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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 3, 2013 17:01:05 GMT -5
Hey, just thought I would make a clear post about these sprite rips form the GCS: forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=23250I wonder if either of you who own the GCS would be interested in making more complete rips, as yet another way to help the memory of Pie3D live on? Of course, on another topic, I really do not get why a lot of people rag on about the quality of the Lethal Tender/Terminal Terror sprites, as they really are not that much worse than Wolfensiten 3D or Blake Stone. They lacked some shading, but other than that they were fine - and as a matter of truth I like a lot of the NPC ones from TT a lot (as shown also in games like Continuum). It would be unfair to compare them to Doom or Duke Nukem 3D, which were digitized models rather than pixel drawings. And then of course there are these custom sprites for the engine: leileilol.mancubus.net/garyacordsucks/64.246.6.138/_gcsgames.com/GCSenemy/sprites.htm
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 2, 2013 16:14:38 GMT -5
By the way, I tried your download links and they do not appear to work. If you want my suggestion, you should upload your ones to the Internet Archive to finalize their present collection. There is no better web host if saving something for posterity is your intention.
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 22:22:32 GMT -5
There, now I have just finished Operation Area 51 as well. It is a lot more interesting, in many respects, compared to Space Station Escape - mostly because it actually has so many more custom graphics (most notably, the aliens), as well as using more advanced features like stairs and raised surfaces. The flame-thrower is by far the most novel thing in it, though you are given next to no ammo; I also liked the mined building in level one. Still, the level designs are indeed "coherent" and there is actually a decent enough level of difficulty, with level five (of six, in fact) fairly challenging. Good fun.
Continuum is the only game (other than the original Lethal Tender/Terminal Terror) that I would really recommend to a non-hobbyist though.
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 21:56:19 GMT -5
I thought I would join in with the first Pie 3D game I have actually ever finished: Space Station Escape[/u] As I mention above, this game marks my first ever attempt to actually play through an entire (shareware) game made in Pie in the Sky. Ever since getting a dual-core processor, I am finding DosBox much more responsive with a lot of games, and Pie3D is no exception. As such, I am now finding it more than a mere curiosity but actually something with some games I can get into. So, without further ado: Space Station Escape! A release by RBSoft (Roy L. Person Sr.) in 1995, Space Station Escape is a science fiction game wherein the player has face an alien attack of a space station, one of the last bastions of humanity following Earth's recent destruction. The majority of the enemies in the game are either reprogrammed defence systems or cloned humans made by the aliens to compensate for their low birthrate (probably a concession to the human-like guard sprites that came with the editor). The game centres around releasing the ship's imprisoned crew and either disarm the self-destruct sequence or escape in time. The shareware level contains five levels. That is what I wrote about this game on Wikipedia, and how does the game stack up? Fairly well, by Pie in the Sky standards - which can range from somewhat impressive to just plain dumb. The environment is decently decked in the standard science fiction accoutrements of computer screens, flashing light and grey metal walls with transparent glass doors. This is further improved by the game's main alteration to the base stock: various whirs, beeps and other machinery or computery noises. All in all, it adds up to a decent atmosphere. Some music would be appreciated, and indeed the win screen promises "more great music" in the registered version, but alas none play on my copy. There are of course some in-game objects in the form of the excepted table, chairs and lockers. Nothing special, but adequate. What makes this game playable, at least enough for me to invest fifteen minutes or so of my time into it, is the fact that the level designs are fairly straightforward. This is no dreary labyrinth like so many other '90s corridor shooters, Pie3D or not, but a reasonable, planed pattern of hallways and doors weaving out along a central corridor that leads the player from lift to lift. Of course, it is not quite that simple, as the first few levels offer the occasional key-hunt - nothing too taxing, just enough to get you to pay attention. Add in the the occasional firefight, and you have an enjoyable retro shooter experience. In fact, I have only two real problems with this game. Both, really, are one in the same: enemies. As described, most of the enemies are the standard "ninja" guards from Terminal Terror, as is normal for GCS-created games. This is explained as clones created by the aliens, as mentioned above, but that does not address how much better the game would have been with some custom alien sprites - something ala Blake Stone. The other two enemies in the game are attacking hovercraft and, in its most interesting twist, the same guards only driving attack tanks ala the pig cop tanks from Duke Nukem 3D. These serve as the demo's final antagonists, functioning collectively as bosses of sorts. As novel as these are, they do help show what could have been done if more sprite-work was done on this title. Finally, my second problem is that it is all too easy. I already praised the game for having simple level design, but this really needs harder enemies for it to be truly challenging. Health is too plentiful and enemies are too weak. I was never lost by the mazes, which is refreshing, but I was never really imperilled either. All in all, Space Station Escape is a good example of a humble, competent Pie in the Sky experience that will neither leave you struck but its' tremendous flaws, as many GCS games do, nor amazement at its achievements, as the very best do. A strictly average corridor shooter, in no way pushing the engine to its limits (no real features for you to study Mystery) but modestly entertaining - at least enough to get me through five levels. Would I have paid money back in the day for the extra 20? Not a chance, but at least it kept me going for a little while, which in the year 2013 speaks enough in of itself. YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPVpHcpg3TcScreenshots: www.mobygames.com/game/dos/space-station-escape/screenshotsDownload: firstpersonshooters.net/Games/Space_Station_Escape/files/sse15.zipAttachments:
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 16:55:00 GMT -5
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 15:43:00 GMT -5
I really like the vehicles, reminds me of Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior (and, actually, the famous WolfenDoom mod for Wolfenstien 3D). I am assuming when you make an executable the sounds will work? Because go.bat for any Pie3D game leaves me without any sounds. Nice architecture, and if I may ask a general Pie3D question: for that version of the engine, how is geometry stored? Is it vector lines like Doom or a grid system like Wolfenstien 3D. Normally I can guess from the environment, but given that Pie3D has 45-degree walls and, in this case, a height system it is a bit more obfuscated. I am always fascinated by early 3D engines.
