Stunt Car Racer by Geoff Crammond: a tale of clever suspension modelling and PC port disappointment Timberwolf 2023-03-01 | Stunt Car Racer is an Amiga and Atari ST classic, an unusual diversion of Geoff Crammond simulating a thing which does not exist in real life, and also the source of some disappointment for 9 year old me when I got the PC version home and discovered the importance of checking which format the screenshots on the box come from.But how does it handle all those jumps, twists and turns on a game that is eminently playable on everything down to the humble ZX Spectrum, even if it doesn't look quite as pretty as you'd hope on some of those platforms? I delve a little into the secrets of Stunt Car Racer's physics, its history, and why it's a suspension-bobbling anomaly in Crammond's stable of normally circuit-bound racers.Many thanks to Frank Gasking of Games That Weren't (gamesthatwerent.com) for the screenshots of Stunt Car Racer Pro. Also available in book form (bitmapbooks.com/products/the-games-that-werent) - in addition to a wealth of research, exclusive interviews and games even I hadn't heard of it has the usual excellent quality you'd expect from Bitmap Books and is an ideal use for a spare £30.As ever, this video would not be possible without the hardware photography of Evan Amos (or RMCRetro in the case of the BBC Micro) and stock footage from Pexels, or at least I would have to own more vintage hardware and do a lot more silly things in front of a camera.A list of chassis-twisting landings:0:00 I fail at planning1:13 Polygons on the Amiga1:53 The Division Bell2:40 Low speed adventures of Evel Knievel4:03 Enforced roof-having memory puzzle4:50 Magazines with multiple Amigas6:23 Brownaround8:17 The odd one out?9:36 Before Sir Geoff of Racingland10:27 Yes, I was writing code in that shot11:08 What else is "roving simulation" going to make you think of?12:18 The bit about the physics14:19 A game about springs15:12 Any port in a storm16:15 Ah yes, the CPC... er, PC17:07 Timberwolf learns a lesson about screenshots17:58 More musing about release dates18:25 The curse of 1980s PC gaming19:15 Positives of the PC port19:53 What next?21:10 Unity projects and a million mobile games21:40 Spiritual sequels and crashing an MX-5Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 23 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: notice how in some ports the speedometer reads to 240, while in other ports it reads to 300 or more? When you're promoted to the Super Division, the car can exceed 250km/h on the faster tracks. Ports with the 240km/h speedometer handle this by wrapping the display around and starting again from the left hand edge, whereas other ports are able to use the extra margin available to display those enhanced Super Division speeds.#stuntcarracer #retrogaming
I review M25 Racer while driving around the M25 Timberwolf 2024-06-20 | M25 Racer, or London Racer, or whatever else it was called when you lifted it out of the bargain bin and wondered whether to gamble an amount of money on it being kind of OK, money which could have bought you three cheap pints and a kebab instead because it was 1999 and we hadn't invented inflation yet.I did not have three cheap pints or a kebab before coming up with the idea to review the game while travelling around the road which inspired it, and I'm not sure that's a good thing to admit. Will I be able to assemble some kind of vaguely coherent review with no script, no opportunity to fact-check, one of the worst sound recording environments available, a strict geography-imposed time limit and the need to, at some point, concentrate on the actual driving? In theory the presence of this video should make that a foregone conclusion but... well, it's Timberwolf.Junctions:0:00 Start your engines1:42 The bit where I actually start talking about the game2:40 Davilex and that3:31 Kind of OK5:58 Gameplay progression7:28 German car warfare and the case for budget games8:34 Problems arise9:49 Wait, that was it, success, why are there three minutes left?10:35 Wheelbarrows11:52 Who needs Top Gear anyway?12:49 A quantity of funImages from Pexels, MobyGames and iStock (paid)Some public domain content from Wikimedia CommonsI completely stole that "Cybermorph is a reference 1 fun" thing from @NikkiandBunty and their community because I am a deeply unoriginal human being. Also I enjoy confusing references that make sense to a grand total of about 39 people.Bonus fact: although I tag 1999 as the point where hardware acceleration became enough of a norm games started being designed around it, being a budget-conscious title this does feature software rendering modes, down to a rather grainy 320x240 if you're running it on something already past its best.Tech note: while London Racer received a few XP patches and the like, M25 Racer has suffered the march of time and really doesn't run well on modern systems, tending to exhibit timing issues and missing textures even with dgVoodoo 2 in use. Thankfully, modern computers are fast enough for PCem to be able to emulate a sufficiently fast Windows 98 system complete with period-correct Voodoo 2, which is how I captured the game footage here.#m25racer
How one bug changed my memories of Dungeon Keeper Timberwolf 2024-05-23 | I set out to play Dungeon Keeper and reminisce about it! Which went great until I found KeeperFX and it was... not what I remembered. Yes, it's one of those days where having nowhere good to record a video only ranks somewhere about #21 on the list of issues I have here.Notable sins:0:00 A dungeon of my own1:22 Subversion and serendipity2:50 Parental porkers4:11 Clock speed woes and KeeperFX5:31 Coveting the actions of smarter people7:48 Making life difficult10:00 Seven minutes is a lot of nothing to say11:35 Welcoming the Age of Plastic12:32 That bit with the dogs13:45 Bad times for the Lord of the Land15:02 Making sacrifices to see what happensStock footage from PexelsExcept the skiing, that is genuinely me being a dumbass on a mountain"Peter Molyneux - Game Developers Conference 2010" by Official GCD (CC-BY 2.0)CC-BY 2.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0KeeperFX project: keeperfx.netBonus fact: Dungeon Keeper spent a long time in development, with trailers and prototypes from as early as 1995. While early in-game footage looks quite different, scenes from the game's pre-rendered intro appear in their final form in trailers from 1996.
London in VGA: finding the real Sherlock Holmes behind The Case Of The Serrated Scalpel Timberwolf 2024-04-12 | The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel is a great game. But who was Sherlock Holmes? How much does his London overlap with the real London? Is this even slightly about video games any more?Yes, we've gone high-concept with a background of traffic noise as I attempt to master detect the master detective himself. Plus my studio is still out of action and I kind of wanted a day trip.Case Files:0:00 221B or not 221B1:35 Oh yeah, video games2:01 Tangential detail2:58 The game is afoot4:46 An ideal character6:02 Holmes 2.07:43 A problem with the real world10:26 The classic Holmes setup11:53 Cold reading13:58 Another location15:54 Immediate roadblock17:08 Scathing reviews18:31 Holmes 1.020:21 A bit of flavour22:09 Watson the goffik23:12 Yards Scotland24:44 Sour reviewers25:38 Holmes' admiring publicStock footage from PexelsHuge amounts of public domain imagery from Wikimedia CommonsDr. Joseph Bell, 'The Daily Round'. Wellcome L0001109.jpg, CC-BY 4.0PC Zone scan provided by the Retro eXo project.Every attempt has been made to ensure book images, Sidney Paget illustrations and other Sherlock miscellanea has been taken from images stated to be in the public domain. If you believe this to be in error please contact me and I will try to rectify and credit appropriately.CC-BY 4.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Bonus fact: While the game may be approximate, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle moved his medical practice to London in 1891 and many of the Sherlock stories were written while he lived in South Norwood, meaning that many of the locations in the books were based on real-world places, although sometimes disguised with a slight name change as in the case of "Caulfield Gardens"#pointandclick #adventuregame
What Simon the Sorcerer says about game design at point and clicks creative peak Timberwolf 2024-01-28 | I'm delving into my collection of adventure games, and in doing so find that Simon the Sorcerer tells us an awful lot about the genre in its heyday, and why that heyday was going to be a lot shorter than we expected in 1993. Or 1994 if we wanted Chris Barrie voicing the explanation of it.How did I find the adventures of He Who Sorcers? And why did vintage magazines claim this was possibly better than Day of the Tentacle? And am I going to get every last one of the Internet People correcting my pronunciation of "Elvira"?Frustrating puzzles:0:00 A little bit adventurous1:02 It was twenty years ago today2:34 The gap narrows4:11 A British game about a wizard5:18 Day of the US-centric Comedy Reference6:32 Those Monkey Island comparisons7:45 Ron Gilbert's conclusion9:15 Combinatorial logic10:50 Handmade with love and MT-32s12:30 It wouldn't be Timberwolf without the blackboard13:35 Cardinal sins of adventure gaming15:57 Too much forest17:35 An infringement of copyright18:26 Shopping, 1997 style19:34 The inevitable conclusionMedia credits:Chris Barrie by ...some guy, CC-BY 2.0Sci-fi & Fantasy Weekender 2017 by big-ashb, CC-BY 2.0Stock footage from PexelsSome public domain imagery from Wikimedia CommonsSome CC-0 sounds from FreesoundPC Zone and Computer Gaming World scans provided by the Retro eXo project.CC-BY 2.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.enYes, they could probably also show more colours with copper tricks. If it happened, you can tell me.Bonus fact: Simon was apparently dreamt up by Simon on a long car journey, with a section along the M5 being a key moment of the character's creation. And we just played I Spy.#pointandclick #adventuregame
What were XMS, EMS and Conventional memory and why did the PC have them? Timberwolf 2023-12-06 | What was all that talk of memory managers and AUTOEXEC.BAT boot menus about? How would an 8MB 486 fail to run a game which worked fine on a 1MB 286? Why was EMM386.EXE definitely not on Ultima 7's Christmas card list? And why does your friend have digitised sound on that game when you do not, even though you both have the same soundcard?It's #doscember , and so time to delve into one of those questions of DOS that I never quite understood: what were EMS and XMS, and how could I have the wrong sort of memory?The DOS/Dos joke was done better (and earlier) here: youtube.com/watch?v=RnZkWLK3BfE . Maybe it'll become a tradition or something.Memory map:0:00 A premise of sorts0:52 51502:16 Pinhead3:46 That segment thing5:18 Where 640K came from8:35 The 80286 arrives10:05 Popcorn11:00 Where EMS came from11:43 Bank switching13:57 Where XMS came from15:23 Emulation16:13 Precious conventional memory17:50 HMA and the A20 gate18:55 DOS wars21:22 Better DOS and making memory22:54 Boot disks and menus23:32 DOS/4GW and thatMedia credits:Installation floppy disks (3.5-inch) for Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 image by Blake Patterson from Alexandria, VA, USA, CC-BY 2.0 Raystown Lake, Huntington and Lititz trip image by Bob, CC-BY 2.0Some CC-0 sounds used from FreesoundSome CC-0 and public domain images used from Wikimedia CommonsStock footage from PexelsSome stock imagery from PixabayCC-BY 2.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.enBonus fact: that 286 shown inexplicably on the floor of a very, very messy room was also later a 486/100, then eventually a K6/200 until lack of availability of AT motherboards supporting modern sockets forced me to finally buy a new case. I also did, eventually, tidy my room.#doscember #doscember2023
Adding AI to my 26 year old QBASIC game | QBASIC Rescue Timberwolf 2023-11-10 | "You're a moderately successful web developer, and yet you spend your evenings programming old QBASIC games," as a friend of mine said the other week. There's not much more to the video than that, really.I wrote a game AI for the first time, in the language I was using as a teenager. It kind of works. Mostly.Subroutines:0:00 About time0:58 Where's the blog post, then?3:05 Improving physics4:36 Channeling Crammond6:20 Fancy tracks7:37 Assumptions and distractions8:19 The new focus of Timberwolf's Stuff10:04 Putting the "I" in11:46 The wrong track13:40 Predictions and... yeah, distractions15:20 I am happy. Ish.16:54 A la carte17:52 Is it too late to switch to tweezer repair?18:36 What was in my headMusic from YouTube Audio Library.Stock footage from Pexels.Sound effects CC0 from Freesound.Download links:Velocity: https://files.timberwolf.club/youtube/VELOCITY.BASTrack Editor: https://files.timberwolf.club/youtube/TRACKED.BASBonus fact: new Velocity is designed to be completely independent of any support files (hence the DATA statements!), but the original used to save fastest lap times to files in the shared network area. This and the "network" play was of course an immediate temptation for people to run their own hacked versions to set improbably fast laptimes and cheat at multiplayer. Much of the code I stripped out in my first cleanup was related to detecting what I considered to be impossible laptimes and issuing stern warnings to the player setting them.#msdos #qbasic
I think The Need For Speed might be the great lost DSI Test Drive game Timberwolf 2023-10-14 | Road & Track Presents: The Need For Speed straddles two epochs. One is obvious: it's the first title in a multi-decade series that's spawned countless classics, duds, and pioneering oddities. (Pun unintentional). But there's another, less obvious one: the swansong of the late '80s premier driving game codesmiths, recently acquired by a publishing behemoth but still carrying enough of their own identity to make one last Test Drive.I fear the odds of people seeing the thumbnail and clicking just to comment "no Test Drive 4 came out after this game, how can you not know this?" are high. But I'm doing it anyway, because this was my immediate impression upon firing up PC CD-ROM The Need For Speed to prove to myself I can indeed win the tournament twice and my repeatedly losing to the X-Man on 3DO NFS is the fault of the console.Checkpoints:0:00 I'm right about Britpop and you know it0:49 We're not in 16-bit land any more1:24 Here comes the premise2:16 A tale of one developer3:54 Showcases and X-men4:22 Versions upon versions5:28 Realism, of a sort7:48 The bit everyone replays to see if I broke the law9:04 Graphical compromises and constraints10:20 More Test Drive elements11:24 Hitting the A-team in their stupid van. Or just a wall.12:15 Roads or set pieces13:50 Returning and endingOddly, for all NFS2's tracks feel like disconnected set pieces it's one of the few games early in the series to have one based on an actual real-world location, Pacific Spirit. There's a Tom Scott video about it and everything. Somehow, other than the stretch along the coast it still feels like a bunch of disconnected set pieces to drive.Comments, you know the pre-moderation drill by now. I edited out a whole section mocking bad faith misinterpretations because, y'know, I don't really get those any more. DO NOT MAKE ME FEEL MY FAITH IN HUMANITY HAS BEEN MISPLACED.Bonus fact: The EAC RALY cheat unlocked for finishing the tournament twice mostly just changes the car handling, unless you race on Rusty Springs in which case it unlocks an alternative reskin of the track called Oasis Springs.
