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GOG News and Updates 2011

As much as the PQ series are a classic and people love their text adventures, I'm more excited about the rest of Activision's catalogue.

Spycraft, Zork Nemesis and Grand Inquisitor, MechWarrior 2 / Mercs, Call to Power, the first few Tony Hawk games, some of the early Star Trek games. There's a lot of solid B tier stuff trapped in there.
 
Stumpokapow said:
As much as the PQ series are a classic and people love their text adventures, I'm more excited about the rest of Activision's catalogue.

Spycraft, Zork Nemesis and Grand Inquisitor, MechWarrior 2 / Mercs, Call to Power, the first few Tony Hawk games, some of the early Star Trek games. There's a lot of solid B tier stuff trapped in there.
Doubt it would ever happen due to music licensing, board companies, skaters, etc.
 
Stumpokapow said:
As much as the PQ series are a classic and people love their text adventures, I'm more excited about the rest of Activision's catalogue.

Spycraft, Zork Nemesis and Grand Inquisitor, MechWarrior 2 / Mercs, Call to Power, the first few Tony Hawk games, some of the early Star Trek games. There's a lot of solid B tier stuff trapped in there.
I have always wanted to play Mechwarrior 2 mercs a lot. I think I avoided it originally because of system requirements but the PSX version seemed really cool when I rented it.

Joystick/Gamepad games are something I have not tried on GOG yet. Do they support modern gamepads well usually? I own Freespace 2 but have not tried to play it yet.
 
Minsc said:
Buy em off Steam, they're DRM free. I got the complete id pack for like $20 (DOOM 1,2,3, Keen, Heretic, Hexen 1, 2, wolfenstein 1 + return... and maybe something else).

*picks jaw off floor*

I had no idea they were on Steam! Thanks!

Haeleos said:
I'm playing through Deathkings of the Dark Citadel right now.

*high-five*
 
Tim-E said:
Someone found this somewhere on the website, so that basically confirms PQ (if it's real), but the thing at the top looks like this, so I'm going to say it's multiple titles, including Zork.

Activision is sitting on two of the three greatest collections of adventure games ever created (the Sierra On-Line games and the Infocom catalogue), the former being only spottily available (KQ, SQ, and Gabriel Knight) and the latter currently available legally nowhere. Both Police Quest and the Infocom games would be excellent and highly-recommended additions to GOG. I think that would leave the really important SOL releases at only Quest for Glory and the Laura Bow adventures?

mclem said:
I wonder if they'll go for individual releases, Lost Treasures (so two releases) or Masterpieces.

Nobody is going to pay $5 apiece for the Infocom games and I doubt they want to add any lower price points. My guess is that they'd post them as the packs (the Zork Collection, as well as the Mystery, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi genre packs.)

Further thought: Given that GOG have deals in place with both DOSBox for DOS titles and ScummVM for graphic adventures, I wonder if they've struck a deal with one of the Z-Machine interpreter coders to bundle a more modern interface with the titles?

Frotz is GPL so they wouldn't actually need to strike a deal to distribute it.
 
So I just had a vision while posting on the Telltale JP thread. Does anyone remember that Capcom used to release pc versions of their games in the late 90's early 2000's? I mean we are talking about:

Resident Evil 1-3
Dino Crisis 1-2

If GOG could get these games, I would buy them in an instant. I don't know how good were the pc versions compared to the PS ones, but enough people should have bought the games and created mods, and patches. What say you PC-GAF? Am I alone in wanting this games on GOG?
 
Lasthope106 said:
So I just had a vision while posting on the Telltale JP thread. Does anyone remember that Capcom used to release pc versions of their games in the late 90's early 2000's? I mean we are talking about:

Resident Evil 1-3
Dino Crisis 1-2

If GOG could get these games, I would buy them in an instant. I don't know how good were the pc versions compared to the PS ones, but enough people should have bought the games and created mods, and patches. What say you PC-GAF? Am I alone in wanting this games on GOG?

Japanese companies in general would be a nice addition to GOG.
 