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 14:42:44 GMT -5
You mention this game on your homepage Saturdaynight, and doing a search shows high praise - but I can not find a download link. Do you still have it? Even if it is just shareware, or if you just want to give me the shareware, that would be fine. I have played Infiltration, Pencil Whipped and the other ones you listed.
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Post by Technopeasant on Oct 1, 2013 14:36:52 GMT -5
You may also be able to find some names through here, though I admit it is a bit difficult to sift through around 3300 or so of often unimportant messages: lists.topica.com/lists/GCSMax2/
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Post by Technopeasant on Sept 30, 2013 21:21:35 GMT -5
Oh I remember Klik&Play...it was fun at the time, but looking back at it, the software was really not that great and most games created with it were terrible at best Hmm, I think much the same about my days of dabbling with Game Maker well over a decade later. Most Game Maker games are tremendously unbalanced... Every generation (well, at least since the 90s) must have a similar story. Now that I know programming (Gambas and soon to be learning Python through an MIT course) I thankfully can now tweak the game logic to my heart's content.
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Post by Technopeasant on Sept 30, 2013 16:23:07 GMT -5
Here is Max Resistance: archive.org/details/MaxResistance_1020Actually, search the Internet Archive very thoroughly, as it got a lot of GCS games when it absorbed the old Demu collection. Oh, and cheers for getting leileilol to resurrect that old site, as I had only just noticed it went down before seeing you got it brought back up! ;D By the way, I just downloaded Continuum and was blown away - that is tremendously impressive stuff there for Pie3D! Sure, it really is more an adventure game than a shooter, but it is well written and the environments are very nice to look at. Certainly recommended and the best thing I have ever found to show that not all Pie3D games are amateurish (though cheers to all the amateur stuff too). As for your concerns about the legal status, I do not think you should worry - I do not think I have ever come across a GCS download that was not either freeware or shareware. After all, did anyone ever actually buy a GCS-made game? Honestly? And if they did, I doubt they would put it up on the web afterwards. EDIT: Also, look through this list, as it contains a number of GCS games: 3dsl.game-host.org/shooter/alphabet
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Post by Technopeasant on Sept 30, 2013 16:15:41 GMT -5
I pop in once in a blue moon, though this time because I am on a streak of collecting every good, bad and ugly FPS games for DOS I can find.
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Post by Technopeasant on Sept 11, 2011 21:20:56 GMT -5
Well, I am going about trying to grab all that I can - as I am a freak archivist.
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Post by Technopeasant on Sept 11, 2011 21:20:22 GMT -5
Hello, I just decided to pop in today and would just like to thank you for noting my article, and my name, on your site. I also had a look around your links page, and have one or two suggestions. First off, you should link to Stokes' new site, if only just to support him. Not to mention the great history pages. I also came across a great little collection of Pie3D games to download (links that actually still work I might add) here: www.demu.org/pages/search.php?search=Pie&Submit=%C2%A0%C2%A0Search%C2%A0%C2%A0The MD2 sites are very much appreciated, as those might just serve well for my own purposes. By the way, I did another Google crawl today and came across this interesting use for Pie3D: education in the realm of problem solving! Link: www.cs.uccs.edu/~chamillard/cs110/cs110advertising.htmGood luck on your DOS version demonstration. Those multidimensional platforms are really cool considering how Pie3D works!
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Post by Technopeasant on Jun 29, 2011 18:03:50 GMT -5
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Post by Technopeasant on May 21, 2011 0:01:51 GMT -5
You think that is something? Some of my e-mails are truly intricate articulate mass diatribes.
Though I guess that shows that I am obsessive, or at least struggle with the concept of "casual correspondence". :-P
Anyways, no reply yet but I can wait.
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