Revisiting the streets of my youth via Sierras Police Quest Timberwolf 2023-09-14 | It's time to go back to the streets I spent my childhood on. To answer that question, "can you go back again?"But which are the streets of my childhood? Are they suburban Surrey, or are they the EGA rendition of Lytton from the first Police Quest game as viewed through a vintage Amstrad? Yes, it's one of those inscrutably high-concept video ideas where I yet again avoid just showing a game for a bit and making some simple observations about it, all wrapped up in a thinly-disguised excuse for making a 30-mile journey just to get some chips.Case files:0:00 I think I'm going back0:55 My life, 1987-1991 (and also 2013)2:40 What intrigued me with Lytton3:50 Philosophical storm5:15 Freedom and the art of car maintenance6:18 My love of mundanity8:15 Police Quest is sort of fair, though10:00 Filling in the gaps10:35 No, really, I did plan the trip around this11:12 Chemical-induced damage12:34 Shattering my childhood roadblock14:37 A pub story15:28 Good Cops, Bad Criminals16:47 A bit about Sierra17:38 A clumsy story18:29 Bridge and poker21:16 The inevitable VGA remake22:34 Near 23 minute TTN23:25 Some sort of conclusion. Also chips.Acorn Electron, ZX Spectrum and Chevrolet Caprice images from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.Additional video stock footage from Pexels.Some CC-0 sounds used from Freesound.Ken Williams image by Cade Peterson, CC-BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 - the section of video where this image is shown may be adapted under the same licence.Jim Walls image from the Sierra News Magazine.Hop Hip by Kwon from the YouTube audio library.Bonus fact: The cameo appearance and occasional use of an asset or two from Leisure Suit Larry may partly be down to Al Lowe handling programming duties on Police Quest.
Is Flight Unlimited the first true modern flight sim... and should I have run it on a 486 DX2? Timberwolf 2023-08-27 | Any question can be answered "yes" if you get to define your own parameters. Nevertheless, I would like to tell you about Flight Unlimited, why I think it does indeed deserve consideration for pioneering two vital tenets of the modern flight sim, and what it was like to play it on a 486 DX2/66, barely above the minimum spec. And what were we doing with a 486 that late in 1995 anyway?Plus, while it may be an interesting diversion into the past to play Flight Unlimited on an emulation of suitably underpowered vintage hardware, there's also a case that when given more resources it's a better game than its immediate successor, the unique flight model and crisp software-rendered graphics eclipsing generic '90s GA sim techniques and blurry early 3D. At the very least, it was less of a pain to get running.Navigational aids:0:00 What is the modern flight sim?1:12 Where everyone comments a different flight sim1:32 The 286 era and upsetting Amiga or ST owners3:00 Pushing boundaries3:38 I spend too much time in Blender4:06 The clock-doubled 4864:54 It's how Wikipedia claims you say Meigs5:49 Ultima Underworld takes to the skies6:54 Careless CD (mis)management7:40 Alpine Shepherd Boy8:21 That 486 thing again9:30 s'good though, innit?10:36 The blackboard returns11:55 No continents13:02 A fluid situation14:20 Inevitable compromises15:05 Gliding over the complicated bits15:40 The notional 486/100016:47 Well actually the foreground is polygons actually17:18 I guess we have to play Flight Unlimited II. Sigh.17:56 The great jelly wars of 2024Photo of Seamus Blackley (and Charles!) by Seamus Blackley, CC-BY-SA 4.0. Photo unmodified except for the background behind it. The CC-BY-SA 4.0 larger work exemption applies to this video as a whole, but the section 6:07-6:12 may be adapted under CC-BY-SA 4.0 terms (both myself and Seamus Blackley as original author must be attributed and a compatible licence must be used).Additional sound effects CC0 from Freesound.I pre-moderate comments, it may take some time for them to appear. Low quality and excessively negative comments will be discarded.Music: Lucky Rubber Ducky by Quincas Moreira, from the YouTube audio library.Yes, I did indeed spend a lot of time making those stupid rendered bits work. I'm still far too proud of that "virtual world" one even if it doesn't line up exactly right.Bonus fact: that is indeed my original 286 in its original configuration as a 286 sitting on the floor of a very chaotic bedroom. I'm not sure why it's on the floor as it was definitely on some sort of desk most of the time, but the mess surrounding it and possibly my need to take a photo suggests some kind of transitional state for bedroom layout, computer, or both.
I am completely unable to review Derail Valley Timberwolf 2023-08-09 | I've started playing Derail Valley and I love it to the point I need to tell you all about it. Which is a problem, because it turns out that the moment the cameras are rolling and I'm gathering gameplay footage I become completely unable to articulate just what it is that sets this aside from the usual pulling of a single lever and waiting for things to happen of supposedly more realistic simulators.Also I make a sandwich and a flask of tea on... er, somewhere slightly to the left of camera in my neverending quest to find a YouTube niche even smaller than "indie simulators and old PC games". If you're still enjoying things by this point you are a wondrous person and I appreciate you.List of signals:0:00 I am late. Again.0:39 The problem with train simulators1:43 I make tea in an entirely uncontroversial way3:03 Finally, some gameplay footage4:30 I made that tea for a reason7:07 Ambition8:14 I am great at shunting. Honest.9:23 Hilly antagonists10:42 This video has a problem12:47 Under pressure13:12 The economical disco train and its downfall14:45 Functional naming and more failure15:45 Life on the edge17:36 Sensible and proper19:16 The pleasure of potential failure22:27 The hopping game23:25 More safe shunting24:09 Navigational issues25:00 The bit with the outcome25:48 The bit after the outcome27:05 The sandwich returnsComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Additional sound effects CC0 from Freesound.A brief except of Maple Leaf Rag by E's Jammy Jams is used in this video.Bonus fact: no, really, this was an absolute horror to record and I found myself consistently unable to say *anything* interesting about what is a rather enjoyable little indie sim with plenty of challenges to keep you busy. It's great fun scuttling across the map in a little shunter delivering all sorts of things to those functionally-named places, whether you bring along sandwiches and tea for extra authenticity or not. Developer altfuture have a roadmap of even more things they'd like to add, including a potential US-themed future DLC pack with beefier locomotives and a different map.
I became captivated by this obscure German bus simulator. Timberwolf 2023-07-03 | The man for whom the word "boring" apparently has no meaning finds a new question to ask: if truck simulators are the joke which came good, then what's a bus simulator - some kind of avant-garde artistic statement?The actual answer is a combination of charmingly homemade indie project, historical documentary, and a strange world of finding calm in the stress of having a million things to do in a vehicle approximately 50% too big to do any of them with.One day I may even understand the ventilation controls. But today is not that day.This bus stops at:0:00 It's a bus simulator.0:51 Love letters and symphonies2:18 I just want boredom, OK?3:23 I am not a salesman4:23 Click things and hope4:49 Celebrating the small5:55 Oh this is going to get the comments, isn't it.6:41 Sampling7:15 Errant Mercedes8:49 Daily bus problems9:55 A history lesson11:48 The inevitable editor bit12:32 Bad at the editor, bad at the concept of buses13:48 Dead-eyed child14:25 Sympathetic assessment15:25 Rough edges17:00 Over-stimulated, under-DLCed18:20 Invested in Grundorf19:19 No you're clunky and datedComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Especially this video, given it's ultimately about Berlin in the past.Bonus fact: The front seat passenger view at around 6:54 is driving through Hackney in London, a little up the corner from Ridley Road, the early headquarters of Amstrad. I did film that bit also but my partner and I ended up having a discussion about whether we should try going to the pub on the corner, so the footage ended up being mostly of the pub. We still haven't tried going yet.