What I'd really like to see is the rest of the Impressions Games (which I guess Activision owns as they were part of Sierra).

The Zeus games were IMHO the best city builders. But then I never got to play the one that came after it set in China.
 
charlequin said:
Nobody is going to pay $5 apiece for the Infocom games and I doubt they want to add any lower price points. My guess is that they'd post them as the packs (the Zork Collection, as well as the Mystery, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi genre packs.)

Good thinking, since after checking the breakdown I note that that cunningly avoids the issues with Shogun.

Wasn't the original Zork trilogy completely released for free at some point? They could add it to their freebies collection if so, would be a nice promotional gesture at the start of the reveal.
 
mclem said:
Wasn't the original Zork trilogy completely released for free at some point? They could add it to their freebies collection if so, would be a nice promotional gesture at the start of the reveal.
It was, but just for a limited period of time.
The Zork page on wikipedia links to a site where you can download the trilogy for free, but on the "List of commercial video games released as freeware" page (on wikipedia) they state that the trilogy is no longer "liberated".
The only Zork you can play for free seems to be Dungeon (the MIT version of the game) @ http://pr-if.org/event/play-zork/
 
Versipellis said:
It was, but just for a limited period of time.
The Zork page on wikipedia links to a site where you can download the trilogy for free, but on the "List of commercial video games released as freeware" page (on wikipedia) they state that the trilogy is no longer "liberated".
The only Zork you can play for free seems to be Dungeon (the MIT version of the game) @ http://pr-if.org/event/play-zork/

Ah, much like the status of Betrayal At Krondor, then. It's something I can imagine them redoing, anyway, but we'll see.

I assume this'll also mean the later titles; Return to Zork was a bit meh, but I rather liked Zork Nemesis, and I heard Grand Inquisitor was pretty good, too. It may, however, also mean Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2. You can't have everything.
 
mclem said:
Wasn't the original Zork trilogy completely released for free at some point? They could add it to their freebies collection if so, would be a nice promotional gesture at the start of the reveal.
I think Activision released Zork 1-3 for free around Nemesis or Grand Inquisitor release date. But I'd assume it was for limited time.
 
I had the police quest collection with that art on disc and it also came with SWAT. It looks like that pack only has PQ1 vga, not the original version. vga does have a cool non-easter egg though!
 
Grayman said:
I had the police quest collection with that art on disc and it also came with SWAT. It looks like that pack only has PQ1 vga, not the original version. vga does have a cool non-easter egg though!
Well this collection is on 1 cd. With SWAT it had to be on 5CDs (unless they reencode all videos).
 
how are these on PC requirements? Generally will any computer run them ok? have an i3 laptop with integrated graphics, and just discovered gog through the cannon fodder thread.
 
Never played Zork, and it's been ages since I played PQ! Probably my least favorite of the Quest games, but I still enjoyed it when it came out. Only played the original though (and all I can really remember is shooting myself in the leg and pulling over a woman who tries to get out of the ticket).

I wonder how they hold up? Both series were highly regarded, but I know PQ's difficulty will be a pretty big turn off to any one new (timed quests and dying), compared to how adventure games work today. And I have no idea if Zork would still be fun for someone who never played it either.

mrklaw said:
how are these on PC requirements? Generally will any computer run them ok? have an i3 laptop with integrated graphics, and just discovered gog through the cannon fodder thread.

You'd be fine in most cases, except maybe the newer more 3D intensive stuff. There are requirements listed on the individual game's pages, figure those as a starting point I guess. The older 2D titles like Heroes of Might & Magic, Baldur's Gate, Torment, Blood, etc, should run on anything.
 
how about a recommendation for the best turn based game on there now? Jagged Alliance 2 (played 1, not played any others); Fallout tactics? Used to like lasersquad, historyline, that sort of thing. nothing too heavy
 
mrklaw said:
how about a recommendation for the best turn based game on there now? Jagged Alliance 2 (played 1, not played any others); Fallout tactics? Used to like lasersquad, historyline, that sort of thing. nothing too heavy
Master of Magic.
 
