What is the definitive way to play certain games?
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There are a host of open source remakes of old game engines that fix bugs and update them for modern systems as well as add support for higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratios. Here's a few off the top of my head:
- OpenMW for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. This is probably the most famous one.
- Daggerfall Unity for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.
- OpenRA for Red Alert, Tiberian Dawn, Dune 2000, and (in pre-alpha form) Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 (the latter requiring extra fiddling with Github repositories).
- KeeperFX for Dungeon Keeper.
- OpenRCT2 for Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.
- OpenTTD for Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
- OpenJKDF2 for Dark Forces 2 and its standalone Mysteries of the Sith expansion.
- Arx Libertatis for Arx Fatalis, though IIRC the version sold now integrates an older build of it; one without the fixes for glyph drawing - it's worth upgrading for that alone as spellcasting is a nightmare without the fix.
- TRX for Tomb Raider I and II.
- Tfix, T2Fix, and the Sneaky Upgrade for Thief 1/2/3 respectively. These are mods, not wholesale engine replacements, but serve the same purpose.
These are just the ones I know of. There are probably loads more.
Edit: the Ur-Quan Masters for Star Control II. I can't believe I forgot about this! Star Control II is one of the best and most influential games that most people have never heard about.
XWVM to play X-Wing and TIE Fighter.
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To clarify, if I was introducing someone to the Diablo series for the first time and told them they'd have to start on the first one. I wouldn't want them playing the bare vanilla version. There is a Bezelbub mod out there that gives the game lots of QoL improvements, you'd be thinking you're playing a build of Diablo 2 before its final version.
So, if I had to tell anyone what the best way to play that game would be, it is the Bezelbub mod. That was how I've beaten the first game anyways.
if you're playing FFXIV, especially on Linux, don't bother with the official launcher/updater. Use XIVLauncher, hell even use that if you're playing on Windows. Updates a hell of a lot faster plus you also get the dalamud stuff which adds a few quality of life plugin improvements.
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Does VCMI includes the ability to play the original campaigns with everything they had, on whatever language they were installed? It's not clear in their FAQ.
I tried installing the original with HD mod through lutris on a PC I am converting to linux, only to discover HD mod just doesn't support the French version of the game.
Lutris apparently passes down the system language to the installer with no option to change it. I'm sure there is a way to change the install script, but I haven't really looked into it yet.
If there's a way to pass down the French version in VCMI and get about the same improvements HD mod provides, and get all that to run natively, maybe I won't have to.
It's on a seperate page:
https://vcmi.eu/translators/Translations/
Edit: oh I got confused you said OG with HD mod. Well, hopefully you have better luck with VCMI.
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Quick question: Did you get the password and username fields mixed up when you made your Sopuli account?
That's crazy talk! What kind of lunatic would make a password without at least 3 symbols?!
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Fallout Fixt for anyone wanting to dive into the OG fallout.
I'd like to add a bit to this.
FALLOUT ET TU (Fallout 1in2) - Fallout 1 converted to Fallout 2 engine
Fallout 2 Restoration Project, updated - Bug fixes, QoL and more for Fallout 2
Fallout 2 Unofficial Patch, updated - Bug fixes only
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It's on a seperate page:
https://vcmi.eu/translators/Translations/
Edit: oh I got confused you said OG with HD mod. Well, hopefully you have better luck with VCMI.
Well I was trying to run OG with HD, the original game already had a French version (it's the one I've always played, even back in 2000). But I just learned that the HD mod was not directly compatible with it, though there might be workarounds. As is, it crashes as soon as I start a map.
Honestly even though I'd heard of the project before, I had competely forgotten about VCMI, so thank you for reminding me of it (very good timing too). If VCMI let me do what I am trying to do, really there's no point messing with the OG install. I'll try it when I can get back to it.
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To clarify, if I was introducing someone to the Diablo series for the first time and told them they'd have to start on the first one. I wouldn't want them playing the bare vanilla version. There is a Bezelbub mod out there that gives the game lots of QoL improvements, you'd be thinking you're playing a build of Diablo 2 before its final version.
So, if I had to tell anyone what the best way to play that game would be, it is the Bezelbub mod. That was how I've beaten the first game anyways.
In the time since Quake released, common rendering systems and resolution options on monitors have changed. ID's solution to put it back on Steam was some gargantuan monolith wrapper that might've used Unity or something, and ties to an online ID, so that it could release on consoles. The open source community's solution was to take the original, open-source engine release, and port it upwards. Playing through the recent Quake Brutalist Jam 3, a map pack using a set of reinvented weapons and altered enemies, they recommend you use the "ironwail" source port, which even has a native Linux build.
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OK, what about "eat the same things your character eats"?
I would, but someone stole my sweetroll.
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There's something like 20 versions of Machaarior 2. Dos versions are the best.
I remember that every single edition changed the cheat codes. Titanium Edition was my favorite as a kid for making them all short and easy to remember.
Also, there's MechVM for an open-source engine remake that works on modern systems.
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I would, but someone stole my sweetroll.
Stop complaining and finish your cheese wheels.
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Stop complaining and finish your cheese wheels.
Only seventy pounds of cheese to go! That last fight was rough.
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OpenXcom for the first two X-Com games (UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-Com: Terror From The Deep). This reimplementation is insanely good.
- It fixes all known bugs of the original X-Com engine.
- It works on modern systems, including Linux, macOS, Windows, and even Android.
- It has support for modern resolutions and aspect ratios.
- It allows you to use soundtracks from other versions of the game (e.g. look at the website's "Extras" tab).