Bad Influence!, GamesMaster, and Digitiser: British gaming TV in the 90s and its return Timberwolf 2023-06-07 | Bad Influence!, GamesMaster and Digitiser - three British gaming TV instutions, but where are they now? Join me and a whole host of other retro tech and gaming YouTube people for memories, homages, modern interpretations and more. What was on your telly in the '90s, and did you ever successfully campaign to be allowed to watch people play Sonic instead of the continuing adventures of Harold Bishop?Because I didn't, and that's why everybody else had to help me remember GamesMaster.Thank you to the vocal and visual talents of:@aBadEducationTV @MoreFunMakingIt @Yesterzine @Digitiser @RoseTintedSpectrum And the ever-lovely Chris Bell for Super Page 58, the greatest Digitiser archive this world has ever known. Visit it today. Or another day of your choice. superpage58.comDigitiser Live (28th/29th July 2023) event info and tickets:FAQ: digitiser2000.com/main-page/digitiser-live-weekend-2023-faqTickets Friday: harrowarts.com/whats-on/event/an-evening-with-mr-biffoTickets Saturday: harrowarts.com/whats-on/event/digitiser-live-3-0Breaking Bad Influence:Uno: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxnekvAfrfo5xLFtlKfS7iETP3y5tPNasDue: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxnekvAfrfo7AtJzAvzGWKj6AXb6Jmd_qTre: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxnekvAfrfo7JrBnq3IBHGxMxl_IvMxviWhat's-a matter you: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxnekvAfrfo7Nt5pjz1vP03ifJHJNGxEjMr Biffo has an excellent Patreon with tiers to suit all budgets: patreon.com/MrBiffoRose Tinted Spectrum also has an excellent Patreon. You could be called a beanie baby! patreon.com/RoseTintedSpectrum/postsPhoto of James Marsters for that one terrible pun by Patrick Lee, licensed under CC-BY 2.0 [creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/]. I modified it from the original source.Bad Influence! and GamesMaster clips supplied by the Internet Archive, originally by Yorkshire Television for ITV and Hewland International for Channel 4 respectively.Digitiser and Breaking Bad Influence clips used with permission.Supplementary stock footage from Pexels.Some imagery from Wikimedia Commons public domain collection.Sound effects from Freesound CC0/public domain collections.This week Z is reporting on:0:00 A difficult relationship1:36 I don't half say 'in the nineties' a lot2:40 A vital question3:16 Of course you were4:30 Micro machinations5:20 Bin with an openable flap6:03 Children are rubbish at reviewing things6:37 Rise of the regrets7:25 Don't tell the Supervision people8:03 Nam Rood8:50 Nam Wolf9:45 Stand by for Datablast10:46 Michael Heseltine content11:16 Illuminatus11:40 GamesMaster Live (with aBadEducationTV)14:05 Cows in space, sheep on TV15:57 Repeatable and reheatable16:35 Lesley Gore Special17:18 The rules of the land17:47 Competition time (with More Fun Making It)19:45 The disembodied head of Moore21:01 The ballad of Bandana Dave (with Dudley of Yesterzine)22:54 Recently revived23:35 Digitising24:49 Connect up via modem25:40 Whatever you do, don't mention retro Kickstarters26:59 Really, you could just watch this instead27:32 Translating Teletext (with Mr Biffo)28:55 David Braben's toilet habits29:18 Bringing Back Binfluence29:50 This is another thing you could watch instead30:49 Mystery Science Theatre 199631:03 WHY? (with Rose Tinted Spectrum)32:06 It concludes32:58 I am officially less good at this than Andy WearComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way.Bonus fact: at the time of writing I've still got three of those damn ciders to get through, because the local shop only did them in packs of four. This is what we call dedication to the craft.Er... alright, these days Violet Berlin produces interactive exhibitions for museums and that, including a recent exhibition on war games for the Imperial War Museum. Andy Wear appeared in Mr Biffo's Found Footage, in a homage to GamesMaster. Andy Crane probably still exists somewhere. And we hope Sohail continued his redemption arc to have only the best opinions about games.I really hope everyone understands the idea of taking the piss out of something you genuinely loved otherwise that's going to be a LOT of unnecessary defending of Bad Influence to get through...
Screamer - Graffiti Softwares PC answer to Ridge Racer Timberwolf 2023-05-10 | The 3D arcade racer was the big hit of the mid '90s arcade - colourful, fast-moving, simple and yet also endlessly replayable. Then the Playstation brought them into the living room with a spectacularly faithful Ridge Racer conversion. As a PC owner, I was convinced a good 486 could do something just as impressive when it came to polygon-throwing. Screamer certainly looked like it'd be the game... but was it?I'd tell you, but apparently I can't even get the thing installed correctly. Yes, it's one of THOSE videos.Unlockable tracks:0:00 There's a box, and it's bad1:05 Vintage installer time1:58 A brief history(ish) of Graffiti and Screamer5:15 The Playstation arrives in Europe5:50 It all goes horribly wrong8:36 The PC's year of being the ultimate gaming machine10:18 Actually it's Daytona USA we should be talking about10:52 A lesson about environment mapping12:24 Engine sound effect piracy13:03 A weird sort of nostalgia14:16 Controllers from the future!15:42 Things fall apart18:18 Trouser Bandit League19:13 Fondness for Screamer, or perhaps its era20:07 Really we're all just at the whim of the boxThanks to Genesis Temple for their detailed history of IDEA Soft and Graffiti, which I found incredibly useful while making this video. If you enjoyed it, buy them a Ko-fi at genesistemple.comAlso, inevitably, to Evan Amos for his ever-useful library of console images and the community of Pexels.Music links will probably appear below, but if not they are "Bunny Hop" and "Sand Castle" by Quincas Moreira, from the YouTube Audio Library.Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 22 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.#dos #retro #stuffinboxes
User Created Expansion Set: the free community-made expansion for Chris Saywers RCT2 from 2003 Timberwolf 2023-04-26 | Did I ever tell you about the *other* early-2000s RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 expansion pack? Well, no, of course I didn't. That would be silly, because if I had this would just be making the same video again. But yes, alongside the disappointment of Wacky Worlds and Time Twister was a third expansion, full of satisfyingly challenging scenarios, new rides and scenery, and all linked together by two stories you could read at length in the accompanying manual.Bonus: it was community-made and free. The best of all the prices. I dig into history to show you a little more about UCES, the User Created Expansion Set, and some of the custom rides and editors which made it possible.Visit a preserved version of the UCES site and download it here: uces.rctspace.comRide List:0:00 You did a location shot for THIS?0:36 Pluggable and swappable1:23 Object Editor2:06 Sim Rides, not Sim Theme Park2:42 Dodgy '70s comedy routines and that4:05 More custom rides4:44 Wasted potential5:37 Time Twister, but not6:30 Remote working before it was cool7:43 A viable product8:55 The birthday present9:32 How does it play?11:48 A slight gripe12:48 Favourable comparisons13:28 Essential download?14:22 It's just outtakes you don't need to watch themPHP forum code shown from PHPBB, phpbb.comComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 15 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.#rollercoastertycoon #openrct2 #retrogaming
Duke Nukem 3D, the Build engine, and my 1990s attempts at level creation Timberwolf 2023-04-05 | Duke Nukem 3D is an all time classic. It's a shame I was only ever any good at making levels. And even for that I needed the help of a vintage guide.I recount why Duke was great, why including the Build editor was even more great, and take you through my vintage attempts to build a slice of suburbia and set a map inside an office, a type of building I had never even visited at the time. They've aged rather better than my teenage attempts at edgy humour. And yes, I still remain endearingly rubbish at FPS games.If you have any further information on the whereabouts of CASTLE.MAP or the other long-lost contents of Stereo's web page, I would love to hear them.In the interests of avoiding the same situation for my own closest brush with a "functional" and possibly even "playable" level, you can download OFFICE.MAP here: https://files.timberwolf.club/OFFICE5.MAPEDuke32 can be found at eduke32.com, with registered versions of Duke available on Steam or seemingly relatively plentiful and cheap on eBay, providing you don't want an original big box with all the manuals.Sector tags:0:00 The test to see who watches the full video before commenting1:02 I get to use my GPU for once1:45 Well, there goes the advertising revenue2:30 Saying you want a revolution3:14 Real locations, real corny one-liners4:16 I am bad at games5:32 Level editors are brill6:55 How many submarines does one game need exactly?7:41 Fast feedback8:45 A delve into the personal archives9:26 It's my room!10:05 Build is complicated10:44 Young Timberwolf buys a book11:25 My obsession with CASTLE.MAP12:23 OFFICE.MAP, my finest hour. Almost.14:34 Everyone gets bored and wanders off16:20 Cause for optimismComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 17 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: After build Ken Silverman would be one of the first people to become interested in voxel-based graphics, starting work on his Voxlap engine in 2000 and after a few demos releasing the full source code in 2005.
Revs: How Geoff Crammond squeezed a Formula 3 sim racer into just 32KB on the BBC Micro Timberwolf 2023-02-08 | Revs for the BBC Micro is clever for more reasons than you'd expect. In addition to code in the sky and pioneering the idea of sim racing, it also took an approach to building tracks which would set the racing game template for more than a decade. I get deep into the detail explaining just what it is that Revs does and why it's so clever.Also I find a game that is remarkably playable for something of its era.As mentioned, this video would not exist without the excellent research at revs.bbcelite.comFurther thanks to @RMCRetro for the images and video of their vintage-correct BBC Micro and Microvitec CUB setup, and @RoseTintedSpectrum for organising the actual process of getting it to me because I am rubbish at asking for help.IBM BIOS font recreation by VileR, int10h.org (CC-BY-SA 4.0)Many hardware images from Evan Amos and Stuart Brady were used, or at least saved to a directory at some point in the production process.Stock footage and images from Pexels.Map of the circuit:0:00 Games with things in common0:30 But first, nostalgia1:15 The BBC was for posh kids1:40 Hat-bashing moral wasteland2:20 Period-correct cultural references3:11 The BBC was respectable3:50 Winding up the real hardware crowd4:42 Scared of being a simulation5:36 Revs 4 Tracks5:58 Keyboard delights and horrors7:26 Non-BBC Revs8:34 One planar tracker too far9:08 About that code in the sky thing?9:38 Talking graphics and memory layouts10:32 Yes that's not technically a "screenshot"11:24 Beam racing in your racing game11:49 Breaking down the screen13:44 A lot of conversations about blue14:33 Code in the sky! Finally!15:00 The track is also clever15:55 Track-like properties17:28 How nearly every driving game did 3D18:25 Oh, and it's flicker-free20:14 Outro, further reading and thatGames shown:Revs (BBC Micro)Geoff Crammond's Formula One Grand PrixElite PlusGranny's GardenRevs Plus (BBC Micro)Hard Drivin' (ZX Spectrum)WheelieRevs (C64)Revs Plus (C64)Network Q RAC Rally ChampionshipComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 21 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: While both Revs and F1GP feature fake driver names, the ones in Revs have both an element of humour and an indication as to what to expect from each driver - Miles Behind is, as you might expect, often to be found languishing at the back of the grid.#bbcmicro #revs
Rescuing an old QBASIC game from 1996 and making it playable: Oval Racer gets revisited Timberwolf 2023-01-04 | Can I fix the flickery mess of my first ever QBASIC driving game, from 1996? Of course. It'd be worrying if I can't. But join me as I dive deep into vintage code, show some of QBASIC's weird optimisation rules, and even find time to dabble in the realms of classic DOS fixed-point polygon rendering.Yes, it's one of those. Have your copy of The Revolutionary Guide on standby.Also, watch @WhatHoSnorkers: youtube.com/JamesO'GradyWhatHoSnorkersAnd as promised, for anyone in need of a last-minute wedding present: https://files.timberwolf.club/RACE20.BASSubroutines:0:00 I never manage to do what I'm supposed to0:53 Anyway, here's Oval Racer and it is SHORT1:35 Vintage code roadshow3:04 PC speaker inbound4:03 Timberwolf's donkey tribute4:42 I have strong opinions about 1960s music. Again.5:10 A new meaning for "only cheating yourself"6:35 It gets real7:27 Some QBASIC tricks8:18 Unexpected bonus dog content8:48 Reverse gear9:13 The mandatory educational bit10:51 Old PCs and that12:35 This is totally how a car is made honest12:51 But why?13:37 My favourite type of programming: deleting code15:10 The classic BASIC effect16:08 Maybe it should be possible to win?16:37 For certain values of functional17:23 Serious expectation adjustment18:06 Being optimistic about one's teenage self18:21 Oval Racer is STILL short19:35 Let's randomly diss a load of TV programmes20:47 EXIT FORGames shown:Velocity 2 SEVelocity SEOval Racer (naturally)DONKEY.BASDarksideBeamNG.driveComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 21 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: all that music stuff refers to the battle for UK singles chart #1 4th-10th February 1965, between two cover versions of You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. Andrew Loog Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones, was so incensed at the poor taste of the British public (Cilla's version was ahead in the charts the previous week) that he took out an advert in Melody Maker at his own expense to point out how much better the Righteous Brothers version sounded - inadvertently coining the phrase "Wall of Sound" to describe Phil Spector's kitchen sink approach to pop music production.Wait, wasn't this supposed to be about BASIC?