mrklaw said:
how about a recommendation for the best turn based game on there now? Jagged Alliance 2 (played 1, not played any others); Fallout tactics? Used to like lasersquad, historyline, that sort of thing. nothing too heavy

Do HoMM2&3/Disciples 2 style games count? They're definitely TBS, but with less of a focus on tactical combat, and more focus on army building/map & resource control. JA2 is supposed to be much improved over the 1st, so that's a good choice (if not the best choice), Master of Magic or Shadow Magic are two more if you're allowing empire building in to the game. MoO2 is a great space 4X TBS as well, then if you allow turn-based RPGs, you could also look at Fallout 1/2 (entire game worlds are played on hex-based combat), Gorky 17, and ToEE, and to a lesser extent the rest of the infinity engine games. That's all I got, but those are some pretty engrossing games, most of those titles are ones you could play for 50+ hours.

HK-47 said:
Screw Zork, get that shit for Planetfall. Holy crap.

I'm thinking about it just because there's very few games I've played like that, text adventures. They can't be very long games either, so perhaps.
 
HK-47 said:
Screw Zork, get that shit for Planetfall. Holy crap.

FLOYD!

I wonder what their plans are for Stationfall? I half-expect to see that turn up in a bundle of the Enchanter series or somesuch, given how out-of-the-blue the appearance of it in a Zork bundle is.

I also wonder what their long-term plans are, if they'll be going for some of the more obscure titles. Trinity is possibly the best game Infocom ever made, but it's not as well known as the big-name titles.
 
Minsc said:
I'm thinking about it just because there's very few games I've played like that, text adventures. They can't be very long games either, so perhaps.

I feel bad saying this - given that these are classics - but a number of the adventures which were released by amateurs *after* the days of Infocom are probably better entry points, with some more player-friendly design decisions (for instance, unlimited inventories); they've also been constantly output, with the yearly IFComp having run since 1995 and still going strong to this day.

Of those, I'd recommend Photopia as an excellent example of using the medium for storytelling (still some puzzling, but fairly simple stuff) and... maybe Uncle Zebulon's Will as a nice entry-point for a puzzler.
 
Catshade said:
Zork Anthology (includes Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, Beyond Zork, Zork Zero, and Planetfall)

Huh. I wonder if the person that designed this pack even realized that Planetfall has a sequel. I can imagine the thinking at Activision: "Zork collection will be our best selling pack, and we can make 20% more money if we throw a sixth game in. Let's pick something random."

Wishbringer should have been the obvious choice for a sixth game in the Zork pack, since it's actually set in the Zork universe and is designed for beginners, so it would have been perfect for people getting this set that have never played any text adventures before.

I'm not saying Planetfall is a bad game though. Not at all. I just would have expected it to be in a sci-fi pack including Stationfall, its sequel.
 
Hitchhikers Guide? Leather Goddesses? Wow, the memories. Were the parsers updated? Not sure I could go through it all over again.
 
Grayman said:
I have always wanted to play Mechwarrior 2 mercs a lot. I think I avoided it originally because of system requirements but the PSX version seemed really cool when I rented it.

A lot of fans would tell you MW2 vanilla is the high point of the series but MW2 Mercs is my favourite. I last played it around 2001 or 2002 and it was still highly playable then. Unfortunately none of my high school buddies are still around or if they are they left their old PC discs a few house moves ago, so I haven't got a chance to play it in more recent years. Really hope to change that.

The reason why I loved Mercs was the excellent, varied mission design.

Joystick/Gamepad games are something I have not tried on GOG yet. Do they support modern gamepads well usually? I own Freespace 2 but have not tried to play it yet.

It's going to vary by game. A lot of GOG stuff goes through DOSBox, so you're basically at the mercy of DOSBox's support. DOSBox I think supports DirectInput controllers. Not sure about other types.

EphemeralDream said:
Doubt it would ever happen due to music licensing, board companies, skaters, etc.

Which actually, thinking about it, explains why the no-brainer Tony Hawk 2 PSN/XBLA port never happened.
 
