at 01:40 AM..
  #34  
Old 01-30-2020, 03:03 AM
Danth Danth is offline
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Originally Posted by Frug [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
I think there were later versions that may have been on AOL, but the original (and I think what the youtube shows) was GEnie.
Air Warrior was so far ahead of its time that it's destined to be forgotten. It was and remains my favorite computer game of all time. That was the game I would have made if I was going to make a video game. I remember when I found it I felt like it had been sucked out of my dreams, much as how a lot of folks on this board probably feel about EQ.

All of the early versions of Air Warrior were offered through GENIE insofar as I know. This includes the early mac version and amiga version, as well as early DOS versions. I started dabbling with it in 1994, by which time it had already been around awhile. I believe Air Warrior was the first graphical/realtime online multiplayer game, dating back to October 1987. 6 bucks an hour on top of long distance dialup fees (in 1980's money!) severely limited its popularity even among the tiny proportion of computer owners who had modems at all in those days. During its early years it was more or less cutting edge in terms of realism and flight modeling.

GENIE finally died its much-overdue death during the mid 90's IIRC. From about 1996-1998 or so Kesmai had a deal with AOL to offer the Windows version of Air Warrior (aka Air Warrior for Windows, based on the DOS version). This was somewhat strange because Air Warrior II was already out around that time but was barely or never offered on AOL as I recall. Kesmai went back to hosting Air Warrior more or less directly on its Gamestorm service in 1998, (up to Air Warrior III by then, with some basic 3D rendering patched on top of the rather outdated graphic engine). It peaked at something over 20,000 subscribers around 1999, but the end came surprisingly swiftly--it (and its studio) was bought by EA and promptly shut down, closing for good in late 2001. That unfortunate fate has been shared by entirely too many games and studios over the years. I haven't spent a dime on an EA product since. Screw 'em.

WW2 air combat is awesome. No artificial math mucking up combat: no levels, no gear, no timesink-based gating. Just you and the other guy(s). If you're good, you can engage 3 vs 1, 5 vs 1, even 10 vs 1 and expect to win. If you're bad, you're cannon fodder, no low-level helpless opponents to beat up on--as it should be. It's about the only defunct PC game I genuinely miss. There is no equal replacement. I never liked its in-era competitors quite as well for one reason or another. Insofar as I've seen the modern WW2 air combat games (and I've tried most of them) tend to be arcade-mode trash, in a (to be fair, largely successful) effort to bring in the mediocre majority that the more serious simulators couldn't keep due to their difficulty. They're very pretty but severely dumbed down and sometimes add disgusting features like time/currency-gated equipment. Yuck!

As an aside, circa 1999-2000 I remember chatting with some Kesmai programmers on usenet boards and on numerous occasions they complained about not getting work done to to them playing too much Everquest. Hah!

Danth
Last edited by Danth; 01-30-2020 at 03:05 AM..
  #35  
Old 01-30-2020, 08:07 AM
Frug Frug is offline
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Thanks Danth, I enjoyed reading that. And agree completely (although I do also miss the X-Wing and TIE fighter games, as well as Air Warrior.) Totally remember the $6/hour charges, although I was lucky enough to have a local POP to dial in to.

As I mentioned, I played on the original Mac with the 9" b/w screen. I guess I was lucky enough to have a screaming 1200 baud modem (eventually moved up the speeds to v.32!), but I'm older than most here so probably had a paying income before a lot of people during that time.
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  #36  
Old 01-30-2020, 10:57 AM
Danth Danth is offline
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6 bucks an hour for B&W wireframe graphics that ran at questionable framerates was something of an acquired taste. By the time I got into it in '94 we had the luxury of VGA graphics. Think most of the old hands called us "dos dweebs" or other less savory terms. Due to the fees I never played much until about 1996.

I keep the early 90's AW-Manual.pdf on my computer so I can read through it once in awhile for nostalgia's sake.

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  #37  
Old 01-31-2020, 12:13 PM
Frug Frug is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
6 bucks an hour for B&W wireframe graphics that ran at questionable framerates was something of an acquired taste.
It's all we had at the time; we didn't know any better. And FOR the time, it was pretty damned good.
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  #38  
Old 02-01-2020, 10:14 AM
fadetree fadetree is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Air Warrior was so far ahead of its time that it's destined to be forgotten. It was and remains my favorite computer game of all time. That was the game I would have made if I was going to make a video game. I remember when I found it I felt like it had been sucked out of my dreams, much as how a lot of folks on this board probably feel about EQ.

All of the early versions of Air Warrior were offered through GENIE insofar as I know.

Danth
Oh MAN, I remember GENIE. I was into that hard for that Gemstone III game, the rpg text adventure with hundreds of people playing. That ate my life, it sounds like I had the same reaction to it that you had to Air Warrior. I especially remember a $600 phone bill and my wife's reaction.
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  #39  
Old 02-01-2020, 10:54 AM
Christina. Christina. is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanuvan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go
That's how everquest is suppose to be, the problem is everyone on p99 is old irl and don't want to spend the time roleplaying. I roleplay myself I like the nostalgic feeling
  #40  
Old 02-01-2020, 11:09 AM
Christina. Christina. is offline
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Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
Part of the reason it's impossible to recreate classic 1999 gameplay is that the server is not populated with people living in the year 1999. Back then simply interacting with a stranger in a 3D virtual world was a completely novel and exciting experience in and of itself. The internet was still not quite mainstream and most people had never conceived of anything like EQ. So simply navigating your character through Norrath and encountering other real people you could interact with was extremely exciting and engaging. The vast majority of players were not powergaming and lusting after pixels. They were just stoked to explore the world, level their character and meet other cool players along the way.
This Exactly.
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