The History of QBASIC and my history with it Timberwolf 2022-12-07 | If you had a DOS PC in the 1990s, chances are it came with QBASIC. In this video I talk about how it came to be, from the earliest IBM PC with BASIC in ROM to... well, PCs with BASIC not in ROM. I then explain how MS-DOS's bundled-in BASIC captivated the imagination of a younger me, with a little help from a school programming club.Yes, It's a #doscember video. It's released in December and it is largely about DOS.There are also games (DOS games, natch) you've probably not seen before. They're not very good, but that doesn't change the fact you've probably not seen them, unless you're watching this video for the second, third or even fifth time, an activity I'm fully on board with.And where else are you going to see someone hold up a copy of The Revolutionary Guide to QBASIC, eh?Program Listing:0:00 How I fail at retro gaming YouTube0:55 Nobody saw that coming did they?1:28 Transitional bits2:40 Let's hope this doesn't wind up all the ST owners3:18 The beginning, finally4:17 IBM PC DOS5:28 That's a lot of BASICs.6:02 That which shall not be named6:38 Oh wait so all of that was pointless6:52 BIOS copying explained by virtual chalkboard8:58 I just wanted to show off that wild Compaq bundled software9:58 I get into GW-BASIC... sike it's just truck sims again12:14 QuickBasic13:15 The trouble with DOS15:15 A game, at last! Not mine. Geoff's.15:47 Wait, I thought you said you programmed BASIC?16:32 I really hope none of those 1996-1998 filenames are "hilariously" offensive in a teenage way16:47 Authentic imagery of the British school system17:48 The programming club approaches18:13 Self-demystification and enraged Logo fans19:00 Social dynamics19:26 I lied. Sort of.19:55 Timberwolf's Games: Fast Driver21:28 A Graphical Interlude22:01 Ultima Net: too cool for school24:08 I fall behind24:54 Timberwolf's Games: Oval Racer25:05 Timberwolf's Games: Velocity26:08 Timberwolf's Games: Velocity 227:45 Timberwolf's Games: Flying Eye28:30 Crocodile Clips!29:06 The end in sightYes, I only have high... er, medium resolution pictures of my first computer at the point when it had already been upgraded to a K6/200, and by that point was an old PC we had kicking around spare to be a server for our student house. Digital cameras weren't exactly household items in the 286 era. Maybe if you're all really nice I'll dig around in the nostalgia box and see if I've got an out-of-focus film photo from a cheap, light-bleeding 35mm fixed lens camera for the next time I mention it.Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 29 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus Fact: many of the QuickBasic language features we know and (possibly) love from QBASIC only came along in later versions, and if it looks like I'm struggling to get a program together in the footage of QuickBasic 2.0 it's because everything I'm used to is yet to exist!Bonus Game: spot the error in the example "kind of C program I wrote when I was 12" section - worse still, something which was widely suggested by many C tutorials in magazines and books of the time!#doscember #qbasic
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: not an instant Chris Sawyer classic? Timberwolf 2022-11-23 | What about the gaming world of 2003 made RCT2 not the instant classic you'd expect, given how popular and well-loved it is even today? And does it really take me 51 minutes to explain what Marcel Vos did in just 13? Yes, I tried to create a video about RCT2's scenario progression, and because it is me I started looking at what original reviews thought of it, then exactly how well Wacky Worlds went down at the time, and 15 pages of script later here we are. I put a Transport Tycoon Deluxe box somewhere it's not meant to go.You may as well just watch Marcel's: youtube.com/watch?v=uHFaw-jHQ8wBut what is behind the surprisingly low scores for a classic game that has endured far beyond many of its 9/10 and 94%-scoring contemporaries? Why do people with YouTube channels say the game progression is bad, and what do we mean by good game progression anyway? What has early '90s CD-ROM-'em-up The 7th Guest have to do with any of this? Did I seriously draw a punk monk while attempting to come up with a visual metaphor for supernatural abilities? And how many commenters are going to spot and enjoy the many, many easter egg ride names I use in my own scenarios?The following attractions are open today:0:00 Hello again, context, whatevs0:56 In case of Sonic attack...1:39 This review does not exist in isolation2:25 I return to narrating voxels3:47 Vintage technical progression4:39 Ah, so that's how The 7th Guest is relevant5:17 At last, some sort of point!5:57 uh well that's Sim Theme Park actually6:57 Nobody plays RollerCoaster Tycoon now7:28 A call for help8:27 That having an actual point idea again9:34 Hello, it's Ian Craft10:27 RCT's short term reward loop11:55 Classic scenario unlock progression12:37 Not so classic scenario unlock progression13:58 THAT scenario.16:44 I show you a save game from 199917:26 Not a beginner scenario18:27 Introducing game mechanics20:50 RCT1's scenarios are great progression23:27 RCT2's scenarios are not great progression24:28 It's just an expansion tho25:43 But not a great expansion27:17 Yes I actually like Harmonic Hills28:03 Secretly, it's just an excuse to mention the Groovies28:58 The roller coaster British Rail built29:51 Terrain problems30:25 Wait, you're RESEARCHING these?31:19 Oh dear, it's the Frontier expansion packs32:15 Why I can't do an angry game review channel33:23 Or possibly any channel, for that matter34:16 Close your eyes for the next segment35:30 Headless guests!36:30 Quality Control, how does that work?37:52 Wacky Worlds - not all bad?39:00 Let's watch cartoons instead39:25 Time Twister: "kinda... better I guess?"40:15 Actually decent Frontier objects?40:55 A beginner scenario at the start for once!41:31 The problems come back42:55 Justifying "kinda... better I guess?"43:45 UCES, a whole video in itself44:28 My great lost expansion pack45:34 Undermining the last three quarters of an hour46:42 Yet another point I didn't cover47:12 Let's annoy the Grand Prix Unlimited fans again48:24 Vague memories of assisted coaster piracy49:15 Yeah, let's end it hereStock footage from Pexels, Pixabay, iStock and Wikimedia Commons (CC0 only)Games featured:Sonic 3OpenRCT2SimCity 3000Theme Park World / Sim Theme ParkOpenTTDRollerCoaster Tycoon 2The 7th GuestRollerCoaster Tycoon ClassicRollerCoaster TycoonMinecraft (Bedrock)Super Mario Bros.FactorioPlanet CoasterRollerCoaster Tycoon 3Grand Prix UnlimitedYeah okay, so I started writing a script and forgot to... well, stop.Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 178 hours long and boring, rather than 52 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: RollerCoaster Tycoon featured a cheat protection mechanism where it checked the date of the scenario tracking file to make sure it had not been modified since the game last wrote it. Unfortunately this did not take into account Daylight Savings Time, meaning players of the first game had to get used to losing their scenario progress every six months, a problem which took multiple patches to fix.Even worse, if you didn't have completed save games for each park you'd already finished the tool for recovering your scenario progress would be unable to unlock them, and wasn't always reliable even if you had. Often you'd have to play the parks again from the last saved point to unlock the scenario, meaning any vintage RCT1 fan had a lot of parks saved the day before scenario completion ready to load and unlock progress once more.#rct2 #retrogaming
The Incredible Destruction Physics of X-Com: Apocalypse Timberwolf 2022-10-19 | Why are all my favourite X-Com memories from Apocalypse? Is it the blend of real-time combat with the notoriously punishing tactical difficulty the series is known for? Or is it just goofing off to play stupid games and ruin people's buildings while they stand by, unable to do anything because the weapons have been edited right out of their hands?Predictably, it's BOTH.I explain why my favourite variety of X-Com is real-time, provide a little historical context that turn-based strategy wasn't quite so universally loved as you might think, and naturally dive in to how physics which let you collapse entire buildings work without also collapsing your 486.Undermined foundations:0:00 We've been here before0:45 "Weird" doesn't narrow this down much1:09 No Internet, just Teletext1:30 An interesting pronunciation of "start".2:25 That TV probably didn't support Teletext, did it now.3:09 Real time and its consequences4:55 Scaled down geography and scaled up furniture prices6:38 Keeping up the difficulty7:20 Time to get the editors out8:32 Yes, you can see what else I've got installed!8:49 Elerium Catch League 20849:26 Base layout editing10:00 Unexpected equipment miniaturisation programme10:44 Overkill11:32 I finally get to the point12:24 Fred Action: Space Asshole13:10 Teardown lives up to its name13:50 X-Com: Demolition Team14:45 But how does it work?17:04 Back to "why I likes it"17:40 Such a thing as too much destruction18:20 Shuddering to a conclusionGames Featured:X-Com: ApocalypseX-Com: Terror From The DeepRed Faction: GuerrillaTeardownDigitiser is a trademark of Paul Rose, content used with permission. Teletext images kindly provided from Chris Bell via Super Page 58, ultimately copyright DMG Media Ltd. Moc moc!Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 19 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: X-Com Apocalypse was originally intended to have a vastly richer and more complex series of alien dimensions with procedurally generated cityscapes, as opposed to the single fixed dimension which ended up in the game. Once the Organic Factory building is destroyed the aliens will lose all capability to access Mega-Primus, meaning the game can be played indefinitely with no opposition other than any hostile organisations X-Com refuses to repair relations with, or any that became infiltrated earlier in the game.