OK, now with the addition of the Police Quest series, GOG is really testing my patience :) They are going to make me break my Steam only promise!
 
Minsc said:
Do HoMM2&3/Disciples 2 style games count? They're definitely TBS, but with less of a focus on tactical combat, and more focus on army building/map & resource control. JA2 is supposed to be much improved over the 1st, so that's a good choice (if not the best choice), Master of Magic or Shadow Magic are two more if you're allowing empire building in to the game. MoO2 is a great space 4X TBS as well, then if you allow turn-based RPGs, you could also look at Fallout 1/2 (entire game worlds are played on hex-based combat), Gorky 17, and ToEE, and to a lesser extent the rest of the infinity engine games. That's all I got, but those are some pretty engrossing games, most of those titles are ones you could play for 50+ hours.

thanks. More into doing things with the resources I have, rather than building them up myself. Might try fallout tactics - how different to fallout 1/2 is that? Never played any of the series but am curious about it and like the theme etc.
 
mclem said:
Of those, I'd recommend Photopia as an excellent example of using the medium for storytelling (still some puzzling, but fairly simple stuff) and... maybe Uncle Zebulon's Will as a nice entry-point for a puzzler.

Shade is another short and straightforward puzzler.
 
leroy hacker said:
Shade is another short and straightforward puzzler.

I never really regarded that as a puzzler, more like
the room raids from Finders Keepers in text form
. At least the first half.

Can I claim to be the only person to successfully guess the (then) anonymous author of Shade? Unfortunately, I posted the review which I wrote at the time *after* he admitted his involvement, which rather spoils my claim to fame. But it's true!
 
d1rtn4p said:
OK, now with the addition of the Police Quest series, GOG is really testing my patience :) They are going to make me break my Steam only promise!

Just make GoG your Steam supplement. Most of their catalogs don't overlap, and there is no GOG Client taking up cpu/ram resources to worry about. Seems silly to miss out on hundreds of classic games not available on Steam, just to stay loyal to a digital distributor.
 
d1rtn4p said:
OK, now with the addition of the Police Quest series, GOG is really testing my patience :) They are going to make me break my Steam only promise!
Steam and GOG complement each other perfectly. Dooooooo iitttttttt
 
mrklaw said:
thanks. More into doing things with the resources I have, rather than building them up myself. Might try fallout tactics - how different to fallout 1/2 is that? Never played any of the series but am curious about it and like the theme etc.
They're pretty different overall, and while it's been a loooong time (and I never actually finished it), my memory is that FT benefits heavily from being familiar with F1/2. Offhand, I'd say Age of Wonders 2: Shadow Magic may be a better bet, as the campaign tends to give you limited resources to achieve goals (although I never got far because it was hard).

Jagged Alliance 2 is really the best option, though. Alternatively get the first two (or three depending on tolerance) X-Com games off Steam.
 
mclem said:
Of those, I'd recommend Photopia as an excellent example of using the medium for storytelling (still some puzzling, but fairly simple stuff) and... maybe Uncle Zebulon's Will as a nice entry-point for a puzzler.
I suggest 9:05: very short and easy (there are no real puzzles), but with its nice "whoa!" moment.
Violet is good too and easy for the most part.
 
Police Quest is a brutal sell to anyone. I watched a full playthrough of PQ3. It's one of the most tedious Quest games with almost no room of leniency. You have to do everything by the handbook or will get game over instantly. Also there's a point in the game if you forget to do something, and save between that point you are fucked and are forced to start over from the beginning.

The deaths are hilarious though, and the story telling, while predictable, is quite decent for 1991.
 
I only learned of them when they pulled that stunt a few months back. If they're dedicated to older games, how come they have pre-orders available for new ones?
 
There's only a preorder for one new game and it's made by the people who own GOG.
 
scitek said:
I only learned of them when they pulled that stunt a few months back. If they're dedicated to older games, how come they have pre-orders available for new ones?

If you're talking about The Witcher 2, it's only a one-time stuff to promote their sister company's product.
 
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