#31
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__________________
EQ Emulator population tracker - https://unixgeek.com/eqemu.html
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#32
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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.
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#33
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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..
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#34
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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Gamestorm service in 1998, (up to Air Warrior III by then, with some basic 3D rendering patched on top of the rather outdated graphic engine).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..
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#35
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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.
__________________
EQ Emulator population tracker - https://unixgeek.com/eqemu.html
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#36
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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. Danth | ||
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#37
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__________________
EQ Emulator population tracker - https://unixgeek.com/eqemu.html
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#38
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__________________
The Ancient Ranger
Awake again. | |||
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#39
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#40
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