How Good Is Midtown Madness 2s London? Timberwolf 2022-09-07 | Look it's just me walking around London finding places a video game sort of looks like.Yes, it's time to visit London, in both its real-life 2022 incarnation and its low-polygon year 2000 equivalent from Midtown Madness 2. Why do games about places he's been fascinate Timberwolf so much? How well does Midtown Madness 2 manage to both feel like London, and capture the geographical layout of London? Is it possible for someone to genuinely be fascinated by bollards?And of course we couldn't possibly get through 20 minutes of this without a little explanation of how Midtown Madness and its sequel manage to compress entire cities into hardware that was barely up to a moderately-sized village.This Train Is Delayed Due To Track Defects At:0:00 I stand on a bridge!0:44 The idea of locality2:25 Please SCS, it would make my entire YEAR.2:48 The Lower Thames Street Experience3:36 Generic London is best London4:36 It's all bollards5:08 Far too much irrelevant detail about the Tube6:40 Maybe they should have set it in outer London7:09 Let us compare things!7:58 Isn't this supposed to be about games?8:25 I talk a little bit about mods8:44 Life advice: don't go west of Holborn9:50 Wait, 200MHz isn't powerful?12:06 How a bit of it works15:30 The Other City15:54 The Conclusion Begins16:31 How I played World Racing instead17:04 The existential uncertainty of Midtown Madness17:53 Undesirable action18:26 Supercar cabs19:25 The Conclusion Continues20:00 The Conclusion Concludes (that I should give up on gaming videos)Oh hey, the games featured list isn't a nightmare this time:Midtown Madness 2Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)Train SimulatorForza Horizon 4Euro Truck Simulator 2Midtown MadnessMM2 City ToolkitDescentMercedes-Benz World RacingIf you genuinely liked the Tube bit: youtube.com/channel/UCcHuNKYzVMc06FXqsBEAV3AIf you genuinely liked the bollards bit: bollardsoflondon.ukIf you just want the London Eye in Midtown Madness 2: mm2x.com (MM2 Revisited mod)Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 20 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: visiting all of the major Midtown Madness landmarks shown in this video (and a couple of others!) is a rather pleasant walk: start from Tower Bridge, walk through the City then down to the river at Blackfriars, carry along the Victoria Embankment to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, up Horse Guards Parade and then along the Mall/Constitution Hill to Hyde Park corner at which point you basically walk across the park collecting landmarks.For me it ended up being about 10 miles, although part of that was delays on the District Line (yes, really!) meaning I had to start at Liverpool Street, and also a *lot* of wandering around the alleyways of the City trying to find somewhere that was quiet enough to film bollards in. Oh, and my determination to film a thing which isn't even in the game. Although you do walk past the BFI IMAX to get there, a suprisingly recent thing to include in a 2000 game with it only having opened in May 1999.
Why arent there more open-source recreations of classic games? Timberwolf 2022-08-18 | Why isn't the world of gaming awash with open-source versions of almost any classic game you care to mention?BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT. And with that, I've saved the people who take time to read the description any need to watch 30 minutes of me scrawling on a pretend blackboard and battling at least 3 different disassembly programs to conclude that oh right, yes, the reason there is not an open-source version of Test Drive III is because IT IS DIFFICULT.But then again you might enjoy the journey through what Test Drive III does wrong, how it could have been fixed, and why despite me not bringing a brand new reimplementation to the roster of open source engines the future of such things is looking quite a bit brighter.mov ds, seg chapter:0:00 Don't be the thing I mock in this intro.0:19 I spent so long on this stupid laptop thing.1:15 You may as well watch Yesterzine instead.2:35 Test Drive's performance problem.3:48 I learnt 16-bit x86 assembler and DOS for this, I hope you're happy.6:36 A reminder of happier times.6:47 I have replicated the problem.7:42 Why couldn't they be bothered, eh?8:32 Timberwolf in CGA makes bad life choices.8:51 Let's talk about reverse engineering for a bit.10:12 People skipping chapters counts as engagement, right?17:18 Throw a Chris Sawyer game in, that always gets views.18:35 IT IS DIFFICULT.22:28 IT IS DIFFICULT, this time in reference to Test Drive 3.23:41 An even more disappointing version of Test Drive 3.24:05 Other people do cool and useful stuff.26:50 The spice must flow in reverse.27:44 Arrakis isn't the only option.29:21 Oh wait, someone already reverse engineered it.29:41 Do be the thing I suggest in this outro.Games/Things Featured:OpenTTDOpenRCT2ExultScummVMGran Turismo 2Frontier: Elite 2Captain Amphibio's 3D Frog Arranging SimulatorTest Drive III: The Passion (finally)Test Drive II: The DuelA really rubbish version of the DVD screensaver for MS-DOSAlex Kidd in Miracle WorldGrand Prix UnlimitedGhidraDOSBox debug buildChris Sawyer's LocomotionSourcerSebastian Macke's Maps: simulationcorner.net/td3/td3.htmlSpice86 Project Page: github.com/kevinferrare/spice86Masm2c Project Page: github.com/xor2003/masm2cThere is also a C# version of Spice86: github.com/OpenRakis/Spice86Yesterzine's history of DSI Part 1: youtube.com/watch?v=92h69Gh8TFQComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 30 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: Hit Squad re-releases of Test Drive III mention the performance problems on faster PCs in the game manual. Hope you've got a Turbo button on your 486 DX2.
Remastered and Definitive Editions: The Sierra and LucasArts Way Timberwolf 2022-07-27 | Remastered editions... the trademark of modern gaming? Or are they older than you think?The answer is yes. Of course it's yes, otherwise this would be a very short video. Which it very noticeably isn't, as I cover the journey of Sierra and LucasArts in their attempts to update and refresh their games for a new audience. Find out how the plot of Leisure Suit Larry is 6 years older than you'd think, how the adventure game was revolutionised by a company that had almost gone broke, and maybe even learn a little bit about how the graphical in all those adventures was squashed down to fit vintage floppy disks.And I realise that my life will never be quite what it was before I played damn near every game in the Leisure Suit Larry series.Savegames from past the difficult bit:0:00 Remastered and Expanded: The Definitive Edition1:01 Point. Click. Remaster1:18 The return of Ron1:50 The (graphical) adventure begins2:18 Not just an adventure with graphics3:13 Suddenly... the PCjr!3:47 Oh no, more technical details8:04 That's a lot of games8:55 We try to get this video demonetised10:41 Mullet Hair Manny11:35 George Lucas enters the scene12:15 A game without a genre12:42 What's wrong with Sierra anyway?13:33 LucasArts and the case of the dubious acronym14:37 Meanwhile in Coarsegold15:04 The original retro demake16:14 How many times do we need to release King's Quest?18:00 Indiana Jones and the Run Length Encoded Image19:31 No dithering in the corridors!20:55 Looming problems21:33 The version of Maniac Mansion you remember21:54 The version of Zak McKracken you don't22:50 VGA looms24:00 And now the opposite... VGA-native games in EGA25:00 Sierra gets VGA right first time25:49 Adventure game sass fest26:16 This is really just a lot of listing games26:50 The remaster gets remastered27:21 Trouble in remake town28:00 The fans step in28:53 The worst "Romancing The Stones" pun ever30:07 Kings Quest 3 multiplied by 231:18 The point at which I've played too much LSL32:14 Graphic adventures kill themselves32:38 I kill remastered and definitive editionsGames featured:Why must I do this to myself?Mafia Definitive EditionGrand Theft Auto San AndreasSpace Quest 1 (SCI)Thimbleweed ParkGrim Fandango (Remastered)Mystery House (Apple II)Kings Quest (PCjr booter)Space Quest (AGI)Police Quest (AGI)Leisure Suit Larry (AGI)Softporn (Apple II)Maniac Mansion (EGA v1)Kings Quest IV (SCI)Kings Quest IV (AGI)Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (EGA)Space Quest IIILoom (EGA)Maniac Mansion (EGA v2)Zak McKracken (EGA v2)Zak McKracken (FM Towns)Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (VGA)Loom (VGA)The Secret of Monkey Island (VGA)Monkey Island 2Indiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisKings Quest VSpace Quest IVPolice Quest 1 (SCI)Leisure Suit Larry (SCI)Kings Quest 1 VGA RemakeKings Quest 2: Romancing The StonesKings Quest 3 (AGD Interactive)Kings Quest 3 (Infamous Adventures)Leisure Suit Larry 3Leisure Suit Larry 6 (CD-ROM/SVGA)FM Towns photo by Lee LeBlanc, licensed under CC 2.0 Attribution GenericComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 3 hours long and boring, rather than 33 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: In addition to all the PC remakes and remasters, there was also a separate version of Kings Quest for the Sega Master System which recreated all the graphics in tilemap form, and Kings Quest VI on the Amiga was rebuilt from the ground up in Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine due to the terrible performance of the SCI Amiga port.
Hard Drivin: From Arcade to ZX - all the versions I didnt cover. Timberwolf 2022-06-23 | What's the least plausible version of Hard Drivin'? Which is the best to play? And how do the more technically interesting ones work? I go on a journey to find all the versions I didn't play in my video about Hard Drivin' for the Mega Drive which, thanks to that video's topic and the fact I spent most of it explaining how graphics work... is most of them.In amongst the loops and jumps we have unreleased prototypes, weird Japan-only variants, and some dire 8-bit home computer ports. Did they really make Hard Drivin' work on the GameBoy? Find out!Skip to your (least) favourite:0:00 Timberwolf at the wheel1:28 Really the first?2:00 I am not good at Winning Run3:16 Something about graphics accelerators5:01 System 21 is not a PC.6:12 ...but Hard Drivin' kinda is.7:13 The arcade sequel and its physics9:11 A little bit about Street Drivin' and Airborne9:38 16-bit home computer versions10:44 Hang on, isn't this supposed to have a wheel?11:32 Good Times Unlimited11:57 Hard Drivin' 2 doesn't join up.12:34 Race Drivin' on an A1200 is nice!13:20 Race Drivin' on the Mega Drive is OK.14:42 A version more ridiculous than the Mega Drive15:05 3D on the ZX Spectrum16:00 Let's explain attribute clash17:35 Include this if you mention the Spectrum. It's the law.18:12 Oh wow I'm bad at Starglider19:15 Madlads.21:14 Alan Sugar's Electronic Discotheque22:27 The C64? Really?23:00 The one which didn't get finished24:18 They did WHAT??26:44 A 16-bit 8-bit version27:23 The tale of Mikey and Suzy28:54 How to live without a GPU debugger30:40 Yes, I played the SNES version. Sigh.32:54 Maybe I'm just bad at all games with "Star" in the title.34:16 A plethora of expansion chips34:56 SNES Race Drivin' is good! If you cheat.35:45 I just wanted to include the PS1 boot sound37:07 Back to SEGA for another excellent '90s boot sequence.38:10 Bus Bending Simulator is a Hard Drivin' game?39:13 I put my own car on the line40:31 The ultimate version of Hard Drivin'41:00 Credits.Music by:Something Sinister by ant512 (CC-BY 4.0)FCHP by elPatrix (CC-BY 4.0)Instant Suppression by KJ Jose (CC-BY 4.0)Lonely Heart by Andreas Viklund (CC-BY 4.0)Dreams 3 by The Solid Energy Crew (CC-BY 4.0)Endless River by Zilly Mike (CC-BY 4.0)Hannibaugh by Pip Malt (CC-BY 4.0)Faraway Love by Andreas Viklund (CC-BY 4.0)Amber by Jan125 (CC-BY 4.0)Bounce by ant512 (CC-BY 4.0)Ice-Breaker by Zilly Mike (CC-BY 4.0)Fresh Bits by KJ Jose (CC-BY 4.0)Down the Elevator Shaft by Pip Malt (CC-BY 4.0)Where indicated, music files licensed under CC-BY 4.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Alan Sugar photograph by Damien EverettConsole images by Evan AmosGames featured:Oh bloody hell.Hard Drivin' (Arcade)Winning Run (Arcade)Race Drivin' (Arcade)Street Drivin' (Arcade)Car & Driver (PC)Hard Drivin' (PC/Amiga)Grand Prix Unlimited (PC)Hard Drivin' 2: Drive Harder (PC)Stunts/4D Sports Driving (PC)Race Drivin' (Amiga)Race Drivin' (Mega Drive)Hard Drivin' (ZX Spectrum)Driller (ZX Spectrum)Everyone's A Wally (ZX Spectrum)Magic Mushrooms (Acorn Electron)Manic Miner (ZX Spectrum)Starglider (ZX Spectrum)Hard Drivin' (Amstrad CPC464)Hard Drivin' (Commodore C64)Hard Drivin' (NES, unreleased)Race Drivin' (Gameboy)Hard Drivin' (Atari Lynx)Race Drivin' (SNES)Starfox (SNES)Super Mario RPG (SNES)Hard Drivin' A Go Go (PlayStation)Race Drivin' (Saturn)BeamNG.drive (PC)BeamNG track: The Nostalgia 1989 by mike22 (beamng.com/threads/the-nostalgia-remake-of-the-original-hard-drivin-track.7249)Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 7 hours long and boring, rather than 41 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: while it may seem implausible, several of the Hard Drivin' stunts including the loop and bridge jump have been completed in real life. While a loop requires a reasonably high performance model to reach the speed required to successfully traverse it, it is entirely possible in a standard road car.