- It has mod support including a basic mod manager. And some of those mods are damn good.
- It runs flawlessly.
There's really no reason to play the original DOS versions anymore.
Sounds good, but is it really still X-Com without the bugs?
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There are a host of open source remakes of old game engines that fix bugs and update them for modern systems as well as add support for higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratios. Here's a few off the top of my head:
- OpenMW for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. This is probably the most famous one.
- Daggerfall Unity for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.
- OpenRA for Red Alert, Tiberian Dawn, Dune 2000, and (in pre-alpha form) Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 (the latter requiring extra fiddling with Github repositories).
- KeeperFX for Dungeon Keeper.
- OpenRCT2 for Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.
- OpenTTD for Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
- OpenJKDF2 for Dark Forces 2 and its standalone Mysteries of the Sith expansion.
- Arx Libertatis for Arx Fatalis, though IIRC the version sold now integrates an older build of it; one without the fixes for glyph drawing - it's worth upgrading for that alone as spellcasting is a nightmare without the fix.
- TRX for Tomb Raider I and II.
- Tfix, T2Fix, and the Sneaky Upgrade for Thief 1/2/3 respectively. These are mods, not wholesale engine replacements, but serve the same purpose.
These are just the ones I know of. There are probably loads more.
Edit: the Ur-Quan Masters for Star Control II. I can't believe I forgot about this! Star Control II is one of the best and most influential games that most people have never heard about.
Speaking of Dark Forces 2 and Not about the Force Engine for the first Game? :0 you barbaric! Joking.
Yeah. Force engine fornthe First Game is top notch.
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Speaking of Dark Forces 2 and Not about the Force Engine for the first Game? :0 you barbaric! Joking.
Yeah. Force engine fornthe First Game is top notch.
My bad! Every time I think about replaying Dark Forces I remember the sewer level with the dianogas and change my mind.
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Sounds good, but is it really still X-Com without the bugs?
I could argue that experiencing the Groundhog Day bug builds character but... no. Nobody should have to deal with that.
Admittedly, a few tactics like filling your base with laser rifles to make attacking aliens spawn unarmed no longer work. But honestly, an experienced player treats base attacks like bonus levels anyway so it's not like much of value was lost. Besides, you also now get all the loot from big missions and not just the first 128 items.
Also, UFO now actually remembers your difficulty setting and doesn't revert you to Beginner after the first mission. That's different but better. I probably should've mentioned that separately in my first comment.
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I have been thinking of whether there was a pokemon mod that does something like this.
I’d like something that gets rid of trade evolutions and puts all 151 in a single game.
I’m sure it’s out there. So, I guess that’s my half assed attempt at an answer.
I swear every time I start looking into a romhack that claims to just be a mostly vanilla QoL update they always add in a bunch of random stuff to "fix" the difficulty.
Like, yes I am aware the games are incredibly easy. They're for children. I originally played most of them as children. Just let me get high and stomp all through FRLG with a perfect-IV Feraligatr and the Gen 4 physical-special split. If I wanted to do Nuzzlockes I would.... Do Nuzzlockes. If I wanted a game with difficult gym leaders and level caps, I would go play one of the thousands of romhacks that have that.
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My bad! Every time I think about replaying Dark Forces I remember the sewer level with the dianogas and change my mind.
Oh god. I forgot..
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To clarify, if I was introducing someone to the Diablo series for the first time and told them they'd have to start on the first one. I wouldn't want them playing the bare vanilla version. There is a Bezelbub mod out there that gives the game lots of QoL improvements, you'd be thinking you're playing a build of Diablo 2 before its final version.
So, if I had to tell anyone what the best way to play that game would be, it is the Bezelbub mod. That was how I've beaten the first game anyways.
With headphones.
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To clarify, if I was introducing someone to the Diablo series for the first time and told them they'd have to start on the first one. I wouldn't want them playing the bare vanilla version. There is a Bezelbub mod out there that gives the game lots of QoL improvements, you'd be thinking you're playing a build of Diablo 2 before its final version.
So, if I had to tell anyone what the best way to play that game would be, it is the Bezelbub mod. That was how I've beaten the first game anyways.
Factorio. It doesn't matter how you are playing it, you are doing something wrong and that invalidates your whole base.
-
There are a host of open source remakes of old game engines that fix bugs and update them for modern systems as well as add support for higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratios. Here's a few off the top of my head:
- OpenMW for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. This is probably the most famous one.
- Daggerfall Unity for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.
- OpenRA for Red Alert, Tiberian Dawn, Dune 2000, and (in pre-alpha form) Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 (the latter requiring extra fiddling with Github repositories).
- KeeperFX for Dungeon Keeper.
- OpenRCT2 for Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.
- OpenTTD for Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
- OpenJKDF2 for Dark Forces 2 and its standalone Mysteries of the Sith expansion.
- Arx Libertatis for Arx Fatalis, though IIRC the version sold now integrates an older build of it; one without the fixes for glyph drawing - it's worth upgrading for that alone as spellcasting is a nightmare without the fix.
- TRX for Tomb Raider I and II.
- Tfix, T2Fix, and the Sneaky Upgrade for Thief 1/2/3 respectively. These are mods, not wholesale engine replacements, but serve the same purpose.
These are just the ones I know of. There are probably loads more.
Edit: the Ur-Quan Masters for Star Control II. I can't believe I forgot about this! Star Control II is one of the best and most influential games that most people have never heard about.
Really nice list. One can spend many hours on these games.