MegaDrive Hard Drivin: too clever for the console? Timberwolf 2022-05-25 | How can one of the MegaDrive's worst racing games be one of its cleverest? In search of yet more racing game pain and suffering, I discover that the only pain I'm going to encounter with Hard Drivin' for the MegaDrive is quite how many diagrams I need to draw to explain it to you. Maybe it's time to upgrade to something a little newer than Deluxe Paint 2 Enhanced.See what makes Hard Drivin' interesting is that, on the face of it, Sega's 16-bit wonder can't do polygons at all. We know this. It's why Virtua Racing needs that fancy extra chip in the cartridge. So how is Hard Drivin' doing this all on a standard console? And why would the original developers and indeed players not really have worried about that famous frame rate?Skip to the end of polygon drawing:0:00 Lazy Generic Angry Game Reviews0:27 The real intro1:53 Turns out there are stupid questions3:02 PC graphics cards: NOT for games4:39 People will want access to the stupid inserts, right?5:27 Console graphics: FOR games7:03 Let's talk about sprites8:15 How do '80s driving games work?11:53 The Polygon13:05 Let's talk vintage frame rates14:09 The Polygon at the arcade14:37 We finally get to the point... almost15:05 Challenge Timberwolf: Hard Drivin' Championship Lap20:37 A review of Hard Drivin' of sorts21:26 How does it work, if you're not on a MegaDrive?22:20 OK, but what if you ARE on a MegaDrive?22:46 Timberwolf manages to avoid the point again...23:00 ...or maybe not24:12 Yes, I did just explain how Hard Drivin' works25:48 How to double buffer without two buffers27:06 Time to mention that £70 cartridge28:02 How did Virtua Racing work?29:10 15fps. It's the law.29:51 Is it time for an iconoclastic verdict already?30:33 It's been 31 minutes, let's give up and rent gamesMusic from original games and by DivKid / Nico Staf1. Rich In The 80s - DivKid2. Fast and Run - Nico StafGames Featured:Hard Drivin' (MegaDrive)Outrun (Arcade)ZZT (PC)Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero/Whatever Turtles (NES)Car & Driver (PC)Indianapolis 500: The Simulation (PC)Formula One Grand Prix (PC)Formula One Grand Prix (Amiga)Hard Drivin' (Arcade)Test Drive 2: The Duel (MegaDrive)Virtua Racing (MegaDrive)Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 3 hours long and boring, rather than 31 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: F1GP has one of the strangest frame rate options of any game, where you select the number of frames per second of simulated time, and if your PC isn't fast enough then one second of simulated time will take longer than one second of real time. It's a genuine problem for recording and sharing hotlaps, where this slowdown makes things easier.#megadrive #harddrivin #polygons
Carmageddon 2 Had A Wild Mod Scene Timberwolf 2022-05-11 | How did a controversial game end up spawning a fantastic mod scene? I delve into Carmageddon; the uneasy relationship between gaming and mainstream media in the late '90s, how it skirted the censors, and whether it was a good game or one that only sold because it irritated the newspapers. Then I look at the sequel - can I finally lay to rest my teenage frustration at being unable to beat the game's end-of-group missions? And what was it about the game's mod scene which made none of that really matter?Direct Controversy Access:0:00 The News, circa 19973:06 But what is this all about?4:13 Finally, some gameplay footage5:37 Was Carmageddon 1 any good?7:28 Modding your game8:01 Carmageddon 2 arrives and I don't have the right graphics card9:33 Progress roadblock10:12 Challenge Timberwolf: Complete an easy Carmageddon 2 mission15:13 It's still my favourite though16:08 The Mod Scene and its survival18:11 Who did I forget?19:06 The future of preservation19:50 The three flavours of C2 mod21:18 Limitations22:40 The third category23:45 Why were vintage mod scenes so great?Music by Geographer / The 126ers / The Whole Other / Houses of Heaven / TrackTribe / Devon Church / Dan Henig / Quincas Moreira (YouTube Audio Library)1. Val Holla - Geographer2. On My Way Home - The 126ers3. The Machine Assembly - The Whole Other4. Escape - Houses of Heaven5. Duck In The Alley - TrackTribe6. Weak Knight - Devon Church7. Berlin at Night - Dan Henig8. Darkdub - Quincas MoreiraGames Featured:Destruction DerbyCarmageddonCarmageddon 2Links:Toshiba's Road Reaction 2000: rr2000.cwaboard.co.ukCWA Board: cwaboard.co.ukUltimate Car Pack: moddb.com/mods/ultimate-car-pack/downloads/ultimate-car-packSeduction of Destruction: sod-4-u.webs.com/versionfiles.htmDethrace: github.com/dethrace-labs/dethraceBRender source code: github.com/foone/BRender-v1.3.2Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 26 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: Stainless seemed to enjoy method acting a little too much - creating the crash sounds by running themselves over using a large American car (I believe put in game as the Hevy Impaler shown at around 7:30), and making the Max Damage Pratcam extra realistic by hitting the actor with a pool cue. Die Anna was thankfully spared the same treatment.
Viper Racing: Sierras OTHER 1998 Racing Sim Timberwolf 2022-04-27 | A never-heard-of-'em from the golden era of PC sim racing? Of course I need some of that. Providing it's on a budget label, which my copy naturally was.But parsimonious late '90s purchasing decisions aside, does Viper Racing's dedicated single model focus result in a satisfying simulation experience? You're a mere twelve minutes from finding out. Also finding out why games stopped following that model. Plus learning the phrase "Smörgåsbord Simulator", which I did not coin and will almost certainly fail to pronounce every time it appears in my script.Difficult Gear Shifts:0:00 The tyranny of the roster0:27 I fail to say "Smörgåsbord"1:45 It's 1998 and 200 cars is not normal2:43 One car. That's what's normal.4:33 Velvet Realism and Nico5:13 Getting a 23-year-old Viper running6:30 Does it hold up?7:25 The slightly more good bits9:05 Gran Turismo with 0.5% of the car list9:25 Don't let Timberwolf in the paint shop.9:39 Let's not make another mod hunting video10:04 Inevitable joke about the M2510:20 Buried for a reason?11:35 Third time's the Smörgåscharm?Music by Telecasted / RKVC / Everet Almond (YouTube Audio Library)1. Cattle (Telecasted)2. Crops (Telecasted)3. That One Bar Scene (RKVC)4. American Idle (RKVC)5. Down The Drain (Everet Almond)Games Featured:Forza Motorsport 7Gran Turismo 2Test DriveTest Drive 2Car & DriverThe Need For SpeedPorsche ChallengeBeetle Adventure RacingF355 ChallengeViper RacingGrand Prix LegendsComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 12 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: The first "Dodge Viper" I encountered was a Matchbox model called the Sunburner, strongly resembling the concept car but renamed after a licence agreement with the Chrysler Corporation failed to materialise.
The Forgotten Mods of Midtown Madness Timberwolf 2022-04-13 | Remember when adding things to your game was "modding" and not "paid DLC"? Apparently Timberwolf does, but the Internet doesn't. In this video I reinstall Midtown Madness, review it, then go searching for the mods I thought were lost to disc rot and the council waste collection service many years ago. Can I still find them 20 years later?(No cheating inferring the answer to this from video existence and/or length)Yep, it's a weird nostalgia trip through a very blocky version of Chicago. Will I be able to do it from the wheel of a car that was never on the game disc, or will I forever be confined to a choice of Beetle, Mustang or Eldorado?Oh. And there are some challenges.Chapter Madness:0:00 I fail at digital preservation. And going to the pub.1:53 Let's play some Midtown Madness2:47 Flight Simulator for cars?3:51 Does it hold up today?5:34 Modern expectations, vintage Internet6:35 The days of SDKs7:24 Ignore the flag, this was the past8:37 I try to access Internet sites from 20 years ago11:31 The precarious state of Midtown Madness in 202212:23 Did I succeed?13:32 Timberwolf's Federally-Mandated Speedometer Challenge14:50 My favourite mods and why15:45 Timberwolf's Airborne Volvo River Crossing Challenge16:50 Later mods and bigger ambitions17:57 We go to Arch County18:53 The less precarious state of Midtown Madness in 202220:02 Bonus VolvoMusic by Mini Vandals / TrackTribe / Dan Lebowitz / Jingle Punks / Endless Love / Corbyn Kites (YouTube Audio Library)1. Tacklebox Blues (Mini Vandals)2. Delta (TrackTribe)3. Finding Light (Dan Lebowitz)4. Anomalous Hedges (Mini Vandals)5. Greaser (TrackTribe)6. Duck In The Alley (TrackTribe)7. Ditch Diggin' (Jingle Punks)8. Duck In The Alley (TrackTribe)9. Staycation (Corbyn Kites)Games Featured (briefly, in most cases):Microsoft Midtown MadnessMicrosoft Flight SimulatorEuro Truck Simulator 2Forza Horizon 4BeamNG.driveGrand Theft Auto IIIThanks to the Open1560 project, Midtown Madness Archive and Midtown Madness 2 eXtreme, without whom this video would have been a lot shorter, sadder, and riddled with glitchy menu graphics. Also to Graeme Cole for the incredibly useful Octagon Simulator, ideal for all your fake game show needs: greem.co.uk/octagonsimulatorThere are also Midtown Madness communities still keeping the game going on Discord!Madness Crew: discord.gg/xjWe8uurE9Midtown Club: discord.gg/jQDPV667xeComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 20 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: the "Chicago Edition" on the game box hinted at multiple city-based editions similar to Flight Simulator's scenery packs, however this was dropped for Midtown Madness 2 which features both London and San Francisco.
Mafias Fairplay mission: a better racing game than Spirit Of Speed 1937? Timberwolf 2022-03-30 | In this video, I compare games from completely different genres - because both feature 1930s car racing, and both are rather infamous for their treatment of it. But is a difficult mission better than a game which is difficult to enjoy in any way whatsoever?(I mean, we kinda have a foregone conclusion here)Yes, it's time to challenge Timberwolf. First to complete Mafia's notoriously difficult race mission, and then to attempt to derive any joy whatsoever from playing Spirit Of Speed 1937. Only one of which he manages. And when the virtual dust has settled, I decide: just which is the better simulation of 1930s Grand Prix racing?Skippable clickables:0:00 The threat.0:29 Fetch the tongs!1:51 The original dull taxi mission game start2:41 Cinematic pretensions3:33 Plot? In my games?4:31 Git gud. Unless it's cars.5:53 Linear Game Blues6:22 Challenge Timberwolf, Mafia Edition14:30 The Other Game16:39 Accurate Byfleets (I try to be positive)17:34 Challenge Timberwolf, Have A Horrible Time Edition24:48 Let's wrap up and uninstall this nightmareMusic by Brian Bolger / Chris Haugen / Aaron Lieberman / Topher Mohr and Alex Elena / Doug Maxwell / Dan Lebowitz. (YouTube Audio Library)1. Black Mass (Brian Bolger)2. Et Voila3. Gypsy Stroll4. Gypsy Dance5. Intimate Tango6. MysteriesGames Featured:MafiaGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Prix LegendsSpirit Of Speed 1937Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 26 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Bonus fact: if it wasn't for the inclusion of SafeDisc, Mafia would run perfectly on a modern operating system.
Hardwar: The space trader the 90s forgot Timberwolf 2022-03-16 | In this video, I finally buy a game I've been meaning to buy since 1998. And naturally, explain why quite a large number of other people also did not buy Hardwar in 1998 and probably are not going to buy it in 2022 either. Yes, it's yet another video with a game and title no-one is EVER going to search for! Almost like I'm bad at publicity or something.Along the way I dig out an early DOS prototype version, explain why the gameplay didn't fit the late '90s laddish and club-bound ethos, look at the surprising amount of post-launch support, pronounce the game title as "hardware" at least twice, and fail at unboxing a graphics card due to outside interference.Yes, we have dog content.Manifest:0:00 A guessing game1:16 Slipstream 50002:08 256 darker and moodier colours2:33 In-joke for 39 people2:47 Saying more than "Find Out!"3:06 Elite and plot3:29 Let's talk about Hardwar then4:55 Hardwar is difficult6:52 Why isn't Hardwar more well-known?7:23 We do talk about Wipeout8:00 A Gremlin in the marketing8:43 Bad timing, 3D engine edition10:05 Why I took 24 years to buy it10:40 Fandom to the rescue!11:56 No reason for a chapter heading, I just liked this music track12:57 Obtaining it (or not)13:30 Timberwolf elects not to go clubbing, plays Hardwar insteadMusic by Loyalty Freak Music (public domain) and Jason Shaw (CC-BY):1. Everyone is so alive (Loyalty Freak Music)2. Sk8board (Jason Shaw)3. It feels good to be alive too (Loyalty Freak Music)4. Boom (Jason Shaw)5. Feels Good 2 B (Jason Shaw)Games Featured:Slipstream 5000HardwarFrontier: First Encounters (FFED3D mod)WipeoutHardwar (early DOS prototype)Bonus fact: the original release version's skies matched far better with the fog effect, reducing the "draw-in" effect you see a few times during my footage.#hardwar #findout
Made of springs: BeamNG.drive and the history of sim racing physics Timberwolf 2022-03-02 | Why is BeamNG.drive the destroyer of CPUs and yet at the same time the future of driving game physics? Yes, it's another Timberwolf video full of chalkboard diagrams, detailed explanations, and me holding things while there is an object on my head. Was Grand Prix Legends really the landmark game which changed sim racing forever, or was it merely one step in a gradual evolution full of games we've since forgotten?I explain what a sim is, why the list of what gets included and what isn't is so controversial, and how the history of racing sims tracked improvements in CPU technology. Including explanations of how those physics engines worked and why they worked the way they did. Along the way I ask why sims got so difficult, and whether this was necessarily the height of realism everyone claimed it was.Plus I try to play in the style of the Velvet Underground. Badly.0:00 Surprisingly little attribute clash0:32 The definition of "sim"1:19 Let's restart that Gran Turismo argument3:21 I mock the early 2000s (again)3:48 Filming the North Circular for limited fun and no profit4:36 A-level maths and 12MHz 286s5:43 2D physics models7:22 Kaemmer's Dream8:01 Simulation in three dimensions8:58 I hold bad games (again)10:20 Was SODA just too difficult?10:57 The game you were thinking of11:14 The bit where you can complain how bad I am at a thing11:35 GPL's influence12:00 Why sims got difficult14:05 Why sims stopped getting difficult14:50 Your flexible friend15:24 Oh yes, this was supposed to be about springs16:06 Physics asplode17:10 More forgotten games only Timberwolf remembers18:05 The inescapable sim argument18:32 I drive a bus to make a point18:56 Really, yet another truck game?20:03 Can we have the featured game yet?20:55 Too many AI cars for an i521:45 Making the difference with a tyre model23:05 About that sim definition...23:53 But is this the next generation?Games featured:Chequered FlagBeamNG.DriveGran Turismo 2Hard Drivin'NASCAR RacingSODA Off Road RacingStuntsGrand Prix LegendsAssetto CorsaWinSpringies/XSpringies1nsaneRigs of RodsMusic from YouTube Audio LibraryBonus fact: most Gran Turismo games from 2 onward have offered the option to equip your car with "control" or "comfort" tyres with a more realistic level of grip, although as this does not affect AI vehicles races will become very difficult.#beamng #madeofsprings
Quid Game: Cheap Trucking. Timberwolf 2022-02-16 | Can you get your truck simulation thrills on the cheap? If slowly reversing a trailer into a cone (while trying not to) is your idea of a thrill, then certainly. Even more so if your ideal truck simulation is bouncing over a low-detailed rendition of California while the most ridiculous pop punk ever licensed for a relatively low fee blasts from the radio.Yes, Quid Game is back, and this time it's about trucks. Because my other video was about trucks, and it was time to spill my low-budget game purchasing secrets. While finding yet more unacceptable non-standard ways to play truck simulators.Things that may or may not have happened:0:00 Timberwolf steals jokes before they can be told0:37 Unpaid promotion0:48 Trucks are less expensive than you expect1:32 Four cheap games on the wall1:40 Game #1 goes the way of a low-spec Volvo2:13 And if Game #2 should accidentally fall...2:48 A more quid-based look at Rig'n'Roll3:41 Cutscene problems4:50 Verdict with careful qualification6:00 Re-evaluating rose-tinted recollections7:25 Quid Games can be short games7:45 Android shovelware is a great comparison8:10 Oh, it's the foot gimmick again9:17 Includes basketball9:47 This was just an excuse for the gimmicks, wasn't it?11:45 Allowed to have fun12:44 Variety pack with two of the same cereal13:12 Speaking of someone who needs some new ideas...14:38 The Low Polygon Range Rover Preservation Society15:19 Truck Simulator Simulator15:45 Some sort of conclusionMusic from YouTube Audio Library, Chris Haugen / The 126ers / Dan Lebowitz / Midnight NorthGames Featured:Mario Andretti's Racing ChallengeEuro Truck Simulator 2American Truck SimulatorEuro Truck SimulatorTrucks 'n' TrailersRig 'n' RollKing of the RoadScania Truck Driving SimulatorNo dogs were harmed during the making of this video. One Timberwolf may have been harmed a little.Games purchased for 79p in January 2022. Local prices and frequency of sales may vary. ETS2 with all its DLC is definitely not a Quid Game.In the glove compartment!#quidgame #intheglovecompartment
PC-RR and the importance of digital archives Timberwolf 2022-02-09 | Is Timberwolf showing us yet more CGA weirdware, or is he getting a soapbox? Why not... both?I show you PC-RR, a piece of railway modelling software from the very earliest days of PC gaming. And then use it to take you on a journey through bulletin boards, accidental piracy, and the importance of context in retrogaming.It's basically six minutes of me waving ancient artefacts in front of a camera.Music by Reed Mathis, via YouTube Audio Library.Archives mentioned in this video -Internet Archive: archive.orgRetromags: retromags.comSuper Page 58: superpage58.comIf I didn't mention Yesterzine in the description of a video talking about why the surrounding context in which videogames existed is important I would probably be In Trouble, so here is a channel all about it: youtube.com/user/Duds2k1Revenge of the Chapteroids:0:00 I think we're gonna need a smaller train0:25 PCs to the rescue0:48 Monochrome 1980s gaming time!2:00 Upload-induced inconsistency2:28 "A little imagination". Probably more like a lot.3:03 Fake History4:13 The actual point of the video4:57 How the tapes got circulated5:28 Unexpected golf6:13 Memory failure with no error correction6:45 Soapbox rant time!7:31 Context as viewed through questionable music choices8:14 Dreams and tape circulation9:10 Timberwolf apparently grew up in black and white9:47 We somehow shudder to a conclusionGames featured:Train SimulatorPC-RR4D Sports Driving / StuntsJack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes Of Major Championship GolfJack Nicklaus Signature EditionMobil 1 Rally ChampionshipYes, this did really exist. I think.
Truck Simulators... really? Who plays them, and what were they like in the 1980s? Timberwolf 2022-02-02 | Truck games: something just for nerds and people who play them on stream for a joke, right? Well, not quite. I explore the history of trucking games, look at some of the genre's biggest hits, and delve into the most controversial feature in all of simulated trucking: ETS2's UK junctions. Plus a detour into the exciting new world of foot-based gaming.Look, it's been a long pandemic, OK?0:00 The magic of a cardboard box0:44 Adulthood and the big question1:10 Truck simulation in 20222:10 Truck simulation on a 2863:40 Anyone can program, even me!4:14 Oh no, edutainment4:38 The Russian connection5:28 King of the Road6:24 The Curse of California, Part 18:40 Shovelware nostalgia time10:40 Not the Euro Truck Simulator you're thinking of12:15 Timberwolf Makes An Effort14:18 SCS and the challenge years14:59 This is going to be stupid.15:49 Recognisable modernity and sick jumps16:41 The first famous one17:36 The Curse of California, Part 219:08 But really, who is playing these?20:35 Slow Gaming21:09 Consumer Advice TimeVocal cameo kindly provided by Dave of "Anyone For Seconds?" - listen to the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/anyoneforsecondspodcastMusic from YouTube Audio Library, Dan Lebowitz / ALBIS / The Whole Other / Unicorn Heads / Midnight NorthGames featured, even if briefly:Euro Truck Simulator 2American Truck SimulatorMudrunnerBig RigVelocity 2: Special EditionCrosscountry CanadaHard Truck: Road to VictoryKing of the RoadRig'n'Roll18 Wheels of Steel: Across AmericaEuro Truck SimulatorTrucks'n'TrailersScania Truck Driving SimulatorReal LifeSitting in a cardboard box pretending to drive a lorryDrive carefully and always pay attention to the road.
Was Pizza Tycoon the 34th Worst Game of All Time? Timberwolf 2022-01-26 | Once described as the 34th worst game of all time, did Pizza Tycoon deserve such a damning indictment? I look at the game itself, explore why some magazines drew extreme conclusions about games in the days before everything had to score at least 8/10, and explain why the worst games of all time aren't necessarily the actual worst games of all time.And I played Wand of Gamelon for you. If that doesn't deserve a pity subscribe, what does?0:00 Computer Gaming World's bold assertion0:32 An inappropriate sponsor0:43 I put a pizza on my head1:02 Are the worst games of all time really all that bad?1:37 The problem's the magazine, not me2:46 Piracy!4:08 Never trust Timberwolf to cook a pizza4:40 It's the '90s, and games are obtuse5:28 A low barrier to entry6:21 Sabotage6:44 Why did CGW dislike Pizza Tycoon?8:13 Why "worst" games aren't always the worst9:03 What Microprose did wrong9:30 But should you buy the 34th worst game of all time?If you'd like to live the horror for yourself, you can find Wand of Gamelon Remastered here: archive.org/details/foer-wogr-patched-12-9-20It is slightly not quite as bad as the CD-i version.Pizza Tycoon box art by Vertigo Acidburn. CGW magazine pages from the Internet Archive. Mr Blobby and related items almost certainly a trademark of someone, whether they'd like to admit it or not - reproduced here under fair dealing rights.Music from Pizza Tycoon and the YouTube Audio Library.Stay safe.Bonus fact: Pizza Tycoon's furniture editor lets you place cigarette machines in your restaurants, a surprisingly late title to feature smoking in a non age restricted game.#microprose#dos#tycoon
Catacomb 3D: ids Other Wolfenstein Timberwolf 2022-01-19 | Did you know that id made Wolfenstein 3D... before they made Wolfenstein 3D? Join me for a trip through id's early raycasting engines: what a raycaster is, what id made with it, and other daring tales of what happens when you decide to make your own games on company time.And yes. Once more, we're in the land of EGA DOS games. Please wear the special goggles to prevent long-term eye damage.Believe it or not, there's a modern source port - which improves the appearance markedly by using a diminished lighting technique similar to later id engines: github.com/ArnoAnsems/CatacombGL0:00 Intro1:02 Wolfenstein 3D2:40 Raycasting - how it works4:37 Softdisk and Gamer's Edge5:31 Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement6:20 Commander Keen6:57 The Softdisk contract / Keen Dreams7:53 Hovertank 3D8:58 The Ultima Underworld connection9:50 Catacomb 3D11:19 Catacomb Abyss11:46 Catacomb Armageddon12:33 Catacomb Apocalypse13:30 Should you buy it?#id#wolfenstein#catacomb
Populous: The Original God Game Timberwolf 2022-01-12 | Would you believe there was once a time when Peter Molyneux's name wasn't merely a lazy reference for broken promises? But how did Bullfrog's original classic come about, and was the origin story quite as bean-centric and full of wild coincidence and derring-do as later tellings of it make out?Join me for a trip through the history of Bullfrog, and a little investigation into the strategy and mechanics of Populous - the original "God Game"
Space Travel: The Kerbal Space Program Of 1969 Timberwolf 2021-12-29 | A little while ago I went on a quest to find the earliest "realistic" space simulator. Would it be from the year 2000? 1991? The early 1980s, even? But what if it was even earlier, hailing from the year of Abbey Road, Woodstock and the moon landings?I then embarked on a longer, harder and infinitely more frustrating quest to get the very first space simulator running so I could play it. Did I succeed? Well - if I didn't, those chapter headings suggest I've just uploaded a video with 11 and a half minutes of dead air.With many thanks to the simh team, the PDP-7 UNIX team, and the PDP-7 UNIX mailing list including some very helpful messages from Sebastian Rasmussen and Lars Brinkhoff, without which (and whom) this video would not exist in the form it does.Games covered:0:00 Kerbal Space Program0:45 Frontier1:27 Orbiter2:04 Microsoft Space Simulator2:48 Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space3:31 Shuttle4:48 Shuttle Simulator5:06 Apollo 115:48 History of Space Travel6:30 Getting Space Travel running8:30 Space Travel
NIOSA is the weirdest game youve never seen Timberwolf 2021-12-15 | I delve deep into the box of CGA games from my childhood and return with one of the strangest things ever to be downloaded from a bulletin board. It's NIOSA! A 1987 game in the tragically under-represented genre of Frijole-em-up. Perhaps the original walking simulator?I explore the game, share what little information I've been able to find about it, and explain why it's games like this that I associated with that weird early PC gaming era.
PC Speaker Wizardry: The History of Sound Before Soundcards Timberwolf 2021-12-08 | What did PC games do for sound before the introduction of the AdLib card in 1987? And was there digitised sound before the Sound Blaster or Covox Speech Thing?Join me for a a typically light-hearted and yet surprisingly factual journey through the history of game soundtracks on the IBM PC.WARNING: contains flashing images at 03:20. Also warning: contains PC speaker sound effects throughout.Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 14 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Image credits:Fire: Kelly L, "Flame of a Gas Lamp"All others public domain, CC0 or self-authored
Quid Game: Mobil 1 Rally Championship (1999) Timberwolf 2021-11-24 | Welcome to Quid Game! A cross-channel collaboration started by Dudley of Yesterzine (youtube.com/channel/UCZOwtwsN4fy4BA1DyhZjt8g), in which a collection of retro YouTubers review a game that could conceivably be purchased in CeX for a quid.In my video, I go lower than even that parsimonious budget to review Magnetic Fields' 1999 PC title, Mobil 1 Rally Championship.Links and other Quid Game reviews:Yesterzine - http://www.yesterzine.co.ukQuid Game playlist - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqPaeYdiNYyme27egtC6W2GfgTV-7IhmfImage credits:London Trocadero image: swoosh by Master Man, CC-BY 2.0
Isometric Dreams: The Chris Sawyer Story Timberwolf 2021-11-17 | What did Chris Sawyer do before Transport Tycoon? Why did he disappear from game production? And what allowed his games to be so complex on the slow and simple PCs of their time? Find out all of that and more in this lighthearted but detailed look at his career.0:00 Intro0:40 Memotech MTX games3:30 Early PC conversions4:40 Transport Tycoon5:55 Transport Tycoon Deluxe6:25 Roller Coaster Tycoon8:13 Roller Coaster Tycoon 29:35 Chris Sawyer's Locomotion11:31 Mobile games12:32 LegacyComments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 13 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.Third party imagery and clips:Roller coaster loop by KM LAtari printer by McCormick/MulticherryIBM disk drive by Michael HollyMemotech MTX image by BilbyPS1 Transport Tycoon screenshot courtesy MobyGamesAlan Sugar image by Damien EverettRCT1 prototype by Chris Sawyer via Nic's Corner
Tutorial: Getting Started With OpenTTD 12.1 Timberwolf 2021-11-13 | OpenTTD has seen a few changes since I last uploaded a tutorial, and I like to think I've got a little better at making videos since then. (And found a few new mistakes to make!)An update of my original OpenTTD tutorial showing you how to get started, and how to connect industries and towns with each of the four basic transport types:- Road Vehicles- Trains (including signals using the new 12.1 signalling menu)- Boats- AircraftPlus other information such as station and local authority ratings, prototype vehicles and new inventions, useful keyboard shortcuts, and maybe the occasional aside or joke. Does this count as a face reveal? I'm not entirely sure.Websites:OpenTTD on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/1536610/OpenTTDOpenTTD on GOG: gog.com/game/openttd?track_click=1&link_id=openttd_gameOpenTTD on Microsoft Store: microsoft.com/en-gb/p/openttd-official/9ncjg5rvrr1c?activetab=pivot:overviewtabOpenTTD website: openttd.orgDonate to OpenTTD: openttd.org/donateOpenTTD Reddit: reddit.com/r/openttdOpenTTD Discord: discord.gg/hKzMGUxCC-BY content credits:Dumpster Fire "My memory" by Rob SwystunChapters:0:00 Remember manuals?0:30 Intro0:48 Getting The Game3:14 Making Money6:50 Road Vehicles: Lorries15:51 Road Vehicles: Buses18:05 Grouping Vehicles20:01 Trains25:54 Signals29:09 Double Track31:34 Double Track Stations33:35 Rail Networks35:58 Boats38:28 Canals39:24 Prototype Vehicles40:14 Aircraft43:53 What I Didn't CoverBehind The Scenes: https://timberwolf.club/bts-getting-started-openttd-12/
X-COM: The Wilderness Years Timberwolf 2021-11-10 | Just what happened to X-COM between 1994's UFO: Enemy Unknown and 2012's X-COM: Enemy Unknown?Join me for a trip through grand ambitions, odd ideas, hasty releases and games which never even saw the light of day. Where X-COM went and why the series lay dormant for years before its reboot.0:00 Intro0:26 Terror From The Deep1:32 Apocalypse3:45 Alliance4:42 Interceptor5:48 Genesis6:58 First Alien Invasion7:57 Enforcer9:50 OutroMajor thanks to UFOPaedia (ufopaedia.org) and Terry Greer for their excellent collections of information about the series and the many things which were cut back or cancelled.
RCT2: Beating Quantums Edge (Part 3) Timberwolf 2021-10-29 | #RCT #RollerCoasterTycoon #OpenRCT2It's Rollercoaster Tycoon's most famously difficult custom scenario... and to finish my playthrough of RCT2, I'm going to beat it with room (and time!) to spare. I'll need everything I've learnt during the game just to make it through the first couple of months, let alone the whole scenario.In this episode I attempt to add a little variety, after feeling a bit too much guilt about the proliferation of the Quantum Cheeseburger series. Inevitably, I find the coaster type I want to build isn't available. But never mind, the Merry-Go-Round will be! Unfortunately the financial challenge of the scenario starts to catch up with me, and it's a tense ride to get to what we all came here for... premium balloon-clicking content.OpenRCT2: openrct2.org
RCT2: Beating Quantums Edge (Part 2) Timberwolf 2021-10-28 | #RCT #RollerCoasterTycoon #OpenRCT2It's Rollercoaster Tycoon's most famously difficult custom scenario... and to finish my playthrough of RCT2, I'm going to beat it with room (and time!) to spare. I'll need everything I've learnt during the game just to make it through the first couple of months, let alone the whole scenario.In this episode I introduce my secret weapon for beating Quantum's Edge: the Quantum Cheeseburger! And I stretch my finances to start building an unusually homogenous park. Yes, it's "copy and paste: the game"! With much explanation of why queue lines should be the underpinning of any serious attempt at Quantum's Edge.OpenRCT2: openrct2.org
RCT2: Beating Quantums Edge (Part 1) Timberwolf 2021-10-26 | #RCT #RollerCoasterTycoon #OpenRCT2It's Rollercoaster Tycoon's most famously difficult custom scenario... and to finish my playthrough of RCT2, I'm going to beat it with room (and time!) to spare. I'll need everything I've learnt during the game just to make it through the first couple of months, let alone the whole scenario.In this episode I complete the hardest part of Quantum's Edge: getting through those first couple of months without getting the park closed down for a scandalously low rating. Explaining the need for some research tree prescience, and a Quantum's Edge cheat which I won't do (but will waste a lot of money demonstrating!)OpenRCT2: openrct2.org
RCT2: Beating Amity Airfield With Only 3 Rides Timberwolf 2021-07-16 | I blow RCT2's notoriously difficult early scenario wide open. Ridiculous ways to complete Amity Airfield, including abuse of one of RCT's most powerful game mechanics. Warning: may contain Ferris Wheels.Marcel Vos's video on queue line mechanics: youtube.com/watch?v=xwd48VEnptI
GoRender: the secret behind Timberwolfs Trains Timberwolf 2020-08-04 | I was asked how I turn MagicaVoxel objects into sprites, so here's a quick introduction to GoRender and some of its many settings. Not quite so many erroneous TRAIN FACTS in this one, but it could be useful if you want to try the same kind of voxel-based workflow I use.You can download executables and code from the following link: github.com/mattkimber/gorender(Open source, so feel free to go do Open Source Things with it!)
